From X-bit Labs: PNY, a leading supplier of flash-based devices as well as consumer and professional graphics cards, said on Wednesday that it would provide discounts to customers with graphics cards by BFG Technologies. Usually companies start to provide discounts to owners of competing products in order to acquire a customer base and typically this happens when everything is over for the rival.

Starting today, PNY will be offering up to a 25% discount on a selection of PNY GeForce graphics cards, valid only to existing BFG Tech graphics card owners. Consumers can choose to send in either a functioning or non-functioning graphics card in exchange for the discount. Discounts are off of MSRP pricing and are only attainable via PNY.com and customers need to call a special telephone number to arrange the deal. Additionally, all graphics card users taking advantage of this program will receive a bonus copy of the Just Cause 2 from Square Enix, via an online download redemption code, valued at $49.99. This program is available for a limited time and will only be in effect until October 31, 2010.

This is not the first time when PNY effectively buys graphics cards of former competitors from their owners in order to get new loyal customers. Back in 2006 the company already made discounts on professional Quadro-series graphics cards for owners of various professional solutions from 3Dlabs.

“Consumers can feel that their investment in PNY graphics card is safe based on our 25-year-old business foundation, solid warranty program, and first class Technical Support team. We are giving them the opportunity to either trade in an otherwise defective card or trade up for an even better value at an incredible price," said Nicholas Mauro, senior marketing manager of PC components business at PNY.

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From DailyTech: The much anticipated September Apple event has come and gone, delivering highlights of the company's retail efforts, information on iTunes 10, and a slew of Apple TV related news. The biggest surprises? Apple has launched a social network and it finally has a TV box that seems competitive and compelling.

Starting the show, Apple made a big-deal at the start of the event about its new stores. Among the high-profile places where Apple has planted its seed are Paris, France (housed in a restored building); Shanghai, China (featuring a 40-ft tall glass cylinder over the subterranean entrance, which Mr. Jobs calls a "landmark in glass engineering"); and London, England (a "fantastic" store at "the heart of Covent Garden").

Mr. Jobs bragged of some big numbers -- over 1 million visitors at the company's stores daily; over 300 stores in 10 countries, total. Apple puts on lessons for 80,000 customers a week, a key part of its attempt to convert people to lifetime Mac buyers.

After unveiling its new lineup -- which featured some surprises (the tiny, attractive Shuffle, starting at $49 for 2GB), some disappointments (iPod Nano with iOS and multi-touch but no camera and a smaller screen), and some expected developments (iPhone 4-esque iPod Touch revision) -- Apple turned to iTunes.

The new version of iTunes, iTunes 10 is full of surprises. First it ditches the old hat logo for a new icon. The biggest new feature is a brand new, integrated social network called Ping that looks an awful lot like Facebook and helps you network with others to discover music -- and make friends. Mr. Jobs describes, "It's a social network for music. It's like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes. It's all about music."

You can "follow" friends in Ping, check out concerts, and post your thoughts. Apple claims that the network will offer as much privacy as you want, with complete control over who can see/follow you. Mr. Jobs describes, "You can get as private or as public as you want, and it's super simple to set up."

The new social network is also available via app on iOS devices. The new version of iTunes will be available today.

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From DailyTech: Apple has sold over 275 million iPods since it was first introduced back in 2001. Today, Apple is introducing a new family of iPods to help keep the winning streak alive.

First up is the next generation iPod shuffle. The new iPod shuffle, has the look and buttons of the second generation device and voiceover from the third generation. Battery life is rated at 15 hours. The fourth generation iPod shuffle is a little smaller than the second generation model and comes in five different colors. It will be available for $49 in 2GB capacities.

The new iPad nano, as predicted by case leaks over the past week, is a tiny multi-touch capable device. It has a clip (like the iPod shuffle), hardware volume buttons, VoiceOver, FM radio, Nike+, and a pedometer. The new device is 46 percent smaller and 42 percent lighter. Battery life is listed at 24 hours. Unfortunately, the downsizing of the iPad nano has resulted in the loss of the onboard camera (and apparently, the loss of video playback).

Being that this is a multi-touch device, all of Apple's familiar gestures are applicable to the device. The iPad nano will be available for $149 in an 8GB version and $179 in the 16GB version.

Finally, there is a new iPod touch that is even thinner than the old version introduced last year. Like its iPhone 4 counterpart, it comes with the Retina display along with the Apple A4 processor, 3-axis gyro, front facing camera for FaceTime (over Wi-Fi), and a rear camera for HD video recording and photo taking. The new device promises 40 hours of battery life and will be available in 8GB ($229), 32GB ($299), and 64GB ($399) capacities.

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From PC World: Leave it to Sony to throw a new twist into the e-reader game: The company's refreshed lineup of e-readers and new touchscreen technology ups the ante over its competition. The E-Ink e-reader has just gotten way more interesting.

All three of Sony's new models use the E-Ink Pearl display that's already made a positive impression on the Amazon Kindle (3 rd generation) and Amazon Kindle DX Graphite. The new twist is that Sony has ditched the annoying touchscreen overlay of its previous Reader Touch Edition; that overlay was responsible for many of that unit's faults, including its unresponsive navigation, terrible glare, fuzzy text, and poor contrast.

But that was then. The new crop of readers blows all of those problems into the past.

Instead, Sony uses an infrared optical technology touchscreen on each of its new models: The Reader Pocket Edition, Reader Touch Edition, and Reader Daily Edition. The touchscreen works by using infrared sensors to detect where your finger is on the screen; it compares that information against a matrix that identifies where your finger is and what action you are trying to accomplish, and then performs that action.

I found the result compelling--a highly responsive E-Ink touchscreen display. In my hands-on time with the units, I was impressed by how light of a touch was required to make a selection, the polar opposite of my experience with the Reader Touch Edition.

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From CNET News.com: Logitech on Wednesday adds two new additions to its line of portable speakers: the Laptop Speaker Z305 and the Wireless Speaker Z515. These portable audio solutions are the ideal way to add a soundtrack to your outdoor activities.

The $60 Logitech Laptop Speaker Z305 is a reimagining of the Z205 that earned a "very good" rating earlier this year for its simple setup procedure, USB-powered convenience, and adequate sound quality for its size and price. This time, the Z305 update still retains the compact, clip-on design but now features "surround sound" thanks to its dual forward- and backward-firing 2-inch drivers.

The Z305's USB cord delivers both sound and power to the speaker, but there's also a 3.5mm headphone jack to draw audio from external devices like an iPod or a Zune. At 12.75 inches long, the speaker is definitely longer (and $20 more) than the Z205, but the "360-degree" sound feature is likely a worthwhile trade-off.

The $100 Logitech Wireless Speaker Z515 offers full stereo sound up to 50 feet away from its audio source thanks to the 2.4GHz wireless connection. Unlike Bluetooth, the signal can connect to any computer with a USB port available for the adapter, which is included in the box.

Like the Z305, the Z515 also includes a 3.5mm stereo jack for external devices. Dual 2-inch stereo drivers pump audio out of the speaker and an impressive rechargeable battery keeps the party going for up to 10 hours.

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From CNET News.com: Amazon is talking to major media companies to create a new subscription service to deliver movies and TV shows over the Internet, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The service, which would be accessible via Web browser and devices such as Internet-connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and the Xbox game console, has been pitched to media giants News Corp., Time Warner, Viacom, and NBC Universal, according to the Journal. Amazon's Video on Demand service offers digital downloads of movies and individual TV episodes, but the new service would focus on offering older content in a model similar to that of Netflix, according the to the report.

Amazon representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It's unknown how such a service would co-exist with Hulu, the online video service owned by News Corp. and NBC Universal, which are reportedly part of the Amazon negotiations. Hulu, which is also owned by Walt Disney, was recently reported as considering an initial public offering worth $2 billion.

The report comes as the crowded fight for domination of digital movie and television content distribution intensifies. Apple is hosting a media event Wednesday during which the company is expected to announce that Disney and Fox have signed on to rent TV shows on iTunes for 99 cents

Also, some expect Apple to unveil a next generation of Apple TV that will feature the Netflix streaming-movie service. Earlier this month, Netflix signed a five-year deal worth nearly $1 billion to stream movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM.

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From InfoWorld: Dell has been relatively quiet about its modular data-center products, but on Tuesday it showed off a new design it has started selling to large "hyperscale" customers, which include big Internet firms like Microsoft and Facebook.

The first modular data centers, including one shown by Dell two years ago, used standard shipping containers to house servers and other IT gear. The containers are sturdy, relatively cheap and highly portable, but some vendors have found them a little inflexible.

Dell's latest model does away with the container and instead houses 12 standard server racks in two rows within a steel skeletal structure, with a central aisle for servicing. Three or four of the structures can be "snapped" together depending on how much compute capacity is required, according to Dell.

The power and cooling units are also modular. The cooling units attach to the top of the structure and can be evaporative or water-based, depending on what works best in the local climate. A redundant power supply hooks onto the end.

"We're delivering these units in production to a few customers," said Steve Schuckenbrock, president of Dell's Large Enterprise group, who talked them up in a speech at VMworld in San Francisco.

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From X-bit Labs: Advanced Micro Devices has intentions to install its chips into slate-type personal computers going forward, but at the same time it has no plans to develop direct competitors to system-on-chips (SoCs) based on designs developed by ARM holdings, such as those that power smartphones or the most popular tablet at present, the Apple iPad.

"I do not foresee that day [when AMD competes with ARM is] coming in the near term. First of all, when we consider which areas to approach, we look at markets, we look at the technology capabilities we have, and we try to find an intersection point that really represents really big opportunities. By far the biggest business opportunity we have got is in PCs and servers. The market for silicon processing content is bigger than the smartphone market. [...] The other thing we really like about our core market is that there aren't that many competitors [...]. I would rather focus on the big market, where there's a small number of competitors," said Dirk Meyer, chief executive officer and president of AMD, in an interview with the Fortune magazine.

Historically companies like AMD and Intel focused on advancements of x86 micro-architecture in terms of performance, scalability and so on without significant concentration on keeping power consumption as low as possible, whereas ARM Holdings focused on small performance advancements amid decreases in consumption of power. However, in recent years Intel announced intentions to participate on the market of smartphones, whereas ARM indicated that it chips could power servers. Both plans seem to be rather hard to accomplish and the success of both companies is not cast on stone, which is AMD's cautious approach seems to be rather logical.

Nonetheless, AMD does understand that the markets of ultra-portable devices are only going to grow and the company is sure that over time it will be able to address the developing market of tablets. It remains to be seen whether AMD will be able to address the market of slates with the forthcoming Bobcat/Ontario generation of products, or it will wait for future chips.

"We view the tablet market as something we'll enter when the market gets big and we have the resources to appropriately address it. [...] I do not think we can ignore in the long term what is going on with mobility, the fact that people's eyeballs are spending more time in front of things like tablets and smartphones. We are ensuring that we are developing the technology that will, over time, address these markets. It's not a 'not-ever,' it's just a 'not now' statement [about ARM]," Mr. Meyer clarified.

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