No Dell, Apple Laptops on Virgin
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In response to the recall of millions of batteries, the airline is restricting in-flight use of many popular notebooks. In Gear Factor.
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Passengers can now use an Apple or Dell laptop with a battery after the serial number is checked by a crew member.
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Same old (inaccurate) speculation, different names Analysis Apple is the new Dell. Yes, now that the PC giant has finally, after a decade of speculation, signed up to buy processors from AMD and end its Intel-only policy, we can now expect ten further years of similar rumours that Apple's about to adopt the Athlon too.â¦
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Yes, there's a catch... Want a MacBook Air for Â£949? Pop over to PC World's website and order the skinny Apple and an HSDPA wireless broadband package from carrier 3 and the retailer will knock Â£250 off the price of the Air.â¦
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DVD burner from Sony does just fine without a PC. Also: Virgin goes head-to-head with the iPod Mini.
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The chipmaker withdraws after being asked to end support for all non-OLPC platforms. This doesn't square with Intel's plans to build a cheap laptop of its own.
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Following the recent announcement that it will be terminating its online music store. Virgin announced yesterday that it will turn its mobile phone business public with an IPO.
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Even machines not affected by battery recalls Korean Air has become the latest airline to effectively ground notebooks from Apple and Dell. The carrier has banned travellers from bringing those companies' portable computers into aircraft cabins unless the laptops' batteries have been removed first.â¦
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Carphone expands Virgin offering From this morning customers at Carphone Warehouse will be able to buy Virgin broadband, digital TV and phones from a special in-store services area showcasing the company.â¦
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Microsoft recently partnered with Dell to create a special edition PC to commemorate the launch of Windows Vista. Only a few of the computers have been produced, and there are no plans to sell it, the company says.
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(InfoWorld) - Virgin Group Ltd. will shut down its online music subscription and download service in the U.S. and U.K. next month, leaving one less competitor for Apple Inc.'s iTunes Music Store. In the U.K., Virgin Digital stopped selling tracks last Friday, and is no longer accepting new customers. As of Friday, only existing customers will be able to access the service, and the site will shut down for good on Oct. 19. The U.K. version of the site said users with more than one month of outstanding subscriptions will get a refund, but unused credits for song downloads should be used and won't be refunded. U.S. users of Virgin Digital will be able to use their credit on Napster LLC's music download service. The pending demise of Virgin Digital marks another casualty among online music stores, which have generally received lukewarm reception from consumers with the exception of Apple's market-leading iTunes service. Since Virgin Digital used digital rights management (DRM) technology from Microsoft Corp. to manage how songs could be played and transferred to portable devices, the service was not compatible with Apple's iPod line, which uses different DRM technology and file format. The Virgin Digital service allows customers to download tracks up to four more times to replace lost or damaged copies. Since that option will no longer be available when the store closes, the company advised customers who purchased tracks to back them up by burning the songs to a CD . Burning the tracks will let those customers re-import the tracks to the computer as MP3 files. Virgin also offered a subscription service that let people access an entire catalog of songs as long as they continued to pay the monthly fees. Those songs, which used Microsoft's DRM, would be unplayable if the person's subscription expired. Once the club closes, subscribers will also lose access to those songs. As part of the terms of subscription service, users were not allowed to burn those songs to CD. Virgin Digital officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the service's closure. The Virgin Digital store is not the only one to fold in the face of competition from Apple's iTunes -- or from illegal downloads. Last month, MTV Networks, which is owned by Viacom Inc., said it would merge its Urge music service with RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody service. Urge, which was a partnership between MTV and Microsoft launched in May 2006 that failed to effectively compete with iTunes. Â
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Anything Jobs can do... Computer giant Dell stunned a Reg reader seeking a processor upgrade when it told him he might want to consider a "Mac".â¦
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MacWorld 'This is what they want. Stripped down, no display'
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The court said Apple&#39;s refusal to license FairPlay was not anti-competitive. It also pointed out the availability of other devices that are compatible with Virgin&#39;s download site.
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Apple 1, Branson 0 Virgin has closed Virgin Digital, its Windows Media-based alternative to Apple's iTunes. It stopped selling one-off downloads on Friday, though subscribers will still have access to their collections until their next monthly payment is due.â¦
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Blog: new laptops are upgraded versions of Dell's existing workhorse models
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(InfoWorld) - Dell is allowing its customers to decline the unwanted software applications loaded on new PCs, after hundreds of users complained about such "bloatware" on a company blog. Many software companies pay PC vendors to install their applications on new computers, hoping to gain new customers or persuade users to upgrade to a new version. But customers say it can take a savvy user hours to remove unwanted programs, and those who are less sophisticated may never be able to reclaim the wasted memory. On Monday, Dell agreed to give buyers of certain models the option to avoid what the company calls "preinstalled software." Buyers of Dimension desktops, Inspiron notebooks, and XPS PCs can now click a field in Dell's online order form that will block the installation of software for productivity, ISPs, and photo and music. "Since we launched IdeaStorm, there has never been a shortage of conversation about 'bloatware' here! Well we've recently taken action on your feedback on this topic, and we're working toward giving customers more choice in the amount and type of software that is preinstalled on their systems at the time of purchase," Dell said on the blog. The company has also loaded an extra "uninstall utility" program on Dimension and Inspiron computers sold in the United States, making it easier for new computer users to remove software they don't want. However, Dell will continue to install three applications on its new computers, including trial versions of anti-virus software, Adobe Systems's Acrobat Reader, and Google's Google Toolbar, said Michelle Pearcy, Dell's worldwide client software manager in another posting. The company includes anti-virus software because many customers expect their PCs to be protected at first boot, Acrobat because it is required to read electronic copies of system documentation, and Google Toolbar because it aids Web surfing by suggesting likely alternatives to mistyped URLs, she said. "The end result is that customers can tailor the amount and type of software that is preinstalled on their systems to meet their specific needs at time of purchase," Pearcy said. Many users said Dell had not gone far enough, however. Dozens of comments attached to Pearcy's blog posting pleaded with the company to abstain from loading any software on a new machine except for Microsoft's Windows OS and Office tool suite. "Would love the ability to have a clean Vista install. No AOL software, no EarthLink software, no Google software -- just a clean, original OS," said someone writing under the name "ootleman" in a Feb. 16 posting that has since received thousands of votes on Dell's site. That post helped start the idea for Dell to give users more control, since it has remained one of the most popular ideas on the company's IdeaStorm Web site since being posted on the blog's first day, Pearcy said. Despite users' persistence, some may find it challenging to find a PC vendor that does not load extra software on new machines. Gateway did not respond to a request for comment, but Hewlett-Packard said it also preinstalls software. HP does not sell any PCs running only an OS, but it does allow individual users to remove the programs they don't like, said Melissa Stone, a spokeswoman for HP. "HP offers third-party software with its consumer PCs in order to provide customers with programs that will enhance their computing experience," Stone said. "Not all users will have the same preferences, therefore each user has the ability to keep or remove the programs he or she finds most valuable. Current products offer a very carefully chosen set of HP, Microsoft, and third-party software and services that HP believes will bring the most value to the customer."