Freescale Semiconductor is expected to launch new silicon for Netbooks - devices that it believes will come in below $200 - at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. The ARM chip architecture-based i.MX51 processor is designed to enable "low-power, gigahertz performance netbooks at sub-$200 price points," according to Freescale, formerly Motorola's chipmaking arm.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:56:16 -0600

Palm is rumored to be launching a smartphone on Thursday that runs Nova, its next-generation operating system, according to a report Sunday on CrunchGear. The report, which cites "a trusted source," says the device will have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide under the touchscreen. Palm's next-generation operating system has been delayed several times but is regarded as crucial to the company's chances of regaining a foothold in the mobile computing market.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:38:46 -0600

Sinalbin, the same compound that gives white mustard its pungent flavor, could also prove useful in fighting weeds. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) studies suggest sinalbin and other compounds released into soil by applications of white mustard seed meals can kill or suppress certain weedy grasses and annual broadleaf weeds. Agronomist Rick Boydston, with the ARS Vegetable and Forage Crops Research Unit in Prosser, Wash., is conducting the studies.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:45:55 -0600

Administering antibiotics as a preventive measure to patients in intensive care units (ICUs) increases their chances of survival. This has emerged from a study involving nearly sixthousand Dutch patients in thirteen hospitals. During the study, a team of researchers compared the effect of two kinds of antibiotic treatments with the standard ICU care. They divided into three groups nearly six thousand patients hospitalized in ICUs between 2004 and 2006.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:01:11 -0600

The reproductive spores of many species of fungi have evolved remarkably drag-minimizing shapes, according to new research by mycologists and applied mathematicians at Harvard University. In many cases, the scientists report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the drag experienced by these fungal spores is within one percent of the absolute minimum possible drag for their size.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:13:02 -0600

Seiko Epson Corporation has developed a "microrobot" named FR-II. The robot is the successor to the original FR, which used to be the world's smallest and lightest micro-flying robot; the newer version includes Bluetooth wireless control and independent flight capability.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:18:53 -0600

Researchers from Stanford University have developed new artificial intelligence software called ZunaVision, which can place a still image or video on almost any surface inside a video clip. For example, in a video displaying a painting of the sea hanging on the wall in a living room, the picture on the wall can be edited and replaced by a video of Barak Obama giving a speech.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:13:49 -0600

The glitch that froze many older Zune music players should now have been cleared, says Microsoft. Many owners of 30GB Zune players found that the gadget froze up on the last day of 2008, thanks to a problem with software on the device. But, said Microsoft, players should function properly once fully charged and switched on again on 1 January. However, some Zune owners were still reporting lingering problems with their portable player.

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:53:04 -0600

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The hottest water on Earth has been discovered at the very bottom of the Atlantic ocean – more than 3 kilometers below its surface. The water, which apparently lies in close proximity to a huge bubble of magma, was found in a supercritical state that, according to scientists, has never before been seen in nature; "…somewhere between a gas and a liquid,” denser than vapor, lighter than liquid water. The discovery is expected to give scientists a "first glimpse at how essential minerals and nutrients like gold, copper, and iron are leached out of the entrails of the Earth and released into the oceans."

Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:12:09 -0600

Windows lost nearly a full percentage point of market share for the second month in a row in December, pushing Microsoft Corp.'s operating system to a new low, an Internet measurement company reported recently. Meanwhile, Apple Inc. 's Mac OS X posted a record gain that brought it close to a 10% share for the first time since Net Applications Inc. began tracking operating system use.

Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:53:17 -0600