Microsoft files patent suit against Motorola; Samsung Windows Phone 7; LED vodka bottle

Breaking News Microsoft files patent suit against Motorola over Android Microsoft said today that it has filed suit against Motorola for patent infringement related to Motorola's Android smartphones. Microsoft filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Washington and... READ MORE   More coverage: Microsoft stops rattling sabres and starts slashing at Android Is Microsoft ticked at Motorola for Windows Phone 7? Now suing them for their Android work Must-Read Stories   Samsung gets official with Windows Phone 7-based smartphones Financial services firms look to cloud, grid, and clusters to allay fears over data explosion, says survey Apotheker's HP challenge: Solving for software Microsoft's Ballmer names three new presidents; creates two new business units Keep Xmarks alive: Pledge to pay for the Service Finally, a vodka that makes you look dorky! Connect with ZDNet   Recommended SAP Business All-in-One Fast Start Program Those legacy systems could be holding you back. Listen to this program to learn the factors driving ERP strategies in businesses like yours. Learn how companies answer the "to implement or not to implement" ERP question, and how it impacts success.

Scan hidden or unreadable contents of your hard drive [DOWNLOAD DIGEST]

This Week's Featured Download    Disk Investigator (Windows) Discover all that is hidden on your system's hard disk and recover lost or deleted data. Display the drive's true contents by bypassing the OS and directly reading the raw drive sectors.   Recommended In Application Performance, Only One Opinion Counts Download this e-book chapter to learn why application performance monitoring must occur inside and outside of the data center. Discover why focusing on infrastructure alone isn't enough to guarantee top-of-the-line performance for your users.   More Popular Resources    Visifire (Mac) With Visifire, a set of open source data visualization components, you can create and embed visually stunning animated Silverlight Charts within minutes.  LAN Speed Test (Windows) LAN Speed Test is designed to be a rock solid tool to measure your LAN speed (wired & wireless) easily and accurately.  FotoSketcher (Windows) Turn digital photos into beautiful pencil sketches or paintings in seconds. This free program can help you create images that really look like they have been hand drawn by the best artists.   Recommended User Experience Management Indicators for Business and IT Success Watch this Quest Software on-demand webcast to explore user experience management indicators and discover what they can do for your business. Learn how common indicators enable collaboration and bring about understanding between IT and the business.    Lookout Mobile Security for Android (Mobile) Protect your phone from viruses, malware, and hackers, and download app,s worry-free With easy-to-use mobile security. Automatically backup your contacts and photos, access your data remotely from any browser, and wipe the data from your phone in the event of theft.  Smart Install Maker (Windows) Save time on software deployment by creating installation packages in just minutes. Fully customizable dialogs and backgrounds, uninstall control and installation feedback, access to registry keys and INI files.  Memory Booster Lite (Mobile) Tackle the difficult & crucial problem of memory management with Memory Booster Lite. Features include: Real-time Smartphone memory status report & monitor. Setting your performance target, one-click quick memory boosting, auto-boosting in the background, and Android system crash protection.  Safari Cookies (Mac) Safari Cookies is the only cookie manager built for Mac OS X 10.5+ to integrate directly into Safari, for minimum disruption to your browsing experience. Automatically manage your cookies - only keep cookies from sites which are in your BookMarks, TopSites, or History.   TechRepublic Highlights   10 tips for troubleshooting PC system slowdowns When PC performance slows to a crawl, a systematic troubleshooting plan will help you zero in on the cause. How do I customize the Windows 7 Start Menu? Windows 7 allows you to customize the Start Menu in many ways. Mark Kaelin shows you how this relatively simple process works. 10 red flags that shout 'Stay away from this project!' Most consultants have gotten stuck on a doomed project at one time or another. But if you know what to watch out for, you can avoid getting mired in a project mess. 10 Windows 7 power tweaks This handy roundup offers Windows 7 tips on everything from disabling Snap to restoring the Quick Launch Bar to limiting the applications your users can run. More at TechRepublic: More at TechRepublic Downloads Subscribe to the TechRepublic Downloads RSS feed	Top Five Downloads    KCleaner (Windows)    TweakNow PowerPack 2010 (Windows)    Picasa (Windows)    AppCrashView (Windows)    Glary Registry Repair (Windows)     Connect with ZDNet         Recommended Downloads ·         Why Conversion Analysis is Key to Business Success Watch part 3 of this webcast series to learn how to manage and measure transaction conversions, compare web analytics against transaction conversion analysis, and much more. Get the information you need to increase transaction conversion rates. ·         In Application Performance, Only One Opinion Counts Download this e-book chapter to learn why application performance monitoring must occur inside and outside of the data center. Discover why focusing on infrastructure alone isn't enough to guarantee top-of-the-line performance for your users. ·         User Experience Management Indicators for Business and IT Success Watch this Quest Software on-demand webcast to explore user experience management indicators and discover what they can do for your business. Learn how common indicators enable collaboration and bring about understanding between IT and the business. ·         Straight Talk about Agile, ALM, and Cloud Listen to Forrester analyst Dave West and Kevin Hancock, Director of Services at CollabNet, address the most current trends, challenges, and frequently asked questions on Agile development, application lifecycle management (ALM), and the cloud. ·         SAP Business All-in-One Fast Start Program Those legacy systems could be holding you back. Listen to this program to learn the factors driving ERP strategies in businesses like yours. Learn how companies answer the "to implement or not to implement" ERP question, and how it impacts success. More white papers: Most popular papers Recently added papers Most popular papers by industry TechRepublic Pro Downloads Lunch and Learn: Word 2010 The Microsoft Word Basics presentation is a prepackaged solution designed to help familiarize attendees with the Word application's basic functions. Save yourself future headaches by training end users now! Antivirus Software Pack The Antivirus Software Pack includes three Excel workbooks: the Gap Analysis Report, the Vendor Selection Checklist, and the Vendor Reference Questionnaire. Get the tools designed to help you identify any gaps in your current antivirus software needs today! IT Shop In A Box Not sure if your IT shop has everything you need? This collection will help you get your network up and running! It includes starter policies, tools to help you hire the right person for the job, tips on setting up shop, and more.   View More TechRepublic Downloads Join Tech Republic Pro

[TECH UPDATE] HP's Apotheker: A 'global citizen'; Ubuntu 'Maverick Meerkat' RC released; Facebook's incoming malware

Today's Top Picks   HP's Apotheker: A "global citizen" positioned to lead a global company On a webcast this morning, HP introduced its new CEO, Leo Apotheker, who fielded questions and offered a glimpse into his thoughts on the future of the company. READ FULL STORY   Recommended Marketing PM Demo Learn how to turn the information intensity of your job into a competitive advantage. Pay attention to certain sweet spots of information, make better decisions, create better goals, and set better plans about issues that truly drive your company.   Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" hits Release Candidate stage The launch of Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" is only days away, bit for those of you who can't wait to get your hands on this update, the Release Candidate has been made available for download. READ FULL STORY   Facebook offers peek at incoming malware attacks The malware gang behind the Koobface malware attacks on social networks raked in about $35,000 a week ($1.8 million a year) in 2009, according to Facebook security researcher Nick Bilogorskiy. READ FULL STORY   LCD glut means HDTV prices to plummet this holiday season If you plan to do some TV shopping during the upcoming holidays, you appear to be in luck. Research firms are predicting that HDTVs prices will drop significantly in the coming weeks, thanks to an... READ FULL STORY   Recommended SAP Business All-in-One Fast Start Program Those legacy systems could be holding you back. Listen to this program to learn the factors driving ERP strategies in businesses like yours. Learn how companies answer the "to implement or not to implement" ERP question, and how it impacts success.   Intel publishes reference design for home energy management panel Intel has released its reference design for an interactive panel that is meant as a multifunction universal control panel for your home.Based on my past conversations with the company about the... READ FULL STORY   Might Microsoft break its acquisition drought with a social gaming company? This week, there is a new rumor swirling that Microsoft might be sniffing around Linden Lab. Might the Softies buy the Second Life maker -- or some other social-gaming vendor -- to break their... READ FULL STORY Google expands Market for paid Android apps, but still snubs 85% of the world Google allows buyers and sellers of Android apps to hail from more countries, but the number still falls far short of the total number of countries in the world. READ FULL STORY Chip forecast revised on slowing PC demand Slowing demand for PCs because of the poor global consumer economy could hurt HP, Dell and Intel... READ FULL STORY   Top SmartPlanet Pick   Will this be the first private space station? Two Russian companies have proposed a space station in the mold of the ISS. The difference? They're selling tickets. by John Herrman READ FULL STORY Want more? Sign up for SmartPlanet's daily newsletter   Hot Topic Spotlight   Surprise! HP names Leo Apotheker CEO; Can he rewrite his legacy? In a move sure to surprise, Hewlett-Packard on Leo Apotheker CEO. For Apotheker it's a chance to rewrite his legacy after being ousted from SAP. READ FULL STORY More talked-about posts: I took the Xmarks pledge and why you should, too. Shootout: iPhone 4 Retina Display vs. Galaxy S Super OLED Featured Photo Gallery   Windows tablets you can get today Despite claims that the first generation of Windows-based tablets are delayed until 2011, we've been reviewing them for years. Here's a handful you can get right now (plus one that might turn up in within the next several weeks). VIEW THE GALLERY More photo galleries: Cracking open Hewlett Packard's IIP, the original personal LaserJet printer Reasons to love Windows Live Essentials 2011 Reasons to hate Windows Live Essentials 2011 Featured Product Coverage   WD holding contest for PhotoPlus Expo; prizes include walking tour, HD media player Unbelievably, it's already October and the PhotoPlus Expo will be taking place in New York City in a few weeks. And if you're a photographer who happens to be going... READ FULL STORY More product coverage: Panasonic to debut Lumix Phone in Japan next week Windows Phone 7 might be unveiled as soon as October 11 Like gadgets? Sign up for ZDNet's Product Watch Newsletter	News & Blogs   Inside Stuxnet: Researcher drops new clues about origin of worm   Adobe Patch Tuesday heads-up: Critical holes in PDF Reader   Facebook now supports uploading of high resolution photos   Apotheker's first investor call: a solid and humble performance   BlackBerry Playbook: I'll believe it when I see it   The Lure of Black Hat SEO: Take A Walk On the Dark Side   PayPal: mobile check deposit technology stemmed from 9/11 attacks   New Chrome adds Google Instant, more   H-P to Oracle: here comes Leo (and Ray)   Feds step up action on e-waste export     Latest SmartPlanet   What the new NASA funding bill really means   Genetically engineering silkworms to make artificial spider silk   Ford: Smart device-car interoperability key   California carsharing bill signed into law; will other states follow?   Why children with ADHD are more likely to have a parent with ADHD     Connect with ZDNet         Videos and Podcasts   Negroponte: Turn tablets into a 'constructionist medium' Nicholas Negroponte touts the importance of tablets at Mobilize 2010 in San Francisco. The One Laptop Per Child founder says physical books are too expensive, take up too much space, and are hard to update for the developing world. He says the next step is for kids to use tablets to make things i... PLAY VIDEO   Will Apple conquer the enterprise? Woz: It can happen Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak discusses whether Apple's technologies can become standard in the enterprise overtaking the PC. "It can happen, but it's still going to be gradual," Wozniak says. "Everybody sees the writing on the wall." PLAY VIDEO   RIM targets business users with BlackBerry PlayBook RIM President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis introduces the BlackBerry PlayBook, a 7-inch touch screen tablet with Web browsing, multitasking, and even Flash. PLAY VIDEO   Think Mobile: Microsoft highlights Windows phone 7 At the Think Mobile conference in San Francisco, Microsoft evangelist, Joel Franusic talks about new functionality users can expect with the Windows phone 7. Franusic discusses the new interface, Office updates, and game development features. PLAY VIDEO     Play more video and audio Recommended Downloads ·         Why Conversion Analysis is Key to Business Success Watch part 3 of this webcast series to learn how to manage and measure transaction conversions, compare web analytics against transaction conversion analysis, and much more. Get the information you need to increase transaction conversion rates. ·         Supercharge Your Growth with On-Demand Business Management Solutions ZDNet is proud to present "Supercharge Your Growth with On-Demand Business Management", a webcast about new ways to improve decision making and reduce infrastructure. Learn what it takes to plan, implement, and manage SaaS, and its specific value. ·         Virtualization: Not Just for Servers Unite servers, storage, networking, and management with a converged infrastructure. You'll improve business agility, increase administrator productivity, reduce risk, and utilize your resources to the fullest. Read this white paper to learn how. ·         User Experience Management Indicators for Business and IT Success Watch this Quest Software on-demand webcast to explore user experience management indicators and discover what they can do for your business. Learn how common indicators enable collaboration and bring about understanding between IT and the business. ·         In Application Performance, Only One Opinion Counts Download this e-book chapter to learn why application performance monitoring must occur inside and outside of the data center. Discover why focusing on infrastructure alone isn't enough to guarantee top-of-the-line performance for your users. More white papers: Most popular papers Recently added papers Most popular papers by industry