Two batteries in the recall pool have already gone up in flames, so this isn’t a theoretical risk but one that should be taken seriously if you have an affected system. The packs were sold both bundled with new laptops and as aftermarket replacement batteries in a wide range of outlets, including HP’s online shopping sites and third-party retail outlets.

As well, the batteries included in the recall cover a wide range of notebooks under numerous HP brands, including HP Pavilion, HP Compaq, Compaq Presario, and the plain-old HP line.

To find out if your HP notebook is affected, check the model number on the service label on the bottom of your laptop or the LCD bezel. Those potentially affected include these machines:

> HP Pavilion: dv2000, dv2500, dv2700, dv6000, dv6500, dv6700, dv9000, dv9500, dv9700
> Compaq Presario: A900, C700, F700, V3000, V3500, V3700, V6000, V6500, V6700
> HP: G6000, G7000
> HP Compaq: 6720s

If your laptop model is listed, consult this HP web page and click “Validate Your Battery” to determine if your specific battery is being recalled. Alternatively, a list of affected battery serial numbers is available at this page.

The HP web page linked above will provide instructions on returning your battery in the event it’s been recalled, or you can call 800-889-2031 for instructions between 7am and 7pm Central Time, Monday through Friday.

Of course whenever there’s a battery recall from any manufacturer, it’s always a good idea to make sure your computer isn’t affected, no matter who made it, as virtually every computer company has recalled power packs in the last few years.

Source: Yahoo Tech

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The sixth revision of a joint study between the Business Software Alliance and IDC found that that Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, and Zimbabwe are the countries with the highest amounts of piracy, topping 90 percent. Worldwide, the rate of software piracy rose from 38 percent to 41 percent, because of the increase of Internet users in high-piracy locations such as China and India, the report found. Software piracy within the U.S., meanwhile, has remained flat. Setting the effects of exchange rates aside, the report found that the estimated losses from software piracy grew by 5 percent to $50.2 billion.

In 2005, however, The Economist published a critique of the BSA/IDC methodology, concluding that the study’s results were exaggerated. BSA and IDC representatives were not immediately available for comment.

The report comes against a backdrop of widespread crackdowns on sites that have used the BitTorrent protocol to disseminate software, movies, and music. Both Sweden’s The Pirate Bay and The Netherlands’ Mininova are facing down prosecutors intent on shutting both sites down; the operators of The Pirate Bay were found guilty of infringement, but said they would appeal.

In 2008, the rate of PC software piracy dropped in 57 countries, remained the same in 36, and rose in the remaining 17, the study found. Lowering global piracy by just one point a year would add $20 billion in stimulus to the IT industry, the BSA claims.

“We are continuing to make progress against PC software piracy in many countries, which helps people working in the US-led global software industry. That’s the good news,” said BSA president and chief executive Robert Holleyman, in a statement.

“The bad news is that PC software piracy remains so prevalent in the United States and all over the world,” Holleyman said. “It undermines local IT service firms, gives illegal software users an unfair advantage in business, and spreads security risks. We should not and cannot tolerate a $9 billion hit on the software industry at a time of economic stress.”

The regions of the world with the least piracy include both North America and the European Union; the countries with the lowest piracy as measured by the study include the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Luxembourg, all near 20 percent.

Source: PC Mag

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Sadly Ravage’s stealth was also his downfall because one day he went missing, and was never seen again. But my memories of Ravage will now live on thanks to this transforming USB flash drive. It’s available for pre-order from the BigBadToyStore for $42.99 (eta September 2009) which is actually pretty expensive for a 2GB flash drive. Still, even if it only came with 128Mb on board I bet it would still fly off the shelves.

Source: Ohgizmo

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Google Japan had already released a 30-second video promoting Chrome on YouTube, but the company will distribute that video through the Google TV Ads network this weekend as an experiment to see if it can drum up interest in Chrome, its new browser. Google said it’s using the research it has done on measuring the relevance of television ads in order to place the Chrome ad appropriately.

Chrome was also featured as part of a huge ad on the front page of The New York Times’ Web site Friday, with several different videos promoting the browser. Those are also available, of course, on YouTube.

For a consumer brand of its size, Google does relatively little advertising. It put Chrome ads on YouTube in January, but “house ads” are a little different than network television exposure. Likewise, T-Mobile advertises the “G1 with Google” in hyping up the Android-powered G1, but that’s not exactly the same as making Google the focus of the ad.

Source: Cnet

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What is Rimadyl?

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The Palm Eos is said to be 0.42 inches (10.6 mm) thin and weighs just 3.5 ounces (100 grams). Eos’s 2.63-inch capacitive touch screen sports a 320 by 400 pixels resolution, giving it 80 pixels fewer than either the iPhone’s or Pre’s display. Eos will be a 3G phone (HSPA capable) and extra connectivity comes via Bluetooth 2.1 (with A2DP and EDR - so you can listen to stereo music wirelessly) and a micro USB port (2.0).

Full article and more Tech news on ZitZot.com

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