When the Centrino 2-equipped ThinkPad X200 waltzed into our Labs and demonstrated not only impressive performance but also jaw-dropping battery life, we wondered when our other favorite ThinkPad, the X300, would be spruced up with Intel’s latest components.

Turns out we won’t be waiting long: today Lenovo announced the ThinkPad X301, a component refresh to its popular 13.3-inch laptop. The new version will incorporate an ultra-low-voltage Core 2 Duo processor that’s expected to be unveiled at the Intel Developer Forum this week. The ThinkPad X301 will also come equipped with DDR3 RAM, which (combined with the new processor technology) will make it “20 percent more powerful than the X300,” according to the company. Read more » »

Toshiba on Monday introduced technology that enhances the picture quality of DVDs, Toshiba this year lost the high-definition format war with Sony,

XDE, or extended detail enhancement, will be in Toshiba’s new XD-E500 DVD player, which will ship this month. The player will be priced at $150, about twice as much as regular “up-converting” players.

Toshiba claims the higher price is justified because XDE takes DVD picture quality to a higher level, but not quite as high as Sony’s Blu-ray high-definition format.

Toshiba had tried to rally the industry around the HD DVD format as a better choice than Blu-ray. The latter, however, gained broader support from movie studios, prompting Toshiba to stop making HD DVD players this year. Read more » »

China - Police shut down the bustling bazaar in the capital of China’s restive Muslim region of Xinjiang on Friday amid threats from an Islamic group that attackers might target buses, trains and planes during the Olympics.

A sign at the entrance of the bazaar in Urumqi did not explain why the area, surrounded by mosques with minarets, was off limits as the country prepared to kick off the Summer Games thousands of miles away in Beijing.

Even a KFC restaurant in the shopping area—filled with touristy shops selling carpets and jade—was closed, and a guard sitting on the steps shooed people away.

The sprawling, far-flung western region of Xinjiang has long been a source of trouble for China’s communist government. The rugged, mineral-rich territory is populated by the Uighurs, a Turkic Read more » »

The Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” hauled in $43.8 million to rank as Hollywood’s top movie for the third-straight weekend, fending off “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” which opened a close second with $42.5 million.

“The Dark Knight” has soared to a $394.9 million haul in just 17 days, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Warner Bros. release should sail past the $400 million mark by Monday or Tuesday, said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner.

That would be on the film’s 18th or 19th day of release, another record for “The Dark Knight,” which had an all-time high opening weekend of $158.4 million. The previous $400 million record-holder was “Shrek 2,” which hit that mark in 43 days.

“It’s a film that is just rewriting the record books every day and redefining our notions of what a blockbuster can be,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
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Fla - Standing with Florida Senator and former astronaut Bill Nelson 20 minutes north of the spiritual home of America’s space program in Cape Canaveral, Barack Obama committed to keeping NASA exploring the outer reaches of the cosmos for years to come - reversing a pledge to cut funding for new space flights.

Obama recalled watching American astronauts emerge from the Pacific ocean after space flights as a boy in his Native Hawaii. “When I was growing up, NASA inspired the world with achievements we’re still proud of,” he said. “Today, we have an administration that sets ambitious goals for NASA without giving NASA the support it needs to reach them.”

Obama promised to expand the space program by reestablishing the National Aeronautics and Space Council to help formulate a vision for the next stage of space exploration. What’s more, he claimed that cuts to the new shuttle program that he’d originally planned to make were now called off. Read more » »

JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press Writer

She might be known worldwide as the Material Girl, but there’s more than a little of the small-town Michigan girl left in Madonna.

The pop superstar arrived in this northern Michigan resort town Saturday to introduce her documentary, “I Am Because We Are,” a highlight of the Traverse City Film Festival. The event was co-founded by filmmaker, author and fellow Michigan native Michael Moore.

Hundreds of fans cheered from behind barricades as Madonna, wearing a black dress, high heels and sunglasses, stepped out of a black sport utility vehicle that pulled up in front of the State Theatre. She hugged a waiting Moore, who sported an orange baseball cap, and posed for photos with him.
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For the second day in a row, one of the state’s top prospects committed to Georgia Tech before its practice session.

Luella defensive back Roderick Sweeting told Tech coach Paul Johnson on Thursday that he intends to sign with the Yellow Jackets. On Wednesday, Newnan offensive lineman Raymond Beno also committed before Tech’s practice.

Sweeting is perhaps Tech’s most celebrated 2009 commitment thus far. He is ranked as the nation’s No. 20 cornerback by Scout, and picked the Yellow Jackets over Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee and Auburn, among 17 offers.

The 6-foot, 175-pounder said he spent most of Thursday touring Tech’s campus with his parents and finished it by committing. Said Sweeting: “I just felt great about Georgia Tech. They have been recruiting me very hard and showing a lot of love. Coach Johnson seemed excited. He told me I was always at the top of his list of cornerbacks.”
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