Google preps online storage service

Google is preparing to take the covers off its own brand of hosted-storage services, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, says Computerworld.

The online storage subscription-based service may be ready for release early next year, according to the report. The service will reportedly include a limited amount of free storage, with extra space available for an undisclosed price. Google officials could not be reached for comment this morning.

Increased mobility of end-users and the rapid proliferation of stored digital content, including photos, video and music, is driving businesses and home users toward fixed fee-based online storage systems. These can meet growing storage needs without relying on spinning and space-constrained hard drives.

Just in time for the Christmas season, Dell is offering a its previously introduced XPS M1330 notebook in a 15-inch shell, closing the gap between its 13-inch and 17-inch mobile performance systems, reports TG Daily.

The new XPS M1530 is the cheapest way to buy a notebook with Dell`s premium label. Equipped with a 15.4-inch screen, the notebook is priced from $999, or $200 less than the cheapest XPS M1330 and $1 000 less than the high-end XPS M1710.

Compared to the 13-inch model, the standard hardware equipment of the M1530 is actually slightly better, reflecting the premium notebook buyers have to pay for compact notebooks with screens smaller than 15-inches these days. Both models include an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.5 GHz) processor, 1GB of memory, a 120GB hard drive as well as a DVD burner in their standard configuration.

As the HD format war rages on, it seems the Blu-ray format has Europe in the bag, as Sony`s format breaks the one million sales mark, representing 73% of all HD movie sales in the region, says Computerandvideogames.

If you then include PlayStation 3 game discs - which are also on the Blu-ray format disc - the total number of Blu-ray discs produced for retail in Europe jumps beyond 21 million, according to industry figures in a statement from the Blu-ray disc association.

Blu-ray titles are also said to have outsold HD-DVD titles by two-to-one in the first nine months of 2007, according to Home Media Research.