Consumers design dream PC

Intel and Asus have launched a project asking people to say what they would like to see in a PC, reports BBC.

The companies are asking people to "dream the impossible" to help create the first community-designed PC.

A Web site, WePC.com, has been set up to allow people to share and comment on ideas to enable a global conversation about the ideal elements of a PC.

Computer manufacturers including HP, Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer, are recalling Sony batteries used in their laptops for the second time this year, states WhatIsTheWord.

The battery in question is the 2.15 Ah lithium-ion cell. The batteries were found to cause overheating with some incidences where smoke and flame were observed. In some cases, users had suffered burn injuries and property damage.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the problem was traced to faulty machine settings at manufacturing facilities, which may have compromised the quality of the process resulting in the defective cells.

An anti-piracy tactic by Microsoft that turns some computer users' screens black has set off a wave of indignation among Chinese consumers, posing renewed problems for the software maker, states WashingtonTimes.

At issue is Windows Genuine Advantage, a tool Microsoft uses to assess, over the Internet, whether a PC has one of the pirated copies of Windows that flourish in developing countries. In the week since Microsoft deployed the anti-piracy tool, some Chinese users have fumed about what they see as an invasion of privacy, while users of legitimate software have been turning their own screens black in protest.

"It's a crime," said Beijing lawyer Dong Zhengwei, who filed a complaint against Microsoft with the Public Security. "The black-screen plan implies that Microsoft can hack all its users, not just the pirates.”