World's thinnest LAPTOP launched by DELL

Dell officially launched the Adamo XPS, the highest-end version of its designer ultra portable. Dell says it expects to “begin taking orders and shipping the Adamo XPS in time for the holidays.” The ultra thin luxury laptop starts at $1,799. The system is championed as the thinnest notebook ever and measures just 0.39 inches at its thickest point. Dell accomplishes the feat by tucking most of the computer components into the display section and relying on a unique hinge that opens underneath and acts as a built-in prop .











In spite of its slimness, the notebook still has a removable battery, two USB ports and DisplayPort output but also weighs slightly more than its MacBook Air rival at 3.2 pounds.

When fully opened, the keyboard sits at maybe a 20-degree angle. It’s an unusual setup, but one that provides a more ergonomic typing experience than the average flat laptop keyboard. We also liked the keyboard’s metal keys and the reasonably large touchpad.

ARTIFICIAL LEAF INVENTED TO SOLVE POWER CRISIS AT MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf that can turn sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could pave the way for a cheaper source of power.

A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) says that the artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and various catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create electricity in a separate fuel cell.

“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it. And placed in a gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide a home in the developing world with basic electricity for a day,” Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.

He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”

Both teams produced devices that combine a standard silicon solar cell with a catalyst developed three years ago by professor Daniel Nocera. When submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the devices cause bubbles of oxygen to separate out of the water.

The next step to producing a full, usable artificial leaf, explains Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and professor of chemistry, will be to integrate the final ingredient: an additional catalyst to bubble out the water’s hydrogen atoms. In the current devices, hydrogen atoms are simply dissociated into the solution as loose protons and electrons. If a catalyst could produce fully formed hydrogen molecules (H₂), the molecules could be used to generate electricity or to make fuel for vehicles. Realization of that step, Nocera says, will be the subject of a forthcoming paper.

The reports by the two teams were published in the journals Energy & Environmental Science on May 12, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 6. Nocera encouraged two different teams to work on the project so that each could bring their special expertise to addressing the problem, and says the fact that both succeeded “speaks to the versatility of the catalyst system.”

Nocera’s ultimate goal is to produce an “artificial leaf” so simple and so inexpensive that it could be made widely available to the billions of people in the world who lack access to adequate, reliable sources of electricity. What’s needed to accomplish that, in addition to stepping up the voltage, is the addition of a second catalyst material to the other side of the silicon cell, Nocera says.

The “leaf” system, by contrast, is “still a science project,” Nocera says. “We haven’t even gotten to what I would call an engineering design.” He hopes, however, that the artificial leaf could become a reality within three years

Obama pledges Gulf Coast recovery on anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

U.S. President Barack Obama pledged yesterday to finish restoring the Gulf Coast area hit by Hurricane Katrina, five years after the storm ravaged the region.

Mr Obama visited New Orleans - the city hardest hit by the disaster - with his family at the end of a week-and-a-half holiday on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.

During the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Mr Obama sharply criticised then-President George W. Bush for his administration's slow response to the flooding and devastation that played out live on television.

Five years ago, Hurricane Katrina left the region submerged, killing 1,800 people. Pictured is a general view of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, eights days after the disaster

Ahead of November's congressional elections, Mr Obama used his speech to highlight his administration's action since taking office, drawing an implicit contrast without naming Republicans or Bush by name.

'It was a natural disaster, but also a man-made catastrophe, a shameful breakdown in government that left countless men and women and children abandoned and alone,' Mr Obama said in a speech at Xavier University.

On the most recent calamity to hit the region, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr Obama promised to reverse the damage it caused and hold energy giant BP accountable.

Quantcast Bowing to political reality, Senate Democrats drop broad energy bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, flanked by Sen. John F. Kerry and White House energy czar Carol Browner, blamed the GOP for the impasse.

Washington —Senate Democratic leaders shelved plans for major energy and climate legislation on Thursday, bowing to political reality and probably ending hopes for action this year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost alternative energy production and wean the nation from carbon fuels.

Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada — who had promised to bring a sweeping energy bill with an emissions cap to the Senate floor by the August recess — said he would instead offer a scaled-back bill focused largely on responding to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Obama says taking the fight to the Taliban is paying off

Barack Obama warned today that coalition forces in Afghanistan faced months of hard fighting, but said they had started to "reverse the momentum of the insurgency" by taking the fight to the Taliban.

Speaking after a meeting at the White House with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, Obama said the deployment of thousands more troops was paying off.

"There are many difficult days ahead in Afghanistan. We face a determined and ruthless enemy but we go forward with confidence," he said.

Obama said the Afghan government and its allies could not hope to win through military means alone but that keeping up the fight against what he called a brutal insurgency was essential as part of a strategy to encourage Taliban supporters to abandon the conflict.

"The incentives for the Taliban to lay down arms and make peace with the Afghan government in part depends on our effectiveness in breaking their momentum militarily, and that's why we put in the additional US troops," he said.

The two leaders papered over the bitter public differences of recent months, in which the Americans made it clear they considered corruption under the Karzai government was alienating much of the population and undermining the fight against the Taliban. The Afghan leader accused the west of wanting a puppet government in Kabul.

Following on from the tone of Karzai's meeting with the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, on Tuesday, Obama sought to underplay the divisions.

"A lot of them were simply overstated," said Obama "Obviously there are going to be tensions in such a complicated, difficult environment, in a situation in which on the ground both Afghans and Americans are making enormous sacrifices. "We've had very frank discussions, and President Karzai agrees with me that we can't win through a military strategy alone. That we're going to have to make sure that we have effective governance, capacity building, economic development, in order for us to succeed."

Karzai responded that there had been differences and would continue to be so but that the relationship was strong.

Microsoft releases Exchange 2010, acquires Teamprise

Microsoft made two enterprise moves on Monday, one expected and the other a bit of a surprise.

As promised, the company used its TechEd event in Berlin to release Exchange 2010, the latest version of its e-mail and calendar server software. Microsoft finalized the code for the product last month and had said it would launch at TechEd.

Microsoft VP Tami Reller talks about enterprise adoption of Windows 7 as part of a Webcast held after the first day of TechEd Europe.

Meanwhile, the company also announced it is buying the Teamprise technology from SourceGear. Teamprise allows developers using Eclipse and those working on non-Windows operating systems to build applications using Microsoft's Visual Studio product.

"We know our customers face daily challenges with management, collaboration and development in heterogeneous environments. The industry must take steps to make interoperability a stronger business asset for our customers," senior vice president and developer unit head S. Somasegar said in a statement. "With the acquisition of the Teamprise assets, we're taking a step forward on this journey, providing customers with a viable cross-platform development solution that will help produce business results more quickly."

Microsoft didn't announce financial terms of the deal, but did say the Teamprise technology will be integrated into Visual Studio 2010.

At TechEd Europe, Microsoft also talked about enterprise adoption of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, highlighting some early customers of the two products.

"We remain just pleased and humbled by the very warm reception we're seeing," Microsoft vice president Tami Reller said in a Webcast on Monday.

As part of the same Webcast, senior vice president Chris Capossela sounded off on Cisco's announcement of updated collaboration tools that could take on Exchange.

"Rather than stitching together acquired products and calling that a solution, we've built Exchange form the ground up," he said.

Windows 7 Japan sales 'fantasti

Sales of Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows 7 operating system have been "fantastic" in Japan since its launch last month, CEO Steve Ballmer. He declined to provide specific numbers for Japan, which is Microsoft's second-largest market, but said features like quicker start-up times were luring consumers to the newest version of the world's dominate software package. He added new computers were also helping attract buyers. "People don't buy operating systems, they buy computers with operating systems on them," Ballmer told reporters during a presentation in Tokyo.

Windows 7 was launched last month after consumers and businesses gave a poor reception to its predecessor, Vista. That operating system was considered slow and had trouble working with existing programs and devices. Many consumers and companies opted not to install Vista at all. The company has also been hit by the economic downturn. Microsoft said Wednesday it is cutting 800 jobs, in addition to the 5,000 layoffs it announced in January, its first broad layoffs ever.

Microsoft's Japan subsidiary is currently its best performing, Ballmer said. He said the company's Internet search partnership with Yahoo Inc. could be extended outside of the U.S. to markets such as Japan, without elaborating. Yahoo's Japan portal is dominant in the country, even in areas such as online auctions that are weaker in the U.S.

Ballmer called Microsoft a "small player" in search and said it has a long way to go to rival Google's strength in that area. Microsoft and Yahoo are working out the details and awaiting regulatory approval on an alliance in the U.S. that would see Microsoft handle searches from Yahoo's site and provide much of the advertising based on the results.

The Microsoft chief said the company was investing heavily on developing so-called "cloud" services, in which the majority of processing and storage is done online via the Internet, instead of on hardware "clients" like mobile phones and PCs.

Google touches add value to Droid

I love it when big, rich technology companies start smacking each other around like robots in a Transformers movie, because you’ll generally find some pretty cool gadgets poking out of the wreckage.

the Droid, a new Motorola Inc. phone that uses the Android operating system developed by Internet search titan Google Inc. The first Android phone to be offered by the nationals largest cellular carrier, Verizon Wireless. The Droid goes on sale tomorrow for $199 after a $100 rebate, and with a two-year Verizon service contract.

No doubt you’ve heard of the Droid from one of its ever-present TV commercials. Most smartphone vendors have tiptoed past direct comparisons with Apple Inc.’s iPhone. But the Droid ads have taken dead aim, flatly declaring that the Droid is better. In some ways, it is.

Apple will survive the onslaught; the Droid, though excellent, is no iPhone slayer. But you might want to start digging a grave for makers of standalone navigation devices like TomTom and Garmin. Droid’s most remarkable feature, a fine turn-by-turn navigation system, matches up well against any of the standalone GPS units. And it’s free.

The Droid’s sleek, angular look is reminiscent of Motorola’s last big hit, the Razr phone. It’s got a big, bright touchscreen that serves as a virtual keyboard, but there’s a snap-out physical keyboard as well. Perhaps this was a mistake; the keyboard is easily the Droid’s worst feature, with flat, smooth buttons that offer no help at all to touch typists. The pushbuttons found on other Android phones are mostly replaced with touch-sensitive controls, but the Droid still can’t match the simplicity of the iPhone.

Apple claims there are about 100,000 of the specialty software programs called apps for the iPhone; only about 10,000 apps are available for Android phones. And lots of them are unreliable, or don’t work at all. Google makes it easier than Apple to produce and distribute Android apps, but this has resulted in a lot of lousy Android software.

Still, there are plenty of gems. These include handy “widget’’ programs that sit on the screen and constantly update themselves with news headlines, stock quotes, or weather reports. Widgets work because unlike the iPhone, the Droid can run two or three apps simultaneously.

Of course, it does an especially good job running Google software. Apple barred Google Voice software from the iPhone, perhaps because it enabled cut-rate phone calling and threatened AT&T’s profits. There’s no such limitation on the Droid; Google Voice works fine, and you can program the phone to use it for all your calls. There’s also a very good feature that lets you run Google searches with voice commands, like “How do I get to Cape Cod?’’

Google And Cloud Computing Scores Win In Los Angeles

In a groundbreaking move, the big, busy city of Los Angeles, California has agreed to use Google Apps — Google’s cloud-computing alternative to Microsoft Office and other programs for all its city offices and officials. The $7.2 million contract means the city will undergo a complete overhaul of its city administration software, the slow and crash-prone GroupWise.

The contract was signed after various companies submitted their bids, and one of Google’s main rivals in the project, software giant Microsoft, was also in the game. LA’s decision to go with Google and cloud-computing is seen as a major blow for Microsoft, who largely depends on the success of their operating systems and (offline) office software.

On the other hand, LA’s move is seen as a big win for Google and cloud-computing. With LA’s initiative, this setup may soon be adopted by other cities and municipalities in the US and the rest of the world. As for Microsoft and other companies — while there will always be a portion of the population that prefers working off the cloud, this should wave a big red flag.

Seven things to know about Windows 7

Windows 7, which went on sale Thursday, promises a smoother user experience, multi-touchscreen capability and more seamless networking with other computers.
Early reviews have been good.

"We think it's a far superior product to the previous Microsoft operating systems," says Vishal Dhar, co-founder of iYogi, a tech services company. "It's got a more intuitive interface."
Great. But it is right for you? Which version of the software best fits your needs? And are there tricks to installing Windows 7 and navigating its new features?

We anticipate seven of the most common questions about Windows 7 and offer some advice:

Will my aging computer run Windows 7?

Maybe. If your PC can run the much-maligned Windows Vista, it can probably run Windows 7. Check your computer's specs: To install Windows 7, you'll need at least a 1 gigahertz or faster 32-bit (x86) processor, plus at least 2 GB of RAM and at least 16 GB of available hard disk space.

Yes, that sounds like a foreign language to most people. If you're not sure what all that means, try downloading a free Microsoft tool called a Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which will scan your PC, report any potential problems and offer ways to fix them.

Is upgrading to Windows 7 worth it?

That depends on your budget and how you use your computer. The software will cost you from $120 to $220, depending on which version you buy. If you're broke and you're happy with your Vista or Windows XP system, then there's probably no rush.

But keep in mind that Windows XP is eight-year-old software, and that it will eventually stop running new applications. Newer operating systems also offer better security against hackers. You'll need to upgrade someday.

Depending on how old your computer is, you may be better off buying a new laptop or PC, preloaded with Windows 7, instead of trying to refresh your aging machine. Retailers such as Best Buy and Dell.com are offering Windows 7-loaded laptops for as low as $499.

Which version of Windows 7 should I buy?

Most casual computer users will probably be satisfied with the Home Premium edition ($119.99), which includes most of the basic features you'll need. That includes Home Group, which makes it easier to share music, video and documents -- a common printer, too -- between Windows 7-enabled computers in a home.

Small business owners and people who work from home may opt for the Professional edition ($199.99), which supports all the Home Premium features while automatically backing up all your data to a networked hard drive.

If you guard corporate secrets or work for the CIA, you'll want the Ultimate edition ($219.99). It comes with BitLocker encryption, which prevents thieves from accessing your files if your laptop is stolen.

How tricky is Windows 7 to install?

If you're upgrading from Vista, it's supposed to be a breeze: Insert the disc, and it does the rest. "It's the easiest upgrade I've ever seen," says J. Peter Bruzzese, who writes about tech for InfoWorld.

"All of my settings carried over."

Upgrading from Windows XP is more complicated. Users will need to back up their files, format their hard drive, install Windows 7 and then reinstall browsers, reimport bookmarks and so on. Microsoft has a wizard called Easy Transfer that uses a USB cable to help you transfer files and settings.

It's not officially recommended, but Bruzzese says XP users also can install a borrowed copy of Vista, then upgrade easily from there to Windows 7.

What if I need help?

If you don't have a tech-savvy friend, nephew or neighbor, try Microsoft's online Windows 7 Solution Center, which will walk you through the installation process.

You may also want to consider hiring a tech-support service such as iYogi, whose technicians connect to your computer remotely to diagnose problems, help you install Windows 7 and show you how to migrate your old applications onto your new system. Services start at about $30.

Will Windows 7 run my old XP programs?

Most likely. Heeding complaints about Vista's compatibility problems, Microsoft is introducing something called XP Mode, which creates a virtual, or "shadow" Windows XP operating system running inside Windows 7.

Once XP Mode is running, it fools your older apps into thinking they're on Windows XP. Here you'll find an XP start menu and all your familiar XP features -- all of which should work as they did before. XP Mode is only available in the higher-priced Professional and Ultimate editions, though.

Does Windows 7 have any cool new bells and whistles?

• Well, it's got trippier desktop wallpaper, for one. Microsoft has replaced much of its blandly pretty nature shots with colorful psychedelic images.

• A Library feature allows you to gather files -- documents, photos and video -- from different places on your computer and group them together in new folders by topic, such as "beach house," or "Grandpa Fred."

• A new feature called AeroPeek displays outlines of your open windows behind the window you're working in. A related feature, AeroSnap, allows you to move, shrink and enlarge windows on your screen so that you can see several at once.

• Finally, Windows 7 needs less processing power than previous Windows versions, meaning that in theory, you should be able to work faster and in more windows at the same time. In other words, it's built for today's warp-speed, multi-tasking lifestyle.

Fotolia Plugs Into Office 2007 Apps

Fotolia is today releasing a new add-in ribbon for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint 2007 that gives users instant access to the company’s vast library of images and vectors from within the popular applications, eliminating the need to leave them.

Once the ribbon is downloaded from the Fotolia website and installed, users can search stock photos for the projects that they’re working on straight from the top menu of their applications, so they don’t need to go away from their documents to obtain appropriate stock imagery.

Before purchasing an item from the company’s library, which it says presently counts over 7-million royalty-free high-resolution files, users can hover over search results within the doc to see a preview of images. Double-click, and the item gets placed in the doc for you to see if it matches what you were trying to visualize. Users can then opt to buy images in any of the available sizes and licenses straight from Fotolia. Once the image is downloaded into the user’s document, users are free to use the Fotolia file with no limit on time, copies or geographical placements.

Fotolia has been supplying imagery to Microsoft Office Online customers for a few years now, but this really ties the knot.

It’s a great idea, and I concur with Microsoft’s Office.com Group Manager Rob Ashby, who commented that the addition of Fotolia can be a significant productivity win for customers. I guess it also makes sense for the company to endorse this and similar add-ons because they’re bound to keep users inside its software applications as much as possible, but the benefits for users are clear too. It’s also yet another sign that the line between desktop and web software is blurring.

Again, this product is quite brilliant, and I’m sure other stock photography players will be following suit soon.

IBM 'in anti-competition probe'

IBM is being investigated by the US Department of Justice over allegations of anti-competitive behaviour, a computer industry trade body has said.

The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) said the investigation came after it urged officials to look into the matter.

CCIA accuses IBM of withdrawing software licences from business clients who do not also buy its hardware. IBM denies any wrongdoing and says it will co-operate with any investigation.

The Department of Justice has declined to comment.

'No merit'

The CCIA said the investigation centred on IBM's mainframe operating systems.

The association's spokesman, Ed Black, said the scope of the Justice Department study was "quite broad". The news comes a week after an anti-competition complaint against IBM by software developer T3 Technologies was thrown out by a judge in Manhattan.

"We understand the Department of Justice has asked T3 for documents from the litigation," said IBM in a statement. "IBM intends to co-operate with any inquiries from the Department of Justice.

"We continue to believe there is no merit to T3's claims, and that IBM is fully entitled to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect the investments that we have made in our technologies."

Verizon Wireless, Google in Android partnership

Verizon Wireless said Tuesday it will put substantial resources into developing and selling phones that use Google Inc.'s Android software.Verizon Wireless had already said it would sell Android phones, but the announcement suggests that the carrier is positioning these "smart" phones as a main means of competing with Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which is exclusive to AT&T Inc. in the U.S.

Verizon Wireless and Google said they plan to "codevelop" Android-based devices that will be pre-loaded with their applications. They will be made by major manufacturers, they said.

The carrier now expects to sell the first Android phones in a few weeks, it said. It has already said it will be a carrier for a new smart phone from Motorola Inc., which is releasing several new devices based on Android software as a part of its turnaround effort.

The announcement adds to the momentum behind Android, which is seeing significant interest from carriers and manufacturers. Sales of the few existing Android phones have been small compared to the iPhone's, however.

Rival carrier T-Mobile USA came out with the first phone based on Google's operating system last year. It recently announced that it will carry Android phones from Samsung Electronics Co. and Motorola. Sprint Nextel Corp. is also set to release an Android phone.

Windows Live Marketplace Goes Live for Windows Mobile 6.5 Phones

While the iPhone certainly has driven the smartphone craze to new heights, currently it arguably retains only one crucial advantage over its rivals. That advantage is its App Store. While rivals such as Palm and Google have launched their own markets, they lack the number of applications and developers that are on the iPhone.

Now Microsoft is looking to become the latest to try to challenge Apple's App Store dominance. Microsoft just rolled out Windows Live Marketplace, a new app store which is available on phones running on its Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The store appears to have launched a day early on some phones, but few are complaining.

The marketplace reportedly has 40 currently available applications (iTunes App Store currently has around 75,000). You can access the store using your current Windows Live ID and pay for apps via credit card.

Some of the currently available applications include Street Fighter II, Facebook, a Netflix manager, Pac-Man, Mastersoft Money V6, and a WorldTime clock application.

More applications are likely on the way for tomorrow's official launch. EA reportedly has signed a contract with Microsoft to provide some games for the store, including a mobile version of Sim City.

The Windows Live Marketplace was first noted on the new AT&T Pure, which users began picking up this weekend.

Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 hits RTM

Microsoft today announced that the code for Windows XP Mode has been finalized and the company is now preparing to release it in exactly three weeks. "Thanks to everyone's feedback, we're happy to announce that Windows XP Mode has RTM'd today," according to the Windows 7 Team Blog. "We expect to make the final release of Windows XP Mode available via the Microsoft Download Center on October 22nd. OEMs will be able to offer Windows XP Mode on their PCs based on their manufacturing schedules."

Windows XP Mode is aimed at small and mid-sized businesses that are migrating to Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, or Windows 7 Enterprise and that need the ability to run Windows XP productivity applications which are incompatible with Vista's successor. While Microsoft insists that many Windows XP applications will be compatible Windows 7, or at least every one that is compatible with Vista, the company says Windows XP Mode can be used as a last resort for those that are not.

Microsoft first announced Windows XP Mode and released a beta in April 2007. The company explained that users had to install the old applications directly in Windows XP Mode, which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. Once that is done, the applications become available on the Windows 7 desktop and can be run directly from Windows 7. In May 2009 it became clear that Microsoft and Intel had contrived to make XP Mode unavailable to many Intel users. In August 2009, a Release Candidate version was released that brought many improvements to the add-on, including USB and jumplist support as well as a new user tutorial

Chandrayaan Mission a Complete Success

The discovery of water on the moon could pave the way for us to build a rocket refueling station up there. For man to be able to make sustainable, affordable voyages in the solar system, we need a way to re-fuel off the planet.

Now, with the discovery of hydrogen and oxygen molecules - the components of water - on our neighbouring body, we may now have a staging post to explore the other planets.

With hydrogen and oxygen both abundant on the moon's surface, man may be able to have all the water and rocket fuel needed for space exploration

A ship taking off from the Earth expends so much fuel escaping the planet's gravitational fuel that there is little to spare for inter-planetary exploration. But a staging post on the moon could allow a ship to re-fuel with relative ease, and could help speed up the exploration of other planets, such as Mars, where water has also been detected within the last few weeks.

The discovery of water on the moon was made by the Indian lunar mission Chandrayaan-1. Scientists were looking for a signature of water in the craters near the poles, but were surprised to find evidence of water on the sunlit areas of the Moon instead.

Experts believe the water is trapped in the Moon's surface dirt and in theory can be extracted in large quantities to support life.

Microsoft Courier tablet runs Windows 7, coming 2010

Microsoft's Courier booklet is reportedly currently running on top of Windows 7 (remember the emphasis Redmond put on Windows Touch during the operating system's development), much like how the Microsoft Surface runs on top of Windows Vista, according to ZDNet. On the flip side, however, you won't be able to install Windows 7 apps on the device.

Furthermore, the rumor goes on to say that Microsoft will actually be making the booklet hardware, much like it does for its Zune portable media players and its Xbox gaming consoles. Finally, the device is currently slated for a "mid-2010" release (translation: don't expect it before Christmas 2010), but it's still not in the commercialization pipeline. ZDNet's tipster explained that Courier builds on Microsoft Office OneNote, used especially on current tablet PCs: "The concept started as a software idea on how one would really build OneNote from scratch if you could for the Tablet form factor. That then morphed into building a tablet."

Gizmodo has more details on Courier. Apparently the device is being developed around the term "infinite journal," a continuous (and searchable—again, think OneNote) document that can be used to collect together snippets of text, diagrams, webpages, contacts, and so on. The journal can be published in whole or in part online, it seems, in either a native Courier format, as a PowerPoint presentation, or as a PDF. There's also a library where things like subscriptions, notebooks, and apps, can be stored.

Multitouch finger gestures are used to navigate between pages, move images, and drag contacts/appointments around, but for data entry, handwritten text is the name of the game. Gizmodo also posted a video, produced by the same firm that collaborated with Microsoft's Pioneer Studios on the first leaked video, which further shows how Microsoft thinks we'll use Courier. The video makes us think a later iteration is being shown, compared to last time.

Microsoft is still refusing to comment on anything Courier-related since as far as the software giant is concerned, it's still all "rumors and speculation." Speculation around pricing continues to be all over the place.