Best Buy, the largest electronics retailer in the U.S., has confirmed that they will be reducing supply of available DVDs starting this holiday season, giving most of that shelf space over to Blu-ray, netbooks and tablets.

The retailer has already scaled back most of its DVD selection to new films and classics, but expect more cutbacks.

DVD rental market leader Netflix continues to move toward streaming, following an overall industry trend, striking deals worth over a billion dollars with Epix, Starz and Relativity.

Of course, DVDs are still big business so no one should expect the discs to disappear anytime soon.

However, with mainstream Blu-ray player prices falling under $100, and new Blu-ray discs falling under $20 at launch already, the format should likely push DVD completely out within years, as the HDTV market continues towards saturation.

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Panasonic has showed off the Jungle portable console this week, a handheld designed for online gaming and MMORPGs.

The Jungle aims to differentiate itself from the more popular Nintendo and Sony handhelds by adding a full QWERTY keypad, a touchpad, a D-Pad, and shoulder buttons.

Although it is unconfirmed, the Jungle supposedly runs a Linux OS, has 3G and Wi-Fi support, and has an HDMI-out port.

If the console does run on Linux, it means most of the MMORPGs will need to be ported, already putting the system at a disadvantage.

We will keep you updated on any developments, including price.

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BT is seeking a moratorium on requests for personal information of alleged pirates that subscribe to its Internet services. The telecommunications giant's move comes after thousands of customers from its PlusNet services, along with those of other ISPs, had their personal information leaked online from London law firm ACS:Law.

BT wants a temporary halt on all new and existing applications for subscriber information until a test case can be heard. The test case was originally scheduled to be heard today, but was adjourned until January 11, 2011. "This will be a test case for ISPs," a legal representative of BT told BBC News.

The case involves law firm Gallant Macmillan, representing record label Ministry of Sound. The law firm is seeking a court order to obtain the personal information of PlusNet, BSkyB and Be Internet subscribers. BT lawyers requested the adjournment, saying the firm wanted details of the security system that would be used to store information that is handed over.

Just last week, BT was criticized after the personal details of 500 customers were sent to ACS:Law in an unencrypted document, possibly putting BT in breach of the Data Protection Act.

"The incident involving the ACS:Law data leak has further damaged people's confidence in the current process," a spokesman said. "We want to ensure broadband subscribers are adequately protected so that rights holders can pursue their claims for copyright infringement without causing unnecessary worry to innocent people. We have not simply consented to these orders in the past, we have asked for stricter terms as public concern has risen. The data leak with ACS:Law prompted us to take further action today."

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Skype has released the long-anticipated Android version of their software today, making the app free in the Android Market.

Smartphone owners running Android 2.1 or 2.2 can use the app.

Skype for Android allows consumers to make free Skype-to-Skype calls over Wi-Fi in the US, or over 3G and EDGE in Europe.

Furthermore, users can make cheap calls to landlines and mobile phones.

Finally, Skype contacts are easily synced with a user's phone contacts, and instant messaging is also included.

Skype for Android is supported on the Samsung Fascinate, the Motorola DROID 2, the Motorola DROID X, the HTC DROID Incredible, the LG Ally, the Motorola Devour, the Motorola DROID and the HTC DROID ERIS.

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Samsung Electronics America Inc. has unveiled the new SyncMaster P2770FH monitor which offers an unprecedented 1 ms response time to eliminate motion blur and ghosting effects. "The new P2770FH is a prime example of Samsung's leadership in display engineering, and creative professionals and computer gamers seeking the best possible viewing experience will immediately appreciate its benefits," said Young Bae, director of display marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division.

"With the fastest response time among the product line, the P2770FH offers industry-leading quality for premium visual performance in everyday personal and professional use."

Some key specs of the SyncMaster P2770FH:

• Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution
• 1ms response time
• 70,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
• Viewing angle: 170°/160°
• Input:
  • HDMI
  • Standard VGA
  • DVI-I
• Audio:
  • Audio Out
  • Optical Audio Out
• Dimensions: 26 x 19 x 9.6 inches
• Weight: 6.7 lbs.

The P2770FH will be available in October 2010, priced at $399.99.

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Acer America has debuted its new Aspire One AOD255, featuring a dual-core processor in an ultra-thin design for enhanced mobile performance. Featuring the latest Intel dual-core technology for netbooks, the Acer Aspire One AOD255 includes the new Intel Atom N550 processor. A cheaper AOD255 model features a single core Intel Atom N450 processor.

"We have enhanced our best-selling Aspire One netbook line with the improved performance and better power efficiency to improve the mobile computing experience for consumers" said Pete Dailey, senior product marketing manager for netbooks. "With the new Aspire One AOD255, users are able to multitask, explore the Internet, connect with friends, and enjoy entertainment applications, without worrying about battery life or being tethered to an electrical outlet."

The AOD255 features a 10.1-inch CrystalBite LED-backlit display that saves 22.2 percent power compared with other netbook displays. An integrated Intel graphics chipset drives the display, while the netbook features 802.11 b/g/n fast WiFi connectivity.



The netbook features 1GB of DDR3 memory and a 250GB hard disk drive. It also touts up to 8 hours of battery life on a full charge, a built-in 1.3 megapixel HD webcam and a built-in high quality digital microphone. Not bad in a package that is only 1-inch thin and weighs just over 2-1/2 pounds. It also includes Windows 7 Starter and Microsoft Office Starter 2010.



The Acer Aspire One A0D255 with a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor has an MSRP of $329.99, while the single-core option (Intel Atom N450) begins at $269.99.

Additionally, Acer also has debuted the updated Aspire One AO721 and AO521, designed for mobile entertainment, featuring AMD Athlon II Neo processors, excellent connectivity and high-definition graphics.

The Acer Aspire One AO721 and Aspire One AO521 netbooks feature powerful ATI Radeon HD 4225 Graphics with 384MB of dedicated system memory, and feature HDMI outputs for connecting to large high-definition displays. Both also feature 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, fast Ethernet LAN connectivity, built-in webcam and a digital microphone.

The AO721 features an 11.6-inch CrystalBite LED-backlit display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is equipped with 2GB of DDR3 memory and up to 250GB hdd space. It features a 6 hour battery life on full charge, and runs Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium. The Aspire One AO721 as a MSRP of $429.99.

The AO521 features a 10.1-inch CrystalBrite LED-backlit display. It is equipped with 1GB of DDR3 memory and a 160GB internal hard drive. The Aspire One AO521 comes equipped with Windows 7 Starter and delivers up to six hours of battery life. The Aspire One AO521 has a MSRP of $349.99.

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Hewlett-Packard (HP) has begun to quietly sell personal computers that contain microprocessors based on the code-named Zosma design from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), featuring TurboCore technology.

The quad-core chips are the first from AMD to feature the TurboCore technology, which can speed up two of the four cores by about 300-500MHz for single thread performance.

The HP Pavilion Slimline s5660f and HP Pavilion Elite HPE-400z feature the AMD Phenom II X4 840T and AMD Phenom II X4 960T respectively, according to CPU-World.

The chips are compatible with AM3 motherboards, featuring 2MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache. Each feature dual-channel DDR3 memory controllers.

The code-named Zosma chip design is based on the Thuban six-core chips with two disabled, which reportedly can be enabled on advanced motherboards.

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According to new data from Bernstein Research, the Apple iPad has the fastest adoption rate of any non-phone electronics device, ever.

iPads are selling at a rate of 4.5 million units per quarter, handily beating the iPhone and the DVD player, which sold at a rate of under 1 million per quarter when first released.

"The iPad did not seem destined to be a runaway product success straight out of the box. By any account, the iPad is a runaway success of unprecedented proportion," said Colin McGranahan, an analyst for Bernstein.

If this current rate continues, the iPad will help tablets become the fourth largest consumer electronics category in the United States, with an estimated $9 billion in sales.

The top categories are TVs, smartphones and notebooks.

"It is the rare American household that would spend $600-plus dollars on an iPad and buy a TV or a PC or a digital camera in the same month, or the same quarter, or maybe even the same year," added McGranahan.

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Lenovo has made steps to offer consumers high graphics performance while attempting to maximize battery life by packing NVIDIA Optimus technology into its ThinkPad T410, T410s and T510 laptops. The company has also announced that sales of ThinkPad laptops will surpass 60 million units this month.

NVIDIA Optimus technology automatically switches between high performance graphics and energy saving graphics options based on what the user needs at the time, letting ThinkPad laptops with Optimus achieve up to 33 percent longer battery life over discrete only mode, adding up to 1 hour extra battery life per charge.

"New technologies like NVIDIA Optimus are making ThinkPads even smarter," said Rene Haas, general manager, Notebook Products, NVIDIA. "Never before has there been a solution that so effectively eliminates the tradeoffs between riveting graphics performance and long battery life. Visual content is the most popular and important form of data today, and we've built the NVIDIA NVS 3100M graphics processor to be the perfect processor for the task."



The ThinkPad T410, T410s and T510 laptops with Nvidia Optimus technology are available immediately through www.lenovo.com. Pricing begins at approximately $1,299 for the T410 and T510 and $1,849 for the T410s.

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According to market researcher StatCounter, Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser has dropped below 50 percent market share for the first time in many years. The figures showed that Internet Explorer's share had fallen to 49.87 percent in September, compared to 51.4 percent in August and 58.4 percent a year ago.

Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox browser followed IE with 31.5 percent of the market, up from 30.09 percent. Google's Chrome browser increased its share to 11.54 percent, which is more than three times its share from September 2009. "This is certainly a milestone in the Internet browser wars," said Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter.

"Just two years ago IE dominated the worldwide market with 67%." The firm suspects that a deal between Microsoft and the European Union to reach a settlement in an anti-trust lawsuit which saw Microsoft's Update service push out a "Browser Choice" application to millions of Windows users may have been the blow that knocked Internet Explorer below 50 percent.

In Europe, Internet Explorer claims a 40.26 percent share of the market, down from 46.44 percent last year. Competition for dominance in the browser market has lead to much more choice for Internet users, and has pushed vendors to focus on speed, security and stability. Even Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 betas have impressed reviewers for its improvements over IE8 in terms of speed.

Of course, StatCounter is only one firm that tracks browser usage, and just last week, Net Applications credited IE with a 59.7 percent share during September. Nevertheless, the downward trend for Internet Explorer is clearly continuing, while Firefox and Chrome continue to consume more of the pie.

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Speaking to an audience at the London School of Economics, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told students and journalists to expect to see Slate gadgets running Windows software by Christmas, but did not reveal whether any would be on sale by then, or from whom. "You'll see new slates with Windows on them. You'll see them this Christmas," he said. The Redmond-based software giant has been very slow to respond to Apple's iPad tablet.

"Certainly we have done work around the tablet as both a productivity device and a consumption device," Ballmer said. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, Ballmer had shown off one Hewlett-Packard tablet running Windows software, but very little has been heard about the device since HP agreed to buy Palm. It said later that it will develop a crop of new devices running Palm software, but will also offer Windows devices.

Gartner Research expects 10 million tablet PCs to be sold this year. Apple's iPad sold 3.3 million units in its first quarter on the market, and devices such as Dell's Streak and Asustek's Eee Pad are out to lure customers as tablets become more popular.

"The job right now is we've got to get back seriously into the game of phones," Ballmer said. The CEO missed out on his maximum bonus for the last fiscal year due to mistakes on phones and tablets, even though the company had its highest ever overall sales.

Microsoft's Windows phone software claimed 8.7 percent of the market last year, but Gartner expects it to decline to 3.9 percent by 2014. Windows Phone 7 is due to launch later this month, after being unveiled a year later than expected.

"We've got to have a comeback against the competition and I think with our new Windows phones we really have a beautiful product," Ballmer said. Back in July, Microsoft ditched a feature phone aimed at teenagers having been on the market for just three months.

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