ZOTAC has announced an updated version of its ZBOX mini PC with Nvidia ION support.The GPU now features 512 MB of memory along with 7.1 channel digital audio support and an Intel Atom D510 dual core processor at 1.66GHz on an NM10 Express chipset.

The 200-pin DDR2 SODIMM slot and 2.5in drive bay are empty, with buyers needing to provide RAM and a hard drive after buying the desktop.  The ZBOX also offers an HDMI 1.3a port or dual-link DVI with included DVI-to-VGA adapter, six USB 2.0 ports (four in the rear and one on the top and front sides), an eSATA 3Gb/s port and a 6-in-1 memory card reader.

Wireless connectivity is provided by an integrated 802.11b/g/n radio and Gigabit ethernet port for wired networking. The unit can also be mounted behind a monitor with the included VESA mount or mounted in the included desk stand.  Pricing for the barebones unit is set at $239.99 and will be available in April.

Valve today announced Steam for Mac. The announcement ends years of Valve’s absence from the Mac platform.

Originally, Valve went all-in with a Mac port of the original Half-Life. However, shortly before its release, similar to their Dreamcast port, the game was cancelled with few reasons given. Gamers have been playing both generations of Half-Life on Mac via Boot Camp, Parallels, VMWare Fusion, and Wine products such as CrossOver.

Valve credits Apple with providing some assistance with the process, as well as encouraging them to bring Steam to Mac. This is a significant turnaround for Apple, as Valve has criticised the company in the past for not encouraging and fostering game development on the Mac platform. However, after the success of iPhone and iPod touch as gaming devices, Apple appears to be welcoming the industry once again.

It is not clear if Steam for Mac will be based on a porting solution, such as Cider. If it is, gamers may be in for a disappointment; hackers have already been cooking up Mac-compatible versions of Steam games using the process for years. Valve has confirmed that Steam account holders will get the Mac versions of existing titles for free, if they own a PC counterpart that has been ported and sold by Valve directly. That includes Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress 2, Portal and the upcoming release of Portal 2, which Valve says will be available simultaneously for Mac and Windows.

The Android Developers blog has announced the latest update to the Native Development Kit, which now includes support for the proper extensions needed for developing 3D games using the newer Open GL ES 2.0 standard, placing games and applications developed with the NDK closer in performance to the games available on iPhone 3G/3GS and Palm Pre.

In related news, the first application developed with the NDK is now available for purchase from the Android market, which is a Japanese developed 3D shooter titled ExZeus Arcade for $3.99.  The game is limited to Android 2.x compatibility, limiting the game to the Motorola Milestone/Droid and Google Nexus One

Qualcomm has announced the development of new dual-mode HSPA+ and EVDO Rev. A and B chipsets for femtocells. Such examples of femtocells include the AT&T 3G MicroCell and the Verizon Wireless Network Extender. Qualcomm further states that the chips are the first to combine HSPA+ and CDMA2000 1X/EV-DO Rev. A/Rev. B access.

The chips will allow future femtocell units to offer access to successive network upgrades where and when available. The chipsets will also consist of baseband processors and network integrated RF access for all major bands. The chips will be sampling by the second quarter of this year with full-scale manufacturing by the end of the year.

Following up, users of venerable forum XDA-Developers have confirmed that AT&T has disabled the capability to install Android applications from sources other than the default Android Marketplace on its build of Android 1.5 via the device.

This means that attempts to load applications from the SD card, over Wi-Fi or unsigned applications will not work on the device in its stock form and requires the setup of the Android SDK with drivers in order to setup ADB access via the USB Debug Menu as a workaround.

AT&T has launched its first Android smart device in the Motorola Backflip after months of anticipation.

The Backflip is also noted for being the first Android device to not feature any Google services, being replaced by equivalent Yahoo! services, owing to the carrier’s current agreement with the beleaguered search provider.

Technical specifications for the Backflip consist of a 3.1 inch HVGA resolution touch display, Android 1.5 with a future upgrade to Android 2.1, hardware and software QWERTY keyboard, quadband GSM/EDGE, triband HSPA, 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus, video recorder and flash, speakerphone, Bluetooth with stereo audio support and microSDHC expansion slot.

Pricing is set at $199.99 after new 2 year agreement before an additional $100 mail-in rebate via debit card, bringing the total to $99.99.

Giveawayoftheday.com is offering Winx DVD Ripper Platinum 5.9.2 for FREE, today only. We just happened to download the basic version last night to rip a DVD for our iPod and a huge downside of the basic version is that it does not offer a direct rip to a iPod or Zune or 3GP format. We had to run the MPEG though another video converter in order to get the size down for our iPod. If, we had Winx DVD Ripper Platinum last night, we could have skipped the second conversion because the conversion to mobile formats is included in Platinum Edition.

The Platinum Edition also can convert DVD movies to popular video and audio formats, including AVI, WMV, FLV, MPEG, MP4, 3GP, MP3 and much more. Besides, it also enables you to transfer the DVD movies to portable devices such as iPhone, iPod, Apple-TV, PSP, Zune, Mobile phone and so on. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum has the ability of making perfect 1:1 DVD copy to hard drive without any quality loss.

The only “catch” if you will is that you need to install the software today.  If you don’t install it today the “free activation” will no longer be valid.

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TigerDirect.com has the speedy and feature packed Sony VAIO VGN-FW590F3B Notebook PC on sale for $899.99 with Free Shipping. This VAIO has everything you need to be a multimedia powerhouse and price point the is one of the lowest out there for multimedia laptop. This Sony VAIO features:

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• ATI Radeon Mobility HD4650 graphics card with 512MB of dedicated VRAM
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• 16.4″ Display with a 1600 x 900 (720p native) resolution
• 802.11a/b/g/n wireless
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• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

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Buy.com has a Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB Portable Hard Drive in Real Red for $52.99 with Free Shipping. This WD Portable Hard Drive is refurbished but does include a 6 month warranty. It is also powered with power only from the USB ports and requires no electrical cords or external power to operate.

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PCMall.com has the Logitech Cordless Optical Mouse for only $6.99 after $23 in instant savings. This Logitech Cordless Mouse has 1000dpi High-Definition Optical that is 2.5x more responsive than standard optical mouse and a very accurate Tilt Wheel with Zoom.

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