If you’re looking for the current lappy holy grail of 1 terabyte if storage on the go, then look no further than MCE and their new OptiBay 1TB upgrade for 17″ Apple MacBook Pros. The deal, which is priced at US$799, replaces your internal hard drive with a 500GB module and the internal SuperDrive with a special chassis that contains an additional 500GB drive. Yes, its not a contiguous 1TB, but its hot! Your internal SuperDrive is then placed into a USB 2.0 enclosure so it works as an external unit. One of the sweetest aspects of this arrangement is that you can partition the drives any way you please or, if you’re running Leopard, you can designate one of the drives as a Time Machine drive. What sucks is that MCE doesn’t make it clear if the 1TB option is only available for the 17″ model or if it works with other MacBooks.

written by Tyler Regas

TUAW’s Erica Sadun has written up a very comprehensive how-to on getting the unlimited data plan activated on a GoPhone SIM installed on an iPhone. Its very complete and she has numerous tips to make it all go very smoothly. I highly recommend checking it out.

written by Tyler Regas

iSkin, one of the many producers of accessories for Macs and iPods, has announced that they are now offering their new iSkin ProTouch FX line of keyboard covers. The form-fitting protective covers come in various colors and the new FX line now has the key letters printed on them, making them easier to use if you’re a visual typist like me. The covers are made with a process which incorporates Microban’s patented antimicrobial capabilities. Prices range from US$24.99 to US$34.99, depending on model and they are available now.

written by Tyler Regas

As Macs continue to grow acceptance in corporate environments, the Macs need to support the network technologies in place. Enter ProSoft Engineering and the latest version of their NetWare Client for Mac OS X, offering complete integrated and contextless login functionality and a fully compliant print services interface. All that says you can turn off AppleTalk support on your NetWare network and still service Macs. Nice. Client cost is US$149 per seat.

written by Tyler Regas

No. Its not a lappy, but it is only slightly wider than a Sharpie™ is long. VIA announced their new ARTiGO Pico-ITX Builder Kit A1000, which is powered by VIA’s own C7 CPU running at 1.0GHz perched on top of their tiny Pico-ITX mainboard, when Microsoft announced their new Windows Embedded market push for hobbyists; Spark. VIA is pushing the ARTiGO as a project system for hands-on consumers, so it ships like a bare-bones. That means you need to supply the up to 1GB of RAM and 2.5″ PATA or SATA hard drive after you purchase it for US$299. You then get to assemble it. I certainly like the idea. I’m sure it will run OpenSUSE 10.3 quite well.

written by Tyler Regas

If you’re into Cricket, the UK’s classic sport game, then you’re in luck. Crickinfo, apparently a famous outlet for up-to-the-minute info on Cricket matches, has teamed up with Plusmo to offer an app for your mobile. It also very generously supports over 500 mobiles using Palm OS, WinMo, Symbian, Blackberry, Java, and Brew. Unfortunately there seems to be no way to tell it which are your favorite teams, so you’ll likely need to really dig Cricket. BTW, Bangladesh stomped Pakistan by 23 runs, after being beaten badly by Pakistan on the 8th. The Pakistan team took them then by 152 runs!

written by Tyler Regas

In an amazingly obnoxious explosion of yellow (you’ll see what I mean) MoGo Wireless has announced the immediate availability of their new CellRanger line of signal boosters. Available in Stix, sporting a magnetic antenna, 15′ cable, and powered by the cigarette lighter socket, and Port, a USB powered version, models MoGo claims they will boost signal strength, even in areas which don’t receive signal. Of course, I imagine these are areas which border directly on other areas which do receive signal. They work with GSM and CDMA networks which operate in the 800 to 1900 Mhz range, with exception to Sprint and Nextel. Pricing is set at US$149.95 for both models. MoGo Wireless will be unveiling an AC powered home version at the CTIA show, as well.

written by Tyler Regas

I don’t know how to say it any better. SyncWizard, a new service which is in free beta (what isn’t!) at the moment, securely syncs your data to its website, then makes it available through various specialized interfaces depending on which device you use to access it. They’re pretty progressive, too, as they claim to support both the ASUS Eee PC and Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. The service works by using a range of services like Zoho Office for documents, Picasa for images, and ScheduleWorld for calendars. I created an account and clicked SyncIt, and it just started syncing… what I’m not sure yet, but it does work with existing accounts or it creates accounts for you on certain services. The jury’s still out at the moment, but this may turn out to kick some ass.

written by Tyler Regas

Cisco, like any other player in the market, has its own proprietary functionality which it offers up to customers as a bonus over their competition. In the case of wireless (802.11a/b/g/n/etc…) they have the Cisco Compatible Extensions or CCX, which have jumped to version 4.0 and offer a range of security options specific to Cisco WLAN installations. Admins like them because they’re easier to manage and work better than WPA (WEP isn’t a player any more). Socket Mobile has released their new Enhanced Wi-Fi Companion (e-WFC) for Windows Mobile 5.x and 6.x and Window CE 5.x which allows these devices to use Cisco’s LEAP and related wireless security protocols. For some reason, Socket isn’t indicating price or which Wi-Fi radio chipsets it will work with.

written by Tyler Regas