The Apple Beat: Next MacBook Pros might feature Retina Displays

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

It has been a while since Apple introduced new MacBook Pros. Now we're hearing reports here and there that the next refresh of Apple's midrange and high-end notebooks might feature the Retina Displays that are on the new iPad as well as the iPhone 4, 4S and the latest iPod Touch.

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AMD lets go of 1,400 employess, some senior staff included

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will  reportedly lay off 1,400 employees which make up 10% of its workforce. The embattled microchip maker has struggled of late with manufacturing setbacks and its failure to stake a claim in the burgeoning mobile chip market which powers smartphones and tablets. 

A report from the Wall Street Journal disclosed "the moves will trigger about $105 million in restructuring charges, and save more than $200 million in operating costs in 2012. AMD said it will plow some of the savings into newer business areas, including chips for devices such as tablet-style computers, in emerging markets and Internet-related opportunities known as cloud computing."

Managers and lower lever employees are among those who are to be let go. AMD is facing competition from longtime rival Intel in the desktop, notebook and netbook space while being pummeled by ARM in the mobile fron which looks to be gearing up towards the lower-priced desktop space that AMD once thived in. AMD's strongest  products right now are their graphics processors.

Sources: Wall Street Journal Online

Video: HP demoes Notebook and Netbook lines for Holiday Season

HP showed off some of its refreshed notebooks and netbooks for the upcoming holiday season. We're seeing better sound by way of Beats Audio across the board, faster processors and more interesteting finishes and designs minus a lot of the crapware that's known to slow systems down. Also included in some of the HP Pavilion notebooks is Adobe's Premiere and Photoshop Elements, adding great value to multimedia-focused creative users.

Intel and Toshiba collaborate on social media film "Inside"

Intel and Toshiba are making a social movie and they want you to be part of it. 

As part of the film experience an online casting call has also been issued at www.TheInsideExperience.com.

Starring Emmy Rossum (“Shameless,” “Phantom of the Opera,”), “Inside” is a blockbuster-class experiment in social entertainment, brought to life by leading minds in Hollywood, technology and social media. The film aims to bring a new genre of interactive, social entertainment and is directed by D.J Caruso (“Disturbia,” “I Am Number Four,” “Eagle Eye”) and Oscar-winning cinematographer Mauro Fiore (“Avatar,” “Training Day”).

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