Vizio showed up in style at CES 2009, and we’re not just talking about the HDTVs it brought along. The company’s balance sheet is looking about as healthy as any outfit’s could possibly look these days, with it using momentum from the third quarter of last year to propel it right past Sony in Q4. No need to check your set — we really just said that Vizio passed Sony for the number two spot in US flat-panel TV sales. According to its Q4 numbers — which were absolutely amazing, by the way — the low-cost HDTV

Most people stop using iPhone applications downloaded from Apple’s App Store after the first day according to analytics firm Pinch Media. The firm discovered only about 20% of people who download a free application from the store were still using it the following day. Paid apps had a slightly better return rate, with nearly 30% of people still using the download. Since the AppStore launched, Pinch Media has been providing developers with analytics that monitor app usage. The company provides information such

Considering that so many corporations are in the business of making netbooks, one may assume that netbooks may be good in the business. InfoWorld took a look at the viability of using netbooks within the traditional corporate infrastructure, and it got us to thinking about the subject. Today, few — if any — companies use netbooks as their standard issue machines. On the same token, few — if any — businesses use massive 16″ or 17″ notebooks as their standard issue machines. It’s easy to assume that businesses

Video:Palit GTX 260 Sonic Review @ OCC Motherboards and Chipsets:Foxconn Quantum Force X58 BloodRage Motherboard @ TweaktownMemory and Storage:OCZ Vertex 120GB SATA SSD OCZSSD2-1VTX120G @ Benchmark ReviewsPower:OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W PSU  @ CPU3DSystems:HP Compaq 6730b @ InsideHWShuttle Prima SP45H7 Intel Barebones System Review @ ThinkComputers.orgCases, Cooling & Misc.:Gelid Solutions Wing 8 UV Case Fan Review @ Legit ReviewsLGA 1366 Heatsink Group Test @ bit-techThermaltake TMG IA1 and Scythe Kama

We feel like we’ve been here before, and in fact, we have. Sort of, at least. The same hotly debated video game law in California has come to the forefront of attention once more, with a federal appeals court striking down the law that sought to bar minors from purchasing or renting games that were deemed too violent. The 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the original 2005 law “violates minors’ rights under the Constitution’s First and 14th amendments.” The three judge panel’s unanimous ruling

It’s a well known fact that puzzle games and other brain training exercises actually enhance mental stimulation, but what about titles such as Crysis and Gears of War? Microsoft, of all companies, is looking to find a definitive answer to that by sinking $1.5 million into a research initiative that will, at its core, explore the educational link to video games. Many gamers have confessed that even first person shooters have sharpened their reaction time and taught them to think in more quantitative ways, and

Earlier this week, Hulu announced decisions to pull out of TV.com and Boxee. According to sources close to the company, Hulu’s managers were motivated by very different reasons in each case. Regardless of the reasons, these announcements deliver a blow to online video. Another potential blow came yesterday when we heard how cable companies are fighting to limit online content. Hulu has more than 100 content providers, but some don’t want their content on Hulu. In the case of Boxee, Hulu executives asked Boxee

The bills (one in the Senate, one in the House) have nice names, but they would require you and us, assuming we have routers in our houses, as well as ISPs and hotspots, to maintain records on users for two years. Yes, you read that right, you and us, as well. The bills, Senate Bill S-436 and House Bill HR1076 are both named the “Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth Act,” or Internet SAFETY Act. While purporting to be aimed at child pornography on the Internet it also, quite

Gigabyte, which just unveiled its next generation AMD AM3 “Dragon” motherboard, has big plans for next week’s CeBIT expo in Germany. Aside from showing its latest range of high performance, low working temperature motherboards featuring its proprietary Ultra Durable 3 Technologies, it’s also planning a sneak peek at the first AMD platform DDR3 solution, known as the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P. Of course, they’ll be plenty of AM3 and Core i7 motherboard demonstrations, most notably its flagship X58 mobo, the GA-EX58-EXTREME.

A federal appeals court Friday struck down a California law that sought to ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 2005 law violates minors' rights under the First and 14th amendments to the Constitution. The unanimous ruling by the three-judge panel upholds an earlier ruling in U.S. District Court. The state law was authored by Democratic Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco, a child psychologist. Yee said he wants Attorney General Jerry Brown to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.