In an effort to catch criminals and kidnappers, Mexico plans to start a national register of all mobile phone users. Under a new law published today, mobile phone companies will have a year to build up a database of their customers, complete with fingerprints. The law is due to be in force in April. Sadly, hundreds of people are kidnapped in Mexico each year. As the army cracks down on drug gangs, these gangs are increasingly using kidnappings as a source of income, causing the number of kidnappings to increase.

Video:XFX asfasdfasdfasdfMotherboards and Chipsets:MSI X58 Eclipse Motherboard @ Viper LairGigabyte EX58 UD4 Motherboard @ CPU3DASUS P6T Deluxe OC Palm Edition Motherboard @ iXBTGigabyte GA-X48-DS5 Intel X48 Express Motherboard Review @ PCStatsProcessors:Q9400S & Q8200S: Intel’s 65W Quad-Cores @ Techgage.comAMD Phenom II X3 720 BE Black Edition CPU @ Benchmark ReviewsAMD Phenom II 720 and 810 AM3 Review @ OCCAMD Phenom II X4 720 Black Edition @ NeoseekerAMD Phenom II X4 810 & X3 720 BE Review @ AMDZoneAMD

Apple has its iMac, Dell has its XPS One and MSI has its Wind NetOn AP1900. You heard right — MSI is jumping feet first into the all-in-one PC game, strategically adding the “Wind” moniker that has served it so well in the netbook arena. And we must say, the design here isn’t all that bad considering that it’s MSI’s first shot at getting it right.Reportedly, the AP1900 is the world’s thinnest all-in-one PC, measuring in at just 35 millimeters (1.377 inches) thick. In fact, some users may prefer to ditch the

Lite-On Announces New Internal DVD Writers with 24X DVD Writing Speeds New drives offer 24X DVD writing speeds and unique LabelTag and SmartErase features for data erasing and labeling Fremont, CA – February 9, 2009 – Lite-On, a global leader of optical storage solutions, today announces a new line of internal DVD writers that deliver a maximum write speed of 24X on select DVD media, the fastest in the market. Select drives will also include Lite-On’s own LabelTag and SmartErase technologies – unique labeling

Difficult though it may be to believe, the product you see enlarged below is actually a computer. Not a bloated GPS device, not a rough and tough digital photo frame, but a bona fide PC. Glacier Computer’s new Everest E4000 is quite the unique beast, acting as a touchscreen-based computer for specialized, rugged environments that can’t afford the luxuries of keyboards and mice. As Dan Poisson, Glacier Director of Engineering puts it: “The E4000 configuration has been re-engineered to incorporate the features

Today, Amazon announced the Kindle 2, the follow-up to the company’s first Kindle ebook reader released in late 2007. 

The 10-ounce Kindle 2 features a new, slim design (it’s about the thickness of a pencil), a re-thought key and button layout, 1.4GB of usable onboard memory (up from 180MB) for storage of up to 1500 books, 25% faster page-turns, 25% longer battery life and a 6-inch electronic paper display that can render four times the shades of gray (16 shades instead of 4).

There are currently 230,000 books available for purchase on the Kindle and Kindle 2 with more being added all the time. You can also subscribe to select newspapers and blogs on the Kindle.

There’s also a new Realspeak Solo text-to-speech feature on the Kindle 2 which allows the device to “read to” users aloud.  No word on how this affects battery life.

The one gray lining in this silver cloud: The Kindle 2 is still $359.  You can pre-order the Kindle 2 now.  The unit will begin shipping on February 24 – first come, first serve. 

Today, Amazon announced the Kindle 2, the follow-up to the company’s first Kindle ebook reader released in late 2007. 

The 10-ounce Kindle 2 features a new, slim design (it’s about the thickness of a pencil), a re-thought key and button layout, 1.4GB of usable onboard memory (up from 180MB) for storage of up to 1500 books, 25% faster page-turns, 25% longer battery life and a 6-inch electronic paper display that can render four times the shades of gray (16 shades instead of 4).

There are currently 230,000 books available for purchase on the Kindle and Kindle 2 with more being added all the time. You can also subscribe to select newspapers and blogs on the Kindle.

There’s also a new Realspeak Solo text-to-speech feature on the Kindle 2 which allows the device to “read to” users aloud.  No word on how this affects battery life.

The one gray lining in this silver cloud: The Kindle 2 is still $359.  You can pre-order the Kindle 2 now.  The unit will begin shipping on February 24 – first come, first serve. 

Here's the silicon scuttlebutt of the weekend, if not the week: Sony will use Intel's Larrabee graphics chip in its upcoming PlayStation 4. (Let's not forget the other tantalizing piece of speculation this week: the Nvidia-powered Microsoft smartphone rumor, which Microsoft apparently put to rest.)

We know for a fact that Jeffery Katzenberg at DreamWorks likes Larrabee–a lot. That apparently was one of the reasons DreamWorks dropped Advanced Micro Devices. So, chalk that up as one big win for Intel's somewhat-murky next-generation graphics chip due late this year or 2010. Now Sony? A report this week in the U.K.-based technology Web site The Inquirer claims Sony favors Larrabee over Nvidia for its PlayStation 4. (The other major piece of silicon used in the current PlayStation is a Cell processor developed jointly by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba.)

Hynix Semiconductor on February 8 announced that it has developed 1-gigabit (1Gb) DDR3 DRAM built on 40nm process technology. The new 1Gb memory chip meets Intel's DDR3 DRAM specification compliance and the memory module will be examined for certification by Intel.

The new 1Gb DDR3 DRAM delivers a maximum speed of 2133Mbps (megabit per second) and operates at a wide range of voltage. The mass production of 1Gb DDR3 DRAM using Hynix' 40nm process technology is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2009, the company said. Hynix' overall productivity of 40nm 1Gb DDR3 DRAM has increased by more than 50% over its existing 50nm process technology, according to the company. By applying technology of 'three-dimensional transistor' architecture, the product minimizes leakage current and further reduces overall power consumption.

Internet security and infrastructure service provider, OpenDNS, and security software provider, Kaspersky Lab, have collaborated to help alert users that their systems are infected by one of the “most widely-spread” worms to come our way, the Conficker worm. The Conficker worm, which is also called Kido and Downadup, first popped up “in late 2008,” and according to some reports has already infected “as many as 15 million computers around the world.” Conficker infects systems by taking advantage of a known vulnerability