The publisher of PC Magazine and Electronic Gaming Monthly and Web versions of those magazines has filed for restructuring under chapter 11 in bankruptcy court.

NEW YORK – Ziff Davis Media Inc., publisher of technology and video game magazines, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday and cited a decrease in revenue from print advertising and subscriptions as contributing to its decline.

But the company said it expected to reorganize quickly and exit court protection by midsummer.

New York-based Ziff Davis said in a court filing that it had about $500 million in liabilities and $313 million worth of assets, as of the end of December. It filed for Chapter 11 protection to restructure debt that had become burdensome.

Microsoft offered its first public demonstration of Internet Explorer 8 on Wednesday, a prospect that had general manager Dean Hachamovitch struggling to figure out what to cover.

The marketing folks naturally suggested he point to three major advances, but Hatchamovitch disagreed.

“These are developers,” he said he told the marketers. “They can count higher than three.”

So, instead he said he would talk about eight features: CSS 2.1 support, CSS Certification, performance, start of HTML 5 support, new developer tools, activities, Web slices and one he hasn't named yet.

Laptop coolers are one of those universal accessories that most laptop users will undoubtedly decide to pick up at some point. The Vizo Mini Ninja notebook cooler is a lightweight, sturdy, and quiet laptop cooler for those with 7″-15.4″ widescreen notebooks. Read on as we test the Vizo Mini Ninja against the Zalman ZM-NC1000 notebook cooler to see how it does.

Patience, HD video fans. Those of you hoping that the defeat of HD DVD would usher in a new era of lower-priced Blu-ray players will have to wait at least until the next calendar year. In comments made to reporters at a New York press gathering Wednesday morning, Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow said, “I don't think $200 is going to happen this year. Next year $200 could happen. We'll be at a $300 rate this year; $299 will happen this year,” according to Gizmodo.

Even in the face of a downturn in the U.S. economy, Glasgow says Sony's electronics sales are still going swimmingly. He said the company expects to sell 5 million Blu-ray players by the end of 2008. The company unveiled two new models last week. Sony has no plans to make digital converter boxes for next year's digital TV switchover, and will leave that to the lower-tier CE companies.

Spb Software has released v2.0 of Mobile Shell, an alternative user interface for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 touchscreen devices. The new version adds gesture navigation, full screen weather and time information, animated transitions and more.

Advanced Micro Devices said Tuesday that it was closing a technology gap with its rival Intel in about half the time required in the past to move to a new manufacturing process. The company also said it would soon begin selling a new graphics chipset called the 780 Series that, it said, enables low-priced computers to display graphics with the speed and clarity previously found on expensive PCs sold to video game players and graphic artists.

Sunnyvale-based AMD officials told guests at a computer industry trade show in Hanover, Germany, that it was on track to make the leap to 45-nanometer processing technology this year. Such a transition has historically taken AMD about two years, but the company now says it will achieve it in 12 to 18 months. Shrinking the size of the circuitry on chips allows chip makers to put more transistors on each chip, improving the chip's overall performance and enabling longer battery life.

Following PNY Technologies' memory card and USB drive patent settlement with SanDisk in early January, industry sources noted that more defendants have reached reconciliation with SanDisk, but none of them are from Taiwan. While 7-8 out of the total 25 defendants are said to have settled the dispute, no Taiwan-based companies have made such a move. Most rather choose to fight for their rights by jointly standing on the same front, the sources said. Kingston Technology has not reach any agreement with SanDisk yet, the sources remarked.

PNY and SanDisk reached a license agreement in January for PNY to sell licensed USB drives and CompactFlash (CF) cards. The sources observed that there are about 7-8 small-scale non-Taiwan based companies that have settled the dispute with SanDisk following PNY's settlement. The major reason these players have reconciled is because they have relatively less resources to bear the expense of a long-term lawsuit, some industry players explained.

AMD today announced the availability of the industrys most advanced motherboard GPU, the AMD 780 Series, delivering a rich computing experience for casual gamers and multimedia enthusiasts as the core of quiet and energy-efficient PC designs. When paired with an AMD Phenom 9000 series quad-core processor or 64 X2 dual-core processor, the AMD 780 Series delivers significant enhancements in gaming and high-definition experiences for mainstream PC customers. The AMD 780 Series motherboard GPU is scheduled to be widely available from more than 40 AMD partners at launch. Global OEMs are expected to offer AMD 780 Series-based PCs starting in Q2 2008. Expect a full review of a number of 780G motherboards here on Legit Reviews in the upcoming days.

The AMD 780 Series motherboard GPU is a core platform component for both the AMD desktop PC platform codenamed Cartwheel and AMD notebook PC platform codenamed Puma which are both scheduled to launch in Q2 2008, as AMD innovation creates unprecedented high definition (HD) and 3D capabilities at mainstream PC price points. The launch of the AMD 780 Series marks an uncommonly large step forward in mainstream PC capabilities. Starting today, consumers can attain superior HD video and casual 3D gaming experiences, as well as remarkable energy efficiency, said Phil Eisler, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD Chipset Division. The release of the AMD 780 Series is in keeping with the AMD vision that computing can deliver The Ultimate Visual Experience and now at mainstream PC price points.

AMD demonstrated at the CeBIT electronics exhibition its first 45nm quad-core chips running multiple operating systems and a range of processing intensive applications. The processors were produced in Dresden, Germany, in AMDs Fab 36 300mm manufacturing facility, using an advanced 45nm process co-developed with IBM. Shown below is a picture of multiple 45nm quad core dies.

AMD 45nm transistors are engineered to enable greater performance-per-watt capabilities in AMD processors and platforms. AMD combines new processes and materials with leading edge technologies, such as immersion lithography and AMDs fourth-generation strained silicon, for a highly-manufacturable, highly-efficient production process. This important milestone is the first of many as AMD moves toward delivery of 45nm products later this year. The first 45nm chips demonstrated by AMD include the Shanghai product for server and Deneb for desktop platforms.

Razer today launched the Razer Salmosa, Razers first entry level mouse at CeBIT, Europes renowned peripherals trade show. The Razer 3G Infrared sensor is rated as the fastest tracking optical mouse sensor in the world, enabling movement speeds of up to 2.25 times faster than other regular gaming mice. The Razer Salmosa comes with additional toggle switches on the bottom of the mouse that enable gamers to make 800/1800dpi and 125/500/1000Hz polling rate adjustments without the need for any software drivers. They are priced at $39.99 here in North America.

The Razer Salmosa is an entry-level Razer mouse and is also one of the lightest mice of its class currently available on the market. Tailored to the needs of gamers that require speed and precision, the Razer Salmosa is the perfect introductory mouse for gamers that require a light and agile mouse. Equipped with the Razer 3G Infrared Sensor, the Razer Salmosa is the definition of speed and value for gamers that are just beginning their search for a gaming-grade mouse.