Turn your PC into an easy-to-use virtualization platform with Sun xVM VirtualBox, the free and open source software that runs on all major operating systems and eliminates the need for tradeoffs or multiple hardware systems.

Features & Benefits
Sun xVM VirtualBox supports any operating system as a guest OS, giving you the flexibility to develop applications on your platform of choice.

Which means you can run Windows in a virtual machine on a Mac or Linux platform, or run Solaris OS and Windows applications right alongside Apple applications on your MacBook.

At a Glance
* Free and open source desktop and laptop virtualization.
* Runs multiple operating systems at the same time on the same PC.
* Enables cross-platform, multi-tier applications.
* Supports the Solaris OS, OpenSolaris, Windows, Macintosh OS X, and Linux.
* Improves efficiency with intuitive blend of platforms and applications.
* Provides remote access to guest virtual machines from anywhere.
* Supports virtual server environments.
* Protects existing hardware investments. [SUN]

Solid State Drive (SSD) is an electrical term that refers to electronic circuitry that is built entirely out of semiconductors. A Hard Drive Alternative Based On Flash Memory.

The term was originally used to define those electronics such as a transistor radio that used semiconductors rather than vacuum tubes in its construction. Most all electronics that we have today are built around semiconductors and chips. In terms of a SSD, it refers to the fact that the primary storage medium is through semiconductors rather than a magnetic media such as a hard drive.

Now, you might say that this type of storage already exists in the form of flash memory drives that plug into the USB port. This is partially true as solid state drives and USB flash drives both use the same type of non-volatile memory chips that retain their information even when they have no power. The difference is in the form factor and capacity of the drives. While a flash drive is designed to be external to the computer system, an SSD is designed to reside inside the computer in place of a more traditional hard drive.

So how exactly do they do this? Well, an SSD on the outside looks almost no different than a traditional hard drive. This design is to allow the SSD drive to put in a notebook or desktop computer in place of a hard drive. To do this, it needs to have the standard dimension as a 1.8, 2.5 or 3.5-inch hard drive. It also will use either the ATA or SATA drive interfaces so that there is a compatible interface.

Why Use a Solid State Drive?

Solid state drives have several advantages over the magnetic hard drives. The majority of this comes from the fact that the drive does not have any moving parts. While a traditional drive has drive motors to spin up the magnetic platters and the drive heads, all the storage on a solid state drive is handled by flash memory chips. This provides three distinct advantages:

• Less Power Usage
• Faster Data Access
• Higher Reliability

The power usage is a key role for the use of solid state drives in portable computers. Because there is no power draw for the motors, the drive uses far less energy than the regular hard drive. Now, the industry has taken steps to address this with drive spin downs and the development of hybrid hard drives, but both of these still use more power. The solid state drive will consistently draw less power then the traditional and hybrid hard drive. Faster data access will make a number of people happy. Since the drive doesn’t have to spin up the drive platter or move drive heads, the data can be read from the drive near instantly. In a recent demo of two similar equipped notebook computers, Fujitsu was able to demonstrate a roughly 20% speed increase in the booting of Windows XP on a SSD over a standard hard drive.

Reliability is also a key factor for portable drives. Hard drive platters are very fragile and sensitive materials. Even small jarring movements from an impact can cause the drive to be completely unreadable. Since the SSD stores all its data in memory chips, there are fewer moving parts to be damaged in any sort of impact. [via Sandisk]

The Virtual Laser Keyboard (VKB) leverages the power of laser and infrared technology and projects a full-size keyboard onto any flat surface.

As you type on the laser projection, detection technology based on optical recognition enables the user to tap the images of the keys, complete with realistic tapping sounds, which feed into the compatible Bluetooth-enabled PDA, Smartphone, laptop or PC.

Unlike many small snap-on keyboards for PDAs, the Virtual Laser Keyboard provides a full-size QWERTY keyboard. It is also smaller and more convenient to use than the folding-type keyboards made by some manufacturers and similar to them in functionality. There are no mechanical moving parts whatsoever in the Virtual Laser Keyboard. It provides a projected image that is the perfect portable input device for PDAs. It’s similar in responsiveness to regular keyboards.

Technology

Features
* Connects to PDAs Smartphones and Computers using Bluetooth.
* Projects a full size QWERTY keyboard onto any flat surface.
* Allows the convinence of regular keyboard typing in a tiny form factor.
* Rechargeable battery lasts for 120 minutes of continuous typing.
* Tiny size only 3.5 inches high.
* Compatible with PalmOS 5, PocketPC 2003, Windows Smartphone, Symbian OS, and Windows 2000/XP, Limited Mac OSX Support.

The light weight device weighs two ounces and is similar in size to a disposable cigarette lighter. The Virtual Laser Keyboard includes a self-contained, rechargeable lithium ion battery. It provides the Virtual Laser Keyboard with its own internal power supply, so it doesn’t drain any battery power from the PDA or PC. The battery lasts two to three hours, more than enough time to do some instant messaging and SMS messaging from the handheld device or to update calendar and phone book entries. [VKB via Overclock3d]