Return of the Commodore Video
Return of the Commodore Video Transcript
-It's Tuesday, April 5th. I'm Natali Morris and it's time to get Loaded. Texas Instruments announced plans to acquire National Semiconductor for $6.5 billion. This makes Texas Instruments the third largest semiconductor manufacturer behind Intel and Samsung. Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor specialize in analog processors. These are the kind of chips that convert real-world data, like temperature, into digital data that a computer can interpret, and then back to real-world data that a human can use. These are very important in consumer and industry electronics. Google may have an anti-trust case on its hands soon. Bloomberg reports that the Federal Trade Commission is eyeing down the search giant in consideration of a government investigation. They're said to be waiting on a decision from the Justice Department on whether or not Google's acquisition of ITA is allowed. ITA is a flight and ticket information company that Google is trying to purchase for $700 million. The government may not want to allow this because it could put too much information and, therefore, a monopoly in Google's hands. If you wanna upgrade your iPhone but you're not eligible for a new phone just yet, it will cost an extra $50 from here on out. iPhone contracts put you on a 2-year upgrade schedule. The cost of upgrading early is now $299 for an 8-gig model, $449 for a 16-gig model, and $549 for a 32-gig model. Sprint may be getting into the mobile phone payment business. Last week, we reported quite a few mobile companies doing this. Sprint's Vice President of Product Platforms told Bloomberg that Sprint phones will have near field communication chips (or NFC chips) soon, and these will let consumers waive their phones over payment terminals to buy everyday items. The NFC payments will charge your credit card, not your cellphone bill, although Sprint would take a cut of the transaction a lot like Visa or MasterCard. Google has updated Google Maps for Android with enhanced location history and check-in features. It also allows you to merge your latitude on your mobile maps. This is a feature that lets your track your friends and family on a map. You can also see graphs of your check-in history and a breakdown of you spend your time between home, work, gym, or wherever else you frequent. Sony may be launching Honeycomb tablets later this year. Sony is one of the few manufacturers we have not seen launch a tablet just yet, but it has to be just a matter of time. Bloomberg reports that Sony CEO Howard Stringer said that the company will launch tablets running Google's Honeycomb version of its Android Operating System sometime this summer. And finally, the Commodore 64 is back. The machine is being released in its old body but with new and improved inside, so it will run like a modern-day computer. It will have a new operating system, although it will be backwards compatible if you wanna run the programs of yore. The Commodore 64 was one of the most beloved computers of its time. It sold more than 30 million units. That's your news of the day. I will see you tomorrow. I'm Natali Morris for CNET, and you've just been Loaded.
Related Videos
The Commodore 64 home computer celebrated its 25th birthday at the Computer History Museum with several luminaries of the 8-bit computing era present. We take a peek at this popular pesky piece of silicon and plastic and try to get an idea of why the Commodore 64 was the best-selling personal computer in history at 30 million units moved. GETV's Roving Retro Reporter Violet Blue puts the question to Jack Tramiel, founder and head of Commodore, as well as his son Leonard Tramiel. Violet gets a bit of insight from a couple of the C64's competitors, Steve Wozniak, creator of the first Apple computer, and Bill Lowe, known as the father of the IBM PC.
Commodore 64 Turns 25 on Geek Entertainment TV
Commodore 64's silver anniversary
The Commodore 64 may be gone, but it's certainly not forgotten. Fans turned out in the hundreds Monday night for the PC's 25th anniversary party at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. CNET News.com's Kara Tsuboi raised a glass and chatted with industry leaders, including Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder, and Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore International, about the Commodore's impact on the personal-computing market.
The best gadgets are the oldest ones. Also, it's spear phishing season, thanks to the Epsilon email breach; plus, Google gets tough, and Netflix goes all "Mad Men."
The modern-day, high-tech $100,000 ride.
CNET goes hands-on with Sony's unique S1 Android Honeycomb tablet, due out in Fall of 2011.
CNET goes hands-on with Sony's unique S2 Android Honeycomb tablet (also known as the Tablet P), due out in Fall of 2011.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. Sony Tablet S
It's a Prizefight punchout between top-notch Android tablets that are tweaking out Honeycomb. Will Samsung's Galaxy Tab skinny body beat out the curvier frame of the Sony Tablet S? Find out.
Buzz Report: We're flabby, and we vote
It's a portrait of modern-day America: video games are too tiring, our voting system is a sham, and the CIA has a wiki. Things are getting weird in Buzz-land.
Set against the rugged ranchlands of Wyoming, "An Unfinished Life" is the story of a modern-day Western family, as stoic as they are divided, learning the true meaning of forgiveness. Robert Redford stars as Einar Gilkyson, a tough-skinned, retired rancher who long ago turned his back on memories. Still in shock from his only son's death a decade ago, Einar has let his ranch fall into ruin along with his marriage. Now, Einar spends his days caring only for his hired hand, and last trusted friend, Mitch (Morgan Freeman), who was gravely injured in an encounter with a grizzly bear. Einar intends to live out his days in this heartbroken solitude... until the very person he blames for his son's accident comes to town: his daughter-in-law Jean (Jennifer Lopez). Jean shows up broke, on the run and with a girl name Griff (Becca Gardner), who she swears is the granddaughter Einar never knew he had. Suddenly, Einar's quiet life is turned upside down as anger and accusations resurface. But slowly, miraculously, 11 year-old Griff's curiosity about Western life, and her longing for family and a father figure, begin to chip away at the stone that has become Einar's heart - opening up the way for unexpected connection, adventure, mercy and true reunion.
Facebook rolls out the Send button and Facebook Deals, Yahoo buys IntoNow, and the Sony Tablet will run Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" and have access to PlayStation content.
