Retailers hope consumers whip out their credit cards this shopping season, placing them at odds with banks trying to weed out consumers with bad credit.

tags: Runescape runescape pk pking edge jagex rs good best ko wildy whip godsword dds max hit Runescape runescape pk pking edge jagex rs good best ko wildy whip godsword dds max hit Runescape runescape pk pking edge jagex rs good best ko wildy whip godsword dds max hit hilt godwards bounty hunter kids ranqe latvia defil3d 99 party 99 range 99 defence 83 mage maxed out green drags runescape hilt zamorak saradomin noob war noobs tehnoobshow niccy vodka5 ali gross gore ftw runescape jagex ltd riot runescape not comming back world 66 runescape ownage noobs runescape bounty hunter dragon mace ddp ddsownage1 runescape jagex ltd pking green drags wildyowns1 wildy owns1 quitting hacked soz owned got defence pking bounty hunter saradomin hilt drop coinshare runescape fagex ltd rasta man b runescape wilderness jagex andrew gower i dead0rz l i d arrows i greenday uk1 pking maxed out tanker 99 party drop party clue scroll third age fire cape attempt jad failed runescape bounty hunter red skull green skull vid 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 pking at drags lured lord wape lure unit moderator jagex mod world 66 riot update wildy gone bounty hunter new pking area mage arena what spells guthix book unholy book book of balance sara zam zamorak zammy guthix guthans dharoks barrows owned downed 50m 100m 1b party hat stake dies santa hat mask set runescape runescape runescape runescape rune scape rune scape rune scape rune scape runescape runescape 3 Runescape quest mmorpg online game zezima uloveme pk own f2p p2p pwn noob mage magic range warrior sword shield bronze mithril steel iron rune dragon boots god wars varrok falador lumbridge law earth fire water music video glitch hack scam froob choob lol lmao rofl plox haha bank lobster zamorak guthix saradomin inventory map jagex interview tutorial island camp arena holy pure redone in the black knight wizard elvemage theoldnite tyvak519 vinchenz900 castle wars duel arena warrior guild cooking crafting prayer skill cape attack defence 99 strength firemaking fm woodcutting wc fishing shark runecraft runecrafting nature nats abyss staff barrows ahrim dharok karils torag hammer chest drop loot slayer whip 2h funny game energy setting item guardian solo fletching willow tree ent random event gnome ball wise old man party hat purple blue white yellow red santa halloween mask 3rd age kiteshield kite glove update ltd forum mil million gp party edjville highscores ancient ice barrage luner desert treasure crossbow tele alching teleing smithing mining gold granite rockshell anvil bar account recovery world load loading music pass password user username friends list stat stats point protect teleother clan chat ignore log out dance emotion green hitpoints agility monkey madness ape toll herblore potions pots theiving guard farming herbs garden construction house player owned poh hunter mini game horror from the deep mystic cat bob store general arrow knives plate helm helmet wepon obby ring necklace iban skirt skychi ham cape dragonfire wild wilderness scimi long yew money cash studded banner new plox please splitbark robes heros legends hero legend champion slay under over sweet awesome amazing ownage pwnage free stuff drop party game stupid dam fuck gay decorative godsword hat rsmv forging dueling dds dagger poisen glory ammulet stink how much nvm no yes everyone message pm me dark bow monster beserker nice leet wtf omfg omg stray dog new update brb holiday vlog blog maplemountains sladeakakevin dark arm 3 door black light town city king queen gnome ogre dwarf chicken suit each kalaphite selling buying 2 claw cannon death mace vambraces longbow bait newb (u)zombie secret robin vinchenzo900 v1nch3nz0 Flame 105 made this egg christmas easter bunny massive full guild massacre n0valyfe 1st 2nd 3rd cheat battle mod hellomiss 126 bots autoer autominer autofighter autofisher autowoodcutter subscribe stake staking world of warcraft guild wars trimmed (t) (g) combat character guide fire flame email e mail censor Kids Ranqe lexmark78 main duriel321 rich rare phat road kill killing yogosun yogosun2 pk hit wildy war billy talent my chemical romance scat man acdc rush queen avril lavigne xxx sex hot videogame video computer comment maul productions hi hello my is preview date free rs rsc classic walkthrough walk through first second third planet hell nightwish interview poon linkin park nirvana total ultimate win fight caves plz blood ko hacked max merchant millions explain Recipe for Disaster pro wow players player full Discontinued requirments require vid month year day hour minute second speak special song clue scroll treasure trail treasuretrails cluescroll simple plan andrew gower version real life rl banned ban black mark trial ass joke retard maplestory watching watch spam log price overprice teleblock club full edgville fat wrecked fatwrecked xgen20o4 hard easy ez jad

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divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/72887?ns=guardianpageName=Business%3A+30%2C000+jobs+at+risk+as+Woolworths+teeters+on+the+brinkch=Businessc3=The+Guardianc4=Woolworths+%28Business%29%2CRetail+industry+%28Business%29%2CBusiness%2CRedundancy%2CPolitics%2CUK+newsc5=Personal+Finance%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Marketsc6=Julia+Finchc7=2008_11_22c8=1122275c9=articlec10=GUc11=Businessc12=Woolworthsc13=c14=h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FWoolworths" width="1" height="1" //divpMore than 30,000 retail jobs were at risk last night as Woolworths fought to avoid collapse and the fashion discount chain MK One crashed into administration for the second time in a year./ppWoolworths' future was hanging in the balance after its bankers objected to a management rescue plan to sell the loss-making 800-store chain to Hilco, which specialises in restructuring distressed companies./ppThe 99-year old retailer, which is a mainstay of town and city centres across the country, is now in last-ditch talks with its lenders in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy. But a source close to the negotiations said the talks had reached "an impasse" and "are not looking good"./ppSome 25,000 staff work in Woolworths stores and another 5,000 for two other businesses in the Woolworths group: EUK and 2entertain. The group also has 10,000 pensioners and pension fund members./ppEUK distributes DVDs, CDs and books to major supermarkets including Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons and if the distributor is forced into administration alongside the Woolworths stores it could threaten the supermarkets' supplies in the vital Christmas shopping weeks./pp2entertain is a joint venture with the BBC which produces and distributes BBC programmes on DVD and has had big successes with shows such as Little Britain and Top Gear./ppMK One, which operates 125 stores aimed at young women and teenagers, has 1,400 staff jobs at risk./ppThe latest potential job losses come amid vast cutbacks in the retail industry, which is slashing staff costs by reducing workers' hours. Argos, for instance, has cut workers' hours by 20%. The specialist magazine Retail Week yesterday reported that across the high street such cutbacks now equal 100,000 full time jobs vanishing in the last year. The retail sector employs 10% of the UK workforce./ppThe stock market fell sharply again yesterday as investors worried about the effects of a recession on the corporate sector. Leading UK shares suffered their third worst week on record with the FTSE 100 slipping to 3,780, its lowest level since April 2003./ppWoolworths has been battered by other retailers for years, but in recent weeks it has also been squeezed by the economic downturn and the impact of credit insurers - who protect suppliers from non-payment of invoices in the event of a retailer going bust - withdrawing cover to Woolworths' suppliers. That has left the chain having to pay suppliers on delivery - or have empty shelves./ppWoolworths bosses have tried to sell the chain for a year in order to protect the other two businesses, but without success. A possible offer from Iceland supermarket boss Malcolm Walker in the summer fell apart when Baugur, the Icelandic investor backing his approach, ran into its own, credit crunch-related, problems./ppEarlier this week Woolworths confirmed it might sell the stores, which are all leasehold, to Hilco. The US-owned group would have also taken on pound;265m of Woolworths' pound;380m of debts. Woolworths wanted the other pound;115m of debt to be transferred to EUK and 2entertain, which last year made profits of more than pound;40m before interest and tax./ppIn normal banking circumstances, such an arrangement would be commonplace, but a source familiar with the situation said: "The banks just won't let it happen. They seem to want to put the whole lot into administration to get all their money back immediately. The banks have the whip hand here."/ppWoolworths has a range of lenders, and many have been hit hard by the credit crunch. Its lead lenders are GMAC, of the US which is applying to the American bank bail-out fund for support, and Burdale, part of the deeply troubled Bank of Ireland, which yesterday said it had received a takeover approach./ppWoolworths' other lenders include Barclays, which is raising pound;7bn from Middle East investors, the American bank Wachovia, which has just been taken over, and GE, which has had two profits warnings this year./ppA spokesman for Burdale, one of the lead lenders, refused to comment on the discussions with Woolworths./ppThe crisis at Woolworths and MK One will increase fears that other ailing retail chains could collapse in the coming weeks. Casualties - and a fresh round of job losses - had been expected in the new year, when the Christmas winners and losers emerge. But lenders and suppliers had been thought unlikely to force stores into bankruptcy in the run-up to Christmas, when they should be raking in cash. Woolworths, for instance, normally makes 90% of its profits in the six weeks before Christmas. However, in the first six months of this year it crashed pound;100m in the red./ppWoolworths shares closed last night at just 1.43p, down 32%, valuing the entire business at just pound;25m - equal to about three days' sales./ph2strongJob cuts this week/strong/h2pstrongMonday/strongbr /Citigroup, London strong2,400/strongbr /Avis, Hayes, Middlesex strong100/strongbr /Hoover, Merthyr Tydfil strong337/strong/ppstrongTuesday/strongbr /Wolseley, nationwide strong2,000 /strongbr /National Express, East Anglia strong200/strongbr /PSL Energy Services, Aberdeen strong50/strong/ppstrongWednesday/strongbr /SIG, nationwide strong900/strongbr /Fidelity International, London strong300/strongbr /Deutsche Bank, London strong450/strong/ppstrongThursday/strongbr /Rolls-Royce, Derby strong140/strongbr /AstraZeneca, Macclesfield strong250/strongbr /BAE Systems, nationwide strong200/strongbr /Daily Mail and General Trust strong400/strongbr /Tughans, Northern Ireland strong20/strong/ppTotal strong7,747/strong/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/woolworths"Woolworths/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/retail"Retail industry/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/redundancy"Redundancy/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Businesscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227317660246112201400459684"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Businesscountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227317660246112201400459684" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

pFiled under: a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/economy/" rel="tag"Economy/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/videos/" rel="tag"Videos/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/smart/" rel="tag"SMART/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/suzuki/" rel="tag"Suzuki/a, a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/motorcycles/" rel="tag"Motorcycles/a/pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/video-hayabusa-powered-smart-or-a-rolling-death-wish-on-sk/"img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/11/haya_smart.jpg" //abr / div align="center"emstrongsmallClick above to watch the video of a stunting smartabusa/small/strong/embr //div br /Stunting on a Suzuki Hayabusa is crazy in its own right, but stunting in a smart fortwo? Now that takes some real effort. While the bike's got the power to wheelie all day long and its dual front discs are more than powerful enough to raise the rear tire just as far as your guts allow, that's not really the bike's intent. Still, it's much more suitable for the activity than the smart fortwo with its lazy 70-hp three-cylinder and skinny tires, right? Well, maybe not. Take a good look at a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/20/video-hayabusa-powered-smart-or-a-rolling-death-wish-on-sk/"the video after the break/a for visual proof that the smart, when properly equipped, makes a fine stunt ride. Of course, in this situation, properly equipped equals a major horsepower infusion via the aforementioned Suzuki Hayabusa, along with some major front brake modifications. Seriously, ever see a smart fortwo perform a tail-whip? Neither had we, until today.br /br /[Source: a href="http://www.autofiends.com/index.php/2008/11/hayabusa-powered-smart-car-video"Autofiends/a]pa href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/video-hayabusa-powered-smart-or-a-rolling-death-wish-on-sk/" rel="bookmark"Continue reading emVIDEO: Hayabusa-powered smart , or... a rolling death-wish on skinny tires/em/a/pp style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/video-hayabusa-powered-smart-or-a-rolling-death-wish-on-sk/"VIDEO: Hayabusa-powered smart , or... a rolling death-wish on skinny tires/a originally appeared on a href="http://www.autoblog.com"Autoblog/a on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:28:00 EST. Please see our a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/"terms for use of feeds/a./ph6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"/h6a href=http://www.autofiends.com/index.php/2008/11/hayabusa-powered-smart-car-videoRead/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/video-hayabusa-powered-smart-or-a-rolling-death-wish-on-sk/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry"Permalink/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1378496/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email"Email this/anbsp;|nbsp;a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/21/video-hayabusa-powered-smart-or-a-rolling-death-wish-on-sk/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry"Comments/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/nHoJebQWPT-NuKL4ruWxbR6XwPc/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/nHoJebQWPT-NuKL4ruWxbR6XwPc/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?a=zvv2OJNC"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=zvv2OJNC" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?a=Dm1mNE4d"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/weblogsinc/autoblog?i=Dm1mNE4d" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/weblogsinc/autoblog/~4/9nW7Xd2CH-Q" height="1" width="1"/

div class="rxbodyfield"p page="1" class="ArticleBody"Remember when a phone was just a phone? You#39;d no more give thought to its operating system than you would to the one that your microwave oven ran. Boy, have times changed./pp align="right"a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/idg.us.info.rss/news;pos=imu;tile=6;sz=336x280;skey=patch_management;pkey=security;ord=123456789?" target="_blank" /img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/idg.us.info.rss/news;pos=imu;tile=6;sz=336x280;skey=patch_management;pkey=security;ord=123456789?" width="336" height="280" border="0" alt="" align="right"//a/pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"Today#39;s smartphones are pocketable, Net-connected personal computers, and the OSes they use have a huge impact on their power and their personality. Buy a phone, and you#39;re committing to a platform just as surely as you are when you choose a PC or a Mac./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"b[ Check out Neil McAllister#39;s#160;a href="http://weblog.infoworld.com/fatalexception/archives/2008/09/sdk_shootout_an.html?source=fssr"SDK shoot-out of Android vs. iPhone/a#160;as well as InfoWorld#39;s Test Center review of#160;#160;a href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/10/15/42TC-t-mobile-g1_4.html?source=fssr"Android, Google#39;s iPhone killer/a. And discover the top-rated IT products as rated by the a href="http://www.infoworld.com/testcenter/?source=fssr"InfoWorld Test Center/a. ]/b/pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"To see how today#39;s smartphone OSes stack up, I spent time with five leading ones as experienced on phones that show them to good advantage: Apple#39;s iPhone OS (which I tried on the iPhone 3G, using ATamp;T#39;s network), Google#39;s Android (on T-Mobile#39;s G1), Microsoft#39;s Windows Mobile (on HTC#39;s Touch Diamond, using Sprint), Nokia#39;s S60 3rd Edition on Symbian (on the company#39;s N96, sold only in unlocked form), and RIM#39;s BlackBerry OS (on the company#39;s own BlackBerry Bold, using ATamp;T)./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"(Consult a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/125397/top_10_smart_phones.html"PC World#39;s Top 10 Smart Phones chart/a to see how the hardware compares.)/pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"I judged the five operating systems on their capabilities, ease of use, and visual panache, and considered both their standard applications and third-party programs./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"strongThe Winnersbr//strongThe two most impressive operating systems were the two with the briefest histories: iPhone OS and Android./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"Both are built for Internet-centric devices, both are not only functional but fun, and both make extending your phone#39;s capabilities with new applications extremely easy. At the moment, a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/149415/blog_apple_updates_iphone_os_thwarts_hackers_fixes_flaws.html"iPhone OS/a beats the a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007790.html"newer, rougher Google OS/a ; over time, a href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007815.html"Android#39;s open-source design/a and lack of restrictions on third-party developers could give it an edge over Apple#39;s more locked-down approach./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"Among the old-timers, the a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007731.html"BlackBerry OS/a is doing a solid job of preserving the strengths that made it popular in the first place while keeping up with the times. In contrast, I regret to report, a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/144024/microsoft_updates_windows_mobile_ie_mobile.html?tk=rel_news"Windows Mobile/a and a target="_blank" href="http://www.s60.com/life"S60 3rd Edition/a are aging badly. Let#39;s delve more deeply./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"strongApple iPhone OSbr//strongemWhat it is:/em iPhone OS is a pocket-size version of the a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/138964/review_mac_os_x_leopard.html"Mac#39;s OS X/a , shrunk down and redesigned to power the iPhone 3G./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"emHow it works:/em As you zip your way around the iPhone 3G#39;s multitouch interface with your fingertips, hardware and software blur into one pleasing experience. With other OSs, it#39;s all too easy to get lost in menus or forget how to accomplish simple tasks; a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007238.html"iPhone apps/a , however, are remarkably sleek and consistent. The OS#39;s most infamous omission is cut-and-paste capability -- but to tell the truth, I haven#39;t missed it yet./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"emHow it looks:/em Terrific. Everything from the sophisticated typography to the smooth animation effects contributes to the richest, most attractive environment ever put on a handheld device./pp page="1" class="ArticleBody"emBuilt-in applications:/em What#39;s good is great--especially the a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006651.html"Safari browser/a , which makes navigating around sites that were never designed to be viewed on a phone remarkably simple. And the OS#39;s music and video programs truly are of iPod caliber. But as a productivity tool, the iPhone lacks depth: You can#39;t search e-mail, and you get no apps for editing documents or managing a to-do list./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emThird-party stuff:/em Just months after Apple opened up the iPhone to other developers, thousands of programs are available, and downloading them directly via the App Store is a cakewalk. The best ones, a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/007515.html"such as Facebook/a and a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/149833/top_five_free_iphone_productivity_apps.html"the Evernote note-taker/a , are outstanding. But the a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/143552/apple_waitlists_wouldbe_iphone_developers.html"limitations that Apple puts on third-party apps/a -- they can#39;t run in the background or access data other than their own -- place major obstacles in the way of everything from instant messengers to office suites. And Apple, the sole distributor of iPhone software, has declined to make available some useful applications that developers have submitted./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emBottom line:/em iPhone OS is easily the most enjoyable and intuitive phone operating system in existence, but its growth could be stunted unless Apple keeps its control-freak tendencies in check./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"strongGoogle Android/strongbr/emWhat it is:/em Google#39;s new phone OS is an ambitious open-source platform intended to let companies customize it to their liking for an array of handsets. So far, however, it#39;s available on just one model, a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/39727/review/g1.html"T-Mobile#39;s G1/a ./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emHow it works:/em On the G1, Android#39;s interface feels like an iPhone/BlackBerry mashup -- much of it uses the touch screen, but you get a trackball and Menu, Home, and Back buttons, too. The highly customizable desktop is a plus. Overall, it compares well to older platforms but isn#39;t as effortless as the iPhone./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emHow it looks:/em Android isn#39;t an aesthetic masterpiece like iPhone OS, but it#39;s fresh and appealing, and it makes good use of the G1#39;s high-resolution screen./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emBuilt-in applications:/em They#39;re tightly integrated with a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/140513/six_easy_ways_to_conquer_gmail.html"Google services such as Gmail/a and a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/145844/26_tricks_to_help_you_tame_google_calendar.html"Google Calendar/a -- the first thing you do when you turn on the phone for the first time is to give it your a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/153055/google_moves_to_openid.html"Google account info/a . (That#39;s fine as long as you#39;re not dependent on alternatives such as a target="_blank" href="http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2008/082608-exchange-replacements.html"Microsoft Exchange/a .)/pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"Android#39;s browser lacks the iPhone#39;s multitouch navigation but is otherwise a close rival. The best thing about its music features is the ability to download a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/130853/four_ways_to_reclaim_your_digital_rights.html"DRM-free/a songs from Amazon. The only videos it can play are YouTube clips, alas./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emThird-party stuff:/em Developers are just beginning to hop on the Android bandwagon. The a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/152613/google_launches_android_market.html"iPhone-like Market service/a lets you download apps directly to the phone from Google; unlike with the iPhone, you can also snag programs from third-party merchants a target="_blank" href="http://www.handango.com/homepage/Homepage.jsp?storeId=2218w.handango.com/homepage/Homepage.jsp?storeId=2218"such as Handango/a ./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emBottom line:/em Android#39;s potential is gigantic, especially if it winds up on scads of phones. On the G1, it#39;s a promising work in progress./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"strongRIM BlackBerry OS/strongbr/emWhat it is:/em This software powers RIM#39;s BlackBerry smart phones, including the a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/29994/review/blackberry_8300_curve.html"Curve/a , a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/29346/review/blackberry_pearl.html"Pearl/a , and a href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/29846/review/blackberry_8800.html"8800/a , as well as the new a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/43074/review/rim_blackberry_bold.html"Bold/a and a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/153773/verizon_wireless_to_launch_blackberry_storm_next_week.html"Storm/a models./pp page="2" class="ArticleBody"emHow it works:/em The basic concepts behind the BlackBerry interface have changed remarkably little in a decade. And why should they? In its own way, the BlackBerry interface is just as logical and consistent as the iPhone#39;s: On most models you perform almost every function in every application with a trackball, a Menu button, and a button that lets you back out to the previous screen./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Master those three actions, and you can whip around the OS with extreme speed. (I haven#39;t tried the Storm, which replaces the standard BlackBerry controls with an iPhone-style touch screen.)/pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emHow it looks:/em The BlackBerry OS is fairly mundane and text-centric, although recent models such as the Bold dress it up with crisper fonts and slicker icons./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emBuilt-in applications:/em The BlackBerry#39;s e-mail and calendaring applications still set the standard for efficient design and reliable real-time connectivity with widely used messaging systems such as Microsoft Exchange./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"The Bold introduces a much-improved new browser that rivals iPhone OS and Android in its ability to display sites the way their designers intended; its music and video apps are serviceable enough but still secondary to the productivity tools./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emThird-party stuff:/em Once upon a time, users didn#39;t have many BlackBerry programs to choose from, but recently the market has boomed--thousands, from productivity apps to games, are available now. Windows Mobile and S60 have even more bountiful selections, though./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Currently BlackBerry has no over-the-air storefront comparable to Apple#39;s App Store or Android Market. a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/154131/8_reasons_to_pick_iphone_over_blackberry_storm.html"RIM#39;s BlackBerry storefront/a is expected to launch in March 2009./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emBottom line:/em The BlackBerry OS is an old dog, but a smart one -- and one that#39;s proving itself capable of learning new tricks./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"strongMicrosoft Windows Mobile/strongbr/emWhat it is:/em As its name makes clear, this is Microsoft#39;s mobile edition of Windows. Version 6.1 ships on a dozen phones from manufacturers such as HTC (with its a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/32187/review/touch_diamond.html"Touch Diamond/a ), Motorola, Palm, and Samsung./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Here#39;s a video showing the best of the new features of Windows Mobile 6.1./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Some manufacturers -- including HTC with the Diamond, Palm, and Samsung -- supplement Windows Mobile with their own software layer or tweaks to the underlying Windows Mobile OS./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emHow it works:/em Surprisingly, Windows Mobile acts like a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/browse.html?cat=2207amp;type=2"full-strength Windows/a , complete with a Start menu and system tray. That isn#39;t a virtue -- who wants to squint at tiny icons on devices meant for on-the-go use? The Touch Diamond covers up part of Microsoft#39;s stylus-oriented interface with a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/43890/review/fuze.html"a fingertip-driven system called TouchFLO/a that#39;s nowhere near as elegant and intuitive as the iPhone./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emHow it looks:/em It#39;s workmanlike. But it falls far, far short of iPhone OS#39;s surface gloss./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"Built-in applications: The version of Internet Explorer on current phones is profoundly archaic; the Touch Diamond dumps it for a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006440.html"Opera Mobile/a . (Microsoft has released a new version of IE, but it isn#39;t yet available on any phones.) On the other hand, the productivity apps -- basic versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint -- aren#39;t bad./pp page="3" class="ArticleBody"emThird-party stuff:/em The best thing about this OS is the sheer variety of available applications in every category. Utilities such as a target="_blank" href="http://www.lakeridgesoftware.com/"Lakeridge Software#39;s WisBar Advance/a let you tweak the interface#39;s look, feel, and functionality, compensating for some of its deficiencies. But you get no built-in app store #224; la iPhone OS and Android./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emBottom line:/em Windows Mobile has fallen behind the times on multiple fronts. Microsoft#39;s next major overhaul isn#39;t expected until late 2009 or 2010; by then, version 6.1 will be all but irrelevant./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"strongNokia S60 3rd Edition on Symbian/strongbr/emWhat it is:/em S60 3rd Edition is the version of the venerable Symbian mobile OS found in a variety of smart phones, not only from Nokia (including a target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/150606/nokia_ships_first_units_of_n96.html"its new N96/a) but also LG and Samsung./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emHow it works:/em S60#39;s interface dates from the days when even the smartest phones sported only a numeric keypad and a few other buttons, and it tends to make you shuffle through menus one laborious item at a time. (The BlackBerry OS does a much better job of making non-touch-screen devices fast and efficient.)/pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emHow it looks:/em It#39;s pretty old-fashioned by today#39;s standards, with blocky fonts and retro icons./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emBuilt-in applications:/em The programs vary from phone to phone. The N96 I tried includes a reasonably comprehensive suite of apps, and judged purely on available features, they#39;re respectable; the browser, for instance, has a zoom-in/zoom-out interface that#39;s theoretically similar to the one in iPhone OS#39;s Safari. But the clunky interface leaves them feeling less powerful than the apps on any other phone I tried for this article./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emThird-party stuff:/em A profusion of useful S60-compatible applications is available at sites such as Handango -- one of the deepest libraries for any platform, thanks to Symbian#39;s long life span and wide usage./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emBottom line:/em S60 3rd Edition is stale in comparison with iPhone OS and Android, but it#39;s also heading for retirement. The new a target="_blank" href="http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/8203_S60_5th_Edition-touch_and_sens.php"S60 5th Edition/a brings the OS up-to-date with features such as touch-screen support; a target="_blank" href="http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1256590"Nokia#39;s 5800 XpressMusic/a , the first phone to use it, won#39;t arrive in the United States until early next year./pp page="4" class="ArticleBody"emFormer PC World editor in chief Harry McCracken now blogs at his own site,/em a target="_blank" href="http://technologizer.com/"emTechnologizer/em/a. ema target="_blank" href="http://www.pcworld.com/"PC World/a is an InfoWorld affiliate./em/p/divbr style=clear: both;/ a href=http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=4e53c84712d9565c4450c151b54af6f2p=1img alt= style=border: 0; border=0 src=http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=4e53c84712d9565c4450c151b54af6f2p=1//a img src=http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=4e53c84712d9565c4450c151b54af6f2 style=display: none; border=0 height=1 width=1 alt=/

pimg src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/11/Windows_7_MC_First_Look.jpg" align="left" hspace="4" vspace="2" width="807" height="186" style="display:block;float:none;" /A few days back, I showed you a href="http://gizmodo.com/5093261/windows-7-touch-control-makes-media-center-more-awesome"the new touch interface for Media Center PCs running Windows 7/a, and though I had to pull the video, I promised a walkthrough of proposed Windows 7 Media Center features. I say "proposed" because, like everything else about Windows 7, this is all alpha and subject to change. But these features are very cool, and really should be included. One more thing: These screens were projected on a wall in a well-lit room, so they look horrible, but anyone familiar with Media Center (and Microsoft has shipped like 100 million of them, so that should be plenty of ya) will have a good idea of the pleasantness to come. Or you can just drink in the following prose descriptions:br script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" galleryPost('10coolwin7mcfeatures', 3, ''); /script/p pbull; strongShows appear dissolved behind menus/strong - When you're watching something and want to pull up a menu to add a new show or browse the channel guide, or even go into another area of the Media Center, the current show stays on, not as a picture-in-picture, but tastefully dissolved into the background./p pbull; strongChronological turbo scroll for channel guide/strong - When you're looking at the channel guide, but want to go from Tuesday to Sunday in a hurry, you just hold down the arrow button on the remote, and the days start to whip by. Listings become a blur, but the days of the week, and the portions of the day, appear floating over the listings to give you an idea of when to stop./p pbull; strongLive thumbnail forward and rewind/strong - During HD video playback, you might want to jump around. Grab the time marker and drag it forward or back, and as you do, you see a miniature version of the show playing backwards or forwards at the same speed./p pbull; strongLaunch TV from Start menu/strong - Media Center can occupy a pole position in the Start menu, and when you hover over the MC logo, a list of recently recorded shows pops up, along with other frequently used MC features./p pbull; strongFloating Media Center gadget/strong - Not only can you access shows from the Start menu, you can browse MC features from the desktop with the gadget. I am not clear whether or not you'll get to have actual video playing in it, but for people who need MC at their fingertips, this appears to be a nice, subtle execution./p pbull; strongAlphabetical turbo scroll for music/strong - The chronological turbo scroll on the channel guide is cool, but this one will come in more handy for me: As you scroll through the countless artists in your music collection, the names become a blur but your location in the alphabet is denoted by two letters, probably so that those longer letters like J, M, R and S can be broken up better./p pbull; strongDrifting cover art grid/strong - When you're playing a song, the album art for that track appears with some basic metadata, and all the cover art for every other track you own materializes and drifts in the background. The primary cover art jumps from side to side and top to bottom, so that everything is in constant, fluid motion./p pbull; strongScattered photos picture show/strong - As you're playing music, you can opt for a photo show that essentially reaches into a folder, grabs a handful of shots, scatters them evenly around the page, and then zooms in on one at a time. A nice touch: In the wide angle, all the photos look like desaturated black-and-whites, but as each shot gets its own screen time, it magically becomes full color./p pbull; strongCopy remote content/strong - If you are browsing multiple libraries or Media Center PCs and come across a show you like, you can watch it or save it for later by hitting "make a copy." As long as there's no broadcast flag or some other DRM, the vid will flow over to your local HDD so you can watch it when you've left the network./p pbull; strongVirtual channels without TV tuner/strong - One of the new Media Center's central concerns is the new popularity of internet-based video, not just YouTube clips but whole TV episodes like those shown on Hulu. DVR functionality is key to making the most of an MC, but at launch there will be loads of virtual channels with shows you can watch just as easily. Microsoft demoed a special MSNBC channel that had clips and full shows; it's of course feasible for them to build similar channels for third-party web video services too. [a href="http://gizmodo.com/tag/windows-7"Windows 7 on Giz/a]/p br style="clear: both;"/ a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=256cee8dc441825e41e95447620e8f2dp=1"img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=256cee8dc441825e41e95447620e8f2dp=1"//a img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=256cee8dc441825e41e95447620e8f2d" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=AbmT0UmO"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=120" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=fcJYRZNT"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?d=41" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=DmBrl2Td"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=DmBrl2Td" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.gawker.com/~f/gizmodo/full?a=k545YLdO"img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~f/gizmodo/full?i=k545YLdO" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/jqHmRSIWAdQ" height="1" width="1"/