Mobility

The European Commission has expanded an ongoing antitrust probe of computer chip maker Intel Corp. to examine claims that the company has been pressuring the Continent's largest computer retail chain not to sell computers containing chips made by archrival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd confirmed Monday.

The Open Grid Forum (OGF) standards body has officially opened for business, delivering on its commitment made back in June to detail its aims and organizational setup to coincide with the start of the GridWorld conference taking place this week in Washington, D.C.

Governments seeking inexpensive technology to warn of tsunamis could be interested in a free software application that monitors vibrations in the hard disks of computers in an attempt to detect the undersea earthquakes that cause tsunamis.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Panasonic) is recalling several thousand laptop computer battery packs because mechanical problems with the pack's latch could lead to overheating of the battery.

DRAM makers have reported record monthly sales for August, highlighting an increase in prices that could continue in the months ahead. The higher prices are unlikely to affect PC prices but users who want some extra DRAM for their PCs could find themselves handing over a bit more money than before.

After a much longer than expected delay, DDR2 (double data rate, second generation) has finally taken over as the most popular memory chip used in PCs.

Intel Corp. formally announced its "Merom" chip for notebooks Monday, as vendors including Dell Inc's Alienware, Gateway Inc. and Toshiba America Inc. announced new models built around the processor.

Sony expects the Apple and Dell battery recalls to cost between $190 million to $285 million. It said the figure represents the cost of replacement battery packs and any other related costs.