Acer has confirmed that Windows 7 will be available pre-loaded on their new all-in-one Z5600 PC from the 23 October 2009, not by the end of January 2010 as Microsoft has been previously suggesting.

Although some rumours have put the OS’ release closer to the end of 2009, Microsoft has yet to officially confirm that the software will be launched sooner than the 3-years-after-Vista timescale.

Acer also confirmed to us that any Vista-based models purchased in the 30 days prior to this date will be eligible for Microsoft’s free upgrade programme.

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it is pulling the trigger on thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced earlier this year.

And in an e-mail to employees, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer left the door open to even more cuts.

“As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations,” he wrote.

When Microsoft announced its first-ever companywide layoffs in late January, the software maker immediately cut 1,400 positions, with the remaining 3,600 cuts to come over an 18-month period.

Source: AP

Light-emitting diodes are prime candidates for replacing inefficient incandescent bulbs, but have a few things working against them. they can provide a pleasing warm light or they can be energy-efficient, but they haven’t been able to be both at the same time.

On Tuesday, two small companies showed off an LED lamp that’s both very power-efficient and produces a light similar to that of a standard tungsten or halogen bulb.

The LEDs in the lamp shine through a thin layer of “quantum dots,” a scattering of particles of very small but precisely controlled size. When light hits them, they emit light of a different color, much like the “phosphor” layer of a fluorescent tube. The magic of quantum dots is that the color they emit can be controlled very accurately by adjusting their size, which means less wasted energy and more pleasing color.

The dots are so small that more than 10,000 of them could be could be lined up over the width of a human hair.