Creative(R) today announced availability of the Vado(TM) HD Pocket Video Cam, the ideal holiday gift. Thethin, lightweight Vado HD is small enough to fit easily in a pocket, purse orthe palm of your hand, and it captures video in 720p high-definition qualitywith just the touch of a button.
The Vado HD is the only Pocket Video Cam to feature HDMI connectivity andan included HDMI cable that provides 1080i output to an HDTV. It alsofeatures a precision glass lens for stunning video quality, and 8GB ofbuilt-in memory to carry up to two hours of HD video. The Vado HD has anestimated street price of US $229.99 and is available today in carbon black atAmazon.com and Creative.com.

"We designed the Vado HD so you can easily shoot all of life's spontaneousand fun moments, and then come home and watch your videos on an HDTV - allwith true high-definition quality," said Steve Erickson, VP and GM for audioand video at Creative. "You can upload the videos to your PC, or what'sreally cool is to watch them on your HDTV in full HD quality. Some camerassuch as the Flip Mino HD record HD video but don't let yououtput it in highdefinition to your HDTV. Even the New York Times laments, 'the Mino HD is ahi-def camcorder that can't play your movies in high def on a high-def TV.'The Vado HD delivers 1080i high-definition video to an HDTV, plus it offersthe convenience of an HDMI connection."

The simplicity of the Vado HD makes it ideal for capturing video on amoment's notice. While your camcorder is stored away somewhere in a camerabag, the Vado HD is ready in seconds to capture clips that you can cherish andsave for a lifetime in HD quality. With 8GB of built-in memory, the Vado HDcan carry up to two hours of HD video, and it doesn't require you to carrytapes or DVDs with you. The removable, rechargeable battery provides up totwo hours of recording and playback, and extra batteries are available asaccessories so you can easily swap them to capture more video.

The Vado HD enables fast and easy sharing of video on YouTube(TM) andBox.net(TM). The Vado HD has a built-in USB connector so you can plug rightit into your PC, just like you would with a thumb drive. The Vado HD includesthe Vado Central(TM) software program built right into it that showsthumbnails of your video clips, which you can view on or copy to your PC.With one easy step, just click on the YouTube or Box.net buttons in VadoCentral to easily post your videos. When you want to share your videos withselected friends and family, they can use Box.net to either view or download acopy of the video. Vado Central also enables capture of single snapshots orsuccessive snapshots in burst mode. When you want to make and edit your videoproductions, just use the Muvee software that's included in Vado Central.

Vado HD Features -- Slim, lightweight, pocket-sized design -- 720p HD video capture -- Included HDMI cable; HDMI connectivity provides 1080i video output to HDTV -- Built-in two-inch color LCD screen -- Removable rechargeable battery -- Precision glass lens -- Built-in USB cable for PC -- Built-in Vado Central software program for posting videos to YouTube and Box.net, plus Muvee(TM) software for video editing and customization, and capturing snapshots Vado HD Accessories

To personalize your Vado HD experience, the following accessories are available at http://www.creative.com:

-- A pouch for protection and storage, priced at US $14.99 -- Spare batteries providing up to two hours of recording or playback, priced at US $14.99 -- A power adapter with charging station so your Vado HD is ready to go when you are, priced at US $29.99 -- Underwater diving pouch for keeping the Vado HD dry during underwater shooting, priced at US $29.99 The Vado HD introductory bundle comes with an HDMI cable, silicon skin and USB extension. For more information about the Creative Vado HD visithttp://www.creative.com. Become a fan of Vado on Facebook athttp://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Vado-Pocket-Video-Cam/26099524863

About Creative:

Creative is a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products. Famousfor its Sound Blaster(R) sound cards and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed ZEN MP3 and portable media players.Creative's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment-anytime, anywhere.

This announcement relates to products launched in the United States.Availability is subject to change without notice and may differ elsewhere inthe world according to local factors and requirements. Creative Vado, SoundBlaster, ZEN and Vado Central are trademarks or registered trademarks ofCreative Technology Ltd in the United States and/or other countries. Allother trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Social networking site Facebook finds itself needing to update its data center infrastructure to support new media applications, and Intel will be the one to help them do it. The two companies on Thursday announced a joint agreement that will see Facebook use "thousands" of Xeon 5400 quad-core processors built on a 45nm manufacturing process.

More than just hardware support, Intel will also work with Facebook to optimize its software for use with the bevy of Xeon chips, giving extra focus to making the software take advantage of the additional processor cores. Moreover, Intel will look to send a message that its microarchitecture can support the massive data centers that will support cloud-computing infrastructures."It's a big win for Intel in the general category of web infrastructure and by that I mean categories like cloud computing," said John Spooner, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "Facebook has a large computing infrastructure that delivers these types of web services on demand and it requires the same level of service and infrastructure as a cloud-computing provider."

Facebook wouldn't comment on which OEMs would build the new servers, but according to eWeek, multiple sources have confirmed Dell and HP would be involved.

In what's turning into a cat and mouse game of legalese and fine print -- the Calcutta bros. behind Scrabulous have just relaunched their Facebook game as Wordscraper. Changes made include using circle tiles, customizable boards, and different point values for letters.Our take on this mess is this: can't the two just get along? Surely Hasbro can license the Scrabble name to what is an able game engine? The why-not here could be that Hasbro had entered into a deal with Electronic Arts to produce a Scrabble online game; also available on Facebook. This was incidentally, just before Hasbro sued the boys behind Scrabulous.
Meanwhile, Scrabulous can still be played on scrabulous.com.

The popular online hangout Facebook is sporting a new look to reflect changes in how its members communicate with each other and how they share photos and updates about their lives.

Central to the redesign, to be unveiled Monday, is an expanded Wall, the section of a member's personal profile page where friends can leave comments and photos. People will now be able to add items more easily, and the Wall will incorporate reports on a user's activities previously found on a user's ''Mini-Feed.''The development comes as Facebook and rival MySpace from News Corp. vie to become the central hub of online communications. Both sites are reorganizing their layouts this summer to reduce clutter and make information easier to find.

Facebook, trying to avoid the type of privacy backlash that has accompanied major changes in the past, said it has been alerting users of the changes in recent weeks. The site first outlined the facelift in May and plans to let users start testing it this week. A complete switch won't occur for at least another week or two.

The changes stem from the growing comfort people have with sharing details about their personal lives more frequently and in smaller bursts - such as on the ''microblogging'' site Twitter.

Instead of creating a full photo album or blog entry, Facebook users are apt to share just a single image or update the one-sentence status message on their profile, said Mark Slee, lead product manager at Facebook. On top of that, Facebook profiles are loaded with information generated from games and other applications that Facebook started letting outside developers write last year.

The Facebook redesign seeks to make these now-disparate pieces of information easier to find at a central location. Now the site will organize information into tabs to reduce clutter.

And users will get more control over what appears on their feeds, with the ability to add as well as delete individual items. Slee said no information about a user's online behavior that wasn't previously public would suddenly become posted to the Wall.

That is a sensitive subject at Facebook, which faced privacy criticisms when feeds first began, though now they are a staple of the site. Then last year a tracking tool called ''Beacon'' caught users off guard by broadcasting information about their shopping habits and activities at other Web sites. Facebook ultimately allowed users to turn Beacon off.

The world's second largest social network Facebook (with 70 million active users worldwide) has entered into an agreement with US officials wherein it will add over 40 new safeguards to protect its young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies. A similar agreement was signed by the world's largest social network MySpace (with 200 million users worldwide) in January this year.

US officials from Washington DC and 49 states have signed the agreement; Texas hasn't endorsed it in much the same way it did not -- the agreement with MySpace.Facebook has agreed to adopt precautionary measures such as banning convicted sex offenders from the site, limiting older users' ability to contact subscribers under 18, even participating in the task force that was set up in January to find ways of verifying users' ages and identities.

To enlist, Facebook has agreed to:
# ensure that companies offering services on its site comply with its safety and privacy guidelines

# keep tobacco and alcohol ads from users who are too young to purchase these products

# remove groups whose comments or images suggest they may be into incest, pedophilia, bullying, or other inappropriate content

# participate in the Harvard-based task force set up in January under the national agreement with MySpace; the task force is constituted by scholars, prosecutors, businesses, state officials, and child safety advocates

# send warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an adult

# review users' profiles when they ask to change their age, ensuring the update is legitimate and not intended to let adults masquerade as children


Many of the changes have already been enacted, according to Facebook officials.

Announcing the agreement along with his counterparts in other US states Thursday, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal reportedly said, "The agreement marks another watershed step towards social networking safety, protecting kids from online predators and inappropriate content

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said, "Social networks that encourage kids to come to their sites have a responsibility to keep those kids safe. We've now gotten the two largest social networking sites to agree to take significant steps to protect children from predators and pornography."

Chris Kelly, Facebook Chief Privacy Officer, said, "Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset. The attorneys general have shown great leadership in helping to address the critical issue of Internet safety, and we commend them for continuing to set high standards for all players in the online arena."

Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have been under fire lately for attracting the wrong kind of people; sex predators who tend to lie about their age to lure young victims into chatting, sharing images, and even meeting in person, and empowered cyberbullies who've gotten round to sending threatening and anonymous messages to classmates and even entire schools in the US.

Apparently the protections included in the MySpace and Facebook pacts would be eventually expanded to smaller networks like Friendster and Bebo to ensure childrens' overall safety online.