The awaited new Windows OS, Vista, will be hitting shelves by the end of the year (which is roughly the time Mac OS X 10.5 will be out). Let's now take a brief look of what you can expect.

Interesting features include Windows Sideshow which basically adds a small display on the external of your notebook computer for example, for quick and easy access to your schedules and phonebook without having to boot up the computer.
The Sidebar feature which incorporates date, time, weather, calculator, Media Player controls, etc in one single window permanently on the desktop is also very useful for quick access to commonly used tools and information. Wonderful idea formerly only available as a 3rd party download, it is now incorporated into Vista.
Another step in home IT technology is the incorporation of Home Entertainment in a computer device. Look out for new entertainment features including the ability for the Xbox 360 to work with your PC to bring and share all media files wherever you are. The Media Centre edition of Vista is definitely one to look out for.
The Search function will also be much improved this time round, and as expected with every incarnation, the design will improve too. For full details of how Vista will work, hold your breath till somewhere in November, when it is expected to ship.

Moving on to Intel, 2 pieces of news have being making headlines.

One is the most idiosyncratic computer manufacturer in the world, Apple, will produce iMacs with Intel processors from now. And by the end of 2006, all Macs will use Intel chips, marking the end of an era for the PowerPC-based Macs. Major improvements in terms of performance are promised. For a titbit, 32 million iPods were sold in 2005.

Second, and this also concerns the Intel-Macs, is the introduction of the Core-Duo chip. It basically is a chip for notebook computers which enables the users to perform multiple demanding tasks simultaneously while sipping on less power than the current chip. Acer will be the first to launch the new chip on their notebooks, which is right about now.

Next, as entertainment and media convergence continues to hit various gadgets, hard-disk based MP3 player-mobile phones will finally hit the market. Memory moves from Sony Ericsson W900i's 470MB into the GB territory.

Samsung has introduced the i300x in the market, and it comes with a 4GB microdrive, 1.3 megapixel camera, 256k colour screen and runs on a Windows Mobile edition smartphone platform.
Nokia's offering, the N91 is like a N70 (meaning stuffed full of features) with a 4GB microdrive. It runs on Symbian platform. Its size and heft may stop it from beating the Samsung.

In other mobile phone news, the Benq-Siemens mobile phone division is officially formed and 3 models have already been announced for the newly energised Taiwan-German mobile company. All 3 models seem to signal the company moving towards a design language where slim and minimalist takes the front seat.

The S68 is an entry level phone that comes with 256k colour screen, bluetooth and no camera.
S88 (black) throws in MP3 player, 2 megapixel camera with video, microSD card slot and upcoming mobile gadgets screen technology, OLED for its display.
EF81 is basically a S88 in a clamshell with 3G. It also comes with a high resolution display. No prizes for guessing it if it's aiming right at Moto's upcoming V3x , Samsung's Z500 replacement and LG U880.

A new alliance is completed but an old one dies. Konica Minolta has announced closure of its camera and imaging business, but current Konica Minolta users fret not, Sony will service the cameras for you now as KM has transferred a portion of its camera business assets to them. Hmm. Jacelyn Tay will lose one endorsement deal then.

Hard Disk storage will creep closer and closer to the terabyte territory (yes, that's 1000GB), as storage continues to escalate and prices tumble. Also, with more high-definition and what-have-you file formats now, one will need more storage than ever before. A 1TB storage solution is already available on the market at $1399.
2.5 inch drives, which are commonly seen in MP3 players iRiver H10 20GB or iPod G5, are also achieving capacity of up to 160GB. That would make a real iPod Video viable.

And lastly, Blu-ray should hit Singapore in a few months time as the buzz slowly fizzes out on the ultimate optical media.