Apple refreshed its MacBook and MacBook Pro product lines last week. I was hoping for more significant improvements, but the changes were minimal.

Apple's MacBook Pro

(Credit: Courtesy of Apple)

The updated models come with new Intel processors, larger hard disks, more main memory, and more graphics memory….

The new moniker “Atom” sets in marketing stone the Intel brand for small devices. I’ll skip the banalities about Atom silicon being crucial for Intel’s future and just pose a question: Can Intel spur innovation in ultrasmall devices the way it has in the PC and server industry? …

(Credit: i-Buddy)

It should have been obvious that the “Nabaztag” was having some emotional problems when it turned to graffiti, let alone self-defacement. The Wi-Fi rabbit had apparently grown quickly from its innocent beginnings into precocious adolescence, perhaps accelerated by instant fame.

Yet it’s not too late to set …

Think of it as digital photography 2.0.

In the last decade, photography has been transformed by one revolution, the near-total replacement of analog film cameras by digital image sensors. Now researchers and companies are starting to stretch their wings by taking advantage of what a computer can do with …

Editor’s note: Tell us what you look for in a cell phone–vote in any or all of the four polls below, and elaborate in the TalkBack section at the end of this story.

Choosing a cell phone has become a lot like buying a car.

#pollShell { width: 180px; border: …

(Credit: Kufner Futures)

It’s probably safe to say that, even when Microsoft eventually ships its “Surface” touch-screen tabletop computer, it won’t be destined for the average household. In fact, if the “Interactive Media Wall” is any indication, it might be seen only in mansions for awhile. That’s …

(Credit: Karmaloop)

The original Adidas “Micropacer” was a bit ahead of its time when it came out in 1984. Back then, few could have predicted that running shoes would eventually be home to GPS devices, iPod transmitters, and their own MP3 players as they are in 2008.

But today the …

(Credit: Fareastgizmos)

Computer cooling technologies are serious business–and for good reason–but it still seemed a bit odd at first that one such device would be created as a limited edition. Yet that’s the distinction Asus has bestowed upon its “Triton 79 AMAzing” cooler. (The uppercase is correct, by …

(Credit: Newlaunches)

We have no idea what transportation vehicles will look like in 2025 but, if we ventured to guess, the “Embrio Advanced Concept” wouldn’t appear anywhere on the list of possibilities. Call us narrow-minded, but we just don’t see a one-wheeled motorcycle taking off for the masses….

(Credit: Heineken)

So much for our trend-spotting skills. We thought for sure that, where beer dispensing is concerned, the next big thing would be built-in taps, whether they be for the fridge or the game console. Instead, what seems to be taking hold is the portable version, we assume for …