OCZ Technology has announced it next generation of SSD drives that are up to twice as fast as the previous generation.  While first generation SSD drives had read speeds of 58 MB/s and supported write speeds of up to 35 MB/s, the second generation comes with a massive 120 MB/s read and an even more impressive 100MB/s write speed.

Design, of course, is always a matter of taste but if you like to stand out and enjoy the interest and attention a MacBook Air is sure to deliver, you typically will have to shell out extra bucks for that privilege. That could change somewhat with Acer’s new Gemstone notebooks, which incorporate lots of unusual design details, but remain relatively affordable: Starting at around $900, the system scales from a basic multimedia notebook to a capable high-definition machine with a 1200p display and Blu-ray support.

During its quarterly conference, executives of 2K announced BioShock 2 and finally answered rumors of its sequel to the 2007 mega-hit, BioShock.  Three months ago, a new game development studio called 2K Marin opened its doors, and it was rumored that they are working on a sequel to BioShock. At the same time, the destiny of the 2K Boston/Australia team was uncertain, since head of 2K Boston, Ken Levine was stating that he is going to work on a sequel.

Interview - We are wrapping up our interview with EPIC Games CEO and Unreal creator Tim Sweeney today with an outlook into the future of video gaming. What will be the next generation of game consoles bring? What can we expect from the next Unreal game engine? What about all those fancy brain-computer-interface devices and future game controllers that will allow you to control your character in a game with your body, rather than with a controller in your hand? Join us listening to Sweeney’s answers to those questions and get insight in how video games will change over the course of the next four, five years.

A University Of South Florida College Of Public Health study says red light cameras actually increase the number and severity of crashes.  The study examined red light camera accident data from around the United States and Canada and found an up to 40% increase in accident rates at some camera-equipped intersections.  Researchers also contend that insurance companies benefit from the cameras by increasing the premiums of offenders.

Asus today launched the MK241H, a new PC monitor with a built-in webcam and video conferencing functionality, along with an HDMI input and full 1080p high definition resolution. The 24-inch monitor also uses Asus's Color Rich Technology which it says offers an above average color gamut.  The integrated webcam is the defining feature for the MK241H.  Asus claims it is the first 24-inch monitor with exclusive video conferencing functionality and ergonomics.  In addition to the webcam, it a MIC-array device and stereo speakers.

Web developers have some new tools to play with, as Google has opened up its entire collection of Youtube videos to allow other websites the opportunity to create customized video playback.  As it stands now, users are able to embed Youtube videos into their own website, but they must use a specific piece of Internet code and viewers need to actually go to the video on Youtube.com to read and post comments.  With the newly opened features, website creators can essentially create an entire mirror of Youtube.

Spammers have increased their activities in 2008, adjusted their strategy and apparently are increasingly successful at getting more and more spam into email inboxes. Security firm MX Logic found that, other than in previous years, the amount of spam has not come down since the holidays, indicating that we could see a new surge in spam attacks this year.

Apple’s iPhone software developer kit (SDK) is off to a good start: More than 100,000 copies have been downloaded within the first four days after release, the company announced today. The free software includes the XCode IDE, instruments, an iPhone simulator, samples and compilers to create free and commercial iPhone and iPod touch applications.

Earlier this year, Take Two Interactive rejected a buyout offer from Electronic Arts, and now a T2 stock owner is suing for not maximizing shareholders' equity.  EA offered Take Two a substantial premium over the company's current market value to buy the video game publisher outright.  However, Take Two said it was the wrong place and the wrong time to consider such an offer, and tried to keep negotiations secret.

Pricewatch - Blu-ray Disc players from Samsung, Sony and Sharp are now the most expensive they have been all year, presumably because HD DVD's exit from the high-def disc arena has removed some of Blu-ray's pricing pressure.  Although HD DVD was always seen as a distant second in the HD format war, it constantly received attention because of the lower cost of its players.  Because of this, standalone Blu-ray players were not moving off store shelves very steadily.