Ruggedised notebooks are designed to take a beating, within reason, of course. Sears Holding Company has been using them for more than a decade. The previous model worked fine after a battle with Mother Nature.

Midwest Messenger 
A dairy software company has found a way to make Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) technology work in barns, in fields and on pastures. Valley Agricultural Software, of Tulare, Calif., developed Pocket CowCard - a program that tracks cow information using a Dell Axim Handheld.

Rosum Awarded Two New Patents 
Rosum Corporation of Mountain View, California, received in June two new patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Rosum combines commercial broadcast TV signals with GPS technology for tracking and positioning people and assets inside buildings and other locations where traditional GPS fails.

Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus Wins PC Magazine Editor’s Choice Award 
menu templates, speedy rendering and support for editing high-definition video. In addition to this newest award, 10 has gained honors in Europe and Asia with Editor’s Choice Awards from Computer Bild in Germany, PC Pro, PC Plus and PC Utilities in the UK and PC World in Australia.

Itronix Introduces General Dynamics GoBook XR-1 Fully Rugged Notebook 
Itronix, a General Dynamics company, today introduced the General Dynamics GoBook XR-1, the world’s smallest and lightest fully rugged wireless notebook. The GoBook XR-1 elegantly combines rugged features with high-performance computing, comprehensive wireless capabilities and unmatched security features in a product designed to perform in mobile outdoor environments. The new rugged device is

Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus Brings High-Quality Surround Sound to Home DVDs 
(July 26, 2006) North America, BUSINESS WIRE — Ulead Systems Inc. (TSE:2487), a subsidiary of InterVideo Inc. (NASDAQ:IVII), is bringing fresh enjoyment to home video projects by allowing users to create soundtracks in high-quality 5.1-channel surround sound.

High-tech now high art 
Rather than be passive onlookers, people can now get creative with their gadgets. Lia Timson reports. -