WINDOWS 8 TO FEATURE USB PORTABLE WORKSPACES

There are endless flavors of "Linux on a stick," tasty downloadable versions of that OS which run from removable storage and let you trial the OS without dedicating any of your partitions to the cause. There have been ways of making this work with Windows, too, but now Microsoft is getting into the game properly. A leaked version of Windows 8 contains a feature called Portable Workspaces, which enables you to take a 16GB (or greater) external storage device and dump a bootable, runnable copy of Win 8 on there. It remains to be seen just how many copies one could create, and whether they ever expire or, indeed, whether they can themselves be copied onto an HDD like a ghost image, but it's easy to see this as a boon for support personnel.

IBM TO SUPPORT USB 3.0 AND THUNDERBOLT IN IVY BRIDGE IN 2012

Beijing, the Chinese capital, is the site of Intel's currently ongoing developer conference, which is where Kirk Skaugen, VP of the company's Architecture Group, assured the world that the promise for native USB 3.0 support in Intel chipsets will be fulfilled. Not this year, mind you, but it'll be with us in 2012 as part of the Ivy Bridge CPU refresh. That matches AMD's plans to support USB 3.0 in Fusion APUs, and was augmented with a strong word of endorsement from Skaugen about the connector's future. He urged developers to embrace USB 3.0 on an equal footing with Intel's proprietary Thunderbolt interconnect, describing the two technologies as "complementary."

MICROSOFT FINALLY DISABLES USB AUTO-RUN IN PRE-WINDOWS 7 COMPUTERS

Microsoft has finally released the long awaited update which will disable the auto-run feature for USB devices. That behavior has been blamed for the spread of malware in recent years -- including the infamous Conficker worm -- and Microsoft had actually already made it possible to disable the functionality back in November of 2009, albeit only through an update available from its Download Center website. It's now finally pushed the update out through the Windows Update channel, though, which should cause it to be much more broadly deployed (particularly in large organizations). As explained in a rather lengthy blog post, however, Microsoft has decided to simply make it an "important, non-security update" rather than a mandatory update, as it doesn't technically see AutoRun as a "vulnerability" -- it was by design, after all.

IPAD2 TO GET RETINA DISPLAY, OTHER TWEAKS

Engadget and other sites are reporting some interesting things about the upcoming iPad2. First, the release of the updated device is not as imminent as some people have speculated. The tablet will be released in April, continuing Apple's practice of a one year release cycle.

The popular computer will get an update to the display. Following in the footsteps of the iPhone 4, the iPad2 will sport the Retina Display, doubling its resolution to 2048x1536. The new hardware will be both thinner and “sleeker” than the current iPad. The iPad2 could also have an SD card slot, though no USB slot as some people have speculated. Also, front and rear cameras are expected.

Apple is expected to replace the current chipset with a dual GSM/CDMA one from Qualcomm. This will allow for usage on both types of networks without having to have two different SKUs.

RUMOR: iPAD 2 NEW FEATURES

We all know it it coming, but when and exactly what the iPad 2 will have has led to speculation and rumor. DigiTimes is reporting the iPad2's new features will include:

• Retina Display
• Thinner glass face to cut down on weight
• Front facing camera for Face Time
• 3-axis gyroscope
• USB connection port

It makes sense for the iPad2 to have Retina Display and we know a front facing camera was yanked from the current iPad just before it went into production, but the USB port is probably not going to happen.  Apple has indicated numerous times they want to leave USB and go with Light Peak, a technology they are developing with Intel. [DigiTimes]

RUMOR: TOSHIBA TABLET MAKES APPEARANCE

We already know what the Toshiba tablet is going to look like, technically anyway.  It was waved around briefly in Australia and these shots seem to confirm it, however complete confirmation is a little light.  

According to Toshiba, the Smart Pad will have HDMI and USB ports along with an attractive slender profile.    The four buttons on the right indicate an Android OS.  

According to Notebookitalia(Google translated), Toshiba will unveil this at IFA this year.