Sony didn’t want to make a big deal about this (so humble, that Sony) but the PlayStation 3′s recent 2.50 firmware update has a few extra additions aimed straight at home theater buffs. First up is a place to enter your DivX VOD Registration code — necessary if you want to get any of that Sony Pictures or Warner Bros. DivX-encoded video that’s on the way — along with new Sequential Playback and 50Hz video output settings, plus support for chroma upsampling & Mosquito Noise Reduction video enhancement on homemade Blu-ray discs and DVDs. On a more minor note, the BD/DVD settings section has been renamed just Video Settings, while the Cinema Conversion and Upscale options are getting all their mail delivered to BD/DVD Cinema Conversion and BD/DVD Upscaler, respectively. Peep the PlayStation site for the rest of the exciting details (there’s a German keyboard layout change that is not to be missed), and then go back to watching Hulu in a tiny box with a poor framerate in your newly Flash-enabled browser.

[Via PS3 Blog]

We had it on good authority that Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds debut, the Lumix DMC-G1, was tracking for a November release at $799, and Panasonic USA just dropped some PR to exactly that effect. We’d prefer an exact calendar date to Panny’s vague “mid-November” timeframe, but we’re sure we’ll live. Alongside the camera Panasonic will be launching the Lumix G Vario 45-200mm / F4.0-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. telephoto Micro Four Thirds lens for $350. Panasonic’s also still chatting up a G1 followup for 2009 that will include HD video capabilities, which probably should’ve made it into round one if you ask us.

With HP’s touchscreen laptop looming on the horizon, out come the leaks of an ASUS touchscreen lappie scheduled for launch in the first half of 2009. Touchscreen Eee PCs too (finally, right?) if DigiTimes‘ sources at panel makers are correct (which they tend to be with regard to ASUS). According to the Taiwanese industry rag, ASUS will likely use either a 12.1-inch or 11.6-inch touchscreen panel developed by AU Optronics (AUO) or Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO). What’s odd here is the claim by sources that the touch-panel notebooks “are expected to take advantage of Windows 7″ and presumably the new Microsoft OS’s multi-touch capabilities. Strange, since Windows 7 isn’t officially expected until sometime in early 2010 — a date looking more and more like a publicly padded goal to avoid the bashing Microsoft received for its Vista delays. The whispers certainly add a bit more credence to rumors of a 2009 release as expressed by Bill Gates himself, or more specifically June 3rd, 2009 as allegedly marked in the internal Microsoft calendar.

9:08AM PT — We’ve got a little less than an hour to go, so we’ll just kind of be loitering outside Apple Town Hall, waiting to spot Steve and the unicorn that is his new MacBook Pro.

We’re at Apple HQ! There’s going to be a bit of a wait before we get going, but stick close by!

Photos by Ryan Block

The pre-WWDC Apple rumor mill has finally churned out something that doesn’t have the words “3G” and “iPhone” involved — sources have told both Ars Technica and our friends at TUAW that Steve will also use his keynote to introduce the next major version of OS X, codenamed “Snow Leopard.” As the derivative release name indicates, there aren’t many changes in store from 10.5 Leopard — Apple’s said to instead be focusing on tightening up speed and stability as it starts producing more mobile devices. What’s more, this could be the end of PowerPC and Universal support in OS X, as Snow Leopard is said to be Intel-only. That’s bound to ruffle a few feathers, but things could get even more heated if Carbon is deprecated as is also being rumored. We’ll see when we see — Monday can’t get here fast enough.

Read – TUAW post
Read – Ars post

It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you’re looking for something decidedly larger and less flashy than the usual Xbox 360 replacement case, it looks like you’ll soon be able to get your fix courtesy of case-maker Lian Li, which is apparently set to release its Lian Li 360 case in just a few weeks. Among other things, this one promises a quieter operation courtesy of some air cooling and a 120mm fan, and relatively easy access to the internal components, although that of course does come at the expense of your warranty. No word on a price just yet, but Lian Li is apparently at least working to keep costs down, opting simply for aluminum side panels and standard screws instead of the more expensive thumbscrews it had originally planned.

Verizon has certainly courted Alltel before, but this time, the two could finally be rounding third base. According to a breaking report at CNBC, Verizon is “in deep in talks to acquire Alltel,” which of course is America’s fifth largest wireless carrier. It’s no secret that Alltel has been riding fairly high of late, and unless your memory is totally shot, you’ll likely recall that it was just recently “taken private by TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal.” Not surprisingly, officials at both outfits refused to comment on the rumblings, but if this does indeed go down, analysts are expecting Verizon to pay around 8x Alltel’s current EBITDA, whereas TPG / Goldman Sachs paid 9.2x. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.

Update: The talks have been confirmed by Vodafone which owns a 45% stake in VZW.