In a recent episode of the TV show “Fringe,” a small town full of people suddenly starts going mad, in some cases growing duplicate limbs and even two sets of teeth. There’s also lots of dead bodies. As it turns out in this sci-fi horror scenario, two universes are literally colliding, because both are trying to occupy the same space. That’s exactly what’s happening in the mobile tech world: two devices or two operating systems are trying to take the place of one. Apple is avoiding that carnage by going against the convergence grain with OS X Mountain Lion.

As we embark on the next era of mobile computing, gadgets are getting mashed together in aggressive and intriguing ways. Take the Galaxy Note from Samsung, which doubles as a phone and tablet. This combo device has some pretty compelling features, including integrated pen functionality for taking notes and marking up websites and other items for easy sharing. And thanks to the HD screen, you can comfortably view everything from books to videos.

However, the Galaxy Note is just too large for a phone. It’s literally a two-handed device, which is a pretty significant trade-off for something that’s designed to be one’s primary communicator. The Galaxy Note also suffers from a lack of pen-enabled apps. There are some available such as Skitch from Evernote, but Samsung will need to attract a lot more developers in order to make hybrids like this palatable to the masses. (A rumored Galaxy Note tablet could help.)

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During the week of February 27th, the technology industry will gather in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, phone and tablet makers’ annual answer to CES. In the halls of Fira Palace, leading handset makers including Nokia, Sony, Samsung,  HTC, and LG will be showcasing their latest wares, some of which won’t appear in North America for several months. At last year’s show, we had the opportunity to preview the Samsung Galaxy S II, which didn’t appear on our shores until the fall, and the HTC Flyer, which didn’t arrive until summer.

Here are some of the trends we expect to see at this year’s Mobile World Congress:

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Apple this morning (Feb. 16) took the wraps off its newest operating system, OS X 10.8, codenamed “Mountain Lion,” which includes two notable features to give consumers more control over their own security, especially when downloading software.

One feature, Gatekeeper, let Mac users select the specific sources from which they’re able to download and install apps. Using the aptly titled program, people can choose to allow their systems to download only apps from the Mac App Store; from only the Mac App Store and developers who’ve been verified with a Developer ID; or from anywhere.

Users who choose the “Anywhere” setting will still be granted the protections provided by the current OS X 10.7. Apple will warn them if they are in danger of downloading potentially harmful software.

[Mac OS X Mountain Lion Preview: Much More iPad Inside]

Gatekeeper will also alert users who try to install an application from a developer without a developer ID.

To give its customers freedom while keeping them safe, Mountain Lion comes with a manual override built into Gatekeeper, allowing users to download apps even from unidentified developers.

It’s not yet clear if Gatekeeper would also screen software that’s being installed from a CD, DVD or flash drive.

Apple has not yet set a release date for OS X 10.8.

Article provided by SecurityNewsDaily, a sister site to Laptopmag.com.

If you’re a student or in a family in the market for a budget notebook, the Dell Inspiron 15 may be a good pick. With decent performance, good ergonomics and a bright display, the laptop is a good all-purpose pick. Normally $520, the Dell Inspiron 15 is on sale today for $400 through a deal with LogicBUY.

When we reviewed the unit, we touted its bright display, comfortable keyboard touchpad and loud speakers, but we couldn’t believe it lacked a webcam and HDMI port. But, if you can live without a webcam, this is definitely a deal to consider. And the deal gets even sweeter, because in addition to saving $120, you get free shipping and a free 6-month trial of the Blockbuster Total Access 1-disc plan.

Base specs: Intel Core i3-390M 2.66GHz, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500 GB hard drive, 8X DVD+/-RW, 802.11n Wi-Fi, VGA webcam, 6-cell battery, 3-in-1 card reader, Intel HD Graphics, MS Office 2010 Starter Edition and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS.

Dell Inspiron 15 Core i3 2.66GHz dual-core 15.6-inch laptop for $400 through LogicBUY

With their 1-GHz (or faster) processors and 4G data speeds, smart phones have never been more powerful–or more power hungry. Yes, specs and apps matter, but what good are they if you’re hunting for an outlet by lunchtime? If you want a smartphone that endures, check out the handsets that made our list. These devices lasted at least 6.5 hours on the LAPTOP Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over 3G/4G on 40-percent brightness.

 Click through the below slideshow to see which smartphones truly go the distance.

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10. Samsung Droid Charge (Verizon)

The Samsung Droid Charge boasts a gorgeous display, blazing 4G speeds, and longer battery life than the Thunderbolt.

Read the Full Samsung Droid Charge (Verizon) Review

Iomega announced today a new line of network storage devices for small and mid-sized businesses, the StorCenter PX Server Class Series. The SATA drives of the px4-300d line feature 1TB, 2TB or 3TB storage capacity. High performance models feature even greater storage —  four-bay and six-bay desktop models (px6-300d) are available that boast up to 18TB of network storage, as well as four-bay and 12-bay rackmount models (px4-300r) that feature up to 36TB of network storage. 

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Last November, Google took a necessary step forward and rolled out Google+ Pages, finally giving businesses the tools they need to take advantage of the nascent social network. Fans of the service have much to be excited about. Others say, “So . . . it’s like Facebook, right?â€

Understandably, Google+ has drawn numerous comparisons to Facebook throughout its short existence. What’s more, Facebook has been catering to businesses for some time. So businesses are only dipping their toes into Google+, as Simply Measured CEO Adam Schoenfeld put it.

Nevertheless, there are currently 60 million Google+ users out there, waiting to be reached. And luckily, there’s much that sets the new social network apart, as the platform has plenty to offer business owners itching to interact with their clients and colleagues in fresh ways.

Here are five ways Google’s new social network can bring in customers and dollars.

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Lenovo is renowned for making world-class notebooks and today’s deal of the day, the IdeaPad U300E, is no exception. The 13.3-inch Ultrabook features a sleek one-piece aluminum shell, breathable keyboard, cool-touch palmrest and glass touchpad. The laptop doesn’t just look good, either — it boasts a 1.6-Ghz Intel 2nd Gen Core i5 processor and 4GB of RAM. Normally $1,499, the Lenovo IdeaPad U300E is available for $959 plus free shipping through a deal at LogicBUY.

We reviewed the IdeaPad U300E’s cousin, the U300S, and praised its attractive metal design, quick boot time, long battery life, and fast performance. The U300E looks to continue this tradition, as its dual 32GB SSD and 500GB HDD offer the fast speeds of a solid state drive and the large storage capacity of a hard drive. The Ultrabook also boasts up to 7 hours of battery life, and at 3.5 pounds it’s light enough to carry around easily in a backpack or messenger bag.

Base specs: 1.6-GHz Intel 2nd Gen Core i5 LV processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD and 32GB SSD, Intel graphics, USB 3.0 port, HDMI output, HD webcam, Intel WiDi

Lenovo IdeaPad U300E 13.3-inch Ultrabook with a 1.6-GHz Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD and 32GB SSD for $959 through LogicBUY.

We’ve all been there. You’re gathered around with some friends at a coffee shop or your apartment when somebody pipes up, “Hey, have you guys seen that new Avengers trailer?” Nope, you haven’t. “Here, let’s see it!” Your friend grabs the laptop sitting on the table and starts a lengthy YouTube search. There must be a better way.

As of today, there is–thanks to Clik, a new app released from the developers of heavyweight messaging app Kik Messenger. Clik lets you connect your smartphone to any web browser–whether it’s on your Smart TV, laptop, tablet or mobile phone–and throw video onto the shared screen. Sound confusing? Check out our description below or view a video walk-through at the bottom of this post.

Here’s how it works: First, you navigate to http://ClikThis.com on any browser-enabled screen. A unique QR code is generated each time you visit the site. Then, you launch Clik on your smartphone. The camera on your device is triggered, letting you scan the code and connect to the screen.

Now the phone acts as your remote control. Three tabs along the bottom of the screen give you different ways to choose a video and project it onto the screen. There’s Favorites, which lists videos you’ve previously earmarked; Browse, which lets you peruse videos sorted into lists like Trending, Most Viewed Today, etc.; and Search, which lets you search the entire trove of clips on YouTube. Once you start playing a video, you’ll also see controls for playing or pausing a clip, adjusting the volume and marking the current video as a favorite.

It gets even better: Clik has developed a way to let your friends share in the fun. Just touch the tiny “clik” button on the top left corner of the app. It brings up a new screen with a big button in the center, “Show Clik Code.” Tap on that, and the same unique QR code earlier generated by the website shows up, letting another friend with the app scan it and share the connection–there’s no limit to how many people can “clik” in. Afterward, they can manage the video playlist, too.

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That was fast. Just seven months after rolling out Mac OS X Lion, Apple is releasing the ninth version of its OS, dubbed Mountain Lion. Designed to deliver more iPad goodness to Macs — without blurring the distinction between tablets and full-fledged PCs — Mountain Lion (10.8) is available as a developer preview today and will be released to consumers this summer. Pricing will be announced later.

The software brings several new features to Macs that will make iOS users feel right at home, from the iCloud-powered Notes and Reminders apps to a new Notification Center and Twitter integration. Other features weren’t yet available for testing, such as AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center. But Apple showed us how these features would work, which should make Apple’s devices work better together.

Here’s what we like about Mountain Lion so far and what improvements we’d like to see.

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