A feature that automatically encrypts laptop hard drives will likely be the first thing security managers look at when the enterprise edition of Microsoft’s new Vista operating system ships later this month. The feature, BitLocker, will intensify the spotlight on an area that has become a major concern for big companies in recent years.

Oakley Networks is expanding its insider threat protection tools by offering software that can locate missing laptops and wipe their hard drives remotely. Once installed on a laptop, Oakley’s SureFind acts as a locater beacon if a laptop is reported stolen. The software “calls in” to Oakley and reports any activity that has happened since the theft, including information about downloads and logins.

Accessorize your new iPod Shuffle with eye-catching colors that can change to suit your mood with new RhinoSkin Accents, the latest Apple accessory by RhinoSkin. The iPod Shuffle Accents come in four colors–red, blue, green and pink–and are made from durable, lightweight aluminum with a high-polish finish to look good and provide access to your Shuffle.

The Sony PlayStation 3, which launched in the U.S. on Friday, like Nintendo’s Wii console, which went on sale two days later, uses a motion-sensitive controller in an effort to make games more intuitive to play. The controllers make a higher level of realism possible, too: in the sports game bundled with the Wii in the U.S., the stick-shaped controller doubles as the handle of a virtual tennis racket or golf club. The technology behind motion-sensing has been around for a while, but recent technical advances have radically brought down the price — and the size. The new game controllers are the first gadgets that promise to bring the technology into the hands of millions of people, and manufacturers are now using motion sensors in other consumer products, including cell phones.

The long-rumored arrival of a hybrid mobile phone and iPod music player from Apple Computer has morphed from a question of “If” to “When” among fans and analysts. Chief Executive Steve Jobs and Apple are poised to roll out what has been dubbed the iPhone, perhaps as soon as January next year at the Macworld conference that kicks off every new year. Analysts believes the iPhone would be a candy-bar-shaped phone, rather than a flip phone like Motorola’s huge hit, the RAZR mobile phone.

Denise has been experiencing a renaissance of interest in all things mathematical. In her process of clicking and clicking and clicking, she discovered this neat little math site. It’s pretty slick and worthy of a bookmark. The site bills itself as the “phinest” information on the Golden Section, Divine Proportion, Fibonacci series and phi. I’m not sure why, but we do love this stuff!

Marge, where’s the Visa? Whether you’re a spender or particularly prudent (there’s a word we don’t use too often in Computing Unplugged), SplashMoney can help you keep track of your finances on the go. Should you spend your money on SplashMoney? Contributing Editor Heather Wardell tells you whether you should write the check.

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

Proporta has released accessories for the Blackberry Pearl, including the Alu-Leather case, in both book and flip style, and the Advanced Screen Protector.

Nielsen Media Research has gathered its first data on the audience for Apple Computer’s iPod, calling into question the popularity of its video offering. Owners of Apple’s ubiquitous portable media player spend far more time on it listening to music or audio podcasts than they do using it to watch TV or movies. That was among the findings in a preliminary study conducted by the audience-measurement service in October–about one year after a video window was introduced to iPod and its corresponding Internet platform, iTunes.

miniMusic has released AxisPad, a new music application for the Palm Platform. AxisPad uses the full touch sensitive screen to control sounds, changing their pitch, volume or other characteristics. A built-in software synthesizer creates a wide range of instrument sounds, or some handheld computers can also be connected to MIDI hardware (like keyboards, samplers, or tone modules) which AxisPad can also control, altering the sound of that instrument while you play.