A company called Ipifini has come up with an idea for a customizable soda. The bottle is filled with carbonated sugar water. Several buttons on the bottle, when pressed by the consumer, release flavors, fragrances or colors — up to 32 possible soda choices in a single bottle.

Intel wants to make laptops more accessible to users and would like to make devices more akin to their desktop counterparts. With the company’s new Interchangeability Initiative, components including the optical drive, LCD screen, battery, power adapter and keyboard would all be upgradeable and can be swapped between notebooks. Hard drives are already for the most part interchangeable as long as you decide on PATA or SATA. Intel is currently working with Asus, Compal and Quanta on development of 11 new notebook designs that will use the aforementioned interchangeable components. Intel expects to see the fruits of its labors within the next three to five years.

Mark/Space announced that a universal version of Missing Sync for Palm OS is now available. Universal applications for Mac OS X run natively on both Intel and PowerPC processors, providing the best performance on Apple’s latest Macs, including the iMac Intel Core Duo and MacBook Pro. Version 5.1 is a free update for owners of version 5.0.

Voice over Internet protocol provider Skype, which is owned by eBay, is one of a handful of companies that had racketeering charges brought against it by StreamCast, the developer of the popular peer-to-peer network Morpheus. Documents filed in a California central court accuse Skype, Kazaa, Sharman Networks and other firms of violating the United States’ RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act by employing StreamCast’s file-sharing technology.

Belkin Routers now ship with ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, offering greater protection from hackers, data thieves, and cyber-criminals. With identity theft running rampant and malicious attacks on the rise, this all-in-one Internet security solution blocks these and other emerging Internet threats, while helping to protect your privacy and guard your identity. The Routers are currently shipping in the US with the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite, and they will be available in Europe and Australia in Summer 2006.

Maxis Communications Berhad and Research In Motion announced the BlackBerry 8700g for customers in Malaysia. Operating on Maxis’ high-speed EDGE network, the new BlackBerry 8700g features a completely re-engineered device platform that offers the best combined data and voice experience for mobile professionals. With a powerful Intel processor, 64 MB flash memory and 16 MB SDRAM, the BlackBerry 8700g provides noticeably faster Web browsing, attachment viewing and application performance.

BoxWave announced the Desktop Cradle for Palm Treo 700w. The Desktop Cradle is a USB cradle that is specifically designed for your Palm Treo 700w. It’s everything you need to synchronize and charge your Palm Treo 700w to your computer and supports Hi-Speed USB 2.0 data transfers. Desktop Cradle also designed with a HotSync button so that you can start your HotSyncs with a simple touch of a button. Additionally, it includes an A/C adapter cable for quicker charging time.

CommonTime announced the release of CommonTime mSuite 4.2. This new release brings greater Lotus Notes functionality to Windows Mobile devices. mSuite facilitates the best in mobile business communication, and allows business users to stay up-to-the minute with secure email, address book, chat, calendar tools and more. Now with version 4.2, CommonTime brings you the most accurate and up-to-date push functionality on the market.

If you’re in the market for a PDA smartphone, you’ve got a lot of great choices. Here at Computing Unplugged, we’ve been tracking the war between Palm and Pocket PC devices since January of 1998, so when Palm came out with their first Pocket PC smartphone, we thought this event worthy of investigation. In this article, we’re letting three leading devices shoot it out. The big news, of course, is Palm’s Treo 700w, their first foray into the Pocket PC world and possibly a taste of the future of Palm handhelds. Another exciting device is the PPC-6700, Sprint’s version of the amazingly powerful and versatile device we reviewed previously in its Verizon incarnation. Which should you buy? You’ll be surprised.

Read this Computing Unplugged article.

Ten years ago, Palm captured the imagination of road warriors everywhere with the first Pilot connected organizer, a mighty 5.7-ounce combination of calendar, contacts, to-do lists and notes. Today, having shipped more than 34 million mobile computing products, the company continues to improve the lives of people and businesses the world over, staying true to one guiding vision: The future of personal computing is mobile computing.