Microsoft has closed the division that created mainstream-sports games for its Xbox console, laying off 76 employees as a result. The studio produced first-party team sports titles for the Xbox, including the “NFL Fever” football series, “NBA Inside Drive” basketball and “NHL Rivals” hockey. A separate studio in Utah that develops individual sports games, such as the “Amped” snowboarding title, is not affected by the cuts.

Datastick Systems has released the Datastick DAS-1254 and DAS-1294 data acquisition systems: including two new hardware modules that attach to Palm PDAs, three new members of the Datastick Connection suite of software applications that run on Palm handhelds, and a fast, easy way to get information from a handheld instrument to the desktop pc. Datastick Report System software eliminates one of the most frustrating problems of portable datalogging and handheld instruments: the ability to quickly view the measurement data on the desktop pc, to integrate with standard databases and other software applications in the enterprise, and to publish the data in reports and on the Web with ease.

iambic, creator of productivity enhancement software for handheld devices, is announcing Agendus Mail, a powerful new email solution for Palm OS devices. Agendus Mail delivers full email functionality to the users of iambic’s Agendus for Palm OS Professional Edition, personal information management (PIM) program.

Wal-Mart Stores has begun selling a Wi-Fi notebook PC for less than $600, which analysts say could herald a laptop push by the retailer for the holiday season. The retail giant began offering the wireless notebook, manufactured by Taiwan’s Elitegroup Computer Systems, in late July for online sales only. It’s listed at $598, without discounts or mail-in rebates.

Cornice, maker of miniature disk drives, said it filed counterclaims against Seagate Technology in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in response to a patent infringement complaint filed by Seagate in June. The Longmont, Colo., company said it seeks a ruling that Seagate’s patents are invalid, unenforceable, and not infringed upon by Cornice’s products.

Wayport, providers of high-speed Wi-Fi wireless and wired Internet access in more than 3,000 locations including hotels, airports, McDonald’s and other retails brands, has selected PrinterOn Corporation’s Guest Printing Service with a multi-year marketing and affiliate sales agreement to offer Web-based printing to Wayport-enabled locations. Wayport will offer the Web-based PrinterOn Guest Printing Service to expand the mobile office by enabling hotel guests to print directly from the comfort of their guestrooms to a hotel printer without the need for drivers or other software.

Apple Computer has agreed to recall about 28,000 batteries used in its 15-inch PowerBook G4 laptop computers. The batteries, made by LG Chem of South Korea, could overheat and pose a fire hazard according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Information Appliance Associates has released PocketMac BlackBerry Edition, the first tool to allow Mac users to synchronize data with RIM BlackBerry handhelds. This software gives users a tool for two-way synchronization of their handhelds’ contact information with Microsoft Entourage, the OS X Address Book, and Now Software’s Now Contact.

Transcend has introduced a new mobile storage device called PhotoBank which incorporates a card reader and an integrated 1.8 inch hard disk with 20GB or 40GB capacity. PhotoBank works independently of a computer or notebook but can be used as a mobile USB 2.0 hard disk and USB card reader with Windows and Macintosh computers.

Samsung’s all-in-one Multimedia device, the YH-999, is designed to access and view your favorite photos and slideshows, and play audio and video content anywhere you go. It is now available for pre-order at Amazon.