Aiming to take advantage of compatibility problems in early, double-layer DVD burners, Hewlett-Packard announced a model designed to minimize playback problems. HP said its DVD Writer dvd530i already addresses disc ID issues for DVD players and the company has worked with DVD burner software to make sure double-layer recording occurs properly.

Exideas has released version 3.0 of its Windows Onscreen Keyboard, a tool to enhance text entry on Tablet PCs and touchscreen-based computers, as well as a variety of other mobile devices. Exideas also announced that the next version of MessagEase Onscreen Keyboard for Windows will include plug-in modules for other alphabets and character sets; it will also include support for several Asian languages.

Syware announced mEnable 2.0, the company’s wireless software that provides mobile users with interactive, real-time access to enterprise data. The new version of mEnable allows users to run any application written in C++ or Visual Basic to wirelessly read from or write to any ODBC-enabled data source, such as SQLServer, Oracle, Microsoft Access, and Sybase.

This, as the intro to the article says on their Web site, is off-topic. And it’s off-topic for us as well. But it’s damned disturbing and we think you should read it. If you’re in the U.S., it’ll send chills up your spine.

Shortly after debuting the Treo 600 smartphone on its network, Verizon Wireless has unveiled a new mobile email offering that immediately forwards emails sent to a customer’s PC to their Treo 600. The service is compatible with Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.

Apple Computer has created a fourth-generation iPod that offers a slimmer case, click-wheel navigation and significantly improved battery life. The new 20GB iPod will sell for $299, while the top-of-the-line 40GB model will sell for $399.

FrogPad and Gennum Corporation announced the immediate availability of the left-handed version of FrogPad’s one-handed keyboard. Unlike a traditional QWERTY layout, whose design was derived from the limitations of 19th Century typewriter technology, the FrogPad offers a logical key layout and design that encourages correct ergonomic posture.

Larry Becker’s latest book, Lose The Laptop

A United States Coast Guard unit has found a new use for the rugged TDS Recon handheld computer, improving procedures for small-boat search and rescue. The Station Oregon Inlet unit, based at Cape Hatteras, N.C., uses a GPS-equipped Recon and a satellite phone to receive search and rescue information and maps while enroute to a search area.

We’ve now got a great new feature, accessible from the home page of this magazine, that lists articles by category. So far, we’ve categorized all the OutlookPower articles, but are still in the process for Computing Unplugged (which has 875 articles we need to sort and structure). In the meantime, definitely take a look at the Articles by Category feature and we’ll let you know when all the articles are online. After these two magazines are done, we’ll tackle the other three. DominoPower has nearly 600 we need to categorize, but that’s a lot of great information!