Just in time for the holiday season, RhinoSkin will be offering a new line of hardcases to protect Apple MacBooks and MacBook Pros. The cases hit the market this month. The RhinoSkin MacBook HardCases are the first in a new line of unique cases designed exclusively for laptops, giving users a reliable and trendy solution to their MacBook travel and protection needs. The hardcases offer an original, sleek, form-fitting design that serves as a protective shell for MacBooks. The cases firmly hold the MacBooks in place while offering full access to the screen and keyboard. Drop-down sides allow easy access to ports and drives, eliminating the hassle of having to remove the laptop from its protective case. Air vents on the bottom of the case allow for maximum air circulation.

Palm announced that Brodie C. Keast has joined Palm as its senior vice president, marketing. He is responsible for the company’s product strategy and mobile-computing roadmap for consumers, mobile professionals, and businesses, as well as for marketing and brand-building aimed at expanding Palm’s presence around the world and to a wider customer set. Keast reports to Ed Colligan, Palm president and chief executive officer.

Nintendo of America has been sued by Interlink Electronics over alleged patent infringement in its Wii console’s remote control. Interlink, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in remote controls and electronic-signature technology, filed suit in a federal district court in Delaware on December 4, claiming that Nintendo’s Wii Remote violates its “Trigger Operated Electronic Device” patent. Interlink claimed that Nintendo’s sale of the device, nicknamed the Wiimote, has caused the company to lose profits and royalties.

Launched today, Schools-SMS is an information and communication service for schools provided by 123 Consultants and Clickatell. Schools-SMS utilizes the power and popularity of SMS text messaging to inform parents if their children are playing truant, as well as providing educational tools and services. Parents can register with their child’s school to receive a truant alert SMS. If a pupil does not turn up for school, teachers can then inform the parent with an SMS message; a convenient and discreet method of communication. The system can deliver texts in several languages and also to landlines via text translation for parents who do not have a mobile phone.

Hewlett-Packard wants to make it easier for its users of Compaq nc6400 notebooks to work on the road. The computer maker announced this notebook will be its first to integrate Cingular Wireless’ UMTS/HSDPA (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System /High Speed Downlink Data Packet Access) technology, which will allow users faster connections to a user’s corporate network, email and the Internet. The nc6400 notebook comes with a tri-band modem that supports data rates of 3.6M bps both in the United States and in several international locations.

WakefieldSoft announced the release of AutoFile Plus software for vehicle fuel, trip, and maintenance tracking. The software runs on Palm OS handhelds, Windows Mobile handhelds, including Treo mobile phones, and it includes a versatile Windows PC desktop software component for convenient data entry, viewing and printing on Windows PCs. AutoFile helps the user easily track fuel economy, mileage, trips, maintenance, and more for multiple vehicles. A paper logbook is now obsolete, since the user can conveniently organize information on their handheld or mobile device. The Plus version includes the ability to print reports and summaries, import and export data from Excel or CSV files, and the ability to graph data for any date range.

There’s no doubt about it: this is a sport. There are leagues, coaches, pep talks, uniforms, corporate sponsors, loyal fans and spectators perched in stadium-style seating. There’s coverage on the CBS-owned College Sports Television network. But there are no balls tossed or races run. The events in which the 95 international “athletes” participated in were not traditional sports, but rather Halo 2, Counter-Strike, Project Gotham, Ghost Recon, Quake 4 and Warcraft III. This was day one of a different kind of championship: The finals of the 2006 World Series of Video Games.

Expanding its retail presence in New York, Palm announced a new Palm Retail Store, its largest store to date. Complete with Palm’s entire product portfolio of smartphones, handhelds, mobile managers and accessories, the store features live demonstrations and activations on three major U.S. carriers. The new flagship store, located in historic Rockefeller Center and facing Radio City Music Hall, is offering customers who purchase any Treo smartphone between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17 a free Palm Z22 handheld.

Staring with glowing red eyes at a young woman strolling by, bartender Chapok slowly extends his arm to offer her a gin and orange. Chapok is one of around 30 robots at Vienna’s annual Roboexotica, which showcases how home-built machines deal with the modern pastime of hanging out in bars. Robots were invited to demonstrate their skills in categories like mixing cocktails, serving drinks and snacks, bar conversation and smoking cigarettes and cigars.

Christmas shopping for friends and loved ones can make even the most experienced shopper break out in a sweat–what to buy the woman who has everything? The latest survey from Kodak reveals that you won’t go wrong with a gadget–over one in five of the women surveyed would put the latest “must-have” technology item at the top of their Christmas wish list. When Kodak asked women their thoughts on finding a gadget under the Christmas tree, almost 70% of those surveyed said they would be ecstatic or pleased.