Sony is reportedly dropping support for other operating systems on the PlayStation 3 (PS3) through a firmware update that will be rolled out to users on April 1.

In a blog post, Patrick Seybold, Sony’s senior director for corporate communications and social media, said version 3.21 of the PS3 firmware “will disable the ‘Install Other OS’ feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models, launched in September 2009.

More flat-screen TVs, portable hard disks, printers and laptops were what I expected when I joined the mass of humanity that had congregated at the IT Show at Suntec Singapore yesterday.

Arriving just before noon, I could still find many lots in the carpark. And there weren’t so many people carting away large-screen TVs and printers on trolleys. Is it because everyone already has two TVs and three printers at home, thanks to spending crazily at previous shows?

My tiredness of the bargain-hunting, however, soon disappeared when I saw how cheap these new Intel Core i3 and i5-based laptops were going for.

I’m talking about prices from S$999 for an entry-level Dell Inspiron with a 14-inch screen. Cute with bright colours like cherry red and ice blue, it comes with enough horsepower from the dual-core processor to crunch everyday work. It helps too that Windows 7 now doesn’t suck up as much resources as Windows Vista previously.

You may have heard of Intel’s new 32-nanometre Core CPUs (codenamed Clarkdale and Arrandale), when they were launched as part of a big CES bonanza last month.

But seeing these “mainstream” processors, especially with their new onboard graphics power, in action is another thing.

At a road show here at Dempsey Road here yesterday, the Intel folks in Singapore showed off systems running the dual- and quad-core Clarkdale chips for desktops, as well as the dual-core Arrandale chips for notebooks.

The big promise on these mid-end chips, which come in mobile, desktop and embedded formats, is the HD graphics capability onboard. And I was quite surprised by the performance.

It’s that time of the year again.

I’m talking about when Digital Life rolls out the Dream PC – one of the favourite stories I get to do each year as a techie. This PC is the fastest, meanest and well, “best-est” machine that we put together using the top-end components that every geek would want to own.

Last year, we had an Asus Rampage II Extreme X58-based mobo with an Intel Core i7-965 and Corsair’s Dominator DDR3 memory modules in a monster rig. This year, though the leap has not been as big as from Core 2 to Core i7 or DDR2 to DDR3, we have some awesome graphics power packed in. And we have a biggie in terms of a new case to stuff all those goodies in.

If you haven’t checked out Alfred’s post on the first day, do so!

I was a man on a mission at this PC Show as I was looking to replace my old cranky desktop, which had parts of it dying and failing on me over a period of six months. An old hard disk was the first to go (trashed), followed by a stuttering video card (repaired) and now the DVD drive has totally gone kaput. Can’t blame the old dear; the machine is a cobbled monstrosity of some very old parts mixed in with new ones that has lived quite a rich and long enough life.

So at the show I was looking mostly at desktops and netbooks (tempted to get one even though my old laptop is still perfectly fine — a typical geek itch), when I came across very cool touchscreen PCs at both the HP and Dell booths. I’ve been to the last three IT fairs, and this is a new product I haven’t seen at a fair before.

What’s a geek to do before Christmas? Buy a Techgoondu-approved gift to make others – and ourselves – happy of course. Granted, this year-end is shaping up to be more austere than the past few with the financial downturn already upon us. But austerity driving shouldn’t mean no giving for Christmas, right? So here’s a list of diverse geek gifts mooted by us, and we promise it is a cool one:

The official word’s out – the next big leap in Intel CPUs will come next month, when the chipmaker launches its much-awaited Core i7 chips, also known as the “Nehalem”.

An Intel blog written by its PR folks confirm that the new chip will be out in November, just as supporting motherboards featuring the new X58 chipset start appearing.

These Core i7 babies are the biggest shift in CPU technology since the successful Core and Core2 series of chips started dominating the market in the past couple of years.