Stan's List

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. Wednesday said some Xbox 360 owners have reported problems with the new video game console that debuted in North America earlier this week.

Betadot ponders a patent application by Apple, which might point to integrated webcams in the lids of future Mac portables.

Apple’s patent application describes a “data capture device” on a laptop with a swiveling lid, which would ““secure the lid to the base,”

Apple’s application is not exclusive to laptops; it also includes “other electronic devices”, including PDAs and cell phones.

Apple has already integrated iSight into the iMac G5, which complements its bundled iChat AV software. It would be a fairly logical step to move iSight to the iBook and PowerBook.

Intel has formed an Apple Transition Team to oversee Cupertino’s switch to the Intel processor, PC Pro reports.

Both engineering and sales personnel are involved with the team, and this move by Intel is in line with other teams formed to deal with major corporate clients.

Intel and Apple previously worked together on a major -secret - project in the early 1990s, code named Star Trek. Like the deal of 2005, the plan was to get the Mac OS - at the time System 7 – running on Intel chips. Then-CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, approved the project. A small team of Apple engineers accomplished the task in record time. Then, as possibly now, Intel was trying to shrug off Microsoft’s software monopoly.