Tech News update

• MSI N480GTX Lightning Video Card Tested - The market for this video card is very clear; the MSI N480GTX Lightning is built for the ultra-enthusiast looking for the highest grade components and best chances for overclockability with a custom cooling solution that works.
• MSI N460GTX Hawk Tested - Overclockers Club has posted a review of the MSI N460GTX Hawk for those of you interested
• Analysis: The Impact Of Shifting From 512 Byte To 4 KB Sectors - Slowly but surely, hard drives with 4 KB sectors are replacing the 'legacy' 512 byte sector size. By January 2011, all drive vendors will have made this transition. Buyers of new PCs are safe, but there are still a few performance pitfalls to note.
• Six 802.11n Routers Tested - Maximum PC has rounded up six high-end routers from an assortment of manufacturers.
• Acer tablets to start at just $299 - The cheapest Apple iPad you can buy is $499. The cheapest Galaxy Tab is still $400 on contract. There has to be a more affordable option from a name you can trust. Acer thinks so. That's why it's launching its first line of tablets on November 23 with prices starting at $299. Competition is good!
• Firefox 4 delayed till 2011 - Mozilla, creators of Firefox, announced that they are forced to delay their up and coming version, Firefox 4. In May, the browser giant announced that the release date for the new version would be next month, although re
• Firefox Add-on can Hijack Facebook, Twitter Logins - Eric Butler created Firesheep extension for Firefox with an altruistic aim to point out the negligence of popular web services that follow weaker security measures. This Firesheep extension basically exploits the HTTP session hijacking over an open wireless network. Once the user logs in to an encrypted login providing website, the cookie rests on the user's computer. This cookie is not encrypted and vulnerable. With HTTP session hijacking method, an attacker can grab that cookie carrying account information. 
• Hackers attack new flaw in Reader, Acrobat and Flash - Adobe is warning uses that it has detected attacks on a zero day flaw in its Reader, Acrobat and Flash applications. No patch exists as yet for the flaw but the company has issued a workaround for IT administrators to implement to ward off intruders.
• How to View Images in PPTX, DOCX, or XLSX Files without Office Installed - Howtogeek shows you how to view images in PPTX, DOCX, or XLSX Files without Office Installed
• Windows 8 will hit the shelves in two years - What could we see in Windows 8? Microsoft insiders have hinted that we could see some sort of Kinect support in the operating system. Yes, using motion control to control your desktop OS. Crazy? Maybe, but just keep in mind that it's named 'Microsoft Kinect', not 'Xbox Kinect' and that Microsoft spent a metric fortune developing the tech behind Kinect. Way too much, in fact, to restrict it's use to video games.
• PayPal Unveils Micropayments, Facebook Integration - PayPal unveiled a new micropayments service on Tuesday that makes it easier to buy digital goods and announced an integration with social networking giant Facebook. PayPal said the new micropayments system "lets consumers pay for digital goods and content in as little as two clicks, without ever having to leave a publisher's game, news, music, video or media site." It described the service, which will be available later this year, as the "online equivalent of dropping a quarter in the slot to buy a newspaper or play a videogame.
• BlackBerry PlayBook demo makes tablet multi-tasking look sexy - Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO of RIM jumped on the mic during the Adobe MAX conference with Kevin Lynch, CTO of Adobe. They gave the first live operation preview of the PlayBook ever. It really looks smooth and intuitive.
• WP7 vs Android - Part Three: Features Galore - If you're planning on buying a Windows Phone 7 device, or even if you're not, let me know why in the comments pls. (FYI, I still use the HTC HD with WM 6.5).
• Google 'Confirms' Gingerbread Android OS - Google has made the next version of its Android OS, 'Gingerbread,' official via a new addition to its statuary.
• Anchors away as 60 Minutes covers Top Gear (video) - If you missed last night's Top Gear segment on 60 Minutes - or jumped off something because of the unemployment segment - here's an American news magazine finally covering the most popular television show... in the world. Plus bonus footage!
• Daft Punk's 'Derezzed' Music Video from 'Tron Legacy'! - Disney is bringing Tron Legacy to theaters in 3D starting on December 17th.
• Liam Neeson Loses His Identity in the 'Unknown' Trailer - Unknown, shortened from the original title Unknown White Male, stars Liam Neeson as a man who takes up from a coma to find out that his identity has been stolen and that not even his wife recognizes him. The cast also includes January Jones, Diane Kruger, Frank Langella, Aidan Quinn. This has kind of a Taken mashed with Bourne Identity feel to it, with a little hint of Mission: Impossible. For a moment I thought it was going suddenly go sci-fi, but it looks like a great action thriller. Warner Bros is bringing Unknown to theaters starting on January 7th, 2011 early next year.
• Official US Trailer for 'Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale' - A movie for those who think they don't believe in Santa Claus anymore...
• Trailer for Cameron's 3D Underwater Thriller 'Sanctum'! - Universal has debuted the first official trailer for Sanctum, the James Cameron-produced 3D underwater action-adventure movie shot entirely in Australia. Word is:'An underwater cave diving team experiences a crisis during an expedition to an unexplored cave system.' Universal is bringing Sanctum to theaters in 3D everywhere starting on February 4th, 2011 early next year.
• Jeremy Wade Catches 100lb 'Giant Piranha' - Jeremy Wade is known for his show on Animal Plant, 'River Monsters'. But what might get the 52-year old wrangler some more attention was his recent catch in the Congo River. While filming with his team in Africa, Wade had a serious fight, but eventually brought in a 5-foot goliath tiger fish, which we called a 'giant piranha'.
• Pumpkin vs. airbag (video) - With a little engineering ingenuity and sense of reckless abandon, you could always subject your pumpkins to the destructive force of, say, an airbag from a 1995 Ford Escort.
• Exploding MacBook Air (video) - check it out