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The latest chapter in the long-building rivalry between Google and Apple is coming not to you mobile device, your computer, or even your office at all. In the last few months, both companies have set their sights squarely on a new battleground: the living room. Apple has made the foray into television before, with the modest failure of Apple TV. However, with a redesign and deals with major television and movie studios, Apple is back in action with a new device. Not to be outdone, Sony unveiled Google’s retaliation with a host of devices powered by Google TV.

The televisions themselves are what has become standard in our 21st century TV market. High-definition models supporting up to 1080p boast bright screens, between 24 and 46 inches. There are inputs for everything from an XBox 360 to a Blu-Ray player. HDMI support enables the user to easily plug their computer in for additional workspace. Each of these models, which go on sale this Saturday at BestBuy and online from Sony, support WiFi and have 4 USB ports, which are beginning to live up to their “universal” billing.

The real draw here, of course, is the Google TV option. Google’s approach to online television differs drastically from Apple’s. Steve Jobs and company built a media empire by providing products from Apple directly, as seen by their App store and iTunes. Google, instead, works with existing media providers to provide a more open alternative. Netflix and Hulu come built into Google TV, along with other free programs such as YouTube and Pandora. Web surfing comes courtesy of Google Chrome, turning these televisions into more than just a means for watching movies.

As far as computer hardware companies go, few have the same level of brand recognition as Intel. The classic four-toned advertisements from the 1990s established the manufacturer in the public eye, and with good reason. Intel’s world of computer processors has fared well in the 21st century, with the chips being incorporated into laptop computers, smartphones, and tablets. However, if you happen to have an Intel chip in a desktop computer, upgrading to a new CPU has been one of the more difficult and technically challenging upgrades to make.

Intel, in an innovative idea, has decided to simplify this process. The Intel Upgrade Service is a new program intended to allow users to upgrade their computer without needing to make physical changes to the computer. Intel’s latest run of computer chips offered consumers a puzzling choice: pay a premium to unlock additional computing power, or do nothing and enjoy a reduction in the processing power.

The move has seen both supporters and detractors, with compelling arguments on each side. In order to make the upgrade, users purchase an online product from Intel, which then downloads an executable file to their computer. This file launches an upgrade process on the computer, unlocking the additional computing power. The entire process is simple to follow, a lot like installing any other file from the Internet.

It’s hard to believe the 1990s were a staggering 10 years ago, and it must be even harder if you’re a fan of old-school computing giant Microsoft. The big-bad wolf of the 1990s tech boom, Microsoft has found itself in a bizarre place in the 21st century. Apple’s business model of providing both hardware and software for their electronics has earned them a new devout following, while Internet-based search giant Google has essentially given so many products out for free they’ve established themselves as huge player in the gadget world. What’s a multi-billion dollar company to do?

One glaring weakness in Microsoft’s armor has been Internet Explorer 6. The Internet browser, still the most common one in use, comes standard on Windows-running personal computers, but its prevalence has also opened it up to a number of weaknesses. Users craving security have turned to Apple’s Safari, Mozilla’s Firefox, and Google’s Chrome. That could be changing, however. With Internet Explorer 9, which was released in beta earlier this week, Microsoft aim to fix a number of these security concerns, once again providing a quality product for the millions who still use IE.

Amongst the most noticeable changes is the joining of navigation and search into a single bar. Much like Google Chrome, IE9 ties its navigation bar into the Microsoft Bing search engine, providing instantaneous searching and browsing of the web. Its an interesting step for Microsoft, who once scoffed at the idea and stated it compromised privacy too much. IE9 places its tabs next to the search bar, instead of above it a la Chrome or below it a la Firefox. This limits the amount of space each tab gets, which could be annoying for users (such as myself) who jump back and forth between a huge number of tabs at any given time.

It seems like only yesterday that the infamous Segway scooter seemed poised to take over the world ofpersonal commuting. With its stylish design, futuristic two-wheeled platform and energy-efficient engine, nothing seemed to stand between the Segway and designer Dean Kamen and global domination. Sadly, in the years since that debut in 2001, the Segway has hardly been the international transformation it was initially billed as. In part, the limited functionality of the small wheels diminished the appeal, and piloting one of them sadly was more difficult than suspected.

Apparently BPG Werks didn’t get the memo. The company specializes in extreme-sports type gadgets and modes of transportation and has several contracts with the United States Army. The company’s newest toy is, for lack of a better word, awesome. With a Segway-esque design, featuring a motorized platform and handlebar style controls, the Shredder is nothing like its older brother. BPG Werks approached the same idea with something entirely else in mind: namely, serious off-roading and performance-level speed and agility.

In the wide world of the Internet, few things are as essential to a website’s recognition and survival as their URL, the address a browser uses to find the desired pages. Domain names are an integral part of website development, and as with most things online, there’s money to be made in the distribution. GoDaddy.com, a website specializing in domain name registration, announced over the weekend that they would be putting themselves up for auction. A move that could value the company for as much as $1 billion. With a recognizable name and a reputation around the Internet, the company’s sale could see some changes to this particular market.

GoDaddy itself is built around an interesting idea. Bob Parsons, an outspoken individual who founded the company in 1997, was one of the first entrepreneurs to jump on board domain name registration. Essentially, GoDaddy has worked as a middle-man, enabling up-and-coming web developers to obtain a unique domain name without requiring an extensive knowledge of the Internet and web design. GoDaddy’s business model has since expanded, offering up tools for web development as well as e-commerce and security tools for developers expanding their online presence.

Here’s a roundup of some of the loudest buzz on the web:

• A Verizon iPhone to hit the market? Rumor has it that a Verizon iPhone will be available to consumers as soon as January 2011. Two reports are powering this buzz: (1) AT&T’s quarterly filing, which details the company’s strategic plan to reduce dependency on a “single handset” and (1) Apple’s recent orders for Qualcomm CDMA chipsets “for a Verizon iPhone run in December.”
• Speaking of iPhones: Mark Papermaster, the exec. in charge of the iPhone, left Apple in the midst of the iPhone 4′s antenna problems. Those in the know-how are not authorized to provide additional details.
• ComScore released demographic information about the behavior of men and women online. Women are in the majority when it comes to social networking, email, and IM, and women over 55 are the largest demographic of online gamblers.
• An adjustable parking meter? The City of San Francisco will be installing parking meters that adjust their rates based on demand in order to control the city’s tough parking situation. The test-run will last for two years.

Underground public transit: perhaps the darkest black hole of gadget technology. While items like laptops and cell phones allow us to stay connected to the world on the go, places with poor reception can be frustrating and cause interruptions in gadget use. For commuters who require extensive electronic use as a part of their jobs, this can be more than just an inconvience. These “black holes” of reception, however, are coming to an end for New York City commuters. Earlier this week, the city announced that they would begin installation of WiFi and cell phone service in the New York Subway.

According to an article at “ArsTechnica,” the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York has been looking for a contractor to make these installations for some time now. They’ve finally reached an agreement with a company called Transit Wireless to bring service for all major cell phone providers and internet connections for laptops and iPads alike. The focus has been to provide service at subway stations, but according to the article, the structure of the subway tunnels will allow for service to be broadcast up and down the tracks.

While it might lack the thrill of a 74th minute goal in the final, as well as the general good looks of professional soccer players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionell Messi, this previous week saw a similarly important international event break some exciting records. The 2010 Sort Benchmark competition pits some of the world’s best computer scientists up against each other in a variety of fields of competition. Many of the challenges yield exciting new ideas of how to arrange and access data on our computers. This year, an important world record was broken, a sign of the futuristic times we are all living in.

A team of computer scientists from the University of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering managed to rig a computer to sort through a staggering one terrabyte (that’s 1000 gigabytes for those keeping score at home) of data in under 60 seconds. The same team managed to sort through one trillion data records in 172 minutes, a feat made staggering by the sheer amount of information the computer processed. The two records are currently on display at the nonprofit site run by scientists to show off the latest and greatest in the fields of information sorting.

For a company that has become as ubiquitous with the Internet as Google, the firm has maintained an air of moral purity that is rare in the modern business world. Unlike a company like Microsoft, which made plenty of enemies during its rise to the forefront of the technology world, Google has kept a public image tailored to being the good guy in the 21st century. Many of their best products are released for free, and they generate finances not by charging their users, but rather by engaging in ingenious advertising sales. Some services, such as Google Maps, offer not only a practical application, but also continually wow users with the impressive array of information available.

However, in an article from the “Los Angeles Times Blog,” it seems there’s a concern growing about one facet of Google Maps: the fantastic Street View feature allowing us to see a staggering number of locales from the ground level. According to the article, Google allegedly collected information from unsecured WiFi connections while filming the street. Google recently unveiled a feature allowing for users to see WiFi hotspots, many of which were not supposed to be accessible to the public. Google, since 2007, has allegedly picked up 600+ gigabytes of data from these unsecured WiFi points.