Vizify offers free infographics all about you, makes you feel like a big shot

Infographics. The stuff of high turnover websites and news channels, right? Well, yes, but now you can bring the same white space and pastel shades to your own internet footprint, courtesy of free infographic web app Vizify. It's still in its trial period for now, which means you'll have to wait for an entry code to tap into the breezy visualization generator, but we managed to plug in as many social networks as we could to see how it all works. The service is definitely centered around those that are very connected to the internet. Vizify will draw information from Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, LinkedIn and also connect through work-based websites you add yourself. It will then populate a clickable front page with circles including images, quotes and links to your profile elsewhere. The service, which is geared at recruitment, crafts a convenient short link to offer up on resumes or job emails. Edit options include a choice of color palettes, and the ability to tweak the layout of the information circles [seen above] and the larger pages that follow it, bringing either more career-centric (or interesting) content to the forefront. 

GM testing pedestrian detection system powered by WiFi Direct (video)

Car makers have been peddling wireless pedestrian avoidance systems almost as long as there have been automobiles. (We believe one of the earliest was called the "side view mirror.") GM's new experiment though, differs from other implementations by skipping out on the 3G, cameras and radar -- instead going for a model built around WiFi Direct. The peer-to-peer 802.11 standard hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but the WiFi Alliance is diligently tweaking the platform and apparently GM thinks its a perfect match for connecting cars, cyclists and pedestrians to each other. Unlike 3G-based systems, there's little lag between locating and identifying bikes or people crossing the street since the signal doesn't have to be bounced off a satellite. It also has a leg up on radar detection since WiFi can be a two way pipeline -- alerting someone out for a stroll of an oncoming vehicle. Of course, it will be some time before anything like this actually makes it into a production vehicle.

MSI outs new CR41 notebook, hopes you like the color royal bronze

What's rectangular, coated in a royal bronze finish, opens like a clam and lasts for up to seven and a half hours? If you answered MSI's new CR41 notebook, you'd be right (though we would've accepted self-destructing jewelry boxes as an answer). The 14-inch multimedia "mobile companion," announced just today, packs a 1,366 x 768 HD display, dedicated HM76 graphics chipset, choice of Intel's third-generation Core i processors and comes in a variety of storage configurations: 500 GB, 640GB or 720GB. Weighing in at 5.3 pounds (2.4kg) and measuring 13.8 x 9.2 x 1.3 inches (349.7 x 234.8 x 32mm), the laptop also features a six-cell 4,400mAh battery, support for Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi b/g/n, an optical drive, ports for HDMI, USB 3.0 (x2), USB 2.0 (x2), an SD slot and the requisite headphone jack. So far no official pricing or release dates have been made public for the Windows 7 rig, but when it does hit retailers' shelves, rest assured it'll be upgrade-ready for Redmond's next great OS. 

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Archos raids the periodic table for new line of Android tablets, launches 97 Carbon slate

Those worried that Archos hasn't introduced a line of low-cost Android tablets in a while have reason to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The company's gearing up for the launch of its "Elements" series, beginning with this month's release of the 97 Carbon. No chipmunks this time out, sadly, but the Ice Cream Sandwich slate does sport a 9.7-inch IPS display, a 1GHz processor, HDMI out and a full-sized USB port. Also on-board are two cameras, 16GB of storage and a microSD slot, packed into a 0.45-inch thick aluminum body. The 97 Carbon runs $230 to $250. Archos is promising more entries in the "entry-level" Elements lineup, measuring seven, eight and 9.7 inches. Press info on this particular model can be found after the break.

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Motorola ICS UI review: this isn't the Blur we used to know

Ah, what a difference a couple years can make. After earning notoriety for is frustrating MotoBlur skin, the manufacturer has made strides on the Android user interface front. Its next attempt, known by many as "BlueBlur," was a far better experience, if only because the original user interface could hardly get any worse. These modest improvements aside, though, we've always wondered how the company would make its mark on Android 4.0, a newer version of the OS that ushered in a major redesign. Would Motorola once again choose a heavy, proprietary skin, or would it be more heavily influenced by its new Google overlords and develop a UI more in line with stock Ice Cream Sandwich?

Unfortunately, Motorola kept us waiting in suspense longer than any other major OEM: Samsung, HTC, Sony and (gasp!) even LG have already started shipping devices loaded with skinned versions of ICS. But while Motorola popped the update onto one specific tablet earlier this year, it only managed to push test copies of Ice Cream Sandwich to a handful of Droid RAZR and Droid RAZR Maxx devices before Jelly Bean was announced. Even now, we still haven't seen how the now-antiquated firmware will look on new Motorola handsets (though we hopefully will find out with the upcoming Atrix HD, RAZR HD or Photon Q). We have to wonder if the drawn-out acquisition process put the outfit in an awkward holding pattern, preventing it from cranking out fresh handsets and accompanying firmware updates.

So is HelloMoto making a grand entrance by being the last to show up to the Ice Cream Sandwich social? What makes Ice Cream Blurwich tick? We'll take you through the major elements of the user interface to give you a sense of what to expect when your Motorola phone is ready to make the jump.

Windows Server 2012 pares back to four versions, looks to give small businesses more bang for the buck

Microsoft has been devoting most of its OS update attention this year to Windows 8, not its suit-wearingWindows Server 2012 counterpart. Some of the mystery has been cleared up through word of a greatly simplified server OS lineup. Just four versions of Windows Server will sit in IT backrooms versus the whopping 12 from Server 2008 R2, with an emphasis on making the feature slope a little gentler. The biggest improvement is the near-identical feature set of Windows Server 2012 Standard compared to its Datacenter equivalent: the only advantage of Datacenter is the jump to unlimited virtual machines, giving smaller businesses a way to save some cash. Foundation and Essentials will cover the basics for these outfits if just 15 or 25 very real machines need to hop onboard. The base prices of $425 to $4,809 per copy for all but the OEM-only Foundation still make it doubtful that we'll be loading Server 2012 on a PC tucked into a closet at home, but it's evident between this and the streamlined Windows 8 selectionthat Microsoft wants to avoid the flood of versions that confused buyers during the Windows Vista and 7 days.

Bloomberg: Amazon is planning a smartphone

While most of the Amazon hardware rumors since the Kindle Fire launched have centered around a 10-inch version of the tablet, Bloomberg's "people with knowledge of the matter" say a smartphone is in the works. The rumors center around a purported chase for wireless patents (presumably so Amazon can fight off the kinds of challenges currently faced by companies like Samsung and HTC) and partnership with Foxconn for manufacturing. There's no details yet on what the device could be like or when it will arrive, but we're not getting too excited right away -- we've been down this road before with that Vizio Phone that never appeared. Amazon certainly has the infrastructure to enter the cellphone market with its appstore and media delivery services, but is anyone ready to jump into a two-year contract on a (presumably) reskinned-Android device?

EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you'll 'like' it

Sure, it may not have been the most, you know, explosive launch at this year's E3 -- but if Facebook "likes" are any sort of metric (which, granted, is debatable), EA's newly reborn and heavily-socialized SimCity has a bright future ahead of it. SimCity Social opened up shop on the Zuckerbergian social network this week, letting players plan and build cities, harnessing the site's massive user base to build friendly relationships or form rivalries between towns. The 800k or so likes the game has currently racked up clearly aren't enough, so EA is offering up exclusive content for those who click the friendly thumb. And seeing as how sitting in front of your computer wouldn't be complete without some fried breakfast pastries, Dunkin' Donuts is getting in the act, allowing players to gift coffee and doughnut "Boosts" in-game.

Twitter brings search autocomplete to the web, helps find Biebs tweets in record time

Twitter had been hinting at a big search update today, and that's just what it delivered. Instead of the (quite frankly clunky) search results page, a search box at top now provides autocompleting search results that split into keywords and people. The system is smart enough to check for spelling gaffes and related searches, and results can drill down just to followed users rather than the entire social network. Autocompleting has been a mainstay of the Android and iOS apps for some time, but we're glad to hear that web users can now track down their favorite recently graduated teen pop stars faster than ever.

Facebook and Yahoo! friends again, agree to patent cross-license

And so, the Facebook v. Yahoo! courtroom tussle has come to an end. The two Silicon Valley giants have agreed to a legal truce and cross-licensed a bit of each other's IP, meaning that's one less legal donnybrook we have to worry about upsetting consumer sensibilities. Not only have the two settled their differences over their respective advertising and social networking patents, but they've also agreed to an ad sales partnership, too. Now, if only all those other, myriad tech litigants could amicably settle their differences with such alacrity. Perhaps they should all take a gander at the PR after the break to see how it's done.

PSA: Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ up for sale again at Google Play store (update: now shipping in '1-2 weeks')

And just like that it's back. Following a yesterday's temporary stay of the ban on Google's HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus by Judge Koh, the soon-to-be Jelly Bean-loaded device is again up for sale at the Play store -- and a bit earlier than expected. If you'll recall, Google notes that Android 4.1 apparently mitigates the issues brought up within the dispute by Apple, which has until July 12th to issue a response on the matter. Orders are slated to ship in "two to three weeks," (see update below) so we'd suggest you grab one quick while it's fresh and tasty to ensure your taste buds get the latest Android sugar fix.

Update: Well that was quick. Just a few hours after going up for sale, the shipping estimate has been reduced from ''two to three weeks'' to ''one to two weeks.'' It's so close you can almost taste it.