What’s a rumor on Twitter? It’s a Twrumor!
Have you felt the need to describe a rumor so far found only on Twitter? For lack of a better term I decided to coin it a Twrumor.
A prime example of a Twrumor as I write this:
Just down at Lehman headquarters and Associated Press reporter says that rumors are that AIG will declare bankruptcy tomorrow.
What do you think? Got anything better? By the way AIG Terrible Tuesdays Batman!
Beautiful UMPC From HP UMPC 2133
Engadget broke the story on HP’s rumoured UMPC given a very minimalist name, the UMPC 2133, which is supposed to be entering the market during Spring 08 for a yet to be determined low price. I think this laptop looks gorgeous and if it comes in with even decent specs for ~$600-800 It will likely be in the running for my new laptop. The specs already floating around include a 8.9″ screen with 1366 x 766 (WXGA) resolution and a 95% size Querty keyboard and covered in an anodized aluminum casing .
Crave has some additional and exciting information regarding the price from an HP source.
In fact, according to one HP staff, “you won’t even need to consider this purchase. You’ll buy it like a handphone without a thought”. At this price range, we reckon it is unlikely to be a convertible tablet PC like the LifeBook U1010. Claiming that its UMPC will address several issues plaguing the current crop of pocketable portables, we were told that one of the key areas of improvement will be in battery life, though again no specific numbers were mentioned.
emphasis mine
If this device is supposed to be purchased like a handset without much thought I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it will be between $5-800, which is at the lower end at least close to some smartphone prices.
Engadget: HPs UMPC 2133 Revealed – Additional Images
If MS and Bungie Break Up, Who Gets the Dog?
You can’t get around any gaming news site or forum today without running across headlines speculating that Bungie and Microsoft are caling it quits. I have seen headlines ranging from the factual, “RUMOR TIME: Bungie Leaving MS” to the Emo, ” OMG Bungie doesn’t heart MS O Nooes!1!!!” but one thing is clear, something is going on between these domestic partners. When I first saw the story on Kotaku yesterday I was dismissive due to the apparent, “my brother’s uncle’s girlfriend’s toddler works at Bungie” nature of the rumor. However numerous other sites have been giving the rumor coverage which coupled with Microsoft’s and for now Bungie’s PR rep’s statement of, “There’s been no such announcement. We continue to celebrate the tremendous success of the global phenomenon that is Halo 3.”, the rumor gets more intersting.
To fuel the speculation it has been 7 years since the purchase of Bungie by Microsoft which likely means that retention bonuses have been paid off for key employees. This would mean allowing the “special sauce” of Bungie to leave for greener pastures and fresher IPs without any drawbacks to the employee.
Further evidence comes in from Seattle locals who have seen the locks at Bungie’s studios being changed as of last nite.
Other reports have surfaced which claim Bungie employees email addresses have been removed from Microsoft’s internal global email address list.
As a gamer my biggest concern is what happens to the Halo franchise, Halo 3 downloadable content, game types and the talented team behind the Halo franchise.
Here’s a rumor roundup:
If I find out anything else I will keep you updated.
Josh Smith is a blogger, database manager and adjunct professor of business and technology. 
