landed

Microsoft is opening for business in Iraq.

The company has chosen local company Legend Lands to officially sell its products in Iraq.

Based in Baghdad, Legend Lands will serve as a Microsoft partner to distribute the company's products and services through retailers and provide genuine Microsoft licensing for Iraqi customers. Legend Lands offers its services to enterprise companies as well as individual users.

Rajai S. El-Khadem, Microsoft's manager of business development for emerging markets, confirmed the news yesterday, according to the Associated Press. Microsoft called the move "a sign of growth for the war-plagued country."

The … Read more

It wasn't the first convertible crossover to reach production, but I was hoping that the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet would be the last. Unfortunately, Land Rover will also be peeling back the top of its own Range Rover Evoque crossover at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show next week.

The Range Rover Evoque Convertible will feature a power retractable cloth top with a glass rear window pane. A Roll Over Protection System (ROPS) protects passengers in the event of a rollover by instantaneously popping up roll hoops behind the rear passengers when the vehicle senses that it's about to roll. … Read more

The stylish new Range Rover Evoque has been collecting awards like a blue whale in a patch of krill. And considering its high-tech, efficient engine and off-road capability, most of those awards are deserved.

But in the area of cabin electronics, it falls short of its luxury car competition. Where other car companies are beginning to explore connected in-car systems, the Evoque is just covering the basics of navigation, digital audio, and a Bluetooth phone system.

That is not to say the Evoque's cabin electronics are bad. The response of the touch screen may be a bit pokey, but … Read more

The MacBook Air has won me over, after a long period during which I'd felt skeptical about the concept. Small, light, fast startup, long battery life; it's all great, except for two things: limited internal storage and few ports. A clean-looking solution for the latter has been made, but it's just looking for funding.

The LandingZone, a MacBook Air docking station, is a Kickstarter project that's aiming to help Air owners with their port woes--but only to a point. The $200 dock concept has four USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet port, a Mini DisplayPort, and a Kensington-compatible locking port. What it conspicuously lacks is Thunderbolt support. … Read more

The Land Rover Defender hasn't been updated in 25 years. That's about to change dramatically.

The Defender has always been a sort of farm implement in the Land Rover lineup: stout, solid, and chunky. This new concept features huge ride height, an alloy frame, four-cylinder motors, and maybe a hybrid.

(CNET's full coverage of the 2011 Frankfurt auto show)

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently began calling the new Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS insensitive to the hunting and killing of real-life tanuki racoon dogs for fur. I guess PETA never had an issue with everyone's favorite plumber stomping on turtles and using their shells as weapons all these years.

From the "Mario Kills Tanooki" section of PETA's site: "Tanooki may be just a 'suit' in Mario games, but in real life, tanuki are raccoon dogs who are skinned alive for their fur. By wearing Tanooki, Mario is sending the message that it's OK to wear fur." … Read more

It's no secret that the Nintendo 3DS has suffered from a dearth of compelling software to play on its unique 3D glasses-less screen. While we were shocked to see the system debut without the company's leading plumber, Nintendo calmed gamers' fears with the announcement of Super Mario 3D Land at this past summer's E3 2011 expo.

Just in time for the holiday season, Mario is back in his first-ever portable 3D adventure. He's got an enormous gaming void to fill, so how does the latest game stack up?… Read more

Land Rover's Range_e concept, unveiled at the International Motor Show in Geneva, was not just a publicity stunt. A working model has been seen charging up in a parking lot in Bristol, England.

Green Car Reports caught the Range_e concept out in the wild. It was plugged into a charging station at a Bristol mall. The blog site published a round of photos and some details observed about the car.

Notably, Land Rover touts the Range_e concept's CO2 emissions of 89 grams per kilometer, as opposed to the nonhybrid diesel's 243 grams per kilometer.

The concept uses … Read more

This week, our Frankfurt auto show preview. Volkswagen finds the only direction is up, Land Rover ends tea time to update a 25 year old model, and Yo-Auto redesigns the car door.

• Aha Radio and Slacker join forces to add beats to your tweets

• Volkswagen to showcase Up at Frankfurt auto show

• Land Rover concept heralds Defender update

• Infiniti mystery concept for Frankfurt

• New Porsche 911 shows up with seven-speed manual