Matt_dk writes "NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has observed a new category of minerals spread across large regions of Mars. This discovery suggests that liquid water remained on the planet's surface a billion years later than scientists believed, and it played an important role in shaping the planet's surface and possibly hosting life."Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Just as we're coming to grips with the entire netbook phenomenon, low end manufacturer Coby comes up with something even lamer. "[Midget PCs] are smaller than a netbook but not THAT small." Midget PCs. Lovely.
What's makes a midget PC different than a netbook? If you listen to Coby's marketing director, they're a whole new category of computer meant for leaner times. As far as I can tell though, the PoqetMate-7 and PoqetMate-9 are just netbooks, albeit extremely cheap ones. Coby hasn't offered many specs to ponder, but the models, primarily differentiated by screen size (7in and 9in) will run Linux atop a Chinese Longsoon processor. Past that, I wouldn't expect much more than a Wi-Fi adapter and a few ports, bringing the PoqetMate in line with low-end netbooks like the Asus EeePC 701.
Coby plans to bring these to discount retailers, including traditionally computer-averse stores like Kroger and Rite-Aid, by March, making the PoqetMate-7 the first $100 computer to be widely available in the US. [AKIndi via TheGadgetSite]