Alienware Area-51 M9750

So a few months ago, Arsgeek called me up and said “Hey, want a new laptop?” Well, of course I do! The only catch was, I had to give it back after a month of use. “So let me get this straight,” I said ”I get to use an for a month, and all I have to do is write a crummy review for your website? Count me in!.” Of course, that was several months ago, and here I sit, no article written yet. Ahhh, the life of a family man, no time for fun stuff!

Back on track here, I got to spend 30 or so quality days 2GB RAM, dual SLI Nvidia 8700M GT video cards, Intel Core 2 Duo T7600, yadda yadda yadda. Oh yeah, and weight of about 42 stone. Or seemingly so. It’s actually 9lbs 8 oz. or so with the battery, but felt like I was lifting a two ton heavy thing.

This isn’t so much of a tech-review per-se. You can get that data at numerous other sites on the internet. I’m going to focus more on the usability aspects of the machine, how it feels, how the features work, and overall impressions.


I got this sucker home after picking it up at Arsgeek’s place. Of course, the huge box it came in barely fit in my car (Yes, I know, Miata’s are small). It wouldn’t fit in the trunk, so it got the passenger seat. Just barely. Pulling it out of the box, I was struck by how huge this notebook is. And the weight. This isn’t so much of a ‘notebook’ as a ‘portable desktop’ machine. The power brick is just that – larger than a brick and heavier too, I’d imagine. Alienware must have needed all the space and weight to cram in the performance and features they did into this machine.

Sitting down into my comfy chair, I opened the machine and powered it on. Then it hit me. No, not the notebook – I got ‘the stare’ from my wife. This isn’t just heavy and large, it’s also fairly loud, with two fans immediately coming on, causing my wife to turn the TV up a bit. Of course, the situation lightened up a bit when my daughter walked over, pointed to the back of the laptop, and said ‘EYES!!’. It turns out that on the back of the LCD cover there is a little alien head, and the eyes glow blue. Neat effect, actually. My daughter really got a kick out of it.
 The SLI video card performed admirably. I ran some 3dMark06 benchmarks on the system. With the default drivers from Alienware installed, it ran a respectable 7781. Some tweaking, and an updated driver later, I coaxed a score of 8068 out of the machine. Pretty impressive, actually.

I tend to use my laptops as just that – laptops. I don’t have a desk that I put the machine one. I keep them standing on edge next to my chair, and when I want to use it, I reach down, lift it up into my lap, open the lid and go to town. This works great with my current machine, a Lenovo T60p. With the Alienware, however, this did not work too well – the machine is just too heavy and unwieldy to do this maneuver with. The M9750 is really not a laptop (or even a notebook, if you are into semantics) in any sense of the word, it’s a desktop replacement. Period. I do have to say that heat efficiency is pretty good on the M9750 – it only gets about as warm as my T60p, even though it has two graphics cards and two hard drives in it.

HP Vivienne Tam

New York City fashion week may be a strange place to debut the average new laptop, but it's very fitting for HP's Vivienne Tam Special Edition machine. She was approached by HP to design them a new laptop, and she came up with something that's apparently a "true reflection of the needs of a modern woman who cares about fashion but is also passionate about her technology." Updated: More data has emerged on the machine  

To that end, it has a complimentary embroidered case/sleeve and is approximately clutch purse-sized... with what could be a 10-inch widescreen. It looks like a UMPC-style notebook, but there's just no word at all on the specs of the device. And that's something that'd amuse and annoy many modern tech-passionate women I know. It'll be out in October, price still to be announced hey've had a very short—restricted by a secretive HP—hands-on with the special notebook. HP is apparently labeling it a "Digital Clutch”-style product, but has declined to mention the device's name. It resembles the HP 2133 Mini-Note except that, as suspected, it has a 10-inch screen versus the 2133's 8.9-inches. The keyboard also appeared the same as the 92% Mini-Notes, as did the position of the trackpad and mouse keys.

MSI GX723

MSI have recetly announced GX723 gaming laptop. The MSI GX723 has been designed specifically for gaming. This new laptop sports a 17-inch WXSGA screen. the MSI GX723 gaming laptop comes with an Intel Core Duo processor, a NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M graphics, up to 4GB of RAM, a choice of either a 320GB or 500GB hard drive, a six/nine cell battery and Windows Vista Home Premium OS. The GX723 selects the brand new ECO Engine, the outstanding and unique power saving function by MSI Notebook, as the power management function to extend the battery running time while performing different tasks.  

The ECO quick launch touch sensor can be used to switch between different modes like Gaming mode, Movie mode, Presentation mode, Office mode, and Turbo Drive mode. With new Dolby® Theater Class 5 speakers and exclusive MSI vivid image enhancement technology – the MSI GX723 Laptop can create the most astonishingly realistic audio and visual effects.

This new MSI laptop uses something called as the Turbo Drive Engine Technology which is exclusive to MSI laptops. With this new technology, when the GX723 is in AC mode, just by touching the turbo button above the keyboard, you can simultaneously increase the speed of your CPU, also the computer may run smoother and to the best of its abilities

lenovo e laptop

Lenovo this week has put there newest laptop out on the market and it is impressive. The Lenovo IdeaPad U110 is a sleek new laptop weighing only 2.4 pounds coming in the colors black and red and a cost of $1,899.00. This notebook looks amazing. The ultrasleek notebook comes with a distinct sense of style that is brand new in today's competitive laptop market. The laptop comes great features such as face recognition software, an Active Protection System tht will stop the hard drive in the event of a fall, and a battery management software to improve battery life.
The laptop screen is very impressive. the 11.1-inch screen comes in a frameless design that you cannot even feel the edges of the screen. The system also uses LED-backlit technology to help save battery life.

The new small sleek light laptops of today make for easy travel. No more need to worry about where to put your bulky laptop, new designs like these are so small you can fit them in any travel bag or brief case.

accer

I love design deeply, whatever new design has came up always took my attention. Great product design almost followed by great sales. Lets mention iPod, the unique design just make the product bloated in the market, as they break 100 million product sold out around the world.

New Acer laptop design concept, Gemstone, really impressing. Coming with rouded and opalesque contours, make the look even aerodynamic and classy. Others keys design achievment is the white keyboard with neon media flow, it’s very sleek elegance.

Acer apply the new design concept to the TravelMate and Aspire series with  but they didn’t tell much about the technical specification yet, but soon they will be out. Now they are just hyping the new Gemstone product design. We don’t know whether the new design will take serious affect, just wait and time will tell. What do you think?

Sony VGNAR51E

I was very impressed at how well Ubuntu 7.10 runs on the laptop. The webcam, memory card reader, headphone jack and hibernation doesn’t work but the wireless, battery indicator and everything else works fine. One of the reasons for getting my instead of a normal mobile phone was so I could write my journal whilst on the coach to work. But the keyboard that comes with it turned out to be inadequate. So I got a replacement:Make sure your Ameo is attached to your Windows PC and that ActiveSync is running. When you double-click “WM05SP.exe” it will install a progrm in C:\Program Files\Freedom Universal Keyboard. The install.bat file in this program didn’t work for me so I manually moved “bthkeyb.ARM.CAB” (a file that was included in the install) onto the Ameo via ActiveSync and installed the CAB directly from the Ameo.
After installation, a new icon will have appeared in “Programs” called “Bthkeyb”. The first time you click it, you will be given a “Device Code” and asked for a passcode The keyboard program shows a almost blank info screen except the bottom-right corner has a button labled “Main”. Select “Main”, then choose “General”.
On the keyboard, move the switch to “HID mode” so the LED flashes green, then press and hold the “B” button. On the Ameo, click the “Bluetooth keyboard” checkbox.
The connection is automatically made in a few seconds and a message “Keyboard was connected” pops up – it’s then safe to release the “B” button. Test the keyboard works in MS Word Mobile.

EeePc900

This laptop can be summed up in one word: “Cute”. It’s just perfect for traveling:

9 inch screen
Weights only 1KG
Solid-state disk drive (very bump/knock resistant)
Wi-Fi
Built in camera for Skyping
Card Reader so you can store holiday snaps.


I bought this laptop for two reasons, firstly to help plan our road trip as we went and secondly so I could write a journal without doing it on paper then spending ages typing it up like I did when we went to Europe. It worked very well for both these requirements and it also kept us entertained. One evening we watched a episode of TrueBlood in our tent whilst in quite a scary campsite in Canyon Du Chelly (with lots of stray dogs)! However, it definitely lacked performance. It was slow to boot into XP and felt sluggish to use, for example menus would have a delay before popping up and it couldn’t handle viewing photos from our camera at all quickly. Putting Linux on it might have improved it a lot but not enough for me to be impressed. I did want the 901 model (which has a 1.6GHz CPU instead of this 900MHz) but it wasn’t in any of the US shops (and we looked all round Los Angeles).

What did this laptop cost? We bought it in “BestBuy” for $500 (£270) including tax and we sold it on Ebay 7 weeks later for £180 but we had Ebay fees of £16.33 (listing: £1.79, postage: £8.22, PayPal: £6.32) so the end result is that we rented this for the US trip for £106. It was worth every penny considering how convenient it was for planning our trip and for how much time and money we would have spent in Internet cafes if we didn’t have it.

hp mini 2140

You can now order the HP Mini 2140 netbook direct from the HP site for $499 to $779.

$499 get you a netbook with a 10.1" 1024x576 display, Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, 802.11a/b/g and bluetooth 2.0. Asus has announced a new laptop designed for gaming that features a 18.4" 1080p HD screen.

The W90 gaming laptop won't be very portable but if you have to have the best gaming performance then you should check this out: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics that delivers a #DMark 2006 score of 15,000, up to 6GB of DDR2-800 RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 1TB of hard disk space, and true 5.1 channel dulby sound pumped through 5 integrated speakers and a subwoofer.
A photo of Sony's tiny VAIO P netbook has appeared at CES confirming the rumors of a chiclet keyboardEveryone knew it was coming at Macworld but we all hoped one part of the rumor was untrue - the non-removable battery.

The new 17 inch Macbook Pro has just been announced and yes it comes with a fixed battery.

Everything else about the laptop sounds great - unibody design, slim and attractive, powerful processor, large hard drive, lots of memory, good graphics, 7 hour battery life, 17" 1920x1200 pixel screen, all in a 6.6lb package less than an inch thick.
 HP has announced their next netbook/ultra-portable PC - the Mini 2140, and we are really glad to see that HP has readopted the main differentiator that set their 2133 apart from the opposition - a higher resolution screen.

Just about every netbook out there comes with at most a 1024x600 pixel screen but the HP Mini 2140 has a "HD" option that comes with a 1366x768 pixel screen.

The rest of the specs are fairly standard (Atom 1.6GHz processor, one SODIMM RAM slot, 160GB hard drive (or 80GB SSD), wireless, (optional) bluetooth, 3 cell or 6 cell battery, 2 USB 1 SD and an expresscard slot, etc) but we think the great looks and high-res screen will make this product a winner.

ecs

This month's Cebit show will mark first new launch since its recent merger with Taiwanese manufacturer Uniwill Computer. ECS will bust out with 4 new laptop ranges, simply named the S, L, H, and G series. Each series is targeted towards a specific user and all four support both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Detailed specs are vague but we'll spit what we've got: The slim-design S series, with LCD displays ranging from 12.1-inches to 14.1-inches, sounds like ECS' standard fare for the everyday user. The 12.1-inch S20II packs in a Core 2 Duo processor, Bluetooth, and a built-in 1.3 Megapixel camera. For all you penny pinchers, L Series notebooks will be priced for the value shopper (so probably no monster performance or sweet innards here) and will sport screens from 14.1-inches up to 17-inches. Next, the mobile presentation crowd might fancy the adjustable swivel-necked G200 (pictured), which will kick off the G series. And finally, ECS will launch its new H series with the H70, boasting a 7-inch touch screen display (with stylus input), 4-in-1 card reader, and 1.3 Megapixel camera. Apparently, ECS' basket's been full with this new breed of lappies, so we certainly hope it isn't dropping the ball on its plans.

acerferrari 4000

Right now I’m writing from my laptop. I use it only when I’m not at my desk, but I hate it because makes me “available”.  

Every time something came up and I had to do change my schedule. This drives me nuts 

The Ferrari 4000 is based on the AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology. The AMD PowerNow! technology extends system battery life while HyperTransport technology improves overall performance.

Features include a 15.4″ TFT wide display supported by an ATI Mobility RADEON X700 graphics chipset with 128MB DDR memory on PCI Express architecture, 1GB DDR memory and 100GB HDD, as well as a DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive unit and a 5-in-1 card-reader, all managed by the powerful AMD processor.

I know a website Dealtime.co.uk which is helping tech-savvy shoppers to find the right product at the right price. Searches a range of goods from digital cameras, notebooks, LCD TVs, iPods, through laptops to notebooks. Includes product reviews.

Dealtime.co.uk is a comprehensive comparison shopping service that helps you use the power of information to make the best shopping decisions

silver amazed

The solution is a PCMCIA or Express Serial Card. This card will provide a standard DB9 serial port for any laptop. Most laptops today come with a USB Serial Port and there is no reliable solution on the market to connect your CNC machine via a laptop using this USB technology. We have researched for years now looking for an USB to Serial adapter to reliably work under Windows 2000 and XP. Most have problems sending data to and from the CNC and working with 32 bit applications. Why take a chance?

RS-232 serial PCMCIA and Express cards are an ideal solution for any laptop adding additional ports to a wide variety of portable systems. Because they share electronic fundamentals with native bus architectures such as PCI and ISA, they function exactly like standard COM ports and can be addressed as such by most application software. In addition, their small size and the fact that the card itself can be left inside the computer at all times, make them practical choices for the most ported portable systems. Once added, it shows up in Windows Device Manager as COMM 1 or any desire port you choose.

RS-232 serial PCMCIA cards are designed to provide maximum performance while taking up minimal system resources. For high performance is heavy multitasking environments, the cards are implemented with 16750 UARTs containing 64-byte FIFOs. This along with special clock-multiplying features enables data transfer rates as high as 921.6 kbps. (4-port cards still use 16550 UARTs for standard 115.2 kbps speeds, but are due for an upgrade soon.) The cards also conserve system resources with their low power requirements that maximized battery life. They also have selectable and shareable interrupts, further extending a portable or handheld system's limited resources. And their multi-platform operating support makes them the single practical choice for a diverse fleet of portable systems.

Purchase a PCMCIA or Express card from us today to connect your laptop to any CNC! We can also supply you with an RS232 cable to communicate to your CNC Control. Free technical support is included with every purchase! Visit our "ORDERING" page to process your order today.  

New laptops do not include PCMCIA ports, but are including a new standard called "Express Card". The following picture shows both types of cards. Note there are two Express Card formats - 54 and 34. An Express Card/34 will fit into an Express Card/54 slot, but not visa versa.

Most laptops will also include some sort of blank plastic piece that fits into the Express Card or PCMCIA slot. The plastic piece should roughly match the same and dimensions of the image below.

Intel mobile Metro

Fancy a notebook which is almost as thin as the Motorola Razr phone? Then feast your eyes on the new Intel mobile Metro laptop Intel has been showing off a new laptop that by all accounts is the thinnest in the world. Codenamed the Intel mobile Metro, it's apparently less than 18mm thick--about 6mm thicker than a 

It's the result of a collaboration between Intel and US firm Ziba Design. Judging by these pictures, it's absolutely stunning. The working model will probably use Intel Centrino technology, although we're yet to discover what sort of chipset, processor, memory and storage will be employed. One of the few tech certainties is the inclusion of Wi-Fi.

The chassis, which weighs a mere 1kg, will be a champagne-coloured magnesium alloy and dotted with subtle gold accents. Intel has also confirmed a clip-on folder for the laptop, which will feature a secondary display. This will use E-Ink technology, of the sort used in Sony's Reader, to prolong battery life.

We've no idea if or when it'll reach the market. Intel doesn't actually make laptops (just the bits that go inside them), so we reckon a company such as Asus will take charge of building and selling it, as it did with Intel's Classmate PC.

Power package

Improved workflow with the ultrasound laptop P50 from Siemens At the Medica 39th World Forum for Medicine in Düsseldorf, Germany, Siemens Medical Solutions presents a new laptop-based ultrasound system, the Acuson P50, with integrated echocardiography software. The system is especially designed for mobile applications in cardiology as well as vascular applications and use in the operating room and anesthesiology departments. In addition to these functions, the P50 can be used as a standard Internet-enabled PC that also runs common office applications. With an array of transducers, the system lets physicians bring ultrasound anywhere it is needed.

Lenovo ThinkPad

Lenovo will launch its new laptop “ThinkPad Premium Edition” in Korea. This Windows Vista ready laptop comes jam packed with Intel Core2Duo Processor T7600, 256MB ATI M66GL graphic chipset, and 160GB 5400rpmh HDD. It also has 14.1-inch SXGA+ display with 1400×1050 resolution.

iMac, mini, Pro .

We'd heard rumblings about computer upgrades from everyone's favorite Cupertino-based company, but we didn't expect anything this soon. This morning, Apple announced new updates across its desktop computer and router lines. Although there aren't any significant aesthetic changes or redesigns to the models, the Mac Pro, Mac mini, and iMac all received spec upgrades (e.g. faster chips, improved graphics cards, and more storage), and there are even some welcome price downgrades. Click after the break to get the quick rundown of the new items will deliver better graphics thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce 9400m, increased storage, and lower prices. In perhaps the most significant news to consumers, the friendly-on-the-eyes 24-inch model will now be available for the starter price $1,499, the same price as the previous generation 20-incher. Only need a 20-inch iMac? Prices start at $1,199. (starting price: $2,499) will feature the latest graphic technology and a faster processor than the previous model (for $300 less), enabling it to "deliver up to twice the performance of the previous generation system," according to If you're a power user (heavy video editing, graphic work, number crunching) who hasn't upgraded in a few years, the new Mac Pros look to be a worthwhile -- and relatively budget-friendly -- upgrade.

msi-gt627

MSI introduced today a new gaming laptop which is its first to feature the NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS graphics processing unit. It is known as the MSI GT627.

The MSI GT627 makes use of the NVIDIA GPU to deliver what MSI says is well accelerated game physics and video conversion. This laptop runs at its heart, besides the GPU, an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor which can be overclocked. Screen size is 15.4-inches, while the hard drive is 320 GB. A new Sony docking station being made available for VAIOs makes use of DisplayLink technology for USB-enabled displays. It is called the Sony VAIO Docking Station (model number VGP-UPR1) and you’ll find it available now for around $200.

The VGP-UPR1, according to DisplayLink, allows Sony notebook users to connect an analog or DVI display to a laptop using USB 2.0. It supports a resolution up to 1600 x 1200 and works with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit, including support for the Windows Vista Aero interface.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X301 offers what Lenovo says is, on average, nearly 20 percent better performance over the ThinkPad X300 notebook due to the latest DDR3 memory and the latest Intel Core 2 Duo ultra low volt processor. The X301 also offers choices of either 64 GB or new 128 GB solid state drive storage as well as support for both DisplayPort and VGA.

droll_500x439

Ask anyone what a laptop, a notebook, or a netbook looks like and the chances are they’ll tell you it has a screen and a keypad and is sort of square shaped but maybe with rounded corners.

Ask them to elaborate on differences between the various models and you are likely to hear about differences in thickness, whether it’s light or heavy, and the sizes of the screens. Some may come out and speak about fancy features like raised keyboards or multi card slots, data security maybe.

Then you have those who would focus on the different colours and trims, whether it’s glossy or matt what they are made of and so on.

The point I’m getting at here is that basically all laptops, no matter what you call them, follow the same basic bookish design with maybe a few added touches, features or specifications that differentiate them from the rest.

You would be pretty shocked if someone came out and said that a laptop is cylindrical or tube shaped and that it rolls up like a scroll. It might even cross your mind that they were completely mad or some alien creature from another planet.

That just isn’t an image the masses are likely to have in mind at all when you mention a laptop and yet that is exactly the design that computer scientist and designer Hao Hua has come up with.

Ok so it’s still at the conceptual stage and not a reality yet but what an exciting idea.

According to Hao Hua the digital roll as he calls it is “the next generation laptop design”. Personally, I can’t wait.

The laptop would have a flexible OLED screen, a roll-able keyboard and the straps double up as USB outlets.

It even has a mouse and a webcam that you can attach to your wrist. This really is computing on the go at its best.

Hao has even put a lot of thought into the cooling system which is equally as innovative as the rest of the design.

AlphaSmart NEO

RLI have today announced a new laptop range called the AlphaSmart NEO 2 Laptop's at the 28th annual National Educational Computing Conference it includes all of the features of the
original NEO -- distraction-free writing, keyboarding and quizzing -- and adds exciting new features. The laptop also offers two-way communication through the use of RF technology which will maximize classroom participation, enable instantaneous formative assessment, and provide wireless printing from anywhere in the room. NEO 2 also runsseveral RL software programs, which includes the companies flagship product Accelerated Reader. The NEO 2 laptops are very competitively priced. Ordering information and details about the NEO 2 capabilities can be found by visiting http://www.alphasmart.com/K12 and will be available March 2008 with the AR Renaissance Place Version 7.5 at a very competitive price.

laptop latest vershion

Rugged models tend to run a couple pounds heavier than normal laptops, but you can leave that protective carrying case at home. They resist shocks, water and dust and offer all the features a normal user would need.

In fact, they are practically indestructible: Depending on the make & model, think 30 minutes of heavy rain, 40,000 feet of altitude, 40G shocks, dust storms, saltwater mist, 70 degrees centigrade, 95% condensing humidity and enough vibration to shake a truck apart.

They even have nuclear battlefield models for the military designed to withstand the EMP – ElectroMagnetic Pulse – created by nuclear explosions. This pulse destroys unprotected electronics The SUV of notebooks is as heavy in the hands as on your pocketbook, however – models start around $3,000. Also, you should be prepared to accept last year’s technology at least – many still come standard with Pentium III processors and Windows 98SE.


Manufacturing prices are dropping, however, and shipments of convertible, ruggedized and slate PCs may hit over 9 million units by 2008. That's up 700 percent from the 1.2 million units expected to ship this year, according to a forecast by market researchers. Convertible notebooks are expected to make up the majority of those shipments.

The projected number of convertibles and tablets is small compared with the overall number of notebooks - 62.5 million notebooks ship yearly, a number that is forecast by market analysts IDC to climb to 100.3 million in 2008.

Microsoft, a major backer of tablets, is making the rounds with educators and developers to promote the benefits of tablet-based computing.

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 is currently available with the purchase of a tablet-style PC. Users can also get free upgrades at the Microsoft’s web site. The next Tablet OS version is slated to be part of the upcoming Windows Vista Home Premium Edition.

The Premium version, which is based on Vista Home Basic, is similar to the Windows XP Media Center Edition (XP MCE) but adds features designed for tablet PCs such as improved handwriting recognition and ability to use a tablet's stylus to pan through documents.

Only time will tell if these new laptops will flourish like wireless networking or fade away like floppy disks. But in an increasingly tight high-tech market were margins are low and profits are down, expect PC makers to pull out all the stops. They will introduce new and interesting additions to their offerings in a bid to rise above the competition. Who knows? Maybe one day we will all own a rugged, convertible notebook.

Before tossing your desktop to get a sexy, new convertible, remember: you will have to make some sacrifices: Greater expense, shorter useful life – the technology tends to be several months behind the most advanced desktops, virtually no upgrade path apart from more memory and lower overall performance – especially when it comes to games.

slim laptop

Laptop computer screens that flip around to become tablet PCs could be an increasingly common sight near future. Convertibles, as they are called, are the newest and hottest – but not the only - offering in the increasingly diverse laptop market.

A convertible is more than just a laptop with a swiveling screen. The screen also accepts input from a pen just like a PDA – Personal Digital Assistant – or dedicated tablet PC.

Convertibles have given laptops a dual personality – use it normally or flip the screen around and snap it down on top of the keyboard to make a full-fledged table PC. Another cool feature: if you’re trying to show somebody what’s on the screen, you simply swivel it towards them – great for presentations.

With all these cool features, why doesn’t everyone own a convertible? Price mostly – they can cost several hundred dollars more than a standard laptop. Experts predict this will change as more people buy them – economy of scale. On top of that, laptop prices have literally crashed in the last 5 years making them affordable replacements for desktops.

Slate-style tablet laptops – the screen is fixed on top of the unit – are less popular, but widely praised by a select group of die hard scribblers. These units are akin to a PDA, only larger - the dimensions of a standard pad letter-sized of paper - and work in much the same manner.

Table PCs have been around for about 15 years, but sales have always been just a few percent of the total laptop market. To type, you need an external keyboard. Most people prefer typing to writing and – even today – handwriting recognition software leaves something to be desired. Most require a new writing style or a “learning” process.   

Unlike underpowered PDAs, tablet PCs are full-fledged computers capable of running any Windows program. They also cost several hundred dollars less than convertibles and have been on the market longer. Lack of a swiveling screen makes them more robust and lighter, as well, according to proponents.


Another segment in growth is that of the ruggedized laptops. They are attractive to anybody who’s ever dropped or banged an expensive laptop causing permanent damage. Ouch, and get out that wallet: just the screen alone could cost $1000 to replace

zepto hydra

Wondering what might be the latest laptop from Zepto? This time the company launched Hydra, named after the Greek monster with 9 heads. In the laptop’s case it reflects advanced functionality and latest technology. When it comes to mobile power graphics card with 1024MB DDR3 dedicated memory for outstanding images during movie entertainment and gaming, via 256-bit Memory Interface, 112 shaders, 1875MHz Shader Frequency, 900MHz Memory Clock an Capacity Calculation of 420 Gigaflops, and both and CUDA support. CUDA speeds up your laptop more than 12 times by enabling graphic processing for CPU-intensive applications. The graphics are upgradeable thanks to the platform.  

The 17-inch laptop with 1920 x 1200 display resolution features the Crystal Clear screen technology for natural colors and sharp images, an essential condition while watching DVD movies and playing games.
Hydra A17 comes powered by an Intel processor for up to 3.06GHz speeds via the Quad Core technology, with up to 8GB memory, support for Low Power Intel P Series processor for longer operating time, a built-in 2MP web camera for video conferences, microphone, HDMI 1.3A connection, SPDIF audio out, E-SATA input, DVI, up to 3000Mbit traffic speeds, fingerprint reader, Ubuntu operating system support, and an 8-cell battery for up to 2 hours and 10 minutes continuous operating time.  

For a system consisting of a 2GHz processor, 1GB DDR3 memory, 80GB S-ATA HDD storage, DVD burner, built-in subwoofer, web camera, microphone, and the NVIDIA Geforce 9800M GTX 1GB card, Zepto set a price of 2.011,13 €, while at 2.833,08 € you can get an enhanced configuration with an 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 CPU, 4GB DDR3 memory, 500GB SATA HDD, DVD burner, Intel WiFi 533AN 450Mbit Wireless module, webcam plus mic, subwoofer, and Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit operating system pre-installed.

Macbook Pro 17

Don’t worry, my laptop didn’t fell from any motorcycle as on the picture.

One week+ with my new laptop. It’s certainly not enough to give you a thorough productivity review, a sound comparison between Macbook Pro + Mac OS + Parallels + Windows NT + Ubuntu vs. my late HP nx7000 + Windows NT + Ubuntu.

I’ve been satisfied with the design. The design is great: everytime I pull away the laptop from its bag, I see girls taking a glance at who’s driving that Porsche. I can swear that it had unfortunately never occurred in any country when carrying my good old HP. Sitting at a terrasse in Paris last week-end, a Japanese good-looking tourist woman even asked me: “Oh, is that an Apple?”. Of course I answered “No, this is an orange juice”.

Mac OS X is pretty clean too. For instance, applications don’t mix up in a registry base, and you don’t need to go through a never ending procedure to uninstall a software: a simple drap & drop on the garbage icon and you’re on your way. Last – secondary, thing: the integrated video camera is pretty handy. I videoconference much more now that I don’t have to plug in my old Philips low-resolution device, and I enjoy looking at someone’s eyes when discussing important or more superficial matters.

One the negative side, I’m angry at Apple for announcing wrong autonomy figures. This is certainly not an “Apple only” practice, but I roughly get 2h/2h30 against 4h30 announced. Pretty frustrating: I thought I could survive my 3 hours-long programming class without plugging in my battery. The screen is definitely not as bright as my former screen, a bit disappointing. Moreover, the wireless antenna is not very powerful – but this is secondary, and it helps my brains rest from the numerous waves it already stands.

Last, but not least, THE HEAT it conveys is not a myth. Using your laptop less than 1 hour is okay. Between 1 and 1.5 hours, it’s reasonable. But then, I can really confirm that Macbook Pro really deserves its nickname: THE TOASTER. This is especially true on the left hand side of the keyboard, where the battery is located.

In a nutshell, MacBook Pro 17′ is a great multi-platform machine (I use Windows XP as much as Mac OS), a laptop of which you can be proud of. But: it is expensive, and for such a price, one would have expected the heating issues to be solved since the buzz has been dampering the image of the company for so long.

open laptop

Okay, let me begin this by admitting that there was no real need to get this for my personal use. It as my main PC. I had absolutely no problems with it after upgrading the RAM to 3GB. But as it turns out, I was was being very opportunistic and offered dad (who btw needed a new laptop for his use) to take my Inspiron 640m. And I got a reason to buy a new laptop. Win-win deal, right? Yeah, I thought so too.  

Hey you, check out my new laptop. It definitely looks better than yours!

Nevermind the LQ pics and poor PhotoShop work. I’m really pressed for time right now. Will update this space with other details and description if I feel the need

another laptop

This one’s special. I’ve long wanted to have a super-small laptop which I can carry around with me in college everyday. The normal laptops, though portable, are still bulky and it took me some time to realize that they just can’t be carried everyday in my backpack.

But the new Eee PC from ASUS is different. I’ve been travelling for the last couple of days and this thing has come in very handy. Ofcourse, the Reliance datacard played its role. Some may call the Eee PC under-powered, some may even crib about its miniature 7″ 800×480 display, but I found it to be just perfect for some on-the-move computing and even blogging! This blogpost is teh proof.

MSI GX620 Gaming

MSI introduces two new gaming notebooks, which has been The two notebook is having the same features, except that the GX620 has a 15-inch  while the GX720 gets a 17-inch display.

They are both powered by processor, up to 4GB of RAM, nVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT video card and 320GB hard drive. The two gaming laptops come with also WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth connectivity, a DVD writer and Blu-ray optical drive, 4-in-1 card reader, and a 2 Megapixel camera.

Both notebooks have HDMI and eSATA connectors

Laptop Lowjack

Ok so here is the deal. You goto a gamer meetup (ShmooCon perhaps?) and you take your brand new laptop. Well what happens if it gets stolen?
Well in the past you eather hoped that the person gives it back. Or that you have paid for LowJack. But chances are you just lost your new laptop

Well I [Tracker] was hopping around on the net early this morning when I stumbled upon a neat little program to help you in this scenario.

pavilion laptop

I had been planning to buy a new laptop for a while, since my older one was giving problems. (By the way, on 24-Apr the new version of 8.04 LTS, codenamed Hardy Heron, was released. I downloaded that and installed it on my old machine, and was very happy with it.) The new computer cost about Rs 45,000 (which is far less than the amount I paid for my old computer two and a half years ago!). It has an Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM (which I am planning to upgrade later), and a 160 GB HDD. I love the build quality of this computer, it feels sturdy and the design is very nice. In fact, I took feedback from my friend Maheshwaran (who runs on this — and he told me that his HP laptop was "used as a pillow while travelling" and had "fallen off a study table", and was still working fine. Personally I think the 14.1 inch widescreen is the perfect size for a laptop, and that's what I went for. I love the bright screen on this computer. Besides all that, the computer has a very aesthetic design (seen in the picture above, which is swiped from the HP website). In general, no complaints about the computer so far.he computer comes with Windows Vista Home Premium, and this is what I am using now. I've read horror stories about Vista (a guy being told that it would take him 130 years to write a CD, very funny YouTube video about but I've had no major problems. Only minor annoyances. Here are a few of them below

Panasonic CF-W5

The Panasonic ToughBook CF-W5 is an ultra-portable rugged notebook which still remains thin and light but able to stand up to a little everyday roughness. have a review of the CF-W5 and say the lid is ridged and constructed from magnesium alloy to afford some protection to the screen underneath it - the result is a slightly unusual, but nevertheless attractive look to the notebook when it’s closed.

Opening up the lid reveals a 12.1in screen with a resolution of 1,024 x 768. The resolution is a bit of a give away to the fact that the screen utilises a 4:3 aspect ratio, rather than the more common widescreen formats. This is a bit of a shame, since most ultra-portable notebooks these days will sport resolutions of 1,280 x 768 or 1,280 x 800, with the truly tiny Sony TX series machines sqeezing in 1,366 x 768 pixels.

The ability to free up space on the hard disk may be useful, since you only get a 60GB drive. I know it seems a bit churlish complaining about 60GB, but you can get larger 1.8in drives these days. Other internal components comprise an Intel Core Solo U1400 ultra low voltage CPU running at 1.2GHz and 512MB of RAM. The latter is a little disappointing as I think notebooks should ship with at least 1GB of memory these days, although at least there is an empty SODIMM slot for augmenting the memory. The memory issue is compounded by the fact that the Intel Integrated graphics suck up at least 8MB, so you’re only getting 504MB of system memory.

Asus U1F

Ultra Portable is exactly what the Asus U1F is, at only 1kg and 276mm x 190mm x 24mm in dimensions. This tiny U1F even manages to squeeze in dual core CPU and 1gig memory. TrustedReviews take a look at theand say there’s a 60GB hard disk taking care of storage, which may seem meagre by today’s notebook standards, but for most mobile users, it should be more than enough In fact the retail notebooks will ship with 80GB drives instead.

With a price tag of £1,399 including VAT, the U1F isn’t cheap, but then truly ultra-portable notebooks rarely are. Given that you can pick up the Sony TX3XP for around £1,485 these days, there’s not much between the two machines when it comes to pricing. Which one you buy depends on what’s most important to you – if you absolutely, positively must have the lightest notebook possible, and like the idea of a dual core chip, then the U1F is definitely worth considering

Asus Lamborghini VX2

The extremely stylish and powerful from Asus is a must for any Lamborghini enthusiast or simply anyone who love the look and the performance of the VX2.
Is the Lambo VX2 all looks and no power? TrustedReviews takes a look at the under the hood and say, opening up the lid reveals a impressive widescreen 15.4in display featuring Asus’ Clear Shine technology - basically a high contrast and brightness coating, that certainly makes Windows Vista Ultimate look the part. Blues look particularly good and video was smooth. Viewing angle was pretty good too - there’s some colour shift and its better when from the sides, than it is horizontally, but it’s not nearly as extreme as some displays.
Fixed storage is provided by a Hitachi TravelStar - a 5,400rpm model with a 160GB capacity - notebook drives are starting to get pretty capacious. The star of the show though is the Intel Core 2 Duo T7400. This mobile processor operates at 2.16GHz and boasts 4MB of Level 2 cache. When it’s going full pelt a fair amount of heat is chucked out via the port on the right hand side, but you can switch to cooler running power profiles.

The VX2 is without question a very cool notebook to look at and to use and sets itself apart from the crowd. What’s nice is that it does more than beat Sony at its own game - it actually offers something a bit different and is in a sense more exclusive.

The screen saver is naturally enough cool shadowed image of a Gallardo accompanied by roaring 5 litre V10 rumble sounds, which is either very cool is supremely embarrassing but that’s the thing with a notebook like this - it polarises opinion. In our book its a refreshing change and that’s reason enough to like it.

You’ll either love or hate the look of the Asus Lamborghini VX2 but there’s no denying the quality of its build or the strength of its components. It’s not the fastest thing around for gaming but for general use and casual gaming this is a serious looking and great performing piece of kit.

Dell Latitude ATG D620

Dell’s range of laptops have added the Latitude ATG D620 to their line up of tough notebooks. The D620 has a great flexible configuration, tough design with shock mounded hard drive, protected ports and a spill prof outer. It is heaver and more expensive than most notebooks, but if your looking for something that can stand up to the rough world, the Dell Latitude ATG D620 could be the perfect system for you. Cnet says that the semi-rugged Measuring 13.2 inches wide, 10.75 inches deep, and 1.75 inches high, the Dell Latitude ATG D620 is slightly larger than a standard Latitude D620, but it still qualifies as a midsize laptop. The extra weight (7.1 pounds; or 7.9 pounds with the A/C adapter), however, makes this a backbreaker for daily commuting.
sum up the D620 by saying Dell knows how to build great notebooks, and the Latitude D620 that this ATG model is based on is a great machine. However, even with the super-bright screen, shock resistant hard disk and solid steel hinges, this doesn’t really feel like a rugged machine in the way the ToughBook CF-74 does, and that’s not even a fully rugged ToughBook!

LG R400

The LG R400 is the first laptop which has a hybrid hard drive (HHD). The R400 will feature a the samsung 2.5-inch MH80 hybrid HDD which gives the laptop a 120gig capacity with either 128MB or 256MB of flash memory for buffing which leads to a very fast drive. Roughly three times a quick, plus the drive is quieter and uses less power, and should last longer.
The R400 has a 14.1 inch widescreen LCD, 128MB or 256MB of flash memory, a Intel Core 2 Duo T5300 processor (1.73MHz clock speed), 1gig of ram, and ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 graphics with 128MB of video RAM. Expect to see the R400 for about $1000 and to be around in late March.

asus_m50

The new Asus M50 15.4-inch widescreen laptop has just been announced, and has most certainly caught my attention. It features Intel’s latest powerful but low power Penryn CPU along with a powerful ATI Mobile Radeon HD3650 graphics card with 1GB of VRAM. It is clear that the Asus M50 is for the power, media and gaming user.

The Asus M50 looks great and comes with a choice of three different screens; WXGA, WXGA+ or WSXGA+ panels, and also a choice of Vista versions. A key element to the M50 is the optional Blu-ray drive. Users can now select blu-ray as their choice for HD, as the HD format was is over.

Along with the blu-ray drive, the Asus M50 is perfect for HD media. The powerful HD3650 is more than enough to play back high quality blu-ray movie with vibrant colors and smooth playback. There is also a HDMI output for big screen HDTV playback. The M50 also features Asus AI Surround technology.

Also featured is a built in hybrid TV tuner, upto 4GB of RAM, WiFi, and a dual function trackpad designed especial for media control.

aspire-6920

Acer’s previous Gemstone laptops have been very popular, and now Acer has announced the new Gemstone Blue range in the form of the Acer Aspire 6920 and Aspire 8920G. The Aspire 6920 is a 16-inch widescreen notebook with a great new design and impressive specifications.

The Acer Aspire 6920 comes with a 16-inch 1080p (1920×1080 pixel resolution) screen for impressive HD playback quality at full native resolution, and is powered by intel’s new high performance, low power 1.5GHz Penryn CPU. Graphics on the mega screen are handled by the NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS chipset which does most of the blu-ray decoding for smooth high quality playback.

If you don’t want the very high resolution of 1080p, you can choose a 1366×768 pixel version instead, and you can also output big video and audio to a HDTV via a HDMI output. The Acer 6920 is a great looking HD machine, so it also comes with a blu-ray drive for the playback of the latest HD movies. To the left of the keyboard is a unique “CineTouch” controls, for easy media control.

HP 2133

HP is looking get get in on the ultra portable business with their new HP 2133 UMPC laptop. The HP UMPC 2133 seems to be avaliable in three different models all which feature a VIA C7-M CPU (1.2 - 1.6 GHz) with graphics powered by a VIA Chrome 9 chipset.

Apparently the HP 2133 will be avaliable from April 7th, with prices ranging from $600 for the 1.2Ghz with 1GB of RAM, 120GB and Vista Home Basic 32 bit, while the $749 model features a 1.6GHz cpu, 1GB ram, Bluetooth and a larger 6cell battery. There is also a cheaper vision at $549, which has the same specifications as the $600 model but seems to run SuSE Enterprise instead.

Other features include a 8.9-inch LCD screen with a 1366 x 766 (WXGA) resolution, full size Qwerty keyboard, integrated webcam, wireless LAN and a tough anodized aluminum case.

HP hopes the HP 2133 UMPC will sell to people “without a thought” but at a top price of $749 we would think twice.

HP Pavilion dv2800

HP have updated their popular Pavilion range of notebooks with the addition of the 800 series in Europe, in the form of three new computers. The main thing we notice about the laptops is that they all feature a blu-ray drive, making these ideal for HD movie watching. The HP Pavilion dv2800, dv6800, dv9800 series models have a 14.1, 15.4 and 17-inch LCD screens respectively. You also have the choice of either an Intel Core 2 Duo or an AMD Turion 64 x 2 CPUs.

The 14.1 inch HP dv2800 has a 1280×800 WXGA screen and features Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics (128mb dedicated), the new Penryn T8100 and 3GB of ram. The Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 (Penryn) is also avaliable as an option running at 2x 2.5Ghz with 6MB of L2 cache, bluetooth, and 320Gb HDD.

The most popular size, the 15.4 inch HP Pavilion dv6800 has a 1280×800 WXGA BrightView Widescreen display, and either the Core 2 Duo T8100 from 2.1GHz (Penryn) or AMD Turion 64 X2 CPUs. Graphics are also GeForce 8400M GS, a 320GB 5400 rpm HDD, and the same features as the smaller dv2800. Overall the HP dv6800 looks very impressive.

Finally the 17-inch HP dv9800, with a 1440×900 WXGA + BrightView Widescreen display, Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 4GB ram, GeForce 8600M GS (512mb) and also interestingly, an option for a blu-ray writer, and also the same other features as the other two models.

Qosmio F45

Toshiba was concerned that laptop buyers at pretty much every stage of the spectrum might not have enough choices, so it's done what any self-respecting member of the PC community would: released a bunch of new computers. Currently doing victory laps at Toshiba Direct are the F45, gamer-targeted Satellite X205, and the Satellite A215 -- the cheapskate of the crew. Some notable specs:
Qosmio F45-AV412 - 15.4-inch XGA TruBrite display, 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo, HD DVD drive, HDMI out, 802.11a/b/g/n, Intel Mobile GMA X3100, fingerprint reader, built-in webcam
Satellite X205-S9359 / S9349 - 17-inch XGA TruBrite display (up to 1680 x 1050), Core 2 Duo at 1.8Ghz or 2.0Ghz, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M, 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, Harmon-Kardon speakers w/ subwoofer
Satellite A215-S4767 / S4757 - 15.4-inch XGA TruBrite display, AMD Turion 64 X2 CPU, DVD-R, Mobility Radeon X1200, 802.11b/g
All in all, truly three of the most middle of the road crowd-pleasers we've ever seen. Check out some hands-on pics in the gallery below

eee pc

Woke up this morning to the news that Asus will soon be pushing out two more Eee PC models. Word on the street (and by street, I mean is that the new units will feature larger keyboards.

According to DigiTimes, the new computers will be called the Eee PC 904 and 905, and will feature an 8.9 inch display in the same chassis currently used by the company’s 10.2 inch model. In other words, you get a larger keyboard, but you also get a large bezel around the screen. The idea is that Asus will be able to sell the Eee PC 904 and 905 for about the same price as the exisitng Eee PC 901, but you get an easier to use keyboard for your money.

If this is true, what you’d get is a computer with an 8.9 inch 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, 12GB to 20GB of solid state storage, Windows XP or Linux, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and a big bezel around the screen. Meanwhile, the MSI Wind will pack the same features, plus an 80GB hard drive and a larger screen (with the same resolution) into a case that’s about the same size. And MSI will charge about $150 less.

DigiTimes suggests that Asus is also considering giving the 901 and 900 a price cut or dropping them altogether when the new models hit the streets.

apple imac

By now you have probably heard about the with a fresh new aluminum skin. I have been sitting on a very large (100K) order until I was certain that I could get the new computers and not the model that was selling yesterday. After all, who wants a computer lab full of computers that are discontinued? I don’t! Anyway, with a lot of communication and coordination with our Apple representative, it appears we will be receiving the new iMac computers for all of our new labs before the fall term begins.

If you haven’t read about all of today’s announcements, check out whathad to say. If Apple does what they have done in the past, then there should be a video recording available for viewing on Apple’s website sometime this evening.

But wait, that’s not all, there’s more. What didn’t get a lot of press was the new or They have upgraded the processors to the newer Core 2 Duo from Intel. The new models come bundled with the newly announced and shipping iLife 08, but that’s not a surprise.

Overall, today was a good day. It pretty much went as I had hoped, with the products getting upgraded that I needed (iMac and iLife). Now, if we can just get Apple to ship the new 10.5 (Tiger) operating system, life would really be good.

lenova ces

CES always involves a glut of new laptops, netbooks, and desktop computers being shown off and introduced. The machines introduced usually run the gamut from thin and light machines to gaming behemoths with a price tag that sounds more like the price of a car than a computer.

Lenovo has already announced four new computers that we will see this week at CES. The new machines include one of the thinnest 16-inch laptops around called the Y650, a 15-inch notebook called the Y550 and a 14-inch Y440 notebook. Lenovo has also announced the addition of instant on and facial recognition to its S10 netbook.

One of the more interesting of the new Lenovo machines is the IdeaCenter A600 all-in-one computer boasting a frameless 21.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a Blu-ray option. The A600 also has a remote control that acts as a motion sensitive game controller. The laptops will be available in March starting at $1199 and the A600 will ship in April starting at $999. The updated S10 netbook sells for $349.

computer instructer

Choose a computer that meets all the functions you need, without spending more.
The new models are always very attractive, but in many cases not as a new model can deliver the necessary functions and cost much less.

Decide the type of processor.
Choose low-power processor is only going to use basic programs such as word processor. Choosing an intermediate processor power if we want to remain useful in 2 or 3 years, and one of the most advanced 4 to 6 years and to use complex multimedia software, video quality, graphics, etc
Deciding on the monitor.
Most Web pages are designed for screens of 17 inches, with a 14-inch page is necessary to move to one side to another. There are 2 technologies in terms of monitors are concerned, the technology CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube), which is the oldest of the two technologies, using a cathode ray tube which is impacting on the monitor to project the image, the advantages are that these monitors are much cheaper compared to LCD? s. The disadvantages are the size you need are these monitors and also caused damage to the eye.

The second is the technology LCD (Liquid-Crystal Display) monitors the work from? Liquid crystal? as its name suggests.

Some of the advantages is that the physical space they require is much less than CRT monitors and technology is also much less damage to the eyes that technology before.

The disadvantage is that it is much more expensive CRT technology that, although the benefits it is important to take into account the technology when deciding which monitor to buy.

Decide if you need CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD burner or zip drive.
It is advisable to have at least CD_ROM because the software is now on CD drive, the speeds of CD_ROM? S range, to take a 'performance? acceptable is recommended at least one CD-ROM drive of 50x

panasonic 7-series

Panasonic has refreshed its Thoughbook rugged laptop PC series with four new models featuring the Intel “Santa Rosa” notebook platform and enhanced protection from drops and spills. The new laptops are the CF-T7, CF-W7, CF-Y7, and the CF-R7 (for the Japanese market only).

“The new 7-series machines, aimed at corporate users, are beefier than the current 5-series machines and can survive a fall from a greater height. The new models can be dropped from 76 centimeters — the height of an average desk — while switched on and still work, according to Panasonic. Its current Thoughbook models for the corporate PC market are rated for a 30 cm drop but only when switched off,” PC World reports.

panasonic w-7

Panasonic has announced the availability of the new Thoughbook W7, T7, and Y7 notebook series in the United States.

The three business-rugged Panasonic ThoughBook laptops - the ultraportable W7, the tablet alternative T7, and the thin-and-light Y7 - feature Intel Core 2 Duo processors, a weight from 3.0 to 3.7 pounds, and a “long battery life”. These notebooks are drop- and spill-resistant, and have strong magnesium alloy cases and chassis, shock-mounted hard drives and LCDs, and internal flexible connectors for additional protection. The new Thougbooks also offer a range of embedded wireless options, including 802.11, Bluetooth 2.0 and optional built-in 3G mobile broadband solutions from AT&T (HSDPA), Sprint or Verizon Wireless (EV-DO Rev. A). Security features include the Trusted Platform Module (TPM v. 1.2) security chip, the Computrace theft protection agent in the BIOS, a cable lock slot, password security and an optional fingerprint scanner.

panasonic cf-19

Panasonic has updated its Toughbook CF-19 rugged convertible Tablet PC series with a version that features the Intel Core 2 Duo processor and expanded memory capabilities. MIL-SPEC-certified, which means it incorporates the rugged features such as a magnesium alloy case, sealed keyboard and ports, flexible internal connectors and shock-mounting.

panasonic umpc

Panasonic is going to release a rugged Toughbook mini tablet PC with Intel’s Atom processor on Wednesday, PC Advisor reports.

Prototype versions of the mini Toughbook have a touch-sensitive 5.6-inch screen and a QWERTY keyboard.

panasonic cf-u1

a Panasonic today announced the availability of the Toughbook CF-U1, “the first ultra mobile PC (UMPC) to integrate the new low power Intel Atom processor in a rugged handheld computer for use in the field”.

Along with the Atom Z520 CPU at 1.33GHz, the 2.3-pound Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1 features a 5.6-inch sunlight viewable touchscreen display with a resolution of 1024-by-600 pixels and LED backlight, 1GB of system memory, and a 16GB or 32GB solid state drive.

panasonic cf-52

Panasonic has announced recently upgrades to its semi-rugged Toughbook CF-52 15.4-inch laptop and 13.3-inch Toughbook CF-74 ultraportable.

“Both the Toughbook CF-52 and Toughbook CF-74 now incorporate the new Intel Centrino 2 processor technology. In addition, video and graphics capabilities have been significantly enhanced, hard drive capacity has been increased to 160GB, and Wi-Fi performance expanded to include 802.11 Draft N,” the press release says.

panasonic pc

Panasonic has upgraded its rugged Toughbook 19 Tablet PC and rugged Toughbook 30 laptop with Intel’s Centrino 2 / vPro technology, an improved display, and larger data storage space.

“Both Toughbook notebooks incorporate 1,000 nit LCDs, circular polarization technology and anti-glare (AG) plus anti-reflective (AR) screen treatments to enhance screen viewability, further improving in-field usability for mobile workers. Additional upgrades to the Toughbook 30 and Toughbook 19 include improved security and remote management thanks to Intel Centrino 2 with vPro technology, expanded memory capabilities, 40% longer battery lives, larger capacity hard drives, and optional SSDs,” Panasonic’s press release says.

samsung new pc

Samsung has announced in Korea their new range of PC called Magic Black Design. This PC will be released next year. There are six new computers, the MZ70, MV70, MZ68, MX15, NZ67 and NZ65. No word yet on detailed specifications, but the company guarantees the competitiveness of their products. The price tags should be around $770 and $1430. Stay tuned for more updates.

Asus Eee Box

we decided we needed new computers. The ones we had were old, probably seven or eight years old at a guess, running Windows 2000 on 10 GB hard drives, 128 MB RAM and chunky 15" CRT monitors. As standalone machines with this setup and no internet, they worked fine. But people want and need to use the internet nowadays and once I'd installed firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware they soon crawled to a halt. Maybe I went overboard with the free software, but they were basically unusable.
We found a volunteer to help us network them all and invested in Windows 2003 Server through to do it. Everyone had there own login and file space. What I hadn't realised until this point was that most people using the computers found it difficult to remember their username and password from one week to the next. They just wanted to get online and browse, but by the time they had logged in with a new password set up by me as the system administrator they had lost the will to continue. And even if they did carry on, their experience was still poor due to general slowness and regular crashing of the machine or network connection.I tried loading Ubuntu on to these machines, or rather Xubuntu, which worked OK. At least everything was a bit quicker and we didn't have to worry too much about firewalls, etc. I set them up so that by default they booted up into a "guest" login automatically so that people didn't have to remeber passwords. But even with Xubuntu, the experience wasn't great. The screens were still small and took up too much desk space. Some people wanted or preferred Windows XP or Vista or a Mac, I prefer Ubuntu. Ideally we would have a flexible system where people could learn and use different OSs on big screens, but with simple, quick and secure access to a kiosk-style screen for those who just wanted to browse the web