Computer Tech

RippleNote T7700 Notebook Released in Korea

2007-12-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

What we have here is the latest notebook from Pixel Lab Korea, and it is called RippleNote T7700.

First we see the superb black housing designed meticulously but this is a notebook gifted with the latest technology to fit the needs of business people that need something reliable to base on.

So let’s take a look inside this machine!

RippleNote T7700 comes equipped with 160GB of HDD storage, a 1.3MP built-in webcam and microphone, and a 7-in-1 multi card reader.
But what makes it powerful is the processor it’s running on, and we are talking about an Intel Core 2 Duo T7700. Next it comes with 2GB DDR II SDRAM memory plus 1GB Turbo Memory for the best performance.
And we can’t forget about the integrated Intel Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN 802.11a/b/g/n chip.

Office Suite Software Going Online

2007-12-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

When OpenOffice.org released a series of free software, Microsoft’s Office productivity software didn’t feel a thing as it continued its powerful hold in the market on these types of software. Then Google released their online version of the office productivity software. Its ability to share information coupled with the ease of creating documents was also taken to the next level. Microsoft may have been concerned a little bit since it’s just online and most offices will still prefer productivity tools offline or pre-installed in their computers.

But Google’s set of web only software was just the fire starter. There are now web-based software that offers the same function with the popular office tools. Aside from Google, Zoho.com is becoming increasingly popular as a web based office solution. YouOS.com is also coming out as a major player using the powers of Ajax and AjaxWindows that literally functions as your computer desktop, only web-based.

Realizing the trend of new productivity software going online, Microsoft also announced of their version of online office productivity called the Office LiveWorkspace. The creation of the web based program could either be because of popularity of this type of online services, or another marketing stint. However the program is only in Beta version – available only to limited people. But the latest word on the productivity suite is that this program will only enable you to share the programs you create. You will still use MS Office to create and edit files before it can be up-loaded to their online system. Once you’ve finished editing them, all it can do is to share files to other users.

On the other hand, Adobe is also looking to launch their web based version of office productivity. The project has now the codename of Share – also on its Beta version. The main difference of the product is that instead of running in Ajax, it’s going to run purely on Adobe flash. Unfortunately, the Beta version also has a limited number of users so if you’re thinking of signing up to try the product, you’re too late. But you can enter your e-mail if you want to be updated when the stable version is launched.

With this development, we are now on the verge of going online for office productivity. But the main feature of these web-based office softwares is that these services are offered for free. Instead of freely distributing the product, they opted to offer their services online. Even though the student edition for the MS Office suite is already at $50.00, still money is money.

For now, let’s wait for these two giants to come out of Beta version or when they start accepting new accounts to try out their services. Don’t worry; it’s going to be faster this time as there are now office tools being downloaded online for free. They will work really fast on these things before they will run out of customers, or a large percentage of users will be swayed to other office applications. Only time will tell if the MS Office tools will be knocked out as a leader but for now we just have to sit and wait as evaluations of the programs will come more and more.

Sony Vaio VGN-BX41VN for business world

2007-12-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Sony has launched the Sony Vaio VGN-BX41VN a laptop made for business world, it offers the fusion of technology and security

The new VGN-BX41VN is powered by Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo T7300 processor and sports 2GB of RAM, ExpressCard expansion slot and powerful dedicated graphics.

“In addition, the range is supported by key accessories including a sophisticated docking station for one-shot connection to all your office peripherals.” says Jun Koyama, Marketing Director for Vaio of Europe.

Security of data is provided by fingerprint recognition system which works in harmony with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) hardware-level protection. Even the danger of accidental data loss is reduced by VAIO G-Sensor HDD Shock Protection. It’s screen is 15.4 inches wide which gives the maximum resolution of 1280/800. The Vaio VGN-BX41VN also has an integrated 1.3 megapixel Motion Eye webcam, for video calls and conferencing.

BenQ Joybook A52 Series - inspired by the sleek design

2007-12-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

The latest addition in the Joybook laptops family is the BenQ A52 series, inspired by the sleek design of the piano.

The elegant BenQ Joybook A52’s is a fashionable accessory for any style-conscious consumer and it comes equipped with a 15.4-inch widescreen based on a Windows VistaTM operating system.

Other features include Intel Core Duo Processor, ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics card, Built-in LAN, WiFI 802.11 a/b/g compatible wireless card, and 3 USB 2.0 ports.

The Joybook A52 series is a preface to BenQ’s new line of Joybooks which will be incorporating a brand new design in 2007.

Samsung Aura R20 coming soon

2007-12-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

Samsung has announced the release of a new series of laptops , the stylish Aura series.The first Aura laptop will be the R20.

The Samsung Aura R20 comes equipped with an AMD/ATI RS600ME chipset for Intel processors and Radeon Xpress 1250 integrated graphics chip, Celeron M or Core 2 Duo T7400 at 2.16GHz. Other features includes : two memory slots for up to 4GB RAM, HDD from 60GB to 160GB, Super-Multi DVD burner, 802.11b/g wireless, Bluetooth, a 56k modem and Ethernet LAN.

There is no information on Samsung Aura R20’s availability dates and pricing.

Latest News About the HTC Shift

2007-12-23T10:43:00.001-08:00

This is the HTC Shift Ultra Mobile PC that is to be released soon in the rest of the continents besides Korea, where it is already available, and finally we have a price for it: it will be available at about $1600.

HTC invites us to experience a new era in mobile computing with its latest powerful UMPC that features a 7-inch Wide TFT LCD touch screen with adjustable screen angle, up to 60 GB HDD, a superb QWERTY keyboard for the best ergonomics, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support, Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth technologies, and 3.5G high-speed connectivity, all running on a Microsoft Windows Vista Business platform.
In addition it comes with built-in GPS, card slot, a fingerprint sensor, and a CMOS VGA camera.

Shift is powered by one of the best Intel’s processors, a Stealey 800MHz with the Qualcomm MSM 7200 chipset, and has 1GB of DDR II microDIMM RAM for Vista plus 64 MB and 128 MB for SnapVUE.
SnapVUE mode is a technology that allows you to have instant access to e-mail previews, local weather, calendar or SMS when the device is turned off.

The Shift comes in a small form factor measuring 207 mm x 129 mm x 25 mm and weighting 800g with the 2700 mAh Li-Ion Polymer battery that lasts up to 2 hours in working time.

Dell Treat Malaysian Differently…

2007-12-23T10:40:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken by The Sun newspaper early July this year. Staffs of Dell corp and models were promoting the latest colorful Inspiron laptops at the launching event in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

Dell launching Inspiron laptops in Malaysia

Today I received a forwarded email with some pictures taken at the same launching event in Korea :-

Dell launching Inspiron laptops in Korea

Though the event in Korea is more like an event for automobile, at least it catches more attention, no?
Oh ya, do you see the difference in quality between the models in yellow? Haha…

Well, there are more pictures after the jump.

This is just a post for fun coz today is Friday!
Have a great weekend, everyone!

Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC Officially Introduced

2007-12-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

Dell Inc. has officially unveiled the Latitude XT Tablet PC, the company’s first convertible notebook. This sub-four-pound system features a 12.1-inch display with capacitive touch technology and support for future multi-touch functionality.

Contrary to tablets relying on the older resistive touch technology, the Dell Latitude XT’s capacitive technology senses the touch of a finger or with no pressure required for the system to recognize input. The resistive technology can be less accurate and durable than capacitive touch and may not support multi-touch, according to the PC maker’s press release.

Dell also said the Latitude XT provides hardware support for its upcoming multi-touch capabilities. This technology will allow the use of more than one finger for tasks such as zoom and drawing lines.

The display will be also available with optional daylight viewing capability. The previous reports say there will be CCFL or LED backlight options and that the resolution is 1280-by-800 pixels in both cases.

The Dell Latitude XT will come with Intel Core 2 Solo or Core 2 Duo ULV (ultra-low voltage) processor, and with up to 120GB hard drive or 64GB solid state drive, depending on customer’s choice. The system uses ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics. Regarding communications, the XT supports 802.11n draft wireless standard, and wireless broadband 3G (HSDPA, EV-DO Rev. A) connectivity, according to the previously leaked specifications.

With an optional battery slice, the Tablet PC will provide up to 9.5 hours of run time, the company says.

The basic Latitude XT configuration is priced at $2,499.

WidowPC Sting 517D2 - First U.S. Laptop with GeForce 8800M GTX

2007-12-23T10:38:00.001-08:00

WidowPC today announced the 17-inch Sting 517D2, the first notebook available in the United States with the Nvidia’s GeForce 8800M GTX top of the line video card.

The GeForce 8800M GTX features 512MB of dedicated DDR3 video memory and 96 stream processors. It supports DirectX 10 gaming and provides hardware decoding of high definition multimedia content.

“These new 8800M video cards are exactly what the doctor ordered to play Crysis at advanced levels of visual realism. We’re proud to be the first in North America to ship this incredible performance enhancer,” said Joshua McClure, General Manager at WidowPC.

The Sting 517D2 gaming laptop is offered with a choice of the Intel Core 2 Duo processors, a 17″ 1920×1200 display, up to 4GB of system memory, 1GB of Intel Turbo Memory, and up to 250GB hard drive or 32GB solid state drive.

The basic 517D2 configuration with the 8800M GTX included is priced at $2,799 and is available for order and shipment now.

Skype for Linux Now with Video Calling

2007-12-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Back in October when we wrote about Skype introducing high quality video calling for Windows and Mac users, Richard pointed out in the comments that the Linux version didn’t even have basic video support yet. I’m sure he wasn’t the only one feeling like Skype was ignoring Linux users, and perhaps that’s why Skype got to work to on a new version. Recently Skype launched Skype 2.0 beta for Linux with the major change in this version being the addition of support for video calls. Finally, Linux users have a feature that Windows users have had for quite some time now!

After reading through forum posts from those who have tried the video calling on Linux, it sounds like they’re pretty satisfied with comments like “I love it” or “woo hoo!”. People have had no problems using it, although some have said that the camera won’t turn on by itself when you open Skype, so you’ll have to manually turn it on. If that is the biggest inconvenience with this version, I’d say it’s not so bad. And of course this video calling feature is completely free which makes it even better. The addition brings the Linux version just a bit closer to what is currently offered for Windows and Mac users.

Before you go and give it a try, just make a note of some of the hardware and software requirements:

Hardware
256 MB RAM
Video card driver with Xv support
1 Ghz processor or faster

Software
QT 4.2.1+
D-Bus 1.0.0
libasound2 1.0.12

If you meet those requirements, head on over to Skype to download version 2.0.

MSI YA Available for pre orders

2007-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

The latest notebook coming from MSI is YA.
I don’t know where its name is coming from but it looks good and you can choose from a range of four colors dot the housing.
Presented in black, green, pink and blue it covers all tastes and the price is relatively-low, of just $899.

It has a 12-inch WXGA Amazing Crystal Vision display with 1280 x 800 pixels resolution, a built-in 1.3MP webcam, DVD Super Multi burner, and is available for pre-orders.

The small notebook is powered by an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Mobile TK-53 processor with 1.70GHz speed, and has up to 2GB internal memory.
Then MSI added an ATI Radeon Xpress 1270 GPU, 120GB S-ATA HDD, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Modem, 802.11b/g WLAN Card and Bluetooth support, and also a very useful 4-in-1 Card Reader for SD/MMC/MS/MSpro card types.
All these are running on Windows Vista Home Premium OS.

The security of your stored data is been taking care by the Finger Print Reader technology.
Also, you can choose a battery type between a Li-Ion 4-cell or 8-cell.

The device is measuring 303X 231.5X 16-29.5mm and weights 4.8 lbs and together with the MSI YA you get a carry bag too, but you order it before the end of this year, MSI gives you the MSI Mega Player 536, an 8GB MP3 player with integrated FM tuner, and an SD memory card slot.

Flybook V33i Hits Japan

2007-12-23T10:28:00.001-08:00

Kaga Electronics unveils the ultraportable Flybook V33i for Japan. The 8.9-inch WSVGA screen may be small, but it’s perfect for productivity applications.

Other features on this 2.7-pound notebook include an Intel Pentium M 733 ULV (1.1-GHz) processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and a 60GB HDD.

Pricing has not yet been announced.

LG Releases the S900 19-inch Display Laptop

2007-12-23T10:25:00.002-08:00

LG has released a large notebook model with an impressive 19-inch widescreen display (16:10), based on the Intel Centrino Duo technology.

The large screen is a wide view angle LCD monitor, WXGA type, incorporating the latest technologies, displaying better brightness and vivid images (300nit), reducing eye fatigue and offering clearer vision with a contrast ratio of 850:1.

With a response time of 7.4ms it removes any afterimage on fast moving picture possibility and is able to reproduce the colors fidelity with 72%.

Another important benefit of such a screen is that there is no color variation at any viewing angle.
The LG S900 notebook runs on an Intel Core2 Duo Processor T7300 at 2.0GHz and has a DDR2 memory of 2GB (or 1GB, depending on your options).

The powerful 3D graphics are ensured by the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card with its own 256MB memory, which allows you to benefit from the Vista Aero special features like Flip 3D, Windows Sidebar, or transparent windows.

The next-generation Intel GMA X3100 graphic architecture is known for being the best in showing the realism of 3D graphics improving the gaming experience.
The clearest sound is produced in this case by the built-in cinema quality surround technology.

The notebook comes also with a 1.3MP webcam, very useful in video chat or video conferences.

For watching the TV shows you like you will have the Digital TV Broadcasting technology of the S900 and you will use the remote control which complements the mouse and the keyboard.

When you’ll need to transfer data, you will use the multi-memory card reader (5-in-1) for SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, and XD card types.

Another interesting feature which the notebook model comes with, is the Smart Save button that you could press in case of a power failure to resume the system to saved status back.

If a UPS battery is attached, the system will keep the power on for up to 10 hours in power save mode.

LG S900 is equipped also with a HDD of 250GB (SATA II at 7200rpm) or you can opt for more, 320GB.

There is also a DVD Super-Multi Dual Layer and three options for connectivity: Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N, or Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g) or 802.11bg.

It has WLAN support, LAN, Bluetooth plus EDR, and a 3-cell UPS Battery made from Li-Ion.

All this is weighting 5.9Kg with the battery and measures 447×318.5×52.5~66.8mm.

The price is around EU1400.

Gateway E-155C convertible tablet announced

2007-12-23T10:25:00.001-08:00

Mainstream PC manufacturer has announced a new tablet PC, the Gateway E-155C.

The thin and light E-155C is a fully-featured solution for the highly mobile user who needs the versatility of an advanced laptop with innovative tablet features.

The digital pen and touch screen capabilities make it simple to decide how to work.

Designed with complete connectivity options and the latest mobile technology, the E-155C is a lightweight, durable system designed to withstand your mobile demands. It features a 12.1 inch widescreen display, an internal optical drive, a biometric fingerprint scanner, an Intel Core 2 Duo U7500 processor, Gigabit Ethernet, and WiFi connectivity.

Gateway E-155C will run on Windows Vista operating system and will have a price of $1,850.

Philips to Manufacture Notebooks in Brazil

2007-12-23T10:24:00.001-08:00

It seems that Philips will found new factories in Brazil during December, the country that will be the first where this company will manufacture and sell its notebooks, with desktop computers to follow after.

Philips goal is to conquer 10% of the market until 2010.

The first two models to break the ice in Brazil will be a 11-inch and a 13-inch notebook with magnesium alloy housing.
The smaller model will be powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV U2400 with 1066 MHz, integrating 1GB of RAM, 120 GB HDD, and a Dual Layer Burner. This model will cost approximately $2,500.

The 13-inch model is more powerful in various aspects, first it will run on an Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 with 2.0 GHz and will feature 2GB of RAM, 120 GB HDD and the Dual Layer burner.
It will be priced at around $2,200.

There is no info related to the products names but Philips specified that these two are designed only for the Brazilian market.

LATEST COMPUTER VIRUSES

2007-12-23T10:20:00.002-08:00

HERE IS A LIST OF THE LATEST COMPUTER VIRUSES THAT HAVE BEEN SET LOOSE ON THE INTERNET...lol

Oprah Winfrey virus:
Your 200MB hard drive suddenly shrinks to 80MB and then slowly expands back to 200MB.

AT&T virus:
Every three minutes it tells you what great service you are getting.

MCI virus:
Every three minutes it reminds you that you're paying too much for the AT&T virus.

Politically Correct virus:
Never calls itself a "virus", but instead refers to itself as an "electronic microorganism."

Arnold Schwarzenegger virus:
Terminates and stays resident. It'll be back.

Government Economist virus:
Nothing works, but all your diagnostic software says everything is fine.

New World Order virus:
Probably harmless, but it makes a lot of people really mad just thinking about it.

Federal Bureaucrat virus:
Divides your hard disk into hundreds of little units, each of which does practically nothing, but all of which claim to be the most important part of your computer.

Texas virus:
Makes sure that it's bigger than any other file.

Adam and Eve virus:
Takes a couple of bytes out of your Apple.

Congressional virus:
The computer locks up, screen splits erratically with a message appearing on each half blaming the other side for the problem.

Airline virus:
You're in Dallas but your data is in Singapore.

Freudian virus:
Your computer becomes obsessed with marrying to its own motherboard.

Public Television virus:
Your programs stop every few minutes to ask for money.

Elvis virus:
Your computer gets fat, slow and lazy, then self destructs only to resurface at shopping malls and service stations across rural America.

Nike virus:
Just does it.

Congressional virus #2:
Runs every program on the hard drive simultaneously, but doesn't allow the user to accomplish anything.

Star Trek virus:
Invades your system in places where no virus has gone before.

Health Care virus:
Tests your system for a day, finds nothing wrong, and sends you a bill for $4,500.

Sotec Winbook DN8010 is now available

2007-12-23T10:20:00.001-08:00

Priced at an affordable $1,023, the DN8010 offers an Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 (1.66-GHz) CPU, 512MB of DDR2 memory, 40GB HDD, a DVD Super-Multi drive, and a 17-inch WXGA+ (1440 x 900) display.

External interfaces include four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, 3-in-1 memory card reader, and Gigabit Ethernet. It measures 394 x 287 x 39mm and weighs 8.17-pounds.

Sotec Winbook DN8010 is available August 29th in Japan.

WidowPC Sting 517D Gaming Laptop Introduced

2007-12-23T10:19:00.001-08:00

WidowPC, a leader in gaming computer hardware, announced today that they have photographic evidence of actual Dell laptop customer-hostages fleeing the Dell campus in Round Rock, Texas.

“The customer exodus stems from a combination of Dell’s exploding laptop fiasco, WidowPC’s price point on their Sting 517D gaming laptop, starting at roughly $100 lower than Dell’s XPS gaming product, culminating in a subliminal feeling of being held hostage by Dell’s robotic phone staff,” said Jake M., an actual Dell customer.

The WidowPC Sting 517D gaming laptop uses a safe battery. Dell faced massive recalls after photographs of exploding Dell laptops surfaced on the Internet. “WidowPC has never used exploding batteries in our laptops,” said Joshua McClure, chief executive at WidowPC. “Our complex statistical customer analysis has shown that customers don’t appreciate randomly exploding products especially when offered in combination with a lack of service and support.”

In addition to a notable lack of incendiary devices, WidowPC’s dual core Sting 517D gaming laptop also features Intel’s latest Core 2 Duo Merom mobile CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX video card with 512MB DDR3 memory, up to 4 GB of memory, up to 200 GB of high speed SATA hard drive capacity, DVD-RAM technology, high speed wireless, Bluetooth, a TV tuner card, and host of memory card slots, ports and multimedia connections.

It also comes with over $400 in free software, free lifetime tech support from real humans in America. Pricing starts at $2,195, roughly $100 lower than Dell’s XPS product.

Panasonic CF-30 Toughbook Notebook

2007-12-23T10:18:00.002-08:00

The Panasonic Toughbook series isn’t for ordinary computing mortals! Infact these notebooks pretty much live up to their names as Panasonic has always targeted them to law enforcement agencies and for other onsite usage. Now there is a new model on the horizon to continue the Toughbook legacy.

The Toughbook 30 is powered by the Intel® Centrino Duo Mobile Technology and is housed in a magnesium case for added protection. This tough cookie also has integrated 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN and has been tested for ruggedness. It comes Genuine Windows® XP Professional and includes a floppy drive too! Something which is amiss in all the new crops of computers.

As of now there is no word on availability but the base model will be available at an estimated street price of $4,699. The Panasonic CF-30 is also on display at Police conference in Boston.

MEDION Akoya MD 96350 Notebook

2007-12-23T10:18:00.001-08:00

MEDION is a large company founded in Germany, which is specialized in modern consumer electronics such as PCs, TV sets, refrigerators and fitness equipment, and recently it made available its latest notebook model called Akoya MD 96350.

The notebook is a powerful system running on the Vista Home Premium platform using the Intel Core2 Duo processor T5250 with 1.5 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, and 667 MHz FSB.
Having a large 2048MB Ram memory and the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with the PCI-Express Technology, you can easily turn your room into a gaming area together with your friends, and take advantage of the 3D gaming performance of this notebook that will surely provide realistic visual effects.

And not just that. The model has 160GB of hard disk space allowing you to store up to 30,000 songs and photos, or if you like, over 100 hours of video files.

Then comes the built-in webcam with microphone, a fingerprint sensor and the DVD-RW.
The system includes a TV tuner for digital and analogue television to watch your preferred TV shows on the 15-inch TFT Widescreen XGA display at a resolution of 1280×800 pixels.
As connectivity options, Akoya MD 96350 comes with the e-SATA connection type for high performance and reliability when transferring data.
More than that, there is the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945, wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g, for up to 54 Mbit/s speeds to let you download your emails and browse the Internet at high speeds.

As the rest of the notebooks these days this model has a 4-in-1 memory card reader with support for SD, MMC, MemoryStick and MemoryStick Pro memory card types.
You can find this notebook at a price of 800 Euro.

Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC and Ultra-Portable

2007-12-23T10:17:00.001-08:00

Some weeks ago, we wrote about the release of the ThinkPad T61 laptop PC series.

Today, Lenovo has announced the features for the ThinkPad X61 Tablet PC and ThinkPad X61 ultra-portable laptops, both expected to become available in June.

The 12.1-inch screen X61 series tablets and small laptops are based on Intel Centrino Duo “Santa Rosa” platform.

The ThinkPad X61 Tablet offers great features and options,including:

* Intel Core 2 Duo L7300 (1.4 GHz) or L7500 (1.6 GHz) processor, both with 4 MB L2 cache and 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB) featuring Intel SpeedStep technology1 for maximum and battery-optimized performance
* Enhanced port replication and expansion via the optional ThinkPad X6 Tablet UltraBase
* Integrated UltraConnect antenna to help optimize worldwide frequency coverage and performance for improved wireless LAN (WLAN) connectivity on 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g2 networks3
* Client Security Solution
* ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery™
* Microsoft Windows Vista operating system
* Standard 2 GB4, 2 GB (2 x 1024 MB), 1 GB, 1 GB (2 x 512 MB), or 512 MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz SO DIMM memory
* U.S. Support Center: 800-426-7378

The ThinkPad X61 TopSeller ultraportable notebook system offers outstanding features and options, including:

* 307-mm (12.1-in) XGA TFT display with 1024 x 768 resolution
* Intel Core 2 Duo processors
* Common options, accessories, and docking solutions with ThinkPad X61s notebooks
* Enhanced port replication and expansion via the optional ThinkPad X6 UltraBase
* Integrated UltraConnect 2 antenna to help optimize worldwide frequency coverage and performance for improved wireless LAN (WLAN) connectivity
* Lenovo Active Protection System™
* ThinkPad Layered Defense along with shock-absorbing rubber feet, shock-mounted hard drives, and Lenovo Active Protection System
* Standard memory of up to 2 GB
* Up to 160 GB (5400 rpm) 2.5-inch HDD or 100 GB (7200 rpm) HDD
* Microsoft™ Windows™ Vista or Windows XP operating system (depending on model or country)

On models with Windows Vista operating system Lenovo takes a great user experience and makes it even better. Lenovo systems include improvements in security, systems recovery, and location management.

The cheapest X61 tablet configuration costs $2,242, while the notebook version starts at $1,399.

The Latest in Portable Computer Scanners

2007-12-23T10:16:00.001-08:00

Image scanning has grown to the point that most computers in the United States now have either a flatbed or sheetfed scanner attached to them. Users are filling their hard drives with digital copies of family photos and letters, contracts and wills, and a host of other images. Lately, the trend in home, school and office scanning applications has been toward the use of portable scanners. This technology is advancing rapidly, with new models appearing at an increasing rate.

The latest portable scanners take two forms. Some are small sheetfed scanners, about the size of a handheld three-hole punch. The other is a wand-shaped scanner that the user sweeps horizontally down the page, building a scan of the entire document. Almost pocket-sized - not quite, but still very portable. Many of these are now designed to operate either connected to a computer, drawing power through the USB connection, or just by themselves, powered by rechargeable batteries and storing the scanned images in memory for later download. With built-in memory, a couple hundred images may be stored in the portable scanner, and many models will now accept memory cards like a digital camera, expanding the number of images it can hold. It’s beginning to sound like something out of an old spy movie.

Each type of portable scanner has its advantages and disadvantages. The portable sheetfed scanners offer consistency in image quality, but are limited by the fact that only loose sheets or pictures may be fed through them. Downloaded images are squared up nicely, however, due to the moving parts their batteries run down more quickly and are more prone to breaking down.

The handheld wand types offer greater versatility, in that it is possible to scan books, magazines and larger documents. It’s even possible to scan just a portion of the page. However, there are drawbacks. User reviews of many of the early models indicate that while they tend to do an adequate job of scanning, the housings are clumsy and, in many cases, cheaply built. Some users report that battery life does not live up to expectations, and that scanning a page manually often results in an inconsistent image. This technology needs more development before its use can become more widespread.

Epson’s budget-minded Endeavor NJ1000 laptop

2007-12-23T10:14:00.000-08:00

Epson’s busted out a new laptop for the low end set, loading up its Endeavor NJ1000 with yesterday’s specs to keep the price down — and offering a few upgrade options for those wanting something a tad more respectable.

Opting for the base model, however, will net you the most basic of basic laptops, with 15-inch XGA display, Celeron M 410 processor, 256MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, and a plain old CD-ROM drive — all for just 64,890 Yen (about $550).

If you’re in an upgrading mood, you can max out the system (for a price) with a Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, 160GB hard drive, 2GB of RAM, and a DVD burner.

Epson Endeavor NJ1000 has a white model, and reversing the trend, it’s the one that’ll cost you a few extra Yen in this case.

Microsoft’s Web-Based Office Application

2007-12-23T10:13:00.001-08:00

After quite some time Google launched its Google Docs & Spreadsheets, Microsoft finally unveiled its web-based office application called Microsoft Office Live Workspace today. Basically, it a web-based feature of Microsoft Office that lets people access their Office documents online and share their the documents with others.

I would say Microsoft Office Live Workspace is almost identical to Google Docs & Spreadsheets but with a number of limitations. There is only 250 megabytes of storage allocated for each account, or space to keep over 1,000 Office documents. The system requirement for Microsoft Office Live Workspace is as the following :-
Internet Explorer 6.0 or later on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista
Firefox 2.0 on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista
Firefox 2.0 on Mac OS X 10.2.x and later

No information on how it will run in a Unix system though.

Microsoft Office Live Workspace is an extended piece of Microsoft Office, so users can easily connect to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook on their PC via the Internet.

If you want to be one of the beta testers, just sign up the pre-registration list then Microsoft will invite you in later.

Anyways, to me there are more companies converting desktop applications to Internet based as the online community is growing rapidly. It’s a phenomenon that I’m glad to see. All hail the power of Internet!

The Latest Computer Cases Are Astonishing

2007-12-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Shopping around for a computer case can be a blast. I love just looking at the interesting colors and designs that are available in this product. The sleek new look is a real treat that any real computer enthusiasts will love. I like the hip style and interest that the clear computer case brings into our home office.

We checked out a computers advice website and decided against getting an armoire hutch for our personal office computer. I wasn’t crazy about adding a hulking piece of furniture into our office space and my husband wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having restricted space in the area. Since we were going to look at the PC openly, we decided to get an interesting clear computer case for the area.

The wonderful thing about the clear computer case is its overall design. This item makes for a fantastic conversation piece that will never go out of fashion. Even the kids love to look into the inner workings of the motherboard and they are learning valuable information about the PC as they look through the clear computer case. Don’t think that clear means colorless. There are a handful of colorful clear computer cases on the market that emit a lovely glow. We chose a warm color for our office space. I think that the warm tones give off energy and I work better with this feeling of energy. It’s perfect for this room.

Others may opt for a cool colored clear computer case, especially if they are fans of relaxing blue hues. The cool colors are ideal for someone who wants to chill out while surfing the World Wide Web. Either way, the clear computer case is a great addition that doesn’t have to leave the space bland. One of my favorite things about the latest computer case aside from its hip, colorful look is the convenient design. The USB ports are in the front of the unit. This is so important to me because I’m a technophobe who really likes to keep things as simple as possible. I may like looking at the inner workings of my personal computer but I really don’t want to know how it works.

Another benefit to the acrylic computer case is its maximizing use of airflow. The motherboard stays cool and calm no matter how many programs you have running on it. You can see the fans running in the unit and you know that you don’t have to worry about overheating. All and all I have to say that I think the clear computer case is a great deal and is one of my favorite computer accessories. The unit is inexpensive, convenient and attractive. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Radeon HD 3450, 347

2007-12-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

Starting with the HD 3450, in this instance it's a low profile card with a D-sub and DisplayPort connector, it has a core clock of 525MHz with the memory at 400 or 800MHz effectively, it has 256B of DDR2 memory and a 64-bit memory interface. Sadly the reference design incorporates a tiny fan cooler, but hopefully this won't appear on any retail cards.

The HD 3470 is a full size card, although this doesn't seem like it's a requirement, as most of the PCB is empty. What struck us straight away is that this card features CrossFire bridge connectors, while cards we've seen elsewhere don't. The core is clocked at around 600MHz with the memory at 500MHz or 1GHz effectively. These cards will use GDDR3 memory and will be available in 256 and 512MB verities, although still limited by a 64-bit memory interface. The reference card has a DVI, D-sub and TV-out connector.

All cards will use PCIe 2.0 and according to the information here the 3450 should retail for around US$50 with the HD 3470 costing $10 more at $60. Finally the HD 3650 should start at around $100. These cards should be available sometime towards the end of February according to Madboxpc.

Installing Solaris Express, Developer Edition in Parallels

2007-12-23T10:03:00.001-08:00

Solaris Express, Developer Edition is an OpenSolaris-based distribution that allows you to get early-access to the latest software from Sun. By using the latest build of Solaris OS, developers and sysadmins could benefit from the latest features of the Solaris OS.

For those wishing to install Solaris in Parallels for both Windows and Mac OS X, you can now download the Solaris Express, Developer Edition Appliance for the Parallels Virtual Machine 1.0.

The virtual appliance contains:
Pre-installed and pre-configured Solaris Express Developer Edition
Inetmenu 2.3.4 - a GUI tool to configure network
An open source network driver ni.

The Solaris Express, Developer Edition consists of the following components:
Early release version of Solaris 11
Sun Studio 11
NetBeans IDE 5.5
NetBeans IDE Enterprise Pack 5.5
Java Platform Standard Edition 6
StarOffice 8

The virtual appliance is divided into 5 parts with each file taking around 700MB of disk space. A shell script is included with the appliance to join and extract the images and put all the files in the required location

Safari now on Windows

2007-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Steve Jobs once said that iTunes on Windows was like “giving ice water to someone in hell”. Today, Apple is giving more ice water to the people of hell by releasing a public beta of Safari 3.0 to Windows users.

According to Apple, Safari 3.0 is 2 times faster than Internet Explorer and 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2 when loading pages. Safari 3 also executes JavaScript up to 2.8 times faster than Internet Explorer and up to 1.6 times faster than Firefox 2.0.

What’s new?
Improved inline find. When using the Find Command in Safari (cmd-f), a find bar will appear on top allowing you to enter your search term. When a matched text is found, Safari will dim the page and show the selected match with an orange background with white border.
Drag and drop tabs.
Resizable text field — Safari lets you resize textarea forms.

Windows and Mac users can now download the public beta from http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Google favored over other search engines

2007-12-23T09:59:00.001-08:00

Web site policy makers who use robots.txt files as gatekeepers to specify what is open and what is off limits to Web crawlers have a bias that favors Google over other search engines, say Penn State scientists whose study of more than 7,500 Web sites revealed Googles advantage.

That finding was surprising, said C. Lee Giles, the David Reese Professor of Information Sciences and Technology who led the research team which developed a new search engineBotSeerfor the study.

We expected that robots.txt files would treat all search engines equally or maybe disfavor certain obnoxious bots, so we were surprised to discover a strong connection between the robots favored and the search engines market share, said Giles of Penn States College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST).

Robots.txt files are not an official standard, but by informal agreement, they regulate Web crawlersalso known as spiders and botswhich mine the Web 24/7 for everything from the latest news to e-mail addresses. Web policy makers use the files found in a Web sites directory to restrict crawler access to non-public information. Robots.txt files also are used to reduce server load which can result in denial of service and shut down Web sites.

But some Web policy makers and administrators are writing robots.txt files which are not uniformly blocking access.........

Bee Strategy Helps Servers Run More Sweetly

2007-12-23T09:58:00.002-08:00

Honeybees somehow manage to efficiently collect a lot of nectar with limited resources and no central command - after all, the queen bee is too busy laying eggs to oversee something as mundane as where the best nectar can be found on any given morning. As per new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, the swarm intelligence of these amazingly organized bees can also be used to improve the efficiency of Internet servers faced with similar challenges.

bee dance-inspired communications system developed by Georgia Tech helps Internet servers that would normally be devoted solely to one task move between tasks as needed, reducing the chances that a Web site could be overwhelmed with requests and lock out potential users and customers. Compared with the way server banks are usually run, the honeybee method typically improves service by 4 percent to 25 percent in tests based on real Internet traffic. The research was reported in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics.

After studying the efficiency of honeybees, Craig Tovey, a professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech, realized through conversations with Sunil Nakrani, a computer science colleague visiting from the University of Oxford, that bees and servers had strikingly similar barriers to efficiency.........

Microsoft End User License Agreement

2007-12-23T09:58:00.001-08:00

By touching any computer ever made, you agree to the terms of this agreement....

Microsoft shall have the rights to your first born child. This child shal be called Bill or Billina. Said child shall be assigned an activation code, which must be used prior to this child playing outside....

User furthermore agrees to sing praises to Microsoft every morning upon waking and each evening before retiring.... Simply raise your hands in the air and repeat aloud, ''All hail Microsoft!''

Roadrunner: A New Age of Super- computing

2007-12-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Laboratory officials celebrated Los Alamos's decision to pursue, pending approval by the National Nuclear Security Administration, the final phase of Roadrunner, a high-performance computer (HPC) slated to become the computational cornerstone of Laboratory mission-related work.

"Roadrunner ushers in a new era in high performance computing," said Terry Wallace, principal associate director for science, technology, and engineering (PADSTE). Wallace praised the hard work and dedication of the entire Roadrunner Project Team at the celebration last Thursday.

Roadrunner is designed to achieve a sustained operating speed of 1,000 trillion calculations each second, or a "petaflop/s" in computer jargon-peta signifying the number 10 followed by 15 zeros, and flop/s meaning "floating point operation per second." The fastest current supercomputer is rated at 478 teraflop/s (teraflop/s meaning one trillion floating point operations per second); Roadrunner would be roughly 3 times faster.

The computer will be developed in partnership with IBM and will utilize commercially available hardware, including aspects of commercial gaming and graphics technologies. Because of its off-the-shelf design, the computer costs significantly less than a one-of-a-kind machine. It uses a Linux operating system.........

Active computer games no substitute

2007-12-23T09:53:00.002-08:00

New generation active computer games stimulate greater energy expenditure than sedentary games, but are no substitute for playing real sports, as per a research studyin this weeks Christmas issue of the BMJ.

Young people are currently recommended to take an hour of moderate to vigorous physical exercise each day, which should use at least three times as much energy as is used at rest. But a number of adolescents have mostly sedentary lifestyles.

Time spent in front of television and computer screens has been associated with physical inactivity and obesity.

The new generation of wireless based computer games is meant to stimulate greater interaction and movement during play, so scientists at Liverpool John Moores University compared the energy expenditure of adolescents when playing sedentary and new generation active computer games.

Six boys and five girls aged 13-15 years were included in the study. All were a healthy weight, competent at sport and regularly played sedentary computer games.

Before the study, each participant practiced playing both the active and inactive games.

On the day of the study, participants played four computer games for 15 minutes each while wearing a monitoring device to record energy expenditure.........

Useful XP PowerToys

2007-12-23T09:53:00.001-08:00

While I was trying to lessen the burden of my computer by deleting some programs, I deleted by mistake my calculator. If you’re an XP user, you might already be familiar that running a calculator is as easy as going to run and typing in “calc” to get the calculator running. Now that’s all gone, I squandered to look for a calculator that can run in my computer. Lucky I landed in Microsoft XP’s site that offers free software called the PowerToys. Not only did I found a calculator, there are other free software programs that I also downloaded. These are pretty simple programs as some size of the files is less than 1MB.

Here are some of the PowerToys I also downloaded (note these softwares only work in XP):

ClearType Tuner (2MB) – Ok, this one’s more than 1MB but it still runs really fast. The main reason why you want to download ClearType is because of its ability to adjust the screen to make the letters clearer. This is applicable for some XP users who have trouble looking at the sites especially in their browser. This tuner is installed in your control panel and once it is, you’ll be able to adjust the screen’s resolution manually until you get the resolution that you want. Although this program is not the answer for those who can’t clearly see the text because of eye problems, ClearType makes reading a lot easier for general users.

Alt-Tab Replacement (534KB) – When you press ALT and taps on the TAB, you’ll be able to see the icons of programs that run in your computer. Once you install this program, that experience will definitely change. Properly called the Task Switch, instead of getting previews by the icons of the programs running, you’ll be able to see a small screenshot of the page. This is perfect for multiple documents that run in one program. Instead of guessing what’s under number one file, you’ll be able to see what’s in it.

Power Calculator (624KB) – The reason why I landed on this page. If you’re thinking that I downloaded just like the good old software, you’re wrong. Power Calculator actually has a grid. You can plot X and Y intersections and create formulas. But if you just downloaded the file only to figure out the difference between two whole numbers you can still do that. You enter the numbers manually and the screen will show the process and the result. However, the fonts maybe too small to read for some.

HTML Slide Show (416 KB) – This program lets you create a slide show for all your pictures. For example, if you have website that feature pictures, you can just create a simple HTML page with all the pictures that you like to share. It will be viewed as a slide show if successfully uploaded to your site.

If you like the slide show then you should love the webcam timer show. You can set your webcam to take pictures in a specific time interval. It’s recommended for computers with higher than normal speed. Compile pictures of yourself during the day as you work in your computer.

Windows Media Video Streaming Hosting

2007-12-23T09:52:00.001-08:00

Why Choose Windows Media Video Streaming Hosting

If I were to open a website, and I wanted to host videos on my website, I would have a lot of options open to me. Many websites will offer videos, and they too have many different options. However, some options are just better than others and there are a number of ways that a person can look at this when they think about how they want to host their streaming videos. Streaming videos are fast and offer efficiency and quick delivery to the individuals that are trying to watch the videos that are offered. But it is also important to offer a good hosting service people if people have to download new materials in order to be able to see the video, they may not want to do that and the individual that is hosting the video will probably lose out on having a loyal member of their online community, while that web surfing individual will be losing out on seeing a potentially great video. When it comes to deciding how to host the videos that are offered, a person will want to see what is most popular when it comes to hosting videos, so that more people would be likely to just be able to see the videos without having to download anything else.

It should come as little surprise to anyone that since computers come with Windows installed on the computer that the most popular choice would be to look into Windows Media video streaming hosting on the website. Windows Media video streaming hosting is the best choice because everyone already has this installed on their computer, so the individual viewer does not need to change anything, unless for some reason they uninstalled the program when they got their computer. Since far fewer people are likely to uninstall a program that is popular than install a program that isn’t as well marketed, this again proves that Windows Media video streaming hosting is a good idea. This is true no matter what type of genre is being put up on the Windows Media video streaming hosting website. Sometimes the genre is news, other times it is adult entertainment. This does not matter to the hosting program.

Not only that, but the updates are automatic. When a person goes to your website, they will rarely run into a problem if you offer Windows Media video streaming hosting. This is because when there is an update ready with the Player, Windows will tell the individual and they will be able to update it then. Sometimes the update is even automatic which will save the individual a lot of time later when they go to your website and notice your decision to go with Windows Media video streaming hosting. While the individual might not be able to tell that this is such a benefit to them, since they simply will likely not come up against a problem, they might not understand how superior you hosting is at first, but they likely will if they ever try to look anywhere else.

Mac OS X Leopard Is Finally Here!

2007-12-23T09:50:00.002-08:00

If you’re reading this, the latest operating system that came out of Apple is already released. The new version, called Leopard, has been getting great reviews lately from various tech blogs. Leopard has been seen as a very good competition for Microsoft’s Vista. Unfortunately, Vista hasn’t had any great things coming in except frustration from users. Personally, I think Microsoft’s security is quite outrageous. We all understand the importance of security but it doesn’t mean that we have to cripple and even disable some of the services. The only good thing so far about Microsoft’s Vista is their cool interface.

Going back to Leopard, this latest edition of Apple is priced at $199.00 for family edition (up to five users) and $129.00 for a single lisence. We checked out their website, the blogs and webcasts to see the cool things about this latest OS offering from Apple. So far, there are four features that seemed to stand out.

Web Clips – imagine being able to access your favorite video websites without having to launch any web browser. Using your Safari browser (Apple’s personal favorite), you can create widgets linking you to your favorite video websites. Once you’ve selected your site, you can easily access video sites an check out the latest videos.

RSS on E-mail – for news and updates junkies, this is the perfect feature of Leopard. You can now subscribe to various RSS feeds and send them directly to your e-mail. That seemed to be a little simple but try considering this feature when you’re offline. The RSS feed will not only access the online information but downloads the whole document. As long as the e-mail has received the feed, you’ll be able to read the document offline. You can also send the document to your friends and other contacts.

Web History – my personal favorite. I have trouble memorizing a good website I usually visit so I often look it up at my web history. That may still be confusing and not convenient. But with Leopard, all you need to do is type in a word and your computer searches for the latest matches. It doesn’t only take a look at the title or the tags in the site but it also looks at the specific words found in them. So even if you remember only a single word, you’ll be sure to find them easily.

Integration of Wikipedia and Dictionary – in your installed OS, you’ll be able to check on the dictionary and Wikipedia even without the internet connection. All the information you need is already in Leopard. Since Wikipedia is so big, entries in Wikipedia are shortened and presented in a way it’s being presented like a dictionary. Your OS just got a little bit smarter with this tool.

Of course there are other cool features that come with the new Leopard but when it comes to productivity, these features are a standout. If you’re a Mac user, Leopard is definitely worth the second look.

10 Free Graphics Editors

2007-12-23T09:50:00.001-08:00

The best things in life are indeed free when it comes to software. Today I’ll give you not one or five, but ten free softwares for graphic design. You may already be accustomed in using Paintbrush or Photoshop, but the following programs are worth a try if you want to manipulate or enhance pictures without the need to shell out licensing fees.

1. GIMP – As a free software under the GNU license, GIMP proves that free doesn’t mean it has limited functions. It can fix distorted images really fast as it has a very extensive library and functions; almost any picture file in the world could be opened using this program. If it’s not available, their website even has more plug-ins for support.

2. Ultimate Paint – Whether it’s image creation, manipulation or plain viewing, Ultimate Paint can be used to access popular file names. Although the freeware doesn’t support Photoshop’s plug-ins, it’s a clear winner if you want to access some files faster and change a color or two about it.

3. Skencil – a user friendly program that is vector based. It has unlimited undo history so you can change from step one. Upload popular picture files and change them using vectors. The only downside is it’s only available for Mac OSX.

4. Pixia – A very popular Japanese paint program. Users of the program decided to release an English version of the program. It’s a great program to create those “kawaii” (Japanese for cute) photos. Already available for Vista (Windows only), Pixia brings out anyone’s anime ability. No guaranteed support if something goes wrong with your program though.

5. InkScape – Another vector graphics software. Inkscape is an open-source program that is constantly updated and upgraded in various operating systems. You can practically learn how to paint and manipulate pictures using their extensive tutorials and how to libraries.

6. Paint.net – This award winning software is simple enough to understand, but powerful enough to give you the manipulation that you need. Even though it’s only available in Windows, it has already a growing number of supporters. Even though no help is available professionally, you can ask for help from fellow users in their online forum.

7. Smoothdraw - If you have a tablet, this will definitely work for you. Although it’s not the same as actually painting in a canvass, you’ll be able to smoothen the lines using your mouse.

8. ImageForge – This software creates better 3D texts than those you find in your PowerPoint. Transfer images from your scanner or webcam and edit those images. Or you can upload a picture and edit the images to create cool slideshows.

9. Brush Strokes Image Editor - Upload images and use it like the paint accessory program. It’s a very simple program that you can use if you’re already bored with your present paint accessory.

10. Project Dogwaffle – Although it’s not as great as the photo editing giants, Dogwaffle promises to be a software for art geniuses. It has various tools that can specifically point out a single portion and edit them according to various uses. Although you need some time to be familiar with the tool, it’s definitely worth it. A commercial version is also available.

Control Your Desktop PC Remotely For Free

2007-12-23T09:49:00.003-08:00

Being in business sometimes requires you to be in different places most of the time. There are managers who have to be one place in one time and then transfer to another establishment to keep the business intact. There are also businesses so small, that there are no managers in the area, only employees. To keep their businesses working, they rely on one thing: control the work of their employees remotely. It’s not only essential that we keep a close contact with our employees; we also have to take care of their computers. Of course, some would say that it’s an invasion of privacy but it’s essential to keep the business going by taking care of the things, even inside the computer. Aside from that, whenever there’s a problem or installation needed in a PC, the tech department in the head office will just remotely control the computer and install the necessary software.

If you have a small business with different branches, here are some of the free softwares that you can download to remotely control your PC.

Unyte Software – To be able to use the free application, you need to have the popular instant messenger Skype. That way, the user will be able to invite someone to take a look at their desktop. They will have the option to control what programs they are planning to share. There’s also an option for full control of someone else’s computer. All you need to do is to click on your fellow Skype user and share the information instantly. Only the user that wants to share their information to others will have to download the software. It’s only an add-on to Skype but it works just fine for one on one conference.

iRemote PC Free – This freeware is one of the most respected free PC remote control. Aside from taking control of computers remotely, users will be able to upload files to the other computer as if it’s a separate folder. Each computer downloads the application so that files would be transferred. If you’re only in a conference, you can also use this software share the screen without being remotely controlled by someone else. It also features 128 bit SSL security that means the transaction is spyware free. This is especially applicable for technical support wherein the server has to be accessed remotely.

GoToMyWebServer – It’s freeware that you can easily install. The file size is less than 1MB (918K) which makes it fast to download as well. Even if you have a dial-up connection it will take no time to download the file. However, it’s quite impossible to control them if you don’t have DSL to control the files. You can easily access another computer using mouse and your keyboard. You need to download the software in both computers in order to access the computer. It also uses a secured connection to prevent spyware. It’s a simple product that can take over another computer easily. If you have a faster connection, it’s like having a completely different computer inside your PC.

Enrich Your Desktop With Free Desktop Widgets

2007-12-23T09:49:00.001-08:00

Desktop Widgets are tools that you can download in your computer freely. As the name suggests, there are implemented in your desktop so that you’ll have access to information without going to a website. It could also be another tool such as a clock, calculator or even your favorite hangman game. With a simple download, you can use the tool in no time. Best of all, they’re free.

Here are some of the sites that offer hundreds, maybe thousands of widgets to choose from:

Klipfolio.com – Klipfolio.com specializes only in one thing: widgets. You can choose from hundreds of native Klipfolio products: games, pictures, podcasts, RSS feeds and others that you want to have in your desktop. They also offer tools for developers who wanted to create their very own products and implement them online. These developers can create one to show their prowess or use it as a marketing tool. They have forums for developers and even offer support to help you create one or if you get stuck in creating something. Try their desktop dashboard to access different types of information and tools in the internet.

AveDesk – When you visit their website, you’ll be able to access limited but very useful desklets (their own term of widgets). This software is very useful especially for Mac users as they are created for the specific group. The only downside is that it doesn’t have enough widgets to get you entertained. You can also download their latest tool so that you can add to more widgets to their library.

Microsoft Gadgets – The leader in software industry doesn’t want to be left behind when it comes to creating widgets. In this website, you’ll be able to access more than five thousand types of widgets. These widgets could cover everything. There are gadgets that can help brush up your German, learn the latest saying of President Bush (called Bushisms), etc. Since there are literally thousands of widgets, you can sort the extensive list by popularity, name or date added.

Google Desktop Gadgets – I like Microsoft Gadgets because of their extensive number, but the presentation of their products is not of quality compared to Google Desktop Gadgets. Google Desktop Gadgets chronicles thousands of widgets using the toolkit that was also provided by Google. It’s a one stop site for the things you need to create a good widget. All you need to do before running the desktop gadget is to download the Google desktop. It may be another requirement but you’ll see the difference once you get them going in your desktop.

We’re saving the best for last: Yahoo! Widgets – You may disagree with me but from the things that I saw, the types of widgets presented in Yahoo are colorful, interactive and powerful. So powerful that you need at least 512MB of processing speed to ensure the widgets installed will be able to run smoothly. For developers, a heavily documented program is waiting. As the adage says, the documentation will explain things to you like you’re a five year old kid.

It’s Official: Windows XP is Faster Than Vista

2007-12-23T09:48:00.001-08:00

Although it’s been common knowledge among computer professionals for some time, there is now official research that proves that Windows new Vista operating system is slower and less responsive than Windows XP. The Florida-based development and research company, Devil Mountain Software, compared performance benchmarks between the two operating systems. The end result? Windows XP outperformed Vista in every single test.

The unbiased tests showed that XP loaded quicker and showed an increased level of responsiveness, regardless of the computer system and memory allocation available. The company tested on a wide range of commercially unavailable desktop and laptop computers, and each time the results were the same: XP is simply faster than Vista.

Researchers tested the two operating systems using Microsoft Office running on a dual core dell notebook. A benchmark analysis disclosed the time taken to complete standard tasks such as creating a compound document, or saving multiple documents. The test also utilized computers with both 1 GB and 2 GB’s of memory, to ensure fairness to the larger, more memory intensive Vista.

But in all tests, Windows XP was shown to outperform Vista, sometimes proving to be nearly twice as fast at basic “housekeeping” tasks such as document creation and auto-saving.

For example, on a laptop computer running Windows Vista SP1, it took longer than 80 seconds to complete a series of Microsoft office tasks, while the same notebook running Windows XP SP2 completed the tasks in approximately 40 seconds.

The tests also showed that Vista “locked up” most additional memory added to a computer. This means that by upgrading a laptop from 1 GB to 2 GB of RAM, researchers were only able to improve Vista’s performance by 4%!

The latest “Mac versus PC” commercials show a bumbling “PC” indicating that he had just recently switched back from Vista to Windows XP. While the commercials are designed to be humorous, the latest research shows that serious computer users may want to follow suit and switch from the over-bloated Vista back to the more stable Windows XP.

But Vista’s troubles don’t stop there, large PC manufacturers, such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard have begun reintroducing Windows XP as an option on many of their top-selling desktop and notebook computers. Additionally, a recent survey by InformationWeek disclosed that approximately 30% of all businesses indicate they will not upgrade their office computers to Vista under any circumstances.

This latest study, combined with the widespread perception that Vista does not support many existing peripherals, such as printers or scanners that are older than one year, is bound to seriously put a dent in Microsoft’s bottom line over the coming months.

Meanwhile, Apple is the great beneficiary in all this. Sales of Apple computers have been steadily rising over the past two years and are likely to continue to do so as Windows Vista comes under increased scrutiny.

Cool USB Devices

2007-12-23T09:45:00.002-08:00

USB (Universal Serial Bus) was introduced way back in 1995. This was supported by big names of the computer world, including Microsoft and Intel. Soon enough, USB devices started to be created but the development was rather slow. But since version 2.0 was invented in year 2000 and was introduced to the public the next year, almost all peripheral devices including memory devices, mouse, keyboards and printers have been based on USB.

Aside from the mouse, keyboards and printers, there are other USB enabled devices that you can plug into your computer. Think of it as upgrading your computers performance may it be on productivity or entertainment. Here are the six devices by which you can give your computer a little kick.

1. USB Hubs – unfortunately a regular computer only has five USB ports. We don’t want to be too greedy but if you want to have so many USB based devices, you need to have more ports. That could be answered by purchasing USB hubs. A USB hub is not only an extension for one USB port, but also can be an extension for four additional USB ports.

2. USB TV Dongle – if you can’t get out of your computer but don’t want to miss their favorite shows, the USB TV Dongle is the perfect gadget for them. Just insert the device in the USB port and connect the cable connection on the other end. Your computer now becomes your cable TV. These devices usually come with a remote control and an installer where you can record the shows as you wish.

3. USB IrDA – instead of connecting mobile phones and infrared enabled devices to your laptops, the USB IrDA will convert your laptop or computer into an infrared enabled device. You can virtually connect to other infrared enabled devices usually within a meter range.

4. USB Gamepad – if you don’t have the latest PlayStation or Xbox, it doesn’t mean you can enjoy games using a gamepad. Download and install games that are gamepad enabled and use this device like you’re playing in a regular PlayStation or Xbox. Although the titles are not the same, you can still have the same enjoyment with this gamepad.

5. PlayStation 2 to USB Cable – if you have a PlayStation 2 and would like to transfer you gaming experience to your laptop, no need to purchase another controller. This device will convert your PlayStation 2 controller into a USB enable gamepad. Prepare to pay a little bit higher if you want to have a USB device that can cater to two PlayStation 2 controllers.

6. USB Modem – for faster internet connection, connect your computer directly to a modem. This will ensure that you don’t have to connect through LAN for an internet connection.

Remember that these devices usually run in Windows 98 or Higher. For Vista, check if the devices are already upgraded to work with Microsoft Corporation’s latest OS.

Toshiba Enters Solid State Drive Market

2007-12-23T09:45:00.001-08:00

Toshiba has announced its first lineup of solid state drives (SSDs), based on NAND flash memory and designed primarily for use in notebook computers.

Toshiba’s first SSDs will be available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities and will provide low power consumption, a faster boot time, and light weight, when compared to standard hard drives.

The solid state drives will utilize a Serial ATA 2 (3Gbps) interface, and maximum read and write speeds of 100MB and 40MB per second respectively.

They will be showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, from January 7th to 10th. Mass production will start in March next year.

Intel “Santa Rosa Refresh” Brings Penryn CPUs, HD Decoder

2007-12-23T09:43:00.002-08:00

Intel has officially confirmed launch of the “Santa Rosa Refresh” notebook platform in January next year. It is an update to Intel Centrino processor technology that includes the next-generation 45 nanometer (nm) Core 2 mobile processor codenamed “Penryn” and improved graphics capabilities, the chip maker announced.

Intel “Santa Rosa Refresh”-based notebooks are claimed to deliver “improved platform performance and great battery life”. Regarding graphics, improvement focuses on HD DVD and Blu-Ray support with an optional third-party decoder, as well as enhanced content and gaming capabilities, according to the company’s Pre-CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2008 Briefing.

Intel also confirmed “Menlow” platform shipments in the first half of 2008. This platform is designed for use in Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) and Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs).

In addition, the company says it works with Sprint and Clearwire on the deployment of a mobile WiMAX network in the United States starting in 2008. Intel’s integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX module will be available as an option with next-generation Intel Centrino processor technology, codenamed

HP Pavilion TX1350EL

2007-12-23T09:43:00.001-08:00

Notebook HP Pavilion TX 1350EL con processore AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-64 con frequenza di clock di 2,2GHz e 1MB di cache L2 (2 x 512KB). Dispone di un display WXGA BrightView da 12,1" (1280 x 800) con touchscreen integrato ottimizzato per l'input tramite penna. Ha una memoria RAM pari ad 2GB su moduli DDRII SODIMM, un hard disk SATA di capacità 250GB a 5400rpm, un masterizzatore DVD Super Multi DL/RAM con supporto Lightscribe ed un lettore di memory card 5in1. La sezione video è costituita da un' interfaccia NVIDIA GeForce Go6150 con memoria video condivisa fino a 559MB. Scheda audio integrata compatibile 3D Sound Blaster Pro 16 bit con altoparlanti Altec Lansing. Lettore di impronte digitali integrato. La connessione con periferiche è assicurata da 3 porte USB 2.0, 2 porte infrarosso, 1 porta VGA, 1 porta S-video e un connettore per docking station. La connettività prevede un modem PSTN 56Kbps, un'interfaccia Bluetooth, un'interfaccia WLAN 802.11 pre-n ed un'interfaccia LAN 10/100Mbps. Webcam integrata. Fornito con sistema operativo Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium e telecomando. Scopri tutti i servizi HP Care Pack abbinabili all hardware scelto.

Intel Z-P140 PATA - World’s Smallest SSD

2007-12-23T09:42:00.001-08:00

Intel has announced the Z-P140 PATA solid state drive, which is “smaller than a penny and weighs less than a drop of water”.

“The tiniest in the industry, the Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD is designed for ultra-small mobile internet devices, digital entertainment and embedded applications and is part of the proposed Intel “Menlow” platform. The Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD comes in 2 Gigabyte (GB) and 4GB densities, extendable to 16GB,” the chip maker says.

This 0.6-gram solid state drive, which connects to a system via a Parallel-ATA interface, has a read throughput of 40 megabytes per second and a write throughput of 30 MB/s.

The Intel Z-P140 PATA SSD will be showcased at Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008. Its availability date is currently unknown.

HP Pavilion Notebooks Get Blu-Ray Drives, dv2700, dv6700 and dv9700 Lines Introduced

2007-12-23T09:39:00.001-08:00

HP is updating its Pavilion 14.1-inch, 15.4-inch and 17-inch notebook lines and offering Blu-Ray ROM drives in its consumer line for the first tme. The new dv2700, dv6700 and dv9700 are very similar to the previous models and will accomodoate future components that will be announced in the coming months.

The Blu Ray disc player is a $400 upgrade on Pavilion notebooks. HP will continue to offer HD DVD optical drives as a $200 upgrade option. Both high-def optical drives read their respective high-def formats and can write standard-def DVDs and CDs. Those who opt for either high-def optical drive will need to configure their notebooks with a dedicated graphics card, such as the 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M for $149.

HP will continue to offer the standard SuperMulti DVD burner as standard equipment, an optional DVD burner with Lightscribe.

I recommend buying a Blu-ray equipped notebook only if you’re absolutely certain this is the format for you. With the high-def format wars still raging, many movies are only available on one format or the other. Also, most high-def notebook drives are read only, meaning you can’t backup or archive your content most HD DVD or Blu-ray players.

Asus G2K-A1 coming soon

2007-12-23T09:34:00.001-08:00

Asus is about to release follow up to the successful gaming notebook series, Asus G2K-A1 17 inch gaming laptop based on AMD and ATI components. It looks very much like previous G series models. Here are specs:

* Processor: AMD Turion 64 X2 TL60, 2.0 GHz, 2×512KB cache L2, FSB 1600 MHz HT
* Memory: 2048 MB DDR2 667 MHz
* Screen: 17.1 inchWXGA+ (1440 x 900) Glare Type
* Video card: ATI HD2600 256MB dedicated, 1240MB Hyper Memory
* Hard Disk: 200 GB SATA 7200 rpm
* Optical drive: DVD DL Super Multi Light Scribe
* Networking: 10/100/1000 LAN, WLAN IEEE802.11b/g, Bluetooth + EDR, Modem V.92
* Battery: (Li-Ion) a 8 cell2400 mAh
* Weight: 9.6 lbs

It will be available in USA around middle of November for around $1700.

Dell Upgrades Ubuntu, Includes DVD Playback

2007-12-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Dell has announced that they are now shipping Ubuntu computers running the latest 7.10 release. On the Dell blog they said that it took so long because they wanted to do extensive testing first, but I would say that it was a rather fast turnaround considering that it was such a big upgrade.

Dell also managed to solve one of the most vocal complaints that I’ve heard with Ubuntu, and it’s that there is no way to play commercial DVD’s out-of-the-box. Dell wanted it to be as simple as putting the DVD in and hitting the play button, and so that’s what they did. Also on the computer you’ll find that Flash is pre-installed…that’s one less thing you have to fuss with when trying to go online!

There was also a 13-minute interview between Mark Shuttleworth, the CEO of Ubuntu, and the manager of the Linux team at Dell (it’s embedded below). In the interview Shuttleworth was asked where he thought Linux market adoption was heading, and I think he made a valid point when he said “I think what we’ll see is that Linux is in everyone’s pockets before it’s on everyone’s desktops.” Because of the Linux’s compact size I do believe that it will be the backbone of many portable devices, and we’re already starting to see that happen. As time goes on the popularity may also start to work its way over to the desktop market, which is exactly what Shuttleworth is predicting.

I give Dell a lot of credit for releasing an Ubuntu lineup, especially when a bulk of the community never really expected Dell to fulfill their promise in the first place. There are only a handful of computer manufacturers that sell Ubuntu-powered laptops, and only one that is brave enough to offer them in Flamingo Pink!

Dell XPS M1730 review

2007-12-23T09:31:00.001-08:00

Notebookreview.com has done first review of Dell XPS M1730, latest high-end gaming notebook from Dell. This monster gaming laptop weights 10 lbs and has Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X7900 clocked at 2.8 GHz. It also features high end dual SLI NVidia 8700M GTs with total of 512 MB of ram.

In 3dMark 2006 it scores whopping 8,369 while on PCMark 2005 it gets 7,006. The price tag of over $4,000 doesn’t make it a bargain.

Check out how Dell XPS M1730 compares with 20 other gaming laptops at top gaming laptops list.

Open Your Linux Files in Windows

2007-12-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

Lifehacker made a great find the other day that all of the dual-booters will surely enjoy. They came across a free application, called Linux Reader, that gives Windows users the ability to access files from a Linux partition.

From the screenshot it may appear as though Linux Reader integrates directly into Windows Explorer, but that’s not the case. It’s a standalone program that you’re required to install (unless you grab the portable version), and after that you’ll be able to access files located on an Ext2/Ext3 Linux file system partition.

The only downside that I’ve seen to using this is that it doesn’t offer two-way communication. By that I mean you can read files from a Linux partition, but you’re not actually able to save them. From what I’ve found full read/write access to Linux partitions in Windows is much harder to come by.

Of course Ubuntu 7.10 already comes packed with full NTFS support, which means you’ll be able to read from and write to any Windows partition. We’ve already shown one way you can take advantage of this, but it would still be nice to have an easy way for writing to a Linux partition in Windows.