HP Exec Cuts Birthday Cake with MacBook Air
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HP Debuts Super Small Sub-$500 Laptop
by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 9th 2008 at 7:49AM
The latest entry into this field is the Hewlett Packard 2133 Mini-Note PC. The Mini-Note starts at $499, for the entry level model with 512 megabytes of RAM, 4-gigabytes of storage, a 1-gigahertz VIA processor, and Linux. At the top of the heap is a $749 model loaded with Vista Business, 2-gigabytes of RAM, and a 1.6 gigahertz VIA processor. The $749 model also comes with a 120-gigabyte hard drive that spins at 7,200 RPM for super fast data access. Many full-sized notebooks only come with 5,400 RPM drives, and most ultra-portables are saddled with a 4,200 RPM drive.
The first batch of reviews are in, and they're all pretty positive. Some complain about the lack of power due to the VIA processor, and the awkwardness of the side-mounted touch pad buttons, but most are blown away by the full-sized keyboard and the 8.9-inch screen that at a resolution of 1280x768 can display a full Web page without any horizontal scrolling, unlike the ASUS Eee.
The Mini-Note sounds like a strong competitor to the Eee and other cheap compact notebooks, but the price does sound a little high. An Eee PC similarly equipped to the lower end Mini-Note costs about $100 less, and for the $749 asking price of the high end model, you could buy a much more powerful laptop, though one not nearly as small.
From Engadget
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Graffiti-Splotched Gadgets All the Rage In 2008
Sure, iPods are cool, but they're just not the status symbol they once were, and there's nothing cool about having sleekest slimmest laptop on the market if everyone else has one, too.
Companies are realizing this and know that people, especially fiercely independent Americans, have a need to be different. So, as a way to make their products stand out (and their customers feel a little more unique), consumer electronics producers have taken to decorating many of their goods with graffiti and modern-art inspired graphics, intricate etchings, vaguely Japanese designs, and yes, even leather.
We wandered around CES and snapped pictures of some of the coolest examples of decorative electronics and customization options available to try and make you the consumer feel a little less like just part of the herd.
Gallery: Custom Design Gadgets
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Save and Share Everything With Windows Home Server
It's a little early in the product life to declare Windows Home Server a failure or a success yet, but this holiday season is shaping up to be the first real test of its market viability.
Windows Home Sever is an offshoot of the company's enterprise platform for Web and file hosting designed with consumer in mind. Essentially, it's a system that will automatically backup several computers connected to a home network, as well as allow for easy sharing of music, videos, files, and printers -- even from remote locations via the Web. Microsoft's pitch is that the Home Server will have a painless, dummy-proof set-up and interface, and early reviews confirm that this is in fact what Microsoft will provide when the first models show up in time for the holidays.
Hardware vendors have started loading the niche OS on bare-bones PCs with copious amounts of storage to lure in the media hungry masses in this age of P2P file sharing. And just in time for Chrisma-Hanu-Kwaanza, the big guys are unveiling their entries into this market. Even companies whose business is usually storage are trying to get in on the ground floor. Fujitsu-Siemens, Gateway, Iomega, LaCie, Leo Computers, LifeWare, Maxdata, Medion, Tranquil, Velocity Micro, and HP are all launching, or re-launching boxes with the Home Server platform installed. Systems are expected to cost in the $500-$700 range.
The question is whether there is a big enough market for a consumer-oriented server. Setting up a server is a simple enough process that most power users could have one set up in a matter of hours, without shelling out for specialized hardware or software. The average consumer is still intimidated by the idea and skeptical of the need, though anybody who downloads a lot of video and music or uploads their own pictures -- and also lives in a household with other computer users -- could certainly use a home server.
It remains to be seen whether or not Microsoft can do for home servers what the iPod did for digital music players. Unless the company can simplify its story of what a home server actually does and why the average consumer needs it, it may end up achieving a more modest, non-revolutionary success a la Apple TV.
Meanwhile, La Cie just released the much less expensive Ethernet Disk Mini ($200), which is getting rave reviews so far.
From Engadget
Is it Time to Downgrade from Windows Vista?
Nine months after the much delayed, and much ballyhooed launch of Windows Vista, things are not looking good for Microsoft's new operating system. Since its release, users have lodged a litany of complaints against Bill Gates's new baby, including poor device and application compatibility, high hardware requirements, and frequent crashes. In order to sell new computers, which more often than not come with Vista pre-installed, PC manufacturers and retailers are now offering to downgrade customers back to Windows XP. The U.K. electronics retailer Dabs.com now offers to install XP onto new Sony VAIO computers instead of Vista, with the option to switch back to Vista in the future. As we reported last April, Dell has also begun offering XP as an option over Vista, and even Microsoft itself recently made it easier for partner PC-makers to roll machines back to Windows XP.
But, there's more bad news for the ailing operating system. DSG Internation, the company behind several large consumer electronics outlets in Europe (Dixon's, Curry's, and PC World among others) has been forced to severely discount Vista machines after lackluster sales. To add insult to injury, many mainstream manufacturers are now offering or preparing to offer the Linux operating system as an alternative to any flavor of Windows.
Microsoft's Service Pack 1 for Vista is now available in limited beta tests. This first system update is critical for Vista since, traditionally, most businesses wait for the the release of the first service pack before migrating to a new version of Windows. If user complaints are not addressed in this update, many consumers may choose to skip Vista altogether. Considering the fact that Microsoft just ended support for Windows 98 last May, it's possible people will remain with XP until something better comes along.
From Slashdot
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Surveillance Devices to Eventually Record Entire Lives
True Big Brother 24/7, 365 surveillance is not here just yet, but if Martin Sadler, a senior scientist at Hewlett Packard is to be believed, it's not too far off. By 2057, he says there will be roughly one million sensors and recorders for every U.K. resident. Sadler has warned that the amount of information being collected from such a network of devices will lead to important ethical dilemmas.Though New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg recently suggested a video surveillance program for downtown Manhattan, public surveillance is much more prevalent in the U.K. than it is here in the states. Its effectiveness as an anti-terror tool was most famously demonstrated in 2005 in the wake of the London bus bombings when video of the suspects was immediately made available to the media.
Today, the average Londoner is captured on surveillance at least 300 times a day, a number that's on the rise. Many uses of the technology are "innocent and harmless," but the shear wealth of information being collected may lead to dangers that we're only now beginning to understand. Sadler's eerie vision of the future isn't limited to one in which advertisements are targeted at people based on where they were earlier in the day -- though, that will certainly happen. He envisions a future in which there are sensors so small, they'll be able to permeate our bodies to collect personal data.
Sadler says, "We have some real choices that we can make over the next few years about how much we benefit from all this information ... or how much it presents some sort of dark future for us." As we recently reported, the South Koreans are currently conducting a similar self-audit to determine the future dangers of developing technology, only the Koreans are focused on robots instead of surveillance.
From The BBC
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HP's New '70s-Style Retro Calculator
To mark the 35th anniversary of this engineers' favorite, HP has released the HP 35s, a powerful programmable pocket calculator (oh alliteration) in a design reminiscent of the original HP 35.
The new calc has much more memory, more functions and sadly ditches the original single line LED display for a two line LCD with adjustable contrast. The HP 35s is also only $60, compared with the $395 the original HP 35 fetched.
From Engadget
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HP Delivers Nine New Desktops
HP has introduced nine new desktops across its Pavilion and Presario lines. Most of the new computers feature AMD Athlon processors and Windows Vista Home Premium Edition (two higher-end models feature Intel chips, while a budget model offers Windows Vista Home Basic Edition). All of the new machines are stocked with DVD burners employing LightScribe technology, which can etch custom labels you design right onto the tops of CDs and DVDs. The new products range from inexpensive to mid-range to nicely equipped Media Centers. Then there are two pint-sized "Slimline" PCs, like the Pavilion Slimline s3100n pictured here.From Engadget
New Brand Coming From HP
You may not know this, but Ford, According to Engadget, Rahul Sood, the once CEO of Voodoo before it was brought into the HP empire, let it be known that there's a new brand coming. He didn't mention a name, but indicated it will fit somewhere between HP's mid-level offerings and Voodoo's pricier wares. Hopefully this finds better success than previous attempts at jazzing up their image.
From Engadget
