To find out the best laptops of 2010, we checked in with Mark Spoonauer who, as editor-in-chief of Laptop Magazine and Laptopmag.com, oversaw 140+ notebook and netbook reviews this year. If you’re buying, buy one of these. More »
This article was written on April 24, 2007 by CyberNet.
Rumors are flying once again that Dell is planning to launch a Tablet PC towards the end of October. This is far from the first time that I have heard about a Dell Tablet PC that is supposedly in-the-works, but it seems to be a lot more credible this time around.
The source of the rumor claims that they have received nearly identical information from two different sources, and the news goes something like this:
Engadget commenters also seem to be confirming that they have heard similar things from their own Dell representatives. One even went as far as to give some of the details they heard about it:
My rep has confirmed this with me as well. I’ll try to snag his powerpoints. Shows a play on the D420 form factor, 1GB ram minimum 4GB max, 10 hour extended battery [not a typo, but probably not reality], 802.11n, 12″ display with an upgraded 12″ ‘high visibility’ option for outdoor use.
The thing that disappoints me is that they are going to have the Tablet PC functionality on one of their highest priced notebooks. The D420 starts between $1,800 and $2,000 depending on on whether you want a one-core processor or two-core processor. A Tablet PC definitely won’t help reduce the price on it.
I actually owned an Averatec Tablet PC (the C3500) that was horrible. It was plagued with battery and heat dissipation problems, both of which Averatec knew was an issue. They eventually discontinued selling the laptop because there was so many complaints, and at that time I opted for a new computer. The reason that I got the Averatec was because it was the only Tablet PC at the time that was available for under $1000, but the quality was obviously compromised for the price.
Since then I haven’t had another Tablet PC because they are still pretty expensive, but they were extremely nice for taking notes that are normally hard to type. Since I can type pretty fast I found that I didn’t really use the tablet functionality all that much because it actually slowed me down more than anything.
A few companies have taken strides to provide an affordable Tablet PC, such as Gateway’s which you can get for around $900 with pretty good specs. Dell is smart for getting into the Tablet PC market, but I think they need to offer a solution that typical consumers can afford as well.
Source: jkOnTheRun [via Engadget]
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This article was written on June 23, 2008 by CyberNet.
Any guesses on how many personal computers are in use out in this vast world we live in? As of July 2007, it’s estimated that there are about 6.6 billion people in the World. Out of those 6+ billion people, how many of them do you think are using a computer? According to Gartner, a research firm, the number of personal computers in use has passed the 1 billion mark which is pretty big. In other words, about 1/6th of the population has a personal computer.
Of course we know that the number of people who actually own a computer is under the 1 billion mark because of all of the people (you may be one of them) that own multiple computers, but this is still pretty significant. An analyst with Gartner says about 58% of those one billion computers are owned by people in “mature” markets – places like Japan, the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. What’s interesting though is that they’re expecting the next billion computers to come by 2014 and many of those computers will come from emerging markets.
Now that more people are using personal computers, there’s one major problem that has to be addressed: computer recycling. Computers have multiple components that are toxic to the environment. As computers age, people often times decide to just throw them out instead of recycle them when they buy a new one. Each year millions of computers become obsolete and end-up in landfills.
How do you recycle a computer you ask? Most manufacturers these days have a recycling program which makes it easy to do. Take Dell for example. If you go to www.dell.com/recycle, you’ll see options to either donate or recycle your computer. Dell even offers to have it picked up at your home at their expense. All you do is fill out a form and they provide a label for you to print. Nice, huh?HP is another example, and you can find their program at www.hp.com/recycle. Depending on where you live, they also offering recycle services for rechargeable batteries and cell phones along with computer hardware and printer cartridges.
If your computer is aging and you intend to buy a new one, definitely think about your options for your old computer including recycling and/or donating it.
Source: Reuters
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This article was written on August 05, 2007 by CyberNet.
I’ve been using Vista for several months on four different computers. Out of all of those computers there have been no issues (well, file transfers are a little slow but this fixed that), and I’ve only seen one blue screen of death (BSoD). Sometimes it sounds like my experience has been far too pleasant with the operating system when comparing it to what some people have gone through.
I was reading an article by Ed Bott this morning that detailed the root of his problems: the Nvidia graphics cards. He mentioned that Nvidia just released another drive update for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista last week, but there are still a full 10-pages of open issues remaining (read about them in this PDF).
So what did he do to fix his problems? Have a look:
Over the weekend I yanked Nvidia cards out of both systems. On one, I went back to the onboard Intel GMA950 graphics. On the Vista Media Center PC, I installed an ATI Radeon X1300 Pro card with the most recent ATI drivers (Catalyst Version 7.7, released July 19, 2007).
The difference is night and day. Sleep works perfectly again. I can switch effortlessly between Media Center and the Windows desktop on the HDTV, and the full desktop is visible. (ATI’s drivers aren’t bug-free, but the list of known issues with Windows Vista is dramatically shorter – one page, not ten.)
This actually explains a lot because every system I own is using an ATI graphics card. And looking back at some of the problems I’ve heard about regarding Vista have been from people using Nvidia cards.
So if you’re having troubles with Vista and you’re using a Nvidia graphics card, you might want to get an ATI card. I’ve got a Radeon X300, Radeon X1950, and two Radeon Mobile X1400. I’ve had no problems with any of those on Vista.
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This article was written on October 31, 2007 by CyberNet.
Newegg is among the first retailers in the United States to start selling the much anticipated Asus Eee PC. They only have the version available (and in stock) which is equipped with the 4GB solid-state drive, and it costs $400 to pick it up. No, the cheaper 2GB model is not yet available.
You may remember that the Eee PC comes with Linux pre-installed, but the Eee PC does also support Windows XP. Computers with XP pre-installed will supposedly be shipping by the end of the year, but I don’t see any reason that you couldn’t install it yourself.
Here are some of the specs for the Asus Eee PC
Unfortunately we won’t be seeing any of the models rolling in under the $200 price mark like we originally expected, but other versions are rumored to be coming out shortly. The price range for the three different models, including the one mentioned in this article, is supposedly between $300 and $400.
Newegg Eee PC Homepage [via Engadget]
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Technology’s about a lot more than buying stuff—but let’s be honest, we all love our gadgets. So we’re here to help you find the best of the best—laptops, cameras, phones, and a lot more. More »
This article was written on October 30, 2007 by CyberNet.
The last time we wrote about the One Laptop Per Child program was late September when it was announced that they’d go on sale starting November 12th. Consumers who want to buy one will be required to actually purchase two — one for them, and one to give. This “Give 1 Get 1″ program will cost $399, and is still set to start on November 12th. Despite the fact that there are about two weeks left before the launch to consumers, the foundation has already started to sell the laptops, but only to those who are wanting to donate.
As BetaNews reports, it’s all about donation at this point. If you visit the foundation’s site, you’ll see that there are three options. Someone can donate 100+, 1000+, or 10,000+ laptops with the price fluctuating based upon the number donated. For someone who decides they’d like to give 100 or more laptops to the location of their choice, they’ll be charged $299 per laptop with $99 from each laptop going to fund another 50 laptops that would be sent to a country that the foundation chooses. For those giving 1000 or more to the country of their choice, they’ll pay $249 per laptop with $49 from each going to fund another 250 laptops. For those wanting to give 10,000 or more, they’ll be charged $200 per laptop and can choose where they’d like the laptops to be sent.
Seeing as the purpose of the whole program is to provide children in lesser-developed countries with a tool to learn, I think it’s great that they’re starting out with a “donation” drive before they start the Give 1 Get 1 program. They’ve had their fair share of setbacks and delays, so it’s exciting to see the sales of these computers finally start.
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This article was written on June 03, 2008 by CyberNet.
Without too much hesitation, Microsoft continues to extend the date that XP will be available for the ultra low-cost PC’s. First they extended the date in April for low-cost laptops until 2010 because Vista usually requires too many resources to be run on them, but now the life of Windows XP has been extended for low-cost desktop PCs as well.
The general category of desktop computers that will have Windows XP installed on them are called Nettops (and the laptops are called netbooks), or in other words, desktops that are ultra low-cost. In the official Microsoft Press Release, they say:
“Customers and partners have made it clear to us that they want Windows on their netbooks and nettops. We are committed to providing Windows solutions for these devices, helping to ensure a high-quality experience for both our partners and customers.”
As PCWorld.com points out, an example of an ultra low-cost desktop PC that will be able to run XP is the Asus Eee Box which hasn’t hit the market quite yet, but will soon. Now that Microsoft has opened the doors for XP to be available on the low-cost laptops and desktops, will they end up specifying the hardware configurations that vendors can use with XP? These desktops are great for those who do very basic things like check email and browse the web, something a good chunk of computer users do and nothing more.
Knowing the strengths of XP, it will be a great operating system for these new netbooks and nettops which very well could be the next “big-thing” in the computer world. With the Eee PC gaining popularity and other computer companies creating their own version, all of the computer manufacturers are going to want to be selling Netbooks and Nettops and XP will continue to gain in popularity.
Thanks for the tip Omar!
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If you’re wondering why your cellphone reception sucks so badly, part of it is because so many people carry phones today. In fact, the cellphone is by far the most popular gadget in the United States.
A whopping 85 percent of U.S. adults and three quarters of teens now own a cellphone, according to a new research report by Pew. That compares to 59 percent of American adults who own a desktop computer, 52 percent who own a laptop, 47 percent with an MP3 player and 42 percent with a game console.
A mere 4 percent of U.S. adults own a tablet computer (i.e., the iPad), and about the same number own an e-book reader, according to Pew.
The report found that about 80 percent of U.S. adults own two or more devices in these categories. I’m mildly ashamed to admit I own at least one device in every single category — but hey, it’s my job to have things.
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Graphic: Pew Research
Apple might be billing its next big event as “Back to the Mac,” but don’t let that fool you into thinking its computer platform has been waning. Quite to the contrary, according to IDC, which reports the Cupertino team has grabbed third spot in the US PC sales charts with a 10.6 percent market share, bumping the incumbent Acer into fourth. Two million Mac shipments during the period represented an increase of 24.1 percent relative to last year, while the overall PC market turned in a somewhat morose 3.8 percent growth. Gartner’s also unleashed its numbers unto the world today, giving Acer the lead for third by the slimmest of margins, but both stat teams agree that the Taiwanese vendor has suffered a bad year along with Dell, which has also experienced some shrinkage. Toshiba’s the only major Windows machine seller to see its fortunes improve with double-digit growth, while HP seems to be hanging on to the top spot nice and steadily. Hit the source links for worldwide numbers.
IDC: Apple’s now third largest PC vendor in US with 10.6 percent market share originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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