Hasta La Gadget!

There’s potentially bad news ahead if you’re hoping to wipe the drive on that future HP Envy X2 and load Ubuntu — Intel reportedly claimed at IDF that Clover Trail-based Atom processors “cannot” handle Linux properly. As outlined in The Inquirer‘s account of events, the issue is more a matter of optimization than an outright block: Linux doesn’t yet know how to cope with all of Clover Trail’s power state changes at the kernel level, which would put any penguin-powered PC at a disadvantage. Intel would really, really prefer that you run Windows 8, as the new Atom and Microsoft’s OS are tuned to work hand-in-hand. Linux might catch up, but the Windows-only emphasis is a sharp break from Intel’s tendency to shower love on open-source OS projects across the board, including ongoing work like Intel-native Android builds or Tizen.

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Software

Intel claims Clover Trail-based Atom won’t properly run Linux, points us to Windows 8 instead originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP’s Envy 14 Spectre hit almost all the right notes when we reviewed it back in March, thanks to its high-res display, sleek metal-and-glass design and brisk performance, but a stiff trackpad and the steep $1,400 price were clear downsides. The new Envy Spectre XT, a 13.3-inch Ivy Bridge-powered Ultrabook, has a thinner, lighter profile than its big brother, and a lower $1,000 price tag to match. That’s still not chump change, though, so does the XT deserve a spot in the top tier of Intel-approved ultraportables? Join us past the break for the full breakdown.

Continue reading HP Envy Spectre XT review: a sleek and speedy Ultrabook with a killer keyboard

Filed under: Laptops

HP Envy Spectre XT review: a sleek and speedy Ultrabook with a killer keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel at CES promised a partnership with Nuance to give Ultrabooks a taste of ready-made voice recognition, and we’re finally seeing the results at IDF in San Francisco through the launch of Nuance’s Dragon Assistant Beta. As the name implies, this isn’t just a voice dictation engine like that in Naturally Speaking: chatty users can delegate common tasks like playing music, reading social network updates and searching the web. The beta isn’t immediately available as of this writing, but it should go live soon and will be a core part of of Ultrabook software bundles in the near future, starting with the Dell XPS 13 this fall. We’re wondering why Intel is focusing its Dragon Assistant efforts solely on thin-and-lights — the company still makes money from portlier PCs, after all — but we won’t mind as much given the simultaneous launch of a Perceptual Computing SDK 2013 Beta, which lets developers work Dragon recognition into their own apps. More details await after the break.

Continue reading Nuance and Intel team on Dragon Assistant Beta for Ultrabooks, Dell XPS 13 to lead the charge

Filed under: Laptops, Software

Nuance and Intel team on Dragon Assistant Beta for Ultrabooks, Dell XPS 13 to lead the charge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Those 7mm-thick hard drives you’ve seen in some Ultrabooks are already looking a tad on the chunky side. Western Digital has started producing sample versions of a hybrid hard drive (you’re not yet looking at it here) that measures just 5mm (0.2in) tall, even as it crams in both flash and a 500GB main disk. If you think the slimmer drive is just the ticket for a best-of-all-worlds laptop that’s both fast and capacious, you’re not alone: Acer and ASUS have mentioned their collaboration in the same breath, which may be a strong clue as to where future Aspires and Zenbooks are going. The remaining question is when they arrive. Sampling isn’t the same as mass production, which could leave us with months to go before the 5mm drive lands in future extra-skinny PCs.

Continue reading Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The next time you hinge open that notebook PC and smile at a feature that makes it easier to use, give a thought to Bill Moggridge, who passed away Saturday from cancer at the age of 69. The pioneering designer invented the modern clamshell design seen in all modern laptops, and is also viewed as the father of human interaction software design.

The Compass Computer he designed for Grid Systems with the screen folded over the keyboard appeared in 1981, flew on the space shuttle, and inspired virtually every notebook design since. Perhaps more importantly, when he tried to use the machine himself, Moggridge was exasperated with the difficulty and decided to take the human factor into account for software design. To that end, he engaged experts from fields like graphics design and psychology, and tried to “build empathy for the consumer into the product,” according to former partner, Professor David Kelly. The pair merged their design firms to form Ideo in 1991, and worked with clients like Apple, Microsoft and Procter & Gamble, designing products like the first Macintosh mouse and Palm V handheld along the way.

In 2010, Moggridge became the director of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York, and was a recipient of that institution’s lifetime achievement award. He also won the Prince Philip Designer’s Prize, the longest running award of its type in the UK, given for “a design career which has upheld the highest standards and broken new ground.” See why that’s true by going to Cooper-Hewitt’s tribute video, right after break.

Continue reading William Moggridge, portable computer and human interaction trailblazer, dies at 69

Filed under: Misc, Laptops

William Moggridge, portable computer and human interaction trailblazer, dies at 69 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 10:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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