Hasta La Gadget!

Laptops run hot. Fast processors and skinny enclosures mean you have to shift a lot of air to keep things cool, something which requires noisy, battery-sucking fans. A new product from chip packaging company Tessera promises to help.

The Aeolian idea is to use as artificial, ionic wind to do the work. A small voltage-converter ups the potential of the notebook’s battery to 30,000 volts and this is fired between two electrodes. The result is an ionization of common molecules (nitrogen) which carry the rest of the air along with them, causing a brisk breeze to flow through the machine.

The advantages are many: The ion wind is silent, as there are no moving parts but the kiss of cool air, and the energy required is much lower — as little as half that of a regular fan system. The ion breeze also pulls out around 30% more heat.

The ionic breeze isn’t quite ready to blow into town, though. Problems with the electrodes corroding too quickly have not quite been solved, but Tessera has some competition in the form of a startup named Ventiva, which should hurry things along.

Thermal Management [Tessera via MIT via Oh Gizmo]

Image credit: Tessera

Dell is betting small computers will be perfect for tiny hands as it launches a new “rugged” netbook targeted at students.

Called the Latitude 2100, the netbook comes with an anti-microbial keyboard (perfect for germy little hands), a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a case with a rubber-like feel and a choice of five colors.

“Compared to plastic or magnesium alloy, the rubberized casing makes the device easy to grip and non-slip,” says David Lord, senior manager at Dell. “It shows our intent of using the netbook form factor in a way that benefits the education market.”

Based on a Intel Atom N270 processor, the Latitude 2100 netbook offers a choice of Windows or Ubuntu Linux OS, up to 1 GB memory,  up to 16 GB solid state drive or 250 GB hard drive, Bluetooth,  wireless LAN and a touchpad input. The netbook weighs 2.91 lbs. It also offers features such as a network activity light located at the back of the display so teachers can monitor the device’s connectivity status.

“That way teachers know if students are checking Facebook instead of working on a document,” says Lord.

There also some quirky touches such as a slot on the netbook’s hinge for the school log or owner’s name.

The Latitude 2100’s rubber-like coating is interesting and is in step with the industry-wide trend towards using innovative materials such as leather, fabric and bamboo in laptops. The device’s touchscreen also allows for innovative use of educational software, says  David Ruth, product manager for Dell.

What we would have loved is an overall slimmer profile for the machine. The Latitude netbook has a slightly chunky look and that can be distracting. The device’s generously proportioned keyboard (at 95 percent of a full sized keyboard) makes us overlook some of that.  The keyboard is comfortable enough to take the for users that want to take the device for uses beyond just basic web surfing.

Overall, though the Latitude 2100 is targeted at younger students, it is an attractive netbook for adult users and businesses. The laptop compares very favorably to the Dell Mini netbook series in price and features and being part of the Latitude brand allows it to take advantage of Dell’s services such as data protection and asset tracking that are not available for the Mini.

The Latitude 2100 will start at $369 for a version running Linux.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

HP has issued a recall for some 70,000 notebook batteries for computers that were sold between August 2007 and March 2008.

The recalled lithium-ion batteries can overheat and pose a fire and burn hazard to consumers, said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. A complete list of the models that have been affected by the recall can be found here.

So far the Commission and HP have had two reports of batteries that  “overheated and ruptured resulting in flame and fire that caused minor property damage.”  However, no one was reported injured.

HP’s latest recall brings back memories of exploding Sony batteries about three years ago that affected companies such as Dell. Sony ultimately recalled more than 10 million batteries.

It is not clear who the manufacturer of the  batteries involved in the latest recall are as HP hasn’t disclosed it. Instead the company has offered a free replacement battery to affected consumers.

[via Electronista]

Photo: (Jonno Witts/Flickr)

Puny, lightweight netbooks are making their way into plenty of homes, but they must leap over a few hurdles before they become widely used in offices. First step: Convince the IT guys that the netbooks can handle the business and security needs of your company.

ZDNet polled a few Asian corporations who said they were experimenting with netbooks for their employees, and they raised a number of issues.

YCH Group, a logistics and supply company, said netbooks are suited to executive employees who are often on the road. However, the firm said it made major investments over three years to optimize business software to run well on the low-powered netbooks. Companies who haven’t done similar planning and investing will have a difficult time adopting netbooks due to performance and logistical issues, the company said.

Also, Hong Kong Jockey Club said it is only considering netbooks as an additional option for “non-business critical notebooks,” because netbooks are still aimed at consumers. Manufacturers must aim netbooks directly at business users with corresponding enterprise support and maintenance programs, the company said. Most netbooks ship with Windows XP Home, which lacks security features found in XP Pro or Vista, notes Liliputing’s Brad Linder.

At January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, many manufacturers, including HP, Sony and MSI were showcasing netbooks marketed for business use. The common hardware upgrade targeted at enterprise users was the addition of a 3G modem, which enables users to access the internet anywhere they can get a cellphone signal. Other than that, the business-oriented netbooks gained a more professional appearance than their consumer-oriented predecessors. ZDNet’s report suggests that, in order for netbooks to make it in the business world, manufacturers must address less visible areas as well — software and IT.

Netbooks making some enterprise headway in Asia [ZDNet via Liliputing]

See Also:

• Netbooks: An Accountant’s Best Friend?
• Tiny Notes Net Big Gains: The Netbook Revolution
• The Netbook Effect: How Cheap Little Laptops Hit the Big Time
• Cheap, Easy-to-Mod NetBooks Are a Hacker’s Paradise
• HP Says Its Netbook Is Business Class
• Puny, Trendy Netbooks Are Growing Up to Suit Business Users

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Last night I discovered an incredibly dumb — and what I consider to be dangerous — setting enabled by default in my unibody MacBook Pro. In the Bluetooth preferences, it’s the box checkmarked “Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer.” Sounds innocent enough, but it could’ve killed my computer.

Here’s what happened: I was in a rush to leave the office to meet a colleague for coffee, so I closed my MacBook Pro and threw my Bluetooth mouse into my laptop bag. After my coffee meeting, I ended up at a bar and took my notebook out to quickly check my e-mail. It was scalding hot all over, and when I opened the lid I was greeted with the gray screen of death. And I realized my notebook, though closed, was still on for hours — the heat insulated by my bag.

After checking the Apple support forums I found a thread where a user reported the exact same problem, and it turned out it was because his Bluetooth mouse was left on in his bag, too; he remedied the issue by unchecking the default Bluetooth setting. I was relieved that the solution was so simple, but I was still pretty concerned that this was a default setting in the first place.

Imagine if I hadn’t checked my notebook for a few more hours. That could’ve caused a serious burn injury, or at worst, a fire. True, it was my own negligence to not turn off my Bluetooth mouse before throwing it in my bag, but I think it’s reasonable to assume many people have done the same thing. (Heck, I often don’t turn off my Bluetooth mouse when it’s on my desk at home, as it shuts down when it’s inactive. Clearly it’s not the same when your mouse is in your bag and you’re keeping it on by walking around.)

Also, I say it’s unintelligent that this feature is turned on by default because for notebooks, it’s useless. Usually when we sleep our notebooks, we close the lid. On a MacBook, opening the lid wakes it back up automatically. There’s no need to use the Bluetooth mouse to wake up the notebook. This setting should certainly not be turned on by default.

MacBook users? If you own a Bluetooth mouse, disable this setting now. Have you seen any other strange settings turned on by default that I should disable? Feel free to point them out in the comments below.

Photo: WzaHk/Flickr