laptops

Dell might have introduced a new slogan at the New York unveiling of its new Inspiron and XPS machines this morning: "Yours is here." But the event itself, held on a makeshift catwalk at the iconic Macy's department store in Manhattan's Herald Square, was clearly targeting the Gossip Girl demographic--you know, the young and tech-savvy purveyors of "status gadgets."

The runway was set up amid the colorful racks of the juniors' department, and massive speakers blared trendy party-style music from Mika, the Strokes, and the Hush Sound. The area around the event was interspersed … Read more

Gaming chairs are great, especially when they're combined with bean bags, but there's only so much they can do in the way of performance--especially where sound is concerned. That's apparently why Pyramat, which makes its own line of chairs, is extending its offerings to include the "Lap Blaster" sound booster.

The device promises to turn any laptop into a "personal home theater experience" by connecting it to two full-range speakers housed in a flat surface that lies under the computer, according to Uber-Review. With an ergonomic design, it can double as a writing … Read more

Pink may be everywhere, but we're old-fashioned: We think the ultimate pastel looks best on portable gadgets, including laptops. It also helps when a product is designed from scratch with a particular color or design in mind, rather than just pasted on as an ill-advised afterthought.

To that end, Fujitsu has done right by the color with its "Limited Pink Edition LifeBook P7230 Notebook. Gizmodiva says the fashionable laptop weighs in at a svelte 2.63 pounds but also has some specs to boast about, such as an Intel Core Duo U1400 chip of the "Ultra Low … Read more

There are plenty of portable USB fans intended to keep your laptop under control, but this one has a distinction no others can claim: supernatural forces. Although the distributors of Evercool's "Magic Notebook Cooling Fan," insist that "evil forces are probably not involved," how else can one explain a design that looks more than a little satanic?

Granted, there's no goat head in the center of its pentagram, but the red LED ring that glows when it's in use would definitely freak us out. It's a good thing GeekSugar says the fan … Read more

The gang at accessories powerhouse Logitech have been hard at work devising a slate of new products for your laptop. The most interesting of these--all being officially announced today--are a couple of laptop cases and laptop stands.

If the ubiquity of a laptop stand has eluded you, you clearly have not spent enough time trying to work on a laptop in a standard office environment, staring at a screen below eye level and trying to work a flat keyboard all day long.

Logitech's new Alto Express ($29.99) is a simple curved piece of plastic, but it raises your … Read more

Here's a good rule of thumb: when a product is recalled for, say, bursting into flames, take the time to get the replacement.

A Toshiba laptop containing a recalled Sony battery caught fire and burned a desk in Great Britain last month, Toshiba said today. The laptop maker asked Sony to investigate the incident, and a short circuit in the battery pack was deemed the culprit. Toshiba says it will reach out to customers to ensure they are aware of the potential danger of continuing use of recalled batteries. A list of 28 models of affected laptop will be … Read more

Today the BBC reported a chilling update about the breakup of a global child abuse network that was run from a family farmhouse in England. Over 700 suspects have been identified and 31 children were rescued--but with over 85,000 images supplied by the mastermind, we may never know how many children were involved.

This news got me thinking about the potential child abuse risks inherent in the One Laptop Per Child initiative and other "$100 laptop" projects. These well-intentioned efforts plan to give computers to poor children throughout the world, to facilitate their education and fuel economic development. Machines are being rolled out by the thousands in test programs in places like Uruguay, Nigeria and Thailand.

In America, even tech-savvy parents have a hard time monitoring children's safe computer use. We are told not to put a computer in our kids' bedrooms, and not to allow them to use webcams. What happens when we bring video-enabled, networked laptops into poor communities, where parents may not be able to read, much less understand how to use technology? My concerns were raised, and when I contacted internet child-safety expert Linda Criddle, who has worked on raising awareness of this issue for a couple of years, she brought up detailed concerns about these efforts.

Criddle says that child pornography is among the "perfect microbusinesses" waiting to explode if laptops are distributed without proper precautions. Criddle warns that "we are about to unleash on the weakest people, children in the third world, the worst that the internet can offer, as well as the best." Unfortunately, she says computer companies do not have safety plans in place, and her warning seems to be falling on deaf ears among industry representatives she has contacted.… Read more

If there's one thing tech companies hate, its leaks about upcoming products. We've been on the receiving end of a torrent of unauthorized info lately about some upcoming Dell laptops, from the nifty 13-inch XPS m1330 to a revamped line of colorful Inspiron systems.

After trying to plug the leaks and getting into a heated argument with The Consumerist (one of our favorite blogs) over a list of insider secrets supposedly from a former Dell sales manager, the PC giant is finally hitting the right notes.

On Dell's corporate blog, Direct2Dell, the company has posted its very … Read more

For those of you who are sick and tired of looking at the same laptop every day, Felix Schmidberger has shown off a slick new laptop concept.

Dubbed the Compenion, the laptop is a futuristic design that Schmidberger believes could become the norm by 2015. The Compenion features a sliding touchscreen that unveils an OLED touchscreen keyboard underneath. The concept also includes a multi-touch recognition system that allows you to use both hands when maneuvering your way around the desktop or the Internet. If finger-pressing isn't for you, the Compenion also supports a "senstylus" that, as far … Read more