laptops

Dell's Ubuntu PCs available Thursday?

Several sources are reporting that Dell's previously announced Linux-based PCs will be available Thursday, though Dell is keeping mum.

Blogger Jeremy Garcia says on his blog that a Dell employee e-mailed him to say that the Ubuntu Linux OS will be available pre-installed on the E520 model desktop, XPS 410 gaming desktop, and 1505 model laptop, starting Thursday.

Garcia doesn't name his source, and Dell is not talking. Spokesman Kent Cook said he could not confirm models, dates or availability of the forthcoming Ubuntu PCs. He did say that the release is still on track for the "… Read more

Latest ThinkPads inspired by nature

Most consumers don't pay much attention to laptop-cooling technologies, but laptop designers tend to live and die by their thermals. That's because users will notice if their laptop gets too hot or if fan noise keeps them from enjoying their favorite movie. Plus, high heat inside the case can hamper performance if the processor has to throttle back to avoid overheating.

So when Lenovo's designers were challenged to fit Intel's new platform into a more compact ThinkPad case without raising temperatures or increasing fan noise, they turned to nature for inspiration. Specifically, they studied owls, whose … Read more

OLPC vs. the world

Sunday night's 60 Minutes, usually a show at the tail end of the technology bell curve, weighed in on a surprisingly relevant topic--Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child initiative. If you've been following the MIT professor's story, you'll know he set out several years ago to develop a cheap laptop for children in third-world countries, featuring a low-power AMD chip, flash memory instead of a traditional hard drive, and even built-in Wi-Fi and a Webcam.

Closer to $175 than the originally projected $100, the systems are being rolled out in small test markets. We actually … Read more

Apple patent filing points toward future ultraportables

Those seeking to divine the future directions of hardware makers have a reliable friend in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Public documents posted on the USPTO Web site regularly inform bloggers and techies of upcoming developments from tight-lipped companies such as Apple (like its recent filing about laptops with bottom-loading optical drives).

We saw several references today to a recent patent filing from Apple that is concerned with new ways to build "computer enclosures," such as a laptop chassis. The patent's abstract reads, in part:

"One aspect of the enclosure pertains to enclosure parts … Read more

Fujitsu's missing-link laptop

Where does a laptop end and a handheld computer--or even a really, really smart phone--begin? We have no idea, and we're not sure it really matters. But for those who care, Fujitsu is doing its best to blur the lines.

The "U series" addition to its "LifeBook" line of laptops features ultra-portable machines that are barely an inch thick and weigh less than 1.3 pounds. But you wouldn't necessarily know it by the specs: an 800MHz Intel chip, 20GB hard drive, 512 of memory and a built-in fingerprint reader. All of which beats … Read more

BitTorrent to fire up CNET Live

In the Internet world, peer-to-peer sharing has always sparked discussion. This week on CNET Live, Ashwin Navin, president and co-founder of file-sharing site BitTorrent, will sound off on the hot topic. Navin contributed his perspective earlier this month about Ohio University's decision to ban peer-to-peer applications on campus. What does this mean for the rest of us? Tom Merritt is going to find out.

In addition to that fiery topic, the boys are going to figure out what is behind all those blazing batteries in laptops. Brian will reveal what tops his Crave list, and Tom is going to … Read more

LG's 'Chocolate' laptop

LG seems determined to repeat the success of its "Chocolate" branding beyond its mobile phones, extending it to home theaters and other equipment. The latest object of this confection affection, according to PClaunches, is the "Z1" laptop.

The computer is notable for the type of dual LCD screens (12.1 and 2.5 inches) seen in other laptops designed to use the "SideShow" feature in Windows Vista PCs. The rest of the specs aren't too shabby either, including a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of memory, a 120GB hard drive, … Read more

Encrypting laptops is worth the money

For the most part, security technology procurement is a struggle as security budgets have always been low and remain under-funded.

Security executives have to justify purchases in terms of business risk--a daunting task for even the most skilled professionals. As the old saying in the security world goes, organizations don't want good security, they want good-enough security. Paying for anything more is often viewed as a waste.

In general, frugal security strategies remain but my colleagues and I at Enterprise Strategy Group see one particular area that bucks this trend--full disk encryption (FDE) for laptops. Many large organizations are … Read more

Can any screen be turned into a tablet?

Digital tablets are great, especially now that they've come down to relatively reasonable prices. But what if you don't have room on your cramped desk for yet another external device like Wacom's "Bamboo"? Navisis claims to have the answer with its "Laptop Tablet," which the Korean company says can turn any screen into a tablet with software that calibrates the pixel-point location of its stylus, according to Gizmag.

The sensor device, which is expected to retail for about $130, looks something like a clip-on Webcam that can be attached to the edge of … Read more