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Study: Low-cost laptops to drive PC market growth

Turns out, the sky isn't falling on the PC industry.

That's according to an update from IDC, an analyst firm that tracks the global PC market. Despite economic sluggishness in the U.S., PC shipments have actually increased worldwide more than expected.

Worldwide PC shipments are expected to grow by 15.7 percent this year to reach 311 million units, according to a report released Wednesday by IDC. Growth will slow slightly, but remain above 9 percent through 2012. IDC says that amounts to annual PC shipments reaching more than 482 million in 2012.

This growth is to … Read more

Third-generation Classmate PC on its way

Intel is working on the next version of its low-cost laptop, which could be ready in the next month or so, according to a report in PC World.

There are no pictures, and very few concrete details on what changes are in store for the device, which is intended for school children. Intel would only say it will have a "new look and feel," and will get both hardware and software upgrades.

We may already have a clue as to what tweaks the software might be getting. Last month, Sugar Labs, a spin-off of rival low-cost laptop maker … Read more

Google's search ad share now up to 77 percent

Google increased its share of money spent on search ads to 77.4 percent in the second quarter, up 2 percentage points from the year-earlier period, according to new data that doubtless will interest those gauging the antitrust implications of the search leader's new advertising partnership with Yahoo.

According to the statistics from search marketing firm Efficient Frontier, which bases its conclusions on data from a specific set of large-scale search advertisers, Yahoo dropped nearly 2 percentage points to 17.8 percent of spending and Microsoft stayed level at about 4.8 percent.

Search ads are shown next to … Read more

Intel's Classmate PC adds some Sugar

The inventor of the Sugar user interface used in the One Laptop Per Child's XO says his company is developing a version for Intel's own low-cost laptop.

Walter Bender said in an interview Thursday with PC World that "a community volunteer is working with Intel on Sugar for the Classmate PC. Sugar Labs helped to expedite the relationship."

Bender is the inventor of the kid-friendly interface, which sits on top of a computer's operating system. His company, Sugar Labs, was spun off from OLPC in May. At the time of the announcement, Bender said Sugar … Read more

Interesting factoids: Data sells, fuel costs

Two fascinating factoids from Paul Kedrosky and the Wall Street Journal today, neither of which relates to open source, but both of which gave me pause:

Paul notes that exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange are making more money from selling data than from revenue from equities trading. Sometimes the business you're in isn't the business you should be in....I'm guessing we'll see more of this in open source, as people learn that there's more money in the data and services around the code than in the code itself...? The Journal reports that more than half of today's airline ticket prices are consumed by fuel costs. … Read more

Acer aspires to lead low-cost laptop race

After months as the subject of speculation in the media, Acer will introduce its own low-cost mini-notebook PC at the Computex trade show in Taipei on Tuesday.

The device will be called the Acer Aspire One, as expected. It will come with an Intel Atom processor, and run Linpus Linux Lite, with Acer's own user interface. Other specs include: an 8GB solid-state drive, 512MB of RAM, 802.11 b/g WiFi, an 8.9-inch screen, and a standard 3-hour battery.

The Aspire One will be available beginning July 2 for $379. Later that month, a version running Windows XP … Read more

Report: Sony to make low-cost mininotebook

Sony is prepping a notebook based on Via's OpenBook reference design, PC World is reporting.

At the WiMax Expo taking place in Taipei, contract manufacturer Quanta Computer showed a mini-laptop based on Via's just-released design that will be out in the third quarter of this year. A sharp-eyed reporter spotted Sony as the listed manufacturer for the device. When questioned, Quanta representatives apparently clammed up, and it doesn't appear Sony will be commenting either.

The mini notebook has an 8.9-inch screen, at least an 80GB hard drive, will use a 1.6-Gigahertz C7-M processor from Via, … Read more

Will people pay more for cleaner energy? You decide

It's funny how the same study can spark slightly different, even contradictory reactions. Consulting firm Deloitte released a report Monday of consumers' attitudes about household energy costs and climate change. Here's how two publications interpreted the results.

Greenwire: Most would accept higher electric bills to battle warming -- survey

A majority of Americans say they are willing to pay slightly higher electricity bills to help curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants...More than 36 percent of respondents said they would accept a 5 percent increase, and 17 percent of respondents would accept a 10 percent annual boost … Read more