15

How the defunct Dell Adamo led to the new XPS 15Z

Just more than two years ago, Dell introduced one of its most unlikely products ever. The Adamo laptop was stylish, it was expensive, and it wasn't around that long. The product was killed less than two years after its very splashy debut.

On Tuesday, Dell is set to announce the XPS 15Z, a $999 laptop that is in many ways a descendant of the Adamo. While the XPS 15Z lacks the same daring design and sleek profile, it's much more in line with what people have come to expect from Dell nowadays: some thoughtful style, decent quality, but … Read more

Dell to announce Adamo line successor, XPS 15z

Dell tomorrow plans to announce what the company is positioning as the successor to its ultrathin Adamo line.

The 0.97-inch thick XPS 15z can be configured with Intel "Sandy Bridge" Core i5 (2.9GHz) and Core i7 (3.4GHz) processors, a 15.6-inch 1920-by-1080 resolution display (300-nit), and a 750GB 7200RPM hard disk drive.

Constructed from anodized aluminum, it will also be offered with Nvidia GT 525M graphics, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and Mini DisplayPort ports, a slot-load optical drive, a "spill resistant" back-lit keyboard, Ethernet port, media card reader, and a 1.3MP Webcam with dual array microphones.

As a bonus, the 15z qualifies for the free Xbox 360 4GB console promotional offer. Orders can arrive the next day with Dell's "fast ship" option, the company said.

As CNET reported earlier, the 15z is expected to start at $999 with Windows 7 Home Premium.

The Dell Adamo was discontinued in February. Launched in March 2009, it competed with Apple's MacBook Air. … Read more

The Dell Inspiron R's color-swapping strategy

Color matters in consumer electronics, or so we keep hearing. White iPod, black iPod. Black iPhone, white iPhone. Some people buy pink or purple laptops that have been discontinued, just because they're not available hues in this year's lineup. For some, color might even be more important than brand.

If you subscribe to this theory, then Dell's new swappable-lid Inspiron R laptops are a work of genius. All 2011 Dell Inspiron 14R and 15R laptops--which come with updated second-gen Core i-series CPUs--come with a staid back lid, but much like Nokia phones of the late '90s, a … Read more

Type A+

Practice isn't just the way to get to Carnegie Hall; it's also the way to become a good typist. KeyBlaze Free Typing Tutor from NCH Software can help you learn touch-typing or practice your skills. It offers basic lessons, drills, and speed tests suitable for typists ranging from absolute beginners to keyboard jockeys. It's easy to use and effective, too.

The KeyBlaze installation wizard offers three optional downloads, which we didn't try but thought sounded useful: FastFox, a typing expander that can create and store keyboard shortcuts; TextTally, a word counter; and Express Scribe, which assists … Read more

The 404 785: Where it's our so-called MemeMolly (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 785

Our guest today is MemeMolly, who gives us an update on the latest memes, Internet culture, and why nobody can stand the word "viral." Add Molly on Twitter and follow her Tumblr.

Top Dog: one is tough, the other is a dog. Where are they now, featuring Star Wars Kid and Numa Numa Guy? Is Cathymay15 a troll, a genius, or another victim of online bullying? EU proposes right to be forgotten online.… Read more

Instant hash

Hash functions have a variety of cryptographic uses, such as providing digital signatures, checking the contents of downloaded files and programs for corrupted or changed files, and time-stamping secure documents without revealing their content. Easy Hash is a freeware hash value calculator from odzysk.info. It supports more than 130 file and text hash functions, and it can crack CRC-32 passwords. It can also reset passwords in a variety of dynamic content management and e-commerce platforms, including Joomla, Mambo, Wordpress, Magento, Drupal, and Prestashop.

Easy Hash's compact interface is easy to manage, with a plain window that displays the … Read more

Apple MacBook Pro Winter 2011 (2.0 GHz Core i7, 15-inch)

This is the page for the entry-level $1799 15-inch 2011 MacBook Pro, which features a 2.0 GHz quad-core Core i7 CPU and AMD Radeon HD 6490M graphics, along with a new high-speed Thunderbolt port, 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM.

For more information, read our review of the upper-end 15-inch 2011 MacBook Pro. It features a similar chassis, but an upgraded 2.2 GHz Core i7 processor, AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics, and a 750GB hard drive.

Password provider

We can't say that we don't have a few ethical issues with FacebookPasswordDecryptor. Sure, you might need such a program because you've forgotten your own password, or maybe because you suspect that your teenager is up to no good and you want to see what secrets Facebook can reveal. You could just as easily, however, use this program to nose around in your spouse's--or even your employee's--Facebook account. We'll leave that up to you and your conscience. What we can tell you is that FacebookPasswordDecryptor does indeed work as advertised.

FacebookPasswordDecryptor works by detecting … Read more

New Dell XPS 15 and 17 laptops debut, add 3D, Sandy Bridge

The Dell XPS 15, though bulky, was one of our top mainstream laptops in 2010. Updates to the XPS 15 and 17 line of high-end Dell laptops retain the somewhat homely look of their predecessors, but add new second-generation Core i-series processors, upgraded graphics options, increased display resolutions, and even a few 3D models. These are the laptops announced at CES 2011, but they're finally available for purchase.

You can check out the prices for yourself, but they remain pretty affordable. While the XPS 17 with a new 1080p 3D display starts at $1,099, its specs are impressive: 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M CPU, Nvidia GeForce GT550M graphics, that revamped 1,920x1,080-pixel display, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. An entry-level non-3D XPS 17 starts at $899. … Read more

'Do not track' makes waves

Over the past week, both Microsoft and Mozilla got some attention for their respective browsers with new "do not track" features. For its part, Microsoft announced the release candidate of Internet Explorer 9 at the Hang Art Gallery in San Francisco's Union Square. A massive list of improvements debuted in the new RC. Among the most notable enhancements are the new ActiveX filter, expanded support for HTML5 and "future-tech" standards, and advertiser tracking protection.

Meanwhile, Firefox 4 beta 11 has landed a useful security feature for people who are sick of "stalkertizements," those … Read more