Asus Notebooks Getting Splashtop Instant Boot Linux OS

According to Gizmodos' web site, The Asus laptops shipping will get the Splashtop Linux OS. This is a RAM based OS so that means better boot time, less power draw and better reaction time.

Check the article out here.

Check out SplashTop here.

Windows 7 Pics: Watch Out Vista Haters

On Gizmodo's site, they have an article and pics of what will be the next OS by Microsoft...Windows 7. While there is not a whole lot of info out there about the OS, it seems it will include "multi-touch" technology.

Hopefully this will be a more refined and highly tuned Vista based OS to stifle the Vista haters.

Ubuntu: Netbook Remix

According to an article posted on Gizmodo, Ubuntu will be getting a smaller and more targeted version of itself soon.

This new version is designed to compete in the UMPC OS market. With the likes of gOS, and "Sugar", Netbook Remix, will be designed for small ultra portable devices and laptops.

Does this mean there may be a Linux distro in the works to compete with the likes of Palm and Blackberry?

Is Via's OpenBook the Next (Little) Big Thing in UMPCs?

This new entry into the UMPC market may well surprise some other manufacturers...as well as consumers. This UMPC is "open", which means that pretty much every aspect of it, including the casing shells specs, are available for people to get.

While that may not seem too interesting, imagine this. A company doesn't do almost any design work, they get the specs for this puppy, they do a tweak here and there, they make their own low cost laptop...quickly. Interesting yet?

Gizmodo link.

How Google Really Places Map Markers

I think if you tried, you'd find it very hard to disprove this theory...or maybe not. Gizmodo link here.

Mac Bashing

Thought this was funny considering all of the anti-Windows commercials out there. Thanks Gimcracker!

Mmmm...Delicious Circuit Snacks

If you think these tasty treats just look delicious...well you're right. Although they look good, they tend to malfunction upon installation. I think the LM555 chip maybe a bit outdated or just may have a bad lot! Enjoy!


Link

Bestlink Alpha 400, The $250 "Eee"

Yup, theres another UMPC in the ol' Eee rat race. This one has low specs and an even lower price...$250! That's not too bad. The question is can you upgrade the pitiful 128MB RAM? That's' interesting...

Gizmodo Link

OLPC XO Laptop 2.0 Has Dual Touchscreens

If this article is even close to being accurate (which we hope it is!) then this is going to be a great boost for the OLPC group.

Pictured above is someones idea of what the OLPC 2.0 would look like. It has 2 touch screens and is much smaller than it's predecessor.

Since the OLPC group never got to their original price mark to begin with, I doubt this thing will be ported around by poor African kids anytime soon or ever.

Gizmodo link here.

MIT Scientists Increase Fuel Cell Efficiency 50%

The pic is from the Gizmodo site where I found this article. Click here for the original.

I am all about more efficient and higher output when it comes to fuel sources. Although i am assuming this article is referring to some sort of battery, it is sort of unclear as to what the hell the little baggy is in the pic?

Any ideas?

AMD GAME!

I am not sure how this simplifies anything as complex as gaming graphics, but Gizmodo's article on the new AMD GAME! Badge tries it's best!

Gizmodo link here.

My Windows Vista Premium Review - Day 14

In the last two weeks I have used my copy of Windows Vista Premium, I have found several issues (some of which I am not sure if they are a Vista issue or a Dell issue) and I have also had much success with it.

The latest issues with Vista circle around iTunes. One of our laptops had iTunes installed, the DVD-RW stopped working (see last post - Day 7.) Once that was fixed via Dell, iTunes was upgraded via Apple updates...DVD-RW stopped working again!

This was frustrating and time consuming due to Dell's high volume Tech Support Que. Again, this problem was easily fixed by Dell and we were told not to update iTunes or any Apple product for right now.

I know this may not be a Vista issue, it could be an Apple issue or a Dell issue, but it is still fairly frustrating when trying to configure your system and every time you add a new software package, a hardware driver gets dropped.

I also noted that if I reboot my machine with an iPod plugged in via USB, the machine hangs and won't fully boot...Hmmm. I am not a conspiracy theorist but, damn! That's' one hell of a coincidence!

The Good

• Still pretty solid OS despite the issues had.
• Issues can be fixed, albeit a slow process

The Bad

• Issues require a tech support person to analyze and fix. They are "known" issues...I smell a patch coming.
• Reboot issue with iPod is a weird one. Not very good design considering the iPod has been out for years! Still could be an Apple issue.
• No Alt + Tab to get the angled 3D view. I read it was available on Vista premium...guess not.
• Security warnings are getting pretty damn annoying right about now!

All-in-All Score: 2.5

Asus Eee 900 Available For Pre Order

According to Gizmodos' website, the Asus Eee 900 is available for preorder...or has been for a day or so.

Anyone gonna drop $549 on this bad boy?

My Vista Premium Review - Day 7

After a week of working with Windows Vista Premium, I am beginning to have some mixed feelings towards my new OS. Overall, the experience has not been too bad. There have been a few bumps here and there though.

The Good

Last night I was trying to switch my network connection from wireless to local LAN and somehow in the process "disabled" my ethernet card. This caused me quite a bit of frustration until I realized that the way the OS seemed to handle the issue was quite brilliant.

The ethernet port was disabled after encountering an issue (caused by me) and I had to navigate to the device manager to resolve it. The device manager stated that a problem had occured with the ehternet port and it had been disabled. I re-enabled it and it worked just fine.

I think that might be a good idea, for people with some technical skill anyways, in how they handle hardware issues. In XP (as far as I have seen) if there is an issue, it may or may not be visible via the hardware manager.

The Bad

Again, I am not sure if it was user error, poor manufacturing or what, but my wifes DVD-RW drive did not show up on the My Computer screen. After about an hour or so on the phone with Dell, the issue was resolved and the drive worked fine.

We are not sure if it ever worked to begin with! The good tech support guy at Dell also gave me some hints for the Internet Explorer too.

The tech person told me that when the IE gets to running slowly, go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Advance -> Reset. this resets any changes made to the IE's settings and restores the manufacturers defaults. Again, problem solved.

Also, it seems that my mere 1GB RAM is not as adequate as it was once the boxed was first opened. I threw some office apps, some dev suites and some anti-virus and such on the machine...and the system can slow down, sometimes coming to a stop.

Overall

Although it is pretty obvious I need more RAM and maybe a few less applications, I am still fairly pleased with the OS. It seems sturdy and fairly resilient to problems, and assists the user in correcting found issues, to an extent.

The Score

Overall Score: 3.0

Lock Ups: 1

Fixes Needed: 1

Fedora 9 To Be Released In May

It looks like the original release date has been moved back a bit. Fedora 9 will now be released on May 13th.

Happy downloading!



Fedora 9 Link.

Asus Competitor...The CTL IL1

It looks like Asus may be getting some more competitors...and at a lower price.

The CTL IL1 has some decent stats. Gizmodos site states, "A 1GHz Via processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB SSD or 60GB HDD plus an SD card reader, with Linux or Windows XP." [Gizmodo] And this model is supposed to run about $50 less than the base Asus 4GB model.

This race could get interesting soon.