Google Chat Now Comes With SMS

The all powerful and knowing what gadgets you really need / want company Google, has added the ability to send SMS messages through GTalk (Google Chat.)

This is an excellent idea, in and of itself. But I have 2 questions:

• Can you SMS someone who is offline?
• Does this work with GMal Chat?

Google Cuts Back On Perks, Still Better Than Your Job

According to an article posted on the New York Post, online edition, it seems that the company known for it's incredible employee perks, is reigning in the slack a little.

According to the article, Google had released a inter company memo stating that they were trying to "to find areas where efficiency can be improved." That means, in this case, cutting back on some freebies like lunch items and some food items in general.

This downgrade in corporate splurging may be the result of Google's stock. It has seen a free fall over the last few months, losing up to 48% [NYP]. The stock is still very valuable, closing yesterday at $358 a share. The stock has been as high as $593.08 a share in early May.

Although the employees at Google will feel the corporate pinch of greed, they will survive, and live to fight another day.

Why You Should Be Excited About Windows 7 (Unless You Use A Mac)

Gizmodo has an excellent article on some of the improvements for Windows 7 over Vista. Personally, I never had much of a problem with Vista. I know few people who did, actually. I do admit that there has to be some truth to the pummeling it has taken over the past few years, or Microsoft would have absolutely denounced them long ago. From the looks of this article, they won't have to when 7  is released.

The article goes into some of the major improvements, which I will outline generally (I didn't do the research, I can't take the credit!)

• Applications running on Vista should run on Windows 7.
• Systems running Vista will see an improvement in speed.
• Notebooks should get better battery life.
• Windows 7 will be more reliable from the gate.

Having said all that, one must take into consideration how these things will be accomplished. Some of the new features and improvements outlined in the article are:

• Windows 7 window memory manager
• Application Crash Resiliency
• Problems Step Recorder
• "Sandboxed" device drivers
• All hardware updates via Windows Update
• Better background management
• battery efficiency reporting.

It sounds like Windows 7 will be what Microsoft wanted Vista to be. Hopefully, it will be and more. My big question is...will Microsoft make the upgrade cheap to get people away from Vista?

Microsoft Office Live

We all believed it was only a matter of time before Microsoft joined the online (and free) office bandwagon. The question is how good is their version?

As the image above states, the version of Office Live is limited in scope and capability. You can only use 3 of the MS Office tools, and they will have limitations. 

The initial look and feel of the site is similar to Googles online Office. It has a bit more asthetics, but is essentially the same layout.

You can create workspaces that can be shared and viewed by others as well as upload existing files for sharing.

The "Word" portion is what I believe to be called "Note." It has version control and looks like a watered down version of MS Word. The "List" document is essesntially a smaller version of excel. It starts out with one cell and more can be added.

So far, that is all I have had the time to play with. I will post more as I get to it. So far, so good. It is a bit slower than Googles, but it has some more functionality too (Task list, calendar events, etc.)

Also, just FYI, the site doesn't work with Chrome  from Google.

New HP Netbook

While I find the insanely flooded Netbook market intriguing and possibly the future of mobile computing, it is easy to get tired by the same old, same old.

HP's new Netbook, the Mini 1000, is not the biggest jump from the typical netbook, containing "10.2-inch netbook that comes in at under 2.5 pounds and packs a 1.6 Ghz Atom processor, 16 GB SSD and up to 2 GB RAM " [Gizmodo]

What will make this netbook different in the future is the custom OS developed by HP. Currently the Mini 1000 runs a version of XP, which is common in the Netbook realm. 

The OS is said to be based on a version of Ubuntu, a Linux distro.

While this is new to the current market, it is not new all together. Hopefully this time around the new OS will be more user friendly and less of a software engineers toy.

Windows 7 on a Eee?

According to an article on Gizmodo, it seems that in the future, Asus Eee's will be running Windows 7.

That is awesome news, if Windows 7 is as good as it is being made out to be. I still think Vista Basic would be a good fit for netbooks, but that is just my humble opinion.

New Dell Mini-Inspiron

The new Dell Netbook is as beautiful as it is large. There is a great review of it at Gizmodo.

The specs look decent, but I feel they still don't fill in the price tag ($599). Intel Atom Processor, maybe 1 GB RAM, small hard drive (40 - 80GB), nothing special. The only thing truly interesting about this Netbook is the size. It very nicely runs on a 12 inch screen.

Wait for the XP or Linux model to come out.

Experimental Firefox 3.1 Build Gets Awesome Multitouch Gestures on Macs

While I am not a huge fan of multi-touch (yet) and really don't see a lot of use for it (yet), it is interesting that it will be an imminent feature of computers in the not to distant future.

According to an article on Gizmodo, Firefox 3.1 may have some secret Beta for implementing multi-touch on new Macs. While this is very cool news, I still ask the question, why?

I know the new Macbooks will have some multitouch support but there seem to be several other machines that have the same capabilities. 

Untr-Portables: Pomera Digital Memo

Another ultra-portable semi-useful device has made it's way into the spotlight recently.

The Pomera Digital Memo DM10 is not much to look at, or use, but it is well, fairly new. Currently only available in Japan, it is simply a bad ass notepad wanna be that'll run about $250 - $300. 

It has but one purpose, to take notes. This would be very useful, but not cheap enough, for college students or research scientists. Maybe one day this little note taker will have more gusto than keys, but not today.

Original article here

Touchscreen Eee PC Due Early 2009, Will Run Windows 7 Later Says Asus CEO

Since the Asus Eee has been known to run several OS's ranging from Linux distro to full blown Windows XP, it may not come as a surprise that one day they will run Windows 7.

Asus does have a good feel for the market of netbooks and disconnected devices, such as gaming and multimedia consoles, and they are the market leader with sub-notebooks.

But why Windows 7? Why not Mac OSX or Windows Vista Basic?

Windows 7 will simply be a better version of Vista, with some new features. Why start there? Isn't there some form of happy medium where an OS can be an OS? I find it hard to believe that any version of Windows post XP will be smaller than 4 GB of physical hard disk space.

So why use it? Why can't the Linux distro be tweaked and made very "Windows like?" Just one Eee fanboys opinion.

iKit Mini-Mini PC

I am a sucker for small for factors and low end specs, if the cost is low too. The Imovio iKit is 2 out of 3 in that department.

The iKit is basically a compact, yet powerful PDA. Although it does run a Linux OS, is fairly upgradable and does have some options, it is still a few clicks away from full fledged Netbook, and almost as expensive.

The specs are:

Processorr Marvell PXA270 312MHz

Operating System Linux 2.4.19

User Interface GUI : Proprietary plus Trolltech QT/E 2.3.8

Display Icons / Indicators
- Battery signal strength
- WiFi active/inactive/level
- Bluetooth® active/inactive
- Date & time

Home screen: 8 icons
- Email, launches Email application
- IM launches Instant Messaging application
- Web browser, launches browser application
- Contacts, launches A-Z listing contacts
- Multimedia, open 2nd level icon screen with
- icons for, Video player, Music Player, File manager
- Wireless, open 2nd level icon screen with icons for
- BT, WiFi
- iKIT, open 2nd level icon screen for Display settings,
- Date & Time, Sound settings
- Utilities, Open 2nd level icon screen with icons
- for PC Sync

Keypad
- QWERTY/AZERTY + numeric keys, other
- languages optional
- 2 soft keys, 5 quick access keys, multi directional 
- key, power on/off key, volume up/down key
- Backlight: White

Speaker
- 16 mm built-in, monophonic

Memory Internal
- ROM : 128 MB, RAM : 64 MB SDRAM
- User  data : 12MB, User media files : 23MB

Memory External
- Micro SD (up to 8GB)

Display
- 2.8 inch QVGA, TFT, 260 000 colors, landscape

Camera
- 0.3 MP fixed focus camera (Option)
- Viewfinder: 15 fps, 16-bit color depth
- Image format: JPEG, fine and standard 
- compression, user selectable
- Digital zoom: Up to 3X smooth digital zoom with 
- 7 steps
- Effects: Color, black & white, negative, sepia
- Capture time: less than 2 seconds to return to 
- viewfinder mode after shuttered


Vibrator
- Built-in for use as an alert

Dimensions
- 95 mm (L) x 65 mm (W) x 15.5 mm (H)

Weight
- 113 g (with battery)

Form factor
- Clamshell

Connectivity                        
- Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR, supports wireless 
- stereo headset
- (A2DP) & DUN profile
- WIFI® IEEE 802.11 b/g

Connector
- Mini-USB 1.1 used for charging, PC data exchange 
- and wired stereo headset.

Browser
- Web browser Opera Mini 4.1

Java                                    
- JTWI / JSR75 compliant

Email Protocols
- POP3 / IMAP / SMTP

Instant Messaging            
- Support MSN

Audio Formats
- MIDI, WAV and MP3

Image Formats
- JPG, BMP, GIF and PNG

Video Formats
- 3GP, MP4 and AVI format, Maximum size 
- QVGA
- 25 fps video playback for QVGA size video 
- clips
- Support full-screen display

Contact List
- Maximum 2 000 records

Calendar                        
- Maximum 1 000 events

PC Sync                        
- With Outlook 2000/2003 & Outlook Express v6 
- (emails, contacts, calendar)

Personal Features            
- Calculator
- Media folder
- Notepad
- World clock
- Alarm clock
- Stop Watch
- Countdown Timer


Battery                                    
- 1050 mAh, Li-ion
- Standby Time; up to 250h
- Power-up Time; up to 3h (25% data download 
- per hour)
- Gaming Time; up to 4h (java game)
- Charging time: 2.5-3.5 hr to full charge from flat 
- with device power off


Colors                                    
- Velvet Black, Satin White – other colours available 
- to order

Box Contents           
- iKIT
- Battery
- Mini USB / USB cable
- USB stereo earpiece
- Charger
- User guide and CD

Personally I love this device. The problem is the cost. If you are someone who is in the market for a modifiable PDA that has some sweet perks, then this may be a good place to start.

Otherwise, this is almost a netbook in price and specs. Why not just get a netbook? If I could find one for around $100, I would highly consider buying one.

$299 Asus Eee 4GB In The Wild (Target)

The other day I saw an amazing thing in the world of electronics: an actual Asus Eee at a Target store. It was the 4GB model and it was going for $299.

They carried two colors, black and white. The specs were pretty simple:

4GB SSD

512 MB RAM

8.9" LCD

Linux OS Pre-Loaded

802.11 b/g Wi-Fi

Sorry the specs pics got pretty blurry.

Although the $299 price tag wasn't too bad, for a model that's been around for over a year and is the current bottom feeder of the Eee line, it should have been less than $200.

Firefox Mobile (Fennec) Available For Downloading

Mozilla's Fennec, mobile browser is available for use.

It is usable on Windows, Linux and Macs, even though it is a "Mobile" browser.

Here's the Link

Windows Vista SP2 On The Way?

According to a post on Gizmodo, Vista may be getting a new service pack in the near (or distant) future. 

The Beta should be out sometime soon for specific users.

Cloud Computing: Is The World Ready?

So is the world,  or at least the mainstream business world, ready for "cloud computing?" Google has put a lot of their eggs in this technology basket, while Microsoft tends to dismiss it as a futuristic myth.

So the question is, is anyone really making these types of applications yet? I know people that use the Google apps. I have seen an Open Office online suite as well. It doesn't seem that the concept is too main stream right now.

With hardware costs coming down and storage capacity going through the roof, what is the need of cloud computing?

With cloud computing, you can get back to the good old world or dummy terminals. PC monitors, with no brains and almost no capacity. They hook into a server, and the server does all the work, for all terminals.

That is a cheaper, yet less efficient way to get the software needed (on the servers or Internet) to the employees without buying the hardware and licensing the company doesn't need.

It has an interesting present, and an even more interesting future. But I would agree that the world is not ready for full blown cloud computing.

Asus Reeeturns to Its Roots With $300 Eee PC 701SDX

According to a article on Giz, from Eeepcnews.de, Asus may be very well going to what most of us think a Netbook should be...CHEAP!

The article states the are those that believe that Asus will be selling a lower cost model of the Eee sometime in the near future...for $300.

Although this won't be a record breaking speed machine, it will probably serve a good purpose to those who need small, compact  and cheap PC's.

Hopefully the Eee PC 701SDX will be out before Christmas, 

so we can see this miracle for ourselves!

Firefox 3.1 Beta With 3D Tabs!

Firefox 3.1 has a Beta release available for your usage. One of the new features will be the 3D tabs. Pretty slick!

The beta site is here. 

New Apple Laptops, not cheaper, nor better

I just read an article on Giz that sums up a portion of my discontent with Apple: They charge too much for too little.

Example: 

"Let's just look at the 13-inch MacBook that was just announced, for example. For $1,300, it comes with a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. Over at Dell, I can grab an Inspiron 13 laptop with a 13.3-inch screen, a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, 3GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. For $750. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a $550 difference, and the specs are better on the cheaper Dell." [Giz]

I am with this statement all the way. The worst part of this whole thing is that some Apple users believe that they are better than everyone just because they are willing to shell out $400 - $1000 more per laptop for the same technology.

When Apple is willing to meet the middle class person half way on price, I will meet them half way on features.

Windows 7 To Be Next OS, Not Just a Code Name

The next version of Windows will simply be called...Windows 7. This, according to an article on Gizmodo's website, was done for simplicities sake.

"The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows. We've used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or "aspirational" monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista. And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense. Likewise, coming up with an all-new "aspirational" name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows"

Whats in a name anyways? 

Asus Eee Touch Screen

According to an article on Giz, Asus is allowing pre-orders of their new "tablet"-esque PC. The stats are listed as "1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive and 15-inch screen running Windows XP."

This promises to be an over priced, under usable, piece of hap-hazard designed hardware, aimed at those who can't afford real tablet PC's.

Again, this is if Asus lives up to it's promise...we shall see.

Apple Rumors, Get Your Apple Rumors Here!

Follow this link to get your hands on the latest, but not greatest Apple rumors to date!

OLO: iPhone Netbook?

For those of you who thought the latest iPhone would render the end of the know universe things may be getting worse.

It seems that some company, OLO, would like to merge the iPhones capabilities into a netbook. While that me sound like a good idea, what does Apple think? I would believe that Apple would be doing this long before I'd believe some random company, especially one I have never heard of.

The concept isn't too bad if you think about it. A uber cool phone turned into a mediocre netbook. The price points should remaining the same, if not go up.

Eventually we will hear more about this, until then, just worry about the next Macbook Air.

Link here.

Asus Eee May Soon Have Touch Screen

According to Giz, Asus will begin to show off it's next Eee design...the touch screen model. The article also hints at other future changes for the compact low cost laptop, including Dual Core Intel Atom processors.

AMD Breaks Up

According to a post on Gizmodo, it looks as if AMD will break its company into 2 parts: One for chip production and one for chip design.

According to the article, "The new firm, known as the Foundry Company for now, will makes chips for other companies as well as AMD, who will continue to own 44 percent of it."

It sounds like a sound move if your chip production is a large drain on resources and cash flow. How this will affect the chip makers chips and profits will, hopefully, be beneficial to us all.

Linux Netbooks Are Returned 4X More Than Win XP Versions, Says MSI

For some reason, I believe there is someone out there screaming "I TOLD YOU SO!" According to the article, it seems the main reason people are returning these is that they get the machine, realize it's not XP, then realize they have no idea what they're doing or how to use it.

$300 is a good deal for a small compact netbook. But if you can't use it due to your lack of Linux skills, maybe the $400 XP option is better.

AMD + DirectX 11

According to Gizmodo, it seems that AMD is expecting DirectX compatible GPU's to be available in 2009.

If your in to obvious stuff, it also looks like they're expecting Windows 7 in 2009 too...[PIC]