Hardware » Notebooks

Windows 7 May Equal Fewer Bargain Netbooks

Microsoft must perform a tricky balancing act as it tries to keep Windows on netbooks but not get stuck in a market that generates little revenue, say industry analysts.

By Shane O'Neill | 29 September, 2009 12:05

Tags: netbooks, Windows 7

Are sealed-in laptop batteries a good idea?

When Apple introduced its new MacBooks recently, it touted a doubled battery life -- but noted that the laptops' batteries were sealed into the case, not user-swappable as is the norm on laptops.

By Paul Venezia | 30 June, 2009 13:40

Tags: laptop batteries, laptops, notebooks

Do business desktop PCs have a future?

With laptop shipments gaining momentum over the past few years the question arises: Are desktops on the verge of being banished from the enterprise?

By Agam Shah | 15 June, 2009 04:45

Tags: desktop pcs, notebooks

Has ASUS all but given up on Linux?

At today's ASUS product showcase in Sydney, a bunch of media representatives were given a taste of the company's latest and greatest notebooks, including the new range of Eee PC netbooks.

By Rodney Gedda | 27 May, 2009 14:53

Tags: asus, Linux, netbooks, Windows

Has Apple gone from brash upstart to mainstream middle age?

"One man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages," wrote Shakespeare in As You Like It .

By Dan Turner | 23 February, 2009 09:01

Tags: apple macbook

Microsoft, HP, others shy away from Intel 'netbook' moniker

Netbook. Subnotebook. Mini-notebook. Mini-laptop. Mini. Why so many names for the same low-powered laptop with 10-inch screen and no optical drive?

By Carla Thornton | 31 January, 2009 10:13

Tags: netbooks

Microsoft layoffs: Netbooks sales are killing us

Overlooked in the Microsoft announcement about its layoffs of 5,000 people over the next 18 months is this startling revelation: The company's revenue decline is due, in large part, to the growth in the sales of netbooks.

By Preston Gralla | 23 January, 2009 10:20

Tags: micorsoft, netbooks, Windows 7

Which is best for netbooks: Windows 7 or Linux?

Microsoft is clearly positioning Windows 7 as Linux-killer for netbooks. Can it succeed? I've spent considerable time with both Windows 7 and Linux, and here are my conclusions about which operating system is better for netbooks.

By Preston Gralla | 23 January, 2009 10:16

Tags: Linux, Microsoft, netbooks, Windows 7

What's coming in 2009

Well, it's that time of the year again. Time to enjoy the glow of a nice LED backlit display and huddle with the warmth that only an overclocked PC can produce. Yep, it's time to take a look at what's going to happen in technology in 2009. Here are my five predictions for the new year.

By Michael Gartenberg | 31 December, 2008 08:00

Tags: 2009

How a flash drive could be the solution to laptop security

Why is Sony bothering with entertainment when it could be using flash drives to dramatically improve laptop data security?

By Mike Elgan | 12 December, 2008 12:38

Tags: security, sony, storage

In search of the smartphone laptop

In the past two years, mobile phone and laptop companies have unveiled breathtaking innovations -- from 24-hour battery laptops to dual-screen laptops to "augmented reality" mobile phone applications.

By Mike Elgan | 27 October, 2008 10:02

Tags: laptops, smartphones

Elgan: Got a subnotebook? Get Ubiquity

Cheap and tiny subnotebook computers have become, well, ubiquitous. Dell is the latest company to ship one, joining a list that includes ASUS, Acer, Everex, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, LG, MSI and many others.

The naked laptop

Naked home workers may be the stuff of fantasy, but flexible working is now a corporate reality. Ready availability of broadband combined with the reliability and speed of wireless communications has transformed home and remote working.

Disinfecting a spyware-riddled PC

What do I do if I suspect someone is controlling my PC? When my IP address has been changed without my knowledge? My boot-up process is getting harder unless I unplug the Ethernet cable and the CPU is at 100 per cent every time I open any program. There is also a new connection to the Internet that is between my connection and the net I know was not there a month ago. When I try to register my e-mail address the programs say it's invalid and does not match whatever it has to compare it to.-- Teresa Hurst.

The '$100 laptop' may be a glimpse of the future

You've no doubt heard of the "$100 laptop" project. The idea is to help poor kids around the world by providing them with simple, durable, usable and wireless laptops for downloading and using textbooks and educational software, playing games and communicating.

AMD sets its sights on laptops

At the logic level, MacBook, the benchmark for success in mainstream notebooks, is unremarkable -- indistinguishable from every PC notebook built on Intel Core 2 and its chipset-integrated graphics. Why, then, can't anyone with the same parts list emulate Apple's growth in an otherwise stagnant notebook market? Because Apple painstakingly hand-optimized its OS for a tiny variety of hardware architectures, presently Intel Core 2, while Microsoft wrote Vista to run on absolutely everything. No PC notebook maker can take the proprietary route that Apple plays to such advantage.

Dell, OLPC affordable laptop bout only hurts users

Anyone with the remotest interest in ICT development will have noticed the battle raging at the "bottom of the pyramid," where competing initiatives have been vying for the hearts, minds and dollars of schoolchildren and education ministries the developing world over. This particular battle is being largely fought by Intel and OLPC (One Laptop Per Child), once partners but now sparring in opposite corners after months of wrangling led to an acrimonious split earlier this year.

Promise for protecting laptops

Among the multitude of data protection challenges facing IT organizations, arguably the least favorite for IT managers is dealing with laptop systems. Each week we read more horror stories about lost notebook computers and potentially compromised data as organizations attempt to grapple with what is literally a moving target.

MIDs, UMPCs and what mobile users really want

I guess calling them MIDs is better than calling them unlaptops, or smart nonphones, but not by much.