Category: News
Raspberry Pi Gets One Step Closer To Media Center Heaven
The Raspberry Pi is a tiny $35 computer based around an ARM chip (similar to those found in tablets and smartphones) that was developed mainly for DIYers and educational institutions. It’s a surprisingly powerful computer for its size and is able to run a full operating system. Due to the device’s ability to output 1080p [...]
Kinect For Windows Starts Shipping Today, SDK Ready For Download
At CES Microsoft head Steve Ballmer announced that the company would release a version of the popular Kinect sensor for Windows machines. Just as promised the units . Currently it costs $249 but an educator version with a $100 discount will apparently come out later. What can you do with a Kinect for Windows? Not [...]
Microsoft, Enough With The Ribbon Already
It’s good to know that in this age of immediate and easy customer feedback that there are still companies that steadfastly refuse to listen to the people who have to use their products. Case in point: Microsoft. The Verge pointed to this post on the Microsoft Developers Network blog that talks about the many changes [...]
Acer: Netbook And Ultrabook Will Merge
Remember when I said that netbooks are still relevant? Apparently Acer thinks so, too. Sort of. After a ceremony celebrating the Lunar New Year chairman JT Wang talked strategy for the new year and said they would compete not on price, but on user experience. The notebook maker rose to the upper echelon in global [...]
Dell XPS 14z Rocks – Great Speakers and Sound
Notebook audio is always a mixed bag, and often a disappointingly muddy and quiet bag at that. When you do hear good audio it’s usually found on notebooks designed to be stuck on a desk, but the Dell XPS 14z is able to pack in some of the best sounding speakers I’ve ever heard, in a surprisingly [...]
Sneaky Ultrabook Test Shows Off Intel Ivy Bridge Performance
Intel has been quiet about the next Intel Core i family of processors, known as Ivy Bridge internally. At CES 2012 there were a number of notebooks using the new processor, but PR reps weren’t able to share much about the new processors. While Intel is still hammering out the details of these new 3rd [...]
Switchable Graphics Coming To Ultrabooks Soon?
One of the drawbacks of the ultrabook category is the lack of robust power under the hood. Since these notebooks are meant to be super slim they feature ultra low voltage processors to keep them from getting too hot. That also results in lower performance than non-ULV chips. Intel’s ULV chips have come a long [...]
ThinkPad X130e Mini Review: Built Like a Tank, Ready for School
Lenovo is most often known for their ThinkPad business systems, but the company also offers a number of systems aimed at the education market, like the ThinkPad X130E. The X130E is a much tougher model of the ThinkPad X120E which I reviewed last year, and is well equipped to handle the hazards of the classroom. While it [...]
Will Your Next Notebook Have Kinect Built In?
Microsoft’s Kinect has been a huge hit in the living room, bringing accurate motion and voice based controls to the Xbox 360. This is great for games, but what about work? The Daily got an early look at these Kinect notebook prototypes, which look to be modified Asus netbooks with Kinect Sensors to bring the power [...]
If Embedded Webcams Are Good Enough, Why Do We Need 1080p Video Chat?
Logitech released their Q03 2012 financial results [PDF] earlier this week and the news was mixed, at best. A section that caught my eye dealt with the company’s webcam business. Sales are down here by 25% and embedded webcams are to blame. Almost every laptop and all-in-one comes with a webcam above the display. Though [...]
