NEC VersaPro UltraLight VC Notebook

NEC Japan will release its new VersaPro UltraLight VC notebook in January 2009. The notebook features a 12.1 inch LCD display at WXGA resolution with either Intel Celeron 723 or Core 2 Duo SU9300 processor. Other features include 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive, Intel GS45 Express chipset, Wi-Fi connectivity, Fingerprint sensor, Felica port and SD memory card slot. You can also choose Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business OS. However, I am not sure the Celeron processor will be able to handle Windows Vista OS. The NEC VersaPro UltraLight VC Notebook is priced at €1,200 upwards, depending on the configuration. [Akihabara]

MSI X58M Motherboard

Intel X58 based motherboards are the only motherboard chipsets that are available to support the Core i7 CPUs which are the fastest CPUs on the consumer side of things on the computer market at the moment. One thing about the initial wave of X58 motherboards is the lack of a micro-ATX solution besides one exception which is hardly a trend, as most manufacturers were pushing SLI and Crossfire support on their X58 motherboards and offering them for the high end of the enthusiast market. MSI has long been known as a motherboard maker that also has delved into video cards, notebooks, Netbooks (MSI Wind) and other computer related equipment. MSI and other motherboard manufacturers have recently begun releasing X58 micro-ATX boards for those that want that form factor. Today's review is on the MSI X58M motherboard with the micro-ATX form factor.

• Active Phase Switching
• All Solid Capacitors
• True Blu-Ray audio
• Live Update Online
• Live Update 3
• M-Flash
• Easy OC Switch
• User Friendly
• Supports Intel Core i7 based processors in LGA1366 package
• Intel X58 Chipset
• Supports QPI up to 6.4GT/s
• Southbridge ICH10R Chipset
• VGA Booster
• NVIDIA SLI Supported

Sony SRS-ZX1 Multimedia Speakers

The latest multimedia speakers from Sony, the SRS-ZX1 measures approximately 5" deep and 6" tall. They aim to make you feel as though you are in a recording studio or at a live concert, which translates to the most lifelike sound possible thanks to its unique mobius-band shape of the duct in the solid aluminum speakers that reduces wind noise to deliver deceptively large, crisp sound from speakers so small. The duct design is merged with a digital signal processor to function as Sony's "turbo shift" technology, moving bass sounds in the inaudible frequency range to the audible range for an enriched bass experience. The SRS-ZX1 multimedia speakers will roll out this April for around $400 each.

DVD/CD Cleaner Disks - Do they really work?

Unless you purchase the specific cleaner disk from the manufacturer itself, it may not be a wise thing to use third-party cleaning products unless you’re an electronics engineer who knows what to do. The lens of a DVD drive is so sensitive any contaminant on it would surely result in errors but this would be next to impossible due to the fact the casing tends to protect the drive from such problematic dust.
The spinning motion of the disk itself creates a flow of air that prevents dust from getting onto the lens thus lessening the chance of it getting any dust onto it. Many off the shelf cleaners have brushes and may even have two of them, one for dry and one for wet cleaning. Wet cleaning may be the worst thing to use for it uses a liquid that is supposed to clean the lens which can destroy the coating of the lens itself leaving it fuzzy thus unable to read or write anything. The best approach to remove contaminants on a dirty pick-up lens would be to use a camera dusting brush that is gentle enough and has a bulb through which you can blow air gently across the lens to remove dust and other particulates.
WARNING: Should you decide to do maintenance on your drive, make sure it is unplugged for the laser will destroy your eyes even with the low power laser installed within. The drive is designed to prevent stray laser beams from getting out so removing the cover exposes you to hazardous laser energy.

History of Laptops

Quite difficult to say what was the first portable computer of laptop. The first laptop did not look like today’s laptops, but defnitely, they were portable and lapable and through the years developed to become today’s sleek notebooks. The first laptop could have been designed in 1979 by a Briton, William Moggridge, for Grid Systems Corporation. The Grid Compass was about 1/5th the weight of any model equivalent, and had a 340K byte bubble memory. It had a die-cast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen. It was used by NASA on the space shuttle program in the early 1980’s.

Today’s Laptop Industry

“When a U.S. consumer orders a laptop from HP or other big sellers, how does the machine get made? Often via a complex supply chain in Taiwan and China, shaped by rocky cross-Strait relations, according to the Wall Street Journal: ‘Outsourcing to low-cost, high-quality Taiwanese manufacturers has helped make Dell and H-P the world’s top two PC companies in terms of sales…But the relationship between U.S. computer firms and their third-party manufacturers can be tricky. In the struggle to retain an element of control over their suppliers, H-P, Dell and others play contract manufacturers against each other to keep prices falling and ensure no supplier gains too much leverage.’”

Source: hardware.slashdot.org

What is a Laptop

Wikipedia defines a laptop computer, or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook), as a small mobile computer, which usually weighs 2-18 pounds (around 1 to 8 kilograms), depending on size, materials, and other factors. Laptops usually run on a single main battery or from an external AC/DC adapter which can charge the battery while also supplying power to the computer itself. Many computers also have a 3 volt cell to run the clock and other processes in the event of a power failure.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1

Review based on a production Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 with firmware v1.1

When Panasonic announced the DMC-G1 in September 2008, the industry saw its first real innovation for a long time: an electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens camera with a large (Four Thirds size) imaging sensor. Panasonic had managed to overcome a whole list of technical hurdles to produce the camera and the G1 featured an electronic viewfinder that got pretty close to a good mirror and prism, plus a contrast-detect autofocus that in terms of speed and accuracy could rival 'traditional' phase-detect systems of DSLRs.

However, the G1 was lacking one feature that had been a standard on digital compact cameras for a long time and had just found its way onto digital SLRs as well: video recording. There are no obvious technical barriers to the implementation of a video feature on mirrorless cameras such as the G1 (in fact it should be much easier than on a DSLR) and therefore it did not come as a big surprise to anyone when, only a few months after the G1 launch, in March 2009 Panasonic rectified this 'issue' with the announcement of the DMC GH1. The new model is, despite a new sensor design, essentially a G1 with an added movie mode.

However, the GH1's HD movie mode is more than just another add-on feature. In combination with the newly developed 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 kit lens that has, in terms of aperture control and focusing, been optimized for shooting video, it transforms the GH1 into a true stills/video hybrid that can record HD video while at the same time producing high quality stills images. And whilst doing all that it is still in line with Panasonic's original reasons for introducing the Micro Four Thirds system; to produce smaller cameras that act more like compact DSCs whilst offering the quality and versatility of a DSLR.

It all looks great on paper but can the GH1 keep up in real life with the marketing promises? Read our review to find out.

Compared to G1 - key differences

The list of new features on the GH1 compared to the G1 is not very long. Despite its new sensor design the GH1 is essentially a G1 with an added HD video mode. However, this arguably most important new feature is likely to make the camera appeal to a much larger group of potential buyers. The following list and table give you an overview of all differences between the two models.

• HD video mode with stereo sound recording
• New sensor which provides four different aspect ratios with the same angle of view
• New 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 stabilized kit lens with a design that has been optimized for shooting movies
• Face recognition

HP HDX X16

Another of HP’s winners, it is a full HD laptop, capable of attaining the full 1,920×1,080 resolution. Deemed as an ideal replacement for an ailing desktop, it has a crisp and bright display screen at 16 inches is truly a sight to see and coupled with the BluRay optical drive, it makes movie viewing a breeze. Loaded with a 2.26 Gz processor with Intel’s Core 2 Duo P800 processor and 4GB’s of ram it it fast, though not as fast as people would expect it to be with that processing power contained within. External devices can be easily connected with a FireWire, HDMI, and d-Sub connector for those cameras and external display devices. It does sport quite a slick finish that is quite childish to some and the ultra-glossy finish tends to be prone to finger smudges and other greasy stuff as you much away and continue to blog or finish your report that was due a few hours ago.
A true entertainment laptop with a 16 inch package, it is a smaller kin to the X18 which has the 18 inch package. Many see the two as the same laptop, only in different packages but with a slightly high price which may be due to the BlueRay drive, it still manages to pass with flying colors delivering what it claims plus some extra’s.

HP DV3-2055EA

The PC maker has long been a favorite of laptop users due to their full line of products that caters to many products that are for people from all walks of life. The specific model has a full keyboard with a 13.3 inch chassis that sports the standard layout, but they tend to rattle a bit, reminiscent of tactile keyboards. They have the always present track pad and two keys that offers a very nice option and finished with a mirror-like tone it is a nifty pad to use indeed. The tiny button is still there to allow easy turn-off of the Synaptics keypad letting you turn it off when using an external mouse.
Based on Intel’s dual core processor family, it did remain cool with the area where the power supply was located turning a bit toasty even after the battery of tests with the fan sending that familiar swoosh of air. The display being LED back lighted is quite constant with bright and vibrant images and it can still play HD movies with ease though the display screen is still quite small for a comfortable viewing. There have been some noted issues with the display drivers from HP which had the display appearing gaudy but some people who have reviewed it say tinkering with the driver seems to remedy the issue.
On the hardware site, it is a 64-bit laptop with the 2Gz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, that is maximized using a 64-bit OS can use the full complement of 4Gb’s of ram. With a 500Gb hard drive it is already large but a need for more storage space is answered by an ultra-fast eSATA port allows quick connection of external storage devices fast and painless. It also sports the nifty LightScribe optical drive that makes CD creation and labelling a joy. Overall, it is a very good product yet on the gamer’s side it may be a bit dismal but it is marketed as a multimedia laptop so it suits it well with a price to match.