Friday, April 28, 2006
Laptops & Leather!!
No, this is not a fetish, honest. It is the latest offering from Asus. Luxury leather laptop, S6F. The details can be found on "The Register". This falls into the category of a sub-notebook or in this case a sub-laptop.
It has a 11 inch anti-glare screen. The processor is a low-voltage dual-core Core Duo processor with 1GB DDR2 SDRAM memory. The hard drive is a whopping 100GB and a multi-format DVD writer. Pretty impressive. It apparently ships with two batteries, one with double the capacity.
It has a 11 inch anti-glare screen. The processor is a low-voltage dual-core Core Duo processor with 1GB DDR2 SDRAM memory. The hard drive is a whopping 100GB and a multi-format DVD writer. Pretty impressive. It apparently ships with two batteries, one with double the capacity.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
I want One of These.... May be Two.....
Sonos. That's right Sonos. If you have not heard about it, then better read on. It's awesome, brilliant and I want it.
What Is It?
A wireless multi-room digital music system controlled by a remote control in the palm of your hand.
How Does It Work?
You got an MP3 collection on your computer and you want to listen to a song everywhere in your house, without a visit from the "Noise Control". Simply setup a Sonos Zone Player in every room, connect a Sonos Zone Player to high speed internet connection and to your music collection and you are done. With the wireless remote control, you are now able to control music anywhere in the house. Music is streamed wirelessly and you can play the same song in different rooms or different songs in different rooms. Ideal for house parties.
You can even connect your normal stereo system, on one of the Sonos Zone Players.
What Is It?
A wireless multi-room digital music system controlled by a remote control in the palm of your hand.
How Does It Work?
You got an MP3 collection on your computer and you want to listen to a song everywhere in your house, without a visit from the "Noise Control". Simply setup a Sonos Zone Player in every room, connect a Sonos Zone Player to high speed internet connection and to your music collection and you are done. With the wireless remote control, you are now able to control music anywhere in the house. Music is streamed wirelessly and you can play the same song in different rooms or different songs in different rooms. Ideal for house parties.
You can even connect your normal stereo system, on one of the Sonos Zone Players.
Dual Core Apple MacBook Pro
Apple has launched its Dual Core MacBook Pro, with a battery life of 5.5 hours.
It has a 2.16GHz Intel Core duo processor, 1GB SDRAM and a 120GB Hard disk drive. ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 provides video. Supposed to be 5 times faster than PowerBook G4. The MacBook Pro comes loaded with lots of extras, check these out at the MacBook Pro page.
One brilliant feature is the new power adapter connector, called MagSafe The connector is magnetic, makes it easy to connect and disconnect. Especially when someone trips over the cable. The connector breaks away cleanly without damage to itself or the Macbook Pro. Less wear on the connectors and also less damage to the notebook. MagSafe is the way forward.
It has a 2.16GHz Intel Core duo processor, 1GB SDRAM and a 120GB Hard disk drive. ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 provides video. Supposed to be 5 times faster than PowerBook G4. The MacBook Pro comes loaded with lots of extras, check these out at the MacBook Pro page.
One brilliant feature is the new power adapter connector, called MagSafe The connector is magnetic, makes it easy to connect and disconnect. Especially when someone trips over the cable. The connector breaks away cleanly without damage to itself or the Macbook Pro. Less wear on the connectors and also less damage to the notebook. MagSafe is the way forward.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Power a Laptop Over The Corporate LAN?
Huh? Is this possible? Connect your laptop to the Ethernet network and you have power.
Power over Ethernet or PoE technology, is the ability of a system to transmit electrical power over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network.
Low drain devices like IP telephones, wireless LAN access points and webcams are easily powered over the ethernet. The question remains, Can it Power a Laptop?
Low drain, low power consuming laptops should be able to be powered in this way. The standards organization, IEEE have standardized Power over Ethernet in IEEE 802.3af. This standard provides 48 Volts DC at a maximum current of 350mA for a maximum load power of 15.4 watts. It certainly wont be able to power the latest 64 bit Dual Core processor gaming laptops.
This is certainly the way forward. You wouldn't need to plug the AC adapter in whilst at work. No more cumbersome cables. One of the pioneers of this technology is PowerDsine.
The advances in technology should enable any type of laptop to connected to a suitable Ethernet network and recharge the battery.
Power over Ethernet or PoE technology, is the ability of a system to transmit electrical power over standard twisted-pair cable in an Ethernet network.
Low drain devices like IP telephones, wireless LAN access points and webcams are easily powered over the ethernet. The question remains, Can it Power a Laptop?
Low drain, low power consuming laptops should be able to be powered in this way. The standards organization, IEEE have standardized Power over Ethernet in IEEE 802.3af. This standard provides 48 Volts DC at a maximum current of 350mA for a maximum load power of 15.4 watts. It certainly wont be able to power the latest 64 bit Dual Core processor gaming laptops.
This is certainly the way forward. You wouldn't need to plug the AC adapter in whilst at work. No more cumbersome cables. One of the pioneers of this technology is PowerDsine.
The advances in technology should enable any type of laptop to connected to a suitable Ethernet network and recharge the battery.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Standards for Laptops, Another Battle Between AMD and Intel?
Intel, has been promoting whitebox laptops and now wants notebook component makers to agree to standards. Simplifying the the swapping of parts between different laptop platforms.
This is called the Intel Interchangeable Initiative. A collaboration between Intel and Original Design Manufacturers(ODMs), based on the concept of Common Building Blocks(CBBs).
The core parts identified for Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology based laptops are listed below:
So, what's the big deal? OEMs, system builders and other ODMs can repair, upgrade these components with relative ease. Means more choice for us end users. Perhaps.
AMD not one for missing out on the fun is also planning to release its own platform named, "Yamato". Unlike Centrino, this will offer several different chipsets, including nVidia, VIA, SiS and ATi. However, they are still a long way off.
This is called the Intel Interchangeable Initiative. A collaboration between Intel and Original Design Manufacturers(ODMs), based on the concept of Common Building Blocks(CBBs).
The core parts identified for Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology based laptops are listed below:
- Hard disk drive
- Optical disk drive
- LCD panel/screen
- Battery pack
- Keyboards
- AC/DC Adapter
- Customizable notebook panel
So, what's the big deal? OEMs, system builders and other ODMs can repair, upgrade these components with relative ease. Means more choice for us end users. Perhaps.
AMD not one for missing out on the fun is also planning to release its own platform named, "Yamato". Unlike Centrino, this will offer several different chipsets, including nVidia, VIA, SiS and ATi. However, they are still a long way off.
