A puzzle for the weekend. I’ve just been reading in the Personal Computer World newsletter about how Windows 7 Starter Edition will be limited to running 3 programs at a time.

I can see why they might want to do that from the point of view of getting people to move on to bigger and better versions of Windows but what counts as a program?

Word, Excel, each OpenOffice component, Firefox. Yes, that all makes sense.

What about instant messaging? Probably counts but that could be annoying given it’s something I leave on in the background.

But what about tools that blur the line between a program and a service. A service is a program that is always running from when Windows starts. That probably covers anti virus, but does it become a program when I start a scan?

Of course, there’s a way that this could backfire for Microsoft. Increasingly I spend more of my time in a browser. Using Zoho.com I can bring email, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and project management into one program. And then I’ll add my task list courtesy of the Chandler Hub.

Now you could say that working like this gives me the freedom to leave my instant messenger on in the background. Then again, if I’m just working within a browser, why am I bothering with Windows at all. Oh dear…

Posted by Tim Smith on April 24, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (12)

Yesterday we caught up with Asus, so today we went to see the latest products from one of its biggest rivals: MSI. MSI's Wind range of netbooks compete directly against the Asus Eee portables, but the focus at MSI's stand seems a little different: rather than the dozens of netbooks Asus is showing, MSI seems to be focusing on fewer models with more unusual features. Here, for example, is its forthcoming "hybrid" Wind U115:



It may look unremarkable, but there's some interesting technology inside. It uses both a solid state  disk (SSD) and a hard disk, but the hard disk can be disabled at the push of a button. This gives you loads of cheap storage space when you want it, but allows you to save battery power when on the move. MSI claims a battery life of nine hours, and we expect it to cost around £400.

More unusual still is the X-Slim series notebook, which looks a little like a white plastic Macbook Air. We got our hands on an engineering sample to take some photos:



And here it is from the side (note the two USB ports - one more than the Air):



This new "X-Slim" range will initially include two models. The X340 pictured here will use an Intel Core Solo ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processor and include an HDMI output, and is expected to cost around £800. The X320, however, will use an Atom processor and should come in at between £500 to £600, making it a potentially interesting choice for those who want a really thin and light notebook on a budget. The notebooks will be on shelves in May.

Like Asus, MSI is also creating low cost desktop PCs. Here's the Wind Top AE1900, with a 19" touch screen display, DVD writer and an Atom processor:



It should cost around £600 and will be available by the end of March. Several other models are in the works, including one without the touch screen (the AP1900) as well as 20" and 22" models. A 24" version could appear later this year. Slightly more unusual is this model, the Wind Box DE200:



It has a Blu-Ray drive, HD video output and runs Windows Vista Home Premium - making it an interesting Media Center PC. Expect it in May, but prices are not yet confirmed.

And there are many other interesting products tucked away around the show. Icy Box, makers of hard disk enclosures, was showing a few new media player products that support H.264 video:



This model, the IB-MP309-HW, should appear in March, while one with a slot that accepts a 2.5" hard disk caddy will follow in May. Over in another hall, Zotac have what must be one of the smallest PCs at the whole show:

Posted by Tom Royal on March 4, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Hannover's Cebit is the world's largest technology fair, and the place where manufacturers from the world over come to show off their latest and greatest products. Computeractive is there too, and today started trekking between the 26 (yes, 26 - our feet hurt already) exhibition halls of the Hannover Messe to find the latest and greatest products. Over the next few days we'll show you what to expect over the coming six months.

One of the most striking stands at the show belongs to Asus. The company is showing off a vast selection of Eee PC notebooks and Eee desktops, not all of which will be available in the UK. A few in particular caught our eye, though. First, the Eee PC 1000HE:

This looks similar to the Eee 1000, but with a new Macbook-like keyboard and a battery that, Asus claims, will run for 9.5 hours - perfect for a full day's work, a long flight or just if you tend to forget to plug your laptop in. It'll arrive in the UK in March, at a price yet to be confirmed.

Other interesting Eee laptops included a tablet:

And this newer, shinier, thinner netbook:

Aside from the mini laptops, Asus was showing off its Lamborghini notebook range - now available in a rather nice ivory white as well as gaudy yellow - and the Eee Keyboard, first shown at CES and now, unfortunately, locked safely away in a cupboard when we attempted to find and photograph it.

We spoke to Asus CEO Jerry Shen, who suggested an interesting future for the Eee computers encompassing both low-cost netbooks and more powerful and featured products.

"We will try to provide more value", he told us. "In the future, when the Eee Top, Eee Box and Eee Keyboard become more popular we will try to separate into two markets".

He denied, though, that the more powerful computers might outgrow the Eee name, saying that "the most important thing for the Eee is "easy"... ease of use is still the key. We still want to keep the soul of the Eee" [in the more featured computers].

One major focus of Cebit 2009 is the environnment, and one of the biggest displays in the "green" hall belongs to Fujitsu-Siemens computers, here to demonstrate its "zero watt PC" - a computer that, unlike most, draws zero watts of power when turned off. A demo unit was on display, complete with power meters for us to examine:

We switched it on and off a few  times and, as you can see, it seems to work quite well - that's the PC power meter in the middle. The zero watt PC will be available from July, in two versions - a desktop and a small form factor PC - at prices to be announced.

Away from computers, we spotted a few other interesting products. Synology, makers of network storage devices, were showing off this tiny NAS, designed to hold up to four laptop-sized hard disks:
That's the DS409 Slim, available in the UK from April. And finally for today, we caught up with Absolute Software. It'll be launching its laptop recovery system, LoJack for Laptops, in the UK in the next few months - it'll initially be sold online. The software buries itself in the computer's BIOS, calling home periodically and, if you report the laptop stolen, either wiping its contents or attempting to pass its location back to the company, and so to the police: Absolute told us it has a 75% recovery rate for stolen equipment using its business Computrace product.

We'll bring you more from the show over the next few days.

Posted by Tom Royal on March 3, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (6)

Practising what I preach, I always use the Safely remove hardware shortcut in the Notification Area to remove a USB disk, whether flash or otherwise.

Only there is a slight problem of not enough information. As you can see here I’ve got three disks attached. But no  information as to which is which. I’ve named the volumes so that I know what they are but this text doesn’t appear in the menu.

This also is true of Vista.

Anyone know of a way to do this?

Posted by Tim Smith on January 19, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Networking is impossible to avoid these days and somehow it doesn’t seem possible to use a computer without the internet. The trouble is, Vista does seem to have made this harder than with Windows XP.

This is partly due to the extra steps involved in getting to settings, although I recognise that this may not irritate less confident users as it does me. Even so, I’ve had situations where I just cannot get connected to a network. In one case I spent around half an hour trying to get a wired connection to work, until giving up and using wireless. I’d used wired because I’ve found it to be the most reliable. You plug the cable in, a little green light appears and everything works. No worries about interference or WEP/WPA codes.

It seems I’m not alone as the Windows Secrets website has an article covering some of the networking bugs in Vista, specifically those affecting DHCP. DHCP is a technology that lets the computer ask a server (normally the router at home) for all the network settings.

The most likely culprit for me is a bug when a computer has more than one network adapter built in. For the record, that’s all notebooks and, given that wired networking comes built into motherboards these days, plenty of desktop computers too.

Apparently this dual adapter problem, which manifests itself as Windows reporting only local network access without the internet, is known by Microsoft, but there is no indication of when it might be fixed. Looking back this may well be what happened to me.

So for the moment, I’m sticking with using just the one network adapter at a time. Even if that means wireless when I could use wired.

Posted by Tim Smith on December 17, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (14)

Word of the day in the Computeractive office has been "counterfeit". Yesterday afternoon we first heard that UK customs had impounded hundreds of fake Nintendo DS and DS Lite consoles, and this morning an ELSPA spokesperson told us that the company was also aware of fake DSi (that's the new DS, currently only available in Japan) and Wii consoles, too.

The fake DS consoles come with unsafe power adapters, so if you've picked up a funny looking DS at a bargain price, we'd strongly advise that you contact Trading Standards before even thinking about plugging it in.

This afternoon, though, an even stranger case: counterfeit netbooks. We've seen several reports that HIS, normally known for its graphics cards, had produced a netbook computer - this afternoon we received word that it is, in fact, nothing to do with the company. In a statement, the company's Paul Yeung said that it "has no plan for netbook products" and that "unauthorized usage of the HIS name or brand will result in swift legal action".

So, how to avoid a fake this Christmas? In the case of the Nintendo DS, it's quite simple: the fakes are far too cheap (some retailing for around £40) and the packaging is a poor imitation of the real thing. In particular, the fake DS consoles have a power adapter supplied separately rather than tucked neatly in the box. As for netbooks, it's even easier: if you want a HIS netbook, you'll just have to forget about it for the time being.

Posted by Tom Royal on December 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (21)

I'm currently in Augsberg, Germany, at Fujitsu-Siemens' annual showcase event. So far the emphasis has been very much on the environment, with the launch of a new green rating system that you can read about on the main Computeractive site. Look a bit further, though, and there are plenty of new products on show.

Much attention is being grabbed by Fujitsu's netbook, the Amilo Mini Ui 3520. At first glance it looks rather similar to the models being produced by Dell, Toshiba and, well, just about every other PC manufacturer out there: it has an 8.9 inch display, an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM and a rather small keyboard:

On the other hand, it has a few features that could make it stand out. For one, unlike many netbooks the 3520 has a matte-finish anti-reflective display - these don't look as vibrant, but they're far easier on the eye if you have to work in a bright environment. Secondly, on the right side you'll find this:

.. an ExpressCard 34 slot, which makes adding extra peripherals such as a broadband modem far neater and easier. Inside there's a 60GB, 4200RPM hard disk, and Windows XP Home SP3 is installed as standard. The 3520 should cost around £280 including VAT.

Another interesting model in Fujitsu's consumer range is the Amilo Desktop Li 3410 Green Edition. Fujitsu claims that this PC uses up to 55% less energy than a "standard value PC", and it's also quiet:

It uses a Pentium Dual Core E5200 processor and runs Vista Home Premium. We're currently checking for information on UK prices and availability.

Posted by Tom Royal on November 12, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (6)

For anyone still looking for a Linux mini-notebook, Expansys has announced that it will be selling off its stock of the original Eee PC at a special price tomorrow (Friday 26th September).

Between 11am and 4pm the white version will be available for just £118 here, and the black version for just £140 here. Stocks are, unsurprisingly, limited.

Posted by Tom Royal on September 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

As happy as I am to use a notebook, the Realtek HD audio chipset is quite a headache. I was getting error messages in programs that have been well behaved on other computers.

One such was Magix MP3 Maker. I like this software for the decent list of web radio stations and the Mufin functionality. (Nothing to do with children's television, this is a clever playlist generator that works with the audio data rather than tags that may or may not be correctly filled in.)

Sadly every time I tried to start MP3 Maker I got a DirectSound error and no audio, disappointing for an audio player.

Now the Realtek chipset in my notebook has two outputs. An ordinary line out and an optical digital output. I don't have any digital devices so I disabled that output last night. It's very simple. Right-click on the loudspeaker icon in the Notification Area and then left-click on Playback Devices. Right-click on the Digital output and left-click on Disable.

I started MP3 Maker again, and all worked perfectly. I sometimes wonder if there are other devices that can be safely disabled to fix problems or improve performance. I tend to disable wireless when I'm connected. This is mostly to reduce the time to recharge the battery, though I'm sure it won't hurt not to have the radio transmitting all the time.

Posted by Tim Smith on September 1, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Acer has confirmed to Computeractive that the price of its tiny Aspire One notebook will start from £219 inc VAT, not £199 as previously announced.

Five versions of the notebook will be available, at the following prices (inc VAT):

• Linux, 8GB SSD, 512MB RAM, £219.99
• Linux, 120GB HDD, 512MB RAM, £229.99
• Linux, 120GB HDD, 1GB RAM, £249.99
• XP Home, 120GB HDD, 512MB RAM, £279.99
• XP Home, 120GB HDD, 1GB RAM, £299.99
  

Posted by Tom Royal on July 2, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)