Microsoft-Novell Antitrust Case Ends in Hung Jury

By Joab Jackson and James Niccolai, IDG News Dec 17, 2011 6:50 am

After seven years' preparation and a two-month trial, Novell's $1.3 billion antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft ended Friday in a hung jury.
"It is confirmed that the jury could not come to an accord and that no length of further deliberation would alter that," said a spokesman for Microsoft at the court.

Novell filed its lawsuit seven years ago, claiming Microsoft abused its dominant position in the PC OS market to harm Novell's desktop applications business.

The jury at the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Utah, had been deliberating the case for almost three days after closing arguments were presented earlier this week. On Friday the 12-member panel informed the judge they were unable to reach a unanimous decision and the judge declared a mistrial.
At least one juror was in tears as the jury was dismissed, the Microsoft spokesman said.

The jury had asked for clarification on several points during their deliberation, including questions about the definition of "middleware." The terminology apparently caused some confusion. At one point, the jury asked whether Windows 95 was considered "an operating system or middleware," court filings show.

"While Novell is disappointed that the Jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision, Novell still believes in the strength of its claim," the company said in a statement. "Clearly, this is a complicated technical case and Novell is hopeful that a re-trial will allow the opportunity to address any uncertainties some of the jurors had with this trial."

Background

Novell's lawsuit accused Microsoft of misleading it about certain technical details prior to the release of Windows 95, to the detriment of Novell's WordPerfect, Quattro Pro and other applications. Microsoft's behavior ran afoul of U.S. antitrust laws, according to Novell, which is seeking approximately $1.3 billion in damages.

Prior to the launch of Windows 95, Microsoft invited Novell to work on versions of its applications for the new Microsoft operating system. But Novell ran into a variety of problems that it claimed were caused by Microsoft.

Microsoft had removed a key set of internal APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that Novell's software needed to function properly. Novell also found a number of bugs in Windows 95 that caused problems for its software, and which Microsoft was allegedly slow to address. Novell also accused Microsoft of hiding certain system calls that could only be used by other Microsoft applications, such as Microsoft Office, speeding their performance.

Last month, former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates took the stand and denied his company had acted to deliberately harm Novell. The changes to Windows 95 were required to make the OS stable, he told the jury. Novell could have produced a more competitive version of its software but acted too slowly, Gates said.

The case was originally filed in the U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, but was moved to Maryland to combine pretrial proceedings with other lawsuits filed against Microsoft. Novell had filed six claims against Microsoft, five of which were dismissed, with the U.S. Court of Appeals in May reversing the dismissal of the sixth claim and moving the case back to the District Court in Utah.

Although Microsoft does not cast as deep a monopolistic shadow across the IT landscape as it once did, the case is significant for a number of reasons, Charles King, head of the Pund-IT analysis firm, said earlier this week.

"Many would claim that the Novell case is old news. I'd take the opposite side of that argument -- anti-competitive behavior and how it is punished or condoned is as critically important today as it has ever been," King said.

Novell was acquired earlier this year by The Attachmate Group and is now a subsidiary of that company.
Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for IDG News Service

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iPad 3 Possibly Delayed, Supercomputing Game Consoles, and More
By IDG News Service, PCWorld Dec 16, 2011 7:24 Pm
In this week's World Tech Update, the NTSB recommends banning cell phones while driving, the iPad 3 will likely launch later than expected, the Apple contract rakes in cash at auction, Nvidia imagines seeing supercomputing game consoles by the end of the decade and we'll give you shipping deadlines for your holiday gift orders.

iPad 3 Release Date and Features, Is it appropriate if we dubbed Apple as the king of gadget in US?, as the iPad is grabbing not less than 80% from the entire market share of US tablet market. This phenomenon is not only clouding the white red and blue states, but also in numerous countries that the people is gone crazy tapping their fingertips since the coming of iPod touch in their countries.



                                                                                                                                           Even though it is ranked as the #1 tablet, the Apple loyalist are still standing their feet in que ue for the better iPad 3 and do enthusiast search for every updates news in web browsing about the release date, new technology and so on. Right now plenty of rumors had been launched blindly to the public, the most topic being talked is the official iPad 3 Release Date launch and the features.
Update (1st July 2011) : the big Apple is preparing to boost the iPad 2 production in the early second semester of 2011. Several analysts thought that this plan can probably shift away the good news of 2011 iPad 3 release.

Update (2nd June 2011) : referring to the DigiTimes, the end of waiting of iPad 3 production will be planned in sometime in 2012. Fortunately, Steve Jobs’ teams has begun to pick and choose what best components will be installed for iPad 3. Many mass medias told to market that the iPad 3 will be officially released around September 2011. The insiders told that Apple is still running in process with problems and solutions, while the third generation production will be the end of the line.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 John Gruber, an Apple analyst, also nodding the head for the information of the September release of iPad 3. He added some sentences in his blog, “Summer feels like a long time away. If my theory is right, they’re not only going to be months behind the iPad 2, but if they slip until late summer, they might bump up against the release of the iPad 3. And they didn’t only announce this with a distant ship date; they did it with no word on pricing.” Totally different with Grubber, the Apple CEO, Steve Jobs told that the 2011 will belong to iPad 2.

The shocking demands and response about the iPad 2 is spreading in the entire webs. If your are a US citizen, you have to thanks to God due to the civilization because UK people will hand the iPad 3 after a month or two from the US release. iPad 3 Release Date Features Prediction:

• Retina Display: The fans are disappointed with the retina display promise in iPad 2 that Apple give them the same display at previous version. Again, the retina display with 2048×1536 pixels is expected to be presented by Apple in the third generation of iPad.
• SD Card Slot: Being different and unique is not always interesting, the absence of SD card slot in iPad series is one of it. The fans are hoping they can insert an SD card in their third G iPad.
• Improved HDMI: aha, this one is worth enough to be paid, with an additional 39$ you will get the real HDMI playback to play your HD video from Apple devices to TV with the additional HDMI cable.
• Camera Flash: completed the HD recording and sharp picture capture with camera flash is an perfect feature for a smart device.
• Thunderbolt: another technology being applied is the existence of Thunderbolt port in iPad 3. This device provides power, video and data exchanging via the same connector at high speed.
• Wireless Synchronize: The wireless sync need to be featured in iPad 3 like what have been done in several gadgets.

PlayStation Vita Launches in Japan
By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal, PCWorld    Dec 16, 2011 4:38 PM

Sony's hotly anticipated handheld console, the PlayStation Vita, may not be launching in the United States and Europe until February 22, 2012, but it's officially out in Japan.

PlayStation Vita Launch Info
The PlayStation Vita features a quad-core processor, a multi-touch OLED screen, a rear touch panel, front- and rear-facing cameras, the Sixaxis motion-sensing system, Wi-Fi, and optional 3G.
Just hours before the launch of the handheld game console in Japan, Sony also released a firmware upgrade for the Vita, as well as the PlayStation Vita User's Guide Website, which is an online user manual (in English). If you're looking to purchase a Vita when it goes on sale in the U.S. and Europe next February, the User's Guide Website features useful information on basic Vita operation, games, and the PlayStation Network.
The inaugural firmware update, Software Update 1.50, will be ready to go as soon as users power up their new Vita. Among other things, the update is expected to enhance security features. Detailed instructions (in Japanese) on how to update your Vita via Wi-Fi, PS3 network, PC network, or Vita card data are available on Sony Japan's Website.
Though the Vita is hotly anticipated by many hardcore gamers, the rise of smartphone gaming has many pundits wondering if dedicated portable gaming systems like the Vita can succeed in a world where smartphones are becoming handheld gaming consoles, and handheld gaming consoles are becoming obsolete. Nintendo saw the effects of this trend first-hand earlier this year during the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, which received a price cut just six months after launching. While our brief hands-on with the PlayStation Vita during E3 2011 left us feeling optimistic about the hardware, only time will tell if gamers are still willing to pay for premium portable games.
But Andrew House, the head of Sony's game division, believes that the PlayStation Vita can make it--even though it's about 70 percent more expensive than the Nintendo 3DS in Japan. One of the main reasons House expects the Vita to be more successful than the 3DS is because of the game selection--the Vita's launch is accompanied by about two dozen titles, including Uncharted: Golden Abyss and LittleBigPlanet. Several prominent third-party developers are expected to release Playstation Vita games in February, including Vita versions of Capcom's Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom and EA Sports' FIFA 12. According to House, the Vita's primary selling point is "being able to give people a sense of value for money."
As far as the launch itself goes, GameZone reports (off of Japanese Man Tan Web) that Sony added an additional 200,000 Vita units to be shipped due to "massive pre-order demands." Sony initially planned a shipment of 500,000 units, so this means that the company may have shipped as many as 700,000 units. We'll keep you updated if anything untoward happens during the Japanese launch.

Laptops of 2012: What to Expect
All the pieces are in place for a surge in laptop sales next year--from new Intel chips to the planned launch of the Windows 8 operating system to sleeker designs.
By Jason Cross, PCWorld    Nov 30, 2011 8:00 am
Tablets and smartphones are in, but don't count laptops out. Impressive new laptops planned for 2012 promise to be thinner, lighter, and faster, as well as to carry longer-lasting batteries

Previous

                                                                                                                                                            All the pieces are in place for a surge in laptop sales next year, from new Intel chips to the planned launch of Windows 8 to sleeker designs.
You may be in the market for a new laptop this holiday season--or you might find that sticking with what you have and upgrading next year makes more sense, considering the hot models that are sure to be announced at the annual CES trade show in January, as well as the new technology on the horizon.
Here's what to expect in the coming year.

Ubiquitous Ultrabooks
Thin and lightweight Ultrabooks are the watchword, thanks to Intel, which has trademarked the name for a new category of ultraportable laptops.
By some predictions, as many as 30 to 50 Ultrabook models will be announced at CES. For a laptop to qualify for the label, it must be less than 21mm (0.83 inch) thick, resume from hibernate to keyboard input in less than 7 seconds, get at least 5 hours of battery life, and support certain specific Intel security features in the BIOS.
We have already reviewed four Ultrabooks: the Acer Aspire S3, Asus Zenbook UX31E, Lenovo IdeaPad U300s, and Toshiba Portege Z835. A fifth, the HP Folio 13, will soon be released. You'll notice some major brands missing from that list, such as Dell, Samsung, and Sony; you can probably expect to see Ultrabooks from those manufacturers in the first few months of 2012.

                                                                                                                                                                  The category will kick into high gear when Intel’s next-generation CPUs, code-named Ivy Bridge, hit the market. Ivy Bridge's power utilization and performance, together with steadily falling prices on solid-state drives, should make these superthin laptops more affordable and appealing.
By the end of the year, we may even see Ultrabooks with screens that rotate and fold down to transform into a tablet. The emphasis on touch interfaces in Windows 8, together with the thinner and lighter design of Ultrabooks, could make this new generation of convertible laptops more desirable than the convertibles of the past few years.

Better Graphics, Longer Battery Life With Ivy Bridge
The second-generation Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs in today’s laptops went by the code name Sandy Bridge. That platform's successor is due next year. Ivy Bridge takes the Sandy Bridge architecture (with a few minor tweaks) and shrinks it down from a 32nm manufacturing process to Intel’s new 22nm tri-gate process. It also dumps the Sandy Bridge graphics core in favor of a whole new graphics architecture that runs more quickly, provides better video acceleration, and supports Microsoft's DirectX 11.

                                                                                                                                                           The bottom line: At the same level of performance, Ivy Bridge chips will utilize significantly less power than their Sandy Bridge counterparts do. That translates into noticeably longer battery life in thin-and-light laptops. And the chips will be faster while consuming the same amount of power, which means that high-power laptops will be even speedier.
The new integrated graphics are a bit of a mystery, but a good guess is that you can expect around 50 percent better performance in 3D games. That still isn't enough power to provide great results in many core games, but a lot of titles that were previously unplayable on an integrated-graphics setup will suddenly become bearable. Better yet, those games that barely ran in an acceptable way, such as Minecraft, should run a lot better.
Intel has issued no release date for Ivy Bridge just yet. We expect the company to fully unveil the lineup of Ivy Bridge CPU models at CES, together with announcements of support from lots of laptop manufacturers. Actual products will probably start to hit the market at the end of the first quarter or in the second quarter of 2012.
What about AMD, you ask?
AMD's next Fusion processor, dubbed Trinity, is due around the middle of next year. It takes a modified version of the company’s new Bulldozer architecture and marries that to a big heap of integrated-graphics power. After the very disappointing launch of its desktop Bulldozer processors, AMD has its work cut out for it.

Windows 8 Launch Could Be Big
Windows 8 changes Windows more profoundly than any release since Windows 95.



                                                                                                                                                             The new Start screen and Metro-style interface will be contentious, sparking a backlash among some longtime Windows users. Other users will love the fresh new look and feel. Most important, the operating system will undoubtedly inspire a major surge in PC purchases, and an enormous marketing push from Microsoft and its partners.
When a new consumer release of Windows hits the market, the whole industry responds. Schedules shift. Deadlines move. New brands launch, and old brands retire. From what we've seen so far, Windows 8 looks to be a much bigger launch than the last few Windows releases, so you can expect a glut of new laptops, desktops, and all-in-ones set to debut together with Microsoft’s new operating system.
We don't have a release date right now, but given that Windows 8 hasn't yet had a public beta test and Microsoft's OSs generally take about nine months to go from the first beta to store shelves, you can expect a late-summer or fall release.
Windows 8 puts a large emphasis on providing a first-class touch interface, without sacrificing good old-fashioned keyboard and mouse use. That means a better user experience on touchscreen-equipped laptops, so expect to see more of those machines on the market.
It will also support ARM-based processors for the first time, so we may even see hybrid laptops that run on a full-power Intel or AMD chip most of the time, but offer a detachable tabletlike display with an ARM processor for those occasions when you need longer battery life and greater portability instead of a keyboard and touchpad.
We might even see ultralight laptops powered solely by ARM-based CPUs, though that raises some questions about expectations of software support.
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Laptop Reliability and Satisfaction: MacBooks Rule
There's nothing quite like a MacBook, according to PCWorld readers who participated in our survey on their satisfaction with the performance of their laptops.
By Mark Sullivan, PCWorld    Dec 6, 2011 8:00 am
Dell and HP consumer laptops have become more durable over the years, but not as rapidly as several smaller rivals have. As a result, readers continue to ding the two large vendors on reliability measures. Apple laptop users gave their machines high marks for durability, support, and most features aside from "performance for the price." Asus, in contrast, got praise from customers for selling a lot of laptop for the money.Highlighted in the three charts below are our survey participants' ratings of laptop PC manufacturers in three general areas: reliability, features, and service/support. These results are drawn from our 2011 Reliability and Service survey of some 63,000 PCWorld readers. The other product categories covered in this survey were desktop PCs, tablets, digital cameras, printers, HDTVs, and smartphones. For a closer look at the methodology we used in our survey to gauge manufacturer reliability and customer satisfaction, see "Reliability and Satisfaction: What the Measures Mean."

Notes and Quotes
Here are some interesting data points from the laptops section of our Reliability and Service survey, along with a couple of representative comments from participating PCWorld readers:
• Survey participants' overall satisfaction ("extremely satisfied" or "very satisfied") with laptop reliability from all companies has improved from 67.6 percent in 2008 to 81.9 percent in 2011. In that same period, Apple's approval rating for laptop reliability has risen from 82.3 percent in 2008 to 90.6 percent in 2011.

• Among laptop owners in our survey, 31.7 percent report using their machines for both personal life and work life.
• Approximately one in five problems that laptop users sought help with from the vendors' customer support services were never resolved.
• Though the incidence of significant laptop problems has fallen for the industry as a whole, from 31.8 percent in 2007 to 22.6 percent in 2011, some vendors are making faster progress than others. Specifically, HP improved from 36.1 percent of survey participants in 2007 reporting a significant problem with their laptop within the previous three years to 24.1 percent doing so in 2011, whereas Dell improved far less dramatically over the same period, from 30.3 percent in 2007 to 26 percent in 2011.
• The ten most common laptop problems that our readers reported encountering were with (in descending order of frequency) the operating system (19.2 percent), the hard drive (17.8 percent), the power supply (10.6 percent), the graphics or video system (8.8 percent), the keyboard (8.6 percent), the motherboard (8.5 percent), the screen (6.1 percent), the wireless connection (6 percent), the optical drive (5 percent), and the system memory or RAM (3.9 percent)
• "The hard drives in two [Dell] laptops I purchased failed one month after their warranties expired." --Dell laptop owner
• "It's very well made, not the plastic-like materials you typically find." --Apple laptop owner
Reliability
Four companies earned better-than-average marks on our survey's reliability measures, with Apple going a category-leading five for five. Samsung and Toshiba tied for the second spot, thanks to three positives and no negatives each; Samsung's strengths were in few problems on arrival, few dead laptops, and overall owner satisfaction with reliability, while Toshiba scored well on few dead laptops, few components needing replacement, and overall owner satisfaction. Asus deserves an honorable mention here for a low proportion of significant problems and better-than-average overall owner satisfaction with reliability.
Bringing up the rear in our survey results for laptop reliability are Dell's business laptops and HP's home laptops, with two worse-than-average marks and no better-than-average results, and Dell's home laptops, with three subpar marks and no positives."Dead PC" indicates a failure in one of a system’s core components. The six laptop "core components" in our categorization are CPU, motherboard, RAM, graphics chip, hard drive, and power supply. HP for Business laptops include the EliteBook, Mini, and ProBook product lines, among others. Dell for Business laptops include the Latitude, Precision, and Vostro product lines, among others. HP for Home laptops include the Envy, Pavilion, and TouchSmart product lines. Dell for Home laptops include the Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, and XPS lines.

Features
Continuing its impressive sweep of the laptop landscape, Apple collected better-than-average marks on eight of our ten measures, with only "performance for price" and "ports" grading out as average. Three other manufacturers scored especially well on features: Asus and Sony, with five better-than-average showings each; and Toshiba, with three.
Vendors with at least two worse-than-average marks and no better-than-average finishes include Digital Storm (two), HP for business users (four), and Dell for business users (a woeful eight). Two vendors with generally poor results can point to a silver lining: HP for home users struggled with subpar marks on three measures in the laptop category of our survey, but it compensated to some extent with a better-than-average grade for "built-in speaker"; and though Acer racked up five worse-than-average marks, it nevertheless received better-than-average marks from our readers for "performance for price."N/A = Not available (too few responses for this manufacturer on this measure). HP for Business laptops include the EliteBook, Mini, and ProBook product lines, among others. Dell for Business laptops include the Latitude, Precision, and Vostro product lines, among others. HP for Home laptops include the Envy, Pavilion, and TouchSmart product lines. Dell for Home laptops include the Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, and XPS lines.

Service
The Cupertino company completed its fine showing in the laptop PCs category with better-than-average scores on all four of our service and support measures. Dell's business laptops service and support picked up high marks on two measures ("problem resolution" and "service experience"), as did Toshiba (for "phone hold time" and "Web and phone support rating"). Vendors with work to do in service and support include Asus and HP for home, both of which earned worse-than-average ratings on three of the four service-and-support measures in this product category.N/A = Not available (too few responses for this manufacturer on this measure). HP for Business laptops include the EliteBook, Mini, and ProBook product lines, among others. Dell for Business laptops include the Latitude, Precision, and Vostro product lines, among others. HP for Home laptops include the Envy, Pavilion, and TouchSmart product lines. Dell for Home laptops include the Adamo, Inspiron, Studio, and XPS lines.

Sony VAIO SB Series: Thin, Light, Expensive, and Terribly Fast
Sony VAIO SB Series (VPCSB1BGX) Review, by Jason Cross August 12, 2011


                                                             Sony’s VAIO SB series, as configured in our review unit (model VPCSB1BGX), offers the best overall performance of any ultraportable laptop we’ve yet tested. It’s light, thin, and a pleasure to use despite a few minor annoyances. Pity, then, that this configuration costs $2500. The base model starts at only $900 (as of August 12, 2011), but that configuration wouldn’t dominate our benchmarks as our review model does.
The VAIO SB is a 13.3-inch ultraportable that weighs a modest 3.7 pounds, perhaps a touch less for lower-end configurations. The high-end model we tested may cost $2500, but you get some pretty impressive hardware for that price. Start with a Core i7-2620M processor, a dual-core CPU with hyperthreading that runs at a base clock speed of 2.7GHz. In addition to that very capable processor, toss in 8GB of RAM, switchable graphics (an Intel integrated chip plus a Radeon HD 6630M with 1GB of graphics RAM), and a fast 256GB solid-state drive. Not enough? How about dual-band 802.11n networking, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a combination BD-ROM and DVD burner, and support for Intel’s WiDi wireless display technology? How Sony crammed all that good stuff into a sub-4-pound, 1-inch-thick 13-inch laptop is beyond me.
All that hardware was enough to deliver a WorldBench 6 score of 144, higher than any mark we've seen from other laptops of this size and weight. Does all that power destroy the battery life? Far from it. In our rundown test the VAIO SB's battery lasted an impressive 7 hours, 19 minutes. A physical switch above the F3 key allows you to change between 'stamina' (integrated graphics) and 'speed' (discrete graphics). We ran our battery-life tests with the switch on the 'stamina' setting; enabling the Radeon discrete graphics will cut battery time in half or worse. We also tested the optional slice battery that fits neatly across the bottom of the laptop and makes the machine a third of an inch thicker and almost a pound heavier. This optional accessory adds about 5 hours of maximum battery life.
There’s a lot to like about the design of the VAIO SB series. The matte display has a resolution of only 1366 by 768, but that’s typical for a 13.3-inch screen. Color, contrast, and brightness are pretty good, and horizontal viewing angles are better than on most laptops I’ve seen. Vertical viewing angles are predictably poor, though: The screen will either get washed out or too dark if you open the lid too far, or not enough. The island Chiclet-style keyboard is quite good. Key travel is a bit on the short side, but spacing is nice and the keys have a good, tactile, clicky feel. The touchpad is similarly good. It tracks smoothly and accurately, with two distinct buttons on which it’s hard to accidentally register clicks. It supports a fairly wide variety of multitouch gestures, though two-finger scrolling is not on the menu.
The left side of the system is sparse, featuring only the BD-ROM and DVD-burning combination optical drive. All the action is along the right edge, which has a Memory Stick slot, an SD Card slot, VGA and HDMI outputs, one USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, gigabit ethernet, and the power jack. Those who like having a physical switch to disable Wi-Fi will be happy to know that the VAIO SB series offers one at the front edge.
As usual, Sony loads down its system with a little too much software for my tastes. I’m not a fan of the pop-out dock at the top of the screen, or of the way Norton Internet Security constantly nags me to pay up once the 30-day trial is over. It’s great that Sony bundles Photoshop Elements 8, Premiere Elements 8, and PowerDVD, though. Also included are ArcSoft webcam software, Sony’s media gallery, and Microsoft Office Starter 2010. If you’re like me and you prefer your laptop a little more lean and mean, it’s easy enough to remove most of this stuff.
It’s a little disappointing that the VAIO SB's fit and finish aren’t quite up to the standards we’d expect from a $2500 laptop. It just doesn’t have the perfectly clean lines and premium build materials we usually find in systems this expensive. In this case, it’s because our test unit is at the very upper end of a line that is meant to start at $900--and at that price, the overall design is about average. In other words, I’m really impressed by the outstanding performance and usability of this very expensive ultraportable laptop, but oddly enough I'm a little underwhelmed by Sony’s sense of style.
Dell Abandons Netbooks in Favor of Ultrabooks
By Melanie Pinola, PCWorld    Dec 16, 2011 8:57 AM
Dell has confirmed it will no longer make consumer netbooks. Instead, the company will focus on developing higher-end, premium “thin and powerful” laptops, following the industry’s shift to Ultrabooks.


                                                                                                                    Dell’s 10-inch Mini netbooks have disappeared from sale on Dell.com, Liliputing spotted recently. I   nstead, when you're searching for a netbook, Dell might offer you the 14-inch Inspiron 14R or the older 11-inch Inspiron 11z.
With the Inspiron 11z currently going for $399.99 in a limited clearance sale and the Inspiron 14R starting at $499.99, this means a new laptop from Dell will set you back a bit more than the $300 or so a Mini 10 previously cost. You also lose a bit of the portability that netbooks offer.
If you really must have a Dell netbook and don’t care about price, Latitude netbooks for business users are still available starting at a whopping $469 price. Dell confirmed to The Verge that the company will also still offer the Inspiron Duo netbook/tablet hybrid.
Otherwise, Dell’s Marketing Director Alison Gardner told the tech blog that “Thin and powerful is where it is at for us.”
This is hardly a big surprise to anyone, with a flood of ultrathin and powerful Ultrabooks expected to launch next month at CES, Acer betting big on Ultrabooks for next year, and Dell also expected to join the Ultrabook party in 2012.
Netbooks may have had a good run in the last two years, but the cheap laptops have been dying a slow death thanks to tablets like the iPad and now the next class of lightweight laptops, the Ultrabook. The ultraportable is dead. Long live the ultraportable.
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Uses for a 'Blind' MacBook Pro
By Christopher Breen, Macworld Dec 16, 2011 4:40 am
Reader Sigil has an interesting question regarding a MacBook Pro with ailing i-sight. He (or she, I suppose) writes:
I have a MacBook Pro with a failing graphics chip. I just read your article about using an old Mac as a backup server. If anything, what can I do with my MacBook Pro to salvage some value?
First, of course, you should confirm that the graphics chip really is failing. It would be draggish to relegate the laptop to lesser duties if all it needed was a little cable or connector tightening. If you haven't taken the thing to a Professional for evaluation, I'd do that first.
If tests indicate that the graphics chip is on the way out but the MacBook can carry on an otherwise productive life, using it as a server is an excellent idea. As indicated in the article you referred to, if you attach a high-capacity hard drive to it, you can indeed use it as a backup server for the other computers in your home.
You could alternately or additionally use that laptop as a media server. Just copy your media to the hard drive attached to the MacBook, fire up iTunes, open its preferences, click the Sharing tab, and enable the Share My Library On My Local Network option. Other computers on your local network can now play the media managed by that Mac. If you also have iOS devices be sure to switch on Home Sharing (from iTunes' Advanced menu) so that you can access and play that media on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. (I don't have the space to explain all the ins and outs of sharing media from a central server, but my article Organize and Play Your Media From a NAS should give you a good start.)
Depending on how l33t your skillz (mad, or otherwise) are, you could go on beyond zebra and turn the MacBook into a full-blown server and manage mail, calendars, and Internet sharing as well as use it to host a web site. This isn't the kind of thing "normal" people would do, but again, if you have the chops it's a cheaper solution than a new Mac mini.
If you've read this far you know that I haven't really addressed the nut of the issue, which is: How do I make this blind Mac see? Without repairing the hardware you can't--at least not using its screen or, possibly, an attached monitor. You can, however, see what it's doing via screen sharing.
To do that, ensure that your MacBook Pro is running Leopard (OS X 10.5) or later and is on the same local network as your other computers (I'd suggest using an Ethernet connection rather than wireless as it will be faster, which will help with backing up and serving video). On the MacBook Pro (which, hopefully, you can still see well enough for this short bit of configuration) launch System Preferences and click Sharing. Enable Screen Sharing and choose who has access (I enable Only These Users and then select Administrators as I don't want those without an administrator password mucking with my server).
Now move to another Mac, open a Finder window, and look for your MacBook Pro in its sidebar. Select it and click Share Screen. When prompted enter the administrator's name and password for the MacBook Pro (not for the computer you're currently using). Click Connect and you should see your MacBook Pro's display on the Mac you're sitting in front of. Alternatively, in the Finder you can choose Go -> Connect to Server, and in the window that appears enter vnc://IP address, where IP address is the MacBook Pro's IP address or vnc://Name.Domain such as macbookpro.local.
Now that you can see your MacBook Pro's screen, control it just as you would any computer you're sitting in front of. When you're finished with it, quit screen sharing.

Dell Inspiron 11z Review
By Kevin O'Brien, NotebookReview.com Contributor | 8/31/2009

dell Inspiron 11z Full Review
by Kevin O'Brien
The Inspiron 11z is a new netbook from Dell, hoping to change the way we think of the ultra-portable segment. Instead of using the long-favored Intel Atom processor, Dell decided to use the new ultra-low voltage Celeron 723 and the GS45 chipset. On paper the processor has more grunt, and when paired with X4500 integrated graphics, it has a huge advantage over Atom machines. In this review we take an in-depth look at the new 11z, to see if it is the netbook we have all been waiting for.
Our Dell Inspiron 11z Specifications:
Build and Design
The Dell Inspiron 11z has a very simple design, with a plain black glossy screen cover, matte black chassis, and a silver painted palmrest. When closed the shell is nearly flat, with few items sticking out the bottom cover, making it easy to slide into a slipcase or backpack. Inside the 11z has no superfluous features, just the touchpad, keyboard, power button, and power indicator. There are no media buttons outside of function keys on the keyboard, and there aren't even activity lights or touchpad buttons. Dell really tried to take out unneeded or cluttering features to make this netbook as clean and easy to use as possible.


                                                                                     Build quality is average, with a few minor annoyances we noticed out of the box. With most computers you don't see chassis flaws right out of the box. What you do notice are cosmetic flaws, which even if they are minor are still depressing to see on a brand new machine. Our 11z came with a battery preinstalled that looked like it had been tumbled around in a box with other batteries up until the assembly stage. It was scuffed and marred all over, which was easily noticed since it has a fine matte finish. The rubber bumpers on the screen were also incorrectly installed. They are square pieces of rubber designed to fit in square holes, but installed crooked like diamonds. In the entire scheme of things these are minor problems that don't affect the durability of the notebook, but needless to say don't instill confidence in the end-user.

The chassis felt durable with strong internal support under most structures. The palmrest and keyboard showed very few signs of flex under strong pressure, which is a must for a good typing experience. Outside of the marred battery, the screen cover and chassis resisted scratching and other wear. The screen hinges felt durable, and kept the screen securely shut even when held in a vertical position.

Internally the design of the 11z is very friendly for users wanting to upgrade or replace components. At first you might notice there is no bottom access to components, with a solid panel covering the bottom. Instead Dell put all user-accessible components underneath the keyboard, which can be removed by three screws. With the keyboard off you have access to an open WWAN slot, the system memory, hard drive, and heatsink assembly. The WWAN slot was functional, recognizing the Verizon card borrowed from my D630; but it lacked antennas to allow the card to send and receive data.

Screen and Speakers
The 11.6" screen on the 11z was an excellent change from the common 1024x600 netbook screen. With a resolution of 1366x768 you have as much screen space as full-size notebooks, meaning that menus and other items that need more vertical space are no longer a problem. The panel looks great, with good color reproduction and very even lighting thanks to the LED-backlighting. Contrast was average, and varied depending on the vertical viewing angle. The viewing sweet spot didn't allow for an entirely black screen to be viewed, instead you either had some shift at the top or some at the bottom. Brighter colors didn't have this problem, and looked fantastic in everything from viewing images to just browsing the web.

Vertical viewing angles were average, with a 15-20 degree viewing sweet spot before colors started to significantly distort. Horizontal viewing angles stayed true even at very steep angles. Viewing brightness was fine for use in bright office conditions, but outdoor viewing was limited unless you found a shared area.
The speakers sounded slightly better than average when compared to other netbooks. Instead of no bass and midrange, you could hear a hint of lower tones that might be completely passed over on smaller netbooks. Peak volume was fine for watching a movie or listening to music. For a larger room or to enjoy movies to their fullest potential, HDMI out is the best option. It can pass both video and digital audio to your home theater system, which even the worst stereo will sound better than most notebooks.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the 11z is basically full-size and very comfortable to type on. The layout is easy to follow, taking no time at all to transition to and start typing at full speed. The key design is flat, similar to Chiclet style keyboards, but without an inner bezel dividing the keys. Individual key action is smooth, giving off a soft click when pressed. One odd feature Dell has been transitioning to on newer models is the reversed function key layout. If you want to adjust brightness, you press the correct button and the brightness changes. To hit F5 to refresh a page, you now need to hit FN+F5. Thankfully this feature can be disabled for more advanced users.

The touchpad on the 11z is the first one that I absolutely can't stand to use. Some notebooks have laggy touchpads which might be annoying, but they are still usable. This is not the case with the all-in-one touchpad on the 11z. Dell decided to copy Apple by going with integral buttons under the touchpad surface, but didn't design the hardware or driver support correctly. On a MacBook if you have a finger resting on the touchpad surface to trigger the button while selecting text or moving around objects, it can tell the difference. It knows that finger shouldn't be recognized as a variable in the multi-touch movements or standard movements; the Elan touchpad can't.

If you hold one finger on the touchpad over the left or right button and try to move around the screen a few things might happen. Either the cursor will pop into a corner, usually the start menu corner without warning, or sometimes the top right. Another problem is unwanted zooming, which now controls the size of icons on the desktop, viewing size of documents, and even the size of webpages. We experienced everything except the zooming of documents roughly 10 minutes after turning the 11z on for the first time. The last problem which isn't as important, but still annoying, is the speed of the X and Y axis input. Moving your finger side to side makes the cursor move more than if you travel the same distance up and down. A simple test is drawing a circle on the screen with your finger, where the 11z makes wide ovals instead.

For the majority of the reviewing process we had to resort to using an external mouse exclusively. While the average user could easily do this, it takes away from the portability of a netbook and really shouldn't be required.
Ports and Features
Port selection is average for most netbooks, with the exception of HDMI in place of an older VGA port. Dell included three USB ports, audio jacks, an SDHC-card slot, and LAN connector. Users might also notice that Dell went with a full-size power connection on the 11z, the same shared with every other Dell notebook. The power adapter is another change over most netbooks, as Dell included a 65w thin power brick with this model. On one hand it is nice to get a high quality power adapter that will probably hold up better over time than most netbooks' adapters, but on the flip side it is pretty big.

Seagate Breaks Out World's First 4TB Hard Drive
By J.R. Nelson, DesktopReview.com Editor

Even though solid state drives get all the face time these days, it's important to remember that good old spinning media still has a thing or two to teach the rest of the market. In this case, it's size - and right now, Sea gate's the king of the hill with a new 4TB Desktop Free Agent Go Flex Desk.
The 4TB version is notable for being the world's first hard drive to reach 4TB. There have been external storage solutions for years that gave users 4TB of hard drive space - but this is the first time it's been accomplished with just one drive. As part of Sea gate's Go Flex line, this Free Agent Go Flex Desk lets users swap out connectors in order to upgrade to fast new standards - such as USB 3.0 - without scrapping a perfectly serviceable drive.You won't need to do that with this new 4TB edition, however, as it ships with USB 3.0 straight from the factory. If you don't have a USB 3.0 port available yet, don't worry! It's completely backwards compatible with USB 2.0; you won't see any speed increases, but it'll work just fine.
Just like last year, with the first 3TB hard drive, the world's first 4TB hard drive is only available as an external drive. Even today, the 3TB drives are mostly found outside of typical desktop PCs. That's because most PCs today still employ the BIOS genre of boot software, instead of the more modern EFI; BIOS has a problem with drives above 2TB. This sort of problem will fade away as time goes on.
The new drives are available today; you can order one right now from the sea gate online store. The price? You might be surprised; it's only $249. Considering how the first 2TB hard drive premiered just a couple of years ago at $300 (and that was for just a drive - no enclosure included), it's quite the steal.
Western Digital My Passport Essential USB 3.0 Review
By Jerry Jackson, NotebookReview.com Editor

When it comes to portable hard drives, the Western Digital "My Passport" series of external hard drives is perhaps the most successful line of portable external hard drives on the market today. The attactive casing, solid build quality, reasonable speed and good product placement in a variety of stores have made this line very popular.

The all new My Passport Essential raises the bar again with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 transfer capability, large storage capacities and a reasonable price.

I personally own more than a dozen portable hard drives for storing years of digital photos, my movie library and pretty much every file I've never bothered to delete over the years. Almost half of my portable hard drives are older models of the Western Digital My Passport series, so I was eager to see what this drive brings to the table.

Build and Design
In terms of the basic design the My Passport Essential is unchanged from last year's update to the shape and size of the My Passport line. The biggest difference is that the newest versions of the drive feature the new USB 3.0 cable (compatible with USB 2.0). This new port gives the hard drive a significant performance boost over the previous generation.
Specifications of the WD My Passport Essential (WDBACY5000ABL) are as follows:

*Capacity: 500 GB

*Interface: USB 3.0 and USB 2.0*Dimensions (H x D x W): 0.6 x 3.2 x 4.3 inches*Weight: 0.31 Pounds*Operating Temperature: 41° F to 95° F*Non-operating Temperature: -4° F to 149° *MSRP: $99.99 (on sale for $79.99 at the Western Digital Store)

USB 3.0 ... Shift+R improves the quality of this image. Shift+A improves the quality of all images on this page.

Once again the team at Western Digital delivers a pretty compact portable hard drive. The photo on the the left shows the new drive between an Apple iPod Touch and a SDHC memory card. While the size and shape are impressive, the single design element that will probably get a mixed reception is the glossy finish.

Although the glossy plastics used on the latest generation of My Passport hard drives looks fantastic, it isn't overwhelmingly durable. I transported the My Passport in an accessory pocket of my laptop bag along with some loose papers, a couple of pens, two USB flash drives and a couple of USB cables. After five days of back-and-forth travel to and from work the My Passport was completely covered in fine scrathes.
For comparison, the matte finish on my old two year old My Passport Studio looks cleaner because it doesn't have glossy plastics that show off scratches and fingerprints.

The enclosure is very sleek and stylish with a minimalistic design and a subtle Western Digital "WD" logo on the top and a "My Passport" logo on the bottom. The simple design is probably one of the main reasons these WD drive are so popular. On one hand, it's just a rounded box, but what else do you need from a portable hard drive enclosure?
Many older My Passport hard drives feature multiple LEDs or a small LCD that function as a "capacity gauge" to let you know at a glance how much space is left on the hard drive. Unfortunately, the My Passport Essential only has a single white LED on the spine of the enclosure that serves as an activity light.

IDF2011: HP Unveils Bevy of Beautiful Monitors, World's First Sub-$200 IPS Display

By J.R. Nelson, DesktopReview.com Editor |

At IDF2011 in San Francisco this morning, HP unveiled seven new displays mostly targeted at the performance display segment of the market. Showcased were a new thin TN display for businesses, four new IPS performance displays (under $200!) and two new digital signage displays that deliver 42 inches of multitouch performance.
HP Compaq LE2202x Essential Display

The Compaq LE2202x is HP's "essential" release, which means it's the most affordable of the new displays. Unlike the rest of the monitors, it doesn't use a high color gamut IPS panel; it uses a more affordable TN-based panel with poorer viewing angles. It offers a 21.5-inch display that still manages a full HD (1920x1080) resolution. It also handles both DVI-D and VGA inputs; it will be available next week, starting at $179.
HP ZR2040w Performance Display

The HP ZR2040w is the first of the new IPS-based performance displays, and as the headline suggests, it's the world's first sub-$200 IPS display. Generally there are a few sacrifices that have to be made to make a display like this available for such a low price. In this case, there really aren't any - the HP ZR2040w is available as a 20-inch panel offering a 1600x900 resolution. It comes with VGA, DVI-D and DisplayPort inputs and is available now for $189.

Check out our full gallery of images for these gorgeous new monitors here!
ZR2240w Performance Display

The 22-inch HP ZR2240w Performance Display is a lot like the HP ZR2040w, but bigger. It goes up to a 1920 x 1080 resolution, offering a full HD experience, as well as bumping up the connectivity, as it offers VGA, DVI-D, DisplayPort and an HDMI port. It's available now for $289.
HP ZR2440w Performance Display

The HP ZR2440w is extremely similar to the ZR2240w, save for one important detail - it comes in the older computer display standard of 1920x1200 pixels. That will be happy news to a number of industrial PC users and enthusiasts alike. It offers 120 extra pixels of resolution over newer 1080p HD displays, which can be helpful for designers who can use it for toolbars and the like. Since it has 1:1 pixel mapping, it showcases 16:9 content properly letterboxed. Like the lower two IPS display, it's capable of displaying up to 16.7 million colors. It's available now for $425.
HP ZR2740w Performance Display

The HP ZR2740w is looking to take the new crown in the computer display market, and with specs like these, it deserves it. HP has put in a very good IPS panel that offers a whopping 2560x1440 resolution inside of its 27 inches. It uses the sRGB color space and manages to edge out the competition from Dell and Apple in a number of ways. It uses LED backlighting like Apple, but delivers a full one BILLION colors across its surface - that can completely eliminate display-related banding that you might see in videos or other rendered content. That's important to designers and editors, since it means that if any banding is present, it's entirely a part of their content - not the display itself. This guy beats out Dell and Apple on price, too; it's now available for just $729.
HP Digital Signage Solutions

HP also showed off two new digital signage solutions - these guys are large format monitors with big, IPS screens. They're available in 42- and 47-inch sizes. More importantly, they're available with a two-finger multitouch overlay - this makes them perfect for installation in lobbies or shops. Companies can install their own software on a PC (or HP's new SignagePlayer mp8200) and run it on the new displays; typically these are Flash-powered apps that support simple touch interfaces. You might touch a room you wish to go to, and an an arrow gets drawn on the display to show you your path. These are also available now, but you'll need a bigger pocketbook, as the 42-inch alone has risen in price to over two thousand dollars.

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Reference:Laptop,Model,Lenovo,Asus,Acer,Apple macbook,Acer Aspire,Microsoft-Novell,iPad 3,Vita Lauch,Windows 8,Ivy Bridge,Macbooks,Dell Abandons, Dell 11z,USB 3.0,Hp Unveils Bevy,4TB Hard drive.

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Microsoft-Novell Antitrust Case Ends in Hung Jury

Background

iPad 3 Possibly Delayed, Supercomputing Game Consoles, and More

PlayStation Vita Launches in Japan

PlayStation Vita Launch Info

Laptops of 2012: What to Expect

All the pieces are in place for a surge in laptop sales next year--from new Intel chips to the planned launch of the Windows 8 operating system to sleeker designs.

Ubiquitous Ultrabooks

Better Graphics, Longer Battery Life With Ivy Bridge

Windows 8 Launch Could Be Big

Laptop Reliability and Satisfaction: MacBooks Rule

There's nothing quite like a MacBook, according to PCWorld readers who participated in our survey on their satisfaction with the performance of their laptops.

Notes and Quotes

Reliability

Features

Service

Sony VAIO SB Series: Thin, Light, Expensive, and Terribly Fast

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Uses for a 'Blind' MacBook Pro

Dell Inspiron 11z Review

By Kevin O'Brien, NotebookReview.com Contributor | 8/31/2009

dell Inspiron 11z Full Review

Seagate Breaks Out World's First 4TB Hard Drive

By J.R. Nelson, DesktopReview.com Editor

By Jerry Jackson, NotebookReview.com Editor

IDF2011: HP Unveils Bevy of Beautiful Monitors, World's First Sub-$200 IPS Display

By J.R. Nelson, DesktopReview.com Editor |

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