Tag: computer

Dell launch Inspiron 6400n and 530n notebooks with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled

linux_penguin.gifDell continues its push into Linux-based computers with the launch of two Inspiron notebooks in Europe.

The 6400n and 530n will come with the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux operating system ready installed. According to Dell, over 30,000 community members at the Ideastorm website asked for Dell to consider launching systems with the Linux operating system, with 100,000 participating in a follow-up survey to determine which Linux system to offer.

Andy Merrett Laptops / Notebooks

Try to control yourselves boys, it's just a girl wearing a USB keyboard bra

angelkitty6.jpg
Like some bizarre hybrid Hello Kitty and a geek’s wet dream, this Angel Kitty USB keyboard bra is…well…it does what it says on the tin. If your £39.99 Ikea-special desk doesn’t quite meet the mark in terms of keyboard-housing capabilities, how about a real life woman with one stuck to her boobs? Just manage to rope one into wearing the outfit (I’d suggest a good few Cosmopolitans laced with Rohypnol followed by a couple of shots of Bacardi), plug ‘er in to the USB slot and off you go. Let’s try and see you pull off this computer peripheral in the office next week!…

Katherine Hannaford Apparel, Keyboards, Weirdness

Opinion: Free laptop deal looks good

Jon_smal.gifJonathan Weinberg writes…

Let’s face it, who among us is ever going to turn down a free gift – especially when it’s worth up to £500. Well, that’s the prospect facing techno shoppers at Carphone Warehouse, Currys and PC World this week.

You couldn’t have failed to see the ads in the newspapers over the weekend proclaiming the gratis machines in return for signing up to broadband with the likes of Orange and AOL. ‘So where’s the catch?’ I hear you ask. ‘There’s always a catch!’

Well, you’re right, to get the free laptop you are tied into a contract with the firms for two years and yes, the machines aren’t super-spec’d enough to suit most Tech Digest readers. But in terms of getting people interested in technology and onto the interweb superhighway, it has to be good news…

Jonathan Weinberg Broadband, Columns & Opinion, Computers, Internet, Laptops / Notebooks

Computer discovers perfect game of draughts: it's a draw

draughts_board.jpgIn a tale reminiscent of “WarGames“, a computer has finally played out the 500 billion possible positions in the game of draughts (checkers). It only took Chinook 18 years to do so.

Now, computer scientists at the University of Alberta say that they have “solved” the game.

Guess what? Perfect play on both sides leads to a draw. Sounds a bit like tic-tac-toe to me – or perhaps “Global Thermonuclear War”.

Andy Merrett Computers, Gaming

Logitech launches MX Air rechargeable cordless mouse

logitech mx air mouse

Logitech has unveiled its MX Air rechargeable cordless mouse, a versatile laser mouse that works both on the desk and in the air.

The device is like a cross between a remote control and a mouse, and is supposed to cater for those who want to command their media PC from the comfort of their sofa (or indeed, anywhere that there’s an absence of solid, flat surface to use a traditional mouse on).

“The MX Air mouse offers a radically new way for people to control their PC entertainment,” said Erik Charlton, Logitech director of product marketing for performance and gaming mice. “It’s for anyone who has listened to music on their PC and been frustrated by having to return to the desk to change songs or volume. It’s for people who want to share vacation photos with friends and family without being tied to the desk. It’s for any of the millions of people using the Internet to browse and watch videos on sites such as YouTube or Grouper. And it’s for people with a living-room computer or media PC who want to navigate their media content on their terms.”

Andy Merrett Mice

Second-hand computers an ID fraudster's paradise

old_computer.gifNew research from Navigant Consulting suggests that slack handling of computers destined for the second-hand market could make them an identity-thief’s dream.

To demonstrate the potential dangers, the consultancy purchase three second-hand computers last week, and determined that one of them still contained sensitive personal information on the hard drive.

It’s not enough to simply wipe the hard drive using most basic operating system tools, as anyone with some tech knowledge can recover data from a disk that’s supposedly been wiped. Simply dumping the hard drives intact isn’t a good plan either – it’s akin to putting your paper-based financial documents in the waste bin without shredding them first.

One second-hand computer recovered from a community college still contained student and staff details, including names and addresses, budgets, payroll information, photos, and bank account details.

Andy Merrett Computers

Asus pursue the gaming clientele with the C90 notebook

asuslaptop5.jpg Asus are popping out new notebooks all over the place, like the plastic equivalent of Vicky Pollard. But don’t let that put you off – I’m sure their latest offering, the C90, doesn’t come in lurid pink and talk back to you. Yet.

The C90 is being dubbed a ‘gaming’ laptop, which really means they can charge an extra couple hundred to go after the obsessve fanboy market who will shell out over a grand simply so they can play WoW a few frames faster than the next orc along. The 15.4-incher is completely upgradeable, allowing consumers to update the CPU, GPU, memory, HDD and optical drive without worrying about voiding the warranty…

Katherine Hannaford Laptops / Notebooks