Hardware Archive

Not too long ago the news got out that mobile phone company Nokia was about to enter the netbook market with its Booklet 3G. Specifications were unavailable then, but today at Nokia World '09 the company announced all the details around this slick netbook.

According to Apple, the netbook market is not a market they want to partake in, because they believe the current crop of netbooks is not good enough. Well, good enough or not, netbook sales are still growing like crazy, according to the latest figures from DisplaySearch.

Genesi just launched the Efika MX 'smarttop' - an ARM-based Linux device with HD video capability. Based on the Freescale i.MX515 processor (800Mhz ARM), it includes WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, and only consumes about 7W of power.

"No, Billy, USB thumb drives are not made in a magical land with fairy dust and Unicorn tears, and they're not born in the space beneath the Razzleberry waterfall. Yes, we're as shocked as you are. Luckily, the gang at Netbook News are on hand to set us straight with this video of the Kingston Manufacturing Plant, which offers us a rare glimpse into all of the stamping, printing, baking, cutting, and packaging that goes into getting you the portable storage you crave."

In what can surely be called a surprise move, Nokia has announced that it will enter the netbook market with an Atom-based netbook which will ship with Windows 7. While many of the components appear relatively normal compared to other netbooks, it does come with a few features that will set the device apart from the rest. Instant update: Ars believes this is the first Intel Pine Trail netbook.

I've often wondered why computers - be it laptops or desktop - are so relatively monolithic. Wouldn't it make much more sense to have a whole cluster of very tiny individual computers, all with their own tiny processor, RAM, data storage, and serial ports, which power up when needed and are easily replaced when broken? Well, Liquidware thought so too, and came up with the Illuminato X Machina.

"According to Logitech, the Performance and Anywhere use dark field microscopy to detect microscopic particles and micro-scratches on high-gloss surfaces, rather than tracking the surface itself. The mouse sensor 'sees' the clean areas of glass as a dark background with bright dots and then interprets the movement of the dots to precisely track where the device has been moved. The Logitech Performance Mouse will be available in the US and Europe in August for $100, while the mobile-friendly Anywhere Mouse is expected to retail at $80." I don't know how many times I've cursed shiny new desks and wished that someone would finally utilize that dark field microscopy technique (end bad humor). Thank heaven for Logitec finally breaking through.

The big thing in notebooks right now are netbooks. They're cheap, more than powerful enough for day-to-day tasks, and small enough to actually carry around without anyone even noticing you're carrying one (not a bad thing in some parts of the world). However, they also receive a lot of criticism, such as cramped keyboards and displays that are too small. So, at Kaiwai's suggestion, here's a question for you all: how do you use your netbook?

I think we can finally put a certain myth to rest that's been circling around the web for a while now. Microsoft often claimed that netbooks running Linux saw higher return rates than those running Windows, but according to Dell, this is utter nonsense.

"Sony has announced a new type of lithium ion rechargeable battery that combines high-power and long-life performance, using olivine-type lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material. The Olivine-type lithium iron phosphate used in this new battery is a perfect cathode material due to its robust crystal structure and stable performance, even at high temperatures. These bateries have a high power density of 1800W/kg, and extended life span of approximately 2,000 charge-discharge cycles. What’s most surprising is that the battery will keep an 80% charge retention after those 2,000 charge-discharge cycles, which is very impressive. This new battery is also able to charge rapidly (99% in 30 minutes)." These buckoes will debut in power tools originally, but they'll eventually cross over to be smiling up at you from your cell phone, lappy, and other consumer electronics.

G. Pascal Zachary has written a very interesting article about the importance of Google's Chrome OS announcement, and what the move to the cloud (internet!) could mean for Microsoft and the operating system in general. I do think he missed an important part of the possible consequences of the move towards the cloud: the hardware.

Robots can be about as complex a machine as you're ever likely to encounter, but roboticists spend a lot of time solving mundane problems that have already been solved countless times by other robot makers. A recent New Scientist article documents the efforts of researchers around the globe that have begun to collaborate on the Robot Operating System (ROS), which they hope will provide a common platform for robot research, letting its users concentrate on advancing the state of the art instead of reinventing the wheel.

The iPhone's success with multitouch has been phenomenal, and not without good reason. Multitouch is a valuable asset to a friendly interface, a feature-rich environment, and to a myriad of apps that take advantage of that feature. Now Synaptics has unveiled the workings of touchscreens that are capable of registering up to ten touches at any given time. This will give "multitouch" an entire new level of complexity; entirely new apps, games, and system features will be able to take advantage of having up to ten touches at once, though on I think anything beyond five or maybe six touches is pushing humans' abilities to touch a screen and hold the device with the same hand. These beauties' sensors can be built in sizes up to eight inches, meaning that it can be implemented in phones and MIDs and even the smallest of netbooks. Synaptics has said to keep an eye out for these buggers in 2010-- not to far from now.

This is one sad story to report on. Sun Danyong, 25-year-old employee at Chinese manufacturing company Foxconn, has committed suicide after being subjected to apparently rather rigorous interrogation methods by Foxconn's Central Security Division. Danyong handled a shipment of 16 iPhone prototypes, and one of them went missing. Update: Apple responds: "We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death. We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."