Hardware Archive

"Earlier this week Everex launched the gPC TC2502, which is a sub-USD 200 PC sold at a major US retailer, but what makes this unique is that it runs the gOS. The gOS (GreenOS) is designed to be a conceptual Google Operating System that is based upon Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. Though this is not the conventional GNOME desktop environment but an Enlightenment E17 desktop is used that is heavily modified and reflects a green Google theme. The gOS provides easy access to Google services such as YouTube, Google Product Search, Google Calendar, and Google Maps. Also a click away are other web services such as Wikipedia and Facebook. This isn't a pure Internet desktop but Xine, Skype, OpenOffice.org, and other applications are available for this Linux LiveCD. We've been trying the gOS out for a while and it's a rather nice slim desktop Linux distribution that would be perfect for Internet cafes and other public places." More screenshots.

Ars reviews a Dell Ubuntu laptop, and concludes: "The Dell Inspiron Notebook 1420n with Ubuntu preinstalled delivers software freedom and solid value. For serious Linux enthusiasts who are already comfortable handling the various idiosyncrasies of the platform, Dell's preloaded Ubuntu laptop is a practical and cost-effective choice that eliminates the need to perform a manual installation and provides Linux users with a means of dodging the odious Windows tax. Although I consider this product a strong buy for experienced Linux users, I don't recommend it (yet) for users who aren't already familiar with the operating system. Ubuntu's prodigious ease of use is diminished by a litany of frustrating minor hardware support problems that many average computer users will not be inclined to resolve."

"It has been over four months since Dell started shipping computers preloaded with Ubuntu GNU/Linux to home consumers in the United States. Lets take a moment to look at the progress that has been made so far. John Hull, manager of the Linux Engineering team in Austin was kind enough to let me interview him by e-mail. Besides commenting on the current state of affairs with Ubuntu on Dell machines, he also offers some insight in how the Linux team at Dell works and opens a small window into the future of Linux at Dell."

"In November, you'll be able to buy a new laptop that's spillproof, rainproof, dustproof and drop-proof. It's fanless, it's silent and it weighs 3.2 pounds. One battery charge will power six hours of heavy activity, or 24 hours of reading. The laptop has a built-in video camera, microphone, memory-card slot, graphics tablet, game-pad controllers and a screen that rotates into a tablet configuration. And this laptop will cost USD 200."

Gateway has unveiled its latest all-in-one desktop PC, dubbed simply the One. Sitting somewhere between an Apple iMac and Sony's Vaio LT series in terms of looks, the slimline 19in machine also sports a unique power-brick-cum-port-replicator.

For the first time the components that underlie quantum computing's great potential - qubits - have been linked on chips like those in conventional computers. Two US research teams used superconducting circuits to make two of the quantum components linked by a quantum information cable or bus. The bits that work together on calculations in a normal computer can exist in two states - either 0 or 1. But qubits can inhabit both at once, allowing them to process many calculations simultaneously when they get together.

Hewlett-Packard, the world's Number 1 PC maker, will try selling pre-loaded Linux on PCs in several countries as it expands a test program - evaluating a market that some competitors have already entered - and moves its personal computer business into a new generation of form factors and functionality.

"The next step in the silicon industry's steadfast pursuit of ever smaller and faster chips has been unveiled. Intel has shown off what it says are the world's first working chips which contain transistors with features just 32 billionths of a metre wide. Their production means the industry axiom that has underpinned all chip development for the last 40 years, known as Moore's Law, remains intact. Speaking to BBC News, Dr Gordon Moore said that he expected the proposition that bears his name should continue 'for at least another decade'."

The vaunted 'USD 100 laptop' that Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers dreamed up for international schoolchildren is becoming a slightly more distant concept. The USD 100 laptop has many innovative features including a pull cord for recharging by hand. Leaders of the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child that was spun out of MIT acknowledged Friday that the devices are now slated to cost USD 188 when mass production begins this fall. The last price the nonprofit announced was USD 176; it described USD 100 as a long-term goal.

Unicap has an article on the Asus EeePC. "In spring 2007, Asus announced the EeePC, a low cost, small sized mobile computer, which is expected to be available to the public in October 2007. The system is equiped with a 900 Mhz ultra low power Intel CPU, a 7'' LCD monitor, 512 MBytes of RAM and uses flash memory as permanent storage. On the software side, the system comes with a custom version of Xandros Linux preinstalled."

Ending months of rumors, Hewlett-Packard appears to have released its first mass-market PC with pre-installed Linux. Specifically, the company will soon be selling RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) Desktop 5 on its HP dx2250 PC to Australian customers. HP, long a staunch Linux supporter both on the desktop and the server, had never offered a pre-loaded desktop Linux. There have, however, been many rumors in recent months that HP was on the verge of announcing a business Linux desktop with SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 SP 1, Ubuntu 7.04, or RHEL Desktop 5, or its delayed desktop Linux brother, Red Hat Global Desktop.

Taiwan's leading computer seller Acer is to take over US PC maker Gateway in a USD 710m deal. The takeover will create the world's third largest producer of personal computers, with shipments of more than 20 million PCs and sales of USD 15bn. The deal may also see Acer try to block Chinese rival Lenovo from buying Packard Bell's operations in Europe.

"Zonbu is a very simple system. It is geared for users who may not necessarily care what operating system they are using, but someone who just wants a functional system. Zonbu does exactly that. The software is very straightforward to use. Zonbu is very environmentally friendly. Not only does it not require a lot of power to run, it also does not contribute to noise pollution."

"A new startup out of MIT emerged from stealth mode today to announce that they're shipping a 64-core processor for the embedded market. The company, called Tilera, was founded by Dr. Anat Agarwal, the MIT professor behind the famous and venerable Raw project on which Tilera's first product, the TILE64 processor, is based. Tilera's director of marketing, Bob Dowd, told Ars that TILE64 represents a "sea change in the computing industry", and the company's CEO isn't shy about pitching the chip as the "first significant new chip architectural development in a decade". So let's take an initial look at what was announced about TILE64 today, with further information to follow as it becomes available."