Hardware Archive

El Reg reviews the HP Touchsmart IQ770 computer, a sort of all-in-one computer with a touchscreen. "Either you're excited by the prospect of an all-in-one PC with a touchscreen or you're not. Judging by our experiences, adults will be thoroughly confused by the split personality of the HP, shocked by the enormous weight and unimpressed by the price - a pound less than GBP 1300. But the kids are gonna love it."

Dell is getting ready to launch systems with Ubuntu Linux, but is not yet releasing details of the final specifications. However, the company did say on Friday that as well as a consumer version of Ubuntu, it had plans to launch a small-business version 'in the future'. After some confusion over Dell's Linux strategy, the company said it felt the need to clarify things. "I wanted to be clear that Dell does have plans to offer Linux to more consumers in additional locations outside the United States," said Dell's Lionel Menchaca, digital media manager.

Though we rely on them as a mainstay of modern computing, hard drives are really a mixed bag: part storage blessing and part performance albatross. The ongoing digital media revolution could never have gotten off the ground without plentiful, cheap storage, but even so, modern operating systems and programs are typically designed to rely on the hard drive as little as possible. Hard drive access times haven't kept pace with processor clockspeed increases, so computers increasingly employ sophisticated caching mechanisms (e.g. Intel's Turbo Memory tech) to minimize the need for a hard drive-based transfer. Now, researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands believe they've taken the first step towards solving some of the speed problems of a traditional magnet-based hard drive system.

"It wasn't too long ago that I was sitting down to write a review of the ThinkPad X60s which, at the time, was a pretty exciting product. The X60s, and it's slightly heavier counterpart, the X60, are still both very relevant notebooks, but they have since been replaced with newer models. The two new systems, the X61 and the X61s, are very similar to the models that came before them, but take advantage of some of the same technological upgrades that were brought to other new models, like the T61 and R61."

"At the Research@Intel day last week, Intel had a huge array of technologies and active research initiatives on display for press and analysts. As I toured the company's Santa Clara offices, I was able to piece together a few major themes and directions by stepping back and looking at the places where Intel is currently focusing its forward-looking research. In my next few articles, starting with this one, I'll take an in-depth look at each of these themes and at what it tells us about where computing is headed in the next decade."

Researchers at the University of Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering claim to have developed a computer system that is 100 times faster than today's desktops. The research group, lead by Uzi Vishkin, developed a system based on parallel processing technology. The team built a prototype with 64 parallel processors and a special algorithm that facilitates the chips to work together and make programming for them simple.

"The Series 5 pocket computer from Psion was launched 10 years ago this week. It was a remarkable achievement: entirely new silicon, a new operating system, middleware stack and applications were developed from scratch in just over two years. This was the last time anyone undertook such a daunting task: it may be the last time anyone ever tries, either."

Geeks.com sent us in a next generation DVD player, the Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD player. The model is the little brother of the HD-XA2 with fewer features, but it's the only HD player that sells at $230 while using the newer, second generation HD-DVD technology.

An updated version of the wireless technology will soon allow consumers to beam photos from cameras and use their cell phone to make purchases, reports Business 2.0 Magazine. There is also information about Bluetooth 3.0.

El Reg takes a look at ten desktop computers, from Apple's Mac Pro to Dell's exotic XPS M2010. The verdict: "The ten PCs we have looked at here represent a huge cross-section of the computer market and as such offer varied functionality depending on specific needs and budgets. If you're looking for an imposing combo of power and potent design then the Alienware really should be your first and only port of call. For us, if money were no object we'd opt for the Dell XPS for its sheer bling factor, but in the real world give us an Apple Mac Pro and we're happy."

Geeks.com was so kind as to send me the TS-21F5-R, a 21-Inch TFT Flat Panel LCD Color Widescreen Monitor (it is a de-branded HP LCD monitor) for review. At USD 245.99, that is a whole lot of screen real estate. Read on for my findings.

"Recently I had a chance to spend some time with Fujitsu's P7230 ultraportable notebook. With a 10.6" LED-backlit LCD and a weight of less than 3lbs the system is just what many mobile fanatics are looking for, but such portability comes at a price. The P7230 is powered but a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo U1400 processor, something that is great for the battery life, but does not have the power of its Core 2 Duo brethren. The single-core, low-voltage processor works well much of the time but chokes under the load brought on by intensive programs as well as multi-tasking. In attempt to get the most possible from the P7230 I decided to completely remove Vista in favor of Ubuntu 7.04."

If online articles and blogs are any indication of things, the number of Linux users migrating to, and satisfied with, Ubuntu GNU/Linux seems to be staggering. Given that, it was only a matter of time before a capable company had the resources to offer accessible, affordable Linux desktops and notebooks that delivered the way that Apple's products have. Colorado-based System76 sent us their Darter Ultra for review, and proved that there is an OEM hardware/software combination capable of being the primary PC for the general public.

DigitaCrusader has a review of a test model of the OLPC. "Overall I'd say it was a pretty interesting experience, being able to use a beta of the XO. It's hard for me to judge how a child in the developing world might fare with one - I am of course an old master at computers, with experience across a wide variety of operating systems and deep knowledge of how the devices work. But it didn't seem very hard get it do things - certainly not as opaque as the windows hierarchical start menu."