Category: Computers (Page 4 of 33)

Eric Schmidt: No Chrome OS netbooks for the holidays

November 23, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

According to Google’s CEO, Chrome OS won’t be ready to go in notebooks until after the holiday. It’s a bummer, really, because the OS release could produce a glut of development from app makers looking to make web versions of their current software.

The OS was originally supposed launch well before the holidays, then it was pushed back to late November, now it’s looking like we won’t see it until next year, outside of beta anyway. Google says it will have more to share later in the year. Guess what, guys. It is later in the year. It’s very late in the year in fact, so just tell us it won’t be ready until next year. That’s all we need to know.

Several manufacturers have held a “no comment” status on launching Chrome netbooks. That can’t be a good thing. I figured there would be some excitement about a slim new OS that won’t have the crazy licensing fees of Microsoft products. Really makes me wonder why the OS has caught a delay. Is Google having trouble partnering with manufacturers? Did they back out after agreeing to support the platform a year ago?

Computers, News

chrome chrome hardware chrome launch chrome netbooks chrome os chrome release google chrome netbook os operating systems web apps

Forget desktops, how about wall…tops

November 14, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

This is seriously cool. All you wannabe home computer builders can feast your eyes on this feat of human engineering. That’s right. Your desktop isn’t as cool as you thought. You want a cool computer? Dump the LED fans and build that bitch on your wall.

Via: Reddit

Computers

desktop home built computer home computer laptop led fans wall computer walltop computer

Browser update rate is surprisingly high

November 6, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

It’s no secret that internet technology advances much faster than most people can keep up. If you asked your average internet user, you can bet they would have no idea what HTML5 is, why it’s important, or what it means for the mobile web. Hell, they might not know what mobile web means.

That’s why this chart from Pingdom.com is so crazy. Look how many people are running the current versions of their browsers. Even though Chrome is a notoriously geeky browser, the 90 percent current version stat is impressive. I’m not willing to give credit to the users for most of this. I think we can all admit that the numbers would be much lower if users were totally responsible for the updates. Developers, on the other hand, have done a great job of encouraging updates or even background updating.

For some people, that’s a problem, but as technology gets more advanced, it becomes increasingly unlikely that the general population will understand it. Until we hit some sort of soft wall, where the next great leap will be like that of the silicon chip, we won’t likely see a general population of users who actually understand what the machine they’re using does. Why do you think your parents call you all the time about pop-ups? It’s because they click things without thinking and don’t understand that the “Whack the Fly!” game is actually an advertisement or a wormbait.

Computers, News

browser update browsers chrome firefox internet explorer modern adoption mozilla opera safari

New Macbook Air heralds the death of the disc

October 22, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Well, it looks like MG Siegler over at TechCrunch called it. Yesterday, Apple announced the new line of Macbook Air laptops and they’ll ship with the little number you see in the picture. That’s right, that’s your recovery drive.

It’s a miniature USB stick, packed with the data that would normally come on an Apple recovery disc. This isn’t a huge surprise – more like the natural evolution of data storage. DVDs replaced CDs a while back for their superior storage. Flash drives have long since surpassed DVD storage, but they’re still more expensive to make. By stripping away a lot of the plastic and limiting storage, I’d imagine the cost will come down enough that we’ll see this option more and more often.

Aside from the new recovery method, the new Air line is looking pretty good. It comes in 11-inch and 13-inch models and is ridiculously thin. Both models have the unibody design and now sport the multi-touch trackpad present on the Macbook line. For me, 11-inches is way too small, especially if it’s widescreen. My current 13-inch MB Pro often feels too small, if only because of resolution.

Apple, Computers, News

air laptop flash storage Macbook macbook air netbook nettop optical drives optical storage

Will optical drives soon die?

October 19, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I read this article over at TechCrunch the other day about the eventual demise of the optical drive. It rung home, not because I haven’t used my optical drive, but because I just used it this past weekend.

I had traveled back to Ohio for a friend’s wedding reception but ended up staying for more than two weeks as my girlfriend lost her grandmother. In the part of Ohio that she’s from there isn’t much to be had in the way of reliable internet. That meant no Netflix and no access to video I have stored on my network drive. I had to…watch DvDs. It was awful.

Seriously, though, using an optical drive can be kinda brutal. It’s hot, loud, and drains your battery much faster than spinning a hard drive does. It can’t be too long before we’ll see widespread adoption of driveless laptops like the Macbook Air. There is still something about that specific machine that makes me a little nervous, but I treat my current laptop with such care I don’t think a change would be too scary.

Computers, Digital Media

cd drive dvd drive old media optical optical drives optical media slow media