Windows

Apple's new MacBook Pro line-up might be grabbing all the headlines with its new Thunderbolt port, but the claimed battery life pales into insignificance when compared to that offered by HP. When running on the company's new Ultra-Capacity Notebook battery, the HP EliteBook 8460p is said to be capable of running for up to 32 hours between charges. It's one of a number of business notebook releases announced by HP, so let's take a closer look...  Read More

In addition to the company's Slider PC7 computer, Samsung's high-end Series 9 laptop was one of the CES 2011 standouts that we wanted to go back and take a look at. Many have billed it as a Macbook Air killer, and though we wouldn't go quite that far, the comparison is certainly a valid one. The Series 9 sports a sleek design that will likely turn just as many heads as the afore-mentioned Cupertino competitor.  Read More

Having full-blown computers linked to a central server delivering applications to office workers is so last century. More and more businesses are choosing to deploy thin-client or virtual desktop solutions, where much of the storage and processing needs are met at the data center. Advantages often include low power draw at the user end, low maintenance, and minimal desktop footprint. Chip PC's Plug PC cross-platform thin client or virtual desktop computer solution offers maximum load power consumption of just 3W, is about the same size as a pack of cards, and benefits from a processor architecture that provides the equivalent of 1.8GHz x86 processing power.  Read More

Have you ever logged onto a shared computer and wished that you had access to your own desktop, your own programs and your own files? That's precisely what's being offered by the partnering of Super Talent's Express RAM Cache drive and Ceedo's virtual Windows desktop. Plugging into the drive of a host Windows PC and launching the application is said to provide SSD-like performance for launched programs and files. As all user settings and files are saved to the flash drive, there's no trace left on the machine used.  Read More

Twenty-five years ago this month, Microsoft released an extension to its Disk Operating System (DOS) that gave users a graphical, mouse controlled environment with which to interface with their computers. Bundled with the new setup were a few applications like a drawing program, a simple word processor, an appointment calendar and a clock. Each program could be launched in its own box - or window - and tiled around the display screen. It wasn't a noted success but marked the start of a technology snowball that sees Windows currently being used on nearly 90 per cent of the world's computers.  Read More

While rooftops are the obvious place to put solar cells to generate clean electricity for the home, we’ve seen a number of technologies aimed at expanding the potential solar collecting area to include windows using transparent solar cells. These include Octillion Corp’s NanoPower Window technology, RSi’s semi-transparent photovoltaic glass windows, and EnSol’s transparent thin film. In this latest development, U.S. scientists have fabricated a new type of self-assembling transparent thin film material that could boost the cost effectiveness and scalability of solar window production.  Read More

Tablets have become one of the hot topics of the 2010 on the back of Apple's all conquering iPad, but HP's new entry into the space has come about with next to zero fanfare. The new Windows-based HP Slate 500 isn't positioned as a rival to the iPad (in contrast to Samsung's Android-driven Galaxy Tab), instead it's aimed at "professionals who don’t usually work at a traditional desk, yet need to stay productive in a secure, familiar Windows environment."  Read More

Vacuum cleaning robots like the Roomba, LG Roboking, Electrolux Trilobyte and Neato XV-11 are already on dust patrol in countless homes around the world, saving people from untold hours of drudgery and aching backs. Now researchers at the Pohang Institute of Intelligent Robotics (PIRO) in South Korea have developed a robot that can handle the equally tedious – and often dangerous depending on which floor you live on – task of cleaning windows. Called Windoro, the robot consists of two separate modules that clean the window by spraying detergent and scrubbing away with a series of spinning pads.  Read More

Someone has apparently crunched the numbers and estimated that more than 100 million birds are killed every year due to collisions with glass surfaces – not to mention the untold numbers of beverages spilt by surprised people as a bird slams into a nearby window. Birds see the tree or sky reflected in a window or the environment behind the glazing, but not the glass itself. German company Glaswerke Arnold (or Arnold Glass) has come up with a simple way to prevent these collisions by producing a glass that appears normal to humans but is visible to birds.  Read More