gOS's new Linux OS embraces Google applications

gOS--a company known for its debut in the US$199 Wal-Mart gPC and Netbooks--announced Wednesday the details of gOS 3 Gadgets, the newest version of its Linux operating system for consumers.

The San Francisco-based company made the announcement at LinuxWorld Expo.

The main feature of gOS 3 Gadgets is its ability to instantly launch Google Gadgets for Linux on start-up, allowing users access to more than 100,000 iGoogle and Google Gadgets applications. These applications, though graphically rich, are small enough to be added to the computer in seconds over an Internet broadband connection. The new operation system will also be loaded with WINE 1.0, Lightweight X Desktop Environment (LXDE), and other Google software for Linux to improve the user experience.

While WINE has been known to allows users to use thousands of Windows applications on Linux platform, LXDE is a renewed effort to develop more lightweight desktop applications for Linux environment. By supporting LXDE, gOS 3 Gadgets, apart from desktops, would also make a good choice for ultra small mobile laptops, which are generally suffer from having slow hard drives and processors.

In addition to Google Gadgets for Linux, gOS 3 Gadgets can also run other Google applications more well-known in Windows platform including Google Desktop, Google Picasa, Google Earth and Google Maps. In the new gOS 3 Gadgets, other Google's web-based applications such as Documents, Calendar, and Mail launch have a closer appearance and functionality to desktop applications than other platforms.

Via CNET Crave

Ready for a "high-end" Eee PC?

We first caught a glimpse of this model last week as part of a slide show on 23 new Eee PC models from Asus. Now the high-end Eee PC S101 has been spotted in real life, under the arm of Asus CEO Jerry Shen.

It's got a 10.2-inch screen, but the basic components are the same as those found in the current 9- and 10-inch versions of the Eee PC--the 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor and 945GME chipset, paired with a solid-state hard drive.

What makes this different from previous editions of the popular Netbook is its thin design--only marginally thicker than a MacBook Air at 21mm thick, and its SSD options, which reportedly go all the way up to a 64GB drive. That highest-end version pushes the boundaries of the Netbook category at US$899, and we hear that the S101 might end up losing the Eee brand altogether, to be better marketed as an upscale product.

Via CNET Crave

Asus Eee Stick looks very familiar

Asus has announced its first-ever motion control wireless joystick that the company is calling the Eee Stick. Now where have we seen this before? Ah that's right; it's almost an exact copy of the Remote/Nunchuk combination that you use with your Nintendo Wii. The Eee Stick uses a 2.4GHz RF USB dongle and requires two AA batteries for each controller.

The Eee Stick will allow you to "get into the swing of gaming" as it will be bundled with certain Eee PC and Eee Box products. While the Eee Stick will work with any PC, Asus recommends using it only with games designed for the device (which come packaged along with it). Unfortunately, there is no information about what any of these games are or what they actually look like.

The Eee Stick can operate in three modes: 3D Motion mode will emulate any movement along any axis on screen, Pointing mode will be used as a "light gun," and Tilt mode, which will sense movement forward, backward, and to the sides.

Via CNET Crave

Open-source gadgets at LinuxWorld

Attending LinuxWorld might be a first for us here at Crave. But I did want to head over to the expo, held at the Moscone Center here in San Francisco, to see Shuttle's latest mini desktop, the KPC K4800, live and in person.

Turns out there was more for us to see than we thought--bonus! Along with its just-released US$299 mini desktop, Shuttle also had the US$199 K4500 on display at the Foresight Linux booth. (Foresight actually created a custom OS just for Shuttle machines.) The KPC 4800 was hooked up to a new display Shuttle is offering.


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MSI updates GX gaming laptops

MSI, perhaps better known lately as the manufacturer of the Wind netbook, announced an update to its GX gaming series laptops on Monday. The 15.4-inch GX620 and 17.1-inch GX720 both incorporate Intel's new Centrino 2 platform, Nvidia's midrange 9600M GTS graphics, and up to 4GB of 800MHz RAM.

MSI has mellowed out the design of the GX series since we reviewed the flame-themed GX600 late last year. However, the GX620 and GX720 do keep the black alloy case and red accents of earlier editions. Like their predecessors, the new models also include MSI's Turbo Drive Engine, which can be activated by pressing the large round Turbo button above the keyboard. MSI claims that Turbo mode will increase the CPU's speed up to 15 percent and help the machine run more smoothly. (On the GX600 we did measure modest gains in performance when Turbo mode was engaged.)

New to these models is MSI's Eco Engine, which lets you choose among five different operating modes--Gaming, Movie, Presentation, Office, or Turbo Battery--to conserve battery life. Battery management programs like this are fairly standard on smaller laptops, which spend more time away from a wall socket, and we welcome the feature even on larger systems like these.

MSI has yet to reveal pricing or availability for the new laptops, but we expect to see that info on the company site soon.

Via CNET Crave

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