HP's Ubuntu Netbook interface now available

There are a lot of Netbooks on the market that are more or less the same, save for some cosmetic details. One of the Netbooks that manages to stand out from the pack is the HP Mini 1000 MIE, which sports a custom interface that sits on top of the Ubuntu Linux operating system.

HP now plans to make that interface available to the public, according to Download Squad. Netbook prices can be cut way down when they don't have Windows installed, which is why HP offers a Linux option. The MIE interface is intended to shield users from having to interact with Linux, according to HP. It's a dashboard-like system that has buttons for music, photos, videos, IM, and Web search.

It looks like the MIE download will work with other HP Netbooks, but it's unclear whether that will also include non-HP Netbooks.

Via CNET News

Hitachi makes new eco-friendly hard drive

Hitachi on Wednesday joined the crowd of green-storage vendors with its fourth generation of the CinemaStar hard-drive family.

The new drive features Hitachi's EcoTrac Classification. This means it's halogen-free and has very low power consumption. The new CinemaStar features a read/write power specification of 1.4W--a reduction of 22 percent compared to previous models.

Other that that, this is a 2.5-inch (laptop) SATA hard drive that has the spinning speed of 5,400 rpm, which is popular though slower than the 7,200 rpm of some higher-end drives.

According to Hitachi, its new CinemaStar hard drive is best suited for digital video applications that require compact design and low power usage, such as slim digital video recorders, set-top boxes, and surveillance systems.
Read more »

ASUS S101H coming to Asia

The premium Netbook from ASUS just got a new brother, and this sibling comes with the gift of a magnetic storage platter.

When the ASUS Eee PC S101 was first launched, it was considered an oxymoron as it brought the low-cost Netbook line to new price point highs. With it's exceptionally slim body and solid-state storage (SSD), the S101 targets the fashion crowd who are less concerned about performance than about getting a good-looking laptop at an affordable price. The new Eee PC S101H ditches the SSD for a conventional 160GB harddisk which provides more storage at a lower price. But in return, this adds a little more heft to the unit. Moreover, care must be taken that you do not subject this model to violent shakes or drop it while in use, as it may cause the reader head to scratch the magnetic platter and result in data corruption.

ASUS has confirmed that this unit will be hitting Asia markets some time in the first quarter of this year, though pricing details have yet to be finalized.

Survey: Demand for Apple notebooks declining

Apple's Mac division was able to withstand recessionary pressures last quarter by neutralizing a decline in desktop sales with a sharp rise in notebook sales. Will it continue?

A new survey released by ChangeWave makes it clear that despite a relatively strong first quarter, Apple is not out of the woods yet. Of respondents planning to buy a notebook in the next 90 days, the percentage of those planning to buy an Apple notebook fell six percentage points to 28 percent, as compared with November's survey.

The overall percentage of respondents planning to buy a notebook fell from 8 percent in November to 6 percent, so it's not just Apple that's feeling the pinch. And consumer electronics spending is on the wane as well, with the percentage of those planning to spend more on consumer tech over the next 90 days falling to a two-and-a-half-year low.
Read more »

Apple delays 17-inch MacBook Pro shipments

Apple is going to need a little more time to get its new 17-inch MacBook Pro out the door.

Last week Apple updated its order page for the new MacBook Pro unveiled at Macworld 2009 to reflect a shipping lead time of 7 to 10 days. But AppleInsider now reports that those who preordered the systems from Apple have been told not to expect their systems before February 19.

Apple didn't provide an exact explanation for the delay but told customers via email that "wrapping up the new 17-inch MacBook Pro is taking a few days longer than we projected", according to AppleInsider. The company had promised to ship the new systems by the end of January when it first announced the notebooks.

Via CNET News

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