Lenovo updates Netbook line: Meet the IdeaPad S10-2

We were impressed with the recent six-cell battery upgrade for Lenovo's S10 Netbook, and now the company (most famous for the ThinkPad line of business laptops) has announced a bigger revamp.

The Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2 (well, it's transparency in product naming, if nothing else) will be slightly thinner and lighter than the original, starting at 1kg and 18mm thickness. There's a new patterned design on the lids, available in white, black, pink, or grey.

We recently got a sneak peek at the new S10-2, and the most notable improvement was probably the tweaked keyboard, which has a larger right-shift key--usually the trickiest part of designing a Netbook keyboard.

Inside, you'll find the same Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, and 160GB hard drive, plus the quick-launch Splashtop interface and VeriFace facial-recognition software we found on the most recent S10.
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Upcoming Mac OS X gets a little friendlier with Windows

Unless you fork out for third-party virtualization software like Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion, you'll quickly find a disadvantages of using the free Mac OS X Boot Camp. And that is that the Windows partition is unable to access Mac files, and vice versa. This is due to the fact that both operating systems use different file formats that are incompatible with each other.

Though the upcoming Mac OS X Snow Leopard will not break down this wall, at the very least, it will create a window between the OS barrier. By integrating Windows HFS+ drivers, Snow Leopard allows the user to boot into Windows and still read files on the Mac OS X partition. Previously, you would have required paid third-party software such as Mediafour MacDrive to accomplish the same task. Unfortunately, it is unclear if Snow Leopard will allow writing and editing of documents directly on the Mac OS X partition.

Via MacRumors

Google conducting Netbook usability study

Google is soliciting Netbook users for a usability study, as rumors of Android-powered Netbooks continue to grow.

Google posted an ad on Craigslist seeking Netbook users to participate in a Google-hosted study on Netbook usability next week. The company plans to ask participants to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and it will pay them US$75 in American Express gift checks for an hour of their time.

CEO Eric Schmidt would not confirm persistent rumors that various PC companies are studying the use of Google's mobile operating system Android on Netbooks. But he did say that "the Netbook phenomenon looks very real" and that Google needs to make sure its various Web services work on Netbooks as those devices grow.
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Microsoft confirms Windows 7 coming this year

Microsoft confirmed that it is planning to release Windows 7 this year, in time for the holiday shopping season.

"We are tracking well to a Windows 7 holiday," Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said in an interview with ZDNET. Veghte plans to make a similar statement in a speech at Microsoft's TechEd event in Los Angeles. As recently as January, Veghte was saying publicly that such a release was not a sure thing.

At the event, Microsoft is also announcing it plans to wrap up work on an update to its server operating system--Windows Server 2008 R2--at the same time it finishes Windows 7 on the desktop side. Microsoft issued a release candidate for the server operating system last month, alongside the near-final version of Windows 7.
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Gecko Netbook runs off AA batteries

On the surface, the 8.9-inch Gecko EduBook is just another boring blip in the history of Netbooks. However, the true beauty of this device lies under the hood.

Instead of an Intel Atom chipset which has become the de facto standard for this category, the EduBook sports an Xcore86 chip based on the SOC (System on Chip) architecture. SOC combines a 1.0GHz processor, RAM and mainboard onto a tiny module small enough to fit inside a handheld. Sipping only 1.2 watts, this allows the Netbook to run off eight NiMH AA-sized batteries for up to 4 hours, though there is a lithium-ion option with a 6-hour uptime. By using store-bought AA cells, this allows the Netbook to be used in rural areas where electricity might get spotty.

Word is the Gecko EduBook will be launched at computer expo Computex Taipei this June and retail for under US$200. In the meantime, you can learn more about the EduBook in the video after the jump.
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