Hardware

Acer has announced that its popular and ultra-powerful Ferrari One notebook will soon rev stateside, and it'll be packing both plenty of hardware muscle and Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 7. At 3.31 pounds, the Acer Ferrari One notebook ... doesn't weigh much more than a standard netbook. However, not only does it boast a larger screen than most netbooks (an 11.6-inch high definition LED backlit display) -- it also packs far more under the hood with a dual dual-core 1.2 GHz Athlon 64 X2 processor, 4GB of DDR2 667 MHz memory, a 250GB hard drive, and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 ... (view more)

Much interest was generated by readers over the story on Apple's rumored Black Friday deals ; as such, we're upping the ante with a larger list of super bargains rumored to hit stores this weekend. Best Buy's $197 HP PC Number one on the list may be ... a sub-$200 Hewlett-Packard laptop offered by big box retailer Best Buy. Packing 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4GB), a 160GB hard drive, wireless, 15.6-inch screen and running Microsoft's new Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) operating system, this Celeron-powered PC should generate lots of interest amongst consumers hoping to stick an affordable ... (view more)

A new, simplified desktop computer aimed at older people unfamiliar with PCs and the Internet has been unveiled. SimplicITy only has 6 buttons that direct users to basic tasks like email and chat. It comes preloaded with 17 video tutorials from ... Valerie Singleton, a television presenter. According to government figures, there are more than 6 million people over the age of 65 who have never used the Internet. SimplicITy produces the specialty PCs in partnership with Wessex Computers and discount-age. It takes users two weeks to receive their made-to-order computers. SimplicITy: No Log-in Screen ... (view more)

Worldwide shipments of netbooks are expected to double this year, despite sales of other portable computers being set to flatline. It appears the growth is down to cost, with many buying netbooks as second machines. The forecast comes from ... researchers DisplaySearch, which expects netbook shipments to rise from 16.4 million last year to 32.7 million. Shipments are the number of computers sent to retailers and are a common method of measuring "sales" as they are easier to track. The firm had been predicting 27.5 million netbook shipments this year but has revised that figure based on ... (view more)

Is it just me, or does it seem strange that netbooks are getting bigger? The slim, lightweight, and reasonably powerful sub-10" laptops that have captured the hearts of penny-pinching Americans mired in a recession are steadily growing outwards from ... their 7" and 8.9" roots. HP started the trend with the release of its 10.2" HP Mini 1010 last year. Boasting a 92% full size keyboard, the Mini matched smaller netbooks in power while adding a much-needed punch of size and style. Unfortunately, the Mini costs just under $500 in most places, making it a runner-up to the cheaper Acer Aspire One ... (view more)

It's been some time since we had a massive laptop battery scare; breaking the stalemate is computer hardware giant Hewlett-Packard, which recently announced a recall of some 70,000 notebook battery packs for PCs across both the United States and ... Canada. The recall was issued on Thursday, May 14th, and includes lithium-ion batteries HP worries could overheat, "posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers." A Familiar Issue for HP In a report submitted by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, HP and Health Canada revealed that in at least two instances batteries " ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Kim' writes: " Dear Dennis, I am studying photography and I need an easy to use external harddrive (HD) to store lots of memory. Could you please suggest a good exterior hard drive. By the way, what is the difference between ... eSATA, Firewire and USB external HDs? " My Response: There is an easy answer to your question, but let's first break down the basics to better understand what your options are. Acronyms: eSATA, USB, and Firewire: What does it mean? USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. eSATA stands for Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. Firewire is not an acronym ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Rick M. writes: " Dear Infopackets, I really enjoyed your article that compared 32 bit vs 64 bit (CPU / Operating Systems); however, I did notice the article was dated back in 2006. Is there a later evaluation of the 32bit versus ... 64bit? I'm in the market for a new computer and want to make sure the programs on my 32 bit Windows XP will work on a 64 bit of Vista. If so, where do I find it? " My response: If you are looking for a new computer, one of the biggest decisions that you will have to make is whether to go with a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system. On the surface it ... (view more)

An interesting little piece of hardware promises to eliminate wasted upload time when sharing computer files, while reducing stresses associated with forgetfulness. The Pogoplug is a simple device that remotely accesses and shares files on a home ... computer over the Internet. Users connect the Pogoplug to their home network router (via an Ethernet cable), plug in a USB hard drive into Pogoplug, and the device pretty much does the rest. Leave Your Flash Drive and Worry at Home Since the files from your home hard drive are accessible via the Internet, forgetful people never again have to worry ... (view more)

Let's face it, the most infuriating part of owning a laptop computer is a dead or dying battery. It seems no matter how long a battery lasts, it's never quite long enough. Take heart, notebook users: Hewlett-Packard has now released batteries that ... it promises will never lose their capacity. Well, let me correct that: they certainly won't last forever. Instead, HP says they won't lose their capacity over the lifetime of the notebook, which it believes should be around three years. Given that many of us use our laptops much longer than three years (hey, not all tech people embrace change), HP ... (view more)