August 12, 2008 | Dean Takahashi
Dell could really use a comeback. It has lost its luster in computing to the likes of Apple and Hewlett-Packard. So it struck back today with 10 new laptops, most of them new versions of its Latitude business laptops with as many as 19 hours of battery life. (OK, more like 10 hours of battery life; see below.)
The new computers use Intel’s new Centrino 2 chip sets which introduce built-in WiMax, a high-speed wireless networking technology that promises much wider ranges for connectivity compared with Wi-Fi. Jeff Clarke, senior vice president of Dell’s business group, said at a press conference in San Francisco that Dell spent two years designing the laptops and went through more than 3,200 prototypes. It used a kind of crowdsourcing for its design, soliciting ideas through its Ideastorm web site and working with more than 4,000 customers to design it.
Welcome to the Web 2.0 era of computer design. The laptops are aimed at a class of users dubbed “digital nomads,” who want to be connected anywhere they go. The company even started a blog site, digitalnomads.com, to target those users.
The new laptops include seven Latitude business laptops and three Dell Precision workstation laptops. The laptops actually have 9 hours and 45 minutes of battery life and an extra battery, dubbed a “battery slice,” that can be plugged in at the same time to deliver nine more hours. But the battery slice costs extra.
The Latitudes range from a 2.2 “ultramobile” version with a 13-inch screen to high-end laptops with bigger screens. All come with a backlit keyboard to see it in the dark. Other features include a magnesium alloy case, a built-in webcam and microphone, a lock-down system that protects a hard drive if the laptop is dropped, and the ability to track down or disable a laptop if it is stolen. It also has fingerprint readers and security features such as the “control vault” processor and memory technology that stores your identity and credentials on protected hardware. On the smallest ultramobile laptops, Dell will offer something new for a business laptop: color choices such as pink, red, blue and black. Dell is including global positioning system (GPS) capability as an option for the laptops.
Later this year, the company will also have the ability to boot to a virtual compartment, using hardware already built into some of the models. This gives it the ability to get on the Internet instantly or access your email immediately without waiting to boot the complete Windows operating system. Clarke said it will be available as a software upgrade before the end of the year. The prices range from $800 to $1,400; those are starting points for the various models of Latitudes.
I’m not sure this is going to do it for Dell. It’s starting to look like the differentiation in this space is based on the tiniest of differences: my colors are better than yours; I can figure out how to deliver more battery life than the other guy using similar components; I can protect a dropped or stolen laptop better. You get the point.
source:/venturebeat.com/2008/08/12/dell-launches-series-of-new-business-laptops-with-up-to-19-hours-of-battery-life/
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Best Computer Interfaces: Past, Present, and Future
Say goodbye to the mouse and hello to augmented reality, voice recognition, and geospatial tracking.
By Duncan Graham-Rowe | Monday, April 06, 2009 |
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Computer scientists from around the world will gather in Boston this week at Computer-Human Interaction 2009 to discuss the latest developments in computer interfaces. To coincide with the event, we present a roundup of the coolest computer interfaces past, present, and future.
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| Multitouch screen: Microsoft’s Surface is an example of a multitouch screen.
Credit: Microsoft | ||
| Multimedia
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The Command Line
The granddaddy of all computer interfaces is the command line, which surfaced as a more effective way to control computers in the 1950s. Previously, commands had to be fed into a computer in batches, usually via a punch card or paper tape. Teletype machines, which were normally used for telegraph transmissions, were adapted as a way for users to change commands partway through a process, and receive feedback from a computer in near real time.
Video display units allowed command line information to be displayed more rapidly. The VT100, a video terminal released by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1978, is still emulated by some modern operating systems as a way to display the command line.
Graphical user interfaces, which emerged commercially in the 1980s, made computers much easier for most people to use, but the command line still offers substantial power and flexibility for expert users.
The Mouse
Nowadays, it's hard to imagine a desktop computer without its iconic sidekick: the mouse.
Developed 41 years ago by Douglas Engelbart at the Stanford Research Institute, in California, the mouse is inextricably linked to the development of the modern computer and also played a crucial role in the rise of the graphic user interface. Engelbart demonstrated the mouse, along with several other key innovations, including hypertext and shared-screen collaboration, at an event in San Francisco in 1968.
Early computer mouses came in a variety of shapes and forms, many of which would be almost unrecognizable today. However, by the time mouses became commercially available in the 1980s, the mold was set. Three decades on and despite a few modifications (including the loss of its tail), the mouse remains relatively unchanged. That's not to say that companies haven't tried adding all manner of enhancements, including a mini joystick and an air ventilator to keep your hand sweat-free and cool.
Logitech alone has now sold more than a billion of these devices, but some believe that the mouse is on its last legs. The rise of other, more intuitive interfaces may finally loosen the mouse's grip on us.
The Touchpad
Despite stiff competition from track balls and button joysticks, the touchpad has emerged as the most popular interface for laptop computers.
With most touchpads, a user's finger is sensed by detecting disruptions to an electric field caused by the finger's natural capacitance. It's a principle that was employed as far back as 1953 by Canadian pioneer of electronic music Hugh Le Caine, to control the timbre of the sounds produced by his early synthesizer, dubbed the Sackbut.
The touchpad is also important as a precursor to the touch-screen interface. And many touchpads now feature multitouch capabilities, expanding the range of possible uses. The first multitouch touchpad for a computer was demonstrated back in 1984, by Bill Buxton, then a professor of computer design and interaction at the University of Toronto and now also principle researcher at Microsoft.
The Multitouch Screen
Mention touch screen computers, and most people will think of Apple's iPhone or Microsoft's Surface. In truth, the technology is already a quarter of a century old, having debuted in the HP-150 computer in 1983. Long before desktop computers became common, basic touch screens were used in ATMs to allow customers, who were largely computer illiterate, to use computers without much training.
source:technologyreview.com/computing/22393/page1/
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