Crave

Hewlett-Packard's new back-to-school campaign, dubbed Declare Yourself with HP, isn't your typical laptop sales promotion. It probably could be used instead as a case study of how members of Generation Y tend to gravitate toward products that inflate their egos.

The online campaign, which rolled out this week in partnership with Viacom's MTV Networks, enables users to "declare" their goals with one-line summaries. HP is "hoping that this promotion will help (students) set obtainable goals that will help further personal growth."

Obtainable goals, eh? Let's check out some of the goals my generation has declared: "I will meet the Jonas Brothers," "I will eat more cheese," and "I will be on the red carpet."

Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that.

(Credit: Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET)

With its large presence on the Internet, Generation Y has changed the way consumer companies like HP market their products. Even domain names have seen a change: YouTube, MySpace. Apple, too, has caught on to Gen Y's "me, me, me" trait, naming its digital-music player the iPod and rebranding its .Mac service MobileMe.

But back to the HP campaign. After users publish their goal, they can browse through the declarations of others and give them a thumbs-up approval rating.

Sound familiar? The concept of posting one's thoughts and receiving positive feedback isn't anything new. The Facebook feed works in a very similar way, giving users the option to show that they "like" their friends' status updates.

To be fair, let's cut the Gen Ys some slack--there are many declarations on the HP site that relate to volunteering, caring for others, and being a better person. However, it's the declarations like "I will destroy the competition" and "I will become famous before 2012" that leave me feeling pessimistic about the millennials' future.

(Credit: HP)

A crease can ruin (or sometimes improve) an often-irreplaceable printed photograph. But new research from HP Labs points toward a future where this is much less of a problem.

Scientists at HP have developed a technique to detect creases in photographs using standard, unmodified flatbed scanners. Once correctly scanned into a computer, software can determine where the photograph's defect is, and artificially correct it to remove any trace of a crease or fold.

How does it work?

On the surface, the technique appears relatively simple. Most flatbed scanners use two separate lightbulbs to accurately capture all the color in a photo. By controlling these independently of each other, two slightly different images (each taken from different directions as the bulbs move under the photo) can be captured of the same photograph. From these, rudimentary 3D information can be generated.

With the defect--a crease in our example--identified, software can artificially mask it entirely. Known as "infilling," each pixel inside the scanned crease is replaced by a new one generated from pixels just outside of the crease. The software makes sure the two pixels are similar, to avoid sticking a giant red pixel in the middle of a bunch of green ones.... Read more

HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web.

(Credit: HP)

HP on Monday introduced the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web, believed to be the world's first Web-connected printer with a touch screen. I had a chance to get an exclusive look at the new device, and I'm really impressed with HP's effort to reinvigorate the printer as the central hub in the digital home.

The Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web is poised to become HP's flagship printer when it's released in September. It's got all the common features we now expect to find in an HP Photosmart All-in-One, including printer/fax/copier/scanner, USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Ethernet, Bluetooth connectivity, HP's paper feed technology that automatically senses the size of media needed to a complete a job, five individual ink cartridges, and the ability to print screenshots directly from a PlayStation 3.

The real crowning feature, however, is the TouchSmart Web control panel that lets users connect to the Web and use custom apps from services like Fandango, Google, and Coupons Inc.

The massive 4.33-inch LCD touch screen is by far the largest display I've ever seen on a printer, and it's not just for looks--it actually has a purpose. ... Read more

Hewlett-Packard, maker of printers and other stuff that sits in your office not being terribly interesting, is working on an intelligent social-network application for your mobile phone, called Friendlee.

Friendlee keeps track of who you interact with the most, and organizes your friends list in that order. Status updates show what those contacts are up to, as well as the local time and whether their phone is on, off, or set to silent. You'll even be able to see where your contacts are, similar to Google Latitude. You, like your contacts, will be able to control who can see your information. The idea puts us in mind of Xobni, an e-mail plug-in that shows all sorts of fascinating--i.e. useless--stats about your e-mail contacts.

A BlackBerry prototype of Friendlee was previewed at this year's Wireless Enterprise Symposium, and the app is currently being tested at HP's Palo Alto, Calif., social computing lab, according to the BBC. The research team, headed by Professor Bernardo Huberman, analyzed interaction via Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, and came to the conclusion that your phone is more interested in direct, reciprocal contact than building a giant circle of friends. We could have told you that--can we have a research grant to mess about on Twitter as well, please?

Huberman and friends will present the app at the Mobile HCI conference in Bonn, Germany, in mid-September. Friendlee currently runs on Windows Mobile and Google Android. One of the most interesting-looking features is a recommendation engine that lets your close contacts recommend and give advice on businesses and people. Yes, people, "both socially and professionally." Now that sounds like fun.

(Source: Crave UK)

Verizon Wireless will start selling Netbook computers from Hewlett-Packard starting Sunday, the company said in a statement released Thursday.

As previously reported by the Boy Genius Report, the HP Mini 1151NR Netbook will be priced at $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and will require users sign a two-year service agreement for wireless broadband services.

Verizon Wireless will begin selling the HP Mini 1151NR Netbook on Sunday.

(Credit: Verizon Wireless)

Verizon is sticking with its current 3G wireless pricing. But it has increased the amount of data downloads per month for its lowest tier of service. Now subscribers will be able to get the $40 a month plan with 250 Megabytes of data per month. Previously, the $40 a month plan only offered 50 MB of data downloads per month. The overage charge on this plan has been reduced to 10 cents per megabyte over the limit. Previously, the company charged 25 cents per megabyte for overages.

The $60 a month plan will still offer a maximum of 5GB of data, but Verizon has reduced the overage price to 5 cents per megabyte over the 5GB limit, instead of the 25 cents it previously charged.

Verizon is also offering a Mobile Broadband DayPass for $15. This day pass gives users access to the Internet for 24 hours and can be purchased for any Verizon certified mobile device that is purchased at full retail price without a monthly service plan, the company said.

The modifications to the data plan are a sign that Verizon is trying to add more value to its wireless broadband service. But at these hefty prices, many consumers may still find the price of the two-year service contracts too stiff.

With the current pricing, Verizon Netbook users can expect to spend $1,160 to $1,640 during the life of the contract for the service and Netbook, depending on which plan they choose. (This doesn't include taxes or fees.) HP's Mini 1000 Netbooks only cost about $300 without a 3G service contract.

Verizon Wireless's international data plan is even more expensive. The device can access wireless broadband on both CDMA and GSM wireless networks in more than 175 destinations worldwide, the company said. And with a SIM card, GlobalAccess customers can sign up for one of two service plans.

They can get the GlobalAccess Monthly plan, which costs $130 a month for 100 MB worth of data downloads per month in more than 30 select international destinations. This same plan allows for 5 GB of downloads per month in the U.S. and Canada. All other destinations are charged pay-per-use rates.

The second option for globetrotters looking to stay connected with their Netbooks is the Global Access Pay Per Use plan, which allows subscribers of the $60 a month mobile broadband plan in the U.S. to get special rates on international usage. The Pay Per Use rate is $0.002 per kilobyte in Canada, $0.005 per KB in Mexico, and $0.02 KB in more than 175 other destinations.

At steep prices like these, Verizon may find more success letting consumers buy their own Netbooks and signing them up for individual $15 day passes.

Verizon Wireless is poised to sell at least one Netbook in the next few months, according to reports in Bloomberg and TheStreet.com.

Both outlets cite unnamed sources, but Bloomberg's source, said to be someone close to the project at Verizon, says a partnership is being negotiated with more than one PC maker. No word on what the service contract for a Netbook from Verizon would entail.

Is Verizon getting ready to sell 3G-enabled Netbooks?

(Credit: Dell)

Currently, Verizon doesn't sell a 3G-enabled Netbook, but chief rival AT&T does. AT&T sells Acer Netbooks for $99 with service through RadioShack, and also sells Dell Mini Inspirons through the wireless provider's Web site. Though Verizon isn't confirming the report, a move to sell Netbooks is widely seen as a way to keep up with its rival.

The report suggests Verizon is working with more than one PC vendor, and Dell seems like an obvious candidate as one of them, though a Dell representative did not have an immediate comment. Dell already has a relationship with Verizon parent company Vodafone, which has sold Dell Netbooks in Europe since September 2008.

So who could be the other Netbook maker? A similar rumor floated around the Web last week regarding HP hooking up with Verizon. HP had no comment, but provided a statement from Kevin Frost, HP's general manager of consumer notebooks: "It's natural for carriers the world over to be interested in HP's broad portfolio of thin and light minis. We are talking with carriers all over the world. We are talking with carriers all over the world."

Netbooks are the fastest-growing category of PCs in the last year. Starting from virtually zero in late 2007, 10 million Netbooks were shipped by the end of 2008, accounting for 7 percent of all portable PCs shipped.

The limited capability of Netbooks is also intended to be their appeal: they're basically good for getting online and doing light word processing. But their small size makes them easily transportable, and having the ability to access the Web easily and from anywhere only increases their value. Though the bundled Internet-service model has failed in the U.S. in the past, our reliance on the Web makes it seem like this model could fare better this time around.

Storefront.com uses HP TouchSmart PCs to demonstrate its own photo kiosk software.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

LAS VEGAS--Yes, this is a camera show, but as the PCs reporter, I couldn't help but notice that Hewlett-Packard had a distinct presence outside its own booth here.

Several companies were using HP's touch-screen desktop PC, the TouchSmart, loaded with their own software to let PMA attendees try out photo-printing solutions, and retail store kiosk software.

Digilabs, which makes free software for printing photo books and calendars, was using the touch-screen desktop to demonstrate its software. DNP Photo also had TouchSmarts in its booth to show how its Tomo software works. Tomo lets users upload photos online at home and then print them at a retail location.

Also spied was Storefront.com, which had a half-dozen TouchSmarts available for use. Storefront.com makes software for retail store printing kiosks as well, and is hardware-neutral, according to a representative for the company. It's the first time Storefront.com has used the TouchSmart to demo its product, but the employee said they're likely to use it again since it's "relatively cheap" compared with commercial kiosks.

A Digilabs employee shows his company's software on the TouchSmart PC.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

It's certainly not "relatively cheap" for a desktop PC. HP has heavily promoted the TouchSmart as a family PC, for use in rooms like the kitchen by suburban moms. Desktops in general are a dying form factor for PC makers, so maybe this consumer-oriented computer has a chance at a second career as a commercial PC.

The HP MIE Ubuntu interface is intended to shield users from having to interact with Linux.

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

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.

Hewlett-Packard has decided to offer people in the United States money in exchange for their old tech equipment, the company announced Tuesday.

The PC maker has had a recycling program for years that lets consumers determine the value of their old tech equipment, then receive a credit for that value toward a new HP or Compaq brand product.

This new recycling program does not require people to buy anything to realize a monetary gain from giving HP their old tech equipment, though they are responsible for postage when mailing in the item. The shipping costs associated with a "Premium Service," in which FedEx picks up the old electronics, are taken out of HP's check to the consumer.

Some green-spring news during this gray winter: an old Dell Inspiron will garner a check of about $60 through HP's expanded recycling program.

(Credit: Candace Lombardi)

HP calls its new program the HP Consumer Buyback and Planet Partners Recycling Program. The program offers money in exchange for any brand of PC, monitor, printer, digital camera, or smartphone that HP determines still has some sort of value. It's part of HP's effort to recycle 2 billion pounds of electronic junk by 2010. As of now, the company has recycled more than 1 billion pounds of e-waste.

It's like Antiques Roadshow for techies, only you don't have to go to the fair to find out what your attic junk is worth.

HP has a quote Web site for the buyback program that lets consumers input the specs of their old tech equipment and receive a free instant quote.

In testing out the system, I discovered that HP offers examples from a drop-down menu, but will also accept items that have been modified, and it offers a place to put in the modified configuration and evaluate it. For example, I found that an old Dell Inspiron notebook with a 20GB hard drive, 256 MB of RAM, a Pentium III M 1.0GHz processor, and loaded with Windows XP Professional is worth about $60.

If your tech junk is determined by the online tool to have no value, you're out of luck for financial gain, but if it's an HP or Compaq brand product, you can still opt to mail it to HP for recycling.

I took it one step further and tested out the value of the same old Dell laptop against HP's U.S. trade-in recycling program, which is another option for consumers. On trade-in, the same old Dell Inspiron gets me an $86 credit.

Given this economy, I'd say it's worth your time to look up the value of your electronic junk on HP's site and make that trip to the post office.