The Gizmo Report: an Eee PC in the house

I recently mentioned my plan to get the new Eee PC laptop from Asus in spite of a price hike just before the product was introduced. The Eee PC is basically a low-cost subnotebook intended for developing markets, like the One Laptop Per Child project's XO, which I've also written about here--but unlike the OLPC, the Eee PC will be regularly available in commercial channels.

Well, earlier this week, I found the gizmo for sale over on Newegg.com and placed my order. A mere $458.45 later, including California sales tax and two-day shipping, it was … Read more

IDF Fall 2007, part 7-- Ultra-Mobility keynote

I learned today that Intel has a Mobility Group and an Ultra Mobility Group. There's a sensible explanation for the difference: notebook PCs are defined as "mobile"; smaller systems are considered "ultra-mobile."

Intel further divides these ultra-mobile machines into two smaller classes: ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) and mobile Internet devices (MIDs). Traditionally, the former have 7" screens; the latter category goes all the way down to the tiny screens of smartphones.

Intel's Anand Chandrasekher, senior VP and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, took the stage for the second keynote of the day to talk about "Unleashing the Internet Experience."

His primary contention is that… Read more

IDF Fall 2007, part 6-- Mobility keynote

I'm not going to try liveblogging the keynotes today as I did yesterday. There's just never enough content in IDF keynotes to justify the effort.

The first keynote for Day 2 here at IDF was from Dadi Perlmutter, senior VP and general manager of Intel's Mobility Group. His theme was "Breaking the Barriers of Mobility."

He presented the results of a survey that showed the top needs of mobile computer users:… Read more

IDF Fall 2007, part 1-- Opening keynote

10:03 AM: That's it for the morning keynote. I'll be back later during the day with additional posts from other IDF sessions. (This post was delayed-- the WiFi did go away after all, just as the keynote was ending.)

10:01 AM: Otellini's last topic is "extreme inclusion." Now that there are a billion Internet-connected PCs, Intel is looking at how to support the next billion, and then the billion after that. He highlights Intel's efforts with the Classmate PC, which is its alternative to the One Laptop per Child-- although he shows the OLPC notebook on a slide as well. He also points out that the rest of the industry is working in this area.

09:57 AM: Otellini brings up Andrew Fanara, a manager of the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star team, to discuss the recent… Read more

Live from Hot Chips 19: Session 8, Mobile PC Processors

Now for the Mobile PC Processors session at Hot Chips. Previous Hot Chips installments covered networking, the Reed Hundt speech, AMD keynote, wireless networking, technology and software, process technology, multicore designs, IBM's Power 6 efforts, Vernor Vinge's keynote address, and Nvidia. Other CNET coverage may be found here. Comments are welcome!

Alas, there wasn't much… Read more

Hardware-based security ROCKS!

Intel recently hired Christopher Guest (of "This Is Spinal Tap" fame) to direct two music videos in support of a company ad campaign. (The videos are on YouTube, here and here.)

Genuine computer-security guru Bruce Schneier mentioned one of these videos in his blog (here), but apparently couldn't bring himself to comment further.

I covered security products for Microprocessor Report, and I've been following the subject for about 25 years. I even won a CNET-sponsored contest by writing about hardware-based computer security and got a free trip to speak at Esther Dyson's PC Forum 2005 (… Read more

What could you make from an iPhone?

Since the iPhone's June 29 launch, we've seen several teardown reports--some from professionals, some demonstrating more enthusiasm than skill, and some that are just awful (but funny).

What's inside? Well, you can read the details in reports from various analyst firms, but it breaks down like this:

A microprocessor A 3D graphics controller DRAM Flash memory An LCD A touch sensor A cell phone module Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controllers An audio chip A microphone and a speaker An accelerometer A camera module A SIM card Assorted other interfaces, connectors and buttons A lithium-ion battery Power-supply circuitry

All … Read more