Computers and hardware

So what happens the day after Windows Vista is available to consumers? Will you still be able to buy a laptop or desktop with Windows XP, or are you going to be forced to upgrade with a new computer purchase? We polled system vendors, including Gateway, HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Lenovo, and the answer is unanimous across the board.

According to every system builder we talked to, starting with Vista's January 30 launch, systems aimed at consumers will include only the new operating system, with no option for sticking with XP.

On the other hand, business users (or consumers … Read more

Laptop docking stations have always been a bit on the awkward side, requiring you to slide your laptop into the dock, properly lining up the connectors. Usually, we end up banging the pieces together for a few seconds until they fit.

Toshiba showed us a new docking station for the company's Portege R400 Windows Vista convertible tablet that takes care of a lot of the limitations of traditional laptop docks. The wireless Ultra Wide Band Toshiba Wireless Port Replicator connects to the R400 automatically whenever it's within a few feet. It's not the first wireless dock we'… Read more

Some of the coolest products at CES are destined never to make it onto store shelves or into homes. They're prototypes and mock-ups, designed to test new features or solicit industry feedback.

Fujitsu had a series of mobile PC prototypes on the show floor, each highlighting some interesting technology that may eventually trickle into mainstream consumer products.

One prototype was called the Ultra Mobile 2007. It's about the size of Mac Mini and is a handheld touch screen UMPC. Fujitsu describes it as, "A futuristic interpretation of an ultraportable tablet PC, fully operable via touch screen, a … Read more

Looking to upgrade the weak graphics of your otherwise rockin' laptop? Before you rip apart the machine to get to its innards in what will most likely result in a failed attempt for more frames per second, take a peek at the Asus XG Station. That's X for external, and G for graphics--the world's first external graphics-card solution for laptops. The XG Station connects via an ExpressCard slot and houses a x16 PCI Express graphics card and a sound card that supplies 5.1 Dolby audio. Asus will ship the XG Station with a GeForce 7900GS card, and … Read more

We really liked the recent 15.4-inch Gateway NX570 laptop. It was a highly configurable system that could run anywhere from $699 to almost $2,000, but the brushed metal accents and fingerprint-resistant design made it seem like a much more expensive system than you'd expect based on its low starting price.

The sequel keeps a lot of what we liked about the original but shrinks it down to a 14-inch package. The more-portable Gateway NX270 (replacing the NX260) should be available February 1, right after the Windows Vista launch and will have a similarly affordable starting price--$699--and … Read more

Zyxel's new NSA-220 NAS drive plus media server offers two empty drive bays so that you can bring your own SATA drives, up to 1.5TB. The drives can be arranged in a RAID-0 or RAID-1 array, and the included Memeo software lets you set up autobackup of your data. Two USB ports let you connect additional hard drives or thumbdrives, and a "copy" button allows you to quickly duplicate the contents of an external drive (or an MP3 player or digital camera) to the NAS-220 without touching your PC.

Aside from acting as a repository for … Read more

At CES 2007, Zyxel announced the DMA-1000, a digital media adapter for serving up multimedia files from the PCs in your home to your home entertainment system. The small adapter resembles a wireless router and, in fact, supports both wired and wireless connections via Ethernet and 802.11g Wi-Fi. In addition, it offers a USB port so that you can play files from any USB-based storage device, such as a flash thumbdrive or an MP3 player.

The DMA-1000 supports high-def streaming (1080i) and includes an HDMI connector, as well as S-Video. Unfortunately, 802.11g throughput is insufficient for HD streams, … Read more

At CES 2007, AMD announced a plan to standardize the motherboard, chassis and basic components for those popular "small-form-factor" PCs. The goal of its new DTX standard is to help component and system makers focus on common layouts for motherboard inputs, mounting holes and other design elements to encourage more companies to carry Shuttle-style and even smaller PCs. Motherboard manufacturers Asus and MSI have already committed to producing DTX hardware, and AMD expects to send a reference design to system builders some time this quarter.

If you recall Intel's BTX initiative, you'll remember that it was … Read more

Putting Ohio State's poor showing last night in the BCS Championship game behind them, Ohio-based Micro Center had a few Vista desktop and laptop prototypes on display at CES. The big news on its PowerSpec desktop line is the addition of a Lian Li chassis for its high-end gaming PCs. The Lian Li chassis is an all-aluminum, tool-free unit that will be used on two highest-end models, the G450 and the G430. Lian Li makes some of the best PC enclosures around, and it should help the PowerSpec name garner some respect among gamers.

Likewise, Micro Center's WinBook … Read more