skylights

A pair of the most-anticipated mobile computers from this year's CES show were Lenovo's U1 Hybrid and Skylight smartbook. Both ran a custom widget-based Linux OS (sometimes also called Skylight), and were powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU. But since then, both devices seem to have fallen off the map, and now we think we know why. Both systems are getting a software overhaul, jumping to the Android platform in search of better performance and more usability.

We've been hearing for some time that both systems were being tweaked far beyond their original expected Spring 2010 debuts, … Read more

The smartbook has yet to emerge from pre-product purgatory, though a couple of high-profile devices are due soon.

But first, let's try to define the smartbook. By some definitions it is simply a Netbook that runs Linux and uses processors based on a design from U.K.-based ARM, as opposed to Windows software and Intel chips, respectively. By another definition, it is all of the above but also an always-on, always-connected device, just like a smartphone. The latter definition is the one we'll use here because it's the original definition as provided by Qualcomm--a major smartbook … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Lenovo has made an impressive splash at this year's CES and the main halls haven't even opened up yet: its bold new takes on ultramobile notebooks--the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, Skylight, and IdeaPad S10-3t--have caused a big stir and bigger discussions as to whether each will perform as well as they look. In a one-on-one hands-on today, we got a chance to spend time with all three and their more buttoned-down IdeaPad S10-3, and our impressions are positive but mixed.

To start with, the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid is a fascinating idea. The sleek round notebook has … Read more

Do you believe in smartbooks yet? Smaller than Netbooks, running custom OSes and miniature smartphone processors, these newly-coined devices are supposed to offer the best of smartphone convenience with the form factor of a Netbook. They're ready to start appearing on the scene, and Lenovo has one of the first with their Skylight.

With a 10.1-inch screen, it's not exactly a supersmall device compared to an iPhone--but it is much thinner than nearly any Netbook. With built-in 3G and Wi-Fi, Lenovo promises a seamless browsing experience. The OS, however, is not Windows, or even Ubuntu: it's … Read more

Sage Electrochromics, which makes energy-saving glass, has received $20 million in funding from Good Energies, Bekaert, and Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials.

The three also financed Sage in 2007. The company, based near Minneapolis, Minn., will use the new round of funding to expand into international markets, CEO John Van Dine said in a statement Tuesday.

For those unfamiliar with electrochromic glass, the dual-pane glass works literally with the flip of a switch.

When an electrical current is applied to the internal glass pane of the window, which is coated in microscopic layers of ceramic material, … Read more

Inspired by Tony Targonski's wonderful heat map of the dirt distribution in his keyboard, I decided to take all my keys off and give my own keyboard a good cleaning yesterday. (Honestly, everyone should do it once a year, unless you've got some crazy, futuristic, self-cleaning device.)

As I painstakingly scraped off all of the gunk, I learned two things. No. 1: I'm a proud PC gamer. Most of the dirt was concentrated under W, A, S, and D. No. 2: I love my keyboard and I hate my mouse. My keyboard provides endless creative potential, while my mouse helps me click on stupid links. I never clean my mouse.

In order for we keyboard lovers to make the most of our wonderful input devices, we need good launchers, i.e. apps that let us run programs or load Web sites without clicking that silly mouse.… Read more