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Former Netvibes CEO Tariq Krim has his sights set on Netbooks. According to TechCrunch, Krim will launch a Linux-based OS for Netbooks next year called Jolicloud.

Unlike Good OS and its forthcoming Linux-based Cloud OS, which is meant to operate alongside Windows on Netbooks, Krim intends to provide Jolicloud as a download direct to users that would replace your current Netbook OS--Windows XP or another flavor of Linux.

TechCrunch likens the look of Jolicloud to that of the iPhone and reports that the OS will support touch screens. TechCrunch also reports that a third-party application platform is planned.

The Jolicloud site is light on information, though you can leave your e-mail to join its beta program.

Asus created the Netbook category a little over a year ago when it introduced its first Eee PC. Acer jumped in this past summer with the Aspire One and has overtaken Asus for the top spot in the Netbook market. According to research firm DisplaySearch, Acer sold 2.15 million Netbooks in Q3 for a 38.3 percent share of the Netbook market. Asus moved 1.7 million units for 30.3 percent market share. Not only did Asus have a head start in this horse race, but it also has a much larger stable of Netbooks. It seemingly releases a new Eee PC model every other week, while Acer has but a few versions and colors of its 8.9-inch Aspire One.

HP sits in a distant third with a 5.8 percent share of the market, followed by MSI (5.7 percent), and Dell (2.8 percent).

On the whole, the Netbook category grew 160 percent in Q3, which is good news, given the current state of the global economy, but not all that surprising when you consider that the category has gained momentum with many of the big names jumping into the fray.

(Credit: DisplaySearch)

Which laptop should I buy? I get this question a lot, from CNET readers, friends, neighbors, friends of friends, and assorted relatives. Makes sense, since a large chunk of my workday is spent reviewing laptops.

I typically respond to this inquiry by first asking about one's intended purposes for a new laptop. Gaming? Serious design work? Heavy travel? Just getting on the Web at home? Then my follow-up question: how much do you want to spend? My line of questioning undoubtedly frustrates the questioner, who is looking for a single laptop recommendation from me.

Since there is no one answer to this question, I thought it might be helpful to tell you which laptop(s) I would buy should I be in the market today for a new laptop.

If I were buying a laptop today, I'd grab the HP Mini 1000 for travel and...

The last laptop I bought was my first Apple product outside of an iPod when I bought a white MacBook on Black Friday last year. I bought it because I wanted to dive into the Mac OS to gain a deeper understanding than what I got from the brief periods I spent on Apple's platform when a Mac passed through CNET Labs. And I liked the idea of using iLife to manage and edit my photos and videos.

I've been pretty pleased with it so far, other than the fact that I have had to send it in for repair--broken mouse button (thankfully, I called a few days before the warranty expired).

But if I were do it again and had roughly $1,350 to spend on a laptop (I bought my MacBook last year for $1,348), I might buy two. Instead of one, general-purpose 13-inch laptop like the MacBook (or the $1,099 HP Pavilion dv3510nr, which I may have selected over the MacBook had I been given the choice last year), I'd split my purchase into home and away models. I'd want a 10-inch Netbook for travel, whether it's around the corner to the coffee shop or across the country for business.

Then I'd want a roomy desktop replacement for home entertainment, a system I could use to store, manage, and enjoy my multitude of media: music, movies, photos, and home videos.

We arrive at North Dumpling Island, a.k.a. Dean Kamen's LED Nation.

(Credit: Flickr)

Dean Kamen is best known as the inventor of the Segway scooter and medical devices including a portable insulin pump, a stair-climbing wheelchair, and a robotic prosthetic arm. Like any good inventor or mad genius, Kamen can be called eccentric. He lives in a hexagonal-shaped home, commutes to work via helicopter, and owns his very own island. Kamen has declared his island, the three-acre North Dumpling Island off the coast of Connecticut, an independent state with its own constitution, currency (based on Pi), and navy (a lone amphibious vehicle). The island comes complete with a replica of Stonehenge.

And soon, Kamen's independent island kingdom will become energy-independent.

(Credit: Philips)

Working with Philips Color Kinetics, Kamen is using his island domain as a showcase for energy-efficient LED lights. He is replacing all of the traditional incandescent lights inside and out of his North Dumpling home with LED lights, which will allow it to run exclusively on wind and solar power generated on the island.

Philips estimates that the move from incandescent to LED lights will cut energy consumption by 70 percent. With new lights added--outside the home and in the basement--total energy consumption will be reduced by half.

"With increasing strain on our world's energy resources, our goal is to make North Dumpling a small but prominent example of what can be achieved on a larger scale with today's emerging energy-saving technologies. It's an excellent demonstration of science and engineering as the antidote to the complex challenges of our time," said Kamen.

(Credit: Philips)

Before you gather all of the newly installed CFLs in your home for an LED overhaul, you should know that LED pricing remains prohibitive. According to The New York Times' Bits blog, two Philips ColorBlast lights are used to illuminate a single pillar--at $600 per light.

Interior LED lights are obviously cheaper; I did a quick scan online and found interior LED bulbs ranging in price from roughly $20 to $90. Rather spendy when compared with a buck a bulb for a traditional incandescent or $3 to $4 for a CFL. Still, you can expect LED prices to fall as adoption grows. Until LED bulbs reach a point of mass adoption, I suggest tiki torches for your Stonehenge replica lighting needs.

(Credit: TechDigest)

The cheapest Blu-ray-equipped laptop we've reviewed to date is the Sony Vaio AW125, an 18.4-inch model that sells for $1,849. On the other side of the Atlantic, however, British outfit Medion will reportedly introduce a Blu-ray laptop, the Akoya P8610, for £800 next week. That's roughly $1,167--or nearly $700 cheaper than the Sony. The Medion laptop uses a lesser Core 2 Duo chip than the Sony--2.0GHz T5800 vs. 2.53GHz T9400--but otherwise the core specs are the same: 4GB of RAM, a 512MB GeForce 9600M GS graphics card, and a 320GB hard drive. Other features include HDMI and eSATA ports, and a TV tuner.

The Akoya P8610 falls short of a 1080p screen (which both the Vaio AW125 and Acer's 18-inch Aspire 8920 hit), serving up a 1,680x945 resolution. That's a movie- and HD-friendly 16:9 aspect ratio, however. And it features Dolby audio, which will output to 5.1 speakers or do some sort of voodoo virtual surround sound effect.

It's impossible to gauge build quality from a GIF, but all in all it looks like an impressive package for the price--should you reside somewhere in Europe. Given how much the price of Blu-ray players has dropped this year, I'm surprised we haven't seen any Blu-ray laptops creeping toward the $1,000 mark here.

Source | Via

Though a DIY route was recently discovered to bring mobile broadband to the Mini 1000, HP now saves you the effort by offering 3G connectivity out of the box on its Netbook. You can select the HP un2400 mobile broadband module ($199) for service on either AT&T's or Verizon's network. The price seems a bit steep, considering you can find the un2400 module for $149 elsewhere. Also, choosing mobile broadband forces you to opt out of either SSD offered in favor of the 60GB 4200rpm drive, which adds $55 from the default 8GB SSD option. Why an SSD and WWAN are incompatible is a mystery to me. While I await an answer from HP, care to posit a theory below?

To be honest, I've never thought Dell's new Studio laptops did much to befit the Studio name. Dell trumpeted personalization when it launched the Studio line earlier this year, but aside from the standard rainbow of solid colors also found on lunch-pail Inspiron models, the Studio line offered only a handful of graphics patterns from Mike Ming (one of which, Sea Sky, is also an Inspiron option). Expanded feature set aside, Dell's Studio laptops looked like slightly more stylish versions of Inspiron laptops.

Today, the Dell Studio line further distinguishes itself from Dell's other laptop lines with the introduction of the Dell Design Studio. There, you'll currently find 58 options for personalizing the lid of your Studio 15 or 17 laptop. (Dell states its Design Studio "offers more than 100 exclusive and original works of art," so expect more to be added soon. Featured artists include Joseph Amedokpo, Jason Bacon, Tristan Eaton, Siobhan Gunning, Bruce Mau, Mike Ming, Brittany Waldner, Derek Welch, and Guillaume Wolf.

(Credit: Dell)

The artwork is permanently affixed to the lid of the laptop; the keyboard deck does not receive any accompanying art treatment. Each design costs $75. Solid colors are $25. Choose a (Product)Red design, and Dell donates $20 to Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

(Credit: Good OS)

Good OS, the people who brought you the Linux-based gOS found on the $199 Wal-Mart gPC last year, announced a browser-based OS called Cloud at the Netbook World Summit in Paris on Monday. (You know you've made it as a form factor when you have your very own world summit. Kudos, Netbook!)

The Cloud OS features a browser with an integrated, OS X-like dock and a Linux kernel that boots "in seconds," according to the company. The browser looks oddly similar to Google's Chrome, though no official connection between Google and gOS exists. Within the browser window resides a dock that provides quick access to a number of apps--Skype, YouTube, Google's Docs, etc.--that you can fire up without running Windows. From the dock, you can also boot to Windows.

Unlike the gOS, the Cloud OS isn't meant to replace Windows but live alongside it, similar to what Asus offers on some of its laptops and Lenovo on its IdeaPad S10 Netbook with the SplashTop app. Good OS states that Cloud "does not require additional hardware and is compatible with any operating system."

Good OS demonstrated its Cloud OS on a gigabyte touch-screen Netbook at the World Summit in Paris. The company says that such touch-screen Netbooks running the Cloud OS and Windows will be released at CES next month.

A brushed-aluminum chassis distinguishes the 1002HA from the rest of the Eee PC crowd.

Unveiled last month, Asus' latest addition to its ever-expanding Netbook line is the Eee PC 1002HA. It's your standard 10-inch Netbook--Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP--but comes wrapped in a gray, brushed-aluminum chassis. On the Eee PC scale, the 1002HA falls between the basic, black Eee PC 1000 and the sleek, thin S101. Thankfully, it's priced closer to the former, at $499. And weighing in at 2.65 pounds, the 1002HA is only a few ounces heavier than the S101.

Unfortunately, the 1002HA's uses a tiny, two-cell battery. It has a lower-rated capacity than the Eee PC 1000's six-cell battery or the S101's four-cell battery. The 1002HA's battery is rated at 4200mAh, compared with 6600mAh and 4900mAh on the Eee PC 1000 and the S101, respectively. Asus states the 1002HA will run up to 5 hours on a single charge, but the S101's larger battery ran for just more than 4 hours on our tests.

You can find the Eee PC 1002HA listed on Amazon, Buy.com, ZipZoomFly, and other online resellers, though only for preorder at the moment.