Crave

The biggest consumer electronics event of the year is around the corner, and by that we of course mean CES 2010. We'll all be there in Vegas scouting out the best of what's new, but you may find yourself asking: after Windows 7 and the launch of Core i7 laptops, what else is there to look forward to? Plenty, by our measure. Here are the trends we're expecting to see.

New Atom processors, new Netbooks
The star of the show will likely be Intel's new line of Atom processors for Netbooks. Previously codenamed Pine Trail, these new CPUs will give the Netbooks platform a performance push, we hope, making these popular laptops even more ubiquitous. Currently, Netbooks are great for some tasks, but can be frustrating to use if you need them for all-around computing. Look for added graphics and HD video performance in particular.

On a related note, hardware manufacturers will continue to try to "upscale" Netbooks, by adding features such as discrete graphics, touch screens, and HD displays--all in an effort to move prices past the low-margin $299 mark. We'll see increased stratification in Netbooks--a category previously notable for its commodity nature.

(Credit: Qualcomm)

Here come the Smartbooks
If you don't know the term already, get ready to know it, as this will be one of the hot product trends of 2010. Consider them even cheaper and smaller Netbooks toting smartphone-level processors and a pared-down OS. Small CPUs such as the Nvidia Tegra and the Qualcomm Snapdragon are what will power this next generation of devices, and almost none of them will have an operating system that will be Windows or Mac.

Expect to see most of these hybrid devices with 3G antennas, sold in cellphone stores, and subsidized by mobile phone providers, much like some Netbooks already are. Economic realities have pushed computer makers to favor value over flash in designing new systems, and at CES 2010, we're likely to see a bigger focus on Netbooks and other low-cost PCs over the extravagant showstoppers of previous years. Smartbooks could help define a new low-end pricing zone, but it remains to be seen whether they'll offer enough computing power.

(Credit: Ole Jorgen Liodden)

Canon touted the EOS 7D as a weatherproof dSLR with seals at strategic locations that can survive harsh environments. This makes it suitable for photographers who work in extreme conditions like the desert or sub-zero regions.

Photographer Ole Jorgen Liodden recently brought his EOS 7D to the Antarctica for an assignment, and is glad to report that the camera emerged unscathed. He has the pictures to prove it.

Considering that in his write-up that on a previous expedition whereby his EOS 50D went under the sun after a day, the EOS 7D's hardy specs are quite impressive. But do note that you would have to maintain the camera well in order for the seals to function properly.

For more of the Liodden and the EOS 7D's adventure in Antarctica, click here.

(Source: Crave Asia via Canon Rumors)

(Credit: Joi Ito, via Flickr)

There are a handful of topics guaranteed to get readers all ginned up and at each others' throats in the comments section of any Web site. While PS3 vs. Xbox or AT&T vs. Verizon are solid go-to choices, anything that gives Apple and Microsoft fans a chance to vent at each other is on another level entirely.

Not that we don't enjoy pouring a little lighter fluid on the fire occasionally, but in the spirit of the holiday season, we have a proposal for peace between PC and Mac laptop users--or at least finding some middle ground both sides can agree with.

With that in mind, we offer the following modest proposal for a détente in the war between Mac and PC fanboys.

>PC Makers will agree:
To adopt the large multitouch touchpad that has become so popular on MacBook laptops. Once you get the hang of using two fingers to scroll down a page or flipping four fingers up to hide all your active windows, there's really no going back.

Yes, we acknowledge that many Windows laptops now support some kind of multitouch gestures. But we have yet to find a single PC that implements them particularly well--the worst offenders being touchpads that require your fingers to be lined up on a mathematically precise plane to activate simple two-finger scrolling. Even worse, they shoehorn gestures into the same tiny touchpads we've been cramping our fingers on for years.

Additionally, when you close the lid on a MacBook, it goes into a low-power sleep state, and then wakes up in a few seconds when you open the lid. It works the same every time, like clockwork. No matter what kind of sleep, hibernate, or other lid-close function we set up on a Windows laptop, the result is always a roll of the dice--yes, even in Windows 7. We particularly like the one where the machine wakes up, but the screen doesn't, requiring us to open the close the lid repeatedly until it randomly starts working.

Therefore, PC makers will agree to work with Microsoft to come up with a sleep mode that actually works the same way every single time.

>Apple will agree:
To turn touchpad tapping and click-dragging on by default, and not make us dig around in the menus for this very basic functionality. Secondly, Apple will agree to finally acknowledge the concept of two mouse buttons once and for all. That means second buttons on all mice (although the two-finger touchpad tap really works quite well), and no more pretending to be a one-button OS while actually including right-click functions for just about everything.

Finally, Apple will agree to ditch (or augment) its mini-DVI ports with plain old HDMI. It carries HD video, plus audio, and it's built into pretty much every other AV device known to man. Heaven forbid we should want to watch HD iTunes videos on a TV by plugging our laptops directly in, instead of buying an Apple TV unit.

Blu-ray and decent gaming graphics for less than a grand: Vaio FW560F/T

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Several months ago, one of our favorite retail laptops was the Sony Vaio FW480J/T. Besides offering no-hassle Blu-ray playback and a large if not full-HD 1,600x900-pixel resolution, 16.4-inch screen, it had decent discrete graphics that could handle many mainstream games. At the time, its $1,199 price was a little high, but very good when compared with traditional "gaming" laptops.

Just a few months later, the Sony Vaio FW560F/T has found itself at the top of our Holiday 2009 retail laptop roundup, a high-end system by definition of its price and features. At $999, however, this Vaio slips right under that psychological $1,000 line, while keeping Blu-ray and slightly improving the processor speed--and now it has Windows 7 Home Premium preinstalled instead of Windows Vista.

This has jumped from a good deal to a great deal for anyone looking for a Blu-ray-ready multimedia laptop. The package offered is a big improvement over the ... Read more

Windows users still drooling over Apple's multitouch Magic Mouse might finally have an excuse to step into an Apple store, thanks to "a little hackery" by UneasySilence.

The hack exploits a vulnerability in Apple's latest Bluetooth Update, uncovering Magic Mouse drivers for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows from XP to 7. We've yet to put it to the test ourselves, but users online are reporting success with full use of the Magic Mouse's vertical touch-scrolling. Leave a comment and let us know if it works for you.

We should mention that since this is a hack, there's no guarantee Apple will allow the mouse to work with Windows indefinitely, so enjoy it while you can. Of course, if you share our hesitation about buying a $69 pointing device with no buttons, you can always check out our updated roundup of CNET Reviews' top-scoring mice or go nuts with the OOMouse's 18 clickable buttons.

Windows Home Server soon gets supercharged to better support Windows 7.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

Microsoft announced Thursday its latest update to the Windows Home Server, the Power Pack 3. Originally, this upgrade was planned to be rolled out prior to the launch of Windows 7, but it was delayed due to a problem found during testing.

Power Pack 3 is much like a service pack to Windows Home Server, which is a special version of the Windows operating system designed specially for network-attached storage devices, such as the HP MediaSmart servers.

Judging from a few Windows Home Server-based NAS servers we've reviewed, Windows Home Server significantly helps new consumers familiarize themselves with network-attached storage devices by providing a similar management console, features, and file system support to those of the Windows operating system for desktop computers.

According to Windows Home Server Team's blog, the Power Pack 3 will be available next Tuesday in all shipping languages (including Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish). The pack will be free ... Read more

(Credit: Asus)

Hot on the heels of the well-regarded HP Mini 311, Asus has moved the Netbook bar forward by taking a 12-inch Netbook chassis and including both Nvidia's Ion graphics and a dual-core version of Intel's Atom processor (called the Atom 330). We've previously seen dual-core Atoms only in a handful of Nettop desktops, because of heat issues, and it's unlikely we'd see one in anything smaller than a 12-inch laptop body.

While still small, the 1201N fits in a full-size keyboard and a 250GB hard drive (plus access to 500GB of online storage space). The system comes with Windows 7 Starter and 2GB of RAM. Asus claims the 6-cell battery should last up to five hours, similar to what we've seen in other Eee PC models.

In a brief hands-on demo, we noted that the Asus Eee PC 1201N looks very similar to the current Eee PC line, including the popular 1005HA, with a black glossy finish and textured touch pad.

Combined with a 1,366x768 HD ... Read more

Got an HP Mini 311? Download the Flash 10.1 prerelease update ASAP.

The HP Mini 311 is one of our favorite current Netbooks, thanks to its hi-def screen, reasonable price, and Nvidia Ion graphics. Our main knock has been that the accelerated video, while great for basic gaming and HD video file playback, didn't work with the kind of streaming flash video used by Hulu and other sites. In our recent review, we said:

Video playback was excellent, and our test HD WMV file ran flawlessly--something no other Netbook has been able to do. Web-based video is a bit of a different story, but an updated version of Flash (reportedly available in November) will let streaming Web video take advantage of the GPU. For right now, Hulu on-demand content ran decently as-is, but not radically better than other Netbooks.

So, we're pleased to see the Flash player 10.1 update is available (as a prerelease version) for download. It's not even in official beta form yet, but we downloaded and installed ... Read more

Samsung Go for cheaper: this used to be a pricier Netbook.

(Credit: CNET)

Whether or not you choose to take this path, subsidized Netbooks are everywhere. For those who choose to use a 3G data plan, going subsidized offers a little bit of upfront savings.

AT&T has announced updates to its Netbook offerings for the holidays, and the Samsung Go and Acer Aspire One have joined its subsidized offerings. The Samsung Go, with its eye-catching textured color and smooth bubbly look, is certainly a change of pace from most Netbook designs. Both come with Windows 7 Starter installed and sell for $199 with a 2-year data plan.

Is the Samsung Go more appealing to you than a $299 Nokia Booklet 3G?

As for the Acer Aspire One, it wasn't that expensive a Netbook to begin with at $299. Does $100 savings and a 3G antenna/Windows 7 Starter seem worth it?

Read our reviews of the Samsung Go and Acer Aspire One AOD250.