pc

Hands-on with the Intel Classmate PC

Alongside the much-talked-about One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, Intel has also been working on a low-cost laptop for schools in developing countries, called the Classmate PC. Sold by local OEMs, who offer customized software configurations for the needs of each individual market, tens of thousands of Classmate PCs are already in use around the world, either as part of pilot programs or purchased by governments, private schools, or philanthropic organizations. Wilton Agatstein and Larry Carr from Intel dropped by our New York offices this afternoon to give us a hands-on demo of the Classmate.

The most obvious difference between … Read more

What wasn't so great about the Newton?

Before I move on to other topics for a while (next week is Siggraph, the coolest trade show of the year as far as I'm concerned), I want to describe some of the ways in which the Apple Newton fell short. I'll also explain how these deficiencies relate to today's similar devices-- PDAs, smartphones, and tablets.

As with my post yesterday, these comments are drawn from notes I made during the seven years I used a Newton MessagePad 2100.

Very early on in my Newton experience, I made a simple comment: "Yes, it's too large." The MP2100 was huge, nearly the size of… Read more

CNET Live - Episode 17 - Show Notes

Murali Subbarao, CEO of Billeo stopped by to talk about online billing.

Watch the show on CNET TV.

Things we Crave

Plusdeck EX

Toshiba wireless laptop dock

Insider Secrets

Anonymous wrote us on the CNET forums asking how you can get OS X to run on a PC. That discussion isn's allowed in the forums because of the fact that running OS X on a non-Apple computer breaks the EULA. Don't worry anonymous, I went there for you. Here's how I got OS X to run on my ThinkPad and why it's a legal mess to … Read more

Local Cooling makes your PC chill

If you tend to zone out and leave your computer on to suck energy needlessly, Local Cooling (download it from CNET Download.com) helps you tell your Windows XP beast when to rest, giving the electric company a break, too. I've been using this free download on two PCs for a couple of weeks. It lets you time automatic snoozes or shutdowns for precise periods of neglect (also see Earth2Tech). Use Vista? Check out this battery saver.

By bringing hidden details about consumption to the surface, Local Cooling encourages you to relax your energy usage with little effort. Otherwise … Read more

Open computer case plus sweaty legs--not a good idea

We're never sure whether to believe some of the bizarre tales we hear coming out of China, (like the semi-regular stories about gamers dropping dead after marathon MMO sessions), but the widely read Shanghai Daily is reporting that a 20-year-old computer user was electrocuted earlier this week by his own machine in a freak accident. From the report:

The young man, who was identified as Wu, reportedly opened the external casing of the computer's CPU to prevent it from overheating because he didn't want to switch on the air conditioner in his home. According to the report, … Read more

HP's new thin-and-light tablet

We have a love/hate relationship with tablet PCs. On one hand, we dig the swiveling displays and touch screens, even if we rarely find a chance to use them. On the other hand, adding convertible tablet functionality to a laptop often means adding size and weight, while knocking components down a notch or two.

HP is one of the few PC makers that can design smart-looking tablets (such as the consumer friendly tx1000). New today is the HP Compaq 2710p Tablet PC, a 12-inch widescreen tablet that weighs in at 3.6 pounds and is only 1.1 inches … Read more

E3: Commodore unveils its U.S. desktop lineup

We found out back in March that the Commodore name had been scooped up by a Netherlands-based company looking to reinvent the brand as a modern gaming PC. Now we get wind of the new lineup of PCs coming soon (this quarter) to the States, first via online sales, with an unnamed big-box retail presence following afterward.… Read more

E3: 'Assassin's Creed' gameplay

UPDATE: If you're having difficulty playing the embedded video above, try here instead.

Assassin's Creed has been hyped for quite some time now, and at E3 yesterday, Ubisoft was able to show us a walkthrough of the E3 demo. Creed's overall style and gameplay mechanics may remind you of the Prince of Persia series, as the same developers are behind it. Assassin's Creed is due out in November for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

E3: 'Unreal Tournament III' trailer

Die-hard deathmatch fans have been waiting for a true Unreal Tournament sequel since UT2004 hit PCs more than three years ago. The lastest iteration will be exclusive to the PC and PS3 "in 2007" when it hits in November--wording that makes us think it's highly likely we'll see the game (or a reasonable facsimile) appearing on the 360 at some point next year. But no matter--PS3 owners will still relish the chance to get first dibs on the game, which is powered by the same Unreal Engine 3 graphics engine that made Gears of War such … Read more

E3: 'Half Life 2: The Orange Box' trailer

Gordon Freeman and company are back in the next episode of the critically acclaimed Half Life 2 series. The Orange Box collection not only includes the original Half Life 2 and Episode 1 games, but also Team Fortress 2 and the reality-bending puzzler, Portal. Most importantly, though, the Half Life saga will continue with the latest tale, Episode 2. Half Life 2: The Orange Box debuts October 9 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.