| On Campus, Trying to Connect
When Annie Simon starts class this month at the University of Southern California, she won't have to worry about finding only strange faces in the sea of 16,000 students. She saw to that this summer. "As soon as I got back from orientation [in June], I went on Facebook and friended a bunch of people who I met at USC to establish a connection," says the District native, 18. "Then when I get to campus, it'll be, 'Oh, I remember you. I know you.' " .
Xmas gift on the way: Laptops for $350!
BOSTON, US: A nonprofit group that designs low-cost computers for poor children may start selling $350 laptops on the commercial market by Christmas, an executive said. The One Laptop Per Child Foundation's chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepsen, said the computer could sell initially for about $350, or twice its production cost, although the group is also considering a higher price tag. Its entry to the commercial market would be a challenge to traditional PC industry companies, including Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. "The PC industry will be watching this very closely," said Roger Kay, an analyst with PC market researcher Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc. Although the green-and-white XO was designed for elementary school children in poor countries, analysts say that some of the features make it attractive to kids in wealthier countries as well as adults.
PC and Components
Toshiba has recalled more defective laptop batteries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said last week, the latest move in a long-running problem with lithium-ion batteries made by Sony. According to a warning from the CPSC, batteries in some of Toshiba's Satellite A100, Satellite A105 and Tecra A7 notebooks built between January and April 2006 pose a fire hazard from overheating. Approximately 1,400 portable computers are affected by the recall, said the CPSC. The batteries due for call back are a subset of a recall issued by Toshiba less than four weeks ago that wasn't publicized by the CSPC. Then, the Japanese computer maker listed 17 different laptop lines as potentially equipped with defective batteries. An update to the Toshiba support document a day after the initial July 17 alert added the three systems called out by the CPSC last Thursday.
Update: HTC Shift UMPC Sports Windows Vista Business and Windows Mobile
HTC's shift pulls double duty when it comes to operating systems DailyTech first brought you information on HTC's Shift Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) back in March. The Shift, like the Samsung Q1 Ultra and Fujitsu FMV-U8240 are powered by Intel's UMPC-specific A110 800MHz processor. After months of speculation on the part of the UMPC community and virtual silence from HTC, the Shift is once again in the limelight. GottaBeMobile's Hugo Ortega was given the chance to spend a few days with the Shift and has provided a 30-minute video review of the device. As previously mentioned, the Shift features an 800MHz Intel processor along with 1GB DDR2 memory, 7" screen (1024x600, 800x480), 40GB HDD, 802.11g wireless, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, 3G wireless (HSDPA), slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 1.3MP webcam and a biometric fingerprint scanner.
Web site takes mystery out of college dating
When a male college student wanders into Best Buy and a digital camera catches his eye, he doesn't buy it on the spot. Yes, it's shiny and sexy, but what's the battery life like? Does it suit his needs? Thanks to the Internet, he can go home, get on his laptop and read blogs about the product. So when this same student is out at a party or simply on the town, why shouldn't he have the same luxury when he meets a girl he likes? As cold as it sounds, for college students, this is exactly what happens. And the online mate-shopping aid usually is the Facebook Web site (www.facebook.com). "It really does suck the fun out of dating. I try not to (look), but people do it all the time," said Alex Smith, a sophomore at Hampton-Sydney College in Virginia.
Sabayon Linux: Something for everyone
The Sabayon Linux live DVD distribution, based on the unstable branch of Gentoo Linux, has been in development for several years and caters to a wide variety of users. Having started out with a beautiful but mainstream appearance, it now boasts one of the most unique looks in Linux and more usability options than most other distros. The distribution offers premium open source games, accelerated desktop effects, a large and varied software suite, and several variations. Besides the full release, Sabayon also comes in a Business Edition and usually a Mini edition. With all it has to offer, Sabayon has something for everyone. .
Plans for GM hybrid advance
General Motors Corp. took another step yesterday in its quest to develop a car that will be able to travel as far as 40 miles a day on a single electric charge. GM said it signed a contract with battery maker A123Systems Inc. to develop lithium ion batteries specifically designed to power the Volt plug-in hybrid vehicles that GM hopes to put on the market in the next few years. The battery technology used by A123Systems is potentially safer, cheaper and more durable than other designs being tested, the automaker said, which would give GM a boost over Toyota Motor Corp. and other rivals in the race to produce a viable plug-in car for the United States. GM said it expected to start road-testing prototype vehicles powered by A123Systems' lithium ion batteries by the end of this year or in early 2008.
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