laptops ac adapter

After much consideration, I finally dove into the do-it-yourself Mac netbook pool. With rumors of an impending Apple tablet spreading like wildfire–including analyses, mock-ups, and even commentary on why a non-existent product is destined to fail–this may seem like an odd time to do such a thing. “Why not just wait and see what Apple’s doing?,” you may be thinking.

While waiting is always better in the computer business (after all, computers never get slower and more expensive as time goes on), I just couldn’t wait–with a couple of trips coming up, I wanted to stop lugging around the 15-inch MacBook Pro for simply reading e-mail and browsing the web while traveling. My beloved 12-inch PowerBook G4 was an alternative, as was purchasing a refurbished Macbook Air (though I’m not a fan of the large-but-flat form factor).

In the end, the temptation to try one of the ultra-small PC laptops (but running OS X, of course) was too great to resist, despite my experience with hacking a desktop Frankenmac last year–there’s just something about carrying around a full-blown computer that’s slightly larger than a paperback book that appeals to my inner geek.

The hardware

After doing some background research on the various netbook models and their degree of OS X compatibility, I was all set to order a Dell Vostro A90, which is the machine that Dan Frakes used for his HackBook project.

When I mentioned this to Dan, however, he pointed me toward the new Dell Mini 10v, which is basically the Vostro A90, but built with a 10-inch screen of the same 1,024-by-600 resolution. Note that you can’t buy the Mini 10 for a project like this, as it uses a video chipset (Intel GMA500) that’s not supported by OS X.

When all was said and done, after fighting my way through the 2.5 million combinations offered by Dell’s two online stores (Home and Small Business; they often have different prices), I wound up ordering a Windows XP version ($50 cheaper than Ubuntu, go figure!) with the 1.66GHz/667Mhz Atom CPU, equipped with a 160GB hard drive.

That’s right, an actual hard drive. While an SSD would have been nice, there was a long delay in shipping any of the SSD-equipped versions, and I needed to get the machine in hand quickly, before my upcoming trip.

When the machine arrived, my first reaction, as you might expect, was “Boy, this thing is small!” As seen in the image at right, it’s nearly a palmtop machine. It’s also light, at 2.5 pounds, coming in a half-pound below that of the MacBook Air.

As Jason Snell noted in his look at the MSI Wind (which has a similar shape), it’s also pleasing to carry, as it’s like carrying around a somewhat-larger (but light) book, instead of a computer.

About the keyboard

One of the things that swayed me to the 10v was Dan’s commentary on the A90’s keyboard–to summarize in family-friendly language, he told me it was abysmal. The Mini 10v is 1.1 inches wider than the A90, which translates to a keyboard that’s 92 percent of the size of a “normal” laptop keyboard, versus the A90’s 89 percent.

More important, however, is that all of the keys are in their usual positions. The apostrophe/quote key is in the middle row, and the tilde is under the Escape key (though it’s a bit on the skinny side). I believe the actual key caps are also slightly larger than on the A90, but I’d have to see one side-by-side to be certain.

So far, I can report that this keyboard is fine for extended use–I’ve prepared this entire write-up using the Dell Mini 10v and its built-in keyboard. I did, however, resort to using a Bluetooth mouse, as the 10v (like the A90) has an abysmal trackpad (more on that later).

Having all the keys in the right spot is a large part of that; if I had to search for the tilde and apostrophe keys every time I needed them, that would drive me crazy. That extra inch of width definitely pays off in the creating a usable keyboard. I’ve got a few hours’ use of the keyboard now, and so far, it hasn’t bothered me at all.

My experience with the 10v’s keyboard shows that Apple’s thoughts on the importance of the full-size keyboard in the MacBook Air are spot-on. Dan (and Jason as well) both called out the cramped keyboard as a limiting factor in the usability of the machine. With my slightly-larger Dell, the keyboard is no longer a major usability issue. Yes, there are concessions due to size, but on the 10-inch chassis, they’re much less noticeable than they are on the 9-inch version.

Upgrading the RAM

One other key–and very maddening–difference between the A90 and the 10v relates to installing additional RAM. Even for a machine that’s primarily going to be used for Web browsing and e-mail, I felt 1GB of RAM just wasn’t enough (especially because the Intel GMA950 graphics chipset will claim some of that). Dell doesn’t offer 2GB RAM as an option (why not?), so I ordered a chip from a third party, and figured I’d just pop it in myself.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t anywhere near that easy. While the A90 has a door on the bottom that provides direct access to the machine’s RAM chip, that’s not the case on the 10v. Instead, you have to basically rip the entire machine apart to add RAm to a 10v.

So that’s what I did–even before booting my new machine for the first time, I broke it into many pieces. As you can see from the above link, this isn’t a trivial process; I’d liken it to replacing the hard drive in my 12-inch PowerBook, except in smaller spaces with even smaller parts.

As you can see, you really do need to take the entire machine apart; it took me about 40 minutes to reach the RAM chip. Disassembly goes slowly because a couple of major components are held on with plastic clips, and you have to detach them without breaking the clips. It’s a long, slow process…and in the end, I wasn’t successful: two of the tabs on the palm rest came loose during disassembly.

Without these tabs, the palm rest wouldn’t stay down, which is a bad thing. Superglue to the rescue! I glued the two tabs back into their positions, waited about 10 minutes, and then tried snapping the palm rest back in place. Amazingly, it held (and continues to hold). All told, installing the new RAM took about 90 minutes from start to finish. It’s not necessarily a hard process, but it is an involved process, and can be frustrating at times.

With the RAM upgraded, I booted the machine into Windows for the first and only time, just to make sure everything worked. It did, but I was stunned by how ugly Windows looked. The buttons were huge, some of the text was jaggy, and even simple windows filled the screen with their oversized widgets. I should have grabbed a screenshot, but I was in a hurry to move on to the next step in the project.

The OS X conversion

While the 10v and the A90 are closely-related siblings, it turns out that they’re not quite identical inside. When it came time to install OS X, those differences caused some problems. I had to work through a number of installation methods before I found one that worked.

At first, I couldn’t even get the OS X installer to run. Eventually, though, I found the right combination of voodoo, and the installer booted. The first thing I noticed is that OS X looks great on the 1,024-by-600 screen–nothing seems oversized, and there aren’t any jaggies to be found.

After working through the initial installation, my AirPort card wasn’t seen (but it worked in Windows, so I knew it wasn’t a hardware issue). A few restarts, Apple Software Updates, curses, and finger crosses later, and it miraculously started working. I honestly have no idea what I did, but it’s fine now.

That left the last, and largest, issue: sound out and microphpone in don’t work on the 10v without using a third-party system extension. Even then, sound may vanish after sleep and wake, forcing some Terminal trickery to keep things working well. I can live with these limitations, as I didn’t buy the machine to be a multimedia workhorse.

Aside from the audio issues, though, the machine has proven to be quite OS X compatible. I set up a networked Time Machine backup, and it’s working fine. The audio and brightness controls on the function keys work, even displaying the on-screen bezels. The built-in camera works with iChat. The battery life indicator works. Sleep works too, even when I just close the lid. When I reopen it, the machine awakes instantly, even quicker than does my Macbook Pro.

All the software I’ve tested runs fine, which is to be expected–the 10v is running a full retail version of OS X, so there’s no trickery there. The only problems are applications, such as Photoshop, that won’t install due to screen size checks in the installer.

The Dell Mini 10v isn’t a speed demon, of course–when I ran Xbench on it, it scored about 10 percent better than did my 12-inch PowerBook G4. In my test use with e-mail, Web surfing, writing, watching video, and browsing photographs, it’s more than fast enough.

Final thoughts

The total cost for my Dell Mini 10v, including overnight shipping and a 2GB RAM stick from a third party, came to $412. That’s less than half what I would have had to pay for a refurbished MacBook Air, and perhaps $250 or so less than what I might pay for a used one from eBay. Yes, I have concessions that a MacBook Air does not–but then again, I also have three USB ports, an SD card reader, a VGA port, and built-in 10/100 Ethernet.

Until Apple comes out with its tablet or a small low-cost laptop, this little Dell looks like it will easily meet my needs for an OS X-compatible netbook. Of course, the real test of any such machine is a road trip, and I’ll be taking this one along with me later this month to see how it works out in the real world.

Picking a laptop can be a complicated ordeal that amounts to balancing features against portability against price — and with Windows 7 on the way, the choice gets tricker. Here are some tips for purchasing a notebook computer that will work well with Windows 7.

You’ll need a notebook with a 64-bit processor to guarantee compatibility with the 64-bit version of Windows 7, which will be the preferred version of the OS. Choosing an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU pretty much guarantees that Windows 7 will run fine. All Core 2 Duo processors support 64-bit applications, and even the slowest of the current batch (the T7200) clocks in at 2.0GHz, which is plenty fast enough for Windows 7.
Windows 7 is very visual and offers a lot of eye candy, from the ability to play HD content to showing fancy desktop themes with active content. Because of this, most users will want at least a 14.1-in. display that offers 720p compatibility, meaning WXGA (1280 x 800) resolution.
With RAM, more is always better — 2GB is a good starting point, 4GB is better.
For most users, integrated graphics will offer more than enough performance for the visual elements of Windows 7 and associated applications; however, gamers should consider a notebook with a discrete graphics card, which offers improved 3D performance.
You’ll also want a large hard drive — 250GB or more — with a rotational speed of at least 5400 rpm. (7200 rpm will be a little faster, but may not be worth the increased price for most users.)
An internal optical drive that offers DVD compatibility helps to turn the notebook into a portable movie theater, always a plus for travelers.
When it comes to overall travel weight, buyers will need to consider how much traveling they are going to do with the notebook and how much they are willing to spend — lighter notebooks are usually more expensive.
Keeping these simple guidelines in mind, there are dozens of notebooks that will fit the bill. Savvy buyers should be able to buy a great notebook for less than $900 once Windows 7 arrives in October. If you must buy now, look for a model that includes a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it ships.

Next:Building an inexpensive, high-performance PC for Windows 7

Frank J. Ohlhorst is a technology professional specializing in products and services analysis. He writes for several technology publications.

An Intel executive last week suggested it was abnormal to interact with a laptop using input devices like touchpads, but Synaptics is out to debunk that notion by making touchpads more user-friendly.

The company is eliminating the click buttons to increase the size of touchpads, and is also looking to add new touchpad gestures to simplify routine PC tasks. Users will be able to design their own touchpad functions using custom gestures, Vena said.

For example, drawing A on a touchpad could take users directly to Amazon’s Web site, said Mark Vena, vice president of Synaptics’ PC business unit. The technology is just one way to boost the usability of touchpads and could be applied to multiple applications.

“The whole notion of creating custom gestures and doing that in an intuitive way is something we are spending a lot of time on,” Vena said. A particular announcement date for the feature couldn’t be provided by the company.

Bringing quicker shortcuts to launch applications through touchpads could bring the usability that tablet PCs couldn’t achieve, said David Daoud, a research manager at IDC.

“The tablet PC hasn’t taken off as much as many wanted it to,” Daoud said. Touch screens could ultimately take off, but versatile touchpads could fill the role until users get more comfortable interacting with laptop screens.

There is also growing interest in making better use of touchpads for functionality like image manipulation, Daoud said. Gesture technology already offered on Synaptics touchpads includes using one or multiple fingers to jump between pages in an e-book, rotate images or zoom into documents.

Synaptics is also looking to bring haptics to touchpads, in which a vibrating touchpad can notify users of certain events. For example, if a user receives an e-mail during a meeting, a buzzing sensation in the touchpad can notify the user of the event, Vena said. That could be helpful if a user doesn’t want a laptop chiming during a meeting.

“There’s all kinds of things in the haptics area that could be potentially interesting to us,” Vena said.

Haptics are already being used in devices like cell phones and GPS devices. Additionally, the technology is being researched for use in mice and keyboards. Mobile-phone makers like Nokia, Samsung and Research In Motion use haptic technology to provide feedback to users on cell phones.

Synaptics is also looking at tiny touch-based LCD screens to replace touchpads, but that has limited usability and versatility, Vena said. Many companies and PC makers have already talked about similar concepts. For example, Microsoft’s SideShow concept places a tiny LCD on a laptop’s surface so users can read e-mail messages or check a flight reservation without switching on a computer.

“The problem with that is cost,” Vena said. PC makers look at the overheads when building laptops, and touchpads aren’t expensive, costing anywhere between US$3 and $4. “When you start talking about replacing your touchpad with an LCD, you are then talking about $40 or $50,” Vena said.

A graphical user interface (GUI) and applications also need to be built around the LCD-based touchpad to make it usable, which could require a lot of work, Vena said. “I don’t see that in the short term. I see the large touch-screen stuff happening a lot quicker.”

Synaptics’ immediate focus, though, is eliminating touchpad buttons with its Clickpad technology, functionality that Apple offers in some MacBook laptops today. The technology builds click functions inside the touchpad surface.

“It allows you to put a larger touchpad in a smaller space,” Vena said. A touchpad based on Clickpad technology will be incorporated in laptops and netbooks starting by the end of the year, he said.

It turns out, technology costs more than TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington thought, as the price of his CrunchPad appears to be creeping higher and higher.

Illustration: Lou BeachThe touchscreen tablet computer was supposed to be “dead simple,” in Arrington’s words, with little functionality beyond a Web browser. To that end, Arrington was hoping to sell the device for $200, but in January he said $300 seemed likelier. (I’d provide the link, but TechCrunch has apparently removed that page now.)

Now, a story on CrunchPad manufacturer Fusion Garage by The Straits Times in Singapore says the estimated CrunchPad price is $400. That’s a problem.

(By the way, I find it deliciously ironic that Arrington, the king of leaks and dirty details, can’t keep the lid on his pet project. On the other hand, maybe all CrunchPad news is carefully orchestrated and Arrington knows exactly what he’s doing.)

My colleague David Coursey was right on when he said the CrunchPad needs a low price point — $99 or $200, tops. At those prices, or even at $300, the CrunchPad is somewhat of an easy buy, and sits in a league of its own as a simple gadget for Web browsing.

But bump the price up to $400, and now the CrunchPad has competition. Does the consumer buy the Web device with the fancy touch screen, or is it smarter to get a netbook that can do it all? For tablet buyers, perhaps Amazon’s Kindle e-reader will be more attractive.

And then there’s the fabled Apple tablet. If the device is indeed real, it could very well cost $500. With only a hundred bucks difference between the hottest gadget brand out there and a startup that’s never sold technology devices before, the decision would be a no-brainer.

To put it simply, a $400 price tag would make buying the CrunchPad a difficult decision. For a device that’s supposed to be a natural fit for Web-connected consumers, that spells trouble.

It turns out, technology costs more than TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington thought, as the price of his CrunchPad appears to be creeping higher and higher.

Illustration: Lou BeachThe touchscreen tablet computer was supposed to be “dead simple,” in Arrington’s words, with little functionality beyond a Web browser. To that end, Arrington was hoping to sell the device for $200, but in January he said $300 seemed likelier. (I’d provide the link, but TechCrunch has apparently removed that page now.)

Now, a story on CrunchPad manufacturer Fusion Garage by The Straits Times in Singapore says the estimated CrunchPad price is $400. That’s a problem.

(By the way, I find it deliciously ironic that Arrington, the king of leaks and dirty details, can’t keep the lid on his pet project. On the other hand, maybe all CrunchPad news is carefully orchestrated and Arrington knows exactly what he’s doing.)

My colleague David Coursey was right on when he said the CrunchPad needs a low price point — $99 or $200, tops. At those prices, or even at $300, the CrunchPad is somewhat of an easy buy, and sits in a league of its own as a simple gadget for Web browsing.

But bump the price up to $400, and now the CrunchPad has competition. Does the consumer buy the Web device with the fancy touch screen, or is it smarter to get a netbook that can do it all? For tablet buyers, perhaps Amazon’s Kindle e-reader will be more attractive.

And then there’s the fabled Apple tablet. If the device is indeed real, it could very well cost $500. With only a hundred bucks difference between the hottest gadget brand out there and a startup that’s never sold technology devices before, the decision would be a no-brainer.

To put it simply, a $400 price tag would make buying the CrunchPad a difficult decision. For a device that’s supposed to be a natural fit for Web-connected consumers, that spells trouble.

 Apple is racing to launch a tablet-sized device in time for the Christmas shopping season, according to a report from the Financial Times (FT). Featuring a 10-inch touch screen display, Apple’s tablet is also said to launch alongside “Cocktail,” a project designed to increase sales of CD-length music.
The Apple tablet, rumored for more than a year now, has finally gained some credibility with FT’s report today. The publication also quotes “executives familiar with the plans” saying that Apple could be planning a simultaneous launch of the tablet with a new service that is “all about re-creating the heyday of the album when you would sit around with your friends looking at the artwork, while you listened to the music.”

What we know about the Apple tablet

FT is scarce on details about Apple’s upcoming tablet device. The report describes device as a “full-featured, tablet-sized computer” which will be out just in time for the Christmas shopping season. The tablet’s screen is reported to be up to 10 inches in diagonal but it won’t have phone capabilities like the iPhone.

The FT says the Apple tablet will have Wi-Fi, allowing it to access to Apple’s online stores. Besides Amazon Kindle-like capabilities, the Apple tablet is reported to be great for watching movies, according to an entertainment executive quoted by the FT. No word on pricing, but previous speculation points to an $800 price point.

What’s in Apple’s “Cocktail”

The FT is also reporting that Apple is working on a project code-named “Cocktail,” a collaboration between the Cupertino company and record labels, namely EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group, which will bundle liner notes and video clips with the music sold on the iTunes Music Store (iTMS). The initiative is reportedly expected to be a reality as early as September.

The FT says Cocktail is a new type of interactive album, which will combine photos, lyrics sheets, video clips, and liner notes, all gathered into an interactive booklet. This new breed of album booklet will also play songs directly, without having to go back to iTunes, the report adds.

Myth or Reality?

Convinced by the Apple tablet? Judging by the expected screen size and rumored capabilities, the Apple tablet will not only be an oversized iPod Touch, ready for prime-time movies and music, but also a direct competitor to Amazon’s Kindle if Apple will start selling books in the iTunes music store.

Although so far the “Cocktail” news would put multimedia at the heart of the Apple tablet, Internet connectivity is the key to delivering the content to the device. And this is where last week’s rumors and today’s FT report conflict: Apple Insider said the tablet would feature 3G connectivity, same as the iPhone, while the FT reported today that no such capability will be present.

So while this intricate detail is up for debate, the question to users remains whether they would want a 3G tablet that would be chained to a wireless carrier (be it AT&T or Verizon) or the somehow limited freedom to use any Wi-Fi access point they have handy?

This week on the PC World Podcast, editors Tim Moynihan, Robert Strohmeyer, Nick Mediati, and Ed Albro discuss the just-finalized Windows 7 operating system. It promises to be more netbook-friendly and less annoying than Vista, as well as touchscreen-optimized. Learn when it may be installed on a computer near you, and find out what’s different in the new Microsoft OS.

Also on this week’s show, a recent study claimed Apple enjoys a 91 percent share of the “premium computer” market. The gang’s a little split on whether this statistic actually means anything, and they’re not sure whether the definition of a “premium computer” is clear. Hear their take on the podcast.

And finally, keyboards, mice, and touchscreens aren’t the only input devices available. We’ve recently reviewed a few digital pens, and the latest one we’ve seen–Adapx’s Capturx for Microsoft Office OneNote–is a great product. Find out what a digital pen actually is, and learn about similar digital pens available now.

Drop us a line at podcast@pcworld.com, and review our podcast on iTunes. You can subscribe to the weekly PC World Podcast on iTunes or via the PC World RSS feed.

Look for personal computer users to soon get their hardware in the same way that they get their cell phones: for free as part of telecommunications service subscriptions, the executive director of the Linux Foundation said on Friday afternoon.

In a presentation at the O’Reilly OSCON (Open Source Convention), Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin said a trend will emerge in which users would select a wireless or network service provider and get a free PC with a data plan. AT&T, he said, already is offering netbooks as part of a service plan, with the user getting the netbook for $50.

[ Earlier this year, Intel said it would turn Moblin over to the Linux Foundation. ]

In an interview last week, Zemlin elaborated on his free PC vision, enabled by the rise of netbooks running Linux. “What made the cell phone industry in the U.S. in particular take off in the mid-90s was the free phone,” he said.

Carriers, he predicted, can provide Linux-based devices and develop their own app stores. Device makers also can provide these store, like Apple has, Zemlin said.

During his keynote, Zemlin emphasized the use of Linux in multiple types of systems and how Linux was changing the game in operating systems even on the client. “Today, everybody in the modern world uses Linux multiple times a day,” he said, citing examples such as laptops, Google searches, and other systems.

Meanwhile, phones and PC devices are starting to converge, offering a lot of the same functionality, he explained. A PC can be cheaper than a phone, he said.

“If you look at what the iPhone has, it looks pretty similar to that PC,” said Zemlin, comparing the iPhone to a $1000 ThinkPad PC.

Linux also is benefitting from the down economy, with customers looking to save costs, Zemlin said. It also is overcoming potential legal hurdles with developments such as Microsoft now embracing the GPL, Zemlin said.