Planet Lowyat

Micro-Star International (MSI) plans to launch Wind, an ultra-low cost laptop that runs on Intel’s Atom microprocessor, this June in the U.S., the company confirmed Friday.

The U.S. edition of Wind will come in two different versions, one for $549 running Microsoft’s Windows XP. A few things set Wind apart from competitors, including the 1.6GHz Atom microprocessor, larger screen size and a six-cell battery that gives it around six hours of power. Wind also carries an 80GB hard disk drive (HDD) instead of a flash memory-based Solid State Drive (SSD).

The other version of Wind will use Novell’s SUSE Linux OS and cost $399. The Linux device shares the same screen size, HDD and microprocessor as the XP device. But it carries a three-cell battery that allows only around 2.5 hours of power and does not offer wireless data transfer using Bluetooth, which the XP device does. The Linux version also comes with less DRAM (dynamic RAM), 512M-bytes versus 1G-byte for the XP laptop.

Both Wind laptops come in a variety of colors, including black, white and pink, can access the Internet via Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, sport 1.3-megapixel Webcams and three USB (universal serial bus) ports.

There will also be several hardware configurations users can choose from that can make the laptop more or less expensive. For example, Wind can carry up to a 320G-byte HDD, which would cost more.

MSI will market smaller version of Wind with an 8.9-inch screen elsewhere in the world, but not in the U.S., at least not initially.

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A very nice young lady from the middle east got to chatting with an HP rep today and sent her the following:

The rep also said he had not heard about any user configurable options, so I’m not sure what’s up with that. They are however offering XP as an install option.

The notebooks are available with either 1.2GHz or 1.6GHz processors and a choice of 1GB or 2GB of RAM.  120GB or 160GB hard-drives are also options.  All will have WiFi a/b/g, a 1.3-megapixel webcam and the 6-cell battery.

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Win a HP HDX Dragon Entertainment Notebook

The 31 Days of the Dragon is a promotion between 31 participating web sites, with the sponsorship of HP. HP is working with those websites offering 31 prize packages - one a day for 31 days during a period from 09 May through 08 June 2008.

HP Pavilion HDX ‘Dragon’ Entertainment PC Spec:

• Display: 20.1″ diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920×1200)
• Operating system: Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
• Memory: 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• Graphics Card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
• Personalization: HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone
• Networking: Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
• Hard Drive: 500GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2)
• Optical: Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• TV & Entertainment Experience: Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers + the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
• Primary Battery: 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Productivity Applications: Microsoft Office 2007, Corel PaintShop Pro Photo X2, Corel Painter 4, Ulead VideoStudio 11.5 Plus
• Games: Viva Pinata, Microsoft Flight Simulator X, Microsoft Flight Simulator X Acceleration Expansion Pack, Gear of War
• Blu-Ray movies: The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy – The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End.

How? Login to the following websites between the following dates:

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The seemingly endless wait for a new line of professional notebooks from Mac maker Apple Inc. appears to be nearing an end, with part numbers and pricing for new MacBook Pro models cropping up in inventory systems worldwide over the weekend.

AppleInsider has been able to confirm that three new Apple-formatted part numbers — MB402LL/A (Good), MB403LL/A (Better), and MB404LL/A (Best) — have turned up in inventory management systems of both Apple and its channel resellers such as Best Buy.

The part numbers, listed for future MacBook Pros models, were included alongside pricing that matches Apple’s current offerings at $1999.00, $2499.00 and $2799.00, respectively, for those part numbers.

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Just came across about HP/Compaq notebooks are riddled with problems while reading CrunchGear.

HP has identified a hardware issue with certain HP Pavilion dv6000, HP Pavilion dv9000 and Compaq Presario V6000 series notebook PCs.

If you own an HP Pavilion dv6000, HP Pavilion dv9000 or Compaq Presario V6000 series computer that meets the product criteria listed below and experiences one or more of the symptoms listed below, contact HP to determine whether you are eligible for a free repair.

Attention to HP Pavillion dv6000/dv9000 and Compaq Presario V6000 notebooks owners:

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