ASUS W90 Review

The ASUS W90 was designed with one goal in mind; blow all other gaming notebooks out of the water. The W90 features two ATI Radeon Mobility 4870 graphics cards connected in CrossFireX, an Intel T9600 processor, 6GB of DDR2 memory, and an 18.4” WUXGA display. With this configuration it can achieve upwards of 15,000 points in 3DMark06 and manage to fluidly play Crysis at 1920x1080 resolution. Selling for only $2,199 could the ASUS W90 be one of the best gaming notebook values on the market today? Keep reading to see for yourself.

ASUS W90Vp-X1 Specifications:

Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 64-bit)
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9600 (2.8GHz, 6MB L2, 1066MHz FSB)
18.4" Glossy FHD LCD display at 1920x1080 (WUXGA)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 with 1GB GDDR3 video memory
Atheros AW928X 802.11n + Bluetooth 2.0
6GB PC2-6400 DDR2 SDRAM (2GB x 3)
320GB Serial ATA hard disk drive (7200RPM)
DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive with Labelflash
2.0 megapixel webcam with autofocus
Altec Lansing Surround Sound Speakers with Subwoofer
Dimensions (WxDxH): 17.4" x 12.91" x 2.48"
Weight: 13lbs 4.0oz (16lbs 2.3oz with AC adapter)
230W (19.5V x 11.8A) 100-240V AC Adapter
11.1v 8800mAh 93Wh Lithium Ion battery
2-Year Standard Limited Warranty
Price as configured: $2,199.99

LG - X110 review

LG doesn't release laptops in the UK. Or at least it didn't. But it has just released the X110, which is one of the new netbook machines. In this case it comes with mobile broadband and is classed as free if you are prepared to commit yourself to a 24-month contract.

We could only find it available from Phones4u and it is on three contracts. In all cases you pay £35 per month. On Orange there is a 3GB data cap with maximum data speed of 1.8Mbps. On Vodafone the data cap is also 3GB but speed tops out at 7.2Mbps. 3 only goes to 2.8Mbps but the data cap is 5GB. So, if you aren't that bothered about super fast downloading, 3 seems to have the best offer.
In all cases both pink and white versions of the X110 are available.
This is one of the best netbooks we've seen. The build quality is superb and in particular the keyboard is very well made and has a positive feel to it. You might find its size a little lacking if you have larger hands, but we had no trouble touch-typing at a fair old lick.

HP - TouchSmart tx2-1020ea review

Microsoft might have put a lot of money behind the concept over the years, but tablet PCs have always struggled to capture the imagination of the public. You need a screen big enough to write on, but with big screens come heavy laptops, which isn't ideal if you're planning to carry it around with you all day.

This hasn't stopped HP from attempting to breathe new life into the tablet PC, though, and the TouchSmart tx2 is, somewhat unusually for a tablet, aimed at home users as opposed to businesses. It's powered by an AMD Turion Ultra ZM-84 processor, has 4GB of DDR2 memory and relies on an ATI Radeon 3200 card to provide the graphics.

Before we examine the 'touch' side of things, we'll take a closer look at the design of the TouchSmart tx2.
HP's certainly done a good job as far as aesthetics go, with the TouchSmart tx2 looking smart in its dark-grey livery. The left side of the chassis is home to a Lightscribe DVD burner, 34mm Expresscard slot and SD card reader.

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

With faster, intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it's needed most, new Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in PC performance. They are the best desktop processors on the planet.¹

You'll multitask applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation. And you'll experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost technology² and Intel® Hyper-Threading technology (Intel® HT technology)³, which maximizes performance to match your workload.

Amazon Whispernet and Kindle 2 Whispersync

Congratulations to Amazon for their release of the Kindle 2 ebook reader this week. Both the Kindle and Kindle 2 utilize Whispernet, a wireless communication system for automatically connecting to the Internet and download data from Amazon.com and other Web sites. Whispernet is based on the EV-DO cellular network protocol. A switch on the back of the original Kindle controlled its wireless radio; in Kindle 2, you control the network via on-screen menus.
Amazon has also added a new feature called Whispersync in Kindle 2. Whispersync will synchronize data between two Kindles using the Whispernet network. You can use this feature, for example, to have multiple Kindles remember which page of an ebook was the last one you read. Being a proprietary protocol, Whispersync does not allow you to synchronize with computers or other mobile devices.

Computer Technology

Objectives
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Understanding: Computing

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Students will understand the following:
1.
Inventions can change the way we live.
2.
Many inventions start out with design flaws and are refined later by subsequent inventors and designers.
3.
The computer, invented in 1834 by Charles Babbage and still being refined, is an example of such an invention.
Materials
For this lesson, you will need:
•
If possible, an encyclopedia dated 1980 or earlier, with an entry forcomputer
•
A computer with Internet access
Procedures
1.
Ask students if they know who invented the computer. If they don’t know, inform them that, in 1884, Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, tried to build a complicated machine called the "analytical engine." It was mechanical, rather than electronic, and Babbage never completed it, but computers today are based on many of the principles he used in his design. Your students may be interested to know that, as recently as forty years ago, computers were so large that they filled whole rooms. They were so complicated that only specially trained people were able to use them.
2.
If you can find an encyclopedia dated 1980 or earlier, have students read the entry forcomputerand hold a brief discussion of computers then and now.
3.
Ask students if they can think of any other inventions that changed the way we work and live. Can they trace changes and refinements in those inventions? An example might be the sewing machine, which, originally, was mechanical, rather than electric, and had to be operated by a foot pedal. Another might be the phonograph, which evolved into the CD player.
4.
Tell the class that the activity in which they will participate will illustrate how inventions have evolved and are still evolving. Start by having students find partners.
5.
Give each pair of partners the following assignment: Select a common, non-electric household item that you believe is important. Together, write down answers to the following questions about your item:
What need does this item fill?
What do you think the first one looked like?
How did it change?
How could it still be improved?
What might this item look like in the future? (Draw a sketch.)
6.
After students have selected their items and answered their questions, have each pair of partners give an oral presentation on their findings.
7.
Lead a class discussion about how the activity applies to computers and how they evolved and continue to evolve.

COMPUTER SKILLS

The K-12 Computer/Technology Skills Standard Course of Study identifies the essential knowledge and skills that all students need to be active, lifelong learners in a technology intensive environment. Technology is undergoing rapid change, and new and improved technological advances appear almost daily. The curriculum is designed to form the foundation for continuous learning and to be applicable to ever-changing innovations.
The Computer/Technology Skills Standard Course of Study involves the development of skills over time. Computer/Technology Skills proficiency is not an end in itself, but lays a foundation for lifelong learning. These skills become building blocks with which to meet the challenges of personal and professional life. To become technologically proficient, the student must develop the skills over time, through integrated activities in all content areas K-12, rather than through one specific course. These skills are necessary for all students and should be introduced and refined collaboratively by all K-12 teachers as an integral part of the learning process.