Naked Aspire One

A friend of mine had to recently open up his trusted Acer One netbook (unfortunately for a bad reason: to put it back as it was originally to send it back to the factory for fixing) and he took the time to take some pictures.

So, if you're curious about how the Acer One looks on the inside, just click ahead:

Netbooks get HD Video Accelerator Cards

Remember the time when a lucky few could spend a lot of money to have an MPEG video accelerator card in their PCs, so that they could watch DVD video in their computers? (I know it now sound ludicrous, but indeed it was true back then.)

Well, it seems we're back to the same thing, with HP giving you the chance to add a high-definition video accelerator card to your HP Mini 110.

• The good: costing just $30 it isn't that expensive - especiall.y when compared to the price these things had back in the DVD days.)
• The bad: it will soon be obsolete, just like the regular MPEG accelerator, as hardware evolves and chips like Tegra make FullHD video playing/recording as easy as regular low-def video.
  

How to Install Windows 7 on a Netbook

If you like trying out new things, the time to play around with Microsoft's latest Windows 7 couldn't be better - Windows 7 RC can be downloaded for free and it will work for a full year.

This is a Release Candidate version, and as such can still contain some bugs... but for the most part it should work as intended.

(Just keep in mind that this version will stop working on June 1st 2010; and as a "warning" it will shutdown every couple of hours after May 1st 2010.)


If for most cases installing a new OS is straightforward - downloading the ISO and burning a DVD - the thing isn't so simple when you want to install it in a netbook with no optical drive.

It's not impossible... you just need to use a bootable USB drive.

You'll need a USB flash drive (4GB or larger.)
And your netbook better have 1GB Ram and over 8GB of disc space.

Then you'll just need to prep the USB for Windows7 bootable installation. Follow the following guides depending on your current OS:

Windows XP
Windows Vista
Linux/Mac


Or, you can also try some netbook specific Windows 7 how-to guides:

• Aspire One
• ASUS Eee Pc
• Dell Mini
• MSI Wind
• HP Mini-Note

You'll be running Windows 7 in no time.

Intel Moblin for Netbooks

Instead of pushing an overweight OS into a tiny netbook, why not use an operating system specifically designed for it?

That's what Intel is trying to do with its Moblin project that is arriving at its 2.0 version.
As you'll be able to see in the following video, it is looking better by the day.



It's work a try; just download Moblin's live image and test it without messing up anything.

Eee PC grows to 11.6"

There's no doubt about it: bigger is often better, especially when applied to screen real estate.

When Asus first launched its soon-to-become sucessful Eee PC its biggest problem was its smallish 7" screen and its nearly unusable 800x480 low-resolution.

Asus took its time, but then realized it was indeed a mistake. Newer models were much better, with a 9" and 10" LCD offering a much nicer 1024x600 resolution.

Well, get ready... at the end of the month you should be able to get a new Eee PC with a 11.6" LCD and - hopefully - enabling higher resolutions.

To be honest, the current 1024x600 are still a bit cramped (though inifintely better than the previous 800x480 of the original Eee PC model.) For that form factor, a 1280x800 resolution would be a lot more useful and prevent a lot of vertical scrolling while browsing - not to mention they would be able to attach a new HD Ready sticker to it, enabling you to watch 720p HD videos.

Let's wait a few more days to see if we get detailed specs for this new Eee PC.

Asus Tablet Netbook T91

Asus keeps launching new models; this time it's the Tablet PC version of their popuplar Eee PC netbooks: the Asus T91 - basically, a factory modded Eee PC... done right.



As usual, it's all about the software and the user interface. Having a touchscreen and not being able to use it a a practical way won't serve us much. Although there's still a lot to be done, it's nice to see Asus (as well as some other manufacturers) pushing this field forward.
What we really need is someone to do for these tablet netbooks the same thing the iPhone did for the touchscreen smartphones: to create such an amazing touch interface that you'd be unable to resist buying one. :)

HP offers Stylish Ubuntu

I'm surprised to see HP pull a stunt like this... but I'm glad they're doing it!

Their HP Mini 1000 now comes with a revamped user interface over the traditional Ubuntu install, and it looks promissing.

Considering they're launching lots of computer models with touchscreens, I guess they dont' want to be left behind in this field.
If you want to try it out yourself you just need to add HP repositories to your Ubuntu and install the glassy-bleu-theme.

Sony Vaio P

Not that I'm particularly fond of this brand (SONY) that keeps pushing us completely uneeded formats (Memory Stick, Blu Ray, etc.) but to deny that every so often they do come up with something really cool...

Just take a look at this Sony Vaio P, which doesn't quite fit into the cheap netbook category we all all know and love, but that doesn't keep us from admiring it in the following photos:

Standing over a MacBook Pro:

Ando, the Sony Vaio P compared to the 7" and 10" Eee PCs.

Look rather nice, but for a toy costing $1000 I would ask for an OLED screen like the one OQO has introduced in their new 02+ Model (which also starts at $999.)

Android running on Eee PC

It was just a matter of time until someone had Android, google's mobile operating system developed for smartphones (and more), running on one of the most popular netbooks in the market today: the Eee PC.

Apparently, porting Android to run on the Eee PC 1000h took just a couple of hours - which shows just how easy it was. Android may soon become a serious contender for netbook operating systems, alongside the aging Windows XP and the various tweaked Linux distros.

Now, they just need to add Chrome to the mix, and the netbook platform will have everything it needs.

OS X Netbook Compatibility Chart

It isn't a secret some netbook users have been using Apple's Mac OS X in their computers. However, more often than not, something isn't properly recognized: whether it's WiFi, Bluetooth, Audio, etc.

So, if you're really looking for the best netbook to run OS X, which one should you choose?
Well, it's easy... once you have this OS X  Netbook compatibility chart to assist you:

Your best options are the MSI Wind and the Dell Mini 9. In fact, MSI has even released some semi-official drivers for WiFi to work correctly on OS X... how about that?

More info and instructions at Boing Boing Gadgets.

MSI Wind with New CPUs and Hybrid SSD/HD

While some begin to doubt the popularity of the netbook concept (mostly those who don't quite get it isn't supposed to replace a full laptop/desktop computer for full-time working) MSI is about to make its interesting MSI Wind even more... interesting.

... and I'm not talking about cosmetic details ...

After the U120 with 3G, we're about to get the new U110 and U115 with newerer Intel Atom Z530 CPUS, which are even more efficient than the regular Atoms.
But it doesn't stop there; some models will come with WiFi Draft-N (something alreday present on some Eee PCs from Asus) and, perhaps more interesting, an hybrid SSD/HD system. With the faster SSD being used for the OS, and the traditional hard drive for larger data storage (up to 250GB.)

via [gizmodo]

Dell Mini - 32GB SSD for $100

Finally, upgrading your netbook's SSD is now starting to become a viable option.
Dell, has just introduced some SSD upgrade options in their Dell Mini 9 netbook, allowing your to choose a larger SSD (8/16/32GB) for rather affordable prices. Let's just hope they're some decent speed SSDs like the ones used in the latest Eee PC 901.

Dell Mini 9 with Touchscreen Mod

And speaking about the Dell Mini 9, don't forget that just like most other netbooks, you can easily add it a touchscreen.



via [jkkmobile]

Enhanced Eee PC 901

It seems the netbook wars is not getting any easier.

If you thought Asus Eee PC 901 was your number one choice... just wait a little longer - you might want to consider the new Eee PC 901 instead.

The new 901 models have a better battery (8700mAh) offering up to 8h of real use operation - and, more importantly, a SSD really worth of that name!

Look at those: 90 MB/S reading speed, 50MB/s write speeds! That's more like it!


If you're shopping for a netbook, be sure to check you grab one of these instead of the "old" 901's.

via [jkk]

Eee PC Touchscreen Kit

I have already talk about those "courageous" people that have no problem opening up their netbooks (and all other gadgets) and add missing features like 3G connectivity, GPS - and of course - a touchscreen.

For most of us, the thought of opening up a brand new netbook like a Eee PC or a Acer One and start soldering wires is a bit daunting. But about if I told you can do it in a much simpler way? You just need to get this Eee PC Touchscreen Kit from Ebay.

It has everything you need to add a touchscreen to you Eee PC 900/901 and/or Acer Aspire One - and best of all: there's no soldering required!

What are you waiting for?

via [Engadget]

MSI Wind gets BIOS update Boost

Good news for MSI Wind owners.

The latest bios update brings some interesting tweaks to its turbo button. Meaning: you can now overclock your Wind by 8%, 15%, or 25%.

This makes it a lot more enjoyable to use with CPU intensive tasks - you can get nearly 30% better performance in software like Photoshop.)

Grab your BIOS update here:
MSI WIND Firmware 1.09

32GB and 64GB SSDs Upgrade for Eee PC

So you love your Eee PC but you're tired of the limited SSD space and its poor performance?

Then you better stay tuned to these PCI-e SSD modules from Buffalo which will hopefully make you feel better:

• 32GB  will cost you $150 
• 64GB version will be $300

 Now we just need some benchmarks to see how fast they really are.

via [Engadget]

MSI Wind DIY 9 cell Battery

Are you tired of waiting for MSI Wind's 6 cell battery?

Why not forget about it and go all the way to a 9 cell battery offering you about 9h of non-stop mobile computing?

That's exactly what a DIY'er did, stitching 9 cells together.
It may not look pretty, but it certainly gets the job done!

Hey MSI, are you listening? No more excuses, no more delays... we need these bigger batteries. :)

via [liliputing]

How to Install Ubuntu on the Eee PC

A frequent question that pops a lot, among Eee PC owners is:

"How do I install Ubuntu on my Eee PC?"

That's right. You may feel comfortable with Ubuntu's Live CD. But, the Eee PC (and most other netbooks) simply don't have an optical drive for you to use.

Sure, you can use an external USB drive - but lots of people don't have any.

So, how should you proceed?
Well... that's easy: you use an SD card to install Ubuntu on your Eee.

For that you'll be using UNetbootin, a simple tool that converts an ISO into a bootable SD card which you'll use on your Eee PC.

You can follow the step-by-step instructions at ArsTechnica.

Hope that helps.

Dell E - Instant On Success?

I don't know if I had talked about the Dell E here already.

It's one more "netbook" that will have to fight its way through the growing armada of Eee PCs, Aspire One's, Wind's, and all the other low cost netbooks out there.

However, there are a few things that might help this small Dell make all the difference.

On the hardware front, things are evenly matched: an Intel Atom @ 1.6Ghz, 8.9" LCD (1024x600), 3x USB, SSD, webcam, wifi, etc.

However, Dell was smart enough to include something the Eee PC should have done from the start (especially considering the close ties Asus has with Splashtop) an Instant On embedded Linux Distro.

There's not much information about what "splashtop-lookalike" Dell will be using in their Dell E, but this will certainly prove to be a strategic step into winning a lot of customers.

That and... its price!
The Dell E will be available soon, for just $299 ($100 less than the Aspire One.)

via [Engadget]