PortableComputer
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NextComputing wants you to take your desktop for a stroll, preferably a short one
After watching NextComputing dance around the definition of mobile computing for so long, we're not all that surprised to see the firm tease its first suitcase-desktop sporting an internal battery. The headlining promise of two to four hours of battery life, however? We'll take the whole salt shaker, thanks. NextComputing's half-minute demo shows an unnamed workstation disconnected, unplugged, and lugged off. We're not really sure where it's going, or why it needs to be left on for the trip, but hey -- a desktop with a battery still beats a laptop without one.
TSA: Netbooks, e-readers and iPads can be kept inside bags during airport checks
The American Transportation Security Administration has used its blog, of all things, to inform the good people traveling to, from, and within the USA that portable computers smaller than "the standard sized laptop" need not be removed from their bags. What is the standard sized laptop, you ask? Well, we're not exactly told, but Kindles, iPads, Sony Readers, Nooks, and "Net Books" are explicitly named as being exempt from the annoying requirement to unbag your computer for the airport's prissy X-ray scanners. There's still the disclaimer that staff might want to take a second look at anomalous-looking gear, but for the most part you'll be just fine leaving that Eee PC in your backpack while making the barefoot jaunt through security.
Ericsson's Spider Computer makes portable computing downright creepy
It seems like the future, as it's unveiled in prototypes, always seems much more exciting than the one we end up inheriting. Between Segway-esque unicycles, braille labelmakers, and Bluetooth-enabled gowns, the road ahead looks pretty sweet (if only in concept). Among the various ideas floated by Ericsson as part of its Life in 2020 project, the company has unveiled something called the Spider Computer. Named after the creepy spider-like legs of the initial design, the thing houses a PC, pico proj, a keyboard that's projected onto your desk with a laser, and a memory card reader. According to Pocket-lint the device, shown here at the 2009 Taiwan Broadband show, has a rather poor battery life and lacks network connectivity, but once they figure out how to pack WiFi and some reasonable juice into the thing we might start seeing a few more ultraportables that look more like Maglites than netbooks. Peep the prototypes (and some renders) in the gallery below. %Gallery-76822% [Via Pocket-lint]
Poor Mans Netbook sees more potent successor, created a monster
Do you know what the new hotness is? We'll tell you -- computers in suitcases. Big, brawny, rugged suitcases. After seeing the Poor Mans Netbook offered up to the least poor bidder on eBay, one Daniel Spalding has concocted a more powerful successor dubbed the Poor Mans Notebook. Within the near-bulletproof suitcase, he managed to shove an 8-inch touchscreen (1,024 x 768 resolution), 2.5GHz dual-core E5200 CPU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 64GB OCZ solid state drive, WiFi / Bluetooth 2.1+EDR modules and a GeForce 7100 graphics set. He won't deny that it purrs like a vacuum cleaner when really taxed, but c'mon, it's a computer in a suitcase -- cut the thing some slack.
Netbook in a suitcase: all the shortcomings of a subnote in a large, inconvenient package
This is true art, friend. The amazing "brotato" (rhymes with potato, in a perfect world) has hacked together netbook components, an ancient keyboard and a 14.2-inch LCD into this classy case, dubbing the project "The Poor Man's Netbook." The box is running Windows XP, but he tested it out with Windows 7 and Mac OS X and it performed beautifully, except for the Bluetooth 2.1 module. The box is based on a Mini-ITX Intel D945GCLF2 Dual Core 1.6Ghz Atom motherboard, with 2GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD and 802.11n WiFi -- though you'll have to hunt down an outlet, there's no battery power here. The best news is that he's selling the whole conglomeration on eBay, perfect for completing that piece of horrible cyberpunk fiction you've been slaving over on your boringtop.[Thanks, Ryan]
