Blade Watch

Following on from its award winning Mini NB200, Toshiba have raised the bar again with the launch of its new Mini NB300 and 305 Netbooks. Packed with features and boasting an 11-hour battery life, these compact PCs look set to scoop Toshiba a host of new awards – and new fans.

Netbooks have struggled to make an impact in the computing market, with allegations of limited capability and low battery lifespans. But Toshiba have taken these comments on board and made sure that their new Mini NB300 and 305 Netbooks tick all the right boxes for discerning business users. “The Toshiba principle of packing as much as possible into as small a space as they can certainly seems to have paid off this time,” says Rob Woolley, Laptop Specialist of computer experts IT247. “The real bonus is that 11 hour battery life, meaning that you can do a full day’s work without having to be tethered to a power point – perfect for business users on the go,” he adds.

I got an email about Toshiba launches their new mini Netbooks, I confess it’s something I have been thinking about recently whether to get one or to get an iPad, we’ll have to see the, last one I tried was not very fast and had an 8GB solid state disk, but then that was quite some time ago. I’m off to read up more.

My wife just saw the demonstration and thought its fantastic, when are we getting one she asked, why did she like it? Because and she put it wonderfully, now I can browse the web without having to use the mac, the screen is big enough for her, and it did what she needed or would ask from a laptop, music, video, internet and maybe a little photo type stuff.

I was quite frankly surprised by the response we got from many a journalist, even colleagues at work to the iPad, they loved it and then the statements came out, it doesn’t do and then flash, usb support, upgradeable this, dvd drives, as well as a host of things when comparing the device to a laptop. I wonder if people are not missing something. By that I mean quite simply, is the iPad not an ideal middle ground between a smart phone and a netbook or laptop?

For example, for those organizations sending a user a laptop for email, for Outlook etc, word processing and a few spreadsheets, is this not ideal? There is no operating system support so to speak, no chance that the user starts installing applications that aren’t supported, get a corrupt profile or using usb sticks etc. For that SMB for the sales team, could we therefore issue them with an iPad rather than a full blown mac or laptop, simply say there’s the presentations, the office functionality you need, a reasonable battery life, mobile email and web – you’re connected.

We need to step back for a second and accept that like the netbook, the iPad is not going to be all things to all people, but for the majority of people that use a netbook for its intended uses, the iPad might be just enough in terms of functionality, just different enough to justify the price, and just cool enough to move them away from that rather normal looking smaller laptop? It all goes back to the problem that the Toshiba Libretto 50CT suffered from when I wanted one and eventually got one, it was brilliant in so many ways but at the same time disappointing because I compared it to my desktop, my other bigger laptop, I wanted everything that it could do, the memory, the disk, the performance just was not quite there and I compared them. With an iPad there is no vehicle to compare, it’s just an iPad, it is its own unit in its own right – it doesn’t run Windows, or Mac OS.

We are proud owners of an Apple TV. It’s very cool. It just works. Think of it as an iPod for your TV.

I plugged it in about three years ago and it just synchronized with my mac downloading our movies and media so that we can watch them on our tv in the living room, and there it has been there ever since. I ran the updates when the thing would come up and say download updates, but it over the weekend it died, annoyingly just as we decided to watch a film on iTunes that we had rented. I went to the Apple store to speak to a Genius who was actually very heplful and said “it’s broken” it seems that the disk has gone on its holidays.

It no longer lives, well it does, it’s currently in bits on my office floor in the bladewatch labs, where I tried to fix it by replacing my failed disk.

Broken Apple TV

I did get all technical, I checked out a few blogs with commands and even a youtube video showing you how to fix it, but after a few hours of arguing with my mac (which didn’t like some of the commands), I decided it’s time to say goodbye to Apple TV, time for recycling, before it and I fall out any more with it – lets just have the happy viewing memories.

This has results in quite a decision going forward, what do I do going forward?

• Buy a new Apple TV – I feel kind of jaded about how long it lasted, is that unreasonable?
• Fix my old Apple TV – but how long before it sits flashing orange lights at me again?
• Buy a Mac Mini - but then which one and I don’t seem to get a remote with it?

Google

Web meets phone.

Check out the new phone from Google, the Nexus One, it does look interesting, I’m off to check it out.

I wonder what it will be like in comparison to the iPhone which I have just ordered, it’s due here on the 14th of January!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/technology/8378267.stm

A spokesperson for the firm said that it hoped to offer the phone “in time for Christmas”.

Although Tesco has not revealed tariffs, the spokesperson said that its prices were “competitive”.

In September, it was revealed that O2 had lost its exclusive deal to sell the phone, which had been in place since its launch in 2007.

Both Vodafone and Orange have signed deals to sell the phone.

Orange has already begun selling the touchscreen whilst Vodafone will offer it from early 2010. Orange said it had sold more than 30,000 handsets on its first day.

I can’t wait to see what the deals are like on Tesco Mobile, I’m off to check it out, the more networks that offer the iPhone, the more consumer choice and innovation in serivces and options which has to be a good thing.

Burton Group

I would like to welcome the Burton Group to our blog (bladewatch.com), it is great that they have decided to support us in delivering our content to you. The Burton Group provide in-depth IT research and advisory services with a focus on strategic business technologies to executives and technologists. They have launched a new series of training videos which are informative, interesting to watch and crucially (as an end user) affordable, so do check them out, they cover topics including virtualization, data center economics and SharePoint.

http://www.bladewatch.com/2009/11/02/iphone-on-oran…air-use-policy/

I emailed my brother over at Mobile Industry review with a few comments asking him if I was being emotional about unlimited data and the iPhone. Please note these comments are to the mobile industry not Orange telecommunications or any other specific provider.

Firstly for every advertising or PR person unlimited means without limit regardless of how nicely it is put. Note though in the car industry, we don’t say your car has a 3 year unlimited warranty subject to a fair use policy of 60,000 miles. We say, the car comes with a 3 year/60,000 mile warranty, whichever you the user meets first.

Secondly all the quotes/responses/comments I’ve ever read state mentions that the service can be unlimited based on an ‘atypical user experience’. Granted, we all accept that. Therefore can I ask:

• Define an ‘atypical’ user – is that a young person, an old person, someone that uses the device for mobile calls only, or someone that uses it for email and browsing the web.
• Define their usage pattern, does it include picture messaging/facebook/mobile application downloads/youtube, email (attachments)
• Can we benchmark the traffic and bandwidth required for that atypical user to perform those functions against the specified price plans, and publish the per MB cost/billing options if the atypical user exceeds the set fair use policy as defined by the network.
• If we can’t benchmark usage patterns, bandwidth requirements, can we benchmark activities supported under the fair use policy as an atypical user – email, internet etc.

We’re doing some work on the bladewatch site over the next few weeks, and we’re going to take a look at the format of the site/content.

The content, the essence of what the site represents isn’t going to change (we’ve been doing this for 3 years or 4759 posts), we’re simply looking to keep the blog informative, balanced and of real added value to our readers.  So some of the pages might be getting re-organized to make finding information easier, the documentation will be improved and more accessible.

You may have seen an example of this with our presentation or the content on our documentation page, welcome to servering our category will transform to get it’s own page and specific content.

The aim of the game has always been information exchange, ideas and bullet points on how to make it better, our commitment therefore to our audience and our readership therefore continues and if you have any ideas/comments, feel free to get in touch (martin237@gmail.com).

Washington Post

With Windows 7, Microsoft has built support for multitouch gestures directly into the operating system. And though using your fingers to tap, flick, and pinch your way around probably won’t replace the humble mouse anytime soon, HP has almost three years of experience in producing multitouch-capable all-in-one PCs. It shows.

Aesthetically, the new TouchSmart 600 retains the familiar and elegant TouchSmart design, including ambient lighting that casts a soothing colored glow. Its 23-inch display puts it between HP’s existing 22-inch TouchSmart IQ500t and 25.5-inch TouchSmart IQ816 in terms of size. Like the latter, the TouchSmart 600 supports a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p)–perfect for watching high-definition movies and TV via its built-in Blu-ray slot drive and HDTV tuner. You can also stream shows wirelessly over 802.11n, and suck in photos with the integrated multicard reader. A remote control is included, as well.

I saw one of these over the weekend when I was shopping with my wife, it was interesting to see her reaction to it, two statements were made: “it looks nice….” and “wow it’s touch screen, like an iPhone”, needless to say, I can sense this might be the next computer to replace her Dell OptiPlex, do check out the great review.

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/

Apple Unveils New iMac With 21.5 and 27-inch Displays

Apple today unveiled an all new iMac line featuring brilliant LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure. The new iMac line, starting at $1,199, is the fastest ever with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance. Every new iMac ships with a wireless keyboard and the all new wireless Magic Mouse, the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch technology. Filed under: Mac. Read more: apple.com/imac

Apple Introduces Magic Mouse

Today Apple introduced the new wireless Magic Mouse, the first mouse to use Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Pioneered on iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads, Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69. Filed under: Mac. Read more: apple.com/magicmouse

Apple Updates MacBook

Apple today updated its popular MacBook with a new, durable polycarbonate unibody design featuring a brilliant LED-backlit display, a glass Multi-Touch trackpad and Apple’s innovative built-in battery for up to seven hours of battery life. Inheriting technology and design features from the MacBook Pro line, the new MacBook is an ideal consumer notebook for students and new Mac users, and is available for $999. Filed under: Mac. Read more: apple.com/macbook

I love the new iMac it does look cool and has great storage support, with a 27″ screen it makes me wonder bout my Mac Pro. The new MacBook looks an impressive package and well finished, I’ll be excited to see them in the Apple store.