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WiFi


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American Airlines offers in-flight Wi-Fi. Hot damn
Salon.com | Machinist | Web Log 21 08 2008

As Farhad Manjoo predicted months ago, it seems that, indeed, soon -- this time, really soon -- most airlines will have in-flight Internet access. Today American Airlines announced that it would be providing on-board Wi-Fi at $13 per flight on most flights from San Francisco/Los Angeles to New York and New York to Miami. (Technically speaking, we're only talking about AA's Boeing 767-200 fleet.) And like Farhad, I've got pretty much one thing to say to this: Woo-hoo! (Start your angry e-mails ranting about the electronic leash and that annoying guy next to you on the plane now, please.) Not surprisingly, VoIP-based calls (that means no Skype) will theoretically be blocked, so you won't have to worry too much about your overly chatty neighbor trying to call his buddy in Denver to tell him that she's currently flying over his house. That being said, the Dallas Morning News' Airline Biz Blog reports that it was able to get a sustained Skype connection. Maybe the American Airlines techs haven't quite gotten around to port blocking just yet. Aircell, the company behind this new service (it's called Gogo Inflight), will be charging $13 for flights of three hours or more, and $10 for anything under that. The company uses some interesting gadgetry, actually, to make the Internet work at 35,000 feet. As I reported for NPR late last year, Aircell claims that it can shoot an Internet signal by pointing cellphone towers skyward. Given that the only thing between that tower and planes equipped with the special receivers are nice fluffy clouds, the signal travels nicely. The on-board receiver then transfers that signal to a few Wi-Fi routers scattered around the plane so that your iPhone (WiFi-enabled), BlackBerry or laptop can use it. Jack Blumenstein, the company's CEO, told me last year that his company only needs 90 towers to cover the continental U.S. The Washington Post adds, however, that "the company will add 400 more towers to accommodate growing demand for the service." In the past, in-flight Internet used expensive satellite connections. Conexion by Boeing was expensive to install, cost about $10 per hour for the user, and worst of all, it took a fair amount of time to get the gear hooked up. Blumenstein also told me in an interview last year that Aircell's kit only takes an overnight stop at a major airport hub. (Boeing killed off its service in 2006.) Other companies are eager to get on the Wi-Fi wagon as well. Delta announced earlier this month that it would also be partnering with Aircell later this year. Continental apparently will be releasing a free online service, limited to e-mail and instant messaging, that sounds a lot like JetBlue's single plane trial from last December. Southwest and Alaska are banking on satellite-based services provided by another company, Row 44, but neither airline has announced a start date for such service. However, Flight International, an industry publication, reports that Southwest will be trialing Row 44's services before the end of the year. That said, Portfolio.com's Joe Brancatelli remains bearish on the entire prospect of in-flight Net access from a business perspective. He notes that overseas, another European competitor, OnAir (sponsored by Airbus), "seems stalled."

Sugarize it: Intel Classmate 2
One Laptop per Child News 21 08 2008 L. Aaron Kaplan is the founder and an active member of OLPC Austria, where he has, among other projects, ported Sugar to the original Classmate PC. Finally, finally, finally!! I and a few folks have been living with a secret. And of course I wanted to share this as soon as possible. But some events at work (the famous DNS Bug) kept me massively busy. And since work is - well work - you earn a living from it - it got priority. However this nonetheless does not make the secret any less important nor interesting.

Sweet Sugar!

So, what is it about? What's it about? Hm, let's think... the title says "sugarize it". Sugarize what? As you probably know, sugarlabs.org became independant from OLPC with Walter Bender starting a new organization to continue the dream of an open source user interface for OLPC and for other laptops. I have been already "ported" Sugar to the Intel Classmate 1. Back then I was quite disappointed with Intel. I did not do any precise tests but it just felt s.l.o.w.
Also Wayan was ranting against the Classmate 1 (as any good Intel employee would;). I agree - the version 1 was not particularly competitive against the XO in my opinion. But is the Classmate 2? (tada, enter the culprit...)

Silverthrone CPU next to a Penny

So, well... now I received a Classmate 2 with Atom chipset (no, you can't get them yet as far as I know, but you will soon be able to get one for sure). Actually - the fact the you will indeed be able to get them will already be a remarkable difference compared to OLPC's "you can look but not buy" marketing. Not only did I get a Classmate 2 from Intel, they were even happy to supply one! This was almost a shock for me - compared to the constant pushing I had to do at OLPC's doors to be allowed to contribute and to be granted some resources. Way to go Intel! So - again - what can we do with that brand new sample version of the Classmate 2 (Atom based)? Can it compete with the XO? Is the CPU really finally fast and power aware at 2.5 Watts? Uhum... Sugarizing the Classmate 2

Sugarizing gallery

Since the Classmate came already with Ubuntu 7.10 installed, we had to update it to 8.04 over the wifi network. Wait! Did I just write "over the wifi network"? Yes, actually that worked out of the box. So, some 45 minutes later all packages had downloaded and were installed. The next step was to install Sugar. One way would be to use a Live CD which in in general is well maintained. We instead chose to install Sugar directly as Debian packages. We simply followed the wiki pages and found that the packages were not 100% up to date. We could have re-build everything from scratch using jhbuild but according to Daniel this would have taken a long time to build. So, we decided to live with the fact that in the version we tried the browse activity did not work correctly. For sure a more recent version will fix this. Summary: installing Sugar on the Classmate is rather easy. Just follow the instructions. So! How does it look like? Does everything work?

Classmate 2 sugarized!

Camera: Works. Has a pretty decent resolution. Enough for kids to take pictures of things and share it over the network.
Sleep mode: Works. Some minor issues on resume.
Keyboard: Usable. Still a bit small but you get used to it.
Trackpad: Usable. Could be improved with better driver support so that scrolling works better.
Screen resolution: 1024x600 - usable. I miss the reflective display. There are still some minor bugs with placement of objects in Sugar. Supposedly fixed in newer releases.
Wifi: Yup! works out of the box. Currently some issues with resuming after sleep mode. Can be fixed.
OpenGL: Yup, you bet! Glxgears runs in 580 frames / sec. Totally smooth. Great! All OpenGL linux games run great. Tuxracer, GCompris, all there..
Sound: Works ok
Microphone: Fine!
Skype: Works. Nice to have a faster CPU than the XO
Flash: Of course it works if you have space for a full blown Redhat or Ubuntu as basis below it. Didn't bother to install gnash. This means....
YouTube: Works! This is one killer feature for deployment in classrooms. Believe it or not, but Andreas Trawoeger has been brave to test out the features of the XO (and other computers) in a school in Vienna for half a year now. And this was one of the feature he bitterly missed on the XO. Kids love watching things on YouTube and uploading stuff to the site.
Google Earth: Well, Google Earth was a bit CPU and memory hungry. That one started to get a bit slow.
Overall Speed: Needless to say, 1.6GHz is actually really usable for most things in a classroom.
Green ears: No :(
Battery life: Well, medium. I got 3-4 hours out of it. I guess more is doable with proper ACPI support. I guess you can do more with proper tuning.
Price:>188 USD. Approximately 315 Euros in the EU. That is definitely higher. Does it pay off? Yes. Collaboration? Mesh? Yes, you bet! Collaboration between an XO, the Classmate 2 and an HP 2133 worked out of the box. To be fair, we had a wireless access point in between the three devices since OLPC's 802.11s and Intel's 802.11s won't work together out of the box right now. Sigh, I guess that is why we have standards. Hmmm... did you get the head fake? I will leave you to ponder about it. Subjective summary:

Collaboration works out of the box.

Well, the good and cosy feeling of "helping the world" is not present anymore. The green ears are missing, the sweetness factor is gone. ... But.. Hey! On the other hand: this small device is for the first time totally usable! It is fast, compared to the others. There is a dramatic speed improvement compared to the Classmate 1. Would I buy the Classmate 1 for kids? No. Would I buy the Classmate 2? Yes. A friend of mine forgot his laptop at home and he was at my place over the weekend. We had an intensive planning session, lots of research on the web. And since he forgot his laptop at home, he used the Classmate 2. His conclusion? "Totally usable. A bit small for adults." But fast enough. So everything works more or less out of the box! If you have small fingers it might even be usable for adults. Your kids will not look at it and sigh love it and then leave it in a corner. But they will love it because they can actually do things with it. Like adults. I believe what counts is to give kids the possibility to access information that they would not otherwise get access to. With usable tech. Whatever brand. It's an education project, not a laptop project. Right? Well done Intel! Congratulations. Credits where credits are due. The Classmate 2 is a solid product! The wikipedia entry of the Classmate will have to be rewritten for the Classmate 2. Tests by: Daniel Jahre, Helga Schmidt, Andreas Trawoeger, Tano Bojankin, L. Aaron Kaplan @ OLPC (Austria)
Text by: L. Aaron KaplanAaron Kaplan Atom Classmate 2 Intel OLPC Austria Open Source Software Sugar Sugar Labs Sugarized

Google sets up "Big Tent" for bloggers at Democratic and Republican conventions
Salon.com | Machinist | Web Log 20 08 2008

The Big Tent

Various media are reporting today that Google will be funding and operating an 8,000 square foot "headquarters" -- called the "Big Tent" -- a few blocks away from the Democratic convention in Denver. (A similar facility will be set up in St. Paul, Minn., for the Republican convention.) For $100, 500 bloggers, citizen journalists, "new media" journalists and assorted members of the stodgy MSM will have access to a candy buffet, free massages, smoothies, meals, couches for napping, a "YouTube kiosk," and, of course, all the free WiFi they can eat. (If you're interested, sorry, registration is already closed.) But seriously, what does Google get out of this? By providing an environment that's a cross between my home office and a college dorm lounge, does it really hope that bloggers are suddenly going to wake up to the awesome power of Google? Is there any blogger out there who doesn't know about Google? I mean, OK, sure, Google wants to show off Power Reader in Politics, essentially a way to share reading lists of RSS feeds. In other words, now I can read what Obama, McCain or even Arianna Huffington want me to read with a couple of mouse clicks. This essentially is just Google Reader, which debuted three years ago. These bloggers are either already using it, or are using some other similar application/service to follow what all the other blogs are saying. I don't get it. And a YouTube kiosk? Seriously? Yes, YouTube didn't exist during the 2004 convention, but I really don't need to see random bloggers taking jarring clips of themselves while trying to pull their best Campbell Brown impression. Seriously. You know where Campbell Brown will be? On the convention floor, not uploading to YouTube. Plus, if you've spent any time at all on the Internet in the last three years, you already know about YouTube. Especially if you're a blogger. I guess it's just marketing, pure and simple. After all, Coca-Cola is a perpetual sponsor of just about everything, including the Olympics. There are even some folks in Beijing who've never had a Coke before, believe it or not. But here's the key difference; Coke is looking for new markets in China, reports the Wall Street Journal:

Coke has plugged its flagship cola at other Olympiads for decades. But this blitz is especially important for the brand as the Games present a chance for it to vault ahead of arch rival Pepsi-Cola in the race for China's 1.3 billion coveted consumers -- a market that Coke says could be its biggest in the future. Coke is the global leader in the cola wars, with roughly half the market, more than double PepsiCo Inc.'s soft-drink share. In China, Pepsi-Cola is No. 1 -- but early results show Coke's Olympics push, which began in early 2007, is eating into Pepsi's lead. Last year, the Coca-Cola brand claimed 22% of the country's carbonated soft drink market, up half a percentage point from 2006. That still left Coke trailing Pepsi's 22.9% share, which dipped from 23.3%, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

But there isn't exactly an equally untapped market of bloggers (political or otherwise) who've never heard of Google.

Houston lights up downtown WiFi and it's free
Megite Technology News 20 08 2008

Dwight Silverman lets us know that the city of Houston has lit up the downtown area with free WiFi. It's a pilot program so no guarantee it will be around forever or stay free but it utilizes excess bandwidth from all the wireless parking meters which is pretty cool. There is an Access Houston web site that details exactly where the hotspots are ... (Read on Source)

Houston lights up downtown WiFi and it's free
Megite Technology News 19 08 2008

Maplin MiniBook Ultra Portable Computer - small is as small does…
Megite Technology News 19 08 2008

The Maplin MiniBook Ultra-Portable Laptop ships with 2 GB of memory, a full suite of office type applications and Linux on board, an SD slot, WiFi and a 7 inch wide screen for a paltry £169.99. This makes it cheap, functional and a nightmare for expensive branded laptop manufacturers across the world. [...] 166 words | email this | ... (Read on Source)

JoikuSpot Now on Windows Mobile
Megite Technology News 19 08 2008

The folks at Joiku, makers of the awesome JoikuSpot for S60 now offer a similar program for Windows Mobile devices: WMWiFiRouter. Both of these programs turn your mobile phone into a WiFi hotspot! (Read on Source)

First Android Phone Approved By FCC
Read/WriteWeb | Weblog 19 08 2008

Today, the news broke that the HTC Dream, the first handset to run Android (aka "the Google Phone") has been approved by the FCC. In the documents provided, it appears that we have now a release date for this highly anticipated phone: November 10th, 2008. So what will the HTC Dream offer? We take a look at some of the details and unknowns surrounding this device. This morning Engadget Mobile broke the news of the HTC Dream's FCC approval, and confirms that it is indeed the long-awaited Android phone. T-Mobile, HTC, and Google should be announcing the Dream's launch in either September or October, depending on who you believe. Originally, the launch was thought to be in October, but today, VentureBeat is reporting that, in the FCC document, HTC requests the commission grant it a short-term confidentiality request on "attachments" until Nov. 10th, 2008. That date seems to confirm that the phone will be released on November 10th.

What's Inside

A recent post in the unofficial T-Mobile blog, TmoNews, confirms that the HTC Dream will offer the following features:

Touch screen
Full Qwerty keyboard
3G/ WiFi
Full HTML internet capabilities
Easy access to all Google applications (Gmail, Gtalk, search)
Maps
Street view
YouTube
Phone
IM/Text
Email
Camera 3.0mp; no flash
Video (playback only, no recording)
Music player & 1GB memory card pre-loaded
Applications, all available in Google marketplace (icon on the homescreen)

Engadget adds that the Dream will also offer Bluetooth 2.0 EDR compliance and has a "jogball" as seen this video:

Unconfirmed at this time is GPS, but it seems likely that the handset will have this considering that T-Mobile can provide the service and the phone will offer Street View, which would require its use (although it could work through triangulation, we suppose). TmoNews also adds that the phone will offer two data plan options: Unlimited data and 400 messages or Unlimited data and unlimited messages. Prices for these plans will be in the $35 range, they say.

Image courtesy of TmoNews Still no word on whether or not this video is legit, though:

First Android Phone Just Approved By FCC
Read/WriteWeb | Weblog 18 08 2008

What's Inside

A recent post in the unofficial T-Mobile blog, TmoNews, confirms that the HTC Dream will offer the following features:

Touch screen
Full Qwerty keyboard
3G/ WiFi
Full HTML internet capabilities
Easy access to all Google applications (Gmail, Gtalk, search)
Maps
Street view
YouTube
Phone
IM/Text
Email
Camera 3.0mp; no flash
Video (playback only, no recording)
Music player & 1GB memory card pre-loaded
Applications, all available in Google marketplace (icon on the homescreen)

Engadget adds that the Dream will also offer Bluetooth 2.0 EDR compliance and has a "jogball" as seen this video:

Image courtesy of TmoNews Still no word on whether or not this video is legit, though:

HTC Dream FCC approved, Android clear for launch?
Megite Technology News 18 08 2008

Filed under: Handsets , HTC , T-Mobile , Android The long rumored HTC Dream handset -- once referred to as "The Googlephone" -- just received FCC approval. The handset is listed as type, "Dream' with a model of "DREA100." The same model also appears with a WiFi Interoperability Certificate touting 802.11b/g WiFi. If indeed this is the long ... (Read on Source)

HTC Dream FCC approved, Android clear for launch? (Thomas Ricker/Engadget)
Techmeme | News 18 08 2008

Thomas Ricker / Engadget:
HTC Dream FCC approved, Android clear for launch? — The long rumored HTC Dream handset — once referred to as “The Googlephone” — just received FCC approval. The handset is listed as type, “Dream' with a model of “DREA100. ” The same model also appears with a WiFi Interoperability Certificate touting 802.11b/g WiFi.

Gear Gallery: Laptops That Replace Your Desktop
Wired magazine | Top Stories 18 08 2008

: Through some loophole, wormhole or deal with the devil, Gateway has produced a massive desktop replacement that's fast, good and cheap. How fast, you ask? Fast enough to go toe-to-toe with -- and school -- a $4,800 Alienware Area 51 m15x: In our Quake 4 test, the Gateway posted a score of 167.8 fps to the m15x's 167.2. This is partially because the Gateway's 512-MB Nvidia Geforce 9800M is running the show. The FX also has Olympic endurance for larger-class notebooks, going 2 hours, 23 minutes to play a DVD. And that brings us to the cheap part. The Gateway is just $1,400 -- more than three times less than the Alienware and hundreds (and more hundreds) less than most other desktop replacement machines. Sure, it lacks the latest processor (it's got a 2.27-GHz Core Duo), but it has a whopping 4 GB of RAM to help it attack processing tasks and a spacious 200 GB of drive space for your stuff. The big bummer here is the missing Blu-ray drive, which is what is likely keeping this thing so affordable. WIRED: Some of the best gaming performance ever recorded on a PC. Long battery life for a desktop replacement. Comfy and solid keyboard withstands heavy hands. Multimedia controls and slide volume look cool without glowing too brightly. TIRED: No Blu-ray is a letdown for HD-heads, and you can't configure your PC to include the drive. The battery sticks out a bit in the back, and the power brick is monstrous. Power lights on the front, unlike the multimedia controls, are too bright. Price/maker: $1,400 (as tested), Gateway Read our full Gateway P-7811FX Notebook review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: Alienware prides itself on its tower rigs and desktop replacements, but several of its earlier forays in to the mid-size laptops were disastrous; the branding was intact but the performance wasn't. Not so with the m15x. This 15.4-incher is plenty portable, yet it has all the gaming trappings and the performance to back it up. From the unboxing onward, you can tell that you are paying for the experience as well as the hardware. A baseball cap with an alien head on it, an extra battery, VGA-to-DVI adapter, FireWire adapter and entertainment remote show that Alienware will risk no dissatisfied customers due to lackluster goodies. With specs that include a 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, 3 GB of RAM, and a 512-MB nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX, the m15x performs impressively, but not out of this world. It all comes down to the loot; this is a luxury item and there are far more affordable PCs with comparable performance. WIRED: Tip-top business and gaming performance. Lots of included extras for gaming elitists. The solid and handsome design will please gamers, and cool lighting effects will titillate geeks. TIRED: Exorbitant price that only a space tourist could pay without wincing. For all the expense, it's not the very best gaming PC. Dual batteries take a long time to charge up. The Blu-ray drive must be removed to accommodate the secondary battery. Price/maker: $4,880 (as tested), Alienware Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Alienware Area-51 m15x review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: The Archos 605 WiFi is a damn fine portable media player. Now it’s slightly mo' better due to this new GPS accessory, which for $130 adds full-bore street navigation that's on par with a Garmin or TomTom system. Well, a low-end Garmin or TomTom from a few years ago, anyway: This lackluster accessory does not have many of the bells and whistles of modern nav systems, and the one it does have -- real-time traffic updates -- works only in Europe. On the plus side, the software locks in satellite signals faster than NORAD. However, it navigates like a base commander heading home from the officer's club. On several occasions the GPS tried to route us totally out of the way instead of continuing on the road right in front of us. To make matters worse, the software doesn't announce street names, only directions. The GPS Car Holder would look pretty good if this were, say, 2003. And it does get you where you're going, if not always by the fastest or most logical route. At $130, it's a decent deal for current owners, but definitely behind the GPS times. WIRED: Cheaper than a standalone GPS, at least if you already own an Archos 605. High-resolution screen makes maps look mighty purty. Lightning-fast satellite lock. TIRED: The 605 can’t navigate without the car holder, so you can’t go on walkabout. Doesn’t say street names. Requires you to move to Europe if you want traffic features. You have to manually restart the GPS app every time you power on the 605. Price/maker: $130, Archos Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Archos 605 WiFi GPS Car Holder review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: As one of six new Fujitsu offerings equipped with Intel's Centrino 2, the Lifebook A6120 more than makes up for its dull exterior with features that will have prettier laptops quaking in their neoprene sleeves. Opposite its no frills glossy shell resides a gorgeous 15.4-inch LCD capable of brightening even the darkest depths of Mordor. Battery life and performance are equally impressive. The new 2.26-GHz CPU more than did the job when it came to photo editing, gaming and pretty much every other benchmark we threw at it. What's more, we squeezed a respectable four and a half hours of battery life under normal usage out of A6120. In fact, after playing with the Lifebook for a week, we were hard pressed to find anything significant to complain about. Would Fujitsu be well served by spending a little more time and effort on design and shrinking down that plump chassis? Sure. But this reviewer is more than happy to overlook a 1.7-inch waistline as long as it hides enough goodies. WIRED: Great bang/buck ratio. The A6120 starts at only $1,150 and jumps but $200 for a Radeon HD 3470 card and Blu-ray drive. Sharp, beautiful screen is one of the brightest we've seen on a laptop. Screw the chicklet-style keys found on other notebooks: Fujitsu's old school keyboard provides near perfect "clickiness" (to borrow a term from designer Amar Sagoo). TIRED: Small trackpad makes for a less than thrilling multitouch experience. Runs consistently hot -- don't rest it on your lap for long or risk a scorched crotch. While certainly not ugly, design is blander than a plate of lima beans. Price/maker: $1,350 (as tested), Fujitsu Read our full Fujitsu Lifebook A6120 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: GeTac clearly had utilitarian users in mind with the E-100, which makes for a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to function. On the bright side, this surprisingly light ultramobile PC is military certified to withstand splashes of water, dust, humidity, shock and even freezing temperatures. Even common vulnerabilities like exposed ethernet and USB ports have been sidestepped with a bevy of watertight rubber stoppers. In fact, my review unit was able to smoothly stream South Park episodes while taking repeated tumbles down a flight of stairs. But it was when I looked under the hood that I found kinks in the armor. Mission-critical applications like Office ran at a reasonable clip in a number of bumpy environments, but for the E-100's price I was expecting a little more "oomph." The 100-GB shock-resistant ATA hard drive and 1 GB of RAM tilt the balance a little bit, but honestly, even the unassuming Eee PC comes stock with Intel's newer Atom chips. Mediocre specs aside, this rough and tumble UMPC performs solidly in a number of harsh environments and boasts a host of connectivity options. WIRED: Rock-solid construction, ergonomics and field performance. Responsive 8.4-inch touchscreen looks phenomenal in direct sunlight. Web ready with 802.11b/g, gigabit ethernet and SIM card slot. Waterproof combination SmartCard/PCMCIA slot. Decent battery life at 3.5 hours (WiFi on). 100-GB hard drive has its own heater for cycling up in freezing conditions. TIRED: Too little processing given the amount of buck. Near three grand price tag? Seriously? No option for a solid state drive?! Recessed USB and headphone jacks are a hassle to plug into. Tinny speaker is more of an afterthought. Lose the stylus and you're S.O.L. Looks that only a FedEx driver could love. Price/maker: $2,880 as tested, GeTac Read our full GeTac E-100 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: Most of the new mini-laptops look like toys, educational tools or lab experiments in miniaturization, but the MSI Wind is an actual PC. Packing the latest 1.6-GHz Atom processor and a roomy 80-GB drive, the Wind boasts some legit PC cred. Yes, your iPod probably has more drive space, but 80 gigs was plenty not so long ago, and it's not like you're going to be producing HD video on this thing; it's more of an internet lapdog than a laptop. The 10-inch widescreen can display most fixed-width webpages comfortably, and its keyboard is large enough to house decent-size keys so you can type easily without resorting to Homer's dialing wand. While even some larger laptops are short on ports, the Wind finds room for three USBs, an SD slot and a display connector (take note, MacBook Air!). Of course, it's not perfect. We would have loved to see a DVD burner included, and with all its ports, a mini FireWire would be welcome. Also, don't expect high-end performance from the unit or hearty battery life from its slim, three-cell battery. But if you want a cheap and tiny companion for uploading pictures during a Malaysian jungle trek, or just a little buddy to hang out with you on the couch for IMDB searches, it's pretty hard to be against the Wind. WIRED: Grown-up looks (as opposed to "I want to sit at the big kids' table" found in other netbooks). Full keyboard and the largest screen among mini-notes. Plenty of ports to plug away at. 2.3-pound weight and rounded edges make it simple to pack and lug. TIRED: Lack of a DVD is understandable, but it still makes us cry a little. Hard drive sometimes makes mysterious swallowing sounds. Two-hour battery life is OK, but three would be better. $500, MSI Mobile Photo: Jon Snyder/ Wired.com Read our full MSI Wind U100 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: Behold, the new Eee Box! Like the rest of the Eee bloodline, these varicolored desktop boxes are small, cheap and adorable (think AppleTV or Mac Mini). Intel's 1.6-GHz Atom processor, up to 2 GBs of memory, four USB ports, an SD card slot, 802.11n and Bluetooth are plenty for the Eee Box to hit that elusive "good enough" mark with aplomb. Once again, you'll get your choice of running either Linux or Windows XP. Then there's the size. While it does have a slightly larger overall footprint, it's much trimmer than the Mac Mini. Not only will this elegant 8.5 x 7 x 1-inch box fit anywhere, but you also have the choice of mounting it directly to the back of any extra monitor you happen to have lying around. To be clear, the Eee Box is not for sweaty frag fests or heavy-duty HD video decoding. But if you have a hankering for a killer kitchen PC or just an über-cheap second or third home PC that runs Linux or XP, it simply can't be beat. WIRED: Small, lightweight and cuter than a bowlful of kittens. More than enough processing power for everyday computing. Cheaper than an ounce of Da Kine bud. The option of running Splashtop for preboot access to Skype, web browsing and IM clients. TIRED: Where's the optical drive? No HDMI output, which actually doesn't matter much because there's also no hardware to decode acceleration. By itself, the Atom processor can barely handle 720p H.264 streams, dashing our hopes of this being the ultimate home-streaming box. $300 as tested, Asus Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Asus Eee Box review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: Iomega's own $190 solution for a filled DVR is a 500-GB drive that plays nice with two DVRs in particular: Scientific Atlanta's 80-GB standard definition 8300 and the more recent 160-GB 8300-HD model. We tested the drive out on the latter model and found it more or less did what it promised. It even worked with a neighbor's Series 3 TiVo, which (to its credit) is known for being something of an eSATA slut. Setup in both instances was quick and painless, and involved simply turning off the DVR, plugging in the Iomega drive, and then turning everything back on again. Voila, no more having to choose between Emmanuelle: The Art of Love and the latest episode of Mad Men. WIRED: Reasonably priced. Your grandmother could probably set it up. Instantly adds an additional 300 hours of SD TV, or 60 hours of HD content. TIRED: Only one way to connect the drive to a DVR (that would be eSATA). Limited compatibility, although Iomega claims the drive will work with future SA eSATA-enabled DVRs. No way of controlling what gets stored on the expander drive and what gets stored on the DVR. Transporting DVR'd content to your computer is verboten, and plugging the drive into a computer will automatically reformat it. $190, Iomega Read our full Iomega DVR Expander Drive review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: The Samsung U900, aka Soul, aka Magical Touch, doesn't really have any supernatural abilities. What it does have is a tiny, touch-sensitive OLED nav-pad that is one of the coolest, most efficient touch interfaces we've seen on a handset. The small display (situated below the main 2.2-inch QVGA screen) features icons that morph based on whatever application is currently on the screen. Switch to camera mode and controls for snapping pictures. Toggle to the music player and buttons for fast-forward, rewind, pause and play pop up. The big selling point is the phone's pocketability. The picture quality and dynamic range could be better (LED flash, we're talking about you), but at 0.5-inches thick and 7 ounces, this slider is more svelte than just about every 5-MP cam we've tested. Ultimately, our biggest complaint is that you cannot use the camera without sliding open the phone first. This design protects the lens from dust bunnies and pocket grime, yes, but shooting with a fully open device was a tad awkward at times. WIRED: External microSD slot makes it a cinch to swap cards on the fly. Bluetooth ( A2DP). Competent image-editing suite. Video editor allows you to layer additional audio tracks. Decent facial detection. Haptic feedback can be tweaked to three different levels of intensity or switched-off entirely. TIRED: Bundled proprietary ear buds sound duller than Ben Stein. No Xenon flash. No GPS. No WiFi. Lower-res video clips. Proprietary headphone jack positioned on the side = hard to pocket when phones are plugged in. Noticeable screen glare when outdoors. $400, Samsung Photo: Issac Brekken/Wired.com Read our full Samsung SGH-U900 Soul "Magical Touch" review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: The biggest selling point of the new Sidekick is supposed to be the customizable "skins" you can order to replace the solid-color ones (we opted for jet black). But apart from flashy aesthetics, the pocket-friendly 2008 is 0.4-inches shorter and 0.9-ounces lighter than the pricier LX. It also packs features that were sorely missed with the tragically minimalist iD. Most notably, a 2.0-megapixel camera that can also capture video clips (albeit crappy ones). Though the 2.6-inch WQVGA swivel screen’s received a slight -- and necessary -- boost in pixels (400 x 240), the resolution’s still not fantastic. And neither is Bluetooth. We found data transfers not only paused the media player (annoying), but afterward, we had to go back and manually un-pause whatever track was playing (doubly annoying). For the price, though the 2008 is a solid option compared to the LX -- but only if you live and die by instant messaging and you don't mind being seen with Paris Hilton's device of choice in public. WIRED: Spacious, comfy QWERTY. 3.5-mm headphone jack. Surprisingly loud, radically clear music player. Wide screen excellent for web browsing. Solid battery life. Quick video recording/sharing. Comes with two skins (we got black and iridescent lime). Bluetooth with A2DP (great to have, even if it does disrupt tunes). TIRED: Screen retains more fingerprints than the Feds. No flash. No WiFi. Mike captures poor sound when recording video. Only 20-second video clips. Only 512-MB microSD card included. Apps are mostly in the $2.99 range (except for the janky free Calculator). No 3-G. Price/maker: $150 (with 2-year contract), T-Mobile Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Read our full Sidekick review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: Cyclists know it's plum foolish to roll around on two wheels sans helmet, but it can be just as dangerous to bike about at night without a light. A good headlight affixed to your handlebars is just the thing to help cut through the murk and get you to your destination safely. Here we pit two of the top dogs on the market against each other and see which comes out on top. �'Eric Smillie

Planet Bike Blaze This one-watt LED cannon goes the extra mile, and we don't just mean it shoots light a ridiculous distance. Due in no small part to its particularly aggressive blinking mode, accurately called superflash, it didn’t just help us catch drivers' attentions; it had them anxiously craning their necks to check whether we were trying to pull them over. Drawing on only two AA batteries, this baby cuts down on weight but its CREE XR-E diode, coupled with a specially engineered Fraen lens, still pumps out the brightest light of all the lamps we tested -- enough to bounce off signs, license plates, and other reflective materials up to four blocks away, giving us plenty of time to make an impression. All we have to worry about now is whether some cop-hating, GTA IV-overdosing motorist trying to run us down. WIRED: Recessed switch only works if pressed firmly, which means it won’t turn on in your bag while you jostle your way to the bar, leaving you in the dark at closing time. Planet Bike spends 25 percent of its profits on bike advocacy. TIRED: The brightness and reduced weight come at a price: 20 hours of battery life in blinking mode, and only seven on high. Though it installs without the use of a tool, the handlebar bracket is tricky to tighten and slips easily. $50, Planet Bike Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: While not the sharpest bulb on our handlebars, the WhiteLite HP AA is in it for the long haul. Don’t get us wrong -- just like other 1-watt LED headlamps, this portable, all-in one lamp is more than a glorified blinky. When engineering this light, Topeak got all snippy, cutting the cords to one of its external power-pack lights and reengineered it to accept three AA batteries. Its widely diffused beam covers plenty of surface area and earned our trust by helping us dodge nasty potholes and tree roots on unlit paths. But where this guy really shines is in perseverance, by lasting 30 hours on high and a whopping 120 on flash. WIRED: The mounting bracket screws tight with a finger knob and adjusts five degrees left and right to get a straight aim even on angled handlebars, although it does require an Allen key to tighten. Little red LED signals when batteries are low. TIRED: Blinks come slowly and lack urgency in flashing mode. Pushing the rear on/off push button can rotate the mount and mess up the light angle. Sound like a small problem? It won't be when you look up just in time to face plant into the bumper of a lifted pickup. $60, Topeak Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

: The E71 looks more like a Blackberry Killer, but don’t be fooled: This great white hope gives the iPhone a run for its money in a lot of different areas (yes, really). Despite its obvious lack of an oversize touchscreen interface, Nokia wins points for a remarkably trim profile (10mm vs. 12.3mm), decent 3.2-megapixel camera (instead of 2.0), and the fact it's not tied to any carrier (yet). Setting up Nokia's Mail for Exchange program required no IT help or time. QuickOffice let us create, edit and send Word/Excel/PowerPoint files on the fly while we browsed PDFs with Adobe Acrobat Reader. The E71 is stocked with enough apps and goodies to keep even the most overworked road warrior on the ball, but it didn't feel too "business" due to two separate customizable home screens. One is designed to house all of your work apps while the other is geared more toward entertainment with programs for audio, video and gaming. The phone's 2.36-inch, 320 x 240 QVGA display is only slightly smaller than the iPod classic's, and though the resolution can't top the iPhone's, with 15 fps, the E71 is still solid for YouTube clips. Oh, and did we mention the E71's got battery life for days? Yes, literally, three of them. WIRED: Up to 8 GB in an easy-to-access, external microSD slot. Quick and seamless OS. GPS, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth (you name it, it's basically got it). Vivid screen (even in direct sunlight). Textured stainless steel backing prevents slippage. Relatively lightweight (127 grams = six grams lighter than iPhone). Hit any letter on the QWERTY pad and predictive text calls up that section of your address book. TIRED: No standard 3.5-mm headphone jack. 3.2-megapixel camera's optics could be better. LED flash could be way better. N-Gage gaming platform not available. Screen's wide, but not wide enough to do a feature-length film justice. For $500, you could get two 8-GB, 3-G JesusPhones (with $100 left over to put toward AT&T's data plan). $500 (unlocked), Nokia Photo: Max Buck/Wired.com Read our full Nokia E71 review. Check Wired.com's latest Gadget Lab reviews, updated daily.

Gear Gallery: Laptops That Replace Your Desktop
Wired magazine | Top Stories 18 08 2008

Gear Gallery: Laptops That Replace Your Desktop
Wired magazine | Top Stories 18 08 2008