ForeverGeek » notebook

Careless laptop users emitting Wi-Fi and alerting thieves

andy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:37:02 +0000

One of the latest warning issued by a security specialist is that of turning off your Wi-Fi connection before hibernating your notebook PC.

According to Credant Technologies, some users are unwittingly advertising the location of their laptop to anyone with a cheap off-the-shelf handheld wireless signal detector.

Apparently one of the global hotspots for this kind of theft is Jamaica, but the crime could easily be committed anywhere else.

Something I wasn’t aware of (and is rather worrying in its own right) is that some notebook PCs can stay awake for up to 30 minutes even after the lid is shut. Quite why this is necessary (unless it’s deliberately set by the user) is a little unclear.

Anyway, the message is clear: turn your Wi-Fi off when you’re not using your laptop to reduce the risk of thieves locating and stealing it.

Dell shows off Adamo, world's thinnest laptop

andy — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:51:36 +0000

It seems like an age ago when Apple showed off its Air notebook computer, proudly proclaiming it to be the world’s thinnest. You knew everyone else would want to try to better that, and today it’s Dell’s turn.

In fact, the new Adamo notebook is the new “world’s thinnest”. At 0.65 inches, it beats the MacBook Air by over a tenth of an inch. It features a 13.4-inch widescreen high definition edge-to-edge glass display, 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, optional mobile broadband, solid state drives (naturally) and a backlit keyboard.

Other options include external hard or optical drives, including Blu-ray, 8GB USB drive, and a collection of cables for connecting to external displays and TVs.

It will set you back a fair amount of cash – £1,649 ($1,999) is the starting price – but then this is a Dell, and it is the start of a brand new premium product line, so it’s to be expected. In fact, get this, “Adamo” is derived from the Latin word meaning “to fall in love”. Yep, Dell wants to fall in love with your credit card all over again.

Dell is taking pre-orders now.

Adamo by Dell

Microsoft cottons on to laptop popularity, launching notebook cooling base and portable mice

andy — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:29:26 +0000

It seems that Microsoft has woken up to the fact that notebook computers are very popular and are actually outselling desktops, and that means… a new product or two.

Yes, despite the fact that other manufacturers have been doing this kind of thing for years, Microsoft has decided that it should launch a notebook cooling base. And yes, that’s what it’s called.

No passivity here, mind, as the unit features a built-in fan and efficient cooling channel. It can be used on desks and laps and is angled for a more optimal typing angle, yet is only 1.16 inches think. As with most other similar stands, it’s USB powered, and it will come in white or black.

Added to which, Microsoft is revamping its Arc mouse by launching a special edition range. Special in that it offers a variety of new colours: frost white, eggplant purple, deep olive green and marine blue, in fact.

The mouse can be be folded down by almost half so it’s easier to use while on the move and when it’s flipped shut it turns off its power.

More colours are also coming to the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000: Blue sapphire, red garnet, pink topaz, green emerald and purple amethyst. I can tell you’re excited.

The notebook stand will arrive in July for around $29.95. The Arc Mouse SE is available this month for around $49.95, as is the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000 ($29.95).