Laptop Thoughts: News & Reviews on Laptops, Netbooks, Slates, and More.

Be sure to register in our forums and post your comments - we want to hear from you!


Android Thoughts

Loading feed...

Windows Phone Thoughts

Loading feed...

Digital Home Thoughts

Loading feed...





All posts tagged "windows"


Monday, January 16, 2012

Want to Run Windows on a Mac? You Have Several Options

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple Software (OS X)" @ 01:30 PM

http://www.macworld.com/article/164...l#lsrc.rss_main

"Despite the Mac's recent gains in market share, Windows is still the dominant operating system, especially in businesses. That means there may be times when you need to run the Microsoft OS: perhaps there's an application your company uses that's only available for Windows, or you're a web developer and you need to test your sites in a true native Windows web browser."

Well, whatever your reasons for running Windows on your Mac, you have many choices. Probably more than you realized, at least that was the feeling I got when I read this article on how to set up your Mac to run Windows. Especially helpful were the comparisons on performance based on which option, which helps immensely when trying to decide which road to travel. What are your thoughts on running Windows on a Mac, and which option(s) do you use?


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Windows 8: This is the Future of Windows

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home News" @ 09:48 AM

http://www.winrumors.com/windows-8-...s-mind-blowing/

"Microsoft is welcoming around 5,000 developers to its BUILD conference today to unveil the most significant change in the PC space since Windows 95. "It's a launch," explains Windows chief Steven Sinofsky. "It's a launch of an opportunity for developers. That's a lot, it's a big deal to do today and tomorrow," he says during an opening address to media and analysts in Anaheim California. You sense the sense of excitement in the room and the realisation that Windows 8 is a really big deal for Microsoft, a deal that cannot go wrong."

It's taken years, but Microsoft has finally delivered a truly workable touch-based interface. Check out the video above; the performance is stunning. Everything is smooth and impressively fluid. Yes, this is a developer's build so it's not finished, but seeing performance like this early on is a great indicator of what's to come. Windows 8 is also significantly lighter on resources than Windows 7; Engadget's post says that Windows 7 SP1 required 404 MB of RAM and had 32 processes running. Compare that to Windows 8 using only 281 MB of RAM and having 28 processes - that's big, big improvement.

Are you excited? I'm excited! More coverage here on Business Insider and Engadget.


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Exomount, The Only Mount You Will Need

Posted by Jeff Campbell in "Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad" @ 01:00 AM

http://www.exogear.com/products-exo...unt-holder.html

"A simple car mount that won't fall mid-drive is all anyone really needs. Still, there's something to be said for one that can stick firmly to almost any surface."

ExoGear sells the mount for $29.95 USD, and it is pretty versatile as you can see from the photo above. Granted, all the photos show an iPhone 4 but if you visit their site you will see that it will work with any device up to a 5-inch screen (thinking tablet here). They even have it adapted to use as an iPad holder or stand by flipping the suction cup around. A one size fits all mount if you will and the price certainly is affordable.


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Windows 8 Sneak Peek: Well This is Different!

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Digital Home News" @ 07:00 AM

http://allthingsd.com/20110601/excl...ws-8/?mod=tweet

"On Wednesday, Microsoft offered the first glimpse of Windows 8, a sneak peek that reveals much about both the influences and the strategic goals of the major overhaul of Microsoft's 25-year-old operating system. The fundamental goal with the new operating system, which is being shown for the first time at D9, is to create something that is equally well at home on an 8-inch tablet as it is on a powerful desktop attached to a huge monitor."

Microsoft is serious about the Metro UI being part of their product line-up, and we can see that in action in the screen shot above (check out the source article for a high-res image). This looks like what you'd expect it Microsoft transformed Windows Phone 7 into a tablet UI: Live Tiles more appropriate for a device with a big screen, a panoramic pivot view, and some extremely funky colours. I still have severe reservations around the performance and battery life of a tablet running full-blown Windows (even based on ARM), but I'm excited to see Microsoft going after this hard by betting on a radically different UI overlay.


Friday, May 20, 2011

Not Enough Tablets to Choose From? Don't Worry, Here Come More from Intel!

Posted by Craig Horlacher in "Android News" @ 11:30 AM

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/18/...ex-including-a/

"For all its processing might, Intel is a non-player in the booming tablet space. Consumers, no longer trapped in the WinTel PC juggernaut, are increasingly opting for devices running software experiences optimized for more power efficient ARM processors. Intel hopes to break back into the market it once dominated with the release of "more than ten new tablets" at Computex later this month."

The tablet world is exploding and Intel wants in on the action! Back in Pocket PC days Intel used to make StrongARM mobile processors (actually bought it from DEC) and then replaced that line with the XScale line. Of course there were the Tablet PCs as well. Really though, Intel don't have a lot of experience with low-power high-performance processors, especially when it comes to graphics and everything being done with mobile devices now. Who knows, Intel may come up with just the right CPU for your tablet needs. Intel expects to have their chipsets (probably including an Intel CPU) in more than 35 tablets shipping by the end of the year - that's crazy! I love all the shapes and sizes of tablets available and, as always, I'm glad to see more competition entering the market. What do you think? Will you hold out for a tablet with an Intel inside?


Thursday, April 21, 2011

Should the Unemployed Buy New Macs to Find Jobs? The Onion Panel Weighs In

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Apple Talk" @ 07:00 AM

http://www.theonion.com/video/in-th...be-buyin,20083/

No matter where you fall on the Apple/Windows side of the fence, you have to admit this is utterly hilarious - I love the way it plays to the fanboy stereotypes. ;-)


Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Windows to get an ARM and (maybe) Some Legs

Posted by Hooch Tan in "Digital Home News" @ 09:00 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/micr...y-fails-2010-12

"It looks like Microsoft may finally be taking the tablet market seriously: next month at CES the company will announce a version of Windows for the ARM processors used in most smartphones and tablets, according to a report today from Bloomberg."

It must be difficult for the management at Microsoft to watch the global landscape for technology changing so radically that Windows, while still dominant and in many people's homes, losing marketshare in almost every way possible. Windows Phone 7 is off to a good start, but that is only after many, many years of Windows Mobile losing ground to the iPhone, BlackBerry and Android devices. The Xbox can also be considered a success though it still battles out against Sony and Nintendo for sales. Everywhere you look, Microsoft is being assaulted by new and different devices and form factors.

One major problem for the Windows platform in recent years has been only being able to run on x86 based CPUs. While fast and powerful, x86 CPUs are hardly frugal electronics. This is why phones and tablets have largely avoided them in favor of the much more battery conscious ARM CPUs. If Windows has been ported to ARM, it is big news indeed and opens up whole new possibilities for Microsoft. Of course, the CPU is only part of the equation, and there needs to be an interface that properly suits the different form factors. Will that come as part of the "revised" Windows package? I guess we will find out at CES.


Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A Deep Dive on the Concept of Chrome OS

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Laptop Thoughts Software" @ 05:39 PM

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4055/...les-chrome-os/1

"Microsoft needed to provide a lightweight OS optimized for the netbook experience a couple of years ago. It didn't. So Google is. The selling point behind a netbook is that it's small, cheap and fast enough for browsing the web. The problem is a netbook isn't fast enough for running the OS that you need to run in order to get access to the web. Microsoft refused to revamp the OS, so Google decided to put forth an OS based around a web browser. It's called the Chrome OS and it's built off of Intel's Moblin distribution of Linux. There's no conventional desktop, you turn on your Chrome notebook and meet a login window followed by an instance of the Chrome web browser."

If you're living your computing life in the cloud, then a device like this may be exactly what you've been waiting for. The speed, security, and stability may be the ticket for blissful computing - but only if you can put up with the limitations of course. What do you say Laptop Thoughts readers: is a Chrome notebook in your future? Personally, I'd be more interested in a Chrome tablet...


Friday, August 13, 2010

Asustek Readying Several (Android and Windows) Tablets

Posted by Michael Knutson in "Other Slates & Tablets" @ 08:30 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/201...dformarchlaunch

"Asustek Computer plans to launch its first tablet device with Google's Android mobile operating system in March, the company's CEO said Friday. The Android tablet will be the third in the Eee Pad family and will cost less than US$399, said Jerry Shen, CEO of Asustek, speaking to reporters after the company's second quarter earnings conference.

"Asustek will launch its first tablet device in December or January, a 12-inch touchscreen tablet that will cost around US$1,000, Shen said. What makes the device more expensive than, say, the iPad, is that it comes with a docking station that transforms it into a laptop computer ... The device, officially called the Eee Pad EP121, has Microsoft's Windows 7 Home Premium operating system and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor inside."

The competition is heating up! Of particular interest to business users may be Windows versions that may allow "enterprise-class" applications. Also mentioned is a version with a 10-inch screen that runs Windows Embedded Compact 7 software, that ships without a docking station and should be priced between $399 and $499. Of course, a lot may change in the upcoming months, but the future looks bright for tablets!


Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Reviews & Articles

Loading feed...

News

Loading feed...

Sponsored links