Intel has announced three new chips that are squarely aimed at reducing the energy consumption required to run it. Intel is so confident about their new products that the company is predicting laptops to run all day by 2013 based on a single charge or go on connected standby for almost 10 days.

The center of the energy efficiency claims of Intel lies on the Haswell processor, that will be shipped on 2013. This chip will be extending the energy efficiency claims further than any of Intel’s other products. The processor has been specially designed to allow for a Haswell-powered laptop to run for one full day on a single charge. The idle platform power will also be reduced by up to 20 times compared to current designs. Compare this to the Macbook Air that runs for seven hours on a single charge and has a 30 day regular standby.

For those who are confused about what connected standby is – this is a computer state wherein the display is turned off but the device is still connected to the network, which simply means the device is still connected and on, constantly updating email, social media and digital content.

A number of health problems have been associated with long hours sitting down – not just back problems but also health issues with the heart and even cancer. Because of these health concerns there is a growing movement that seeks to change the way people work in the workplace – and that is working while standing.

Standing desks are now becoming more and more popular because it is seen as directly addressing the health concerns created by prolonged sitting. This is even seen in such companies like Google and Facebook where employees are now asking for a standing desk instead of the typical office desk. Studies reveal that there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people who are requesting for a standing desk in the workplace. Responding to these requests in the workplace and providing employees with the modified desks may also be in the best interest of the employers because studies show that standing actually increases productivity. With the standing getting to be more popular, the issue now is how to apply that for people who work using laptops and are working remotely.

Now I know this isn’t a laptop, but the design is worth writing about. One look at the image and you’ll immediately see that Lenovo might be on to something here.

Believe it or not, the processor and everything else that is needed for a computer to function can be found in the monitor. In this respect, this desktop computer can be comparable to a laptop or a tablet PC, even!

Needless to say, the ThinkCentre Edge 91z – when it finally comes out – is going to be a game changer.

According to the PDF that Engadget “intercepted”, the ThinkCenter Edge 91z is supposed to be announced tomorrow, May 17.¹ It should be available by late June of this year. Now that the leak has happened, we don’t know if anything is changing.

In any case, the ThinkCentre Edge 91z is not all about looks. It does pack a punch with respect to specs as well. The monitor is 21.5 inches, with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Other details:

• Multiple Active Displays for Multi-tasking
• 1G ATI Discrete Graphics Card (though this is optional)
• Wi-Fi
• HDMI Video Out/Video In
• Spill-proof keyboard (now that’s something we all need!)
• Rapid Drive SSD
• Up to Intel Core i7 Quad Core CPUs

The price tag?  From $699 to $1199.  There’s nothing more to do but to wait for Lenovo’s official announcement.  Also, it would be interesting to see how they handle the leak. ;)

1. Engadget

In other news, Google has announced that they are going to offer the Google Chrome OS laptop for as low as $20 a month, in a scheme that is not unlike what telecommunications companies offer for mobile phones. With this scheme, they are targeting students who may not have the amount on hand for the entire package. Instead, Google is offering a subscription-based package which will make it very affordable.

What do you get for $20 a month? Well, you get the laptop, of course, plus the online services that come with it. Again, the online services are integral to the use of the laptop so it makes sense that they come with the fee.

This is definitely a good move on Google’s part. One major reason – they can “catch” users while they’re young. One can’t deny that once you start patronizing a manufacturer or using a particular service early in your life and you’re satisfied, then the chances are that you will stick with them for many years to come. Another reason is that with the bundled online services, Google actually makes a captive market out of the users. Instead of having to rely on Microsoft or whatever other maker of office applications, users of Google Chrome OS laptop will automatically have to use Google Apps.

While the offer is currently limited to students, there is hope that a similar system might be offered to businesses in the future. In the meantime, Google really ought to address the issue of connectivity.

Via Tech Radar

If you had a desktop computer, a laptop, a netbook, and a tablet, which one would you end up using the most? This is the question that TV ratings company Nielsen posed to the respondents in one of its recent surveys. The tense of that question was, of course, changed to fit reality and not a possible situation. So, given the different kinds of computers that the average person has access to, which one is the most utilized? The answer is not that surprising: tablets.

Nielsen got in touch with owners of tablets (or pads, if you wish) and asked them how their habits have changed since they got hold of the handy device. A stunning 77 percent of these owners proclaimed that they use their touchscreen devices in lieu of their desktop or laptop computers. More so, more than 33 percent of the users also said that they have used their (desktop) computers less – or even not at all – ever since they bought their tablet. As for laptops, 2 percent have said that they have stopped using what used to be the most portable computing device.

The survey results are not unthinkable. Just stop for a moment, and you will probably count yourself as part of the statistics. Just to make it formal, though, here are the reasons that Nielsen found out.

Topping the list is portability. Indeed, no one can contest that tablets are much easier to take around as compared to laptops. Other factors: ease of interface, fast start up/off, convenience, size, etc.

So what about you? Are you a tablet owner? Do the numbers above apply to you?

The two laptops are the Sony Vaio VPCSC1AFM/S and the Toshiba Satellite E305. I have no idea why they chose to name the Sony laptop using that long string of letters than no one will remember, but naming aside, these laptops are rather decent in terms of specifications.

The Blue Label laptops have the Intel Core i5 processor, which should give you enough computing power. Another nice thing: both laptops have a 500GB Seagate® solid-state hybrid drives. This means 50% faster boot time! The difference is that the Sony has a 5400RPM drive while the Toshiba has a 7200RPM drive. Both laptops have the same memory specs: 4GB DDR3.

A significant difference is the size. The Sony is a mere 13.3-inch while the Toshiba is the standard 14-inch. This also translates to a significant difference in weight, with the Sony laptop weighing 3.89 lbs and the Toshiba laptop weighing 4.95 lbs. What I find rather interesting is the almost insignificant difference in battery life – 7 hours 10 minutes for the Toshiba and 7 hours 30 minutes for the Sony!

Other perks that you get with the Blue Label laptops:

• Intel® PC Theft Defense — 3 years complimentary with customer activation
• Intel® Wireless Display† (NETGEAR Push2TV adapter included)
• Extended 2-year manufacturer’s warranty
• Built-in Blu-ray Disc player
• 1 year antivirus protection
• Backlit keyboard
• 90 days complimentary Geek Squad® phone and remote support

I don’t now about you, but that Blu-Ray player is a huge plus! It almost makes the price reasonable. Almost.

The Blue Label Laptops are available for pre-order at Best Buy now. Best get $900 (Toshiba) and $950 (Sony) ready as well.

• Static web pages, which do not show frequent changes in their contents, until and unless the concerned page is being updated regularly.

• Dynamic web pages, which are characterized by a change in their respective natures which means that they can adapt themselves with respect to the corresponding changes in the computing environment, due to probable chances of cases when complex web applications are being used.
Web designing has gained such a magnitude of popularity among the browsers and internet buggers all over the world that web design contests are now held in order to test the merit of those concerned people in the field of web designing. A few web design contests are as follows:

1. Nakshatra MCA meets.
2. Ferdinand Verbiest.
3. Kongregate.

The web designers all over the world have also formed various communities and groups. One such example is that of “The Open Design Community”. Web design is certainly an emerging trend in the modern world, and it has certainly got bright prospects in the recent future in the field of emerging web technologies.

For a consumer too, it comes packaged with advantages of portability. It can refer it at a time most feasible to an individual.

Web books are the future of all kinds of literary works including, but not limited to academics, art and philosophy, great literature works, and most of all not to forget the science and research works. Come to think of getting the work done across countries. Moreover, inviting feedback was a costly and time-consuming affair. With the advent of cheap webhosting, it became a reality to present one’s work to the world almost effortlessly .

In some countries, we still witness kids carrying heavy loads of books while going to school while there are some countries that no longer do it and utilize the medium of cheap web hosting to their advantage
We have come of age where owing to technology advancement cheap web hosting is at our disposal whereby it is possible to communicate and share the web books with the world at large.

She has taken to the Mac like a duck to water. I’ve noticed that she’s not afraid to tinker with the Mac’s many features. She only needed me to show her some basic stuff from the first three days and after that it was her, unguided, all the way. She even pushed me away when she said she wanted to play a CD. She said she can figure it out.

I think that the Apple OS is really the every-OS. The configuration is just easy and there is a wide room for error. Compare that with Windows where an untracked error could spell disaster at some point. It’s like walking through a minefield–and only those with a preternatural ability to memorize Windows quirks can navigate it with a degree of confidence. My father-in-law is the perfect example here. He believes that he is one of these people but, unfortunately, he is not. This only means that his PCs conk out after a mere two months.

I’m quite happy my wife is having fun with her Mac and just to join in on the fun, I just might get one myself next year.

Windows laptops are decidedly cheaper and a large game library is one factor that needs to be seriously considered because my wife is a gamer and she can’t live without Sims. The bad thing though is the virus problem. My wife is not the type who will be bothered to go through the painstaking process of scanning every thumbdrive or external HD that she will attach to her laptop. Our trusty Acer laptop is now riddled with trojans and other malware that it needs its own haz-mat packaging.

The Mac is a simple machine that is really designed for people who do not want the additional complications of taming a sometimes unruly OS. Prices have gone down significantly, but Macs are still relatively expensive. The lean game library is something my wife will probably moan about.

I am really at a loss as to which one to buy. I’ll probably wait for the upcoming Developers Conference next week and hope Steve Jobs unveils a new Mac laptop that will definitely drive down the price of the last gen Macs.