I’ve used HSDPA mobile broadband technology before and I have to say, this is one technology that I have high hopes for. The ability to surf the internet as long as you have a mobile signal is a great boon for laptop warriors like myself who need access to the internet constantly. At present, the only way you can use HSDPA broadband is by connecting an HSDPA phone to a laptop or buying one of those expensive HSDPA modems.

But this will soon change with Ericsson’s announcement to include high-speed HSDPA technology in future next gen laptops from Dell.

Dell announced that beginning the second quarter of 2008, and will be the second major company to use Ericsson’s technology. Lenovo has earlier announced that it will use Ericsson’s technology. One cool thing about the Ericsson tech is that a GPS component is going to be built into the modules, which means location services is bundled with the tech.

Whenever I get cabin fever from working too much inside my house I would often bring my laptop, go to coffee shop and work from there. Free hotspots have really helped in making me more productive. Of course, productivity can only happen when there is an existing hotspot near you.

I discovered this limitation when I decided to accompany my wife in one of her errands as a magazine editor. She needed to visit a number of commercial shops and look for items that can be featured in her magazine. Hoping that this would be a great way to spend some time with her while at the same time catch up with work, I decided to join her. The plan was for her to walk around these establishments while I go look for a coffee shop where I can work. Good idea, right?

It wasn’t. The commercial area we went too didn’t have a hotspot and the one area that did have Wi-Fi was restricted to subscribers of a Wi-Fi service. I was well and truly screwed. This incident really drove home the convenience of having a ready internet connection wherever you go. Subscriptions to a Wi-Fi service is really not a good idea because it is still dependent on an available hotspot. This made me really see the value of HSDPA based internet connections. With just a small gadget plugged to your lappie, you can access the internet literally wherever you are — in the car, in the middle of a mall, even on the beach! As long as the area is within range of a mobile network you’ve got internet.

With the level of mobility that my work requires from me especially in the near future HSDPA will give me the productivity edge that I need.

The recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show may be an exercise in consumerism but sometimes something noble comes out of it. Take for example the recent announcement of HP that it is committed to cut the energy consumption of its products by 25 per cent by 2010. This includes all of its desktop and laptop offerings.

This is good news because a lower power draw on electronic products means that energy consumption could also lessen, which in the end will have a positive impact on the global energy problem and the global warming. I know that we’re just talking about one company here. But one company taking a step in the right direction could lead to more companies following in its footsteps and I’d like to think that this would cumulatively bring really positive benefits on a global scale. That’s reason for optimism, right?

AMD’s opening salvo for 2008 is underway with the announcement of the company’s LIVE! Explorer software that will be used in desktops and laptops equipped with the company’s processors. Another “product” that was introduced is the LIVE! Ultra brand that is envisioned to bring the Spider multicore platforms additional teeth to make it more responsive and a better product.

The LIVE! Explorer is what the company calls an “immersive and 3D” way of browsing through the media library of a computer user. This is done while at the same time accessing other media content like watching TV, a video or even surfing the internet in the same video.

The new “solution” will be available in AMD LIVE! desktops and laptops, AMD LIVE! Home Cinemas, Home Media Servers, Entertainment Suite and AMD LIVE! Explorer. The software can now be downloaded for free on AMD based PCs that are able to qualify their system requirements.

I’m about to check if my laptop or desktop will be able to meet the requirements. I’ll talk about this soon once I’ve downloaded it.

Have Laptop Will Travel will not be complete without the occasional dig at the RIAA and what the morons in the organization are doing to stop “piracy”.

Take for example, this statement from Jennifer Pariser, chief of litigation for Sony BMG, which was uttered during the trial of Jammie Thomas, a woman from Minnesota who was ordered to pay $220,000.00 by the court for sharing 24 songs online. Pariser testified that: “When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.” He added that when one makes that copy, it’s “a nice way of saying ’steals just one copy.’”

Pariser just said that even if you own a CD, copying it to your hard drive for your own personal listening purposes constitutes to stealing. Isn’t that just stupid? I’ve heard the RIAA has already modified their statements regarding this topic but nevertheless, that earlier statement just shows how blinded the RIAA can get just to protect their interests. They don’t even care if they alienate legitimate CD buyers.

I wish 2008 will bring the geriatric geezers at the RIAA to their senses.