News Bits: Asus Eee PC Selling Well, Ultrasound MacBook Pro, Dell Teasing a New Release

OLPC extends Give One Get One program to Dec. 31

The OLPC non-profit organization announced it is extending its Give One Get One program to December 31 in the US and Canada. Nicholas Negroponte said in a statement "In the past 10 days, we’ve experienced an outpouring of support from the public that is truly gratifying and encouraging.Because so many people have asked for more time to participate either individually or in order to organize local and national groups to which they belong, we have decided to extend Give One Get One through the end of this year. During this extended period we will solicit input and transition to a program of giving only at the beginning of 2008. We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to act upon the giving spirit of the holiday season."

The Give One Get One program allows a customer in the US or Canada to buy two OLPC XO notebooks for $399; the customer will get one and the other will go to a child in a developing nation. The OLPC has said donations have reached US$2 million per day.

Read More (Engadget.com)


The Asus Eee PC is the most wanted Christmas gift

The Asus Eee PC is being called the most wanted Christmas gift in America. It is number one on wish lists at Amazon.com and it is also number one at CNET.com. Asus predicts that its projected sales goal of 350,000 units will be met by the end of the year; next year the company predicts sales of 3 to 5 million units.

The Eee PC is a success not only in the US, but around the world. It is sold out in many places as soon as it hits the market.

Asus Eee PC Review at NotebookReview.com

Read More (Asus.com)



Dell WoW teaser in the XPS notebook section -- new release coming 12/11/07?

Dell is currently running a teaser for some type of new release coming on 12/11/07. In the XPS Notebook section the following graphic can be seen:

If you click the banner it goes to a World of Warcraft signup page that indicates Dell and Blizzard, maker of WoW, are forming some type of partnership to sell -- well -- something!

Read More (Dell)

Siemens shows off ultrasound MacBook Pro

Siemens Media Solutions in Germany has introduced an Apple MacBook Pro equipped with ultrasound. It is designed for mobile applications in cardiology, vascular applications, use in the operating room, and use in anesthesiology departments. The device is called the Acuson P50. It has special ultrasound electronics and software.

Read More (THERAWFEED.com)


Next year to see strong push for notebook use LED backlighting

Major backlight unit makers in Taiwan will grow their LED-based departments substantially in 2008. One major BLU maker, Coretronic, expects to put out 150,000 - 200,000 LED-based notebook-use BLUs per month, up from 70,000 - 80,000 units per month at present. Radiant Opto-Electronics, another firm, will do the same, increasing capacity to 100,000 units per month from the current 20,000.

Read More (DigiTimes.com)


Windows XP SP3 offers 10% performance boost

Microsoft will release Service Pack 3 for Windows XP next year, and according to testers, it will be a must-have update. Testers have seen numerous performance improvements, including a 10% boost in Microsoft Office compared to SP2. SP3 will be focused on consolidating bug fixes and patches.

Using the Office performance benchmarks, XP SP3 is considerably faster than Vista SP1. Vista SP1 is more than two times slower than XP SP3 according to Devil Mountain Software's chief technology officer Craig Barth.

Read More (ComputerWorld.com)

 

Wow, good job ASUS with the Eee! Getting a small notebook from a relatively unknown brand in America to become the most wanted Christmas gift is certainly a success.

Fancy MBP . The machine's colour matches the MBP!

 

I can't help comparing the EEE to the Wii, they rhyme, are pearly white and sell like hotcakes!

I wonder what are the majority of screen sizes future LEDs will be going into, safe to say 15.4"?

 

Asus is on track to become the #1 notebook manufacturer in the world.

 

wow... Never thought Eee will sell so well.

 

Yea, go Asus.... and the whole SP3 thing is really good.... now i'm tempted to get xp pro 32-bit rather than vista ultimate 64-bit... but thats another story... And good for Siemens, i'm sure that will find it's way into many hospitals.

 

It's certainly "possible" ... but Asus has a long, long way to go to overtake HP, Dell, and Acer.

Of course, I'm saying that while I'm typing my response on a Black Asus Eee PC that I purchased over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Not kidding.

 

If that 10% boost with XP SP3 is actually real, then I'm definitely sticking with XP for Boot Camp for the forseeable future. Hopefully, Microsoft doesn't blow it by assuming that they have 10% more performance room to jam in bloatware.

I wonder what is the chances of XP x64 getting a SP3 too. Might be a nice compromise between getting a more modern, secure Windows OS without resorting to Vista.

 

I think he meant manufacturer, or ODM, not retailer.

 

the 10% boost is in microsoft office it may not be a overall 10% system performance boost

 

Could this mean that finally ASUS becomes a much bigger and well known brand through the Eee PC? Anyway go dell XPS M1530!

 

XP 2X fast?, I find vista is slow at load up, that it, once running it's way faster than XP. Also consider that vista takes 15 gb on your hard disk... XP takes what a little under a gig, for a clean install?

 

Lol yeah Asus is popular because of the EEE. Other day walking around campus got a few asking me if I worked for Asus because I was wearing my Asus polo. I told them not but they were all like damn because they are trying to get a hold of some for Christmas and its sold out everywhere.

 

My thoughts exactly. They've really done well sales wise.

However, I just experienced the Eee for myself yesterday and it really gives me the impression of being a toy with a tiny screen in a big bezel. Not my cup of tea. But it seems I am one in million - literally.

And that MBP looks high tech with the add-on. At first I thought it was some kind of DJ equipment used for mixing up sounds

 

Regarding performance between XP SP3 and Vista SP1 - it's important to note they're doing the tests using a computer with 1GB of RAM. Not that the test isn't valid - but just important to note that caveat.

 

I've ordered and cancelled the Asus EEE 3 times. Mainly because it takes 3 weeks to ship from Amazon, but also because I already have 2 laptops and don't need a third one. Heck, I don't even need 2! I'm getting one of these. I don't need one, I want one!

 

If Asus had been able to stick the EEE to its original $199 price point, I'd be one of the many buying one just for the heck of it. But at $299-$399 I just don't think it's so much of a bargain anymore. Specially when you consider it's a fifty to one hundred percent increase in price, never mind $100 being a fraction of the price of a full blown lappy.

I'm looking forward to SP3 now... if the speed boost is real, it's just more reason for me to stick with XP

 

You're not alone.

I played with one last weekend, and I felt like I was working with one of those Speak & Spell's from the 1970s, just with softer color and a laptop-design.

Not a fan of the EEE, at all, no matter how cheap it may be.

 

I have one [EEE] - it's a good school companion to me. When it comes to carrying comfort, 2 lb > 10 lb.

 

Yeah, and both are not-the-best-equipped in their categories, but are selling a lot anyway. A 7-inch laptop presents a better premise than a UMPC, imo. Though I really shouldn't compare the two.

No XPS M1530 news here? Dell just confirmed it right?

 

I wonder if it's the M1730 with SLI 8800's?

 

Actually Engadget revealed this morning that the XPS M1530 is up on the Dell. The announcement must be about something else. The M1530 is quite a bit less exciting than I hoped it would be.

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4108

 

EEE is a must hack XP for me, I can't stand the simple OS and for $399 they could of gone 8GB/10" LCD. I'm in serious limbo about buying one, the battery life and the warranty restrictions are holding me back.

 

My guess is that the announcement is for XPS laptops with custom WoW graphics on them. I recall Dell has run promotions like this in the past for things like Star Wars and such on their XPS desktops in particular. The thing that seems to give it away is that their promotional site has a bunch of WoW wallpapers with XPS logos on them.

 

Thanks.

Wonder what the WoW-XPS thing is about, though. WoW customized laptops seems like a good guess.

 

Why do I see foresee people trolling WOW's forums while on a Troll-skinned laptop. It's irony waiting to awake itself.