Netbooks are very quickly gaining in popularity. It was not all that long ago that you could go to a computer store and see only one or two brands of netbooks. Now, netbooks are available in many different brand names and many different colors.

It is not always easy to choose the best netbook to suit your needs. It can be difficult to balance the portability and convenience of these computers with the specifications you need to make all your applications run.

To aid you in your decision of which one to buy, I have written a brief summary of a few of the better models. This is just a sample of the many models available, so make sure you do your homework before making a purchase.

First let’s take a look at the Samsung NC20. With a sleek twelve inch design, along with a 1.3 GHz VIA Nano processor, and a large trackpad, this netbook is a winner. It has great 1280 x 800 resolution, along with a full sized keyboard, making it easy to use. Another good thing about it is that it provides some much needed competition for the Intel CPU processor for mini laptops. It is one of the first units to sport a VIA Nano processor, which performs about as good as the Intel Atom. Competition is always healthy and brings the market to reasonable levels for everyone.

Another netbook to consider is the Lenovo Ideapad S12. The 1280 x 800 resolution is great for watching movies and has sharp colors so you do not have to strain your eyes. The Ideapad also has a full sized keyboard, making typing easy. The 6 cell battery is a great value added option with this unit, giving it more than five hours of battery life. Acccording to PC Magazine, the Lenovo Ideapad S12 is “…arguably the best 12-inch netbook available…”

Finally, we will take a look at the Acer AOD750. If you are tired of the plain black netbook, this is the one for you. It is available in four different colors to suit whatever tasted you may have. It has great resolution at 1366 x 768 pixels, and works great for high definition movies. Like the other brands mentioned, this one has a full sized keyboard. One advantage to this one is the LED backlighting. This saves energy and helps conserve the battery life, giving you longer and fuller enjoyment from it. The processor is a 1.33 GHz Atom Z520 from Intel. It’s lower clock can slow down performance a bit, but it is still a good unit overall. If you plan on running many applications with your netbook, you may want to consider purchasing one with a higher clock speed than this one.

It was only this year (2009) that the twelve inch netbooks came out in the mainstream and started gaining in popularity. Their full sized keyboards makes them much more useable that their ten inch counterparts. The balance of size and usability is key in becoming dominant in a market. These twelve inch netbooks have achieved that balance. In the coming years, expect to see them become main players in the computer marketplace.

By: James J Clarkson

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If, like most people, you managed to make time to watch Back to the Future during Saturday afternoon this weekend, you would have thoroughly enjoyed the romp through one of the best films ever made. If you were also watching it for the umpteenth time, you might also have picked up on bits that you missed the first X number of times you watched the movie. I know I did, for example, when the De Lorean is first presented by Dr. Brown, its rear number plate reads ‘OUTATIME’, quite a fitting personalization. Marty McFly also fastens a hairdryer to his waist when he visits his father in the night as Darth Vadar. Biff also says to George McFly at the start of the film, “If I turn in my reports in your handwriting, I’ll get fired”. For those who work in offices in today’s environment, can you imagine saying that now?

At the time, Back to the Future was showcasing exactly how far the world had advanced in terms of technology. Marty’s clock radio is umber retro in today’s eyes, as it’s lacking a digital display, the video camera they use to film Einstein’s time travelling exploits would never fit into a handbag for a night out, personal cassette players have been replaced by iPods and the TVs have most certainly changed a bit too. In fact, the only thing that hasn’t ‘advanced’ from the film would probably be the Flux Capacitor (it’s what makes time travel possible!). I can certainly say that I’ve lived through many of the changes in the film, for example, I can’t imagine which part of the TV I’d slap to get the picture working now that they’re flat panels and I went up through the gears from a cassette walkman to a CD player, stopping briefly with a MiniDisc player before settling upon an iPod. Watching the film again, it was at times hilarious to think back to what technology was like in the 80s, and perhaps even more so with a classic movie that actively promotes technology.

I’d like to ask you all to take a trip down memory lane and share any technological changes that we’ve lived through. A case in point is the world’s first Blue-ray all in one home cinema system as the price of a cinema ticket increases exponentially, it’s little wonder that home cinema systems are popping up more and more in the living room. Whilst the concept of experiencing your favorite films rather than just watching them has been around for some time, you can feast your eyes upon Samsung’s Blu-ray 7.1 home cinema system – the world’s first high definition theatre system.

The HD-BD2R is a phenomenal piece of engineering. Not only does it provide flawless high definition viewing as well as a spine tingly experience, but it looks superb as well. I really like the design, especially the playing unit itself. Samsung’s TVs have always been held in very high regard when talking about aesthetics, and this home cinema system certainly doesn’t disappoint. The sound pumped through the 7.1 audio channels at a total of 1100W is frighteningly sharp, which is little surprise as it supports the latest Dolby technology. The unit itself also has BD-J technology, which provides users with a wealth of additional entertainment. Without going into too much detail, this provides extra features such as picture in picture displays and bonus features. This is truly the future of home cinema viewing. It’s simply brilliant and extremely hard to describe. Just know that it’s quite brilliant and that this is the first of undoubtedly many Blu-ray all in one home cinema systems.

Perhaps when one contrasts these two systems of modern technology one can reflect on how far we have come and how far we might go. It seems that the possibilities are endless. Manufacturers are constantly going backwards and forwards, improving or removing what was before as well as planning for what can be. With such progress the tech boffins should have plenty to mull over.

By: John Kaduwanema

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Wireless technology has literally changed our lives. This up and coming method of communication has literally changed the way we live. Many of us cannot imagine a day without using a wireless device. In fact, we use them so much, that we barely recognize them as wireless anymore.

Telephone lines were originally designed to send news reports. Ever heard of getting something over the wire? Journalists still refer to their Associated Press reports as coming over the AP wire, though they most likely travel through the air like all other pieces of information. The invention of the radio demolished the idea of news sent over a wire. In fact, it completely destroyed the concept of the telegraph and eventually the landline telephone.

Computer networking works in a similar manner. Who would choose an immobile stationary system over a wireless one? Why would you choose to actually be chained to a desk when you could move freely about, accessing the internet and other files on a network from the comfort of a couch, a recliner, or a coffee shop. Additionally, while many believe that wireless costs more, this price too is going down, and soon anyone will be able to afford a wireless connection.

WiMAX, short for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is steadily making its way unto the wireless market. Its biggest advantage lies in the distance that it spans. Instead of a wireless connection reaching a few meters, it will reach kilometers. Currently some of the strongest WiMAX network reach over 30 miles. It literally spans the length of metropolitan areas, and thus with WiMax, you’ll no longer have to search for hot spot sign. Check out wimax.weblongsinc.com for more information about this up and coming form of wireless technology.

Bluetooth has become a mysterious wireless term to non-geeks, but its quickly becoming a household word thanks to its technology in cellular phones. Bluetooth basically is a way to connect hardware. The hope is that instead of seeing a mass of cords behind your television, you’ll just have the necessary blue tooth hardware, a wireless connection that connects your DVD player to your television. Everyone hates those mass of wires, or any mass of wires that threatens to ruin the aesthetics of a room, and Bluetooth has the potential to improve the look of just about any system.

Eventually wireless technology will make life simpler. We’ll be able to do things in places that we never imagined before. After all, who would think that you could contact a person from across the globe while sitting in a cafe across town, with no cost to either of you. Grandparents in California can talk to their grandkids in Florida while soaking in the rays on the beach. I predict that not only will wireless make life simpler in the future, but that we’ll function with it so smoothly, that we won’t even notice the wireless technology.

By: Gregg Hall

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