Review Asus Eee PC 1016P

When people think of netbooks, something very much like the 1016P is what they imagine. Asus has taken the concept of netbooks and produced a product that gets as close to what people imagine as possible. This netbook is small but usable, not too heavy, and features a long battery life. Asus once again sets the netbook standard with this device. Most of the innovations in the world of netbooks come from Asus; they practically pioneered these lightweight, compact, portable computers from their inception.

In that light, it's not surprising how versatile the Asus 1016P is.Since the advent of netbooks, Asus has been the standard bearer.

Design

The purpose of a netbook is to give you mobile computing power. A nifty little feature is the slide switch above the camera which closes and opens a shutter over the lens. While netbook keyboards tend to be more cramped than those of laptops, this is the smallest keyboard we saw. The smaller keyboard on the 1016P may be difficult for some people to use. However, with a display resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, the 1016P seems to have fallen behind the pack a bit.

At 81 pounds, this netbook is the lightest among our lineup of products. As far as dimensions go, this little netbook is one of the smallest we looked at. Of course, nobody would want to carry a heavy netbook around, and Asus understands that very well. Many new netbooks have HD-quality screens at 1366 x 7 The lack of HD is a bit of a problem.Looking forward, it probably won't be too long before HD is the standard resolution not only in netbooks, but in many other viewing devices.

The chiclet keyboard is visually appealing, despite the fact that it is only 92 percent of a standard-sized keyboard. Asus should be planning ahead.The 1016P has a 3MP camera for video conferencing.This can be very useful for people on the move. If you're used to concave keys, the flat keys of the chiclet keyboard may take some getting used to. The 1016P is only 3 x 7 x 93 inches. The arrow keys in particular are rather small. This netbook can provide you with so much more than word-processing on the go. The 1016P is exceptionally light. The 1016P is ultra portable and can easily fit into most backpacks, travel bags and even some purses.In order to be one of the smallest and lightest netbooks, sacrifices had to be made somewhere. If you need to attend a web conference, you can do it while sitting at your favorite cafe. While a 3MP camera is not the best on the market, it is certainly enough to do the job.

User Interface Features

One of the best things about the 1016P is the USB 0 port that comes standard.

Windows 7 is an overall pleasant experience. USB 0 is quickly becoming a standard and you don't want to be left without it. USB 0 is the latest and greatest.Well, Windows 7 is much prettier and more user-friendly than Vista (thank goodness), and such an attractive, powerful interface requires significantly more memory. Windows 7 improved on its predecessors in many ways.Overall, the processor does a good job. If you weren't already aware, there are different versions of USB ports.Ideally, the 1016P would use a dual-core processor that uses the same amount of power as a single-core processor. Intel Atom processors are the dominant force in the netbook world.The 1016P employs the processing power of the Intel Atom N4 The N455 is a single-core processor and the model in this netbook clocks in at 66 GHz.Asus made a smart compromise with the N4 This netbook is by no means under-powered and still has an amazing battery life. Most current netbook models use Windows 7, and the 1016P is no exception. But we don't really live in a world where ideal gets its way all the time. In fact, USB 0 can be up to 10 times as fast as version That means files transferred from a 0 capable device to the 1016P's 0 port require much less time.While only a single-core processor, the N455 provides this netbook with enough juice to make everything run smoothly.

You will need 1GB of RAM just to satisfy Windows 7's needs.It is easy to use, yet powerful.What, you may ask, does Windows 7 need all that RAM for?One thing you will need to know is that Windows 7 requires more memory (RAM) than any of its previous iterations.

Memory/Battery Life

But if the battery provides just enough juice for the processor's needs, then we get optimal performance and battery life.The Super Hybrid Engine does just that. If the processor is given too much juice from the battery, the battery will run out much quicker. Asus did everything they could to get the battery to last as long as possible. The netbook was built around the battery life.

Most current netbooks boast a 250GB hard drive, and the 1016P follows this trend.In fact, Asus developed a new technology to help out. That means if you buy a 1016P, you'll be able to save files to the Asus online cloud. Netbooks are meant to be super portable, and that means having a battery that lasts as long as you need it to.As mentioned earlier, the compromise between a single-core processor instead of a dual-core processor certainly extended the battery life. How did Asus manage to get so much out the 1016P's battery?Essentially, it's like watering a plant. While 1GB isn't necessarily a lot, many current netbooks have stuck with it. How many files?This means that when the netbook is idling (not doing anything), the processor doesn't run at 66 GHz; It doesn't need to. For example, your system might get choppy if you're trying to watch a DVD at the same time an image editing program is running in the background. That's bound to be enough for most people.It monitors the watering of the plant, so to speak. However, it has plenty of memory for browsing the internet, using a word processor, playing music and almost anything else you want to use it for. But that's not all (to quote every infomercial since time immemorial) Asus also offers one year of complimentary cloud storage. It's enough memory to run a few programs simultaneously, as long as you aren't running multiple resource-intensive programs at once. The 1016P has the requisite 1GB of RAM, which gives you enough memory to do pretty much anything you would want to do on a netbook. At a projected 13 hours, the 1016P has the longest-lasting battery of all the netbooks we looked at, by a long shot. For many users the most important thing about a netbook may be how long its battery will last. In this regard, the 1016P outstrips the competition. So, in total, you will have 750GB of storage space.

As it turns out, up to 500GB worth of files.The Super Hybrid Engine adjusts your power settings to control the flow of juice to the processor. Without enough water, the plant will die, but too much water can have detrimental effects too.
Summary

This is a netbook worth your time and consideration. While there can be room for improvement in the display and processor department (namely, an HD display and a dual-core processor), there will be no complaints from us because the battery life is astonishing.

Compact size, light weight and extreme battery life all make this a super portable netbook.

The Asus 1016P fits the description of the ideal netbook better than any of the other netbooks we looked at.

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Review Asus Eee PC 1215N

However, the 1215N's performance comes at a price: the battery doesn't last nearly as long as its lighter counterpart. The 1215N features the Nvidia Ion graphics card and Nvidia's Optimus technology. As far as power and versatility go, the 1215N is arguably the better netbook. The Asus Eee PC 1215N is a powerful little netbook.

In many regards, it is similar to the 1015PED. These Nvidia products provide most of the punch behind the 1215N's multimedia capabilities, but the dual core 8 GHz processor doesn't hurt either.

Design

The 1215N's 1-inch screen takes full advantage of all of those pixels, creating a pleasing image and allowing more content to be displayed on-screen at one time than with lower resolutions.

HD displays are becoming more popular in netbooks, but are not yet fully incorporated into the market. This netbook sports a high-definition display that boasts 1366 x 768 pixels.

User Interface Features

All of this is fine if you do most things on your computer in a web browser.The 1215N comes with Windows 7 Home Premium.

With the Home Premium version, you'll be able to upgrade the amount of memory in your netbook and the option to improve your experience is there if you want to spend a little more money. The upgrades can blur the line between netbook performance and laptop performance.

Many netbooks are packaged with the Starter version of Windows 7, which lacks most of the nicer features of Windows 7 that depend on Aero. The starter pack also has a 2GB limit for memory.

Memory/Battery Life

While the battery life of this netbook is somewhat shorter than the rest of the products on our lineup, the components the battery powers make it a worthy trade.The size and HD quality picture of the display can certainly put a strain on battery life, but if you want an exceptional experience, less battery life may be worth it.

The powerful 8 GHz dual-core processor and the stock 2GB of RAM make this one of the best-performing netbooks we looked at. The 1-inch display is also the largest of any netbook in our lineup.

Summary

The 1215N is a netbook with some force behind its name. The size and performance of this netbook rival those of small laptops in some cases, but its light weight and substantial battery life place it snugly into the netbook category.

If you need a mobile platform, yet feel that most netbooks don't provide enough punch in the hardware department, the Asus Eee PC 1215N may be just the right netbook for you.

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Review Acer Aspire One AO722-0022

Where some netbooks brands focus on long battery life, Acer strives to bring good processing power, along with decent battery life and portability. Acer is a strong contender in the netbook world.

The Acer Aspire One AO722-0022 is a powerful netbook.If you want the portability of a netbook but aren't willing to sacrifice performance, the AO722 may be just the netbook you are looking for.

It has a small enough form factor to be considered a netbook, but some of its hardware resembles that of full-sized laptops.

Design

While this netbook may be on the heavier side compared to other machines in our lineup, it makes up for the weight with performance. In fact, we were impressed that Acer was able to stuff so much hardware into this netbook without pushing it into the laptop weight category. We were happy to see that the AO722 sports a bright and clear 1366 x 768 pixel display. Whether you're playing games, watching a video or simply surfing the web, an HD display will make your experience more enjoyable.

With more pixels on the screen, you can view more information at a time while browsing, or see more details in videos and games. This netbook's 6-inch screen takes full advantage of its HD capabilities. High definition is the standard for computer displays.

User Interface Features

Thankfully, this Acer netbook can take advantage of Home Premium's better offerings. If you want it to perform the best it can, you'll want the Home or Professional versions. This Acer netbook ships with the Home Premium version of Windows If you're not sure whether you need Windows 7 Starter Edition, Home Edition or Professional Edition, think about what you want your netbook to do. The Starter Edition of Windows 7 only supports up to 2GB of RAM.

Actually, since this model of the AO722 comes with 4GB of RAM, you will need Windows 7 Home to take full advantage of it.

Memory/Battery Life

The only downside to the AO722 is its comparatively short battery life. Most netbook users will likely find the hardware on this sleek Acer more than enough for their needs.Add to the RAM a 1GHz dual-core processor and you get a netbook that takes its business seriously. There are not many netbooks that can boast 4GB of RAM. This netbook is meant to perform. At only seven hours, it shares the spot for the shortest battery life in our netbook lineup. As if a powerful processor and a significant amount of RAM weren't enough, this netbook also comes with a 500GB hard drive.

Most netbooks feature hard drives only half that size.This netbook uses an amount of RAM that is quite astonishing in a netbook.

Summary

The Acer Aspire One AO722-0022 is a largely successful attempt to marry performance and portability. With a strong processor, an ample amount of RAM, a large hard drive and sleek looks going for it, you may be hard pressed to deny the AO7 Instead of focusing on portability only, it appears that Acer did its best to create a netbook that can outperform the competition while maintaining a compact form factor.

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Review Asus Eee PC 1015PX-PU17-BK

To see side by side comparisons and objective reviews of other products in this category, check out our netbooks review site.

Netbooks tend to be about the same size and have more or less the same look.The price for a computer this competent is a bargain. Asus practically invented the category of netbook computers; nonetheless, others have followed so closely that it can now be difficult to tell one from another. The 1015PX, however, is one of the first to be released with the Intel Atom N570 processor, which is a notable step up from previous Atoms. The Asus Eee PC 1015PX is a powerful netbook that pays homage to Asus's rich history in netbooks.

Even prices don't vary dramatically, especially with the advent of the cell phone providers subsidizing prices for many basic models.

Design

As with any netbook, extreme portability is a major factor and at 1 inches wide, we're talking about something that is small. We found that the touchpad took a little bit of getting used to but it does feature multi-touch technology so functions like zooming in or out or rotating an image can be accomplished with gestures that have become familiar on well-known cell phones. Best advantage has been taken of the relatively limited keyboard real estate by utilizing tiny function keys, squashed up and down arrows and multi-function keys for numbers and some letters. The computer includes an integrated webcam and digital microphone to support video conferencing and video phone calls. For better audio there's also a standard 5mm headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth. That notwithstanding, the Asus Eee PC 1015PX really is a terrific, tiny computer. The 1024 x 600 pixel screen resolution is certainly adequate but could be crisper. Even with its diminutive size, the 1 inch display screen will suit most users and the keyboard, while small by desktop or full-sized laptop standards is still quite usable for most purposes. Unlike many other such devices, it sports a pair of stereo speakers which, though they certainly won't rock the house, are far better than expected. While all of those attributes are worthwhile, it sure seems like a waste of a potentially great acronym.The device supports high speed wireless networking with Wi-Fi b/g/n running on the 4GHz frequencies.

For the longest time, we were convinced that the Eee designation just had to stand for something significant some combination of electric, electronic, eclectic, esoteric, electromagnetic it really didn't matter what, it just seemed like it had to mean something worthy of the capable little computer.

Alas, we had to swallow our disappointment when we learned that the moniker came purely from the marketing guys and apparently is merely a combination of Easy to Learn, Easy to Work and Easy to Play.

User Interface Features

The computer comes standard with a generally adequate 1GB of RAM and 250GB of hard drive space. The most critical workings of the Asus Eee PC 1015PX are centered around the improved power that's provided by the 66 GHz Intel Atom N570 processor.

Memory/Battery Life

Additionally, Asus offers a unique hybrid storage system with their WebStorage feature. Storage is provided by a 250GB hard drive, which is the netbook standard. It's a 6-cell Lithium Ion unit that the manufacturer rates at a pretty impressive 11 hours.The battery for this little powerhouse is a real standout.

The engine allows the user to select a faster processor speed for greater performance or to prolong battery life by conserving speed. The efficiency of the Intel N570 processor combined with the Asus Super Hybrid Engine is a major contributing factor to the standout battery life.

It provides 500GB of online data storage at no cost for the first year.

Summary

In the world of netbook computing, there is often not much separating one device from another. Such is not the case with the Asus Eee PC 1015PX, which distinguishes itself in a number of ways.

The exceptional battery is likely the single best reason to choose this netbook but all in all it offers a good deal.

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Review Asus Eee PC 1001PXD

If you are a heavy multitasker, you might become frustrated with this netbook.

The 1001PXD is part of Asus' line of "seashell" netbooks. It seems Asus has a knack for making netbooks. According to the Asus website, the frame and form factor of these netbooks were inspired by seashells. The Asus Eee PC 1001PXD is evidence of that knack. While the 1001PXD certainly looks nice, there isn't a lot of power under the hood. The 1001PXD is a stylish netbook that delivers the extended battery life expected of netbooks, but just barely squeaks by with the hardware specifications.

Design

This netbook, unfortunately, does not follow that trend and retains the old netbook standard of 1024 x 600 pixels.

Is it worth the trade-off?If you aren't used to small keyboards, the 1001PXD will certainly take some getting used to.This enables the netbook to continue running longer.

The 1001PXD has a keyboard that is 95 percent of the size of standard keyboards. Lower resolution means less power consumption. The trend in netbooks is to push the pixel count up to 1366 x 768, into the high-definition range. Lower resolutions don't look as nice, but there is something to be said for them. That's entirely up to you. Some people feel like their hands are cramped even on full-sized keyboards. Small keyboards can quickly become problematic if you have hands that are any bigger than a chipmunk's. Jesting aside, small keyboards do tend to feel cramped and can cause you to commit a fair amount of typos through simply hitting two or three keys at once.

User Interface Features

This is not really much of a concern for most netbook users. The important differences between them pertain to what your hardware and software is capable of.Windows 7 Starter limits your computer to 2GB of RAM. Windows 7 Starter also disables access to any of the Aero features in Windows This means that nifty features like the see-through borders on windows are disabled. The 1001PXD ships with the Windows 7 Starter.

If you're wondering what the difference is between the Starter and Home versions of Windows 7, you're probably not alone.

Memory/Battery Life

Windows 7 requires a minimum of 1GB of RAM.This means that most, if not all, of the 1001PXD's RAM will be allocated to running Windows The Intel Atom 455 processor can help alleviate the stress on the RAM, but they do two different jobs. With only 1GB of RAM, the 1001PXD can feel bogged down if you try to do too many things. While a 66 GHz processor is enough to run applications one at a time, or maybe two at a time, real multitasking might bog the netbook down.

Summary

The 1001PXD is a pretty netbook that simply can't deliver satisfactory performance.

You won't have to worry about plugging in to do your homework. With nine hours of battery life, the 1001PXD is very portable. However, you may become frustrated with the hardware limitations of the Asus Eee PC 1001PXD.

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Review HP Mini 5103

Not because they aren't pretty or don't perform well, but because they don't have any outstanding specifications to draw your attention. The HP mini 5103 is a lightweight, small and capable netbook.

While there are some flaws, this product has nothing to be ashamed of.Netbook users are likely to swoon over the 5103's form factor and will be elated to hear about the impressive battery life. The 5103's biggest shortcoming is that it doesn't stand out in any particular area. In a competitive market like netbooks, products like the 5103 can be overlooked. The 5103 is, however, a product worth consideration.

Design

The 5103 weighs less than 3 pounds. With most netbooks trending towards high-definition displays, it is unfortunate to see that the 5103 has not adopted a higher-resolution display. The 5103 is one of the smaller netbooks in our lineup.This can be very important for multitaskers. That just doesn't make sense. While this may not be a big deal for some people, we feel strongly that higher resolutions are better. That's light enough that you won't notice much of a difference if you place it in your backpack. Imagine trying to carry around a netbook that weighs as much as a couple of textbooks. If you have a higher resolution, you can fit more information on the screen at a time than you can with lower resolutions.

Due to their nature, netbooks should be ultra portable.With only 1024 x 600 pixels, the 5103's display is not considered HD.

User Interface Features

As with many current netbooks, the 5103 uses the Intel Atom N455 processor. However, the N455 is not a dual-core processor and multitaskers may become frustrated with the processor's limitations. The N455 conserves power as much as possible, which translates directly into longer battery life. This processor excels at providing enough processing power to get the job done without using excessive amounts of power.

Memory/Battery Life

The 5103's hard drive gives you enough space to save and store any important documents or pictures.

While that isn't the longest advertised battery life in our netbook lineup, it is certainly impressive. The 5103, however, claims a 25-hour battery life. Some people may think that 250GB isn't enough, but if you're going to fill a hard drive of that size, you probably don't want a netbook anyway.

The 5103 also sports the netbook standard 250GB hard drive. Many netbooks boast of a seven- or eight-hour battery life, and that's a good amount of time to work, play or surf the internet.

Summary

It can be difficult to decide which netbook to get because there are so many options.

The small size and lightweight design enable you to take the HP mini 5103 wherever you want it to go.Even though some netbooks may have a longer battery life, or a better processor, there aren't many netbooks that will give you a strong and consistent experience like the 51 With this netbook you can do what you want to, when you want to and where you want to.

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Review Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685

Despite some flaws, the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 is a good choice for those who want a portable computer that can travel pretty much anywhere.In the world of netbooks, smaller is usually better; however, some things are never better in smaller form.

The Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 is a well-made netbook that will appeal mostly to those who want a very lightweight computing option. Acer produces some really good products. A small keyboard and a single-core processor are some limitations of this netbook.

Design

This means that if you have large hands, you might feel constricted. The display on the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 is 1 inches, measured diagonally. While most netbook keyboards feel cramped, the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685's keyboard is 92 percent of the size of a standard laptop keyboard. We were disappointed to see that the maximum resolution is 1024 x 6 Many netbooks are moving on to HD displays. Another side effect of small keyboards is the increased chance of typos.

At 6 pounds, it is the lightest netbook we reviewed.

Even correcting typos can create more of them.Unfortunately, it is not high definition. What's worse is that when you hit the backspace key, you're almost as likely to press another key at the same time. There is some close competition, but the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 is arguably the most portable netbook in our lineup. The small keyboard aside, the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 features a great form factor. If that's all we looked at, the 257 would be in the number one position. When the keys are close to each other, it's easy to mash two or three of them instead of the one that you want.

User Interface Features

If you want something with a little more processing power, you're probably going to get less battery life. However, if you are a heavy multitasker, you might notice a lag in performance.

The processor clocks in at 66 GHz, which provides you with enough to handle most tasks that netbook users care about. Ultimately, you have to decide if extended battery life or performance is more important to you. The Intel Atom N455 is the preferred processor for many netbooks because of its low power consumption.

Memory/Battery Life

Because there is only 1GB of RAM, the power consumption is reduced, which grants the 257 a battery life of eight hours. With only 1GB of RAM, the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 may have some performance issues if you try to do too many things at one time. Due to this netbook's portability, you can take those important documents with you wherever you go.The 250GB hard drive gives you enough space to store important documents.

Eight hours is a long time and will probably satisfy most netbook users.

Summary

But be aware that if you want to multitask, there might be some performance issues. The small form factor and sleek design won't disappoint you.

While the Acer Aspire One AOD257 - 13685 may not be the best-performing netbook in our lineup, it certainly is the most portable. If you want a portable computer that is lighter than most, look no further.

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Review Lenovo ThinkPad X120e

Design

At 1366 x 768 pixels, the display will give you all the little details you crave.The Lenovo ThinkPad X120e is a machine that will make you wonder just where the line between a netbook and a laptop lies. The APU in the standard version of the X120e features the AMD Fusion E-240, which clocks in at 5 GHz, and the Radeon HD6310 video card.While the HD6310 isn't the most prestigious card in AMD's arsenal, it provides this netbook with a little bit of extra power enough to make playing games and watching videos a very enjoyable experience.

This netbook houses much of the power that you would find in small laptops, but has the form factor of a netbook.What sets this netbook apart from most others is AMD's accelerated processing unit. The entire netbook is slightly larger in most aspects than the other netbooks in our lineup. At three pounds, it is one of the heavier netbooks we looked at. An APU combines a processor and a video card to enhance the properties of both, while reducing energy consumption. The X120e has an 6-inch high-definition display. Lenovo has crafted a compact and versatile netbook that won't leave you feeling like you need an upgrade. Lenovo has successfully established itself as a quality notebook manufacturer. The X120e's biggest drawback is its weight.

With exciting features like an HDMI-out port for linking to an HDTV and the inclusion of the Radeon HD6310 video card, the X120e has enough power to satisfy any netbook user's needs. Whether you are watching a video, playing games or simply surfing the web, the HD display will impress you with its fidelity.

However, it is astonishingly thin, at less than an inch thick.

User Interface Features

The TrackPoint is extremely accurate and can make navigating your netbook without a mouse much easier.

Not many things can ruin your day more than spilling a drink on your computer, and Lenovo has done its best to help avoid this situation. Because the ThinkPad is a Lenovo netbook, it features the highly regarded TrackPoint and TouchPad. The X120e also boasts a resilient, spill-resistant keyboard.

Memory/Battery Life

This netbook ships with a 320GB hard drive as the standard. The X120e also comes with 2GB of RAM on the stock model, which will give you enough memory to run most applications without any hiccups.While the battery life is somewhat short, 5 hours is still long enough to be productive and have some fun before you need to plug in. Most netbooks feature 250GB hard drives or smaller.

Summary

While the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e may not be as portable as some of the other netbooks, it certainly has enough power to make up for the difference. A 320GB hard drive on the stock model is an attractive feature that you'll want to take into consideration. Perhaps the main selling point is the HD Radeon 6310 video card that gives this netbook the edge it needs to run applications, play games and watch videos flawlessly. Lenovo has a fine mobile solution just waiting for you to check it out.

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Review HP Mini 210

In this case, 93 percent means that there are 93 percent of the of keys on a standard keyboard. The keyboard on the mini 210 is only 93 percent the size of a standard keyboard.

Design

The HP mini 210 is a compact netbook with mediocre hardware specifications. If all you want to do is browse the internet and write documents, the mini 210 has everything you will need. We were disappointed that the mini 210 is stuck in the old netbook standard definition. The 1-inch screen could use the extra resolution to help reduce scrolling on websites and present more information on-screen at all times.

With a display resolution of 1024 x 600, this netbook falls short of high definition.However, if you want a netbook with enough power to handle heavy multitasking, media editing or video games, you'll probably want to look somewhere else.

The mini 210 is a multimedia mobile platform that sports an eight-hour battery life.And that tells us that the mini 210 is missing some keys.For those who aren't looking for a top-of-the-line netbook and simply want something that is small, portable and easy to use, the mini 210 may be just right. While you might think that 93 percent is most of a standard keyboard and so it can't make much of a difference, you might like to know more about how they determine this percentage. Many netbooks have HD displays and, indeed, it seems most consumer electronics are going that way. While this isn't a major issue, it can be annoying.

User Interface Features

This version of Windows 7 is likely to be enough for most netbook users since the limitations of the starter edition do not affect the performance of the netbook.

Windows 7 requires 1GB of RAM in order to run properly.While this is enough to run the system without any problems, it may not be enough to handle multitasking.

Memory/Battery Life

That means most of the RAM that comes with the netbook will be used just to keep Windows 7 happy, which means less RAM is available for running more applications. The mini 210 stock version comes with only 1GB of RAM. The mini 210 comes packaged with the Windows 7 Starter edition. If there is not enough RAM, the netbook may get bogged down.Essentially, the starter edition leaves out some of the nicer visual aspects of Windows 7 and can only handle up to 2GB of RAM. Again, this will most likely be sufficient for most netbook users.

Summary

While the HP mini 210 has an attractive look, its so-so hardware will only yield average performance. The mini 210 does what it needs to do, but not in any particularly outstanding way. In fact, it wouldn't be too hard to push the netbook to its limits.

There is a lot of heavy competition in the netbook market.

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Review HP Mini 110

The HP mini 110 is the younger brother of the mini 210, so to speak.The mini 110 is a true netbook, designed to allow users to access the internet and write documents wherever they may be. Accidentally striking two or three keys instead of the intended one key can be frustrating.While the keyboard on this netbook is 93 percent the size of a standard keyboard, it still feels like too many things are stuffed into a very small space. Perhaps the most notable difference is that the mini 110 is considerably smaller than its older brother. The 1-inch screen looks somewhat cramped.A higher resolution would benefit the mini 1 The main advantage HD displays have over standard definition is the ability to present more information on-screen at one time, giving you a much clearer picture than standard def.

The two netbooks share many of their specifications and are similar in look and feel. For some people, the keyboard may feel just fine. Scrolling through websites so much can be somewhat annoying. This is by no means a major issue and we don't want to over-emphasize it. With an eight-hour battery life, the mini 110 is a portable internet gateway or a mobile typing station.

Much like how the display can feel cramped at times, the keyboard on the mini 110 can also make you feel a bit claustrophobic. Design It is disappointing to see that the mini 110 lacks a high-definition display.

Without the extra processing power from a second core, heavy multi-taskers might find the mini 110 lacking.

User Interface Features

The Intel Atom 455 processor in the mini 110 is a powerful mobile processing solution. Now you can use a netbook during a full day at work without having to worry about plugging it in. It clocks in at 66 GHz and provides enough of a punch to handle whatever most netbook users want to do.We were a little disappointed to find that it is a single-core processor. With such a long battery life, you can take the mini 110 with you wherever you go and use it to connect to the internet and write documents.

Memory/Battery Life

However, it is important to understand that a dual-core processor would also use more electricity, thus draining battery reservoirs more quickly. Batteries have come a long way in a short period of time. A battery life of eight hours will give you enough time to do just about anything you want to before the netbook needs to be recharged.

Summary

You will need to determine what is right for you.

The mini 110 strives to find a happy medium. Some netbooks feature more powerful hardware, yet battery life often suffers as a result of increased power consumption. Unfortunately, it strayed a little bit and is, ultimately, somewhat under-powered.

This does not mean the HP mini 110 is a terrible netbook, only that you shouldn't look for a performance-driven machine here. With so many netbooks out there, it can be difficult to find the right one.

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ASUS G75VW GAMING LAPTOP GETS LISTED

The Asus G75VW gaming laptop is now available for purchase from Amazon. The G75 is the successor to the existing G74 17.3 inch gaming laptops. The new models sport Intel Core i-series Ivy Bridge processors and NVIDIA GeForce Kepler graphics.


The available configuration G75VW-AS71 has an Intel Core i7-3610QM quad-core processor and GeForce GT 660M discrete graphics with 2GB of GDDR5 video

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QUALCOMM WORKING ON QUAD-CORE PROCESSORS FOR WINDOWS 8 NOTEBOOKS

Qualcomm is known for its line of low power ARM-based processors for tablets and smartphones. The company doesn’t make chips for laptops or desktop computers at the moment. But that could change when Windows 8 hits the market later this year.

Windows 8 will be the first version of Windows compatible with both ARM-based and x86 based processors from AMD and Intel. By making its flagship OS

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LENOVO IDEAPAD U310 AND U410 ULTRABOOKS HIT FCC

The Lenovo IdeaPad U310 and U410 ultrabooks have the FCC. Both laptops are expected to go on sale in May. They will have prices starting at around $799 and up. Here is an overview.

The Lenovo IdeaPad U310 measures 0.7 inches in thickness and weighs 3.7 pounds. It has a 13.3 inch display. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port and a 3-cell, 46Whr battery. The

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ACER WORKING ON A 15 INCH ULTRABOOK WITH FIBER GLASS CASE

Rumors doing the rounds suggest that Acer is working on a new thin and light laptop with a 15 inch display and a fiberglass case. The device is reportedly being built by Taiwanese OEM Pegatron.

Ultrabooks usually have 11 to 13 inch displays, but models with 14 and 15 inch displays are also coming. According to Intel, an ultrabook is a thin and light laptop weighing less than 4 pounds and

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ASUS U82U THIN AND LIGHT LAPTOP WITH AMD CPU COMING SOON

Asus is working on a new thin and light laptop called U82U but it won’t be part of the company’s Zenbook line of ultrabooks. It will have an AMD processor, instead of the Intel Core i-series processors found in ultrabooks. According to Asus, a thin and light laptop with an AMD processor will be more cost effective than a similar ultrabook with an Intel CPU.

The Asus U82U will be slightly

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NOVATECH LAUNCHES BUDGET-FRIENDLY NFINITY ULTRABOOK IN THE UK

Novatech has launched an ultrabook called nFinity in the UK. Like typical ultrabooks, the Novatech nFinity, too, will be a thin and light laptop with Intel processors but its biggest USP will be its price. The ultrabook will run 430 pounds (about $687) in the UK. That’s not bad at all because computers aren’t exactly cheap in the UK. Even in the US, ultrabooks usually start at around $800.

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3 MORE ARCHOS TABLETS HIT FCC

Three more Archos tablets have showed up at the FCC website but few details are available at the moment.

The Archos Arnova lineup consists of the company’s low cost tablets. They don’t have high-end hardware, but the new models are all expected to run Google Android 4.0 operating system. According to the FCC documents two of these tablets – the Arnova 7b G3 and Arnova 7f G3 – have 7 inch

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NEW IPAD CAN RUN AS A 4G HOTSPOT FOR 25 HOURS

The new iPad has mobile hotspot features. That means if you have a supported device and a supported data plan, you can use the tablet as a portable 4G modem for your laptop. You just need to turn on the mobile hotspot feature and then connect your laptop or another mobile device over WiFi.


Although it is a useful feature, the iPad isn’t the first device to sport this feature. Some versions of

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TESO K116 IS AN ULTRABOOK WITH A TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY AND DETACHABLE KEYBOARD

A certain Chinese company called Teso has launched an 11.6 inch ultrabook with an Intel Ivy Bridge processor and detachable keyboard. The device showed up at the Alibaba site recently.

The computer has a list price ranging between $400 and $600 per unit, but keep in mind that this is not the price at which it will hit the market. It is the price for distributors who order 1000 or more units.

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JAPANESE COMPANY LAUNCHES BUDGET-FRIENDLY LESANCE ULTRABOOK

A Japanese company called Unitcom has launched a new thin and light ultrabook in its Lesance notebook lineup. The laptop is quite attractively priced. In Japan it will go on sale this weekend for prices starting at the local equivalent of just $730. At that price point, it is definitely one of the cheapest ultrabooks around. What’s more, it could be even cheaper in other countries because in

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UNANNOUNCED SONY VAIO CHROMEBOOK HITS FCC

Sony is yet to officially announce that it is working on a Chrome OS notebook. Nonetheless, a certain Sony laptop bearing the model name Sony VAIO VCC111 has showed up at the FCC website. Although it is not exactly clear which operating system it runs, rumors suggest that it could be Sony’s first Chromebook.


A Chromebook is a laptop that runs Google’s Chrome operating system. The VAIO VCC111

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MEET BODHI LINUX: A CUSTOMIZABLE OS FOR NETBOOKS, TABLETS AND DESKTOPS

Bodhi Linux is a light-weight highly customizable Ubuntu based operating system. It also comes pre-loaded with several apps you will find in Ubuntu. However, there is a major difference between Bodhi and original Ubuntu. Bodhi is quite customizable. It allows a user to choose environments suitable for laptops, tablets and desktop computers.


Bodhi Linux 1.4 was released this week. The update

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NVIDIA LAUNCHES 28NM GRAPHICS PROCESSOR FOR ULTRABOOKS

NVIDIA has launched a new 28nm graphics processor for ultrabooks. The first ultrabook to sport this graphics card will probably be the Acer M3.

The NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics processor is based on NVIDIA’s 28nm Kepler architecture. NVIDIA says that PC makers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba are expected to launch ultrabooks and notebooks with the Kepler

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ACER ICONIA TAB A510 NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER IN THE US

The Acer Iconia Tab A510 is now available for pre-order in the US and Canada. The tablet is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. It runs Google Android 4.0 operating system. Acer unveiled the tablet at CES in January.

The Iconia Tab A510 starts at $449.99. That model has 32GB of storage. The model that will be available in the US and Canada is actually the Olympic Edition. It doesn’

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MODMYPI BUILD CASES FOR THE RASPBERRY PI COMPUTER

The Raspberry Pi has got everything that a typical computer has, except for a case. The $35 computer has a processor, memory, USB and Ethernet ports. Unfortunately, it hasn’t got a protective case. It is basically only a system-on-a-board.


Now a certain company called ModMyPi has started taking pre-orders for a case for the Pi computer. The ModMyPi sells for around 8 pounds in the UK. It is

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7 INCH TOSHIBA TABLET WITH FREESCALE PROCESSOR SPOTTED IN ITALY

It looks like Toshiba has quite a few tablets on offer. The company has been showing off several tablets recently and these include the Toshiba Excite X10, a 7 inch Thrive tablet and a 7.7 inch prototype. And now the folks at Notebook Italia have come across yet another 7 inch tablet. This model has a Freescale processor.


The Toshiba LT170 has a 7 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels. It is

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WINDOWS 8 SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN OCTOBER

Bloomberg reports that Windows 8 could be ready for prime time by October. A consumer preview of the OS is already available for download.

Windows 8 is the first version of the Windows OS compatible with both x86 based and ARM-based processors. It also offers new touch-friendly user interface. Bloomberg also reports that at least five ARM-based Windows 8 devices will ship in October. As many as

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SHARP UNVEILS RW-T110 ANDROID TABLET IN JAPAN

Sharp has unveiled a new 10 inch tablet in Japan. The Sharp RW-T110 has a 10.1 inch display with 1280 x 800 pixels. It is powered by a 1GHz TI OMAP 4430 dual core processor. The tablet runs the dated Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and that is kind of disappointing because the Android 4.0 is already available.


The Sharp RW-T110 has also got 8GB of storage and a 6240mAh battery.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 2 (10.1) HITS THE FCC WEBSITE

A new Samsung tablet has hit the FCC. Word is that it is the Galaxy tab 2 (10.1) and that seems plausible because Samsung’s other ten inch tablets have already hit the FCC website. Few details are available at the FCC website, but the tablet seems to bear the label Samsung GT-P5110. It has also got WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR. The tablet has also got a 25.9 Whr battery. Select models

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IT IS OFFICIAL: IPAD 3 HAS BETTER GRAPHICS CAPABILITIES THAN TEGRA 3 TABLETS

Apple unveiled its third generation iPad earlier this month and then the company had announced that the new iPad’s A5x processor would offer four times the graphics performance of the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor which is already one of the fastest processors available for Android tablets at the moment. Of course, NVIDIA wasn’t all that happy about that claim but at that point there was no

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SONY'S NEXT TABLET COULD HAVE A TEGRA 3 QUAD CORE PROCESSOR

Sony has already launched two Android tablets and both machines have NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. But it looks like Sony’s next tablet will have a faster Tegra 3 quad core chip.

An unannounced Sony device called the Sony V150 has been spotted in the wild. The tablet seems to have a 1.4Ghz Tegra 3 processor and a 1280 x 752 pixels display. It runs Android 4.0.3 operating system. No word

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ACER ASPIRE TIMELINE M3 ULTRABOOK WITH DISCRETE GRAPHICS COMING IN MARCH

The Acer Aspire Timeline M3 ultrabook will start shipping by the end of this month, Acer has announced. The M3 is reportedly the first ultrabook to ship with the next-generation NVIDIA GeForce GT640M Kepler graphics.

The Aspire Timeline M3 is a thin and light laptop with Intel’s latest Core i-series processor. While most ultrabooks on the market has 13 or 14 inch displays, the Timeline M3 has a

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NEXT-GEN AAKASH TABLET COMING IN APRIL FOR $40

The second version of the inexpensive Aakash tablet is getting ready to launch. The Aakash is aimed at Indian students. The project has the support of the Government of India which has partnered with a UK-based company called DataWind to build the tablet. The first version was selling for just $35. Of course, at that price point, you can’t expect it to have any outstanding features.


The new

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IPAD 3 REVIEW ROUNDUP

The new iPad will hit the streets on March 16, and the early reviews have started coming in.

The third generation iPad has a 9.7 inch display with 2048 x 1536 pixels. It has also got a faster CPU, quad-core graphics, 1GB of RAM and support for 4G LTE wireless. The new iPad is thicker and heavier than iPad 2. So what about performance and battery life? Here is a quick roundup of the early reviews

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SAMSUNG UNVEILS GALAXY NOTE 10.1

Samsung has officially unveiled its Galaxy Note 10.1 Android tablet. Besides pen input, the Galaxy Note 10.1 also supports a new feature called ‘multi-screen functionality’.
The Galaxy Note 10.1 runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It comes pre-loaded with some free apps such as S Note, Shape Match, Formula Match and free copies of Adobe Photoshop Touch and Adobe Ideas.

The

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LENOVO IDEAPAD S2109 HITS FCC

An unannounced Lenovo tablet called the IdeaPad S2109 has made an appearance at the FCC website. Detailed specifications are not available at the moment, but the tablet reportedly has a Texas Instruments chip. It is also expected to have a 9.7 inch display.


The tablet has also got a TI WiLink WL1281 wireless module with support for WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and FM radio. That probably also confirms

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ASUS WORKING ON ULTRABOOKS WITH 1080P DISPLAYS

Few ultrabooks on the market have a higher resolution display. Most of them sport 13 or 14 inch displays with 1366 x 768 pixels, but the Asus Zenbook UX31 is an exception. It has a 13.3 inch display with a respectable 1600 x 900 pixels resolution. But it looks like ultrabooks with even higher resolution displays are about to hit the market.


The next generation ultrabooks from Asus will

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ASUS EEE PC CEDAR TRAIL NETBOOK NOW AVAILABLE FOR $300

The Asus Eee PC 1025C Cedar Trail netbooks have started shipping in the US. In terms of looks the Eee PC 1025C isn’t all that different from the cheaper Eee PC X101CH.

The Eee PC 1025C has a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom N2600 dual core processor and a 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels. It will also have 1GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive.


The netbook has also got 3 USB ports, and one of them is a

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ASUS WORKING ON A ZENBOOK UX32A ULTRABOOK FAMILY

It looks like Asus is working on a whole slew of new ultrabooks. We have already heard about two of them – the Asus Zenbook UX21A and UX31A. Both models have premium features and a premium price tag. And now word is that Asus is working on a new line of ultrabooks with Intel Sandy Bridge processors. These should have prices starting at around $800.


The Asus Zenbook UX32A and UX32Vd both will

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LENOVO IDEAPAD U300E NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

The Lenovo IdeaPad U300e, which is essentially a budget-version of the IdeaPad U300s, is now available for purchase. Both models have identical looks, but under the hood, there are some differences.

While the U300s is available with a choice of Intel Core i5-2467M or Core i7-2677M processor options, the U300e is available with either Intel Core i3-3467M or Core i5-2467M processor. While the

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DELL ULTRABOOK XPS L321X NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Dell’s first ultrabook – the XPS L321x – is now available for purchase. The laptop is available in three configurations from Dell’s website. The base configuration runs $1000. It has a 2nd generation Intel Core i5-2467M Sandy Bridge processor and a 128GB SSD. The $1,300 model has a larger 256GB SSD. If you are willing to spend an extra $200, you can have the laptop with a Core i7-2637M processor

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DELL XPS 15 LEAKS

A certain Dell laptop bearing the model number L521X has leaked. Sources claim that it is the XPS 15 Dell is going to launch in 2012.

The Dell XPS 15 L521X will come with the third generation Intel Core series ‘Ivy Bridge’ processors. It will have a 15.6 inch 1080p anti-glare display. The notebook can be configured with up to 1TB of HDD or up to 512MB of SSD. It will reportedly also have

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AT&T NOW OFFERS THE SONY TABLET P AND XPERIA PLAY COMBO FOR $300 ON TWO CONTRACTS

AT&T has started offering the Sony Tablet P for $300. It is $100 off the normal price AT&T charges for the tablet. And now here is the catch. To get the tablet for that price, you also need to buy the Xperia Play smartphone. What’s more, you will need to sign up for separate data plans for each device.


AT&T has been offering the Tablet P since last week for $399.99 on a 2-year service contract

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TOSHIBA UNVEILS SATELLITE C850 / C855 AND C870 BUDGET-FRIENDLY LAPTOPS

Toshiba has just introduced new laptops in its budget friendly Satellite C series. The new additions are the Satellite C850 / C855 and C870. They feature Intel or AMD processors and optional AMD Radeon discrete graphics.


The 15.6 Satellite C850 has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is available in black matte textured finish. The Satellite C855 has the same screen size and resolution, but

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TOSHIBA UNVEILS SATELLITE P850 / P855 AND P870 / P875

Toshiba has added several new additions to its P800 series. The new models include the 15.6 inch P850 / P855 and the 17.3 inch P870 / P875. All models are expected to have Intel’s latest ‘Ivy Bridge’ processors. Other specifications include NVIDIA discrete graphics, up to 1TB of hard drive storage, optical Blu-ray drives and Harman Kardon stereo speakers.


Some models will also be available

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LENOVO UNVEILS IDEAPAD Y480

The Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 is now available for pre-order from Amazon. The model that is listed on Amazon is priced at $999. It has a third generation Intel Core i7-3610QM quad core processor, 8GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M discrete graphics. It has also got JBL stereo speakers.


While the hardware is state-of-the-art and the price is reasonable, the laptop does have some

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IPAD 2 NOW AVAILABLE FOR $399 AND UP

The new iPad is finally here. So what about iPad 2? Well, it isn’t dead it. Apple has announced that they will continue to offer iPad 2 with prices starting at $399. All models of iPad 2 have had their price cut by $100.

Here’s the breakdown on the new pricing:

$399 – iPad 2 WiFi with 16GB
$499 – iPad 2 WiFi with 32GB
$599 – iPad 2 WiFi with 64GB
$529 – iPad 2 3G with 16GB

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APPLE UNVEILS THIRD GENERATION IPAD

Apple has officially unveiled the third generation iPad. Contrary to popular expectations, it is not called iPad 3. The company just calls it new iPad.

The new iPad has a higher resolution display, better graphics capabilities and support for 4G LTE. While the first two generations of iPad had 9.7 inch displays with 1024 x 768 pixels, the new iPad has a 9.7 inch display with a whopping 2048 x

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JOYPLUS M10PQ ANDROID TABLET HAS PIXEL QI DISPLAY

In terms of looks and most of the specifications the Joyplus M10PQ isn’t all that different from typical cheap Chinese tablets. It is powered by a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 single core processor. Other specifications include a 10 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage.

But unlike regular cheap tablets this model has a Pixel Qi low power display. When the backlight is on, it is

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ACER INTRODUCES ASPIRE V3 AND V5 LINE OF NOTEBOOKS

Acer introduced quite a few notebooks at the CeBIT trade show in Germany. There is a new line of ultrabooks. There are also new mainstream notebooks in the V5 and V3 series.

The Acer Aspire V3 Series notebooks will be available in 14 inch, 15.6 inch and 17.3 inch sizes. They will be equipped with Intel Core i-series processors and NVIDIA GeForce graphics. The Aspire V5 notebooks will be

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ACER WORKING ON A 15 INCH ULTRABOOK

Ultrabooks are ultra thin and light laptops with 13 or 14 inch displays. But that doesn’t mean that you won’t find a 15 inch ultrabook. Actually Acer is building one. The Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 has an Intel Core i-series processor and NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics.

The Timeline Ultra M3 measures 0.8 inches in thickness. Some models will be available with a hybrid storage that combines a

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GIGABYTE U2442V ULTRABOOK HAS HD DISPLAY

Gigabyte is working on an ultrabook with a high resolution display. The upcoming Gigabyte U2442V will have a 13.3 inch display with a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels. Almost every ultrabook we have seen so far feature 1366 x 768 pixels displays. Gigabyte also plans to empower the laptop with a NVIDIA GT640 discrete graphics processor.


The Gigabyte U2442V was on display at CeBIT. It will

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FUJITSU WORKING ON A 14 INCH ULTRABOOK

Fujitsu is the latest to jump on to the ultrabook bandwagon. The company has announced that it will soon bring its ultrabook to the market. Fujitsu also showed off a 14 inch thin and light laptop at the CeBIT trade show in Germany this week.


We still don’t have all the details, but the a few things are certain. The Fujitsu ultrabook has a 14 inch frameless display and a magnesium case. It will

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Lucid Chart

My all boys' class has been reading Mark Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.  We also started our essential questions for our following units: Why are relationships so difficult?  What do relationships reveal about who we are and who we want to be?


Throughout our study of Curious Incident, I asked the kids to keep a relationship chart of all the characters. They needed to identify who the main characters were, give a description about the characters, how do the characters relate to one another, explain whether or not the relationship is an effective one or not, and why. Instead of writing this all out, I asked the kids to graphically show their understanding of these relationships.  Previously, I have used Webspiration for this project. However, this year I discovered Webspiration was no longer free. So, after speaking with Dana Levesque at our district office, she pointed me in the direction of LucidChart. She hadn't used LucidChart, but wanted to see what we could do with it.

It was fantastic!  It did exactly what the kids wanted it to do. They could assign shapes to characters (there is a plethora of shapes to choose from on the side bar), assign colors to relationships (Christopher, the main character in the book, assigns colors to good things and bad things so the kids wanted to mimic his likes and dislikes), create lines connecting the characters (they could use colored lines, dotted lines, arrows, etc...), add legends and keys to explain their thinking, etc... The kids could take the program exactly where how they wanted to showcase their learning and understanding about relationships from the novel.  Additionally, since we are a Google Apps for Education school, the kids could automatically sign in with their Google Account- no need to create a separate log-in! Finally, the kids can share their projects with one another. They can invite others to graph their charts collaboratively.

A couple of things that I would like to see different- it is hard to see all of your connections on one screen.  We are presenting 5 of the relationship connections in class right now, and we are having to move the mouse around to get to all the relationships they want to talk about. Secondly, LucidChart limits the number of connections a student can make on each chart.  60 pieces is all they are able to display.  Finally, under the free account, they are only able to create 3 charts and only share with three people.  However, it is a free program!

Here are screen shots of some sample kid projects:

Dan M- part 1

Dan M- part 2

Will B

Lou

Austin

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V's TCAP speech

About a week ago, our fearless TCAP leader Kevin Kolassa, asked if I would give a speech to the school inspiring the students to do well on our standardized test the TCAP formerly known as CSAP. About 4 years ago, I was asked to do the same thing. At that time, I wrote a Star Wars themed speech. A few years before that, my friend Adam Wallace and I co-wrote a piece on the top 10 things worse than taking CSAP. After writing both of those pieces, I knew I wanted to do something more than just the standard inspiring quote driven speech.  I also knew I better not cross the line too much...

As my husband and I were talking about speech ideas, I asked him what he would think about me doing something based upon Guy Fawkes' speech from V for Vendetta. He thought it was a great idea. So over two dinners, help from a waiter, listening to a sermon and a lot of dictionary time, I wrote the following speech: (parts are borrowed from V's speech to Evey)

Evey:Whoare you?


V. :Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a manin a mask.


Evey:Well I can see that.


V. :Of course you can, I’m not questioning your powers of observation, I’m merelyremarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.


Evey:Oh, right.


V. :But on this most auspicious of days, permit me then, in lieu of the morecommonplace soubriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona.

Top ofthe Tuesday to you terrifically talented TCAPers!  Today you are tasked with a tremendouslytaxing testament of your tenacious take-aways from your talented teachers.  The tactics that you try today to transferthe tutelage of teaching to the TCAP test must be tip-top.  Take your time TCAPers!  Trusted treatment of the timely tenets mustbe taken with treasured tactics and no tangential turns.  To tackle the TCAP is to not be a tyroamongst timid test takers.  This testwill surely indicate your test taking tenacity; no doubt, you willtriumph!  This troupe of teens is triedand true. You are the top-most!  Do notallow the tick, tick, ticking of the time to deter your opportunity to teemyour knowledge.  Tiny twinkles in yoursynapsis teem with tidbits of truth-bestow these on the TCAP!  Tell me, would Tim Tebow be timid at a timelike this?  NO!, Tim Tebow would be atour de force, a terminatorof the TCAP simply turning the test to toast with his tell-tale Tebowing. 

TCAPers-tarry no longer; tame the TCAP.  Takedown the TCAP!  This is a tribute to yourtrue temperament in test taking. The pain is temporary; the glory is titanic!

Evey:Are you like a crazy person?


V. :I’m quite sure they will say so.

Remember,remember the sixth of March.

Intelligence,curiosity and TCAP.
Iknow of no reason why intelligence and curiosity should ever be forgot…

Hopefully, it inspired the kids to do well on their test. Many thanks to Maura for being my Evey!

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HP PAVILION NOTEBOOKS WITH INTEL IVY BRIDGE PROCESSORS SPOTTED

The first batch of HP Pavilion laptops sporting Intel’s third generation Core i-series Ivy Bridge processors has been spotted. The new models include the Pavilion dv6 and the Pavilion dv7. They have 15.6 inch and 17.3 inch displays respectively.


HP is yet to officially announce the specifications of the tablet, so few details are available at the moment. However, it is almost certain that the

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BLACKBERRY PLAYBOOK BEST SELLER AT BEST BUY CANADA LAST WEEK

BlackBerry PlayBook was the best seller at Future Shop and Best Buy Canada last week. The tablet has been selling for $199 for several weeks. At that price point, RIM is unlikely to make a profit. Nonetheless, the company is promoting the tablet aggressively.


RIM launched the BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 update last week. That update added a lot more functionality to the tablet including the

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MEET NOVERO SOLANA, THE TABLET/NETBOOK HYBRID THAT RUNS WINDOWS AND ANDROID

A certain company called Novero Solana has launched a tablet / netbook hybrid running Windows and Android. The machine is expected to go on sale in the US for $799. In Europe it will run 699 Euros.

Specswise, the computer has a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom N2600 Cedar Trail processor. It can run Windows 7 or Google Android. The tablet has a 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixels touchscreen display.


The Solana

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SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB 7.7 NOW AVAILABLE IN THE US

Verizon Wireless has started offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 in the US. As expected, the tablet isn’t cheap. The contract-free model runs $699.99. If you sign up for a 2-year service contract, you can get it for $499.99. The data plans start at $30 per month.

The Verizon version of the tablet is designed to connect to Verizon’s 4G LTE network. WiFi-only versions of the tablet are not

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QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE UPCOMING ARCHOS ARNOVA TABLETS

Archos is all set to launch the third generation of its budget-friendly Arnova tablet lineup. Here is a quick overview of the upcoming Arnova models.

The major difference between the upcoming and existing Arnova tablets is in the operating system. All new models will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. All models are also expected to ship with the AppsLib Market instead of the

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ARCHOS WORKING ON A $129 TABLET FOR KIDS

Archos is reportedly working on a 7 inch tablet for children. The Archos Child Pad, as it is going to be called, will sell for about $129.

The new tablet has a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. No word on screen resolution or storage capacity as yet.


The tablet will come pre-loaded with a Kids App Store powered by the AppsLib Android Marketplace.

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ASUS UPDATES EEE PC 1011CX WITH CEDAR TRAIL ATOM PROCESSOR

Asus has updated its Eee PC 1011CX with an Intel Atom Cedar Trail processor. While the laptop originally had the Intel Atom N455/N570 Pine Trail processor, it now sports the brand new 1.6Ghz Intel Atom N2600 Cedar Trail chip. The Eee PC 1011CX has a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels display. It has also got a 0.3 megapixel webcam, VGA and HDMI output port, 3 USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet jack. Both 3-

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ACER ASPIRE ONE D270 HITS FCC

The Acer Aspire One D270 is one of the first 10 inch netbooks to sport the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N2600 dual core processor. It hasn’t started shipping yet, but the launch date is fast approaching. The netbook passed through FCC last week which is an indication that its launch is imminent.


The Aspire One D270 has a 10 inch matte display with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. It has also got 3 USB

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GALAXY TAB 7.7 COMES TO VERIZON FOR PRICES STARTING AT $500

US wireless carrier Verizon will start offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 on March 1st. The 7.7 inch tablet will support Verizon’s 4G LTE mobile network. If you sign up for a 2-year service contract, you can pick up the tablet for $499.99.


The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 has a 1280 x 800 pixels Super AMOLED Plus display with wide viewing angles. The tablet is powered by a 1.4GHz dual core

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RASPBERRY PI COMPUTER FIRST BATCH ALREADY SOLD OUT

The $35 Raspberry Pi computers have gone on sale. Interestingly, the first batch has already been sold out but we won’t know exactly how many units were there. You can now register to be notified when more computers are in stock.


The Raspberry Pi has a 700 MHz Broadcom BCM2835 ARM system-on-a-chip processor and hardware accelerated graphics which will be able to handle 1080p HD video playback

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TOSHIBA LAUNCHES EXCITE 10 LE ANDROID TABLET IN THE US

The Toshiba Excite 10 LE tablet is expected to go on sale in the US on March 6th. Toshiba introduced the tablet at CES in January. At that time it was called Excite X10.


The tablet has a 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 dual core processor. The 10 inch IPS display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The tablet measures just 0.3 inches in thickness and weighs 1.2 pounds. The model with 16GB of storage

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APPLE TO UNVEIL IPAD 3 ON MARCH 7

Apple will unveil its iPad 3 on March 7th. The company has already started sending out invitations to an event scheduled to be held on that date in San Francisco.


The iPad 3 is expected to have a higher resolution display. There is no official confirmation on that as yet, but it is one of the rumors that has been floating around for months. The iPad 2 has a lower resolution 9.7 inch, 1024 x

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SONY TABLET P COMING TO AT&T

The Sony Tablet P has a pair of 5.5 inch displays which can be used to display two apps at once. Or you can have the same app spanning across both screens. The tablet has been available since last year, and now AT&T is getting ready to launch it on its 4G HSPA+ network.

The AT&T version of the tablet will be available starting March 4th. You can pick up the tablet for $399.99 if you sign up for

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TOSHIBA COULD BE BUILDING A 7.7 INCH TABLET

Toshiba is yet to officially announce that it is planning to launch a 7.7 inch tablet. Nonetheless, the company showed off a prototype behind closed glass at CES in January. The same model is on display at the ongoing Mobile World Congress too.


The prototype tablet has a 7.7 inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It is powered by a NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor. The

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DELL XPS 13 NOW AVAILABLE FOR $1000 AND UP

The 13.3 inch Dell XPS 13 is now available for purchase from Dell. The laptop was introduced at CES in January. It runs $999.99 and up.


For that price you will get a 1.6Ghz Intel Core i5-2467M processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The 13.3 inch display has a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Higher end configurations with more storage and faster 1.7Ghz Intel Core i7-2637M processor are also

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CORNING GORILLA GLASS 2 COMING

Corning’s sturdy Gorilla Glass has been pretty popular with mobile device makers, thanks to its scratch and shatter resistant surface. And now the company is working on the next version of the Gorilla Glass. It will be thinner and more touch sensitive. Of course, there will be no compromise in the sturdiness department.

Corning says that the first devices sporting Gorilla Glass 2 could start

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Teachers helping teachers (and students....)

One of the best agreements we have come to in our 9th grade PLC  is asking fellow 9th grade teachers to come into our 9th grade classes and offer specific writing instruction on their unscheduled time. In the 9th grade, we have a large five paragraph persuasive research based paper we ask our students to compose. This is the first time in many of the students' lives they have ever written a paper of this magnitude. With many of our classes at 28-32 kids, our one to one time with our students is extremely limited especially to give immediate and focused feedback.   Typically, the writing unit takes six weeks of every day writing instruction.  This is an incredible amount of instruction time focused to writing the persuasive paper.

At our January PLC meeting, we addressed this problem. How can we give our students more writing feedback and, at the same time, not sacrifice additional classroom instruction time?  How can we best meet the needs of our struggling students who are falling behind in writing and, at the same time, push our advanced students ahead in their writing?  How do we give our students the one to one time they deserve?

In order to best facilitate the time our guest teachers were giving up to come into our classes, we have asked our students to prepare focused questions based upon their writing. Did they want help with organization? topic setences? thesis statements?  word choice? fluency?  connecting ideas back to thesis? etc....Then we broke up the class into equal sections based upon the number of teachers coming into class so each teacher had the same number of kids to work with.

Maura Moritz helping a student

Lauren Lee helping another student

Ethan Kuhlmann helping a student

Audra Buchwald helping a student

Abby Hancock helping a student

Greg Trotter helping another student

Although we have writing lab which is available on Tuesday and Thursdays to all students, and we peer edit in class, we realized we needed more direct instruction in class with kids who weren't seeking out additional assistance.  This was an amazing experience for the classroom teacher as well as the guest teachers. We all learned from this learning opportunity. The kids appreciated all the direct feedback and the guest teachers were able to let me know of issues they saw with specific kids, or of areas where they were really seeing kids excelling. I hope this is a tradition we will continue.

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Google Map versus Google Earth

For the past few years with our study of The Odyssey and Into the Wild, I have had my students use Google Earth to trace their own personal learning journey along with the characters in the literary works we are reading. This assignment has evolved over time to now work with tracing Christopher McCandless' journey in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild.  At the suggestion of Dana Levesque, I switched from solely using Google Earth to this year using Google Maps.  The advantages were great.

Google Maps allowed for the kids to store everything online versus having to save folders and KMZ files with their Google Earth work. Additionally, they could collaborate on their maps with others. I didn't use this feature this year, but am thinking of adding it to the maps next year in order to foster collaboration with classmates.  This will also help them connect with one another and discuss McCandless's choices. We do each entry differently with some as formulated paragraphs, but others are images, quotes, and reactions.  Google Earth and Google Map allows for the entries to change and adapt to the individuality of the student. Here is the rubric I use for the Into the Wild Google Map/ Google Earth project.

Google Map examples:

Chase

Jack

Tyler

Google Earth example: 2012

Austin

Google Earth examples: old

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HUAWEI LAUNCHES MEDIAPAD 10 FDH ANDROID TABLET WITH QUAD CORE PROCESSOR

Huawei introduced a new 10 inch Android tablet at the ongoing Mobile World Congress. The device has a quad core processor and a high resolution display.

The Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD indeed has some top-of-the-line features. It is powered by the just introduced Huawei K3V2 ARM-based quad core processor. This processor is based on the 64-bit architecture and is reportedly the fastest ARM processor

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HUAWEI LAUNCHES ARM-BASED K3V2 QUAD CORE PROCESSOR

Samsung and Apple already produce their own ARM-based processors for powering their mobile devices. And now Chinese company Huawei has joined the list. The company has just launched a new chip called Huawei K3V2. It will be first used in the Huawei Ascend D quad smartphone.

The Huawei K3V2 has four ARM Cortex A9 processor cores that can run at 1.2GHz or 1.5GHz. It is based on the 64-bit

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SAMSUNG UNVEILS GALAXY TAB 2 10.1 ANDROID TABLET

Samsung has finally officially unveiled its Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1). As the name itself indicates, it has a 10.1 inch display.

Samsung is no newbie in the tablet space. The company has already launched several tablets with 7 inch, 7.7 inch, 8.9 inch, 10 inch and 5.3 inch displays. So what exactly is new in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1)? Here is a quick overview.


The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 has a 10.1

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VIEWSONIC ANNOUNCES THREE NEW TABLETS

ViewSonic will reportedly introduce three new tablets at the Mobile World Congress next week. The machines sport 7, 9.7 and 10 inch displays. Here is a quick overview.

The 7 inch model is the ViewSonic ViewPad G70 we have already heard about. It has a 1024 x 600 pixels display, 1GB of RAM and 4GB of storage. It will run the Google Android 4.0 operating system.


The 9.7 inch ViewPad E100 has a

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IS LENOVO EXITING THE NETBOOK MARKET?

Lenovo did introduce a couple of netbooks at CES in January. None of them have started shipping yet, but it looks like the company isn’t betting big on them and that is hardly surprising. Netbooks don’t offer good profit margins. Dell has already exited the netbook market. Acer has also hinted at a similar exit strategy. Lenovo could be the next.


The company’s older netbooks in the IdeaPad S

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SAMSUNG LAUNCHES QUAD CORE EXYNOS PROCESSOR

Samsung has built a new quad-core processor. The Samsung Exynos quad-core processor is designed to compete with NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chip which has already started showing up in tablets and smartphones.


The new Samsung Exynos processor has four ARM Cortex-A9 processor cores with clock speeds ranging between 200 MHz and 1.5GHz. The 32nm chip also comes bundled with ARM Mali graphics. Samsung is

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HP MINI 210 GETS CEDAR TRAIL ATOM PROCESSOR

The HP Mini 210 has been updated with Intel’s third generation Cedar Trail Atom processors. The Mini 210 is now available with a choice of the 1.6Ghz Intel Atom N2600 or the 1.86GHz Intel Atom N2800 processor.


The new HP Mini 210 will have the same $299.99 starting price as the previous models. For that price, you will get an Intel Atom N2600 processor, Windows 7 Starter OS, 1GB of RAM and a

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HAIPAD LAUNCHES ANDROID 4.0 TABLETS

Chinese company HaiPad has already launched a few Android tablets. None of these machines had particularly impressive specs, but they were cheap. And now the company has launched a new crop of Android 4.0 tablets which seem to have better specifications than their predecessors.


Haipad A10A10
The HaiPad A10A10 has a 7 inch display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. It is powered by a

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HYBRID STORAGE TO MAKE ULTRABOOKS CHEAPER

Ultrabooks are ultra thin and light laptops sporting Intel’s latest processors and super-fast solid state disks. At least that is how Intel defines this new breed of laptops. While SSDs are fast, they are also pricey and that is one of the reasons behind the high price tags of ultrabooks. But high prices have never boosted sales. Needless to say, PC makers are trying innovative techniques to

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