Ratings: Laptops, Desktops, and Netbooks

If you're in the market for a computer (desktop or portable), check out our latest Ratings of desktop computers, laptops and netbooks. We've got recommendations for 13 laptops, three netbooks, and 12 desktops. (Ratings and Recommendations are available to subscibers.)

Both major commercial operating systems are slated for a change this fall. Apple plans to release its OS X upgrade, Snow Leopard, in September. Current Leopard users will be able to upgrade for $29. There will also be also a five-license family version for $49.

Snow Leopard will use 6GB less hard drive space than the previous version, the company said.

Microsoft will release the new Windows 7 on October 22. The company says it's still working on upgrade programs with computer manufacturers and retailers. If you're on the fence about when to buy a new PC, it might be worth holding off until we learn more about upgrade options. —Donna Tapellini

New Mac OS X, Snow Leopard, announced

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. [Photo: adamjackson1984/Flickr]

Mac OS X is getting a facelift, Apple Computer announced today during the keynote for its Worldwide Developers Conference. Called Snow Leopard, the 64-bit OS will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard users starting in September for $29. There will also be also a five-license family version for $49.

Snow Leopard will use 6GB less hard drive space than the previous version, the company said.

Apple also debuted new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops today during the keynote for its Worldwide Developers Conference. Both will use the same battery currently built into the 17-inch version. Apple claims the battery will last 7 hours; in our tests of the 17-inch MacBook, we got 6.5 hours of battery life.

Both will also have an SD slot instead of an ExpressCard slot, and illuminated keyboards. The company says it improved the LED backlit displays. Options for the 15-inch version include up to a 500GB hard drive or 256GB solid-state drive. Prices range from $1,700 for a model with a 250GB hard drive to $2,300 for one with a 500GB drive . The 13-inch MacBook Pro (yes, the 13-inch laptop is now also part of the Pro line) will cost $1,200 to $1,500 with a 120GB to 250GB hard drive and 2 to 4GB of RAM.

Apple's big day arrives: The rumors and the reality

Photo: r3v || cls/Flickr

This afternoon, Apple will open its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with its attention-grabbing keynote, known for headline-generating announcements. And as usual, in the weeks leading up to the keynote, rumors are flying about new Apple product choices.

While these are just rumors, computer fans enjoy the pre-launch drama. So we thought we’d bring you a quick list of the most persistent rumors. Come back later this afternoon for the real story.

First big rumor, and the one with the most street cred: a new iPhone. Engadget teams with Daring Fireball and says that the next iPhone will have twice the RAM, double the speed, and a video camera. Price: $200 to $300. Another iPhone improvement to look for? Longer battery life.

Next up: a tablet version of the Mac. Same rumor popped up last year, and it’s being revisited this year. CNET says fuhgeddaboutit until 2010. But here’s an overview of how such a tablet might look

Speaking of the Mac, Snow Leopard is the next incarnation of OS X. What might we expect to learn during the keynote? Not a lot, according to Mac Rumors.

Finally, Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing will be presenting the keynote for Apple. Any possibility that Steve Jobs will show up? Lots of “will he” or “won’t he” rumors flying, but we’ll have to wait a few hours to see what really happens.

Meanwhile, chime in with your own Mac gossip.

Check back here this afternoon for our take on the announcements.

And earlier, as the news comes in, follow my colleague, Jeff Fox, live on Twitter. —Donna Tapellini

New Laptop Ratings: Your shopping questions answered

Apple Macbook Air (Click to enlarge.) [Image: Apple]

How does Dell’s new ultra-thin Adamo laptop stack up against Apple’s MacBook Air? (Results were mixed.) Wondering if you can find a full-featured laptop for about the price of a netbook? (You can.)

Learn more about these and other shopping questions in our latest batch of laptop Ratings (available to subscribers). We’ve added 14 new models, and we’ve got three recommendations for 13-inch laptops, three for 17-inch desktop replacements, and eight for 14- to 16-inch models.

More manufacturers are offering laptops with 16-inch screens. These give you a wider screen for better displaying video. You’ll also notice a lot of laptops with multitouch technology, which lets you do things like scroll up and down Web pages or zoom in on photos by using hand gestures on the touchpad.

If you’re worried about buying a Vista laptop with the release of Windows 7 imminent (it’s due out at the end of the year), plans for dealing with upgrades of new laptops from Vista to Windows 7 are still being negotiated, according to a manufacturer we spoke to. It’s possible that there will be a free upgrade plan for recent buyers, but no plans have been finalized yet.

If you’ve already got a laptop and want to switch to Windows 7, Microsoft has made available an upgrade advisor.  —Donna Tapellini

Dueling netbooks: AT&T vs. Verizon

HP Mini 1151nr

AT&T and Verizon are now both selling netbooks cellphone-style—that is, at a deep discount in exchange for a two-year service commitment, in this case to data service on a 3G data network. I've been using two of the first such netbooks: the $100 Acer Aspire One from AT&T and the $199 HP Mini 1151NR, from Verizon. Both cost up to $200 less than the non-carrier version of the unit.

Here's my take on these units, admittedly based on limited casual use: Like all netbooks, both make compromises for compactness and light weight. Yet I also found both offer fairly fast, widespread access to a 3G network without the fuss of installing a wireless card—which not all non-carrier netbooks even accept. (As an alternative, you can connect a non-carrier netbook to 3G by using a so-called dongle that plugs into, and dangles from, a USB port.)

The Acer, which has a 9-in. display, is the least expensive of five 3G netbooks and laptops being offered by AT&T, which this week expanded to nationwide sales of the units after pilot programs in Philadelphia and Atlanta. Verizon's HP netbook, the only one the carrier currently offers, has a 10-in. display and is also available nationwide.

Obama has received key cybersecurity report; public release imminent

Shawn Henry, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division, speaks at the Anti-Spyware Coalition workshop in Washington, D.C., today, Tuesday May 19. 2009. [Photo: Jeff Fox]

In his opening keynote address here at the Anti-Spyware Coalition's conference, in Washington, Shawn Henry, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division, disclosed that a much-awaited report on America's cybersecurity has been delivered to President Obama and should be released to the public either this week or the next. Henry said that he himself had read the report.

The report, the product of a 60-day audit of America's cybersecurity ordered by President Obama shortly after taking office, is expected to define how the relevant Federal Government agencies will be re-structured to better manage the nation's cybersecurity, as well as what other measures, such as legislation, regulation, and research, need to be taken.

When the report is made public, we'll report on it here, so be sure to check back over the next week or so.

There is still much work being done here at the conference. I'll report on other important developments as they occur. —Jeff Fox

HP, CPSC recall 70,000 laptop batteries

HP, Compaq and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have issued a recall of about 70,000 laptop computer batteries. The batteries can overheat, causing burns or fire damage.

The following laptop models, sold between August 2007 and March 2008, might contain a recalled battery:

HP Pavilion	Compaq Presario	HP	HP Compaq
dv2000 dv2500 dv2700 dv6000 dv6500 dv6700 dv9000 dv9500 dv9700	A900 C700 F700 V3000 V3500 V3700 V6000 V6500 V6700	G6000 G7000	6720s

If you suspect your laptop might have a recalled battery, carefully check the battery's bar code. (For photos of where to find the bar code, visit the CPSC's recall announcement page.) Batteries with any of the following bar-code labels should be removed immediately from the laptop, and owners should contact HP for a free replacement. In the meantime, the laptop can be powered via the AC wall adapter. (Note: "^" indicates any number or letter.)

62940^^AXV^^^^

65033^^B7U^^^^ 65033^^B7V^^^^ 65033^^BGU^^^^

65035^^B7U^^^^ 65035^^B7V^^^^ 65035^^BGU^^^^ 65035^^BGV^^^^

67059^^V8U^^^^ 67059^^V8V^^^^

HP Contact Info: (800) 889-2031, or http://www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement

The Intel European fine: What it may mean for Americans

Will American computer consumers feel the effect of the huge fine for antitrust regulations levied against chipmaker Intel by European regulators? Very likely yes, in ways both direct and indirect. But there's no consensus on whether those effects will be beneficial or not.

The $1.45 billion fine by the European Commission—the largest the EU has ever levied—may give Intel pause in how it deals domestically with AMD, the other giant in semiconductor manufacturing. The result could be a more competitive global market for semiconductors, the components that are at the heart of computers' processing power.

In a statement issued by Intel CEO Paul S. Otellini, the company asserted that the decision was wrong, that there had been no harm to consumers, and that it would appeal the decision, but comply with it during the appeal process.

If Intel were to take a less aggressive stance toward AMD, it could mean lower costs for chips—or an end to what AMD Executive Vice President Tom McCoy today called "Intel's monopoly-inflated pricing." Yet some analysts are already predicting just the opposite, saying the decision could discourage the continuous price-cutting in semiconductors that has, for decades, delivered ever-better and ever-cheaper computers.

There are also predictions that the decision will spur a U.S. investigation or indictment of Intel. The FTC is in the midst of its own antitrust investigation of Intel, and the Obama administration says it has plans to beef up antitrust-law enforcement.

GE storage boost: 100 DVDs on one disc

General Electric today announced a storage technology breakthrough that they say will allow a standard DVD-sized disc to hold 500 gigabytes of data—the equivalent capacity, with current storage technologies, of 20 single-layer Blu-ray discs, 100 DVDs, or the hard drive for a large desktop computer.

The breakthrough, GE says, is based on holographic storage technology that uses the entire volume of the disc material, rather than only its surface, as today's optical storage formats like DVDs and Blu-ray discs do. However, the company says the new storage formats are similar enough to current optical storage technology that drives that can read the new discs will also play CDs, DVDs and other discs encoded with current technology.

The takeaway: A significant development, this promises eventually to replace memories of three-dimensional photos as the main association when people hear the word "hologram." It also promises to add to the already-dropping price of digital storage media—something anyone who's recently bought a memory card for a digital camera, or a new computer, already knows.

However, don't dump your Blu-ray player yet. As analysts quoted by The New York Times, which first reported the story, note, it's as yet unclear when new drives and, say, movie discs that use the technology will reach the consumer market, and at what cost. The first adopters are expected to be commercial, including the entertainment industry and the health-care sector.

New, light laptops: Dell Adamo and Sony VAIO VGN-Z610Y/B

Sony VAIO VGN-Z619Y/B notebook. (Click to enlarge.)

Everyone loves a lightweight, at least when it comes to laptops. So we were excited to get one of Dell’s new Adamo slim-and-light notebooks, as well as a competitor, the new Sony VAIO VGN-Z610Y/B. We’ll be testing both in our next group of laptops, but here are some early impressions:

Both compete with the standard-bearer of the category, Apple’s MacBook Air. The Air weighs in at 3 pounds, has 4.25-hour battery life, and is less than an inch thick. One of its big appeals is its sleek design. And that’s where the Adamo steps up. Besides being less than ¾ of an inch thick, it’s stylish-looking, with a cover that’s half white plastic and half embossed silver. The Sony, on the other hand, is a plain-looking, flat-black laptop that’s a bit thicker than the Adamo.