Taming a laptop mouse-pointer that jumps around
I have a Dell Studio 1555 laptop which has developed an infuriating habit. When typing, the cursor randomly repositions itself in previously entered text and I only become aware of its changed position when I look up to review what I have typed -- usually gobbledegook. I have tried to get help from Dell without success, and I have also sought advice from my IT manager at work but again without success. I have read that the only cure is to "re-image" the PC. Although I am reasonably PC literate, that process is beyond me. Eric Craigie This problem comes up quite often on the net, usually on PCs but sometimes on Macs, but almost never with any useful information. Typically people mention the brand of PC and the operating system, which makes the problem appear to be completely random and therefore beyond rational solution. To identify it as a fault, we really want to know the make and model of the mousepad, the version number of the software driver, and similar details. I'd not run into the problem because, for decades, I've used Toshiba Portégé and IBM ThinkPad laptops with pointing sticks (TrackPoint, PointStick etc) instead of mousepads
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Taming a laptop mouse-pointer that jumps around
Hands on the world’s thinnest laptop, the Adamo XPS from Dell
I've been playing with a wide range of notebook PCs at CES, and Dell's Adamo XPS is not just the thinnest, it's one of the most innovative. Steve Ballmer did show it in his opening keynote, but he could have made much more of it… Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer ran quickly through a number of innovative Windows 7 PCs during his keynote , and one that got slightly more attention than most was Dell's Adamo XPS . This is billed as being the world's thinnest laptop, and at 9.9mm it's thinner than many mobile phones. It also has a very nice unlocking system, where you simply stroke the front of the lid so you can open it. Then, once you have opened it, it sits up, with the keyboard tilted at a more ergonomic typing angle. The Adamo XPS has an excellent 13.4 inch LED widescreen, which shows the now-almost-standard (for ultraportables) 1366 x 768 pixels. One of the interesting innovations is that the motherboard and 128GB solid-state drive are behind the screen, not beneath the keyboard
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Hands on the world's thinnest laptop, the Adamo XPS from Dell
Newsbytes | 19 November 2009
Prepare for cyberwar McAfee's fifth annual Virtual Criminology Report says some of the world's leading countries are arming themselves for cyberwar. More opting for Opteron The world's three fastest supercomputers now use AMD Opteron processors, though Intel-based systems still have 80% of the Top 500. UK gets Binged! Microsoft has released a version of its Bing search engine tailored for UK users, including a shopping service integrated with Ciao UK. Living the HD dream Dell's Zino HD range of small, colourful computers can work in living rooms as high-definition media centres. E-swoon with Mills & Boon On Monday, Sony will launch a special edition of its ebook reader "in a romantic rose pink finish", preloaded with Christmas-themed Mills & Boon titles. Bebo battles bullying Social networking site Bebo has added "Report Abuse" as part of its work with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. Go to sleep on an egg Quincom has launched the LightSleeper (£125), an egg-like device that projects light onto the ceiling to aid relaxation London crime maps The Metropolitan police's website now features crime maps – showing criminal activity by borough and word – based on Google maps, Virtual worlds Computing Microsoft Social networking Dell Sony Jack Schofield guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Newsbytes | 19 November 2009
Intel struggles against rising tide of accusations
Chip maker Intel says it will fight new allegations of corruption, as it faces a fresh onslaught of claims over its business practices. The company - which is based in Santa Clara, California - rejected the case brought against it yesterday by New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo and said it would fight the claims in court. Filing his case against the electronics giant, Cuomo said the company had "used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market", hurting competitors and consumers as a result. But Intel said the idea that it had damaged the market was incorrect. "We disagree with the New York attorney general," said the company in a statement. "Neither consumers - who have consistently benefited from lower prices and increased innovation - nor justice are being served by filing a case now. Intel will defend itself." Intel's language did not, however, directly address the substance of Cuomo's claims – that the company paid billions of dollars in kickbacks to computer manufacturers to get them to use its products instead of those of its main rival, AMD. Instead, Intel's supporters rallied around to attack Cuomo and the case, putting forward a number of arguments that they believe exculpated the technology pioneer. Among them was American lobby group the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which takes an anti-regulatory stance and is notorious for suggesting that climate change is not a problem. Calling Cuomo's case a "baseless attack", CEI official Wayne Crews suggested that Intel's dominance of the lucrative computer chip market was, in fact, proof of its innocence. "Intel's pricing and rebate policies are legitimate, pro-consumer business practices in a vibrant market setting," he said. "Intel is disciplined not only by its competitors but by downstream business customers like Dell and Hewlett-Packard." Meanwhile CNBC - the American business news channel that has been accused of blindly cheerleading the activities of corporations > in the past – questioned Cuomo's motives. "Isn't it strange that this is the second major action filed by Cuomo in the last four days against a California corporate powerhouse?" wrote the network's Silicon Valley chief Jim Goldman yesterday , suggesting that there was a growing "gravy train" of officials looking to gang up on Intel for political benefit. "Last I checked, Intel-based machines still share shelf space with machines running AMD chips… that prices continue to plunge … and innovation continues to increase… the proof is in the marketplace". Intel's case is likely to be weakened, however, by previous rulings made by regulators in Europe and Asia that have outlined some of the company's practices and cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. Officials in Japan and South Korea have acted against the company for offering money to suppliers in order to exclude AMD from the market, while earlier this year European regulators fined the company €1bn for making anti-competitive payments to computer manufacturers. Intel is still appealing that ruling, but over the summer the European Commission took the unexpected step of publishing some of the documents used as evidence against Intel . Those included email conversations between executives at HP – the largest computer manufacturer in the world – which suggested that they had indeed been paid on the condition that they avoided AMD products. "You can NOT use the commercial AMD line in the channel in any country, it must be done direct," said one email
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Intel struggles against rising tide of accusations
Dell stung by $4m penalty over fraudulent ads
American computer manufacturer Dell has agreed to pay $4m (£2.4m) to settle accusations that it misled customers and tricked them into paying for expensive products and services. The case - brought by the New York attorney general's office - goes back to 2007, when complaints emerged about the way the company was advertising cheap financing and warranties. According to state officials, the Texan PC maker often advertised zero interest credit deals for new computers before denying the customer's application and then encouraging them to buy at a far higher rate - often more than 20% interest. This tactic - described as a "bait and switch" by attorney general Andrew Cuomo - was accompanied by regular failures to provide the support services that customers had paid for; sometimes leaving them hundreds of dollars out of pocket for warranties that were effectively worthless. Dell denied the allegations, but last year the New York Supreme Court ruled against the company - leading yesterday's announcement of a deal with Cuomo's office. As part of the settlement, Dell did not admit to any wrongdoing, but said it would pay $4m in penalties, costs and as restitution to affected customers - as well as agreeing to change its advertising practices. Cuomo said was a victory for consumers, and attacked Dell's "deceptive and illegal business practices". "Going forward, this deal means that Dell will have to clearly and fully disclose the terms and conditions of their products and services to avoid this kind of fraud at the consumer's expense," he said in a statement . Dell Computing Law and technology United States Advertising Bobbie Johnson guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Dell stung by $4m penalty over fraudulent ads
Breakfast briefing: PC industry ’stablising’, says Dell
• Things have been pretty tough in the PC business recently, but things could be on the turn according to Dell. Despite posting a 22% decline in revenues from the same time last year, the Financial Times quotes executives from the Texan company saying that the slump was "stablising" and that there are now "some pockets of strong demand". • Despite concern that Spotify's iPhone app might not get approval, since it potentially competes with Apple's own music business, Cupertino says it has given it the rubber stamp , reports PaidContent . Premium users will get the chance to stream music over the air and cache tracks when in Wi-Fi range so that they can listen to them again later. • Microsoft has unveiled some details about its "White-Fi" project , a way for electronic devices to use spare parts of the radio spectrum. It's part of a project that's been running for a few years, but supporters hope it can pick up steam: Ars Technica has a good overview . You can follow our links and commentary each day through Twitter ( @guardiantech , or our personal accounts ) or by watching our Delicious feed . Dell Computing Spotify Apple iPhone Software Wi-Fi Microsoft Research and development Bobbie Johnson guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Breakfast briefing: PC industry 'stablising', says Dell
Ask Jack: 27 August 2009
Searching for a cheap PC My parents are in their 70s, and want to upgrade their ancient (15-year-old) PC and get online. They don't want a laptop and have asked me to source a reliable PC with a flat-panel monitor for around £300. I'm struggling. Paul English JS: It may not be easy to hit the £300 price point on a new, name brand machine running Windows. However, there are often special deals that come close. At the moment, for example, Dell is offering an Inspiron 545 desktop PC deal (search the site for D004528) with an 18.5in widescreen for £329 including VAT and shipping. It's not the prettiest machine around, but the price includes 2GB of memory, a DVD +/- RW drive, Windows Vista Home Premium and Microsoft Works 9.
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Ask Jack: 27 August 2009
Netbooks: Are netbooks losing their shine? Jack Schofield reports
Netbooks have been the rising stars of the PC market. But with sales slipping, and new rivals appearing, their future is looking less certain Netbooks have been the PC market's bright spot over the past nine months, but sales have slipped recently, and they now face an uncertain future. They are losing some of their price advantage over notebooks, and soon will be challenged by a new type of ultra-slim notebook PC with a long battery life. Netbooks first appeared in 2007 and have been a big success. Sales have far outstripped the predictions of analysts such as Gartner - 14m units last year, against a forecast of 5.3m - and now make up 20% of the portable PC market. The Asus marketing specialist John Swatton points to "tech novices" adopting netbooks in the way they have adopted mobile phones and MP3 players, which he says "will drive further growth in the netbook market. We are also seeing more and more users purchasing netbooks as a second, and more portable, device to provide connectivity when away from their primary laptop or PC." An affordable, everyday option "The netbook has changed the landscape for good," says Ian Fogg, an analyst with Forrester. "The netbook category has overturned the idea that users should pay a big price premium for ultraportables." Ultraportable notebook PCs have been available from companies such as IBM and Sony, but they typically cost £1,500 to £2,500. Today's netbooks cost around £200-£300, which makes them affordable enough for everyday commuters. Women like them because they can fit inside a handbag. Kids like them because they can have their own machine, and they may get one from their school - Dell has just launched a rubberised Latitude 2100 in a variety of colours for the education market
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Netbooks: Are netbooks losing their shine? Jack Schofield reports
Intel to appeal against €1bn EU fine
Record penalty for chipmaker's 'illegal anticompetitive practices' criticised in US Intel has vowed to fight a record €1.03bn (£950m) fine imposed by the European commission as criticism grows in the US that the chipmaker is being unfairly singled out for anticompetitive behaviour. The commission levied the fine, which is payable at once despite the appeal, for what it called "illegal anticompetitive practices", citing rebates offered to computer manufacturers – Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Lenovo and NEC. The deals were struck on the condition that the central processing unit (CPU), the computer's "brain", should come from Intel – effectively locking out its bitter but much smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Intel has more than 70% of the world market for CPUs. But the fine drew a sceptical reaction in the US, where critics of the EU questioned whether consumers had truly suffered from Intel's business practices. Jonathan Zuck, president of the Association for Competitive Technology, said chip prices had dropped by 60% over a decade and processing power which once cost $1 could now be purchased for just a cent. "The EU should not rejoice at this seeming triumph over American big business," said Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free market thinktank . "Instead, it should ponder if its policies make Europe hospitable for innovation." Nevertheless, the EU decision could also presage an investigation by the US authorities into Intel's business practices there. The department of justice confirmed in June last year that it had a formal antitrust probe under way, and in January 2008 the New York state attorney general also opened an inquiry into Intel's methods. The European Union's competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, said the penalty was justified because the company had skewed competition and denied consumers choice. Kroes said Intel had "used illegal anticompetitive practices to exclude its only competitor and reduce consumers' choice and the whole story is about consumers." She said Intel's practices had "undermined innovation". Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel, retorted that "there has been absolutely zero harm to consumers". Otellini hit back angrily at the decision, which had been widely anticipated. "We do not believe our practices violated European law," he said. "The natural result of a competitive market with only two major suppliers is that when one company wins sales, the other does not." Giuliano Meroni, president of AMD's operations in Europe, said the decision would "shift the power from an abusive monopolist to computer-makers, retailers and above all PC consumers". The matter will now go to appeal, but Intel – which has warned of falling revenues and the need for job cuts – will still have to pay the fine. If Intel wins, it will be repaid the money; otherwise it will be used to defray the costs of the commission
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Intel to appeal against €1bn EU fine
Worldwide PC sales set to slump to 2007 levels in biggest reverse ever, says Gartner
Netbooks and "mobile PCs" only rays of light as forecast sees 12% fall in shipments It has already suffered heavily at the hands of the economic downturn – but the computer industry must be ready for the toughest year in its history, according to one industry analyst. Technology specialist Gartner is predicting that 2009 will see demand decline by almost 12%, nearly four times the previous worst year on record, when the market shrunk by 3.2% in 2001. That will be a shuddering reverse compared to the past three years when sales have grown by at least 10%. A study from the company suggests that computer makers can no longer rely on replacement sales to bolster profits, or look to new markets in Asia and Africa for help.
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Worldwide PC sales set to slump to 2007 levels in biggest reverse ever, says Gartner