Dell's $2,000 Adamo laptop spotted

ADAMO MAY MEAN 'let's fall in love' in Latin, but getting to lay our hands all over Dell's new luxury laptop at SXSW last week, we discovered it was more a case of passing fancy.
The Dell Adamo is apparently the world's most anorexic laptop to date, weighing in at just 1.81 kg (4.0 lb), with a 13.4-inch, high definition, edge-to-edge 16:9 glass display all cased in a gleaming aluminum chassis. But when you wipe the drool from your mouth and pop the hood... well, it's a little disappointing.

Dell’s top secret cellphone? A netbook

It’s a mixed up crazy world. Just as we digest news that Nokia wants to release a laptop, Michael Dell says his company could give away netbooks with built-in 3G, pocketing a slice of the data plan.

Rumours had Dell on the verge of announcing a smartphone.

Laptops with built-in 3G chips are nothing new. HP, Toshiba and Lenovo have been selling them in New Zealand for a while on selected models.

But up until now, built-in cellular broadband has been restricted to a small number of high-end notebooks, providing wealthier laptop owners with a more convenient internet connectivity option than jamming in a dongle, piggy-backing on a 3G phone.

Dell wants to extend built-in cellular smarts to the mass market, fast-growing netbook category. Models in the class, which includes Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 (pictured), sell for between $NZ700 and $NZ900, and are little larger than a videocassette (kids, ask your parents).

Speaking after Dell’s disappointing results on Friday, chief executive Michael Dell said 3G services were a growth opportunity, and that his eponymous company was in talks with several carriers. He told the conference call: “We have been particularly focused on 3G and agreements with carriers embedding 3G and using our own sales engines as well to sell 3G netbooks.”

With PC sales slowing, and computers of all kinds selling for less than ever before, Mr Dell wants to start making some money from Dell’s sizeable installed base (the company is the world’s second largest PC seller after HP).

An expanding services division is one way. Grabbing a slice of recurring 3G revenue is another.

Under Mr Dell’s plan, a Dell netbook would be sold for next to nothing or even given away, providing the customer signed a long-term contract with a partner telco like Vodafone or Telecom. It’s a model that’s familiar enough in the cellphone world.

If a user signs onto, say, an $80 a month, three-year data plan, then $2400 could be coming through the door; more for those months when the owner goes a little video crazy.

But whose door? Dell will have to cut some sharp revenue-sharing deals with telcos.

The problem is, however, that netbooks are heavily commoditised. Dell will not have the bargaining power of, say, Apple, backed by the iPhone’s unique brand cachet.

Linux is OK
Mr Dell also defended Linux against a recent Microsoft comments that the OS is less stable on netbooks.
Dell sells around one third of its Inspiron 9 netbooks with Linux, and around two-thirds with Windows. Mr Dell said return rates were similar for both.

Profit halved
Certainly, Dell could do with striking out in a new direction.

Although it stayed in the black for its quarter ended January 30, Dell’s net profit dropped 48% to $US351 million from the year-ago period, while revenue was down 16% to $US13.4 billion.

The lower net profit included one-time charges totalling $US277 million related to a revamp of manufacturing systems, and stock compensation charges.

Buoyed by an alliance with EMC, Dell’s storage business was the star, with sales growing 7% to $692 million.

Desktop PC sales fell 27% year-on-year to tally $US3.5 billion for the quarter; notebook sales fell 17% to $US4 billion, and servier business was down 16% to $US1.3 billion. All regions shared the pain.

Article source: http://www.nbr.co.nz

Stop thief! Software lets stolen laptops yell for help

By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Technology Writer


SEATTLE (AP) — Stolen laptop? Now you can tell those thieves exactly what you think of them.

Front Door Software Corp.'s Retriever program displays your contact information as your computer boots up. There's even space for a plea to a Good Samaritan — "$50 for my safe return," maybe.



In most cases, that's enough to help an honest person return the machine, said Carrie Hafeman, chief executive of the five-person company based in Evergreen, Colo.

But in the darkest scenarios, Retriever takes off the kid gloves.

You can log on to a Web site and check a box indicating the computer is missing. Now during start-up, a big yellow and red banner appears on the screen, boldly declaring the laptop lost or stolen. This message is set to reappear every 30 seconds, no matter how many times the thief closes the window.

You can remotely switch on a second password prompt if you fear the thief has also stolen your regular Windows, Macintosh or Linux login.

Behind the scenes, Retriever uses built-in Wi-Fi to sniff out nearby networks, then suss out what Internet service providers power them. With that information in hand, Hafeman said, you can file a police report and get help locating the criminal.

While waiting for law enforcement to come through, you can even let off steam by sending new messages to the nagging "Stolen Computer!" screen.

"You are being tracked. I am right at your door" was one, Hafeman said, adding that she could not bring herself to say others that came to mind. Customers have also tried to induce fear or guilt by switching their contact info to "Secret Service" and "Catholic church."

The latest version of Retriever, which costs $29.95 for three years of use, is even more aggressive.

Now, when the "stolen" screen pops up, the laptop cries for help. Use a canned message ("Help, this laptop is reported lost or stolen. If you are not my owner, please report me now.") or record your own.

"You can say, 'Get your hands off me, you S.O.B.'" Hafeman said.

Article Source: www.keprtv.com