By James E. Gaskin
June 28, 2011

FRAMINGHAM – The corporate desktop has looked the same for decades: computer, keyboard, mouse, desk phone, maybe a printer. But do these tools dominate because they’re the perfect combination of technology needed for work today, or is the enterprise workplace due for an extreme makeover?

Death of the mouse

According to industry analysts, hardware vendors, architects and futurists, the odds that major changes will revamp the standard corporate cubicle, technology tools and even buildings, rise every day.

Of course, fundamental changes like this don’t happen at all once. “When you’ve got hardware in place, it’s tough to yank it out,” cautions Rob Enderle, principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “Some corporate PBXs are still in use from the 1980s. Faxing was declared dead in 1995, but I have two in my office.”

Enderle’s point is that it takes a major event to upset the status quo, but that event, or confluence of events, appears to be happening today.

The proliferation of mobile devices, the broad availability of high-speed wireless access, cloud-based services and browser-based videoconferencing mean that employees no long have to be tied to their desktop PCs.

Unplanned obsolesence
“The desktop computer really will become obsolete,” says Amy H. Tabor, director of facilities planning for RNL, a global, full-service design firm. “This change is driven by the way we work, the need for more flexibility and space use, and the younger generation expecting the difference.”

Because employees are on the move, a single desktop computer in every cubicle is no longer enough. “What was once a single device computer system is now a two- or three-device environment,” says Jeff Tripp, a Technology Strategist for Enterprise Clients at Intel. The extra devices are laptops, smartphones and tablets.

“It will be interesting to see if the ‘desktop’ term ever goes away,” says Tripp, who works with enterprise Intel customers, and focuses five years in the future. “Younger kids tend to start with mobile laptops or tablets in kindergarten.”

RNL, along with Steelcase and OfficeScapes, is sponsoring Workplace-2020, a digital forum to “explore workplace trends, spark discussion, and inspire debate regarding the workspace of the future.” Ten years ago, RNL spearheaded Workplace-2010, and built out 6,000 square feet of office space to show off new concepts and provide a place for continued research.

“The technical change is now exponential, faster than ever before,” says Tabor, “and will continue to evolve the technology we know. But maybe not as much as the sea change with the arrival of mobile devices and smartphones.”

The Empty Cubicle Syndrome
Now that employees are mobile, changes are occurring both inside and outside the traditional cubicle. Jenny Englert, senior cognitive engineer at Xerox, launched a study on the future of work in 2008. In 2009, she focused on mobile workers and the technologies to support them.

“We see new work styles, and even people with their own cube or office are always out at meetings and the like,” Englert says. “I’m at my desk only about 20% of the time.” Her group followed work practices, rather than technology, and found that as work has become mobile, technology must support that mobility.

Architects are taking notice of empty cubicles, says RNL’s Tabor. “There’s more emphasis on building collaboration space. Companies are giving up individual space for team space.”

Daniel Burrus, business strategist and technology futurist, is also the author of the new book “Flash Foresight: How to See the Invisible and Do the Impossible”, a New York Times hardcover bestseller.

“The workplace is changing dramatically, and the tipping point is now,” Burrus says. “In 2010 more non-Windows machines, like tablets, iPhones and other devices, than Windows computers were plugged into the Internet. Smartphones outsold laptops and PCs.”

Burrus says that increasingly the computer of choice is a smartphone or a tablet. “We will see enterprise level apps for services workers, sales, maintenance. It’s a form factor that’s incredibly powerful.”

Chuck Wilsker, head of the Telework Coalition, says we all are already teleworkers, but we may not know it. “I spoke recently to a group of 260 businesspeople. I asked how many were teleworkers, and only about 10% raised their hands. Then I asked how many worked only at their primary place of employment and never from home or the road. Only two people raised their hands. The reality today is that almost every knowledge worker is now a teleworker.”

In her research for Xerox, Englert found that mobile workers were outside the office about 80% of their workday. They tried to print what they needed before they left, but that didn’t always work. Xerox then introduced a mobile enterprise printer that supports output from a mobile phone.

The video void
On the flip side, employees who regularly work at home can feel isolated. The obvious answer is videoconferencing, but personal videoconferencing has been slow to catch on.

“The big problem with personal videoconferencing is companies bring products to market that don’t work with other products,” says analyst Enderle. “I’ve been working on those projects since the mid 1980s, and they just don’t work together.”

“There are dozens of videoconferencing systems out there now, and have been for years,” Wilsker adds. “We will get to interoperability one of these days between phones, and get used to using video. Young people are driving this. I met a 28 year old man from Turkey, and he uses Skype on his laptop to get cooking lessons from his mother, who’s still in Ankara.”

Lucky for the cooking student, his mother isn’t scared of the camera, but many still are. “The biggest problem with videoconferencing for some companies is that some people are self-conscious about being on camera,” Wilsker says.

Judging by the number of young people in YouTube videos, future workers won’t have that problem. Add in the fact that Apple now provides cameras in front and back of the new iPads and iPhones, and an audio-only conversation may be rare in a few years.

Or you may log in and control a personal telepresence robot to move around the office and talk to people through the speaker and video screen on the robot. Anybots now has these for sale.

Plus, Avaya and others offer browser-based immersive environments for corporate collaboration.

The evolving office
No matter how quickly videoconferencing becomes mainstream, Tabor at RNL says employees have reasons to be in an office with other employees even if they often work anywhere. “Companies will have technology that users can’t afford, so it will be centralized. Offices provide sociability, and maintain the company’s brand and identity. There’s still a need for office space.

Companies must now support four and five generations of workers, Tabor says, in one workspace, because Baby Boomers plan to work longer than previous generations. “Each will have a different set of expectations and demands, and there will be some accommodation of generational preferences. But younger people will drive the innovation, and the most successful older folks will be those who adapt to the newer way of doing things.”

“One huge change for the future will come as we leverage Moore’s Law and move processing to the cloud,” Burrus says. “Watch that jump ahead as you can use a smartphone to access super computer capabilities in the cloud. How about having IBM’s Watson in your smartphone?”

No matter what’s in the cloud, how devices access that cloud will change soon. Rich Cheston, executive director and distinguished engineer for Lenovo, says, “It’s shortsighted to view every endpoint as just a piece of gorilla glass. IT people want better security.”

Cheston says Lenovo has developed technology that leverages the capabilities of the endpoint by introducing a way for cloud applications to interrogate clients and treat them differently. Need better security? If your laptop has a fingerprint reader, the cloud app can demand two-factor authentication, then tailor your access based on your increased security clearance. If the cloud application can tell if a laptop has a camera, it can automatically provide a videoconference option.

And your future office will leverage new tools to share information between devices. “My devices should know when I walk into a conference room, and that I have a conference scheduled at the time,” says Intel’s Tripp. “It should prepare an embedded projector in the room, and make the video connection, etc. This will be leaps and bounds forward. And if my phone has a GPS but my laptop doesn’t, they should share information between them.”

Englert at Xerox works with the Rochester Institute of Technology in her research. Students ask “Why can’t your wall become your workspace,” she says. “Walk into a room, and it will customize to you. Tools will become gesture based, not touch. Just look at a software tool, and it will automatically show up. But it’s been interesting to see from the young people they wanted face to face interaction.”

Intel’s Tripp agrees. “It’s hard to beat people in one room with a whiteboard for brainstorming with our current technology. Tech is getting there, and smart boards help, but there’s value in the daily interactions people have. Hard to replicate walking into a room and working together.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Disclaimer: PCWorld is not responsible if you turn your computer into a massive paperweight after trying one of the tips you’re about to read. Cleaning a computer isn’t rocket science, but certain techniques do carry more risk than others.

So there it is: We’ve spoiled the secret. The next thousand words or so will change your life for the better–or, at least, they’ll add 50 friendship points to the bond you share with your desktop PC. Like bathing a cat, taking a computer from filthy to fresh can be a difficult task at best, but it’s well worth the struggle, time, and messy aftereffects. (Fewer scratches involved, thankfully.)
Not only will cleaning your PC help you get rid of the gunk and other crusty unknowns that lurk within devices such as your keyboard and mouse, but you’ll also be able to rid your system of the dust, hair, and assorted debris that make it look as if you had been storing it in your attic the past three years. Aesthetics aside, you’ll be doing a great service for the components that help your PC stay cool: Fans can keep spinning happily if they aren’t coated with dust and grime, heat sinks can cool better if gunk isn’t impeding their tightly packed fins, and CPUs will benefit from a fresh, even coat of thermal paste instead of, well, whatever that stuff is that’s currently caked on your chip.

Cleaning the Keyboard and Mouse

You have two ways to go about cleaning a keyboard: the easy way and the fun-but-potentially-disastrous way. The former requires a can of compressed air and some cleaning fluid–anything from Pledge wipes to Lysol, your pick.

Turn off the computer. Start by gently brushing the cleaning solution over the keys; I recommend that you spray a paper towel or a wipe instead of drenching the keyboard in cleaning fluid (I’ll talk about that later). If you think it’s already pretty crud-free, you can get away with spraying compressed air in between the keys. To do a more thorough job, however, you’ll want to use a capped pen, a mechanical pencil, or a closed pair of scissors to pop the keys up and off the keyboard. Once you’ve done that, commence deeper cleaning of the underlying surface. You might want to do this cleaning in batches of keys, just in case you forget which keys go where.

The “fun” method involves sticking your keyboard in the dishwasher and letting nature take its course. A few caveats: Gaming keyboards and wireless keyboards carry with them a greater degree of risk than standard keyboards do. To put it another way, you should steer clear of this method if your keyboard has a tiny display attached. Cover any open USB ports with plastic and tape, and, if you’re cleaning a wireless keyboard, remove the battery prior to the washing. Set the dishwasher on a normal temperature with no heated drying–just air–and make sure that the keys are facing down.

Once the keyboard is done bathing, you must let it dry completely before attempting to use it. Put it upside-down on the dish rack for a few days, stick it in sunlight for a few days, blast the insides with compressed air. You’ll find no perfect solution to getting every last bit of water out of the keyboard–you’ll just have to be patient, lest you paperweight your device.

You can use the same techniques on your mouse that you used to clean your keyboard–that is, a gentle brushing with a cleaning wipe or a moist towel. Depending on the variety of mouse, you should be able to pop the primary clicking buttons off in a manner similar to a keyboard’s keys, giving you access to the dirty bits underneath. You can also use the same cleaning cloth to wipe the gunk that typically sticks to the pads on the mouse’s underside.

If you’re still rocking a legacy mouse with a ball, remove the cover on the bottom of the mouse and give the sphere (as well as the area in which the mouse ball sits) a good wipe. And for the 99 percent of you who have moved on to optical mice, a cotton swab gently inserted into the area of the LED should be sufficient to remove any debris that has collected.

Deep-Cleaning the PC

Here we go–the biggie. As tempted as you might be to just blast compressed air all over the inside of the case, resist the urge at first. If you’re going the compressed-air route, you’ll want to move the system to an area that you don’t mind getting a little messy (as in, not your carpeted office floor). You’ll also want to blast spurts of air from the inside of the case on out. No sense spraying dust back into your system, eh?

To clean the case fans, you can use the compressed-air can and give ‘em a good blasting, or you can use rubbing alcohol gently applied to a cotton swab, paper towel, or toothbrush (I’m not kidding, a toothbrush works great for scrubbing dust and gunk from the fan blades themselves). You might need to physically unscrew the fan from the case, which is pretty easy. Just be sure to make note of the diagram on the fan that indicates which way air is being pushed or pulled into the case; once you’ve cleaned the fan, reinstall it so that it’s moving air in the same direction.

Of course, that’s just the first step. Next up is the CPU, which you can treat in one of two ways: using compressed air to blast dust away from the heat sink and fan combination installed in your PC, or removing the heat sink entirely and using 99 percent isopropyl alcohol to scrub off the gunk. We recommend the latter method, as it will also give you a great chance to clean and reapply thermal paste to the CPU itself.
Each heat sink tends to have its own specific way of detaching. In general, you’ll probably have to twist and pull up four knobs attaching the device to the motherboard, or, depending on your CPU/heat-sink variant, you might need to unlock one or two larger retaining clips or levers. Once you’ve freed the heat sink, use the aforementioned rubbing alcohol to wipe away the thermal paste on the underside of the component. You can also use the liquid to clean dust off the heat sink as is–but whether you’re wiping the heat sink or dunking it in a bath of rubbing alcohol, be sure that the heat sink is entirely dry before you try to use it once more.

Use the same rubbing alcohol to wipe the thermal paste off the CPU itself. You’ll want to reapply new thermal paste according to the specific preferences indicated by your CPU manufacturer. But you don’t have to search very far for that information: Thermal-paste manufacturer Arctic Silver has a handy guide for both AMD- and Intel-based setups.
Now you’re probably asking yourself why I haven’t covered cleaning other parts of a PC–such as the hard drives, the graphics card, or the motherboard itself. The same tactics you used to clean the fans and the heat sink will also work for cleaning everything else. If you’re just looking to give your desktop system a once-over, then I recommend that you use a combination of a vacuum hose and a compressed-air canister: Blow the dust out of the graphics card’s fan and cooler, the motherboard, or the hard drives, and position the vacuum hose near the plume of ejected material so that it troubles your PC no more.

And if you’re truly hard-core, you can go for the nuclear bomb of cleaning: Remove all the parts from the motherboard (including the CPU, the RAM, all add-on cards, and the CMOS battery), remove the motherboard from the system, and then dunk it in a bath of 99 percent isopropyl alcohol.

No, I’m not crazy.

The alcohol doesn’t conduct electricity, and, more important, its speedy evaporation will assist you as you work toward eliminating each and every drop of liquid from the board’s nooks and crannies before you reinstall it in the desktop. This method isn’t for newbies, but it will definitely make the motherboard look as if it were brand-new. I don’t recommend that you try to clean hard drives in a similar fashion, however–not all PC parts can survive such a plunge.

By PC World staff
March 18, 2010

February 8, 2010

WD Caviar Black and WD RE4 2TB
www.wdc.com

Western Digital announced that it is now shipping desktop 7200 RPM 2TB hard drives and is qualifying with OEMs enterprise-class hard drives based on WD’s 500 gigabytes-per-platter technology. The popular family of WD Caviar Black drives, now led by the new 2TB capacity, is perfect for gaming, high-performance desktop systems and workstations; while the WD RE4 2TB is suited for servers, network attached storage and storage networks.

High-performance hard drives by an industry leader in performance, WD Caviar Black and WD RE4 2TB drives combine 7200 RPM spin speed, 64MB cache, dual stage actuator technology, SATA 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s) interface, and an integrated dual processor to deliver ultimate performance in a maximum-capacity drive.

“WD Caviar Black 2TB hard drives maximize the features and functionality of power computing applications such as gaming, photo editing, user generated multimedia and video,” said Jim Morris, senior vice president and general manager of WD’s client storage systems. “With the selection of WD Caviar Black hard drives, WD desktop customers receive the best possible mix of capacity, performance and reliability that is required for intense desktop computing.”

“Specifically designed for enterprise-class applications, WD’s RE4 2TB drives incorporate the best combination of features, optimum performance, and superior reliability that customers have come to expect from WD,” said Tom McDorman, vice president and general manager of enterprise storage solutions for WD. “Our enterprise products are directly aimed at customers who require additional features and extensive testing that are necessary for high-end enterprise environments.”

WD Caviar Black 2 TB and WD RE4 2TB hard drives feature the following:

Dual processor- Twice the processing power to maximize performance.

Dual actuator technology- A head positioning system with two actuators that improves positional accuracy over the data track(s). The primary actuator provides coarse displacement using conventional electromagnetic actuator principles. The secondary actuator uses piezoelectric motion to fine tune the head positioning to a higher degree of accuracy.

IntelliSeek- Calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise, and vibration.

StableTrac- The motor shaft is secured at both ends to reduce system-induced vibration and stabilize platters for accurate tracking, during read and write operations.

NoTouch ramp load technology- The recording head never touches the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection in transit.

Additional Features for WD RE4 2TB Enterprise Hard Drives
WD RE4 drives feature 1.2 million hours MTBF, Active Power Save, enhanced RAFF technology, multi-axis shock sensor, native command queuing (NCQ), pressure sensors, third generation dynamic fly height, time limited error recovery (TLER), and an extensive and enhanced testing process to ensure long-term reliability for demanding enterprise applications.

Price and Availability
The WD Caviar Black 2TB (model WD2001FASS) hard drives and WD RE4 2TB (model WD2003FYYS) hard drives are distributed by Axis Global Technologies and ATP Peripherals (Phils) and are available through select resellers. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD Caviar Black 2TB drive are P 15,650 for WD2001FASS model and P20,800 for WD2003FYYS. Both drives are covered by a five-year limited warranty.

By Tony Bradley
January 7, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – Reports suggest that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will unveil details of Microsoft’s entry in the tablet PC arena during his keynote speech today at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The announcement will steal some of the thunder from the extreme hype and speculation over Apple’s “iSlate” tablet PC– which may or may not exist and may or may not be announced at an Apple event later this month.

Tablet PC’s are not new. The slate form factor portable computer has been around for almost a decade, since Microsoft initially pushed the concept with its Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Those tablets were before their time, though, and the concept never really caught on.

Technology has evolved now, as technology does, and with mobile phones like the iPhone, Droid, and Nexus One which are more or less mini tablet PC’s with phone capabilities thrown in, and newer technologies like netbooks and smartbooks, it seems the time has come for tablet PC’s.
Microsoft and Apple–assuming the rumors are on target and they both release tablet PC’s in the near future–are not the only players in the tablet PC market, but they will be the biggest and most visible. Speculation is already mounting that the Apple “iSlate” could spark lines similar to the launch of the iPhone, and one rumor suggests that Apple intends to sell 10 million tablet PC’s per year.

It’s hard to compare vaporware based on rumored specifications and capabilities , but I’ll give it a try anyway. Actually, I am not going to compare the devices directly, but instead address why a Microsoft tablet will be a more suitable business tool, while the Apple tablet will be more of a consumer gadget.

Apple has a legions of loyal followers and I assume that the “iSlate” will be a grand slam success, possibly rivaling the success of the iPhone. The “iSlate” may revolutionize tablet computing the way that the iPhone revolutionized smartphones. But, almost three years later the iPhone is still struggling for acceptance in the corporate world and is primarily a consumer-oriented device despite its popularity.

A Microsoft tablet will be a better business tool than an Apple tablet because of Microsoft’s dominant position in operating systems, business productivity applications, and Web browsers. Businesses rely predominantly on Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer, and Microsoft is in a position to deliver a seamlessly integrated experience between the applications businesses already use on a daily basis, and the additional functionality and productivity offered by a tablet PC.

While both devices, or any other entries in the tablet PC market like the Joojoo, will most likely deliver a similar suite of tools and functions, Microsoft is in a position to seamlessly sync and merge data between the tablet PC and the desktop without requiring additional applications, like enabling all users to install iTunes.

Businesses need to have control that Apple has been unwilling to relinquish. Whether it’s a desktop PC, a notebook, a mobile phone, or a tablet, IT administrators need tools like Active Directory and Group Policy that enable them to centrally manage and maintain the devices.

Businesses are also subject to regulatory mandates and compliance requirements. They need a way to monitor, log, and archive e-mails, voicemails, instant messaging threads, and other communications, and they need methods for ensuring that sensitive data is properly protected no matter what platform it’s on.

It remains to be seen which tablet PC will win the popularity contest. If the iPhone versus Windows Mobile is any indication, odds favor the “iSlate”. But, being popular doesn’t make it a good business tool, and Microsoft is in a unique position to provide businesses with a valuable productivity tool instead of a popular consumer gadget.

August 12, 2009

Lenovo has unveiled a lineup of new IdeaPad laptops and IdeaCentre desktops designed to meet the performance, style and usability standards of today’s multi-tasking consumers.

The new Idea PCs combine stylish designs and innovative features enabled by the ultra low power Intel Core processor family of products and improved performance with an Intel Core i7 processor. These new products ship with Microsoft‘s Windows 7 operating system and also include the unique Lenovo Enhanced Experience for Windows 7 – the result of joint engineering by Lenovo in collaboration with Microsoft to provide users with faster system boot and shutdown, richer multimedia features and easy system maintenance tools.

“Our Idea products are designed with the user experience in mind – every aspect of product design and technology is engineered to improve how consumers seamlessly use these products to enrich their daily lives,” said Liu Jun, senior VP, Idea Product Group, Lenovo. “Today’s additions to the Idea product portfolio are among Lenovo’s most feature-rich and powerful PCs to-date, providing our customers more choices to find the PC that best meets their unique digital lifestyle.”

“Lenovo and Intel share a vision to create products that are faster, lighter, thinner and with longer battery life and delivering them to consumers in the quickest and most cost effective way,” Gregory Bryant, VP Sales and Marketing Group,Intel Corporation. “Whether you are looking for ultrathin, stylish laptops with exceptional performance or beautiful and powerful desktops, Lenovo and Intel are working together to deliver Idea products with the right Intel processor technology inside to meet your needs.”

“As a result of our joint engineering investments, Lenovo is demonstrating their commitment to Windows 7 by making significant improvements in important areas like start-up, shutdown and resume times. We congratulate Lenovo on its work, as we think it will help business customers and consumers benefit from a better computing experience on Lenovo’s leading products,” said John Kalkman, VP of OEM Engineering and Services at Microsoft Corp. “With Lenovo’s Enhanced Experience, customers can be confident that their new PC delivers more of the exciting benefits that Windows 7 has to offer.”

Lenovo’s latest IdeaPad laptops and IdeaCentre desktops meet consumer demands for mobility, added power to effectively multitask, flexibility to support professional and personal computing needs, data security, stylish designs and the latest multimedia features.

IdeaPad Y550P – Cutting-edge power for multimedia on the go

The Y550P is ideal for today’s multi-tasker and the most powerful laptop in Lenovo’s consumer portfolio. The Y550P is Lenovo’s first notebook to use the new Intel Core i7 processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology1 that automatically speeds up the processor when the PC needs extra performance. This high-performance laptop also features powerful NVIDIA discrete graphics, a 15.6inch HD widescreen display, Dolby Home Theater surround sound, and unique Lenovo tools like SlideNav – a touch-sensitive bar above the keyboard that makes it faster and easier to navigate programs, documents and shortcuts, or even quickly change the desktop wallpaper on users’ systems.

IdeaPad U150 – Slim and chic portability

The U150 is just 13.5mm thick and weighs only 1.35kg, yet under the textured red or black cover lies a range of features designed to strike the right balance between mobility and functionality. The ultraportable U150 with an energy-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processor offers up to 8GB DDR3 memory, 11.60-inch HD widescreen display and long battery life. The Active Protection System on the U150 helps protect the hard drive if the laptop is dropped or gets bumped. A new version of OneKey Rescue System, Version 7.0, performs data backups up to twice as fast and includes more powerful antivirus scanning that can be run even before loading the operating system.

IdeaPad U550 – Ultraportable with added flexibility for the office and home

At just 24mm thick and with a 15.6in wide HD wide screen display, the new IdeaPad U550 laptop with Intel Core 2 Duo processor includes a range of features that make it easy for users to transition between work and home use. For example, switchable graphics let users turn their discrete graphics card on and off at the press of a button to better manage PC battery life. Dolby Sound Room surround-sound via the laptop’s large, integrated speakers brings presentations to life and makes games and movies more enjoyable. The Ambient Light Sensor automatically adjusts screen brightness based on light conditions, reducing strain on the eyes. An integrated DVD drive delivers added flexibility to access and share content. The integrated fingerprint reader and VeriFace facial recognition software on the U550 provide additional ease of use when logging onto the PC.

IdeaCentre B500 – High performance all-in-one, immersive entertainment

Featuring an Intel Core 2 Quad processor, powerful discrete graphics, up to 8GB DDR3 memory and 1TB HDD storage space, the IdeaCentre B500 all-in-one desktop is the ultimate PC for serious gamers and multimedia users. The 23in Full HD screen and high-quality JBL-brand integrated speakers provide a quality viewing experience. Coupled with a 4-in-1 remote control that acts as a motion-drive games controller, VOIP handset, air mouse and media remote, the B500 supports a dynamic multimedia entertainment experience. Additional unique Lenovo features on the B500 include CamSuite, a tool that helps to keep users in the center of the Web camera’s focus and adds special effects to live video feeds.

IdeaCentre K300 – Desktop PC with optimized power and control

The IdeaCentre K300 with the Intel Core 2 Quad processor is a performance desktop loaded with powerful technologies including high-performance RAID configured hard drives for added storage and peace of mind. It also includes the Lenovo Power Control Switch, which makes it simple for users adjust the level of power they need – from all-out performance to more energy-efficient modes.

Lenovo H230 – Functionality at a value price

Available starting at $299 and equipped with a range of HDD and DDR3 memory configurations, the H230 is designed to offer consumers the perfect mix of performance and value. Integrated tools such as Lenovo Rescue System provide users a worry-free experience by enabling quick and easy data recovery and advanced antivirus technology.

Lenovo IdeaPad U350 & S10-2 – Eye-catching new textures and patterns marry fashion with functionality

The IdeaPad U350 ultraportable laptop and S10-2 netbook are now available in a range of new textures and colorful patterns. The U350 can be purchased with a cool, eye-catching cover texture such as brown lizard print, white lamb skin print and red light weave. Using the latest PC cover-painting technology, the popular S10-2 comes in new colorful designs such as pop art, violet floral, red floral, green floral, phoenix, garden, sailing and origami.

October 5, 2009

Dell’s Reliable All-in-One PC For The Office
By Luis Anthony G. Oliveros

Dell Vostro 320 AiO
P34,950
www.dell.com

Despite the mainstream consumer demographic all-in-one PCs (AiO) have been generally known to target, Dell has relegated the Vostro 320 AiO under its Vostro banner of machines geared for the business segment. This is an apt route for the compact desktop since it does carry a good set of features to match the range of all-purpose business needs and a space-saving form factor to boot.

At 386.39×477.39×103.98mm, it has a particularly small footprint which allows it to be perched on any table top while still leaving enough room for its mouse, keyboard and other office table accouterments. And since it comes sheathed under black hard plastic exteriors, it practically looks at home in most business environments with a significant aesthetic bump provided by its glossy finish and softly contoured corners. 

Tucked neatly around its slick chassis is an array of connectivity ports neatly laid out for easy access. The right side panel houses three USB ports and the audio in/out jacks accompanied by the power button and the onscreen display adjustments, while the slim-tray DVD-ROM is sitting by its lonesome on the left side panel. At the back is a VGA output for connecting to an auxiliary display panel, three additional USB ports, an auxiliary audio jack, the RJ45 outlet and interestingly enough, two PS/2 ports for accomodating legacy mice and keyboards.

The review unit we tested came with a 19-inch WSXGA+ LCD screen which yielded clear images with good black-white contrasts and brightly rendered hues. It also has a matte finish to reduce screen glaring and reflections. This, along with its built-in 1.3megapixel Web cam, mic and speakers, also easily makes this desktop a good VoIP communication tool. Additionally, variants with 17- and 18.5-inch screens are also available.

Its integrated Intel GMA4500 HD graphics chip isn’t exactly the best in the market but it proved to be more than adequate for basic productivity functions like word processing and Web surfing. While it also did a decent performance rendering mainstream casual games and playing videos (both streaming online and via its slim-tray DVD-ROM), the Vostro 320 AiO is no gaming powerhouse so don’t expect it to flawlessly run FEAR or Left 4 Dead.

Packed within is an Intel Celeron 440 processor clocked at 2GHz and 2GB memory. This coupling enabled this machine to run smoothly during our tests which involved multitasking with a handful of word processors, Web surfing with a few browser windows and an IM client running in the background. Handling storage in our review unit is a conveniently partitioned 160GB HHD; while it may not at all sound spacious at a glance, it’s actually sufficient given this AiO’s intended mainstream business uses. However, Dell also threw in a 250GB storage option if you need a bigger space; either that or you can supplement it with an external HDD through one of the USB ports. Similarly, an 80GB model is also available for office departments with less than average storage needs. 

September 15, 2009

An Excellent First Step
By Luis Anthony G. Oliveros
Published in the August 2009 print edition of PC World Philippines

Lenovo IdeaCentre A600
P63,900
www.lenovo.com/ph

Joining Apple, HP, Dell and Gateway in the all-in-one desktop space is Lenovo with the IdeaCentre A600. As such, it possesses the characteristics typical among its competitors in the desktop subsegment: an all-around PC with a good lineup of specs in a space-saving form factor that foregoes a CPU chassis and molds everything, save for the input devices, into the monitor. However, unlike most of them and their clean-cut, minimalist design approach, Lenovo pumped just a little oomph in the design process and came up with a distinctly slick machine that has a bit of glam but at the same time employs hints of the whimsical aspects of modern avant garde industrial design.

Overall, it has a polished all-black exterior that measures an inch thick at its thinnest with the LCD screen up front and a two-megapixel Web cam above it. Its body fluidly bulks up towards the bottom and is softly angled towards the back, giving the impression of a slightly bent display panel. This is where all the ports and accoutrements have been placed. And instead of utilizing the usual array of horizontal bars to serve as grilles or a series of circular holes for openings such as air vents and the built-in speakers, Lenovo saw this as another practical design application and used a pattern that clearly resembles a maze.

On the left side panel you have the power button, a multicard reader, two USB 2.0 ports, input and output 3.5 audio jacks and a FireWire port, while the right side panel hosts the slot-loading DVD-RW drive. The rear is where you’d find a series of ports; namely, the AC, the RJ45, four addition USB ports and one for connecting a coaxial cable for the built-in TV tuner.

While in front, a touch panel is situated just below the LCD screen; three for adjusting the onscreen display and one to eject an inserted disk from the optical drive. The entire setup is resting on top of a flat sturdy base that allows you to tilt the screen five degrees forward or 15 degrees backward.

One of the things we liked about the A600 is its LCD screen which measures an expansive 21.5 inches diagonally and offers a full 1080p hi-def resolution. These two factors alone make it a very competent entertainment machine which easily kicks it up a notch in our books with enhanced visuals that are absolutely bright, well detailed and yielding colors that pop. This makes it a great weapon of choice for playing mainstream action games and for watching movies, as we had done during the testing period, setting up a mini theater within the confines of the PCW test lab.

A 2.1-channel speaker system has been built in which employs Dolby’s Home Theatre technology. It does a pretty good job, producing balanced audios and a decent subwoofer and proved to be a lot better than most integrated speakers we’ve seen in the past. However, it still had some tinny quality to it, so hooking up external multimedia speakers would be advisable if you prefer a more engaging audio experience to match its excellent video quality.

During the test period, the A600 ran smoothly with its intended all-around usage with activities like word processing, Web surfing, multimedia playback and mainstream gaming in both standard definition and hi-def thanks to the 2.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 coupled with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 graphics card at its core. These are supported by 2GB of DDR3 memory (with the option to upgrade up to 4GB) which showed the system’s deftness for running multiple applications. Also in the system is a healthy 500GB of storage, which is more than enough even for advanced users to cram in their work/school files and multimedia contents.

This desktop includes a wireless laser mouse, a keyboard and a multipurpose remote controller. The keyboard is thin and very light with a hard plastic body that bears a brushed texture with adequately spaced keys that are large, flat and adequately tactile. To its right is a touchpanel that gives you quick access to the multimedia settings and playback controls, volume adjustments and launches Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook; while below it is an auxilliary touch pad and its matching left and right click buttons. Meanwhile, the wireless laser mouse also comes in a matte-glossy black duality and an orange scroll wheel to match the thin orange outline around the keyboard. It offers nice feedback and is sufficiently sensitive.

Perhaps one of the most interesting inclusions to the system is its multipurpose remote controller. And it’s only logical for Lenovo to include it to the package since the A600 is also being touted as a multimedia center. First off, it lets you simply navigate through the system’s multimedia contents through Windows Media Center or used the traditional manner for the built-in TV tuner should you decide to include either during purchase. It also functions as a gyroscope mouse to navigate through Windows Vista Home Premium (the operating system that came with our review unit) and for playing games ala-Wiimote. Finally, it also serves as as handset to pair with VoIP applications.

March 15, 2009

Lenovo IdeaCentre A600
By Billy Joe I. Allardo
Published in the December 2008-January 2009 print edition of PC World Philippines

P46,112
www.lenovo.com/ph

There is no need to explain – space is essential to offices. This is the reason why a number of companies have been replacing their bulky CRTs with slimmer LCDs and if their budget allows them, desktops with notebook PCs.

However, notebooks still have a number of disadvantages compared to their desktop kin. Foremost is the need for long uptimes, particularly if you need to download or transmit big files that require a night or a couple of days to complete. Another is the necessity to upgrade in order to improve performance and meet current demands, which is too darn hard or impossible to do with a notebook. Hence, PC manufacturers have been churning out small form factor (SFF) PCs in order to meet the demand of space-saving and rigorous computing environments.

Among the current SFF PC options available in the market today is the Lenovo ThinkCentre M57p Ultra. It comes primarily in matte black, dousing it with an esoteric charm that has been the mark of Lenovo desktop and notebook. Accentuating it is a mesh front that doubles as a simple ploy to cool the PC.

By default, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M57p Ultra comes with a 3GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor and 1GB DDR2 memory. For storage, it has a 160GB 7200RPM hard drive with integrated Intel GMA 3100 and Pro 1000T Gigabit controllers for graphics processing and networking, respectively. Also bundled are a laser mouse and a USB keyboard.

However, you can still customize the M57p Ultra’s spec at the point of sale to fit the buyer’s needs. One of the notable enhancements includes the Intel ADD2 DVI-D Adapter that provides extra connectivity to another display.

The unit we had came with an extra gigabyte of memory and double the stock storage capacity. It also came with a 19-inch LCD. However, you need to shell out extra for the display, as it is not part of the package. The only issue I had with Lenovo ThinkCentre M57p Ultra is that it needs to use an AC adapter to run, similar to a notebook PC. It somewhat eats a tad of space that the PC aims to not use. On the other hand, it does save internal space and lowers the temperature from inside the case.

Due to its wee form, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M57p Ultra costs a bit higher than the usual desktop package. Despite the aforementioned snags, I enjoyed using the ultra SFF. It offers a light punch when it comes to games, but this PC packs enough grit for tedious office tasks. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M57p Ultra angles well not only for offices, but also for mobile users who need to setup a remote office and be up for extended periods.

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