Cloud hosting provider Rackspace Hosting is striking back against patent holder Rotatable Technologies, a Texas company that has filed patent infringement cases against more than a dozen companies in the past year.
We’ve always had a category covering the world of computers in our Cool Yule Tools holiday gift guide. But then computers gave way to <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2010/hgg/110810-coolyule-computers-notebooks.html">notebooks</a> (so we combined the category), and then tablets have entered the scene. With the arrival and success of the iPad and other tablets, many have said that “the PC is dead”, and we’ll admit, our choices of cool computers are fewer than in years past. But there are still some nice systems out there, here are a bunch of desktops, notebooks, and yes, tablets, that we think would make for some good gifts:
Tech lovers have been flocking to the <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/111910-apple-ipad-resources.html">iPad</a> 2 and other tablets in order to watch movies, read books, surf the Web and make video calls on the latest, greatest, thinnest, lightest, coolest devices. But where do tablets fit within the enterprise?
The demand for low-priced tablets has gone up in recent months, as witnessed by the mad rush to buy Hewlett-Packard's $US99 TouchPad tablet. However, at such low prices, these devices lack the speed and graphics found in Apple's iPad or Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which have the latest processors and graphics hardware. But at that price, the tablets are decent entry-level devices for first-time users.
Prices of consumer tablets are now falling as device makers try to pull buyers away from Apple's iPad, which is priced starting at US$499. Some tablets under $300 may sacrifice features, but are good for basic activities like web browsing, video playback and casual gaming.
ViewSonic unveiled a 10-inch tablet running both Android and Windows on Intel's newest Atom processor, Oak Trail, at the Computex trade show.
In an effort to attract buyers away from Apple's iPad, device makers are setting starting prices of Android tablets to undercut iPad's US$499 entry-level price.
While tablets such as Apple's iPad and Motorola's Android-based Xoom are continuing to attract popular attention, there are many workplaces that are still based around Microsoft Windows. Unfortunately, Windows 7 isn't really optimized for use in tablets, and it looks like the next version won't be out for another year. So what can people who want to use Windows on a tablet do?
When most people think of a tablet, they think of the pater familias of the current generation, the 9.6-by-7.5-by-0.5-inch Apple iPad. But today, with dimensions ranging from the height and width of a Christmas card to the height and width of a clipboard, tablets are as becoming diverse a product category as we've seen in a long time.
ViewSonic is trying to cash in on the growing excitement around tablets by offering cash back for buyers who trade in their laptops for new ViewPad tablets.
ViewSonic's ViewPad 7, a tablet PC with a 7-inch display, is the latest in a line of machines that bridge the gap between a smartphone and a tablet.
ViewSonic is jumping into the tablet game. Although the company is best known for its monitors, a tablet isn't a huge stretch--after all, ViewSonic is used to dealing with <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/430035/review/vpc190.html">displays</a>, and it also puts out netbooks under its brand. The latter is a key reason why the company's dual-operating-system, 10-inch tablet comes as less of a surprise.
After facing virtually no competition for months after releasing the iPad, Apple's dominant market share faces a challenge as consumers consider purchasing tablets that could be viable iPad alternatives.
On Friday, ViewSonic launched its second tablet during the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin. The ViewPad 100 runs Windows 7 Home Premium and Android version 1.6.