"Checkpoint Friendly" bags, according to TSA

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has just issued on August 15th; what they mean by "friendly" laptop bags for airport checkpoint. TSA will allow laptops to remain in bags meeting new 'checkpoint friendly' guidelines. Not all laptop bags are 'checkpoint friendly'(see images on the left).

TSA mentioned in the website that there are laptop bag styles currently on the market, such as laptop-only sleeves, that have the potential to present a clear X-ray image of the laptop if they are correctly packed. However, most current laptop bags will not present a clear X-ray image and should not be sent through the X-ray with the laptop inside.

But beware, purchasing one of these bags will not guarantee that you can leave your laptop in your bag for screening. If a TSO finds that the bag does not present a clear and distinct image of the laptop separate from the rest of the bag, the laptop will have to be screened separately.

Great, now I'm really confuse. Can't TSA just make, branded, and sell its own "friendly" laptop bags so we can have an ease of mind whenever we're at the airport checkpoint? ~LOL~

[blogged with my Treo 750v]

JumPC, notebook for kids is now in UK

Every parents will do anything for their little ones... Perhaps that is the real reason why Actronix released JumPC at UK?

For me, that's what I really hear from their sales slogan:

"Growing children learn about the world around them by watching and copying "grown-ups". Why not equip them with the skills they will need in the future? JumPC is a notebook specifically designed to allow children to easily use a personal computer while having fun."

Yup, maybe they're right. Our kids usually copy-cat what their adults are doing, and wanted the same toys we're playing with. So when mommy or daddy come home with a new laptop, they'll want one too! ~LOL~

Since JumPC is for kids with age around 6-10 years old, don't be expecting powerful hardwares inside it:

• 900MHz Intel Celeron Mobile processor
• 915GMS chipset
• 512MB DDR 2 RAM
• 2GB of Flash storage or a 30GB HDD
• 7in, 800 x 480 display
• Two USB ports
• 10/100Mb/s Ethernet
• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
• Webcam
• Windows XP Home Edition
• kid-friendly UI based on EasyBits’ Magic Desktop software

Ooops... maybe I'm wrong, but those specs up there are more powerful than my old PC that I'm still using. OMG, I should get one! ;-p But with price tag at 239 Pounds (US$478), it's still too pricey than netbooks nowadays.

The real pinch-hitter of this Intel's Classmate PC-based notebook is its Magic Desktop, it can protect system settings and allowing parents to control which programs children can access. Magic Desktop also features educational and entertainment programs and a web browser designed to ensure children don't visit inappropriate websites.

Sources are from The Register & PCW Business Center.

[blogged with my Treo 750v]

V12 Design Dual-Touchscreen Notebook will make ebook readers drool

Those who love reading ebook wil definetely going to like this V12 Design newest product; the Dual-Touchscreen Notebook. Because it has the biggest and widest screen for reading ebooks, and the best of all is there'll be two of them instead of one. But don't get too excited yet, since we must wait till 2010 to see the real one came out. Here are the rest of the news, quoted from LaptopMag:

Valerio Cometti, the founder and managing director of the firm, came up with a dual LCD laptop called the Canova. The first-generation Canova had a dual-touchscreen form and Cometti told us, “it was developed for creative types, such as artists.” The first-generation model, of which we have a whole slew of images below, actually existed and was made of stainless steel and carbon fiber, but it didn’t run an operating system or software. It was envisioned to transform from a sketch pad, to a writing pad with an electronic pen, to a newspaper.
Cometti pitched the idea around to laptop manufacturers, who took interest. Which is where the Canova Generation 2 comes in. Cometti said that V12 Designs has been working on a second-gen version of the dual-screen laptop along with a U.S. manufacturer. He believes the laptop, if you can call it that, will be complete in as soon as 16 months and will come to the U.S. market. He could not reveal the name of the U.S.-based company with which V12 is co-developing and designing the system.
“We developed a brand-new style for the second generation. We did stretch the potential of the Canova noticeably, making it able to do things no notebook has been able to do so far,” Cometti told us over the phone. Unfortunately, he could not provide images of the new version.

[blogged with my Treo 750v]

Hands-on: A*Note/Clevo TN120R tablet-notebook

The latest big computer show event was over more than two weeks ago, and it has managed to brought smile on many lucky buyers. One particular that I know of, is my own brother.

He bought a tablet notebook, it's an A*Note TN120R. Which is a local brand here, and not so well known. Heck, even I don't know about before! ;-p And so did my brother, but he's lured with its low price tag: around US$930.

I literally begged him to lend me his new tablet-notebook, making lame excuses like I need it to save the universe etc. ~LOL~ He agreed, and I have only half the day to play with it.

At first I'm not quite confident on the quality of it, but upon a closer examination underneath the tablet-notebook; I found another brand name existed on the label besides the serial number. It is Clevo Co., and turns out that Clevo is producing computers for distributors/retailers who wish to branded them with their own name. As described in the FAQ page, it has become clear now.

So basically the A*Note tablet-notebook is Clevo's TN120R product, and this make me easier to shorten my post on its specs. If you're interested, then please head-on to Clevo's page to read the long spec details. Let's start with the hands-on, shall we?

The outer body has glossy white paint finish, making it work like magnet for your fingerprints and smudges. The underneath cover is black colored, and so is the screen's frame. As you can see on the animated picture left-above.

On the front, there are the usual suspects like we often find in common notebook: LED indicators (power, battery, HDD, Bluetooth & WiFi), power switch, sound jacks (headphone & mic) and memory card reader. The stylus is hidden in the front-right slot, not seen on the right picture there.

On the right there are monitor & IEEE 1334 ports. On the left there are DVD-RW ROM, one USB port, LAN & telephone modem jack. Lastly on the back there are two USB ports and the power jack.

To open up the tablet screen, I need to press my other hand's on the base near the keyboard. Because it seems like the tablet screen is slighty heavier than the base itself. And I was surprised with the keyboard, it has nice feeling when pressed; almost feel the same like the ThinkPad's. The keyboard buttons are soft to be touched, and have good tactile feed back too. But the mouse buttons are the opposite, and the mouse track pad is only mediocre.

Head on to the tablet screen, the 12.1" display can accomodate 1280x800 pixels and not too shabby. A built-in camera is present on top of the screen, and there is also a fingerprint scanner on the right side. Near it, there are two shortcut buttons. One for the displaying shortcuts to TN120R's menus, and another one for rotating the screen display. And I must say that these shortcut buttons are hard to use, since they are heavy to press and not so responsive too. Makes a real minus when using it as one handed tablet notebook.

The overall performance is alright, it's running Windows XP Pro SP2 on Intel's Core 2 Duo T7100 (1.8GHz) and make moderate benchmarks for working on Office and Photoshop. And IMHO that's good enough, considering on the specs and the price of the device.

I quickly swivelled the TN120R, and transform it into one handed tablet mode. After playing around with the menu and rotating the display, I took it to a place where there's plenty of sunlight; to see how it looks like under shiny environment. And as I feared before, the glossy screen make it more terrible and harder to see the display even with my eyes squinted. Seems like A*Note, ...errr I mean Clevo is more considering fashion than function. ;-p

Speaking about function, there's one peculiar design I wanted to give praise on: the removable 4-cells battery. It is surprisingly very small, shaped in triangular kind-alike form and placed on the above-right side of the base (if seen from under). Although it does small in size, I'm quite satisfy with its span of life when I tested it out to run for nearly 40 minutes non-stop of moblogging.

So all in all, my verdict for this A*Note/Clevo TN120R is that it's worth the price tagged on it: US$930. It's not the best both on the design and performance, and if just the tablet screen is not so reflective; I can only recommend it for you who is working in house/room & suitable for moderate office workloads.

And according to my brother who asked the resellers at the event, this tablet-notebook is on high demand. Many have taken interest by its specs and low price, especially college students. I believe so, it is indeed a tempting alternative before jumping into higher and more expensive notebooks until you're financially ready.

All of the photos are taken & made by my brother, Lee. Thanks bro, and I'm sure you'll enjoy them too by view it in larger size then just click on the thumbnail pics.

[blogged with my Treo 750v]