Dell Releases Latitude 2100 Netbook for Education

Last week on May 18, Dell revealed its new Latitude 2100 netbook, which has been designed specifically for the needs of teachers, parents, and K-12 students. Weighing in at less than three pounds, the Latitude 2100 netbook offers many school-friendly features, including an optional touch screen for younger students who might have a difficult time using a mouse or keyboard. Perhaps the most interesting feature on Dell’s new netbook is the network activity light, which allows classroom instructors to monitor network use and identify those students who might be browsing the Web.

In addition to these innovative components, the Latitude 2100 comes with an Intel Atom processor and the choice of a three-cell or six-cell battery. In fact, consumers will have many options available to them. The netbook comes with a choice of three operating systems (Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Linux Ubuntu) plus two different kinds of internal drives (a standard hard drive or a solid-state drive).

Other noteworthy features include a tougher, more durable exterior that can handle the bumps and bruises often inflicted by young students; a small 10.1-inch screen that won’t take up much room in a crowded workspace; and a personalized window on the back of the PC where students’ names or school logos can be displayed. The Latitude 2100 is also equipped with a wireless communication suite that allows for more productive school days filled with exploration and teamwork.

Inspired by education in general, Dell has created this new netbook in the hopes of giving students the tools they need to thrive in the digital world. The Latitude 2100 is the ideal solution to enhancing student interaction and assessment. This latest Dell system is available in stores now with a starting price of $369.

Microsoft Adding Netflix to Windows Media Center

Microsoft has reportedly struck a deal with Netflix to add their online movie service to Windows Media Center, said both companies last week. The new feature will be included for Windows Vista computers as part of Microsoft’s campaign to provide people with more entertainment options on their PCs. Windows XP owners, on the other hand, will not benefit from this most recent addition.

As of now, Windows Vista users can only play back movies that are available for instant streaming, also known as “Watch it now” movies. However, once the Netflix application is brought to the Windows Media Center, users will be able to manage their DVD queues and also search the entire Netflix library. Despite this added bonus, customers still cannot view these movies instantly—they’ll have to wait for their DVDs to arrive in the mail, just like before.

This latest deal is part of Microsoft’s attempt to boost the amount of content available on Windows Media. Ideally, they want to alleviate the need to bounce around from Web site to Web site to search for movies, news, sports, and TV shows. Microsoft would prefer everything to be in on place, making it even easier for users to find the entertainment they want to watch. The vice president of Microsoft’s entertainment division has said, “We’re continuing to work with the top content providers today to make watching TV on the PC a mainstream experience for the future.”

Of course, those who own Windows Media Center must first subscribe to Netflix’s rental service in order to access their library. The new application will automatically appear as a “tile” in the Windows Media Center menu. The app will then guide users through the installation process before taking them to the log in screen.

Solid State Drives Shifting Into the Mainstream

Solid state drives (SSD) seem to be making their way off the shelves and into laptop computers of all shapes and sizes. Not too long ago, the only way consumers could use solid state drives was if they upgraded from a standard hard disk drive (HDD). But, that’s no longer the case.

The first ultraportable notebooks to offer solid state drives as an option were the Asus Eee PC and the Apple MacBook Air. However, several manufacturers are now designing their laptops and netbooks with solid state drives rather than hard disk drives. For instance, Dell’s 15-inch XPS M1530 notebook offers an “Ultra Performance” option, featuring twice the capacity and half the cost of drives offered up till now: 128GB for $450. Hewlett-Packard also gives consumers the choice of a large-capacity SSD, which is available in the 3-pound EliteBook 2530p.

While most SSDs have been aimed at the notebook market, they’re beginning to penetrate into the PC and server industry as well. Even in the gaming industry, solid state drives are becoming aggressively marketed as the best high-performance storage option. SSDs have shown they can surpass standard hard drives on almost every level—in particular, rpm benchmarks and input-output operations.

There are several advantages of solid state drives over standard hard drives, especially since the price of SSDs are continuing to decline. Some of the many improvements you’ll experience when upgrading to a SSD involve superior durability, higher performance, and greater reliability. Besides these performance gains, solid state drives also help out with weight and space constraints, which is a huge benefit to those who are constantly on-the-go. Also, thanks to practically heat-free emissions, SSDs tend to reduce cooling requirements and consume less battery power.

Within the next five or ten years, solid state drives will most likely become a common household item. In fact, we’ll probably start to see SSDs extend into many new market regions including applications for video cameras, railroad cars, mobile internet devices, and plenty of other areas.

Internet Explorer Use Continues to Decline

In recent years, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has lost a hefty chunk of the browser market. According to new web tracking data, IE will fall below the 50% mark by this time in 2011. Although Microsoft’s browser is in the process of getting its first update in two years, many critics in the web development community have now labeled Internet Explorer as the least-capable browser.

Not surprisingly, rival browsers have picked up IE’s losses. For example, Google’s Chrome has increased its share by 0.2 of a percentage point to 1.4%, while Mozilla’s Firefox climbed 0.4 of a percentage point to end the month with 22.5%.

In the last twelve months, Internet Explorer has been losing an average of about 0.7 percentage points per month. On the other hand, Firefox has gained an average 0.4% per month, bringing it one step closer to cracking its next major milestone of 25%. Unless Microsoft can stop the bleeding, IE will most likely lose its majority status within the next few years.

Even though Google Chrome. remains a Windows-only application, it’s experienced a nice little bump thanks to advertisements on Google’s homepage. If Google can strike deals with PC manufacturers to install the browser on new computers, Chrome would become a strong rival for the likes of Safari and Firefox.

Some of the major improvements to Internet Explorer include:

• Web slices—puts you in control of the information that’s most important to you. Now you can subscribe to specific content and keep track of things like sports scores, auction items, weather reports, and more.

• Smart Address Bar—offers useful suggestions from your browsing history, RSS feeds, and favorites. IE 8 makes web surfing fast, easy and efficient by matching the words you type in the address bar to simple domain names and previous websites visited.

• Enhanced privacy—gives you control over the protection of your personal information. Now you can browse and shop confidently wherever you go on the web, without leaving any trace of browsing activity or temporary Internet files.

Internet Explorer 8 is supported by Windows Vista , Windows XP, Windows Server , and several other operating systems. Despite these improvements to IE 8, Net Applications reveals a continuous, steady decline in Internet Explorer use. Net Applications is a popular tool that tracks and reports significant trends in browser and internet usage.