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Is there any point benchmarking netbooks?
Mini laptops, or netbooks as they have become known, are a phenomenon of the last eighteen months or so, ever since Asus unveiled its first Eee PC aimed at the education market.
VNUnet, along with other technology sites, has covered many of these models, which are characterised by a relatively small size and low purchase price when compared to traditional ultraportable laptop machines.
Since Intel introduced its Atom processor last year, netbooks have standardised on this platform to such an extent that there is very little difference in specifications between any of the models. Almost all have a 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of memory, and are based on the same Intel motherboard components.
Apart from the screen and keyboard, which are often subject to the personal taste of the buyer, it seems that just about the only differentiator is the choice of storage device, with some models using Flash memory solid state disks (SSDs) while others stick with laptop-style hard drives.
With this in mind, is there any point at all in benchmarking the performance of these models?
We have found that there are can be some differences in overall system performance, depending on the technology used. Many Flash SSDs deliver performance equivalent to that of a hard drive, although they are more costly, so buyers tend to get less storage for the same price. Netbooks with SSDs tend to have about 20GB, while similar models with a hard drive offer up to 160GB, for example.
However, some types of Flash memory deliver less impressive performance. To quote Wikipedia; "Lower priced drives usually use Multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory, which is slower and less reliable than Single-level cell (SLC) flash memory."
While this difference shows up in benchmark tests, the average user probably would not notice, especially if they are just using the device for browsing the web, accessing email, or typing up the occasional document.
It seems that potential buyers would be best advised not to worry too much about performance, but about other aspects of the system, such as the keyboard, screen and other facilities provided.
Photo: ThinkPad versus IdeaPad
This photo shows Lenovo's compact IdeaPad S10e netbook against another Lenovo model, the ThinkPad X300.
The X300 itself is a thin-and-light model, but the picture clearly shows how small the IdeaPad is. It shares some of the styling of the ThinkPad, and seems to have quite a decent keyboard compared with other netbooks.
The S10e has a 10.2in display, Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive runs WIndows XP.
A full review of the IdeaPad S10e will appear on VNUnet in the near future.
First Look: Sony Vaio P-Series netbook
Sony launched its ultra-lightweight P-Series netbook at the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas last week and we were able to get our hands on one for a bit at a recent London launch event. With the top of the range model costing £1,368.99 when bought directly from Sony it certainly isn't cheap, but it is undoubtedly an impressive bit of kit and takes the concept of portability to a whole new level.
The standard model weighs a paltry 638g
making it feel almost like an empty shell when you pick it up. This figure is
with a three-cell battery and while it won't be a massive burden, the six-cell
version will add on a few extra grams, some of which can be shaved off by going
for the version with the SSD drive.
Similarly, we weren't able to weigh the power adaptor, but it is small and light, so it won't tack on too much extra weight to the total.
Unlike Sony's recently released TT-series laptops which are encased in carbon fibre, the P-Series is made from plastic and because it's so thin we would be worried that it might be dangerously flimsy. None of the demo units we saw had any signs of damage, but we wouldn't suggest flinging this about too much.
Until someone perfects a flexible display that can be rolled up the device is about as small as it can be while still being functional.
The eight inch 16:9 widescreen is amazingly clear and runs at a resolution of 1600x768, which although an impressive technical feat does mean many users will end up squinting at the screen. There is a zoom function to help combat this or users can just turn down the resolution a notch or two, and given that most sites and applications are happy at lower resolutions so this shouldn't have a negative impact on usability.
In keeping the P-Series as small as possible Sony has had to ditch the trackpad, leaving just a nub nestled in the middle of the keyboard for cursor control. Personally I had no problems getting used to using the little joystick type control, but many customers may want to invest in a small external mouse to keep with them.
The brushed aluminium keyboard is a good size and the isolated keys are a nice touch. I found it easy to type on, even at speed except occasionally we kept brushing the mouse nub which it would treat as a mouse click (an option that can be disabled) and move the cursor to wherever the mouse pointer was located at the time.
The P-series sports two USB ports, one on each side and a combination HDMI/port extender. A small extender is provided adding video and wired Ethernet ports is included in the box.
Connectivity can be done via Bluetooth, draft-n Wi-Fi and there is a SIM-free 3G HSDPA modem and GPS built-in as well. Because there is not enough space above the screen, the webcam is situated off to the right, but it isn't angled at all meaning you're left tilting your head at odd angles if you want your face in the centre of the display when on a video conference.
It also features a hardware Wi-Fi on/off switch, something I always like to see in a netbook as it makes it very easy to turn the Wi-Fi on and off as needed which can noticeably extend battery life.
Below the keyboard are the left, right and middle mouse buttons, a shortcut button and the CrossMediaBar (XMB) launch button. The XMB allows users to boot straight into a menu system that PS3 and PSP owners will be familiar with and gives easy access to media such as photos, video and music as well as a web browser, Skype, Pidgin for instant messaging.
Sony mentioned that booting into the XMB took around 25 seconds
and booting into It runs Windows Vista Premium or Business edition, which runs happily, but given our first impressions of the upcoming Windows 7, we would probably recommend upgrading to that as soon as possible.
Ultimately, the price tag is going make the P-Series an exclusive device and for a lot less money you can get something not much heavier or slower, but for those with the money to spare who need a fully functional notebook that can slip into a handbag or a large coat pocket this could be a winner, and we can guarantee if you pull this out at a meeting it will turn some heads.
E-Commerce meets Unreal Tournament
Anybody who's played Epic MegaGames Unreal Tournament will recognise it as one of the best the software industry has been produced. Tie the stunning visuals in with a fairly simple plot line - blast your enemies or die - and it was easy to see why gamers liked it.
The worlds created in the game itself are still stunning, even though the last version of Unreal Tournament saw the light of day in 2004, and gamers are champing at the bit waiting for the next version of Unreal to hit the shops.
The recent news that Nortel has announced a deal to license Epic's Unreal computer engine to emblazon its online virtual e-commerce world - called web.alive - raises some interesting possibilities.
It was last August that the Canadian network kit vendor announced it would be developing web.alive, also known ironically as 'Project Chainsaw', to move e-commerce portals on from the current dowdy ones scattered throughout the Internet, to something with a bit more life in them. As well as aiming at the e-commerce website market, Nortel is also touting the virtual world as a virtual web-based meeting place, although it's a bit ironic that Nortel filed for bankrupcy protection in the US earlier today, after announcing its first customer for its web 2.0 technology a week earlier.
Licensing the Unreal graphics engine adds the visuals to its DiamondWare acquisition, announced when web.alive was born. DiamondWare was acquired to give the site high-definition, proximity-based 3D positional voice technology. The first customer announced for the technology is Lenovo and users can take a peek at its site here.
One of the problems with creating an HD virtual world e.commerce portal with Unreal-type visualisation is that a dedicated client is needed for the real-time rendering required, and that is what happens. You're prompted to download and install what Nortel call a 'thin client', which can then process the scenery and actions when you're in 'Project Chainsaw'. The installed client is 86MB in size - would you called that 'thin'?
I did install the client and have a quick shufty, and the Lenovo's e-Lounge site does look neat, with great sound - albeit it was slightly deserted.
I suppose users familiar with Unreal Tournament, might have expected customers to be wandering around dressed to kill - sorry. Was I expecting any security guards present to be tooled up ready for action? That would have been true to the Unreal engine the site is based on, as would a failed attempt to buy Lenovo laptops with your credit card!
Hands on: Using HomeGroup in Windows 7
One of the much trumpeted features of Windows 7 is that it will make setting up and using home networks much easier. According to Microsoft, the company used a real home as a model for the way this should work, i.e. those inside the home are usually trusted with unrestricted access to pretty much anything.
This doesn't sound like a real home to me - at least, not one with teenagers, but never mind.
HomeGroup is thus intended to allow users to easily access each other's content, such as pictures, documents and other media, and to share resources like printers. However, each user can also limit what is accessible to others, if they wish.
I tried out setting up a HomeGroup using just a pair of PCs running Windows 7 beta while connected to the same network (for test purposes, through an Ethernet switch) and it does indeed seem pretty straightforward to get the computers talking to each other.
Users can create a new HomeGroup from the Network and Sharing Center, accessible in Windows 7 via Control Panel or the View Available Networks pop-up on the taskbar.
If this is the first computer in the HomeGroup, the setup screen asks what kind of information you wish to share, and automatically generates a password for everyone else to join the group, as shown in the screenshot.
When I connected the second Windows 7 computer to the network, it automatically detected the existence of a HomeGroup, and asked if I wanted to join. This required nothing more than keying in the password, and again specifying what content I wanted to share from that computer.
Once this is accomplished, users can then see other computers in the HomeGroup and browse the contents just like accessing a network share in a traditional LAN. You also automatically get access to printers connected to any other computer within the group.
But HomeGroup really comes into its own with Windows 7's Libraries. Libraries are like a superset of a standard Windows folder; they are designed to include content from multiple sources, which might be one or more folders on your own PC, or folders from other computers as well.
For example, a photo library could collate together all pictures across the HomeGroup. I created a Library to do exactly this, including the Picture Library from both computers. Opening this Library showed all the pictures, and I could also find a picture regardless of location by typing into the search box in the Windows Start menu.
The same principal applies to other files, so users should be able to find and play music and video stored on other computers within the HomeGroup - so long as they are switched on at the time, of course.
Of course, HomeGroup doesn't solve every problem - you need to have a functioning network in the first place. But assuming your ISP left you with a functioning broadband router when it installed your internet connection, HomeGroup does look like it should greatly simplify the task of connecting computers together at home for a great many people.
Hands on with the Windows 7 beta
When Microsoft demonstrated the features of Windows 7 at its professional developer conference (PDC) last year, I couldn't wait to try it out. Sadly, the version supplied to attendees lacked many of these features, so I've had to wait for the first beta like everyone else.
The verdict? Based on what I've seen so far, Windows 7 looks like a winner. It fixes many of the gripes users have had with Vista and adds in new tweaks to make life easier. It starts up quickly, and doesn't seem to be a drag on performance as I have found Vista to be. It could be regarded as Windows Vista the way it should have been.
With the ISO image of the beta downloaded and burned to DVD, I chose to install on the same laptop I've been using to test the earlier Windows 7 version, a Lenovo ThinkPad X300 with 2GB memory and a 60GB Flash SSD. I decided to upgrade rather than do a fresh install from scratch, which preserved all of the applications and files I already had on the system. This non-destructive install should also work for users upgrading from Vista.
The install took close on an hour, rebooting the system several times and even downloading updates from the internet via my home Wi-Fi network during the process, but not requiring any input from me once the upgrade was started.
Identified as build 7000, the Windows 7 beta has a slightly different look to the earlier version, with larger icons on the taskbar. These are larger to make them easier to select with a finger when using a PC with a touch screen. I hope to try out Microsoft's touch user interface soon and will report in a later blog.
The other user interface enhancements include Jump Lists, menus providing quick access to functions from applications on the task bar. The Jump List for Word 2007 is shown here, with links to recent documents, while that for Media Player allows the user to select a music or video file for playing.
Users can also easily see the content of open applications by hovering the mouse over the relevant application icon on the taskbar, which shows a thumbnail of the screen. This comes into its own with Internet Explorer, as you can see a thumbnail of each open tab and quickly select the one you are looking for.
You can also see the desktop, and information such as Gadgets on it, simply by moving the mouse pointer to the clear box in the bottom right corner of the screen. This makes all open applications transparent, as shown here.
As in the earlier release, the alerts and message have been moved to a special notification area on the taskbar, instead of constantly popping up and annoying you. There is also an icon that shows available wireless networks and lets you connect.
One of the more exciting features of Windows 7 is the HomeGroup, which is intended to make it easy to set up a network of Windows 7 computers able to share files and information with each other. This obviously requires more than one computer with Windows 7, so I hope to test this out in the near future as well.
Filemaker interface revamp
Filemaker chose the Macworld conference to launch version 10 of its SME-focused Filemaker Pro database. Rather than concentrating on new features, the firm revamped the user interface in a bid to woo new users to the product.
Rick Kalman, senior project manager at Filemaker, explained that because the firm hadn't refreshed the interface for a long while, there was already a barrier for people used to interacting with browsers and modern applications when it comes to using an application like this.
But Filemaker is coming up increasingly against browser-based technologies like Zoho Office, which now offers a free online database that can be configured using simple online options.
Enhancements to the Filemaker system include dynamic reporting, which enables users to configure reports on the fly, and a status toolbar that puts commonly-used functions in an easily-accessible place. The system also includes script triggers that let users tie automated sequences of actions to events such as editing a particular field.
However, because the system is still a cross-platform database for both Windows and the Mac, Kalman explained that the company cannot fully exploit the Core graphics functionality of Windows or the advanced graphics capabilities of Windows.
It has reserved more modern graphics capabilities for the Mac-only Bento program. That exploits the Mac's graphics engine more fully, but unlike Filemaker it is a single user-only product.
Author: Danny Bradbury
