Depacco.com

28 April 2009

Adieu to the old-fashioned desktop computer?

Some giants of the PC industry are just beginning to sell tiny and cheap Netbooks and all-in-one desktops, which have the monitor and processor in the same box.

But little-known Averatec, based in Orange County, Calif., but part of Korean parent company Tri Gem, has been at it for several years. So you'll have to pardon Averatec CEO Tae-Hyun "Tiger" Cho if he believes he has a few insights to share regarding this small but growing market.

Averatec's first all-in-one desktop was introduced in 2004. But the company's main business before jumping into Netbooks last year was making 12-inch ultraportable notebooks--when most were churning out 14- and 15-inch portables--and it was making them cheaply when the competition was charging hundreds more.

ow Averatec is charging ahead with the majority of its production in just two of what happen to be the fastest-growing areas of PCs: all-in-one desktops and tiny, low-power Netbooks.

Netbooks are forecast to comprise one-fifth of the 133 million notebooks to be shipped in 2009, and the more than 3.5 million all-in-one desktops shipped in 2008 is expected to double by 2010, according to market research firm DisplaySearch. While all-in-ones are still a small part of the desktop market, it's one of the only desktop form factors that's actually growing.

The next Averatec Netbook model, due to arrive in August or September (pictured below) has been developed "from scratch" in-house at Averatec, Cho said. Besides increased attention paid to design, there's something on the inside of the forthcoming Netbook that will be markedly different from most of the field.

Averatec Netbook

Averatec's upcoming 10-inch Netbooks with mystery operating system.

(Credit: Averatec)

"The OS is going to be a surprise," Cho said. While he would not confirm or deny that the OS will be Android, the company will say that it will be "a merger of cell phone and PC technology."

Averatec won't be the first if it is indeed Android. Chinese PC maker Skytone announced over the weekend that it would offer a $250 Android-based Netbook, and there have been rumors of MSI doing the same. HP, Asus, and others have also said they are "experimenting" with Android on their Netbook models.

Averatec is positioning itself to take advantage of thrifty consumers and people who would welcome less intimidating approaches to technology. Cho believes all-in-ones and Netbooks are the answer.

Speaking in a mellow Australian accent, Cho calls himself a big believer in all-in-one desktops. In an interview with Crave, he said their "plug and play" capability is attractive to consumers. That is, they come in one box--no hunting the aisles for a tower and a monitor--and they have a bigger screen than most notebooks. In fact, Cho says he sees a day in the near future when traditional desktop systems will disappear from the home entirely.

"I believe that the all-in-one category is going to eclipse the (traditional) desktop category," he said, though he isn't claiming to know exactly when that will be. "But the desktop category will be split between home servers and all-in-ones, and the day we buy a tower and a screen will go away."

Averatec currently has a 22-inch standard all-in-one desktop, and another coming next month with an AMD 3250 dual-core CPU and Vista Premium, which entitles the owner to an automatic update to Windows 7 when it does finally arrive. It's just $599. That's only $100 more than the company's other 18-inch all-in-one, which falls under the category of Nettop--a desktop outfitted with Intel's Atom processor, a cheaper, lower-power CPU.

By offering cheap, self-contained PCs, Cho thinks his company is ahead of the curve. Of course, it's not the only company making them: MSI, Asus, and Shuttle each also make all-in-one desktops for between $500 and $600. All of them hope to steal market share from giants like Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Apple, which often charge more than $1,000 for their versions of the all-in-one PC.

Averatec all in one

An 18-inch Atom-powered all-in-one desktop.

(Credit: Averatec)

Cho is adamant that most consumers generally don't want to pay that much for a desktop--even the ones with a touch screen. Now, with the economy the way it is, timing couldn't be better for a budget version of those expensive all-in-ones. At that price, "HP has done a great job, but the volume, I think, is not really there," he said.

The arrival of cheaper touch-screen Atom-powered all-in-ones--or Nettops--is well-timed, he said.

"A year ago if we tried to do this, (we) wouldn't have been able to because there would have too much explanation as to what a Nettop is. But this market here understands that Netbook is a very good value proposition."

Averatec wasn't first to market with a Netbook. And when it did get there, the company's offering, the Averatec Buddy, which debuted for $449, was essentially a rebranded MSI Wind. But Cho, whose company has been in the business of selling smaller, budget-price laptops for several years, says the trend toward Netbooks has been helpful.

"The Netbook has done our business a very big favor. It's taken focus on 15.4- and 14-inch (notebooks) and focused on more light and thin form factors."

And while Averatec is venturing into 10-inch Netbooks, Cho doesn't plan on going much smaller than that because that's when Netbooks will begin to clash with smartphones, which can be a confusing value proposition for consumers, he said.

Instead, he said, he's happy to stick with 10-inch Netbooks, 12-inch laptops, and all-in-one PCs.

"As today's niches become tomorrow's mass markets, we hope to grow with that."

Mozilla releases Firefox 3.5 beta


Mozilla on Monday released beta 3.5 of Firefox, a revamp of the open-source Web browser designed to include better performance, several new Web programming features, and a private browsing mode.

The earlier betas had been numbered 3.1, but Mozilla switched to the version 3.5 name after concluding the changes were more significant than it envisioned earlier. Mozilla has said earlier the fourth beta will the last, with more polished release candidates expected before the final version of Firefox 3.5 is released. You can download Firefox 3.5 beta 4 from CNET Download.com forWindows and Mac.

The software emerges amid what's become a fiercely competitive browser market. Microsoft has released a significant new version, Internet Explorer 8, while Google has entered the market with Chrome and Apple is trying to secure a Windows foothold for its Safari browser. Firefox holds second place in market share to IE.

Among the changes compared with the current Firefox 3.0.x versions are the faster TraceMonkey engine for running Web sites' JavaScript programsbuilt-in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) technology for exchanging data between servers and browsers; support for tags to describe audio and video content the way images have been available for years; the private browsing mode for leaving no traces on your computer while surfing; support for technology to let permitted applications know the user's location; and support for the Web workers standard for letting a browser perform processing in the background without holding back a Web application's user interface.

There are a number of known problems with Gmail and with AVG SafeSearch v8.0 on Windows, and as usual, many of those extensions that are so popular on Firefox could break.

ACDSee 10 Photo Manager 10





"The perfect solution for view, find, organize and share images quickly." BS Editor: If you want to view, organize, find and share images quickly, ACDSee 10 is the perfect solution. Use keywords, categories and your own Windows filing system to instantly locate the right image. Easily correct or improve those less than perfect photos. Share your favorites by email, on your free online album or as high-quality prints.

Instant Viewing
With ACDSee, you'll never wait for another image to open. Get instant access to your photos with the fastest viewer on the market. See your photos on a virtual calendar, fill your screen with images and quickly browse through your thumbnails. Plus, ACDSee's Quick View mode is the fastest way to open an e-mail attachment or a file on your desktop.The new features: Mouse over your thumbnails for instant previews.

Get organized with ACDSee With ACDSee, organize the way that works best for you. Organize your Windows file folders, add keywords and ratings, edit your metadata, and create your own categories. Assign images to as many categories as you like without duplicating files. The new features: Use multi-word keywords like 'Trip to Mexico' to make finding images even easier. Unzip files and start viewing and organizing archived items right away, without leaving ACDSee.

Correct and enhance your photos
The new features: With ACDSee's advanced red-eye tool, get natural-looking results with custom eye colors to replace red areas. Apply effects like blur, saturation and color to selected areas of your photos. 

Share your favorite photos

New features: Simplify online photo sharing with integrated uploading to sites like Flickr and Smugmug. Post a photo widget on your website or blog, powered by your free ACDSee Sendpix online album. Create PowerPoint presentations from inside ACDSee, including notes, captions and more. you can free download ACDSee 10 Photo Manager 10 now.

18 Wheels of Steel Across America



Heed the call of the open road, throw the gears in motion and take off in a tractor trailer. Drive faster than your competition, haul your cargo across the entire United States and feel the wind in your face as you control your own destiny. Blast the horn and build a career in the fast-paced world of trucking.
Keep in mind that there's more to being a successful businessman than just driving fast. You've got to manage your money, keep your rig running smooth and watch out for speed traps that might trip you up. Bad weather? Fuel troubles? Tricky loading docks that require pinpoint precision? It's all part of life in the cab of a 18-wheeler. If you've got the guts, jump in a truck and head out for the highway.

18 Wheels of Steel Convoy


Sometimes 18 Wheels Just Ain't Enough! Take the wheel of a fast paced, high intensity trucking business. Start as a one man show, bidding on jobs, then build your fleet into an unstoppable convoy and deliver the goods. Grow your business and your fleet, but beware - your reputation is everything. 10-4 Good Buddy. Bid on lucrative larger jobs and captain the convoys necessary to pull them off. But watch your back - the police are always looking to take a mighty convoy down! Have fun playing the fourth truck sim game in the 18 Wheels of Steel series!


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