Gateway releases 16-inch MC series laptops

Gateway on Monday released its first 16-inch laptops, the MC7801u and the MC7803u. With a 16:9 aspect ratio screen, 16-inch (and 18-inch) models are beginning to emerge.

Unlike traditional 16:10 laptop displays, a 16:9 screen matches the ratio of movies and HD content. Similar to the redesigned MacBook, the display on Gateway's MC series laptops features a glossy glass overlay that runs edge to edge. The 16-inch screen features a 1366x768 resolution; you'll need to bump up to an 18-inch model for 1080p playback.

The $950 MC7801u features a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T5800 CPU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 64-bit Vista Home Premium, and a 320GB hard drive. So what don't you get on this sub-$1,000 laptop? You miss out Intel's latest Centrino 2 platform, and the laptop relies on integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics.

A second model in the 16-inch MC series, the $1,000 MC7803u, will feature a dedicated 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 graphics card. Providing the MC models with a distinctive look, a thin pleather strip runs down the middle of the lid. The lower-end MC7801u features a burgundy lid, and the higher-end MC7803u features a black lid.

Other features include HDMI and VGA ports, backlit keyboard and multimedia controls, Webcam, DVD burner, Draft N Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard and media card slots.

The Gateway MC7801u is being sold through Best Buy and is included in our holiday retail laptop roundup. Look for our review next week.

UPDATE 1-Dell's China sales up 30 pct so far this year

Computer maker Dell (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has seen 30 percent sales growth in China and Hong Kong so far this year, in line with recent years, although it faces near-term uncertainties, a senior executive said on Wednesday. "Honestly, how things will turn out next year is hard to say," Alex Yung, Dell China vice president, told Reuters before a presentation to reporters.

"We don't know what kind of policy the Chinese government will come up with. If they continue to encourage domestic consumption, we wouldn't be too worried," he said.

"And also if the Chinese banks are not pulled too far (into global financial turmoil), we wouldn't be too worried."

The company's 30 percent sales growth in China so far this year compares with 30 to 40 percent growth over the last five to six years, he added.

Dell, the second largest computer maker after Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said last month that slow demand had spread from the United States to Europe and Asia, and had not rebounded as expected after the summer lull. In August, it posted a steep drop in second-quarter profit, saying that companies were becoming more conservative in spending.

It has said it would realign its business to boost competitiveness, cut headcount, and invest in infrastructure and acquisitions.

Yung told reporters on Wednesday that the company was seeing a mixed performance in various sectors of the market in China, with a particularly major impact on demand from export-oriented small companies, which have been hurt by the global economic slowdown.
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Apple Unlikely To Sell Cheaper Computers

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday said the company is unlikely to start selling low-priced computers, despite the global economic slowdown, and has no plans to enter the emerging mini-notebook market or to build a variety of iPhone models.

Jobs made an unusual appearance at the teleconference the company holds with financial analysts after releasing quarterly earnings. Apple on Tuesday reported that profits rose to $1.14 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 27, as sales increased 27%, driven primarily by iPhone and Mac computer sales. The company also said that it had surpassed during the quarter its goal of selling 10 million iPhones this year.
In answering analysts' questions, Jobs said the company is prepared for the economic slowdown with a loyal customer base that's likely to delay purchases rather than turn to competitors, a successful product portfolio that offers strong value for the money, and $25 billion in the bank.

While Apple could get "buffeted around by the [economic] waves a bit," Jobs said he was confident the company would do well in the slowdown. "I think this economic downturn will present some extraordinary opportunities for companies with cash," he said.

Asked whether he would consider returning some of the cash to investors, Jobs dodged the question, but indicated that the company would prefer to invest the money in its business during the downturn. "It's not burning a hole in our pockets," Jobs said of the money stash. He also declined to say whether Apple would use the money for acquisitions.

As to selling cheaper computers to attract consumers with thinner wallets in a slow economy, Jobs said that wasn't a strategy the company would pursue, preferring instead to beat the competition on features within the high-end market.

"What we want to do is deliver an increasing level of value for customers," he said. "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA won't let us do that."

One new market Apple would stay out of for the time being is for so-called "netbooks," defined as sub-$500 notebooks with displays 10 inches or smaller and running a full PC operating system. Most of the major PC makers are offering such machines as second or third computers for people looking to check e-mail or browse the Web on the road.

"That's a nascent category that, the best that we can tell, not a lot is being sold," Jobs said. "We'll wait to see how that nascent category evolves, and we've got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve."

In the meantime, Apple has the iPhone, which can browse the Web from anywhere on a cellular network and fit in your pocket, Jobs said. Asked whether he would consider making a variety of models, like other mobile phone makers do with their products, Jobs said Apple plans to stay with one iPhone and make it a strong platform for software that would differentiate the product from rivals'.
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Computer security systems vulnerable to new attacks

New York: A new category of computer attacks may compromise memory systems touted as foolproof, particularly in laptops, a recent study has found.


The study, by researchers at Princeton, found these attacks overcome "disc encryption," a broad set of security measures meant to protect information stored in a computer's permanent memory.

The researchers cracked widely-used technologies like Microsoft's BitLocker, Apple's FileVault and Linux's dm-crypt.

They described the attacks in a paper and video published on Thursday on the web.

The team said these attacks are likely to break through other disc encryption systems because these technologies have similar structural features.

The attack is particularly effective against computers that are turned on but are locked, such as laptops in "sleep" or hibernation mode.

One effective countermeasure is to turn a computer off entirely, though in some cases even this does not guarantee protection.

"We've broken disc encryption products exactly when they seem to be most important these days: laptops that contain sensitive corporate data or personal information about business customers," said Alex Halderman of Princeton's computer science department.

Halderman's Princeton collaborators included graduate students Nadia Heninger, William Clarkson, Joseph Calandrino, Ariel Feldman and Professor Edward Felten of the Centre for Information Technology Policy.

The findings demonstrate risks associated with recent high-profile thefts, including a Veterans Administration computer containing information on 26 million veterans and a University of California, Berkeley laptop that contained information on more than 98,000 graduate students and others, said Felten.

The team wrote programmes that gained access to essential encryption information automatically after cutting power to machines and rebooting them.

"This method is extremely resistant to countermeasures that defensive programmes on the original computer might try to take," Halderman said.

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Needy schools a priority in computer rollout

ALL secondary schools will be able to apply for commonwealth grants from March next year to boost their computer resources, but the most needy schools will be given priority.

Federal cabinet yesterday signed off on Labor's ambitious $1billion computer initiative, the first election pledge to be approved by the Rudd cabinet.

Deputy Prime Minister and federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said that under the program every secondary student in Years 9 to 12 would have access to computers and other information technology resources.

Ms Gillard said a million Australian students would benefit from the technology fund, the first step in the Rudd Government's education revolution.

"World-class ICT in schools will make a real and sustainable change in the way teaching and learning are delivered in classrooms across Australia," she said in a statement.

The fund will allow each school to apply for up to $1 million, depending on enrolments and existing technology. Funding can be used to buy computers, digital projectors, interactive whiteboards and other equipment.

"The Rudd Government will work with the school systems in every state and territory to identify schools that have the highest priority in terms of need, and assist them in making applications to the fund. Over four years, all secondary schools will have access to the fund," she said.

Ms Gillard said visits to secondary schools by Labor MPs since the election had revealed a desperate need for an increase in computer and internet access.

"Unfortunately, they found too many Australian schools don't have adequate internet access, some don't have internet access at all," Ms Gillard said after the cabinet meeting in Brisbane yesterday.

"Too many schools don't have enough computers for senior secondary students."

Ms Gillard said she was concerned that technology aids such as interactive whiteboards and digital projectors were missing from many schools.

"Today, cabinet has agreed that we will implement our $1billion fund to bring computers to Years 9 to 12 students in each Australian secondary school," she said.

An audit will be launched to establish existing resources in schools, and the Government will begin discussions with state and territory governments and independent and Catholic schools to ensure the rollout of funding.

"In the course of this financial year, there will be expenditure of $100 million in grants to schools to assist them with getting computers, internet access and other information technology aids," Ms Gillard said.

Dell Will Sell Computers at Best Buy

DALLAS (AP) — Dell Inc. is venturing farther from its direct-to-consumer sales model and will start selling computers at Best Buy stores in January.

Analysts say Dell must expand its presence in stores because consumers increasingly see computers as an extension of their personality, and want to touch them before buying.

Dell built its business around selling personal computers directly to customers over the phone or Internet, but it has been cutting deals with retailers as growth of PC sales slowed and Dell's U.S. consumer revenue declined. It fell 26 percent for the six months ended Aug. 3, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The company lost its spot as the world's No. 1 computer maker to Hewlett-Packard Co. late last year, and HP has stretched its lead since then.

Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said Thursday that Best Buy Co. will sell Dell's XPS and Inspiron notebook and desktop computers at more than 900 stores.

Best Buy complements Dell's U.S. retail lineup. The company already sells modestly priced PCs in about 3,000 Wal-Mart stores and targets small-business owners with sales at 1,400 Staples Inc. stores.

Michael Tatelman, a vice president for Dell's consumer business, said Best Buy gives his company access to a big audience of shoppers looking for machines for gaming, music and photography.

The computer maker, however, will miss the pre-Christmas sales traffic at Best Buy.

That suggests negotiations with Best Buy were difficult, said J.P. Gownder, a technology marketing analyst for Forrester Research Inc.

"Gosh, it would have been nice to have this available about a month ago so they could have taken advantage of Black Friday," he said, referring to the traditionally heavy retail traffic the day after Thanksgiving.

Tatelman responded that Dell wrapped up the Best Buy deal sooner than expected, and "We've got Wal-Mart and Staples available for the holiday season."

With the Best Buy agreement, Dell machines will be sold in nearly 10,000 stores around the world. Dell has deals with Bic Camera Inc. in Japan, Gome stores in China and Carrefour Group and Carphone Warehouse PLC in Europe.

For many years, Dell resisted selling computers in stores out of fear it would dilute the company's image of building affordably priced machines to the customer's specifications. The direct-sales approach was a success with business customers and seemed to work well with consumers, too.

But consumers now are more interested in style and computers that match their personality, a development that has helped HP and other brands that are readily available in stores, Gownder said.

"This is very overdue," he said. "Even if this cannibalizes some of (Dell's) direct sales, they'll be able to compete head-to-head for market share, because right now they're getting their lunch eaten by HP. Dell had to make this move. They're hemorrhaging in the consumer market."

Richard Shim, an analyst with IDC, said selling through retailers is risky because Dell must rely on store salespeople instead of its own. But he said there's a good chance Dell's offerings will stand out in shelves already crowded with machines from HP, Toshiba Corp., Apple Inc., Sony Corp. and others.

"They have the brand name, they're viewed as being a good value, and they can pass on the advantages of being as big as they are," he said.

Shim added that Dell must continue to produce innovative, attractive machines and change its marketing to appeal to consumers.

Dell has added colors and slimmer profiles to its Inspiron and XPS notebooks in a nod to consumer tastes. It has also beefed up high-performing machines to entice gamers.

Dell has also started to tweak its advertising, getting away from a longtime fixation on price.

New print ads feature Victoria's Secret model Karolina Kurkova. A television spot shows old machines exploding in slow motion, leaving only a new XPS One, and ends with the tagline, "Dell. Now available in beautiful."

From Best Buy's perspective, the deal with Dell adds another name to the chain's lineup of PCs.

Dave Morrish, a Best Buy senior vice president, said adding Dell would give its customers unprecedented choice in buying a computer.

Shares of Dell rose 64 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $24.95, and Best Buy shares gained 89 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $52.71.