The New York Times.- ThinkPad aficionados may have wondered if the handwriting was on the wall for the sturdy laptop line when IBM sold its notebook computer division to the Chinese company Lenovo, but at least some of the writing was on the screen - with a stylus.
The ThinkPad X41 Tablet, which goes on sale early next week, is the first computer in the ThinkPad family to incorporate a version of Windows XP that is customized for many pen-based tablet functions, including handwriting recognition.
Weighing in at a mere three and a half pounds, or 1.6 kilograms, the ThinkPad X41 Tablet converts to a standard notebook computer by flipping up the screen and swiveling it around to expose a full-size keyboard. It has a 12.1-inch, or 30.7 centimenter, screen and a built-in fingerprint reader for password-free security, and comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.
The computer uses the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system. Battery life between charges is estimated at 2.6 hours with a standard four-cell battery, but an optional eight-cell battery offers 8.5 hours of operation.
Prices start at $1,899, and the ThinkPad X41 Tablet can be ordered in advance at lenovo.com/think. Like all ThinkPads, the X41 has a motion-detection system that senses when the computer is plummeting to the floor and takes action to prevent a hard-drive crash and loss of data. - J.D. Biersdorfer (NYT)
Cassettes make the leap back to the future
As cassette tape decks faded from the standard lineup of home audio equipment, it appeared that a generation's mix-tape memories might be headed the way of the vinyl disk and eight-track. But a new product from the Korean company BTO promises to help cassette fans resurrect their '80s glory days.
The $150 PlusDeck2, available from online gadget stores listed at plusdeck.com, is a cassette deck the size of an internal CD-ROM drive that pops into any desktop PC's 5.25-inch drive bay. It can turn your beloved tapes into MP3s - or, for true retro music fans, record MP3s onto blank cassettes (which, by the way, remain cheap, light, slim and droppable).
The deck includes installation and music software on CD-ROM, as well as cables and a connection card. You can use simple manual buttons on the device's face, or operate it with the software, which mimics the look of a tape player.
The deck also allows you to play tapes through your computer. But its most important feature may be validation: Pack rats who saved hundreds of tapes, to the annoyance of their significant others, will suddenly seem to be masters of foresight. - Adam Baer (NYT)
ThinkPad aficionados may have wondered if the handwriting was on the wall for the sturdy laptop line when IBM sold its notebook computer division to the Chinese company Lenovo, but at least some of the writing was on the screen - with a stylus.
The ThinkPad X41 Tablet, which goes on sale early next week, is the first computer in the ThinkPad family to incorporate a version of Windows XP that is customized for many pen-based tablet functions, including handwriting recognition.
Weighing in at a mere three and a half pounds, or 1.6 kilograms, the ThinkPad X41 Tablet converts to a standard notebook computer by flipping up the screen and swiveling it around to expose a full-size keyboard. It has a 12.1-inch, or 30.7 centimenter, screen and a built-in fingerprint reader for password-free security, and comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.
The computer uses the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system. Battery life between charges is estimated at 2.6 hours with a standard four-cell battery, but an optional eight-cell battery offers 8.5 hours of operation.
Prices start at $1,899, and the ThinkPad X41 Tablet can be ordered in advance at lenovo.com/think. Like all ThinkPads, the X41 has a motion-detection system that senses when the computer is plummeting to the floor and takes action to prevent a hard-drive crash and loss of data. - J.D. Biersdorfer (NYT)
Cassettes make the leap back to the future
As cassette tape decks faded from the standard lineup of home audio equipment, it appeared that a generation's mix-tape memories might be headed the way of the vinyl disk and eight-track. But a new product from the Korean company BTO promises to help cassette fans resurrect their '80s glory days.
The $150 PlusDeck2, available from online gadget stores listed at plusdeck.com, is a cassette deck the size of an internal CD-ROM drive that pops into any desktop PC's 5.25-inch drive bay. It can turn your beloved tapes into MP3s - or, for true retro music fans, record MP3s onto blank cassettes (which, by the way, remain cheap, light, slim and droppable).
The deck includes installation and music software on CD-ROM, as well as cables and a connection card. You can use simple manual buttons on the device's face, or operate it with the software, which mimics the look of a tape player.
The deck also allows you to play tapes through your computer. But its most important feature may be validation: Pack rats who saved hundreds of tapes, to the annoyance of their significant others, will suddenly seem to be masters of foresight. - Adam Baer (NYT)
ThinkPad aficionados may have wondered if the handwriting was on the wall for the sturdy laptop line when IBM sold its notebook computer division to the Chinese company Lenovo, but at least some of the writing was on the screen - with a stylus.
The ThinkPad X41 Tablet, which goes on sale early next week, is the first computer in the ThinkPad family to incorporate a version of Windows XP that is customized for many pen-based tablet functions, including handwriting recognition.
Weighing in at a mere three and a half pounds, or 1.6 kilograms, the ThinkPad X41 Tablet converts to a standard notebook computer by flipping up the screen and swiveling it around to expose a full-size keyboard. It has a 12.1-inch, or 30.7 centimenter, screen and a built-in fingerprint reader for password-free security, and comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.
The computer uses the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system. Battery life between charges is estimated at 2.6 hours with a standard four-cell battery, but an optional eight-cell battery offers 8.5 hours of operation.
Prices start at $1,899, and the ThinkPad X41 Tablet can be ordered in advance at lenovo.com/think. Like all ThinkPads, the X41 has a motion-detection system that senses when the computer is plummeting to the floor and takes action to prevent a hard-drive crash and loss of data. - J.D. Biersdorfer (NYT)
Cassettes make the leap back to the future
As cassette tape decks faded from the standard lineup of home audio equipment, it appeared that a generation's mix-tape memories might be headed the way of the vinyl disk and eight-track. But a new product from the Korean company BTO promises to help cassette fans resurrect their '80s glory days.
The $150 PlusDeck2, available from online gadget stores listed at plusdeck.com, is a cassette deck the size of an internal CD-ROM drive that pops into any desktop PC's 5.25-inch drive bay. It can turn your beloved tapes into MP3s - or, for true retro music fans, record MP3s onto blank cassettes (which, by the way, remain cheap, light, slim and droppable).
The deck includes installation and music software on CD-ROM, as well as cables and a connection card. You can use simple manual buttons on the device's face, or operate it with the software, which mimics the look of a tape player.
The deck also allows you to play tapes through your computer. But its most important feature may be validation: Pack rats who saved hundreds of tapes, to the annoyance of their significant others, will suddenly seem to be masters of foresight. - Adam Baer (NYT)
ThinkPad aficionados may have wondered if the handwriting was on the wall for the sturdy laptop line when IBM sold its notebook computer division to the Chinese company Lenovo, but at least some of the writing was on the screen - with a stylus.
The ThinkPad X41 Tablet, which goes on sale early next week, is the first computer in the ThinkPad family to incorporate a version of Windows XP that is customized for many pen-based tablet functions, including handwriting recognition.
Weighing in at a mere three and a half pounds, or 1.6 kilograms, the ThinkPad X41 Tablet converts to a standard notebook computer by flipping up the screen and swiveling it around to expose a full-size keyboard. It has a 12.1-inch, or 30.7 centimenter, screen and a built-in fingerprint reader for password-free security, and comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.
The computer uses the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system. Battery life between charges is estimated at 2.6 hours with a standard four-cell battery, but an optional eight-cell battery offers 8.5 hours of operation.
Prices start at $1,899, and the ThinkPad X41 Tablet can be ordered in advance at lenovo.com/think. Like all ThinkPads, the X41 has a motion-detection system that senses when the computer is plummeting to the floor and takes action to prevent a hard-drive crash and loss of data. - J.D. Biersdorfer (NYT)
Cassettes make the leap back to the future
As cassette tape decks faded from the standard lineup of home audio equipment, it appeared that a generation's mix-tape memories might be headed the way of the vinyl disk and eight-track. But a new product from the Korean company BTO promises to help cassette fans resurrect their '80s glory days.
The $150 PlusDeck2, available from online gadget stores listed at plusdeck.com, is a cassette deck the size of an internal CD-ROM drive that pops into any desktop PC's 5.25-inch drive bay. It can turn your beloved tapes into MP3s - or, for true retro music fans, record MP3s onto blank cassettes (which, by the way, remain cheap, light, slim and droppable).
The deck includes installation and music software on CD-ROM, as well as cables and a connection card. You can use simple manual buttons on the device's face, or operate it with the software, which mimics the look of a tape player.
The deck also allows you to play tapes through your computer. But its most important feature may be validation: Pack rats who saved hundreds of tapes, to the annoyance of their significant others, will suddenly seem to be masters of foresight. - Adam Baer (NYT)
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