Android on netbooks might be the fad du jour, but it sounds like Routon’s still working the MID angle — the company just dropped word of two devices in the pipeline. The P760 and P730 are said to be in the “research phase,” so we don’t know too much about ‘em, but they certainly look nice, and they’re scheduled to hit sometime in the second half of the year. Honestly, though, we can’t help but wonder when and where we’re supposed to use these things — anyone craving a MID over a netbook or smartphone?

[Via Slashgear]

Filed under: Handhelds

Routon previews its Android MIDs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reuters – Staying inside to avoid the flu? Or perhaps you are not convinced yet that a pandemic would be scary. Either way, the U.S. National Archives has a solution.

Continued here:
Not scared of flu yet? Online exhibit may help
(Reuters)

If all this talk of Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 has thoroughly piqued your interests, here’s something to tickle your fancy even more. Acer UK marketing director Bobby Waltkins has told Pocket-Init that the Z5600 all-in-one PC is due out October 23rd along with — and here’s the kicker — a genuine copy of Windows 7 pre-loaded on the device. That jibes with what Compal’s president said back in late February, but it’s hard to say for certain from the wording of his response whether he’s referring to the OS’s wide release or just his company’s 7-equipped desktop, although his talk of a 30-day upgrade free upgrade period might be suggesting the former. Until the boys in Redmond call it official, we’re just gonna mark our calendars very lightly with a pencil.

Filed under: Desktops

Acer: Windows 7 coming October 23rd pre-loaded on Z5600 AIO originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Microsoft is making many well-received improvements in Windows 7, but may be in for a black eye on its Starter Edition because of growing misconceptions that it has optimized and recommended the limited Starter Edition for netbooks. For instance, the ad copy for the Apple commercial jabbing Starter Edition almost writes itself.

“Hello, I’m a Mac.”
“And I’m a PC.”
PC is trying to juggle.
“Hey, PC. What’s with the juggling act?”
“It’s my new operating system. See, it only lets me run three programs at a time so I need to stop doing one thing when I want to do another. Really keeps me on my toes thinking about which three programs I should use. Of course, I could upgrade to a more expensive version that gives me the capabilities I should have had from the beginning.”
PC drops the balls.
“Hmm, really? Every Mac lets you run as many programs as you want out of the box.”
“Well, that would be nice. I’d sure like to send someone an e-mail about that.”
“That’s a good idea, PC. Why don’t you?”
“Because I had to quit my e-mail program to say that.”
PC starts trying to juggle again. Cut to iMac with “Mac” desktop

Continue reading Switched On: Windows 7, Non-Starter Edition

Filed under: Laptops

Switched On: Windows 7, Non-Starter Edition originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Investor’s Business Daily – You wouldn’t know it from McAfee that personal-computer sales and corporate spending on technology are weak.

Excerpted from:
Acquisition Boosts Top-Line Growth At Computer Security Company
(Investor’s Business Daily)