Rumor has it that the upcoming 10.6.2 build of Mac OS X has removed support for the Intel Atom CPU, which is the processor under the hood of many netbooks on the market today, including my beloved Dell Mini 9. This isn’t an issue for most Mac users, but if you’re like me and you’ve Hackintoshed your way to super-portable bliss, you might be a little worried.  See, Apple…this is why I wish you had your own official netbook!

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There are many games from the history of computer role-playing games that deserve the attention of a full retrospective, looking back in depth at what made the game great and putting it into modern context. However, for every ‘Ultima IV’ or ‘Arcanum’ there are a hundred games like Hexplore – minor releases that added something at the time but were not significant enough to merit much attention even a year after they came out. Certainly I had never heard about it until recently when it was mentioned in a thread on a PC RPG forum. As part of my love affair with my netbook, I am seeking these games out, playing them and will be writing about them here. Continue Reading

Given that my first love of gaming is first-person shooters (FPS) based on my love of the original Castle Wolfenstein back on my Apple ][+, it is somewhat surprising that I was ‘late to the party’ on Unreal by nearly a year. But hey, gimme a break – I had a three-month old colicky baby when it was released in late May of 1998. Yes, that is right: Unreal is well past the celebration of its tenth birthday … but in terms of my ownership it has just passed the decade mark, so I guess that counts for something! You know what that means? Netbook Gamer Retrospective time! I am going to take a look at the original game and also touch on the other entries in the series as it has moved to being one of the premier online shooters. And as usual I will put it all into the context of how it works on my netbook.

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I was looking through my RSS feeds this morning and came upon this video on GottaBeMobile.

Quite honestly it is one of the most creative “Transformer” videos I have seen. Take a look for yourself…

PocketLint via 9to5Mac

Welcome to the first entry in the new Netbook Gamer series! In the fall of 1997 LucasArts delivered into the hands of gamers something they had wanted since they first saw one twenty years prior – a lightsaber.

Dark Forces brought the Star Wars universe a new level of immersion through the first person shooter perspective. The story brought in classic settings abd characters and introduced a new hero – Kyle Katarn. Former Imperial Academy hero shaken by the discovery of the nature of the Empire through tragic events, Katarn is joined by his partner Jan Ors as the pair serve as mercenaries in the hire of the Rebellion. Dark Forces was an amazing game that delivered a visceral experience and new technical advances to the new first person shooter genre. What it didn’t give gamers was a taste of what it felt like to be a Jedi.

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Welcome to a new series here at Gear Diary! Called the Netbook Gamer, this will allow me to share two of my loves – playing computer games and exploiting my netbooks to deliver whatever performance I can squeeze from them. In this series I will look at games released over the last decade that might have pushed the boundaries of what was possible when released, but still work on a modern PC and will run smoothly on a current release netbook.

In the title I will identify the game, the year it was released and the genre – expect these to be heavily FPS (first person shooter) and RPG (roleplaying game) centric. I will do a review of the game and also look at how it works in the context of playing on a netbook. I will look at whether it requires a CD to play, if the controls are re-mappable, if the game supports netbook-friendly video modes, and so on. Naturally any screenshots I use will come directly from my netbook unless otherwise noted!

Of course I am always open to suggestions in terms of games to review and anything else netbook-specific you’d like to see, so feel free to chime in the comments!

MSI has just announced their new Wind U110 ECO.

At just 3.2 pounds and 1.24 inches thick the Atom-powered unit offers 15+ hours of run time. That’s pretty impressive. Other specs look good too, including  a 10″ LED backlit screen with 1024×600 resolution, a high-definition webcam and 802.11 b/g/n LAN.

Full specs, the release and lots of pictures follow.

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This Acer Aspire One with 11.6″ screen, 1GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 802.11G Wi-Fi and Windows XP Home SP3 is a relative bargain for $280 shipped from J&R. I use a slightly smaller version of this computer and while I wish the keyboard was backlit you can’t beat the small size for carrying this on a plane or throwing into a briefcase during daily travel. I’ve used my Netbook to connect into client sites via Remote Desktop without a hitch. What it lacks in processing horsepower it makes up for in far superior battery power and convenience.

Acer Aspire One 11.6″ Netbook – $280

It seems like only yesterday that I was New York City for the release of the first Vivienne Tam Digital Clutch, the MiniNote netbook that she had personally worked with HP to design, and now there is already an update. Last night Vivienne Tam’s new digital clutch was unveiled on the catwalk of her Spring 2010 fashion show.

The HP Vivienne Tam digital clutch features an original butterfly design inspired by the classic Chinese love story “Butterfly Lovers.” Beautiful butterflies are brought to life on a champagne gold backdrop.

“To me, butterflies symbolize love, freedom, independence and transformation,” said Vivienne Tam. “I love working with HP because they are also inspired by nature. Together we bring life, color and personality to the computer world, creating fashionable technology for modern women.”

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Gearsponsor Logicbuy sends over word of a new deal on a Dell Netbook. Take a look at this Dell Inspiron Mini 9n Netbook with 1.6GHz Atom Processor, 8.9″ LED LCD, 4-cell battery, 4GB SSD and pre-loaded Ubuntu OS for $239 – $40 instant discount = $199 + FREE shipping. Available for online customization and 4 lid colors/patterns to choose from.

Dell Inspiron Min 9

The recently announced Nokia entry into computing was shown today to those attending Nokia World. The Nokia Booklet 3G is a Netbook with an embedded 3G cellular modem slated to run Windows 7. With an Atom Z530 CPU, 10.1 inch display and 120GB drive the specs most closely match those of current Netbooks. Unfortunately I see a big problem with the 1GB of RAM that is soldered down to the motherboard which will make expandability a difficult if not impossible task. Cost is also expected to be $818 which if true will likely price this out of the market for all but the most curious Nokia fanatic.

Nokia Blog

Netbooks are all the rage, and while Linux did start out on netbooks, it seems Microsoft has been getting the lion share of the shipments.  Well, if you have a netbook and are tired of Windows XP, but your hardware is too anemic Windows Vista or you don’t think you are geek enough for Linux, maybe you should try Jolicloud.

Jolicloud is based on Ubuntu Linux, the Linux OS that is considered the easiest Linux distribution to use. It has been getting a lot of love from such sites as Lifehacker, PC Magazine and Cranky Geeks. How good is it? Let’s find out.

I know Linux and, based upon the preview shots, I have never seen a version that looks as good as  Jolicloud.  They have taken the Ubuntu Netbook Remix install, a version of Ubuntu optimized for Netbooks, and added some tweaks to make it fit with their concept of “cloud computing”. As you can see in the screenshot, Jolicloud goes heavy on web-based applications such as Hulu, Boxee and LAST.fm but still has a number local programs. What it special is the approach they have taken to launching applications. Continue Reading

The last time we spotlighted the Lenovo S10-2 the pricing was $359 on this popular model of 10″ Netbook. Thanks to the passage of time and a competitive marketplace you can save another $50 and bring your Net(Book) price down to $299. GearSponsor Logicbuy tips us that this Lenovo S10-2 is the refreshed version of the S10 featuring a thinner and lighter design, default 6-cell battery option, Dolby stereo sound and a larger keyboard. Use coupon code USPAUGS10 to drive the price down to $299 and shipping is also free.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-2

I decided to check on Always Innovating’s unique netbook style device, and lo and behold they are now on their way to people who have pre-ordered the device.  They have also added some updates to their gallery.

This netbook is running an OMAP processor, 8 GB of SD storage, 802.11 b/g/n, and a unique setup for the USB ports as well with 4 of them being internal and 4 external for a whopping 8 ports!

They had this picture of the Touchbook in a box…

They also had screenshots of the Linux based OS that is shipping on this device.

This is a picture of the app launcher on the device.

It is available for ordering on the Always Innovating web site for $299 (without the keyboard) and $399 for one with a keyboard.  They are currently in a backlog situation, so it may take a while for you to get one – but at least it’s ‘more real’ right now!

Over on workswithu.com, I came across this sweet new Ubuntu Netbook.  ZaReason has released the Terra A20 Netbook.  While ZaReason is not the first to use Ubuntu, I personally think they will be one of the best!

Base specs are an Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz CPU, 10 inch 1024×600 LCD, Intel GMA 950, Draft N Wifi, a 5400 RPM 160 GB hard drive, Optional 3G modem, 3.5 hours battery life, 3 USB ports, SD card slot, VGA port and headphone and mic jacks.  Oh, and it has a Ubuntu logo on the keyboard instead of a Windows key! Continue Reading