Windows 8

Windows 8 is beginning to take shape. At a developer conference at the start of June, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off some of the features that will be included in the next version of Windows. It’s not due for release until next year, but we’ve now got a pretty good idea of what to expect from what may prove to be the last ever Windows operating system.
Both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and former Microsoft big-wig Ray Ozzie have said that we are entering a 'post-PC' world. So the challenge for Windows 8 is to prove that desktop computing as we know it is not consigned to history.
We’re far from sure that Windows as we know it is done with yet, but the details we’ve seen so far suggest Microsoft has rethought how we interact with technology in a far more substantial way than ever before. Software will be written in programming languages more applicable to the web, while Explorer menus and even windows themselves look set to be shown the door. Not everything will be radically different, of course, but there’s enough that is to pique even the anti-Microsoft brigade’s interest.
Here, we look at some of those features in detail, outline what we’d like to see in Windows 8, and report on what’s still missing.
We also take a look at the alternatives to Windows, from Apple’s brand-new OS X 10.7 Lion to the most user-friendly version of Linux to date, and the OS that perhaps offers the clearest indication of where desktop computing is heading.

Dell XPS 15 L502X

Although we've seen the Dell XPS 15 L502X before the P11F is a slightly different ? laptop that comes with a touch screen. As an entertainment-focused laptop the touch screen offers a different way to watch DVDs, for example, letting you select options on-screen rather than use the touchpad, making the experience ever-so-slightly easier. However, when navigating around Windows it really isn't much of an advantage.

Although Windows 7 was designed to support touch screens, there are still too many fiddly menus to navigate, and pressing the screen of a laptop feels slightly odd in comparison to pressing the screen of a handheld device. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately you'll still probably find yourself using the physical keyboard and touchpad for most tasks. Bear in mind, though, that Windows 8 will be much more touch-friendly and is likely to be released in around a year's time. So if you're prepared to wait and make the upgrade to the next-generation of Windows when it comes the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F could come into its own.

The touchscreen on the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F seems to be little more than a gimmick. There's no stylus provided, meaning you'll be using your fingers, and the screen's glossy finish shows up greasy fingerprints a treat. It's also a pain to use in bright conditions, the reflective finish meaning that you need to be careful where you place the laptop in relation to any light sources.
If you want to watch movies on your laptop the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F is a pretty good choice, although far from perfect. The screen doesn't support full HD (though you will find variations of this model available with a resolution of 1920x1080, albeit without touchscreen functionality) and the standard optical drive doesn't read Blu-ray Discs, but again you can pay extra for this feature should you want it. It's the audio quality, provided by the JDL speaker system, that really make the entertainment experience – you won't need to worry about rigging the Dell up to external speakers in order to get high quality surround sound.
Gaming, too, is well catered for – the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F managed minimum frame rates of 31fps in the FEAR graphics test on maximum settings, suggesting that you'll be able to run most games without too much trouble. The 1GB GeForce 525M graphics card seems to be a strong performer, and you do have the option to upgrade this component too.

 

Overall performance is good, though not outstanding, a WorldBench 6 score of 117 indicative of a system that will deal with everyday tasks easily, though might lack the grunt to deal with high-end applications. The battery life was short of five hours, which is slightly disappointing and could prove problematic if you can't access the mains for any period of time. At just under 2.8kg it's too heavy to carry around for long periods.
There's 4GB of RAM, expandable to 8GB should you want, and the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F's hard disk will provide you with 500GB of storage. The high-speed USB 3.0 interface is catered for, there's HDMI (though no VGA) and a mini DisplayPort too. You'll also find a combo USB 2.0 and eSATA port.
The design of the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F is fairly smart, though suggests an entertainment-focused laptop rather than an office worker's tool, and it feels fairly sturdy too. The keyboard is slightly odd, with a wide but short Return key and a Caps Lock key that is far too big and easy to accidentally hit when you're gunning for the A. The touchpad is nice and big, and very easy to use, which only adds to our doubts about the usefulness of a touchscreen.

Toshiba Qosmio X775

The Qosmio is Toshiba's top-end multimedia and gaming notebook line. This latest iteration sports a striking design, 1.5GB graphics card, and dual hard drives. Is it any better than previous generations? Read our review to find out.

A reasonably powerful gaming notebook with a low-res screen, outlandish design and mediocre build quality.

Our Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7272 has the following specifications:

·                              17.3-inch glossy 900p display (1600x900 resolution)

·                              Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor (2.0GHz, up to 2.9GHz Turbo Boost, 6MB cache, 45W TDP)

·                              Intel HM65 chipset

·                              Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M graphics card w/ 1GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory

·                              Graphics automatically switchable to integrated Intel graphics (Nvidia Optimus)

·                              6GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB + 1x 2GB; supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)

·                              Dual 500GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drives (ST9500423AS)

·                              Atheros AR9002WB-1NG wireless network adapter

·                              No internal Bluetooth

·                              Integrated webcam

·                              Tray-load Blu-ray ROM/DVD burner (MATSHITA BD-CMB UJ141EL)

·                              1-year limited warranty

·                              8-cell Li-ion battery (47Wh)

·                              Weight: 6.6 lbs.

·                              Dimensions: 16.3 x 10.8 x 1.1~2.4 inches

Sony VAIO Z Series

The VAIO Z Series was born of Sony’s desire to build the ultimate notebook. Feather-light yet immensely powerful, it fused ultra portable dimensions to desktop performance and made precious few compromises along the way. Now, Sony’s all-new VAIO Z has arrived, and it's ready to rewrite the ultra portable rules once again.

Physically, the VAIO Z bears little resemblance to its former self. Sharp, boxy lines are formed from slices of carbon fiber, to create a chassis which measures a mere 17mm thick. It looks positively delicate, and its 1.15kg weight means it feels just as barely-there in the hand. There certainly isn’t the unflinching tautness of the Apple Macbook Air, and the obvious seams and slight give in the carbon sheets don’t exude the tough, go-anywhere air of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1.

Achieving such slenderness has required more than just bold aesthetic changes, however. Sony has also done away with two of the VAIO Z's most notable features, namely the internal optical drive and dedicated graphics.

This is where the novel Power Media Dock steps in. Resembling a simple external optical drive, it crams in an AMD Radeon HD 6650 graphics chipset, and acts as a docking station too. Look to the rear and there's one USB 2 port, one USB 3 port, a Gigabit Ethernet socket plus D-SUB and HDMI video outputs. Unhook a flap on the dock's top edge, and you’ll find another USB 2 port for quick attachment of a USB flash drive or similar.

It’s an elegant solution. A power supply feeds the Power Media Dock from the mains, but a single connector provides both a data and a power connection to the laptop itself. Sony’s proprietary implementation of Intel’s Light Peak technology (the very same used in the Thunderbolt ports on Apple's recent MacBook Pro) then jets all the graphical, USB and network data via the VAIO Z's single USB 3 port. Plug it in, and the laptop's screen flickers off and on as the AMD chipset takes over from the integrated GPU.

LENOVO Z570

 Specs: 15.6-inch LED display, Intel Core i3 2.1 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 640 GB HDD; NVIDIA GT520M; Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI; Windows 7 Basic; 2.8 kg

This Lenovo machine is for casual gaming, movies and Internet fun. It looks simple and lacks the zing of some of its fellow Lenovo laptops, but its 15.6-inch LED screen is excellent for games and movies. The sound is pretty decent too. Lenovo has put in some good apps for daily use, and you are sure to find them handy. As for the tests, this laptop is a very good performer. 

With just an Intel i3, 2.1 GHz processor, 3 GB RAM and NVIDIA GT 520M graphics card, this machine still managed magnificent scores. It scored 5178 marks on PC Mark Vantage and 3301 marks on 3D Mark 06. We expected the battery to last longer, but it remained alive only for four and a half hours. Other features of this laptop include a 640 GB hard drive, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI output and a 2 megapixel web cam. The configuration is pretty good. Perhaps just a bit of imagination on its crust and this notebook would have awesome.

The Samsung Series 7 GAMER

Samsung has launched a new 3D laptop that's geared up for gaming. The Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit laptop can take advantage of up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM. The 3D-ready Series 7 Gamer Edition laptop has 8GB as part of its standard RAM quota but can also take advantage of another 8GB on the motherboard. 

 The Samsung Series 7 GAMER is a 17.3in-screen 3D-enabled laptop with 8GB of DDR RAM. An further boost can be gained via the 8GB flash memory ExpressCache embedded in the laptop’s motherboard. This, says Samsung, also comes in useful in everyday use and it boosts the laptop startup times by as much as 25 percent.

A pair of 750GB hard drives provide the storage. A Blu-ray drive, 2Mp webcam and 4 Watt speakers with a built-in subwoofer also feature on the 3.8kg laptop. 

The laptop is powered by a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and 2GB of AMD Radeon 6970M GDDR5 HD graphics. The SuperBright HD 3D display works at 120Hz and is designed to be used with Bluetooth-enabled active shuttering 3D glasses. Aware that even the most avid gamer must occasionally reluctantly turn their hand to essays and reports, Samsung equips the Series 7 Gamer laptop with four distinct modes: Gaming, Balanced, Library and Green. 

Some of these modes extend the off-mains battery life, while the Library mode powers down the fans usually used to cool the powerful graphics chip, making operation whisper-quiet. 

In its souped-up Gaming mode, the CPU is cranked up, the turbo cooling system turned up to 100 percent and the touchpad deactivated, so you don't accidentally swipe it. The main control keys, meanwhile, are highlighted in red and the Windows key disabled. 

Alienware M18x Review

Like a Michael Bay movie, it's getting harder and harder for Alienware to top itself. But somehow, it keeps doing it. Case in point: the M18x. Featuring an 18-inch full HD screen, an overclocked Core i7 processor running at 4 GHz, two of Nvidia's most powerful GPUs, and WirelessHD streaming, this gaming rig is hyperbole personified. As you might expect, this gaming monster doesn't come cheap. Our configuration costs a whopping $5,552. So do the special effects justify the cost of admission?

Design

Everything about the M18x is huge. The notebook has a similar design to the M17x; it's just bigger. The aluminum lid (ours came in Nebula Red; black is also available) is adorned with a chrome Alienware logo in the center and a rubber panel at the bottom. A black soft-touch finish on the deck resists fingerprints. The front retains the distinctive backlit grilles on either end, which are all the more intimidating on this system. The red extends around the sides of the notebook, and massive vents run along the entire back of the machine, not unlike those on the ASUS G74SX-A2.

Where the M17x was a relatively trim 16 x 11.9 x 1.8 inches and 9.6 pounds, the M18x weighs a whopping 13 pounds and measures 17.2 x 12.7 x 2.1 inches. Other 18-inch notebooks don't even come close: The Acer Aspire 8951G weighs 8.8 pounds. The G74SX, a 17-inch system, checks in at 10.6 pounds. Heck, the M18x's power brick alone weighs 4 pounds.

 As with all Alienware notebooks of the past two years, one of the coolest things on this laptop is the backlighting. You can change the keyboard, the logos, the front grille--even the ring around the touchpad--to a number of different colors, depending on your mood or what you're doing. It's just awesome. The AlienFX utility to change the controls is fun to use; you can easily spend a lot of time tinkering with the color schemes.

Heat

Overclocking a CPU will definitely cause things to heat up, which is the case with the M18x. After we streamed a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad was a cool 78 degrees and the space between the G and H keys was 86, but the underside near the rear was a hot 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Expect the chassis to heat up more after an hour or two of gaming. 

Keyboard and Touch-pad

The keyboard on the M18x not only has a full number pad on the right, but also a set of five macro keys running down the left. A button at the top of the column lets you switch between three modes, so you can have up to 15 macros per game.

While the keys are quite large, we think they could be beveled less to give more space on top to rest your fingers. Also, we noticed a bit of flex to the layout, especially on the left side near the ASDW keys. While you're not likely to notice it while typing, there shouldn't be any flex at all on a notebook that costs this much.

At 3.9 x 2.2 inches, the M18x's touchpad is the same size as that on the M17x; something slightly larger would be appreciated, even if gamers are more likely to use an external mouse. Powered by Synaptics, the touchpad is also capable of multitouch gestures, though Alienware turns them off by default. This may be for the best, as gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and rotate didn't always work. 

 Display and Audio

The massive 18.4-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel WLED display on the M18x is a sight to behold. The glossy panel has edge-to-edge glass. Movies and games simply popped off the display, and it was so large that it enveloped us in the action. When we watched a Blu-ray of Iron Man, the red and gold of Tony Stark's suit sparkled, and explosions were wonderfully fiery. The same goes for games; every little detail--from a disintegrating hay stack to blowing snowflakes--was rendered well.