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Life on the EEEdge: Daily life with Asus' tiny laptop 04 January, 2008 07:15:21
6 annoying things (and 3 great ones) about Asus' ultraportableLike many gearheads, I've owned a lot of portable computers over the years -- and I've wanted to replace every last one with a smaller, sleeker upgrade, from the "luggable" Apple IIc onward. But most of those upgrades have left me disappointed: with the lack of software; with cheap, hard-to-use interfaces; and with "optional" add-ons that were in fact very much necessary to make the machine useful.
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Multimedia software maker CyberLink sees a lot of opportunities in the fast-growing netbook segment of the computer market, from online access to files stored on home PCs to multimedia software made for Linux OSs.
Some of the most popular netbooks, or mini-laptops, being launched come with options for far less storage space than mainstream laptops, such as Asustek's Eee PC 1000, Eee PC 901and Acer's Aspire one.
Many of them also run on a Linux OS, such as Linpus Linux Lite on the Aspire one and Linux OS by Xandros on the Eee PC. These netbooks can also come with Windows XP instead.
CyberLink Live, for example, allows users to access information on any of their PCs over the Internet. People can find their music and photo or video files, or work files. There's also an option to watch and record live TV shows. Software to hook users up to a free version of the online service is available, and it doesn't come with adware or other annoying features. A premium version is also available, and that's what allows scheduled TV program recording as well as management of all work file types, the highest quality of photo, video viewing, and more.
The company is in talks to bundle CyberLink Live in some netbooks, but declined to comment, saying it will make an announcement after a deal is completed.
The growing use of Linux OSs on netbooks is another opportunity for CyberLink, according to Alice Chang, the company's CEO.
CyberLink's PowerCinema Linux, for example, a media software including photo, music, video and a DVD player, could find new life if Cyberlink can sign some deals to bundle it with netbooks that run on a Linux OS.
"We had that out a long time ago, but Linux didn't fly until two years ago," said Chang.
The company is also working on a Web browser for Linux-based on Firefox that is more multimedia-focused. Cyberlink declined to say when the product might be available.
Another software people with netbooks might find fun is YouCam, which can do a variety of things from adding special video effects to allowing users to deliver Powerpoint presentations online. Most netbooks come with webcams, as do most laptops, but system requirements for YouCam are a bit steep. Luckily, Cyberlink offers free trial versions of YouCam from its Web site.
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ARN Panel Sessions: Day 3The last of our panel sessions recorded live at CeBIT 2008. Today, the topic is storage. Data is growing at an enormous rate, so what does the future hold?
Weekly Tech News Update: 7th October, 2008This week we're coming to you from the Ceatec show in Japan. It's a showcase for gadgets and gizmos galore from all of Japan's biggest electronics companies and this week we're going to be showing you the best of what the show has to offer.
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