Plus: More rivals for Google and a new type of handheld.
The Buzz: If you've been out shopping for a new PC recently, you've probably noticed "Vista Capable" stickers on machines. Microsoft hasn't nailed down the actual minimum requirements for Windows Vista; it has offered some guidelines, though, and these machines meet them. To run the no-frills Vista Home Basic version, a computer must be equipped with a "modern" CPU, 512MB of RAM, and a DirectX 9-class graphics processor--not exactly high-end stuff. Here's yet another reason to pass on PCs with integrated graphics: For the full Vista experience, you'll need more graphics hardware, including a Pixel Shader 2.0-capable GPU and at least 64MB of fast-running graphics memory.
Bottom Line: Spend an extra $100 or so for a decent graphics card, and you won't be sorry. Sure, an integrated-graphics system will be capable of running Vista--in much the same way that I'm "capable" of hitting a single off Randy Johnson.
The Buzz: Google's great, but it doesn't do everything. Lately I've seen a resurgence in interesting new search sites that aim to help you parse the vast field of results for any search you run. Kosmix offers three different search categories--Health (in beta), Travel (in alpha), and Politics (in alpha)--and each breaks down your results into a number of useful subcategories for easier browsing. A search at Congoo lets you freely read content that normally sits hidden behind the registration-only wall at sites like those of the Financial Times, AdWeek, and Billboard. And Accoona's SuperTarget feature gives you intelligent options to narrow down your searches for news stories, businesses, or Web sites.
Bottom Line: I'm all for new search options, and these are good ones, but leave me out of the growing Google backlash. Come on people, just because the band's popular doesn't mean it has sold out.
The Buzz: Excitement continues to surround Origami, the Intel and Microsoft handheld PC project that's now officially called the Ultra Mobile PC. In the United States, Asus and Samsung have each announced plans to release the tablet-like units, which will include a tool called Microsoft TouchPack that optimizes the touch screen for both stylus input and fingertip controls.
Bottom Line: The UMPCs I've seen look like "tweener" products to me: Too big to fit in a pocket, but too small to use for real work. The fact that one of them costs as much as a standard notebook isn't a selling point, either.
There's nothing glamorous about the capacitor--the energy-storing device inside your electronics that you've been warned for years not to touch. But researchers at MIT and elsewhere are hard at work creating so-called supercapacitors that could eventually supplant laptop batteries. Their big advantage: recharge time. Normal rechargeable batteries rely on a chemical reaction to store and release energy, and fully recharging a battery can take an hour or more. A supercapacitor can achieve a full charge in just a few seconds. Supercapacitors are already seeing limited use, and MIT estimates that future capacitors will provide enough power to replace laptop and cell phone batteries.
: Search the Web even when you're offline by downloading packs of information.
: It's not actually an Ajax app, but this impressive online word processor works like one.
: Ultraslick, $999 bundle streams digital music to multiple rooms.
: Interesting, Ajax-based job search site integrates Google maps and popularity listings.
: Sure, I'm late mentioning it, but that's only because I can't stop playing this amazing RPG.
Eric Dahl
You can contact PC World Senior Editor Eric Dahl at eric_dahl@pcworld.com.
