In other words, it's everything people have been fantasizing about in a tablet—durable, thin, multitouch, multiple screen modes for computing and reading—but for just 75 dollars. And Nicholas Negroponte, large head of the OLPC, wants it by 2012.

Remember, this is the organization that didn't just scrap the XO-2, but couldn't even tack a touchscreen onto the current XO-1 laptop, which isn't anywhere near a hundred bucks. (Hey, at least they gave up on the dual-touchscreen idea.) I think this sadly says everything about the likelihood of it happening, as much as I'd love to see and play with this thing: "We don't necessarily need to build it," Negroponte told Forbes. "We just need to threaten to build it."

Well, I can't wait to see the XO-4! [Fuse Project, Forbes]

Pine Trail was officially let out of the bag today, and comes in four flavors: the N450, D410, D510, and NM10 Express chipset. The two new Wind netbooks use the N450 chip, which is designed specifically for those smaller-sized laptops, giving 15 per cent extra battery life.

Both the U130 and U135 have 10-inch LED backlit screens with 1,024 x 600 pixels. The first model has a 160GB HDD, the latter 250GB. 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3.5G WiMax are listed, along with stereo speakers and a 1.3-megapixel webcam.

On sale in January, the price for the UK market is £229 and £279 for the two models (approximately $368 and $448), with the U130 coming in "snow white" and "brilliant black," the U135 in "sterling silver," "brilliant black," "midnight blue," and "cherry red." [MSI]

Remember all the excitement about Penryn a couple years ago, which took the Core 2 and made it more efficient with a new manufacturing process? It's the same deal here, as the tick of Intel's tick-tock cycle. "Tock" is a whole new microarchitecture, while "tick" is a die shrink of that, which makes it more power efficient. Nehalem is the tock—it was 45 nanometers—and Westmere is the tick, shrunk to 32nm.

Arrandale is what this set of mobile Core i5 chips, based on Westmere, is called. (Here's our primer on Intel codenames.) One thing in particular about Arrandale is that it has a graphics core built right onto the main chip package, which Intel says is good to go for Blu-ray.

Anyways, what all this means is that there's about to be a whole bunch of new laptops with faster, better Intel chips inside that won't munch your battery as hard. [Cnet]

This step-by-step guide from DIY web site Instructables is far from difficult—all it requires is a few household tools, along with some thin pieces of wood and, of course, a stylish bistro tray. Plus, not only can you use the extra space to store flash drives, power cords, or other miscellaneous computer items below the laptop, but you can also still use the tray to carry drinks and such when it's not holding your laptop—and where once the tray was stylish but prone to spillage, it is now a spill-free multitasker.

We had a tough time finding the exact tray used in the post, but it looks to be this one from CB2. IKEA has similar trays that could work, though, if you're looking for something a bit different. If you find one that you like, feel free to share in the comments.

Create Your Own Sun Jar: Lifehacker Edition

Inspired by a tutorial we posted last year, we decided to make our own DIY sun jars. The trendy summer time lighting accessory retails for $30+ but we were able to make ours for around $10 each. The sun jars proved to be our most popular non-computer DIY of the entire year and readers shared their own creations with us.

The First-Timer's Guide to Building a Computer from Scratch

Building your own computer is a great way to get exactly what you want, the way you want it, without being constrained by the limits and high-prices of mass produced computers. We showed you how to build a computer from start to finish and have fun doing it.

Turn a Sharpie into a Liquid Fueled Rocket

What's standing between you and some office mayhem? Certainly not a lack of Sharpie markers and keyboard dusting spray. Combine the two with this fun DIY project and you've got one of the most awesome pieces of office-machinery we've ever featured.

Properly Erase Your Physical Media

You need to be properly erasing your physical media: all the time, every time. Our guide will show you how to get the job done and done right whether you use software to scrub your disks or you send them to the great data mine in the sky with a 21-gun salute.

Turn an Old Laptop into a Wall-Mounted Computer

Why settle for a digital picture frame when, in the same wall space, you could mount an entirely functional computer/slideshow player/TV tuner? One Lifehacker reader turned an old laptop into a super-charged digital frame.

$8 DIY Aluminum Laptop Stand

We've always been keen on DIY laptop stands, but reader Aaron Kravitz—inspired by an attractive $50 stand—went above and beyond, creating one of the most attractive DIY laptop stands we've featured to date.

Build an IKEA NAS On the Cheap

If the Hive Five on best home server software got you excited about setting up a home server but you're not keen on another unsightly PC in your home, check out this DIY IKEA NAS.

Build a DIY Portable Air Conditioner

We've shown you how to make an air conditioner (even for as low as $30), but what if you wanted something you can put in your car and take with you? While it's no substitute for a fully-charged and factory-fresh AC system, it'll keep you cool.

Turn a Bookshelf into a Secret Passage

Who hasn't dreamed of having a mystery-story-style secret passageway? While a trick bookshelf is pretty awesome in itself, this secret passage hides a home office with clever style. One industrious Lifehacker reader and his girlfriend had grown tired of seeing their office from their living space, so they hid it behind a wall of books.

Wire Your House with Ethernet Cable

You've ripped a movie on your laptop, and now want it on that fancy new home theater PC next to your TV. If you've got the time, wiring your house with Cat-5e cable could make transfer times a distant memory.

Rain Gutters as Cable Management Tools

We're all about creative cable management here at Lifehacker, so we were instantly drawn to reader Seandavid010's rain-gutter cable management setup. He was awesome enough to send detailed photos and step by step instructions to help other readers recreate his setup.

Build Your Own DTV Antenna

The lights went out on analog television this year and we were there with a guide to help you build a great DIY antenna for boosting your reception and getting that crisp digital picture you crave.

DIY Laptop Rack Hack Turns Your Monitor into an iMac

Lifehacker reader Matt Lumpkin saw our monitor stand from door stoppers post and thought we might like his laptop rack hack as another space-saving desktop solution for laptop-lovers. He was right.

Build Your Own Pizza Oven

Suppose you were inspired by the cheap DIY home pizza oven—but weren't so sure your home insurance would cover oven modifications. It's time to build a safer, more eye-pleasing oven, and we've got a thorough guide.

Crack a Master Combination Padlock Redux

Two years ago we highlighted how to crack a Master combination padlock for those of you who may have lost the combination to your bulletproof lock; now designer Mark Campos has turned the tried-and-true instructions into an easier-to-follow visual guide.

DIY Invisible Floating Bookshelves

We've covered the invisible floating bookshelf once or twice before, but if you liked the idea but weren't keen on ruining a book in the process, weblog May December Home's got you covered.

DIY Inverted Bookshelf

Instead of storing your books upright on top of the shelf, the inverted bookshelf holds all of your books in place using elastic webbing so you can hang them below the shelf—all the while allowing you to still take them out and put them back on as needed.

Build an Under-the-Cabinet Kitchen PC from an Old Laptop

Inspired by our guide to giving an old laptop new life with cheap or free projects, Lifehacker reader Brian turned his aging Dell laptop into an incredible under-the-cabinet kitchen PC.

Turn Storage Containers into Self Watering Tomato Planters

If you'd like to have delicious home-grown tomatoes but lack a garden to grow them in, you'll definitely want to check out this ingenious and inexpensive self-watering system.

Deter Thieves by Uglifying Your Camera

A few years ago, blogger Jimmie Rodgers's camera was stolen while volunteering in an impoverished Brazilian community, so he did what any sane person would do: He bought a new camera and made it ugly. With his uglified camera, Rodgers was able to snap pictures freely during the rest of his trip without worrying too much that his ostensibly crappy camera would end up stolen.

DIY TV or Monitor Stand from Door Stoppers

Nothing adds space to a desk or home theater setup like a simple monitor or TV stand, and weblog IKEA Hacker details how to build your own stand on-the-cheap with a few inexpensive items from IKEA.

Repurpose Your Analog Television

You don't need to run out and buy a new TV because of the DTV switchover. If you did anyways, Make Magazine has put together quite a guide to giving old TVs new life.

Use Ping-Pong Balls to Create Diffused Party Lights

If you need some cheap and novel ambient lighting for your next party, you're only a box of ping-pong balls and a string of lights away from solving your lighting worries.

Build a Custom-Made BoxeeBox

DeviceGuru blogger Rick Lehrbaum, inspired by the cheaper set-top boxes, made his own higher-powered "BoxeeBox" for the free, open-source media center. He posted all the parts, the how-to details, and lots of pictures.

Build a Sturdy Cardboard Laptop Stand

You already shelled out your hard earned cash for a swanky laptop, why drop more cash on an overpriced laptop stand? Cardboard alone can do the trick, as detailed in this step-by-step tutorial.

Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required

Earlier this year we put together a wildly popular guide to building a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, start to finish, and then followed it up with an even easier guide to install Snow Leopard on your Hackintosh PC, no hacking required. Computers + DIY is all sorts of geeky fun waiting to happen.

Have a favorite DIY from 2009 that wasn't highlighted here? Sound off in the comments with a link to your favorite project. Want to see more popular DIY guides courtesy of the ghost of Lifehacker past? Check out our huge DIY guide roundup from 2008.

Onkyo's DX laptop features two, 10.1-inch screens, both of which run at a respectable 1,366×768 resolution. They're complemented by a 1.6GHz Athlon processor, 2GB of RAM, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 320GB hard drive and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi n. It's preloaded with Windows 7.

(Yes, the astute among you will notice that this laptop looks quite familiar, but under the Onkyo brand, we've seen the best price to performance ratio yet.)

Of course, you'll need to import the DX to own one, but for $960, you can almost justify the tacky extravagance. [Onkyo and PCWatch via Engadget]

Under $400

Acer Aspire 1410

Starting Price: $399
This 3.2-pound ultraportable is such a sweet deal it makes us question whether netbooks are long for this world. Acer stuffed a dual-core Celeron processor (about double the performance of Atom), 2GB of RAM and Windows 7 Premium inside a 11.6-inch system with a full-size keyboard—all for just $399. Plus, you get 6.5 hours of battery life. Sure, the 160GB hard drive is a bit skimpy, but the 1410 is a real PC you can take anywhere. [Review]

Under $700

Gateway NV

Starting Price: $599.99
The NV proves that you can get a good-looking budget laptop that performs. In addition to four color choices (blue, brown, read, and black), this 15.6-inch notebook sports a fashionable metal hinge and glowing LED controls. Under the hood the NV satisfies with the combination of an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. Our only nitpick is the narrow touchpad button. [Review]

Asus UL30A

Starting Price: $649.99
If we had to pick a notebook of the year, the UL30A would be it. Why? Because this 13 incher is light enough to take anywhere yet offers enough pep to be your primary machine. This 4-pound ultraportable lasted nearly 10 hours on a charge in our tests (continuous surfing over Wi-Fi), and its ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor can easily handle Windows 7. Bonus: 500GB of storage is nice for the $650 price. [Review]

Under $1000

Dell Studio 14z

Starting Price: $749.99
Think of it as the poor man's MacBook—with better specs and sound. Dell's 14-inch thin and light notebook weighs in at just 4.4 pounds and features Nvidia 9400 graphics for extra multimedia punch. But unlike the entry level $999 Mac, the Dell offers 70GB more hard drive space, superior speakers, and a backlit keyboard for $160 less. The only trade-offs are the lack of a DVD drive and the need for an adapter for plugging in memory cards. [Review]

Under $1500

Toshiba Qosmio X505

Starting Price : $1399
Ideal for multimedia mavens and good enough for gamers, the 18.4-inch Qosmio X505 brings serious muscle in the $1,499 configuration, including a blazing Core i7 CPU and Nvidia GTS 250M graphics (with 1 GB of dedicated video memory). We also dig the classy glossy black design with metallic red accents, integrated Blu-ray drive, and booming Harman Kardon speakers. If you want to step up from the 1680 x 945 display to a full HD screen, splurge for the $1,899 model, which also sports 6GB of RAM and an SSD. [Review]

ThinkPad T400s

Starting Price: $1599 ($1359.15 after coupon)
If BMWs are the ultimate driving machines, ThinkPads are the ultimate business machines, and this is the flagship vehicle. The T400s measures just 0.8 inches thick and weighs 3.9 pounds, and it's decked out in supersturdy magnesium (for the bottom and deck) and carbon fiber (for the lid). More important, this 14-incher blows away the competition in terms of ergonomic comfort and performance—when you spring for the 2.53-GHz processor and 128GB solid state drive. [Review]

To see all of Laptop's top picks of the year, click here.

Well, part of the somehow is that the default $450 configuration uses a Celeron processor and comes with Ubuntu. You don't play in Windows land 'til you hit $600, and don't reach ULV Core 2 Duo brains—which ain't exactly heavy duty—until you drop $650.

The V13 is a collision of high end—the design, angled and thin, heavily echoing the original Adamo's silhouette, and build quality, as sturdy as any non-unibody laptop we've tried to bend—and low rent—the keyboard is straight off Dell's budget Inspiron line and well, I already told you what's inside (there's other spec sparseness as well, like 2GB RAM, VGA out and 2 USB ports, one of which is a combo eSATA number). The 13.3-inch, LED-backlit, anti-glare display is nice enough though, at a resolution of 1366x768. The 6-cell sealed battery is rated for 4 hours and 42 minutes, according to Dell, but expect less actually using it, obviously.

Still, at $650, let alone $450—netbook level—you expect some compromise, and if it wasn't at the expense of the design and materials, it had to cut somewhere. (Conversely, you can buy raging monsters from Asus, filled with blistering silicon, but it's powering machines that are ugly, bloated plastic.) Un-compromise is expensive, but the V13 straddles the line fairly skillfully, erring on the side that most don't, and that's something that's commendable. If the Adamo was Batman's laptop, this more human and vulnerable rendition for suits is Bruce Wayne's.

[Dell]

According to a new report by Jeff Orr, an analyst at ABI, Linux preinstalls represent 32% of the 35 million netbooks shipping this year (a number consistent with Dell's own reports). And it makes sense. Pretty much any variation of Linux is lighter weight than Windows (even the improved performance of 7 over Vista is paid for in battery life). And in the lowest end of the hardware market, I'd bet consumers are a lot more cognizant of the impact an OS has on the final price of a computer. [Computer World via Slashdot and Awesome Image]

Teo en Ming, the ChromiumOS64 project lead, says of the download:

"The original Chromium OS project does not support 64-bit platforms. This is because the majority of the netbooks in the market are based on Intel Atom processors, which are mostly 32-bit."

With Chrome OS launching properly at the tail-end of 2010, we've got a full year to wait before we see anything more solid become available. And even then, it'll only be available on Google-branded devices, with Acer hoping to launch the first official netbook running it.

Let us know how you get on with the 64-bit Chromium browser below. [ChromiumOS64 via TechRadar]

HDTVs and Monitors

This is the number one cleaning question I get from friends and family, and it's one of the simplest to answer. HDTVs and monitors are the worst kind of dirt magnets, begging to be touched—by your boss who wants to show you something on your computer screen, by your greasy little cousin who's getting restless during his umpteenth viewing of Finding Nemo, by your drunk old buddy from college who somehow still thinks it's funny to grope actresses onscreen on his way to the bathroom—and sitting in total vulnerability: in the case of your LCD screen, within sneezing range; in the case of your flatscreen TV, in your dusty living room.

The tempting, nearly instinctual response to a oily, dusty, mucousy panel of glass or glasslike material is to reach under the sink, grab that bottle of Windex and the paper towels and spray that stuff down. Do not do this. There are some TVs and displays for which Windex will do the job—CRT televisions, for example, and some glass-paneled screens—and if you've been using Windex in the past without incident, don't worry too much. But also, stop.

Spraying any kind of cleaner onto a screen isn't a great idea. These panels aren't weatherproof, so if your sprayed solvent runs into the crack between the panel surface and the display bezel, there will be tragedy. Furthermore, Windex is a glass cleaner: a lot of your screens' outer layers aren't glass, or have some kind of delicate coating. Ammonia-based cleaners, for example, can microscopically abrade some plastic surfaces, causing your screen to become slightly foggy over time. And for your cleaning tool, paper towels aren't terrible, but they're also somewhat risky—screen coatings can be extremely delicate, and paper towels can sometimes be a little rough. Plus, they're prone to leaving streaks, no matter what liquid you're using.

So, what's the trick? Water. Water and a soft, lint-free (ideally microfiber, which is better at picking up greasy smudges) towel. To clean your panel, dampen your cloth and strain it out as best you can—you don't want any drippage here—then run it, folded, gently across your screen, repeating until the screen has been thoroughly covered and any sticky residue has been removed. (For larger displays, perform cleaning in sections, so as not to let the water dry or collect and run.) Now do the same with a dry cloth, applying slightly more pressure, to lift away the dirt and moisture. Repeat if there are still grease deposits. That's it! A few bucks for some soft cloths, a little bit of water, and your screen is as good as new.

And those specialty cleaning kits? They do work, for the most part, but they're not necessary.

TV and Game Controllers

By the time your TV is in need to a deep cleaning, your remote—or your videogame controller—is probably in even worse shape. The kind of dirt a remote gathers is an order of magnitude more disgusting (and more human) than your panel, so you're not just cleaning, you're disinfecting. Interestingly enough, the cleaning method isn't too far from the one above: A damp cloth, with some water. This time, though, you'll want to throw a little isopropyl alcohol in the mix—a 40/60 booze and water split works—to help disinfect the buttons, and remove the oily brown buildups you can get between buttons. Again, soft cloth is better than paper towels, this time it tends to be a bit better at reaching between buttons than stiff, thin paper. Use wooden toothpicks for reaching into cracks, but nothing harder.

These are unique in that they're shared gadgets. And shared gadgets are, almost without fail, fantastic vectors for germs. So what I'm saying is, clean them or die.

Cameras

Body: Cleaning your camera body is like cleaning almost any other gadget—a very slightly damp towel will do the trick. (Though be gentle around openings, since point-and-shoot camera guts lurk awfully close to the surface, and any intruding water can wreak serious havoc.)

Lenses: Lenses are dirt magnets, and if they're dirty, you simply don't get good pictures. They're also delicate and expensive, so you can't just reach in there with a paper towel and be done with it. Lens cleaning kits are available at every camera store, and include a light cleaning solution and microfiber cloth. These are safe bets, but don't spend more than $15 bucks on them. Lens pens also work, but they're a riskier proposition—there's such a limited cleaning surface on those things, and I always get the sense that after a few uses, the cleaning element has been sort of tainted.

Again, though, stay safe with this one: Buy a microfiber cloth, and simply rub the lens with a circular motion until all visible smudges are gone. Never apply too much pressure—any dust or dirt on the lens can get picked up in your cloth and scratch your lens—and fold/refold your cloth to ensure you're using a fresh surface at least once during a lens cleaning.

Two small notes on lenses: Don't forget the clean the rear glass on any DSLR lens. There's a lot less surface area there, and since it spends most of its time inside the camera or a locking lens cover it probably won't be as dirty, so this should take much effort. And if you can, treat each of your DSLR lenses to a UV filter. While this is called a filter, it only block light that humans can't naturally see, meaning that in most photos, the effect will be generally unnoticeable. (More on that here) Point is, you don't have much to lose by buying one of the dirt-cheap filters, and it will provide a layer of transparent protection from dirt and scratches over your lenses at all times. And since they're flat and thin, they're easier to clean than convex lenses.

UPDATE: I've gotten a couple of emails from photo pros about this, and I think it bears mentioning: Before rubbing your lenses, it's good practice to blast them with a little air. Air pumps (like the one mentioned in the following subsection) and canned air will do the job, as will, in a bind, your lungs. The thinking here is that you should remove any potentially abrasive particles from the lens before rubbing it, so as not to drag them around, causing permanent damage. —Thanks, Jody and Ned!

Sensors: Point-and-shoot and bridge camera users don't have to worry about this, but DSLR users, who provide a chance for dirty to enter their camera bodies every time they change a lens, may need to clean a sensor one day. It's not as scary as it sounds!

First of all, you'll never have to actually clean a sensor, since DSLR sensors all have some manner of filter, either IR or UV, built in. But still, the surface is delicate, so you'll want to be cautious. Most cameras include some kind of sensor-cleaning function in their software; since most sensor taint is comprised of a stray speck of dust or two, a quick, severe vibration will usually do the trick.

If that doesn't work, and your photos are showing persistent, faded, unmoving spots in every photo, it's time for phase II: air. For this, I defer to Ken Rockwell:

After 17,000 shots I finally got a speck on my D70. Remember I also change lenses a lot. The Shop Vac wasn't enough. This time I used an ear syringe (blower bulb) from the drug store which you can get here. I put the D70 on BULB and pounded the bulb with my fist to create a jarring blast of air. That worked.

Rockwell advises to use an ear syringe; I'd say go with a purpose-design lens blower, since they're still only about $10, and you'll get better results without running the risk of pulverizing your DSLR's guts while trying to get muscle enough airflow through a hard rubber earwax remover.

Beyond built-in sensor cleaning and a few blasts of air, there are plenty more methods for cleaning a sensor, but they're all risky to varying degrees. Unless you're supremely confident (and careful) it may be best to leave this one to the guys are your local camera shop, assuming you still have one. A ruined sensor, in most cases, is a ruined camera, so tread carefully.

Laptops

Screen grime is the most common cleaning problem with laptops, and with the display cleaning section of this guide, we've got that covered. That said, laptops collect filth in a variety of other ways, and they can get real microbial, real fast.

To clean a typical keyboard—that is, a non-chiclet design—you've got three steps to try. First, use a damp cloth with the aforementioned 40/60 alcohol/water mixture, turn off the laptop, and run it across the keys. Fold it a few times and use the edge to reach between the keys. You can use this same cloth to clean the rest of your laptop as well, excluding the screen, but including the touchpad. If that doesn't do the trick, and you can spot some dust or hair in between keys, it's time for some canned air. You can pick this stuff up at most big box electronics stores or online for $10 or less, and using it is as simple as tilting your laptop sideways, and blowing air in the cracks.

If this doesn't work, it's time to start popping off keys. Since you're disassembling a keyboard that really isn't meant to be taken apart, there's a definite inherent risk here, but the results are practically guaranteed to be good. Here's an extremely thorough guide, if you're game for it. To give you an idea of what this entails, there's a point in this tutorial at which all your laptop's keys are swirling in a cereal bowl full of soapy water. It's gruesome.

Another problem area for laptops is fans, air intake vents and heatsinks. These all stand in the pathway between outside air and your processor, which needs said air to keep cool. Any blockage can cause your laptop to run hot, your fans to run high, and consequently, your battery to run low. Disassembly instructions will vary from laptop to laptop, and typically will involve removing your entire keyboard. Once you've done this, though, removing the dust is a matter of blasting with air, scraping with a clean toothbrush or even just wiping with your finger. It's not about total cleanliness here, it's about clearing your computers' windpipe.

Another helpful trick: Those white, last-gen MacBooks have a disgusting tendency to accumulate a beige (then brown, then black) residue where users' palm touch the laptop. This discoloration is more of a stain than a buildup, so you can't fix it with water or alcohol. The fix? Acetone. Seriously, the best way to wipe that crap off is with nail polish remover.

Desktops

We've covered how to clean most of the external pieces of a laptop already: any plastic surface gets a moist wipe-down; keyboards get compressed air. That's it! Your desktop is sparking clean! This feels so good! Now slide of your desktop's side panel, and weep. If you've had your desktop for more than a few months, and particularly if you keep it in a carpeted room, it's probably an absolute horror show.

The first thing to do is, you guess it, pull out that microfiber cloth. Wipe down every surface that's finished, which is to say covered in rubber (wires) painted (the inside of the case, and the plastic shell of an internal optical drive, or the decorated exterior of a video card) or inert (the blades of a fan, or the exterior of your heatsink). You can slightly dampen the cloth to help pick up dust from the corners of the case, but your probably don't need to, and it's best to keep this a dry operation, beginning to end. Next, whop out that can-o-air, and have at it. Pay special attention to dust buildup areas, like the heatsinks on your processor and video card, and the fan inside your power supply. This will likely cause some dust to resettle elsewhere, so you may need to repeat your wipedown/blow process once more. Again—cleaning the inside of your tower is less about maintaining a spotless appearance than it is making sure dirt, dust and hair buildup won't negatively affect your computer's performance, so don't get too anal about it, cosmetically speaking.

[image via]

Cellphones and Media Players

Cellphones, iPods and other media players are designed to be pocketed, so you can be a little rough on them during the cleaning process. A very slightly damp cloth or paper towel will remove whatever fingerprint or residue your shirt or jeans won't.

As much as these gadgets are intended to live in pockets, they have an irritatingly high number of places for dust to hide itself. Cellphones have keypads, or, increasingly, sets up buttons at the base of a touchscreen or on the sideof the handset, all of which give dirt a place to accumulate. The grilles over cellphones' mics and speakers is another refuge for sludge, and they're totally immune to simple wipedowns. For this, you've got to go one step further. Luckily, you've probably got all the supplies you need in your house already.

Wooden toothpicks and old toothbrushes help reach into cracks and crevices, like those around buttons or running around the perimeter of some display panels. (Samsung and HTC are particularly guilty of leaving spaces in places like that.)

Sometimes, as in the case of the tiny little mic/speaker grilles on some phones, you don't want to push dirt in, but rather pull it out. For those situations, lay a strip of scotch tape over the afflicted area, run your finger over it a few times, and pull it off. If that doesn't work, upgrade to duct tape—though you'll want to be a bit more gentle with that, since applying too much pressure can leave adhesive on your device, which is a pain to wipe off.

Your Tips and Tricks

If you have more cleaning tips and tools to share, please drop some links in the comments-your feedback is hugely important to our Saturday How To guides.

And if you have any topics you'd like to see covered here, please let me know. Happy housekeeping, folks!

Netbooks with Intel's next-gen Pineview Atom N450 CPUs arrive in January, and the faster N470 chip may hit in March. There are also more netbooks with Ion graphics coming down the pipe, including the first Ion-based Eee PC. AMD is still kicking around the netbook space, too.

Little netbook keyboards will still make you feel like a basketball player driving a Mini Cooper, but the damn things are just so cute and cheap we can't stay away. (It's a love / hate relationship). And though HD video is most definitely a reality for netbooks, not all the new models will give you that smooth HD Hulu loving you crave.

Next-Gen Intel Chips

As our break down of Intel's line-up explains, "Pineview" Atom processors (like the single-core N450 or the eventual dual-core 510) integrate the CPU, GPU, and memory controller on the same chip. The benefits: Better graphics, and according to MSI, at least 20 percent better power consumption.

MSI previously gave us the scoop that Pine Trail-M netbooks, using Pineview processors, are slated for a big CES debut. Their upcoming 10-inch convertible touchscreen U150 with Windows 7 will use one. Though Intel still hasn't set an official date (publicly at least), DigiTimes is reporting today that the launch date will be January 10. That means Asus, Acer, Lenovo and MSI, which had planned to launch Atom N450-based netbooks in December, are all now expected to make their new models available from January 11 onwards. As mentioned, we expect to preview them at CES the week before.

DigiTimes goes on to say that the follow-up N470 chip (likely 1.83GHz) is expected to land in March. That syncs with apparent leaks of the Pine Trail-M roadmap that have floated around. And even though netbook makers already ship machines with more than 1GB of RAM, word is that Intel will actually encourage 2GB of memory for the N470. An upgrade over previous Microsoft/Intel limitations imposed to prevent cannibalization of ultra-portable notebooks.

So will N450-based netbooks handle HD video? According to Engadget, not without an extra chip like the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which should add about $30 to the overall price. Apparently, native HD video is still a little down Intel's roadmap path.

So What About Nvidia Ion Netbooks?

I'll be very interested to see just how close Pine Trail-M netbooks get to Ion performance, and for those with an HD video chip, how well they handle high-definition video, too. The integrated nature of Pine Trail-M could give it an advantage in price. But will the price/performance ratio be enough?

Nvidia also has a little ace in the hole called Flash video acceleration. They recently demonstrated an Ion-powered HP Mini 311 playing stutter-free YouTube HD video on an external monitor. Watch the demo below. The final version of Flash 10.1 will make this an everyday occurrence sometime mid-next year. And you can try the Beta now.

News also dropped today that Asus' 12.1-inch Eee PC 1201N, its first Eee PC with Ion graphics, is finally up for pre-order over at Amazon for $500. It'll be available in January, and join existing Ion-based netbooks like the HP Mini 311 (11.6-inch), Lenovo IdeaPad S12 (12.1-inch), and the Samsung N510 (11.6-inch). But here's the thing: they all use existing Diamondville-class Atom processors.

The good news is that Intel has actually pointed out that despite having integrated graphics, Pineview processors are compatible with Ion. We've not seen such a netbook with both yet, but CES is just around the corner. Nvidia has also reportedly said that its Ion 2 (yep, gen 2) chipset for Atom netbooks will arrive by the end of the year. I'm betting we'll see some Ion 2-based netbooks at CES in January, but my guess is we won't be able to buy one until March or April at the earliest.

A netbook with Ion graphics and an Intel Pineview processor like the N450 sounds pretty sweet, right? Hopefully that's what we have to look forward to.

Next Gen Flash Runs 720p Movie Smoothly on a Netbook, Demo -

Distractions, Distractions

Real quick: I'm not ignoring AMD. Having left it too late to join the netbook fray, their upcoming Congo platform will instead mostly complete with Intel's ultra-low voltage processors. We're talking about notebooks with 12 to 13-inch displays. I say mostly, because Asus is readying an AMD Congo-based version of that 12.1-inch Eee PC I mentioned above. The unit's ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics will handle 1080p video.

It's going to be one hell of an interesting Consumer Electronics Show. ARM and VIA are still trying to get inside netbook trousers: Asus has an Android-based "Smartbook" planned for early next year, and Nvidia is pushing its competing ARM-based Tegra chip. Asus also wants to be first with a Chrome OS netbook when Google completes it in the second half of 2010. Finally, there are a ton of interesting eReaders and touchscreen tablets on the horizon...and don't even start me on the Apple Tablet.

A number of these devices might replace what you thought would be your next netbook. Either way, whatever we see, you'll hear about them here in almost pornographic detail. Personally, the tech behind my next $500 netbook—still no small investment—will almost certainly be something we first see under the bright lights of Vegas. Hopefully they'll be better-looking by then, too.

Fudzilla's reporting that the Aspire 8942G-728G1280TWN is going to be a beast, shipping with a Core i7 processor at 1.6GHz, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and the all-important ATI Radeon HD5850 graphics card. The other specs are equally over the top—18.4" 1980x1080 LED display, two 640GB hard drives, 8-cell battery—but what we're most excited about are graphics like this:

Expect it on the market in early 2010 for a whole lot of cash. It also weighs over 10 pounds, so make sure to lift with your legs. [Fudzilla]

Acer has been developing a Chrome-based netbook since mid-2009, and its Chairman, JT Wang, has told DigiTimes, he wants it to be the first netbook out there when Chrome OS is released in the second half of 2010. [DigiTimes]

You see, in order to supply the full 900mA for each port you will need weigh yourself down with the optional AC adapter when out and about. Plus, the whole thing is so damned bulky in general that you are liable to break it sooner or later. At least StarTech is offering a lifetime warranty on it. Of course, with a product like this, StarTech probably won't be around long enough for you to get your $50 worth. [StarTech via EverythingUSB via Ubergizmo]

In brief, the Envy is indeed light system with plenty of power, but it never feels premium, nor does the battery life reach adequate levels.

Sure, it comes in a nice black box labeled "ENVY" with properly monolithic upscalism. And the computer itself is wrapped in a very, very soft black cloth.

But once removed, I can't distinguish this $1,800 laptop from any random PC on a table at Best Buy. HP's premium laptop, one that's been oooh'd and ahhh'd ad nauseam, could have been a $600 budget system.
The aluminum magnesium body, which works well enough in the 13-inch Envy, scales to become a big, synthetic-feeling disappointment. Yes, it's just an inch thick and 5.2lbs (about a pound lighter than peers), but the footprint is so large that, upon opening the packaging, I at first believed HP had sent me a 17-inch system (keep in mind, there's still no room for an internal optical drive).

It was a surprising thought, but at that moment, I realized something: HP is the new Dell. Disregarding their impressive TouchSmart desktops, HP has built the quintessential drab PC laptop and labeled it as "designer." Meanwhile, Dell, with their fashion-forward Adamo line, has left rivals like HP somewhere back in 1995.

Kudos, Dell.

I almost hate to continue describing the system, lest I beat a dead horse. The keyboard is adequate, but every impact reverberates through your finger, making the laptop feel more fragile than it probably is. The trackpad, despite multitouch promises, is dreadful to use. Two-finger scrolling is met with a perpetual half-second (or greater) delay, and clicking the buttonless pad (engineered much like a MacBook Pro pad) screams unfinished prototype.
There's simply nothing elegant about the mechanics, even though the 1920x1080 screen is indeed sharp, HDMI and eSATA connections are convenient and the Beats-branded speakers are very balanced and rich...for laptop speakers.

Performance

But my hate-fest for the Envy ends there. If you don't mind the aesthetics and feel—and at this price, you really should—the system won't disappoint. The 1.6GHz Core i7, coupled with 6GB of RAM, 500GB 7200RPM HDD, and ATI Mobility Radeon 4830 (with 1GB RAM) has gotten performance nods from around the web.

While the system can't best 20fps in the higher tiers of Crysis, it can reach 32fps if you scale the graphics down to 1024x768, according to Notebookcheck. Older and less insane titles perform even better.

PCMag's cross-laptop testing found that the Envy isn't the fastest laptop out there, but it keeps pace with other Core i7 systems to the point that such a distinction doesn't really matter. And it'll shame Core2Duo systems, like the aging MacBook Pro.

In real world use, the speed is a pleasure, and a welcome level of overkill for mediacentric web browsing in an era when Atoms are chugging to just get the job done.

Battery Life

But all this performance comes at a heavy, heavy price. You should only expect the Envy to get a measly 1 hour, 20 minutes of battery life*. Given this system's sizable footprint, it needs to last more than 2 hours under moderate use. Stick a bigger battery in there, HP. Something. Please.

(*nonstop web browsing, Wi-Fi on, screen at 3/4 brightness.)

Misguided Envy

Some of you will be fooled by the light body covered in laser-etched paisley—probably the same among you who can drink instant coffee, listen in 92kbps MP3s and think that SD broadcasts look identical to Blu-ray movies.
And that's fine. I can understand why someone might like the Envy, especially given the processing power and modest 5.2lb weight. It's just a shame that anyone would pay so much for it.

HP, Acer, Toshiba, etc, you think I like giving Apple all my money? There's a staggering amount of design talent in the world. Find it. Fund it. And give it a chance to wipe the smug grin off Cupertino. Offer us all something that we should really be envying.


Light

Fast

Respectable I/O

Feels cheap

Wretched battery life

Besides all of those "firsts" (which will be exclusive only temporarily, undoubtedly, since Intel and Nvidia gots to play with everybody else too) it's got a 17-inch, 1920x1080 LED-backlit display that pops 100 percent of the Adobe color gamut. Plus, it now has user-selectable color profiles, so it's easy to switch 'em around.

The 8.4-pound monster is for "creative professionals" in animation, CAD work, oil & gas stuff, and federal/defense, so you know it's ungodly expensive for that much gear goodness, before you even ask how much.

Processors
Intel® CoreTMi7 Extreme Edition Quad Core, CoreTMi7Quad Core Processors
Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate 32-Bit Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate 64-Bit Genuine Windows Vista® Business 32-Bit Genuine Windows Vista® Business 64-Bit Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32-bit Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Genuine Windows® XP Professional available via downgrade rights Genuine Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition available via downgrade rights Red Hat® Linux 5.3 64-Bit
Displays
17" WXGA+ UltraSharp LED Display (1440x900) Resolution 17" WUXGA UltraSharp LED Display (1920x1200) Resolution 17" WUXGA RGB LED Back-Lit Display (1920x1200) Resolution 17" WUXGA RGB LED Edge To Edge Back-Lit Display (1920x1200) Resolution (Covet only)
Memory
Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Available DIMM Slots: Four Memory slots offering up to 16GB4 Memory Bandwidth: 1066MHz, 1333MHz and 1600MHz
Primary Storage
Support for one, two, or 3 storages devices with optional RAID0, RAID1, or RAID5 Configuration 7200RPM Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive up to 500GB 5 7200RPM Encrypted FFS Hard Drive up to 160GB 5 Solid State Hard Drive up to 256GB 5
Optical Drives
DVD-ROM, DVD+/-RW slot load, Blu Ray
Graphics Cards
ATI® FirePro® M7740 Graphics with 1GB2 dedicated memory NVIDIA® Quadro FX 2800M Graphics with 1GB2 dedicated memory NVIDIA® Quadro FX 3800M Graphics with 1GB2 dedicated memory
Connectivity
WLAN
Wireless LAN, Bluetooth® 2.1 and Ultra-Wideband (UWB - selected countries only)
Next Generation Mobile Broadband6, GPS
Wireless: Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Mini-Card
Dell Wireless 1510 802.11 a/g/n 2x3 Mini-Card Intel Wireless 5300 802.11a/g/n 3x3 Mini-Card WWAN Dell Wireless 5620 HSPA - EVDO Rev A (selected countries only)
Security
Physical Security: Steel-reinforced Cable Lock Slots, Media Module and Hard Drive Locks. User & System Security: Smart Card Reader and optional Contactless Smart Card Reader Fingerprint Reader (optional) FIPS Fingerprint Reader (optional) TPM 1.2 (where available) Wave Embassy Trust Suite Network Security: 802.11 WiFi® Protected Access (WPA), 802.11i (WPA2), Virtual Private Networks (VPN) 802.1x with EAP modes and compatible with CCX 4.0
Multimedia
2 speakers, optional dual array microphones Optional 2MP camera, 3MP camera option coming soon
Expandability
Slots: 8-in-1 card reader; ExpressCard 54; PC Card Docking: Advanced E-Port, E-Port, Legacy Port Replicator, Ergo Flat Panel Stand, Basic Monitor Stand, E-View Notebook Stand Modular Options: E-Family modular media dock: DVD-ROM, DVD+/-RW, Second Hard Drive
Chassis
Aluminum LCD back and base Dell PrecisionTM industrial design Weight & Dimensions: Preliminary weight starting at: 8.42lbs/3.xxkg7 with WXGA+ panel, DVD-ROM, 9-cell battery. Width: 15.4"/393mm Depth: 11.0"/280.5mm Height: 1.35"/34.5mm(F), 1.5"/38.5mm(B) Ports: 1394 Powered 6-pin, USB 2.0 (x4), VGA, Display Port, RJ-45, Audio, eSATA

[Dell]

The Price

$80

The Verdict

It looks better than it tastes..err...sounds.

I can't deny, my MacBook Pro's tinny speakers have never sounded better than when complemented by the BassJump. Through USB (and some unobtrusive bundled software), the BassJump mixes with your existing laptop speakers to give you a more balanced audio experience.

The tenor range, generally underrepresented by my MBP, is audible with the BassJump. The Beatles, especially, were hugely improved through the richer vocals and guitar riffs provided by the mini sub. Walking to the next room and closing my eyes, I decided my MacBook now sounded like a low-level iPod dock.

Still, the audio isn't especially clear. And despite the BassJump's name, it doesn't really give you bass. It's more like a midrange speaker that's still incapable of bumping R&B.

So while the BassJump certainly looks adorable and legitimately turns MBP music from unpalatable to sort of listenable, its low end capabilities can't match a real dedicated subwoofer. And its overall audio effect, while passable, would be thwarted by most any 2.1 speaker system in its price range. [BassJump]

Charming aesthetic

Quality build

Improves midrange audio but lacks brilliance

Lacks bass

Needs to be either cheaper or better