Product Central
Dispatches from the Reviews Editor's desk
Tuesday 30 October 2007, 9:54 AM
ThinkPad X60 rejuvenated!
My poor old 512MB ThinkPad X60, which had a happy early life running Windows XP but then suffered a crippling attack of Windows Vista, has now been restored — almost — to productive use thanks to a timely install of Ubuntu 7.10 (a.k.a. Gutsy Gibbon).
Vista really was too much for the X60: it took an age to boot, an age to launch applications — an age to do anything. And the integrated graphics couldn't handle Aero, so you couldn't even admire the pretty GUI while twiddling your thumbs (or gnashing your teeth). For the last few months, this otherwise fine piece of kit has been languishing in a corner, unused and almost forgotten.
ThinkPad X60 redux, thanks to the Gutsy Gibbon
Then along came Ubuntu 7.10 and the resultant 'Gibbonfest' at ZDNet Towers, so I decided to dig out the X60 and kill Vista once and for all. No dual-boot option here, just the full 'use entire disk' setting during the Ubuntu 7.10 install.
The main problem so far is the (Intel Pro/Wireless 3945) Wi-Fi, which is half-working: my router (a FRITZ!Box) and the X60 can see each other, but as far as loading web pages is concerned it's currently a non-starter. Similar problems are reported in the Ubuntu forums, and I'm sure there's a solution once I decipher the forum-speak.
More likely, I shall slip Gibbon-convert Rupert Goodwins a pint of amber nectar and secure his Wi-Fi-fixing services.
Otherwise, the X60 is now working a treat. If anything else crops up, I'll let you know.
Tuesday 2 October 2007, 8:42 AM
HTC Touches base
Back in June I went to the launch of HTC's Touch, a Windows Mobile 6 smartphone that some touted as an "iPhone killer", thanks to its (somewhat) iPhone-like TouchFLO interface.
HTC Touch: no keyboard and GPRS/EDGE only
Your correspondent wasn't fooled, of course, describing the Touch as "a moderately-featured Windows Mobile 6 device with a bit of touch-screen eye candy bolted on top"; I also bemoaned the lack of a keyboard and 3G/HSDPA connectivity — a view endorsed by the full review that followed.
Although predicting the appearance of 3G/HSDPA and a slide-out keyboard in the Touch range didn't require Nostradamus levels of prescience, it's gratifying to see that this has now happened, in the shape of the Touch Dual (see also our photo story).
HTC Touch Dual: mobile phone-style keypad and 3G/HSDPA connectivity
I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the new, improved Touch Dual. Hope it lasts longer than my original Touch...
