convertible

This is not the future of Windows 8 convertibles

In case you missed it (which is likely), Fujitsu has entered the Windows 8-ready fray with a convertible "tablet PC."

You probably don't remember tablet PCs because they weren't big with consumers. Nor businesses for that matter.

But they've been around for at least a decade. For instance, there's the Compaq-branded Tablet PC TC1000 that Hewlett-Packard launched in 2002.

Or the more recent -- relatively speaking -- HP EliteBook Tablet PC series.

So now, in 2012, in the age of the svelte, 903g Microsoft Surface tablet, we have the 13-inch Fujitsu Lifebook T902 (PDF). … Read more

A tiny USB digital-to-analog converter from AudioQuest

The AudioQuest DragonFly is a USB-powered (it doesn't use batteries or an external power supply) digital-to-analog converter. I usually need some time to get a handle on the sound of a component, but within minutes of plugging in the tiny $249 DAC I knew exactly what made it so special. It sounds clear and clean, so there's less standing between the music and my ears.

The DragonFly is a bona fide audio component, designed by Gordon Rankin, a man known in audiophile circles as a great tube electronics engineer, but Rankin is also a computer audio guy. He's one of the few DAC designers with equal depth of knowledge in analog and digital audio technology.… Read more

Convert YouTube clips to MP3 without the frills

Though not the first to win an award for most self-explanatory title, YouTube to MP3 Converter allows you to do just that: "convert" YouTube clips to the MP3 format. This freeware title only hints at its full capabilities, which include converting YouTube movies into AVIs, MP4s, FLVs, and WMV formats. The program also allows you to download up to 1080p formats for the HD-inclined.

In a crowded world of free converters and clones, perhaps the most outstanding aspect of this title isn't its function, but rather its flexibility and presentation. YTtoMP3 Converter has a simple and easy … Read more

Windows 8 tweeners take on Apple

Tablet or tweener? Does the Microsoft camp's convergence argument win the day?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been clear about tablet-laptop convergence: not interested.

But Microsoft, Intel, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, and a long list of PC makers are. Very.

That would be due to Windows 8 and its touch-centric Metro interface, of course. This is driving PC makers to come up with novel hybrid (i.e., tweener) designs that function as both a tablet and laptop, as was amply demonstrated at Computex this week.

There will basically be two choices offered.

--Products like the Acer Aspire S7 that are … Read more

Computex: Roundup of hottest Windows 8 devices, day 2

Device makers continue to concoct novel designs to take advantage of Windows 8 Metro interface.

On Tuesday at Computex in Taipei, Samsung showed a Series 5 ultrabook running Windows 8 with a 13.3-inch touch display. … Read more

Apple's Cook right about PC-tablet fusion fantasy

Apple's Tim Cook expounded on prior comments he has made on trying to shoehorn a PC into a tablet at the D10 conference last night. The Microsoft-Intel camp should listen.

Let's begin with what Cook said.

In my view, the tablet and the PC are different. You can do things with a tablet if you aren't encumbered by the legacy of a PC -- if you view it as different. If you say this is another PC, all of a sudden you're pulling all of the leadweight of the PC market and you wind up with … Read more

Drop the top on these 7 types of convertibles

Summer is upon us, which means that it's officially open-air motoring season. However, not all cabriolets are created equal; there are actually many different types of convertibles to choose from. We've rounded up seven of the most obvious convertible classes and the best examples of each. … Read more

Convert, edit, and export images

True to its name, this popular and affordable app's main functionality is converting graphic files--importing from some 200 formats and exporting to about 80 at last count, with a tremendously time-saving batch processor thrown in for good measure. But GraphicConverter also proves invaluable as a high-speed image editor that lets you quickly browse, resize, sharpen, adjust color, and optimize for the Web, all at a price that makes commercial packages blush.

GraphicConverter's interface hasn't quite kept up with its ever-growing feature set (and many of its most useful features can be accessed outside of the app anyway, … Read more

Windows RT devices will see limited release initially

Only a handful of Windows RT devices will appear initially, as Microsoft wades slowly into new Windows waters, sources told CNET.

Chipmakers Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments will initially get two "slots" each for devices, according to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans.

"ARM is restricted to two designs each, meaning six total initial designs," one source said, referring to the chip design from U.K.-based ARM that those three suppliers use.

Windows RT -- aka, Windows on ARM -- is the first mainstream, desktop-class Windows operating system to run on ARM chips. This presents … Read more

Intel Windows 8 tablets to hit retail stores in November

The first wave of Intel-based Windows 8 tablets are expected to land in retail stores in November, a source familiar with device makers' plans told CNET.

"The schedule is tight," said the source. "Looking at what Windows is trying to achieve not only with a new OS, but a new OS that needs to run four to five architectures -- three ARM, Intel, and AMD," according to the source.

And don't expect just tablets. "More than 50 percent" of the "more than a dozen" designs will be hybrids, aka convertibles, the … Read more