Super Computer's

Super Computer's

A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation (at the time of its introduction). The term "Super Computing" was first used by New York World newspaper in 1929.Supercomputers introduced in the 1960s were designed primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation (CDC), and led the market into the 1970s until Cray left to form his own company, Cray Research. He then took over the supercomputer market with his new designs, holding the top spot in supercomputing for five years (1985–1990). Cray, himself, never used the word "supercomputer"; a little-remembered fact is that he only recognized the word "computer".
A supercomputer generates large amounts of heat and must be cooled. Cooling most supercomputers is a major HVAC problem.Information cannot move faster than the speed of light between two parts of a supercomputer. For this reason, a supercomputer that is many meters across must have latencies between its components measured at least in the tens of nanoseconds. Seymour Cray's supercomputer designs attempted to keep cable runs as short as possible for this reason: hence the cylindrical shape of his Cray range of computers. In modern supercomputers built of many conventional CPUs running in parallel, latencies of 1-5 microseconds to send a message between CPUs are typical.Supercomputers consume and produce massive amounts of data in a very short period of time. According to Ken Batcher, "A supercomputer is a device for turning compute-bound problems into I/O-bound problems." Much work on external storage bandwidth is needed to ensure that this information can be transferred quickly and stored/retrieved correctly.Technologies developed for supercomputers include:
Vector processi
Liquid cooling
Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA)
Striped disks (the first instance of what was later called RAID)
Parallel filesystems

Latest Informaton on Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop computers

Latest Informaton on Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop computers

Both the midtower and the slim chassis offer two hard drive bays (which you can populate with two 500GB drives for a 1TB of storage) and the option for a PCI Express graphics card (the half-height variety for the 530s and 531s units). Also available in all models but particularly useful in the slim models, which are likely candidates to be shoehorned into home theater racks, is an optional 802.11b/g (but sadly, not 802.11n) Wi-Fi card, which will save you from having to run an Ethernet cable through your living room. Another living-room friendly technology, Bluetooth, is an option, and a Blu-ray drive is offered on a higher-end model. One note about the optical drive: the Intel G33 motherboard features only serial ATA connections, meaning you're out of luck if you want to add in an old parallel ATA optical drive you may have lying around. Aside from the slim/non-slim choice, the Inspiron range is split up into two types, an Intel based platform, which has the model number 530, and an AMD one, which you'll no doubt be flabbergasted to know is called the 531 (the slim versions are 530s and 531s). Both come with the same shiny white case and configuration options, though our particular review sample had a number of components and peripherals that are not currently available on the UK Dell website and the case was even wrongly labelled as a 531. We are assured that these issues will soon be ironed out though. Dell's Inspiron 530 desktop is a very flexible system that can be configured as a low cost budget system or as a mainstream system. In terms of those looking for a moderately priced performance system, it has potentional for those willing to go through the process of customization and parts selection to get it configured just right. While the key difference between the two models is the pick between AMD and Intel microprocessors, there are a few other differences that are noteworthy as well. For instance, since Dell employs Intel's motherboard in its 530 series, the onboard graphics adapter is Intel's Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 as opposed to NVIDIA's Integrated GeForce 6150 in the 531. Then there's the inclusion of Intel's Pentium Dual Core E2140 microprocessor with 1.60GHz clock speed, 1MB of L2 cache and 800MHz system bus. 531, on the opposite end, packs an AMD Dual Core chip, albeit a faster one. Since this particular machine is also a bit cheaper, system memory is dropped from 1GB to 512MB, Microsoft's Windows Vista is downgraded from Home Premium to Home Basic and of course, the obvious difference in clock speeds, and therefore, performance difference between the two systems is present as wel "Dell's latest range of home user PCs are better looking than ever and for the basic models, they're still as cheap as chips. However, as soon as you start adding extras to your configuration the price quickly rises and alternatives from other manufacturers may be worth a look. Also, the down turn in the quality of Dell's monitors means I'd recommend looking elsewhere for your display.

How to Buy a New Computer

How to Buy a New Computer

Whether you need it for home, school or your business, a new computer can be a major purchase. There are a lot of factors to consider like price, reliability, warranty, memory, CD drives and pre-installed software packages. This article will help you to figure out what you want, and how to get it.

Steps
Decide what you need your new computer for. If you need one for work, a simple bare bones system with Microsoft Word (or OpenOffice.org) will suffice, but if you're an avid gamer then you'll want something more advanced. If you want one for gaming, skip to step 5.
If you need a work computer: consult companies like Dell or eBuyer, as they provide low-cost workstation deals for the "common user." On such sites, you can get a computer without a monitor for under $200, and a CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor costs under $50 (the fat ones that stick out at the back).
Work specs: for an average computer, get anything with over 1.5 gigahertz (Ghz) of processor speed. You should also get at least 512 Megabytes of RAM. Hard drives have dramatically increased in capacity and come with quite a bit: 40 gigabytes (GB) is more than enough for work (If you are installing multiple operating systems such as dual booting Windows and Linux you might want a larger hard drive such as 120 GB). Then you want a CD drive of any kind, and you also want a couple of Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports as many devices for the techno phobe are used through this.
Windows Vista takes a large toll on system resources, make sure you have plenty of memory to spare (1 Gigabyte of RAM is required for Home Premium) And try to get a dual or quad core processor, it will make your computer run faster. Linux and Windows XP are much less demanding on your processor and RAM, so if you want to save money it might be better to try to go for a XP or Linux computer to get the same level of speed of a more expensive Vista computer.
Get any kind of monitor you want. Get one that's at least 15" or you can't see; they range from 17-22" approximately for a CRT. A 17" can cost as little as £40 but for a 22" it costs £250.
Realize that you will need a good budget for a gaming machine. Visit Alienware (for more budget options) or VoodooPC (for more expensive machines). In high end gaming machines, you want a Core 2 Duo based processor, at least 1GB of high speed RAM (random access memory) and a high end graphics card.
LCD monitors are getting cheaper and larger.
If you are buying a computer to run an open source operating system such as Linux, it may be better to prefer distributors that allow to configure components (like Dell). This way you may clearly select devices that do have the drivers for your operating system (it is easy to check with web search). Many current distributions will have the latest kernel of Linux, which has a wide range of hardware support already built-into the operating system. Unusual, niche, or specialized hardware may need special configuration, drivers, or may not be currently supported.

Tips
Sometimes an extended warranty is nice, however most of the time its not needed, for a computer at your workplace you should ask your boss before you buy a warranty.
Most of the software you need can be found in Free/Open source variants online to download, so don't think you need to buy all the software you think you need unless you've checked it out online.

Warnings
Don't get pushed into buying useless stuff, such a card reader, if you have no cards, or a webcam if your not going to use it.
Most of the time computer salespeople work on commission so chances are you are going to be told to buy unnecessary software such as Microsoft Office while Open Office is free, and Anti-Virus software is many times not needed if you are not going to be online.
If you plan at least to try Linux, check the the availability of the Open source (or at least any) drivers. Realizing the driver problems too late is a common unpleasant mistake.
Posted by shila at 11:01 AM 0 comments

How to Buy a Laptop As a University Student
Today, many university students have their own laptops. They are a good tool for use in lectures and as many university students live away from home, they are easier to transport. It also means that you can study anywhere!

Steps
Consider why you need a laptop rather than a desktop. Desktops are often cheaper. If you can opt for a desktop, this may be a better option. Many students leave their laptops on their desk for most of the time.
Do your research and find out what sort of specifications you need. Most students will probably want something that runs fast and has a decent amount of storage space. Graphics and sound probably won't be a top priority unless you're planning on playing games on the computer.
Decide what software you will need before you buy the laptop. Many universities offer software at reduced prices to their students. This will often be cheaper than purchasing the same software with a new computer.
Shop around for the most reasonable price.
Arrange insurance. University students are often a popular target for thieves. You may be able to find insurance with a provider on campus.
Once you have your laptop, be sure to take good care of it. Replacing or fixing a laptop is an expensive and time consuming task!

Tips
Get open source software which are available on the internet for free, including operating systems like linux.
If you have a friend with a laptop, ask them questions about where they got it from and what made them opt for that particular model.
Remember you can purchase a laptop both online and offline.
If you only need a laptop for a short period of time, consider renting. Many universities offer this service and, failing that, there is usually a store nearby that does.
Many universities have special programs with computer manufacturers that can save money. Sometimes they're good deals, sometimes not (don't be afraid to shop around).
Many universities have a technology department in their on-campus bookstore that offers sales as well as service. Oftentimes, these are non-profit organizations that have a relationship with the university. At a large enough school, this typically translates into paying less than retail for the computer and getting on-site service at a steep discount.
If your university bookstore offers on-site service for computers, check whether there are limitations on the brands they service. Check whether they service computers under the manufacturers' warranties.
Make sure you know exactly what kind of laptop you need or want before you set foot in a computer or laptop store. This is to avoid being talked into buying a laptop you may later regret purchasing.

Warnings
If you are purchasing a laptop to use it during lectures, be warned. Some lecturers do not allow laptops to be used in lectures. Check your lecturers' policy on laptops or you could waste your money on something you can't even use!
As a laptop is portable, it may not be covered by some home insurances. Double check the fine detail to make sure you are fully covered.
Check to see if a laptop is refurbished before buying.
Posted by shila at 11:00 AM 0 comments

How to Buy a Computer to Suit Your Needs
Personal computers have become more and more prevalent over the years. It's safe to say that buying a computer is always easier then building your own. Both methods have their own advantages. This article offers some advice for those interested in purchasing their own computers.
Steps
Know your computing needs. For example, are you a casual Internet user or a gamer? Think about what you'd like to accomplish on your new computer. Have you been dreaming of starting a new website with Flash? Do you play games online, or do you play the latest retail games when they are released?
Choose a computer line that fits your needs now and in the future; don't buy just any computer! If it's an expensive computer, optimized for something such as video editing, and you're not going to use it for editing videos, then don't buy it!
"Value" line computers. These PCs are good for checking emails, surfing the web, and word processing, but they are not geared towards much else. Dell, HP (Compaq), Gateway, and other large-volume retail computers offer excellent values for a complete value series package.
"Enthusiast" line computers. Computers of this category are suitable for most power-user tasks, multimedia, and casual gaming. Again, Dell and other major brands will be a good choice.
"Gaming" line computers. These are best for media creation, workstation publishing, and intensive gaming. Typical tasks that require a fast computer include recording music and making Flash movies. Larger computer builders may not be the best choice, but a few of them such as Dell's XPS line, Dell's Alienware brand name, and Northwest Computers, might be good choices. Most users with needs in this category typically build their own PCs, purchasing individual parts from a computer component retailer such as Newegg.com.
Spend time comparing the processor speed, memory, hard disk space, video card, and other components and features of each model that interests you. This will help you find the best deal.
Look for alternatives. It's easy to miss out on opportunities if you're not looking for them. Do you have friends who are computer savvy? What about your neighbors? Do they build their own PCs? If you're looking for a powerful computer, purchasing all of the components and assembling it yourself is often less expensive than purchasing a package deal. If a friend is willing to help you build your own, it might be a worthwhile experience. Avoid this if all you need is a value line PC, because major brands will often get rid of their older components by bundling them in value line PCs.
Check compatibility. If purchasing components to build your own, double check each component's compatibility. For example, if you want to purchase a motherboard with an LGA775 socket, make sure you buy an LGA775 socket CPU. If in doubt, read user comments on products and research the different standards online. The most important compatibility considerations:
Motherboard: CPU socket type, graphics card slot type (PCI-E or AGP), and memory type and speed
CPU: Intel or AMD, and the socket type (ie: AM2, LGA775, 478, etc.)
Memory: Type (DDR or DDR2) and speed (ie: PC3200/DDR400 or PC2-6400/DDR2800)
Power supply (often included with a case): how many watts do you need for your components?
Purchase your new computer. Major brands such as Dell provide a web-based configuration tool for customizing a PC before you purchase it. This may be a more relaxing experience than being rushed by a sales representative over the phone. If there is something you don't understand when configuring your PC, call that company's sales line for answers

History of personal computers

History of personal computers

IBM 5150 as of 1981
The capabilities of the PC have changed greatly since the introduction of electronic computers. By the early 1970s, people in academic or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations, although these systems would still have been too expensive to be owned by a single person. The introduction of the microprocessor, a single chip with all the circuitry that formerly occupied large cabinets, led to the proliferation of personal computers after about 1975. Early personal computers - generally called microcomputers - were sold often in kit form and in limited volumes, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians. By the late 1970s, mass-market pre-assembled computers allowed a wider range of people to use computers, focusing more on software applications and less on development of the processor hardware.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, home computers were developed for household use, offering personal productivity, programming and games. Somewhat larger and more expensive systems (although still low-cost compared with minicomputers and mainframes) were aimed for office and small business use. Workstations are characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large local disk storage, networking capability, and running under a multitasking operating system. Workstations are still used for tasks such as computer-aided design, drafting and modelling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modelling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects.[1]
Eventually the market segments lost any technical distinction; business computers acquired color graphics capability and sound, and home computers and game systems users used the same processors and operating systems as office workers. Mass-market computers had graphics capabilities and memory comparable to dedicated workstations of a few years before. Even local area networking, originally a way to allow business computers to share expensive mass storage and peripherals, became a standard feature of the personal computers used at home.

Dual Core Notebook

Dual Core Notebooks

If you held off buying a new notebook because you were waiting for prices of dual-core chips to drop, and then waited again until Vista arrived, your patience has paid off. We set out to find leading-edge laptops on a $1,000 budget, and came up with these six choices. Each has a dual-core processor and is Vista-ready. Depending on when you buy one, you'll either get a coupon for a free copy of the new operating system (for systems shipped before January 30th, if Microsoft indeed ships the new OS on that day as expected), or you'll get Vista preloaded (for systems built after January 30th).We recommend dual-core processors even for cash-strapped buyers. Time and again, our tests showed dual core's performance advantage, which translates into real-world productivity gains. And a dual-core processor helps future-proof your investment, as many mainstream apps and games are in development that will take advantage of two processing cores.A dual-core processor, coupled with 1GB of memory (which all of these systems have), will provide more than enough horsepower to run Windows Vista Home Premium, which contains the slick new Aero interface, parental controls, better security than in Windows XP, and a ton of usability improvements when it comes to search and managing digital media.The following six options differ in size and features, but each delivers the dual-core Vista experience at a good price. Pick the one that best matches your mobile lifestyle.

Other Laptop's

Toshiba U205-S5057

If the Toshiba U205-S5057 didn't pack much of a punch in your eyes then you should take a look at the Toshiba Satellite U205-S5067 which is an upgraded version of the U205-S5057.
The Toshiba Satellite U205-S5067 notebook draws it juice from the dual-execution core T7200 Core 2 Duo processor with 2.0 GHz speed, 667 MHz system bus, and massive 4 MB L2 cache. This one comes equipped with 2GB of RAM, so multi-tasking is a breeze. Other features include; 160 GB hard drive, 2 GB of installed RAM (4 GB maximum), tri-mode 802.11a/b/g wireless connectivity, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 196 MB of shared video RAM, and 5-in-1 memory card reader.
The Satellite U205-S5067 weighs over 4 pounds and has a 12.1-inch widescreen display with TruBrite technology for enhanced performance and a resolution of 1280 x 800. One also comes across the Toshiba LifeSmart Technology which includes shock-absorbing technologies to protect the hard drive, a spill-resistant keyboard, fingerprint security, and a magnesium alloy case.
The notebook comes bundled with the Windows Vista Home Premium OS and includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center. Other software applications include; Disc Creator, Recovery Disc Creator, and Speech System. Third-party software titles include Microsoft Works 8.5, Microsoft Office OneNote 2007, InterVideo WinDVD 8 SD and Creator 2 Platinum, Google Desktop and Toolbar, McAfee Internet Security Suite (with 30-day trial), and Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition (60-day trial).
The Satellite U205-S5067 double-layer DVD drive plays formats like DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs, CD-RW discs, and dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs and one also comes across USB 2.0 ports, FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) ,VGA monitor port, PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type II, PCMCIA R2.01, PC Card16, CardBus, headphone jack and a microphone jack. It shall retail for $1,599 in around February

Sony VAIO TX Ultraportable Review

Sony VAIO TX Ultraportable Review

Introduction:
Sony is a worldwide leader in electronics, ranging from TVs, game consoles, to computers and laptops. They offer an array of notebooks from desktop replacements to ultra-portable laptops. I recently had the opportunity to review the latest Sony VAIO TX series, the VGN-TX770, a sexy looking machine with some impressive features. The VAIO TX series is Sony's lightweight, ultra-portable offering in an increasingly popular style of notebooks.



Portable One, a reseller of Sony VAIO laptops, was kind enough to provide us with this review unit. A major thanks goes to them for providing this opportunity, they're a top notch group of people that we can highly recommend buying laptops from.


The review model of the TX770 has the following specs:

• Intel Pentium M Ultra Low Voltage 773 (1.30 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 400 MHz FSB)
• Intel 915 GMS Chipset with Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 900 with up to 128 MB Shared
• Video Memory
• 1 GB (PC2-3200) Dual Channel DDR 2 533 MHz (1.5 GB Maximum)
• 80 GB 4200 RPM HDD Ultra ATA
• Built in DVD Burner
• 11.1" WXGA Display (1366x768 resolution) with XBrite Technology
• Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 B/G Wireless LAN
• Integrated Wireless Access Network (WAN) accessing Cingular Wireless National
• EDGE Network
• Integrated Bluetooth
• 1 x PC Card Slot
• Memory Stick/SD Memory Card Slot
• 2 USB Ports/VGA Out/Port Replicator/Microphone&Headphone
• Jack/Modem/Ethernet/FireWire
• Instant ON DVD/Music Player
  
  

Build Design of the TX770:
The Sony TX is a very sexy notebook. This particular laptop uses a classy black finish for the LCD and outer casing, and a nice gray/silver color for the keyboard area (Sony also offers other colors such as Sienna and Platinum). Sony uses carbon fiber and carbon composite material for the computer's casing for increased durability but allowing for light weight. The LCD screen is razor thin (approximately the width of 4 stacked credit cards). While it seems fragile to me, Sony claims this screen is 230% less likely to crack. Personally, I wouldn't go out of my way to test this claim!
The casing of the notebook is well designed and feels durable. I did not notice any flexing in the casing. The LCD screen is easy to open and close. The thin screen does have its drawbacks. I was able to bend the screen left and right rather easily. Also, by pushing on the back of the screen even with a light amount of force, I was able to produce significant rippling of the LCD screen.
The overall measurements of this machine are 10.7" (width) x 0.83"- 1.12" (height) x 7.7" (depth) and it weighs in at a meager 2.76 lbs with the standard battery. Very impressive measurements for an ultra portable with a built in optical drive! The back of the machine has the Ethernet and FireWire ports. On the left side you will find the modem and USB ports. On the right, is the optical drive and VGA port. The front of the laptop has the microphone/headphone jacks as well as volume control and Wi-Fi power switches. The power switch and multimedia buttons are found at the top of the keyboard, underneath the LCD screen.

Overall, this laptop is one of the coolest looking notebooks I've used.




Screen:

The Sony TX series uses a 11.1" widescreen LCD with XBrite technology (glossy type). Personally, screens under 12.1" are too small for me. However, I was impressed with the quality of this particular LCD panel. The screen was fairly bright on maximum settings. I saw no light leakage with this model. Colors were vibrant with good contrast levels. And I already mentioned that the screen is incredibly thin.




Speakers: The speakers actually seemed to perform a little bit better than some other ultra portables I've used. While I didn't get much bass from them, I thought they sounded clear and the volume was decent.

Processor and Performance:
The Sony TX 770 series uses the Pentium M 773 Ultra Low Voltage processor running at 1.3 GHz. For the typical business user, which this machine was designed for, it should have no problems with day to day office tasks and presentations.
Unfortunately, this laptop does come with a slower 4200 RPM hard drive and is not upgradeable. This is rather typical of an ultraportable though and doesn't really serve as a knock.
The Sony TX uses Intel GMA integrated graphics 900 which uses up to 128 MB of the system memory. While good enough to play the occasional non-intensive game, don't expect to use this machine as a gaming laptop. But for watching movies and other basic multimedia tasks, the integrated chipset is certainly good enough.
Below are some benchmarks I ran on this notebook to get an idea of the speed.

Super Pi (time to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy):
Notebook
Time
Sony VAIO TX770 (Pentium M 773 ULV 1.3 GHz)
2m 21s
Alienware M770 (AMD Dual Core FX-60)
1m 23s
Sony VAIO FS680 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)
1m 53s
Dell Latitude X1 (1.1 GHz ULV Pentium M)
2m 40s
IBM ThinkPad Z60m (2.0 GHz Pentium M)
1m 36s
Fujitsu LifeBook N3510 (1.73 GHz Pentium M)
1m 48s
Dell Inspiron 6000D (1.6 GHz Pentium M)
1m 52s
Dell Inspiron 600M (1.6 GHz Pentium M)
2m 10s
HP Pavilion dv4000 (1.86 GHz Pentium M)
1m 39s
Asus V6Va (Pentium M 1.86 GHz)
1m 46s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo)
1m 18s




The above Super Pi calculation is of course not on par with a Core Duo processor placed in larger notebooks, it stacks up well relative to other ultraportable notebooks though.
Below is the PCMark05 result for this notebook, it's slightly better than the similar sized Panasonic T4

ultraportable:

Notebook
PCMark05 Score
Sony VAIO TX770 (Pentium M 773 ULV 1.3 GHz)
1,441 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo)
3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60)
5,597 PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)
3,637 PCMarks
Panasonic ToughBook T4 (Intel 1.20GHz LV)
1,390 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400)
3,646 PCMarks
Toshiba Satellite M70 (Pentium M 1.86GHz)
1,877 PCMarks




During my review period, the Sony TX seemed plenty fast enough for using programs such as Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and movie watching.
Of note, the Sony TX does come with the ability to instantly watch movies and music without starting up Windows. I was really impressed that Sony included this feature with their ultra portable series. Needless to say, movies looked gorgeous on the widescreen XBrite screen.


Heat:
The Sony TX does produce some heat, particularly underneath on the left side. The heat never became uncomfortable, however. Sony opted not to use a fanless design. After about 1-2 minutes of use, the fan turns on and unfortunately, stays on. While not the loudest fan in the world, the fact that it never seemed to turn off (even on lower speeds) was a bit annoying. I would have liked to seen a quieter laptop for an ultra portable machine geared for the mobile professional.

Keyboard & Touchpad:

The Sony TX uses an 82-key keyboard. With most ultra portables, keyboards tend to be on the smaller size in order keep the size of the laptop down. Typing on the small keys took some getting used to, but overall I felt the keyboard was comfortable to use. A tiny bit of flexing was noticeable on the right side, but the overall keyboard was solid. Unfortunately, you have to press the FN key to use the page down and page up keys.
The touchpad is a standard touchpad. I thought it had good response and felt comfortable to use. No complaints here.

Wireless:

The Sony TX has a wide array of wireless capabilities and is definitely one of its stronger points. It contains the older Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 B/G. I had good range and connections throughout my home. The laptop also has integrated Bluetooth Technology, which is a nice feature to have, particularly for those that have Bluetooth ready cell phones and PDAs. Finally, the Sony TX comes with built in Wireless WAN that connects to Cingular's National EDGE network. You of course need to sign up for a Cingular Wireless Data Connect Plan. Supposedly this network is available in over 13,000 U.S. cities and towns and 40,000 miles of highway. So, if you aren't near a WiFi hotspot and are willing to shell out the $60+/month Cingular Plan, you can have internet access virtually anywhere. I have never used this plan before so I cannot comment on the reliability and performance.

Battery Life:
Simply put, the battery life of the Sony TX is absolutely amazing. This laptop uses a 7800 mAH battery that only slightly protrudes from the back of the machine. Sony claims that a user can have anywhere from 4 to 7.5 hours of battery life with the standard battery. With Wi-Fi on and medium brightness, I easily had 4.5 to 5 hours. With Wi-Fi off I had well over 5 hours of battery life! If I kept the screen brightness at a minimum, I probably would have squeezed out even more battery life. I was really impressed with the battery life of this laptop. A business user would have no problems making cross country flights with this notebook. Sony also offers a heavier, higher capacity battery that has over 1.5 times longer life than the standard battery.

Software:
The Sony TX comes with Windows XP Professional. It also comes with various standard imaging and multimedia programs as well as trial anti-virus programs and a trial version of Microsoft Office 2003. A recovery program is included to reinstall the OS, DVD player, drivers, etc. Unfortunately, out of the box, the laptop has quite a bit of bloat ware installed.


Customer Support:
The Sony TX comes with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. This is pretty standard, although for such an expensive machine it would be nice to have 3-years included like the Panasonic Toughbook series has. You can pay to upgrade the warranty to as long as 4-years though. I have never owned a Sony computer before this, but based on feedback on this sites forums the reputation for support there isn't great. We can however totally back up and recommend Portable One as a great place to buy Sony laptops and get initial support for the product if needed. Portable One offers an excellent buying experience with support to the customer for a newly received laptop if there are any problems out of the box.


Cons:
Expensive
Slow hard drive which you can't upgrade
Fan seems to never turn off
Customer support supposedly is hit or miss


Conclusions:
I really enjoyed using the Sony TX 770. We are starting to see more and more options in the ultra portable category, and this model is right up there. The wireless capabilities make this a perfect travel companion for those that are constantly on the move and need to have frequent internet access. Sony adds a bit of fun by allowing for instant on music and DVD use. Unfortunately, the laptop is expensive. I hope future models will incorporate a fanless design because the fan noise is constant and can be annoying. A faster hard drive would be nice as well. Overall, the Sony TX770 is a solid business-class ultra portable notebook.