Lenovo Computers @ Stanford

Lenovo ThinkVantage Toolbox goes Live

2009-11-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, it's been a while, but I wanted to share this important update with ThinkPad users: There is a new ThinkVantage toolbox available. Here is the message from Lenovo Connections:

"Begining today, customers in the US who have Lenovo Message Center Plus installed and active on their systems will receive notification that the new Lenovo ThinkVantage Toolbox is available for installation. In coming weeks, these notifications will roll out in other languages and other countries.

We listened to a lot of feedback from customers and have made some updates to ensure that message prompts won’t occur if a user is in presentation mode, or if a number of other “politeness check” conditions are not met. An additional change ensures that no matter how many user IDs are on the system, this message does not show again if a user closes it out.

Here is an example of what customers with MCP installed and active will see on their systems when the Lenovo ThinkVantage Toolbox is offered…

Users electing to install the new Lenovo ThinkVantage Toolbox will click the install now button in the lower right corner of the MCP notification. The install should go smoothly, with a few acceptance boxes and the usual progress indicators typical of most application installations.

The install completes, and the new ThinkVantage Toolbox introduces itself…

For those customers who are not running Message Center Plus, Lenovo ThinkVantage Toolbox can be downloaded directly from our support site. Here are the links for the 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

I’ll delve into what’s new and improved over the prior Lenovo System Toolbox that debuted last November in an upcoming post…"

KLUTZ Week @ Stanford Bookstore!

2009-08-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Help us celebrate Klutz Week at the Stanford Bookstore from August 23-30, 2009. Enjoy a 10% discount on ALL Klutz books that week (in-store only).

On Sunday, August 30, 2009 from 1-3 p.m., join us for an arts filled afternoon with your kids that includes hand art, painting rocks, stenciling, drawing, decorating, and tons of fun!

Live the Klutz Credo with us at the Stanford Bookstore: Create wonderful things, be good, have fun!

From,

Your friends at the Stanford Bookstore

Windows 7 Upgrade Chart

2009-08-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has released a chart detailing how one may upgrade from their existing operating system to Windows 7. There are two types of upgrade: an In-Place Upgrade, and a Custom Install. The In-Place upgrade basically lets you keep all your programs, files, and settings from your current OS when you make the transition. The Custom Install is a fresh installation, completely wiping clean your current OS and replacing it with the new one. You will have to back up your desired files on a separate drive and restore them afterward. You also have the choice of installing it on a particular drive or partition, allowing you to "dual boot", or choose which of multiple operating systems to start up when you first turn the computer on. I assume, although I need to double check, that you may also do a custom install on the versions specified as "In-Place", but not the other way around, since it takes more provider-side work to get the "In-place" in place, as it were. More details can be found here http://windows.microsoft.com/upgrade

Reminder: Windows 7 RC downloads end Aug. 20

2009-07-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hey All,
Sorry the blog has been quiet. I've been working full time at a radar systems company in Southern California, and it's been a tough schedule for the past month. It's a blast though, I'm learning a ton about the world of engineering and everything that goes into bringing a product up from the initial contract through design, reviews, testing, more reviews, system integration, and final client delivery. It's a lot more than I expected; there is so much to keep track of. I'm interning in the systems engineering department, which basically looks over all the departments: mechanical, electrical, software to make sure all the parts fit together. At one point it's a very "big picture" task, because we are keeping all the individual engineers organized, but at the same time, it is extremely detailed, especially with respect to one project I've been working on. The Interface Control Document basically details the path of every single signal going between each module in the whole product. This includes part numbers, connectors, ports, pins, wires, and any intermediate connections. I'm working with a software guy who is developing a php site that interacts with my SQL database to create an interactive, searchable, modifiable portal where engineers can search up parts or signals and see a visual diagram of the paths, for use in diagnosing problems or repairs. The client too, will get a document listing the signals coming from every major interface.
So I've been poring over block diagrams, wiring schematics, and spec requirements to parse out relevant details. Since each part is still in the works, I also have to track down individual engineers to clarify their documents or to fix errors. I now realize how important communication is when working in a group of more than say, two people, producing multimillion dollar products that are responsible for human safety.

But coming back to Lenovo, I wanted to remind everyone that Windows newest operating system, Windows 7, is offering a free download of the Release Candidate (like the next version after a Beta test) until August 20, 2009. If you have an extra computer around, or know how to create a second partition on your harddrive, you can easily install the newest Windows line. It is incredibly snappy, visually stunning, and incredibly adaptable to any peripherals, networks, and formats. Most computer manufacturers are releasing W7 specific drivers for their computers, and will probably automatically prompt you to install them.

Leave a comment if you would like a detailed post on how to create a new partition for Windows 7, giving you the choice of which operating system to boot into when you first turn the computer on.

Here is the page to download Windows 7 RC
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

ThinkPad: Rugged Right Out of the Box

2009-06-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here is an enlightening video from Tom Ribble, director of ThinkPad marketing, on the ThinkPad notebooks undergoing MilSpec military standards tests for ruggedness. As proven by the tests, durability and reliability are built into the foundation of the notebook, not added on like many other competitor's "tough" notebooks.

Just In: David Hill Explains T400s

2009-06-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

David Hill, ThinkPad Designer, explains a few of the distinguishing features of the upcoming T400s.

More details about the keyboard: Tighter key tolerances to prevent it from becoming a crumb collector (Yay, more food while working!), dedicated mute buttons for both speakers and microphone (good for VOIP), and a subtle distinguishable texture on flush TrackPad. He also says we use our Delete key an average 700 times per week, and that's why they made it bigger. I might have to start counting to see how accurate that is.

PSREF Sheets - A Great Resource

2009-06-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, I just wanted to share a great resource for any technical Lenovo user. This is the Personal Systems Reference (PSREF) sheets. The PSREFs, "commonly called the “Dodson Sheets”, reveal comprehensive information on the features and technical specifications of Lenovo products." They have every system configuration in great detail, including all system parts, part numbers, accessories, and explanations.

Check them out here http://www.lenovo.com/psref/
Hope they are of some help!

ThinkPad T400S to be released soon!

2009-06-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Lenovo plans to release a new version of the ThinkPad T400 soon. Named the T400s, this notebook will, like the original, have a 14.1″ WXGA+ (1400x900) LED backlit display, with webcam. Big changes are the thin 0.83" thickness and low 3.9 lbs weight. Processor options will be a 2.4GHz or 2.53GHz Intel SP9400/SP9600. For now, only Intel GMA 4500MHD Integrated Graphics will be included (no discrete graphics). 2GB of RAM will be standard, as well as a 120 GB 5400 RPM hard drive or Solid State Drive. Other components include, Gigabit Ethernet, Intel 5300 AGN, WLAN, WWAN/3G, a 5-in-1 media card reader, Fingerprint reader, and Bluetooth. It will come with Windows Vista Business 32-bit OS.

I am super excited to see this notebook in person, since I love my 14" T61, but can imagine how much better the same size will be with a thinner and more lightweight form. This will be an extraordinarily versatile computing machine, powerful yet still quite portable.

Oh, and I can't forget one of the most important changes: THE KEYBOARD!
In the Lenovo Yamamoto Thinking blog, there is a teaser post on the new design of the ThinkPad keyboard and trackpoint buttons. They explain a small (0.1mm) but definite change in the buttons above the trackpad (those meant for use during trackpoint use), and hint toward a more appropriate keyboard layout for the small nature of notebooks. I believe some or all of these changes are visible in the T400S.

Look at this close up of the T400S. Notice a larger ESC and Delete keys, as well as a leftward shift of the PrtSc, ScrLk, Pause, and Insert keys. Also check out the curved raises on the TrackPoint buttons. It is difficult, without trying it firsthand, to give an impression of what these changes will bring to the feel and performance of the keyboard/buttons, but I think the Lenovo Design team has made important decisions in striving for a better user experience.
More pictures of the T400S are here, and a great post about Tornado Chasers using the T400s, and even running it over with a huge (26,000lb) Doppler On Wheels (DOW) truck. Check it out!

I'll keep you posted on the release

Why Vista?

2009-06-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

ThinkPad LCD Stress Test

2009-06-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

I thought this video was relevant, considering the fact that I have replaced 3 cracked LCDs in the last two months in laptops that were not made by Lenovo. Maybe those manufacturers should do a little more testing like what is in this video from Lenovo.

Quoting the article from Yamamoto Thinking blog,

"Engineers will test every material available for laptop covers, re-design and question the smallest mechanical structure — until they have tried every thinkable approach and determined the best solution. For example, the team struggled with TrackPoint (that friendly feature that allows us to use ThinkPad on our laps) because it was positioned too closely to the LCD when the laptop was closed. These problems are countered with every technique in Mechanical Design technology, and over the years, these efforts have accumulated into encyclopedic knowledge on designing safely guarded LCDs — contributing to the ThinkPad’s competitive strength in the market."

From http://lenovoblogs.com/yamato/?p=355&language=en

Nightly Comforts

2009-04-10T02:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in bed, lights off, contacts out of my eyes, and I want to read an article on the web. Normally, this would be an improbable situation. The problem is, there's just not enough light to see the keyboard, and the letters on screen are too small without my contacts or glasses (which broke last week).

How appreciative I am then, that Lenovo ThinkPads have a built-in LED light at the top of the screen that casts a bright light on the entirety of the keyboard. Gone are the days of holding a flashlight between my teeth as I struggle to type, read, and keep my teeth clamped down. With a simple press of Fn+PgUp, the keyboard area is flooded with a small but sufficiently bright light.

The second little extra that goes so far in my comfort and satisfaction is the zoom option. By pressing Fn+Space, the resolution is reduced from 1440x900 to 960x600, thereby increasing the size covered by each pixel. Text gets bigger. Pictures get bigger. Everything, in fact, gets bigger and easier to see with my tired, unfocused eyes.

What are some of your favorite "little things" that Lenovo does to make their products just a little bit more enjoyable to use, more functional, more comfortable? Is there anything you would want changed or added? Let me what you are Thinking.

Experimenting with Microsoft Photosynth

2009-03-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

I got news of Microsoft Photosynth by way of Twitter a couple days ago, and took a few pictures of my S10e to check it out. Here is the result. It reports my image as being only 50% Synthy, which I assume means only half as good as it could be. So there ya go.
Check out http://photosynth.net/default.aspx to make your own Photosynth!

More news on the Pocket Yoga

2009-03-16T07:43:00.001-07:00

So, according to recent Twitter by lenovosocial, which directed me to the Lenovo Design Blog, this entry was found. Johnson Li, Director of Lenovo’s Beijing Inovation Center, tells us that the Pocket Yoga was developed two years ago, "well before the current netbook craze and the introduction of a similar form factor by one of our competitors." This seems odd, because he describes the first photos that spread recently to have been snuck out of the Beijing design studio. Maybe the technology behind the mini notebook has finally shrunk enough to make this a feasible product. Read on

Lenovo Pocket Yoga? What is this beautiful device?

2009-03-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

Blurry images first appeared courtesy of an insider at Lenovo's Beijing office. Now, a few more details and images are coming from Lenovo on the Pocket Yoga, which appears to be a ultra portable computing device with a very stylish leather cover. Similar in size and shape to Sony's Vaio P, this device is about the width and depth of a small netbook keyboard. However, the body extends no further than the keyboard, and the display is equally small yet wide. From the pictures on Lenovo's flickr stream, the touchscreen display can be folded around and used in a vertical orientation with a digitizer pen. There appears to be a microphone and headphone jack, webcam, two usb ports, and a small pointing device perhaps similar to the TrackPoint, in the upper left corner of the keyboard. The pièce de résistance is the leather belt holds the computer closed. When separated, it folds over to become a small mouse!

This appears to be targeted for classy businessmen and women who need to maintain an image of style and sophistication while still being able to update their Twitter or check sports scores. Will it instead find its way into the hands of high schoolers as the new Sidekick? Possibly in Beverly Hills. Or even end up as the life changing device in a developing third-world country? Most likely not. But I'm not so sure anymore, with the way netbooks have spread, against all predictions and expectations. Either way, I'm excited for more specs to arrive from Lenovo on this classy little device.

Regarding the pictures, I doubt its reasonable to carry it around in a back pocket, with its vulnerability to being sat upon, but wow, it really exemplifies the size. I really like the idea of a built-in mouse. I've thought for a while that a cell phone that could function as a computer mouse would be a fantastic combination of devices. But if the clasp of this computer, which could easily become a usable cell phone with the addition of a bluetooth headset, is used as a mouse, what an even better combination it would be!

Check the link for more pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenovophotolibrary/sets/72157615187765486/

Lenovo and Microsoft Present: NAME YOUR DREAM ASSIGNMENT

2009-03-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

Lenovo and Microsoft have created a contest to find the most creative and inspiring photo shoot idea, and the reward is $50,000 and a new Lenovo W700 mobile workstation with Windows Vista, the digital photographer's dream machine!

I'm taking this straight from the email I received, but figure it gives the instructions best:

At last. At midnight tonight, Name Your Dream Assignment officially opens for entries. The world is ready to know: what brilliant idea is going to win you the $50,000 to go anywhere and shoot anything?

It'll pay to enter your idea as soon as you can. The process is easy, so don't delay:

• Sign up and submit. Go to nameyourdreamassignment.com any time after 12 a.m. EST March 3rd. Register for the contest and submit your idea as soon as you can.

• Promote your idea. You’ll find resources and widgets on the site to help you do that right away, so you can rack up the votes and launch your idea into the Top 20.

• Check back often. Bookmark the site so you can know where you stand and keep tabs on the competition.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get helpful tips and suggestions about how to post your dream idea to the contest Web site. We'll start dishing out the advice a few hours before the contest launch, so keep checking back for the latest updates and info.

May your dream be big and your votes many. Good luck.

You can read more about it from one of the judges here.
So start brainstorming, and in less than 7 hours, go to nameyourdreamassignment.com to enter your idea and get the vote out. Anyone in the US can enter, amateur cellphone picture taker or professional photographer alike. GOOD LUCK!

Microsoft Future Vision Montage

2009-03-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

Check out this video produced by Microsoft Office Labs about the way we might interact with technology and information in the future. Oo0ooh it is sooo cool!

http://www.officelabs.com/projects/futurevisionmontage/Pages/default.aspx

Parents' Weekend

2009-02-28T22:37:00.000-08:00

Had a fun time in front of the bookstore Friday and Saturday, showing off the great deals on Lenovo computers that we're carrying here. As you can see, the bookstore slashed the price on the 15.4" ThinkPad T61 to $649!! This is an incredible deal, only 3 left! Mike Hagerty, Account Executive for Lenovo, showed me the ropes talking to parents, students, and faculty that stopped by our booth. Mike has been a great resource and guide concerning my job as campus student representative for Lenovo. He's given me plenty of freedom to do what I want, but is always there to confirm or correct any questions I have. Not to mention, he has shared interesting insight into the odds of betting on sports teams' games, from a purely educational standpoint, of course. Lookout Fantasy Baseball, here I come loaded with knowledge of probability!

We had a ThinkPad X300 on display, and I had not realized how incredibly thin and light this notebook was. It sizes up at 12.5" x 9" x less than 1" at its thickest, and is just over 3 pounds . Thought it was funny that just like a cell phone, the SIM card for the WWAN connectivity rests in a slot under the battery. The LED-lit display looked great outside, the best out of the 4 we had out. Somehow, they packed a 1440x900 pixel resolution into 13.3 inches, which looks very nice. This machine packs a low-voltage 1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 bit processor, 64GB solid state hard drive, and up to 3GB of RAM. It meets RoHS and EPEAT Gold environmental and energy standards compliances, and got 3.7 hours of battery life on the CNET DVD drain test with the smallest 3 cell battery. The higher capacity 6-cell battery extends just 2 milimeters out from the front third of the bottom of the notebook, and gives 7 hours of battery life. WOW!

Gathered some great ideas from the guys I was working with today, hopefully I can get them rolling soon.

One funny story is that I lady came by asking about getting a new computer to replace her iMac Remember the colorful apple shaped computers? Yea, I do, they were the staple of my elementary and middle school computer use. Anyways, she was checking out the new Macbook Pros, and asked if she could connect to dial-up internet on them. The apple rep thought she just meant non-wireless internet, but no, she was actually referring to the "dial-up through your phone" internet of the '90s! Luckily, after a quick google search, a solution was found in the form of a USB adapter. Coincidentally, I just watched a clip of the Colbert Report where Colbert pulls out an apple green iMac to "dial up" to the internet to buy some stocks after wall street recently had 1997-like trading numbers. Anyways, I had a flashback to the awesome sound that phone modems used to make, all that dialing, ringing, scratchy noise that accompanied AOL internet. That reminded me of walkie-talkies, which reminded me of astronauts and houtson, so I used Audacity, the open-source audio recording and editing software, to quickly make this:

Click on the picture to listen to the 36 second clip.

Well that's all for now!

Musicology

2009-02-19T23:46:00.000-08:00

Stuck in my head: One by U2
It took me half an hour to find out what song this was. I heard it on Pandora a few times a while back but didn't bookmark it. Finally remembered some lyrics to google. There's a really moving version that Bono dedicates to the late Michael Hutchence.

This is why you should get a ThinkPad with rollcage

2009-02-17T02:32:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I had to do some clean up work for a computer company that, well let's just say, doesn't build their laptops with internal roll cages. My friend's laptop got a giant crack in the screen that rendered it useless. He ended up buying a new laptop, but I did suggest getting his old screen fixed. He said he had looked into it, but it would cost almost as much as a whole new computer! I was very surprised to hear this, and asked him if he was willing to let me give it a try. After I calmly explained to him that the hard drive still works even though the screen is broken, and it is worth fixing, he agreed. I found a new screen on ebay for $100 (a fraction of what a professional repair goes for), he ordered it, and it arrived a couple days later.

Friday night, after spending a few hours in lab struggling to code our simple music player to display sine waves on the screen, I returned to my room anxious to successfully fix something. Of course, I Googled up some step by step instructions on replacing the lcd, and was glad to find one that did not necessitate opening up the main computer body, like some poor soul unfortunately thought was necessary. I followed these instructions, which just involved opening the screen half. With a cup of Hi-Rev mocha in my system, instructions on my Lenovo W500, and a tiny screwdriver that I got at a career fair (thanks, L3 Communications!), I proceeded to perform this two hour surgery, at 3 in the morning. It was very fun, and the only hiccups I ran into were replacing the hinge cover and getting the bezel to snap back in place flush with the rest. I had to carve out some plastic and use a little double-faced tape to get over these obstacles, but in the end, I turned it on, and Voila, the computer was good as new!

As much as I enjoyed fixing this computer, I'd just like to point out that this probably would not have happened if my friend had a Lenovo ThinkPad, with it's built-in magnesium roll cage. While the laptop in question may win the "pretty" award, with its rounded edges and softly glowing fruit logo, it is just not engineered to be as robust and tough as the ThinkPads. If some unknown force caused the computer screen to crack, there's certainly no way it would survive a 4 foot drop like the ThinkPad can, not that I'd advise doing that!

Anyways, here are a few pictures of the surgery

And afterward: all's well! (sorry I don't have a before picture, but just imagine only being able to see a 2 inch triangle in the upper right corner)

Lenovo offers ThinkPad Protection service, which provides up to 3 years of quick, worry-free repair or replacement due to damage from drops and falls, electrical surges, liquid spills, and LCD damage. This is a great way to lower your notebook's total cost by extending its life and protecting your investment. Not everyone has a friend like me who will replace their LCD for free (instead of paying upwards of $600), so if you don't want to worry, get ThinkPad Protection.

Fraud Advisory

2009-02-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

Just a head's up:

If you receive a package from Lenovo that you did not order, please call 866-428-4465 and speak with a sales agent.

DO NOT hand over the package to the freight carrier or accept any return labels provided prior to your having called Lenovo.

Future shipments should bear an advisory sticker like the one displayed on the right.

In recent weeks, a group of individuals, using stolen credit card information have perpetrated fraud to the detriment of unsuspected card holders, and a number of consumer electronic manufacturers including Lenovo.

http://lenovoblogs.com/connections/?p=155

Taking advantage of the Stanford network. 3GHz and 8GB RAM on my netbook!

2009-02-06T21:43:00.000-08:00

So one of the best things about the transition from high school to college was the allowable decrease in the size of my backpack. I rarely have more than two classes in a row on any day, so I can keep my pack pretty light. While it's nice to only need such a small pack, it barely holds a 14 inch notebook. That's why this 10 inch S10e netbook fits so well into my life.

I discovered a way to get even more functionality out of the S10e, primarily for Stanford students. With the help of a piece of software called Cygwin/X, you can remotely access the Stanford Unix systems, basically using your computer screen as the monitor for the powerful machines in computer labs across campus. After instaling Cygwin/X, which takes less than 10 minutes, you can run any application that is on the Stanford computers, on your own computer, even if you don't actually have that program! You can also access your Stanford AFS folder. I can now run Matlab, Mathematica, Stata, Eclipse, or any other software that's on the Stanford cluster machines, on my little netbook, without installing any of the actual applications. I was sitting outside the Axe and Palm a few days go, running Matlab on a 3GHz Quad core, 8GB RAM machine, from my tiny S10e, on a bench in the sun. It is quite remarkable.

The only caveat is that the programs lag a little bit when they are accessed remotely through Cygwin/X. I wonder if there is any software to give a faster connection. One other thing is that as of now, if you are working on a remotely accessed program, you can only save any data to your Stanford network folder. I'm going to look into being able to transfer my documents from the Stanford network to my computer, but if you have any ideas, let me know.

Here is a link to Matt Sptiz' Remote Unix Tutorial, from the website for CS107, programming paradigms. A Stanford id (SUNET id) is required to access our machines.
http://www.stanford.edu/class/cs107/documents/x11tutorial.htm
It gives a clear, step by step explanation of how to install the required software. For clarification on downloading the initial Cygwin/X, follow these steps:
Go to http://x.cygwin.com/, Look towards the bottom of the page for "Downloading and Installing", and click on the "setup.exe" file to download it. Once its downloaded, you can run the setup, and carefully follow the installation directions on Spitz' page. When he explains how to run emacs, you can instead type any of the program names in the first column of software descriptions on this page http://www.stanford.edu/services/unixcomputing/software.html, followed by the ampersand " & " symbol. Example: matlab&

And here is a helpful guide on Unix remote computing at Stanford, with a link to basic Unix commands
http://www.stanford.edu/services/unixcomputing/

Now having an energy efficient Intel Atom processor and only a gig of ram on a 10 inch netbook without a cd drive shouldn't hold you back from getting some serious work done, where ever you are. And of course, you can access the network using cygwin/x on any computer, not just the amazingly awesome s10e (oh, I'm really having so much fun with it!) Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Lenovo Thinkcentre M58 is Green

2009-02-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

The new Lenovo Thinkcentre M58/M58p desktop has set a new industry standard for its low environmental impact. The central power management, rigorous Greenguard emissions testing, and recyclable plastic packaging, combined with their energy saving monitors and keyboard, make this the greenest computer in the pc industry.
Here's a video on the M58 from Lenovo
http://lenovo.bhivesoft.com/bhive/t/1004/infocast_comments.jsp?content_id=2645&autoStart=true

Man not killed by exploding cell phone

2009-02-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

After further investigation, it turns out that the purported cell phone explosion killing a man in Guangzhou, China, was actually an improvised firearm that accidentally discharged, breaking the phone (and his neck) into the process. Check out this article that gives a little more explanation of the whole situation.
From Danwei, Chinese media, advertising, and urban life: http://www.danwei.org/mobile_phone_and_wireless/an_exploding_cell_phone_or_a_z.php
Here is the article:

An electronics shop assistant in Guangzhou was killed last week when his mobile phone reportedly exploded. This was not the first report of a mobile phone battery exploding, but in this case the deceased had apparently just swapped in a new battery, leaving lots of people worried about the quality and safety of their own mobile phone batteries.

However, new information has been revealed that casts doubt on the mobile-phone narrative: the following New Express article, translated byMark Binnersley, blames homemade explosives:

Follow-up: Shop worker killed by homemade explosives

by Zhou Dabiao / NE

On Jan. 30 at the Lenovo computer store on Guangzhou Yuexiu district's Donghua Road a shop worker lost his life after his cell phone exploded in suspicious circumstances. Yesterday, a person familiar with the incident revealed that it wasn't the cell phone that had exploded but some homemade explosives that the shop worker was carrying at the time. But why would this shop worker carry explosives and why did it explode? Police are currently investigating the circumstances.

Guangdong People's Hospital medic Mr Guan recalled that after receiving the call he and colleagues rushed to the scene to administer lifesaving treatment, but the man was already dead. The medic said he could see that the cell phone's plastic was broken into pieces, adding that there was a lot of blood on the man's neck. Currently, it's already been confirmed that a main artery in the man's neck had been severed, causing massive loss of blood.

"The man's left carotid artery was split in the explosion and his breathing and heartbeat had stopped, confirming he had already died." Mr Guan said many witnesses' first reaction was that the man's cell phone had exploded, killing him. Therefore many witnesses during media interviews said the man's exploding cell phone had killed him, and police at the time did not deny this was the cause. The next day, all media reported this as the cause.

After being reported in the media, the incident attracted huge attention and many people have started to guess which brand and model of cell phone the man was using. Some people have even started to panic about cell phones, worrying that their phone might also explode. On the internet, tens of thousands of people have commented on the fatal cell phone explosion. Concerning this, journalists have interviewed a cell phone industry expert, Mr Cai. Mr Cai said that although exploding cell phone battery incidents happen from time to time, most of them happen during charging or when the phone is used for a long period and becomes hot. But this time this man had not charged the phone or used it for an extended period. Also, the shop he works in is warm in the winter and cool in the summer and doesn't possess any conditions that might cause an explosion.

Mr Cai said currently the majority of cell phones use lithium batteries and the direct reason for a lithium battery to explode is if it gets too hot and expands. Mr Cai said, "There are many reasons that a battery could overheat. Charging or long use can easily cause the battery to overheat, and this is produced by a chemical reaction. Additionally, warm environments can cause batteries to get too hot, so lithium battery instructions all warn 'do not place the battery in a warm environment or throw on fire'." Mr Cai said all media reports said that the man put the phone in his pocket and was not using it. Also the location of the incident was not a high temperature place, therefore the likelihood that the battery could explode is very small, "unless there is some outside danger that caused the battery to explode."

At around 4pm on Jan. 2, the dead man's family and workers from the store went to Baiyun police station for questioning. Journalists have learnt that the cell phone battery is not the culprit, rather it was the man's homemade explosives that he was carrying in his pocket that exploded, causing his cell phone to break into pieces. Therefore many witnesses mistakenly thought that it was the cell phone's battery that took his life. But why did this shop worker carry homemade explosives and under what circumstances did it explode? A person familiar with the incident said that for more details we will have to what for the next stage of the police investigation. An autopsy is currently being carried out and when the outcome of the investigation is clear the results will be made public through the media.

Update (JM): The New Express article uses the term 自制火药, "homemade explosives," which doesn't explain precisely what the man was doing with them in his pocket — could he have been building his own custom fireworks for the Spring Festival?

Today's Guangzhou Metro Daily goes into more detail: the man was carrying an improvised firearm in his pocket when it accidentally went off, shooting him in the neck:

Yesterday, this reporter learned from a knowledgable source that the shop worker was not killed by an exploding mobile phone: in fact, it was a stainless-steel device that went off after it was dropped on the ground, causing a bullet to strike an artery in his neck, which killed him. Nine other 51mm bullets were found in a black bag at the scene. The background of the deceased and his purpose in carrying the device present a new mystery that the police will continue to investigate.

Reportedly, the deceased was a 45-year-old man from Jiexi, Guangdong Province, named Huang Heping....

Armstrong, bike, and ThinkPad

2009-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

While browsing Elizabeth Kreutz' incredible sports photo gallery http://elizabethkreutz.com/main.php, I came upon this great shot of Lance Armstrong, his custom painted bike, and a Lenovo Thinkpad before this year's Tour Down Under in Adelaide, South Australia. It was Lance's first comeback race after 3 and a half years in retirement from professional cycling. He will race in this year's Tour of California (starts February 15th in Sacramento). His ultimate goal is to race the Tour de France this year, and many are excited to follow his comeback. Nice to see such an inspiring athlete and human alongside such a consistent and reliable machine!

Daniel Levitin: this is your brain on music

2009-01-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

Daniel Levitin, the cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist who wrote the New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, recently gave a presentation about how the brain processes music and how the perception of music can inspire emotion. Levitin who earned a BA in cognitive science/psychology from Stanford in 1992 (when he was in his 30s), has returned for the quarter as a visiting professor in Human Biology. It's interesting to note that Daniel studied electrical engineering at MIT and music at Berklee School of Music before dropping to join a succession of bands, before coming to Stanford for his BA and then University of Oregon for his M.Sc and Ph.D. He is also a sound engineer, record producer, writer, stand up comedian, and has worked professionally as an auto mechanic, chauffeur, and several other odd jobs like wood stove salesman and fry cook. This man has done it all!

In his presentation, he focused primarily on the concept of Absolute Pitch, which is the ability to name or produce any tone without a reference or external standard. It's estimated that only one in ten thousand have it. While trained musicians easily acquire relative pitch, which is the knowledge of musical intervals, they only have one of the two key abilities necessary for absolute pitch. Pitch memory is common in both groups, but pitch labeling is unique to AP'ers. Levitin suggests this ability to categorize specific tone frequencies may stem from development during a critical period during childhood, similar to learning a language. However, since pitch labels have no biological relevance, such as survival or identification, and no cross cultural universals in interpretation, we find this trait so rare.

Levitin also showed the results of some interesting experiments on absolute rhythm, like playing popular songs at a single constant pitch; timbre recognition, which is the ability to identify different instruments based on the quality or color of the tone; and melody recognition, without rhythm. He played half-second clips of several popular songs and surprised everyone by how easily we were able to identify The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", Norah Jones, and the Stanford Marching Band by such a tiny sample of their song.

I found it interesting how he was able to manipulate "noise," which is defined as having absolutely no discernible pitch, to have a sense of pitch based on the width of bandpass filter he imposed on the signal. It was also interesting to learn that people with Autism are unable to differentiate emotional expression in music that is so easily noticed by those without Autism. Levitin played several clips of Chopin's Nocturne, one following a professional musician's emotional interpretation, another played with constant rhythmic adherence, and another with random lengthening and shortening of notes. Levitin said that most of those with Autism in the experiment chose the randomly manipulated version as having the most emotion. To me and the rest of the audience, this version sounded like a disjointed jumble of phrases and emphasis, with no leading expressions.

Daniel Levitin's presentation showed me the very fascinating scientific and psychophysical aspects of musical interpretation and recognition. A friend of mine, Max Friedman, invited me to the presentation, and it is so fitting because he and I have begun to jam together on occasion. He is a talented guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter who likes to play popular hip-hop songs on acoustic guitar and ukulele. It's quite a trip, and I'll let you know the next time he performs around campus. Now, when I pick up my violin, I can think a little deeper about what I hear and what I'm trying to communicate with my music.

And of course, I brought along my S10e netbook to take notes on the presentation. It could not have been any easier with any other machine!

The S10e was perfect during the presentation

IdeaPad S10e. Small Footprint, Big Strides

2009-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

I'm super excited to bring first hand experience of a Lenovo IdeaPad S10e "netbook". There's actually a funny story behind how it was delivered to me. According to the FedEx tracking number, it was scheduled to arrive yesterday before 4:30pm. I was in my room reviewing notes for a class, and I checked the tracking information around 3:00. To my disappointment, it stated there was a "delivery exception" because the address was "unavailable or unopen," and that it would be redelivered the next day. I walked outside and noticed the FedEx door tag. It's hard having packages delivered to a large college residence because you never know if they will leave it, or where, or if they even try to find the recipient. Anyways, I was glad to spot the tag, and found that the package would be at the local FedEx station after 6:00pm, available for pickup. Hmm, I thought, I wanted to get a short bike ride in today, and I have class until 6:00, so why not ride over there right after class? I grabbed my bike lights, drew a little map of directions to the FedEx station 5 miles away in Menlo Park, and went to class. After learning about the Poisson distribution for a couple hours, I was happy to get off campus and cruise.

The ride through rush hour kept me on my toes, with the occasional innocent death threat from unaware drivers. I got to the station at 6:30, handed in my tag, and received a small package that I just managed to fit in my backpack.

On the way back, I totally felt like a bike messenger riding the streets of San Francisco with a cardboard package sticking out of the top of my bag. All I can say is thank goodness for straps and buckles, and bright bike lights.

I made it home by 7, and shaking in excitement, opened the package. Inside I found some cool perforated cardboard insulation and a smaller colorful box.
(shoe for size comparison...it still fit in my pack!)

Inside the smaller box was the laptop, battery, charger, quick start booklet, and help guide. The first thing I was impressed by was the color. It may not seem extraordinary, but the outside case is a glossy metallic grey with a small silver Lenovo logo. This notebook does not scream "I need attention". It subtly introduces itself with minimalist elegance that is more stylish than the business-like ThinkPad series, yet more down to earth than the bright red or pink S10. It won't draw unnecessary attention when brought out during lecture, and fits perfectly on the tiny half-desks common in lecture halls. It even fits on my lap between the mini desk and the edge of the seat!

This device is designed very clean and simple. Because the netbook is so thin and short, the battery is a long cylinder that fits in the space between the screen and the main computer body. The hinges are placed at the edge of the battery slot, and are capped by silver circles on the sides. I have a 6 cell battery, which extends about half an inch behind and down from the hinge caps. The right side has an Express Card 34 slot, headphone and mic jacks, usb, and ethernet. The left side has another usb port, 4-in-1 memory card reader, VGA output, and the power port. That's the extent of the ports, and it actually makes me feel calm seeing so few. The front of the case has 3 small LED lights for power, battery, and wireless activity.

The boot up time is INCREDIBLE! I counted 11 seconds to the SplashTop quick start mode, which gives you internet, chat, skype, music, and photos without booting into the full OS. This is brought to you by DeviceVM of San Jose, CA. After that, it's under a minute to Windows XP. The S10e also ships with SUSE Linux, another great OS for low power systems.

As I was fiddling around on the web while I registered the computer on my school network, I noticed some cool touchpad features. The keyboard does not have the trademark red TrackPoint, since it's an IdeaPad and not a ThinkPad. However, the touchpad has an awesome scrolling functionality. If you move your finger along the designated scrolling zone (left side or bottom edge, default), you can then proceed to move your finger in circles any where on the pad to continue to scroll in that direction. Clockwise circles scroll down, and CCW scroll up. This way, you can scroll through infinitely long web pages without lifting your finger! How perfect is this for a display that is just over 5 inches tall. Even more exciting is the pinch feature. By using two fingers and either pinching them together or spreading them apart, you can zoom out or in on your page. In browsers, it increases the text size. There were a few other wacky features, like pointer momentum, which lets you give the pad a flick and will continue to move the pointer. It's ideal for first person shooters, it explains. The right and left mouse buttons are more "clicky" than those on the ThinkPad notebooks, but I think that's necessary because they are so shallow.

The 'e' in S10e stands for education, Lenovo's main target for this light, ultraportable computer. It's meant to be tossed into your backpack or purse and pulled out a moment's notice, ready to go in seconds. Because of its cheap price and small size, it's also great for kids in K-12 grades who wouldn't normally be able to get a laptop. Schools with a low technology budget can get more of these netbooks, and still fulfill just about any student's need, as they would with large desktop systems.

While I appreciate the Core 2 Duo of my ThinkPad W500 for editing a huge photo in Adobe Photoshop, running thousands of simulations in Matlab, listening to music, reading a pdf, and checking my email...all at the same time, the S10e netbook wins my admiration for a "take anywhere and not look like a dork" computer.

I'll be updating with in-the-field action reports soon.

Solved Ultranav trackpad issue with Windows 7

2009-01-27T14:13:00.000-08:00

I finally got my Ultranav to complete functionality on my ThinkPad T61 running Windows 7.
Here are the steps I followed.
Download the Ultranav driver for your specific model from the Lenovo support website and install it under Windows Vista Compatibility (Right click on the setup file > Properties > Compatibility). Take note of where it is installed. For me, it was C:/DRIVERS/WIN/UNAV.32

Then go to the Mouse settings in the Control Panel, and to the Hardware tab of the Mouse Properties. Click on Properties button for the shown mouse device (it listed a standard PS/2 mouse). Then click Change Settings on the Device Properties window that opens; go to the Driver tab and click on Update Driver, and choose Browse My Computer for Driver Software. Then browse the file system until you choose the folder that the new driver was installed on. Click OK and Next and it will install the new driver. When it finishes, you need to restart your computer for the changes to take affect. Then the TouchPad scrolling and middle button/TrackPoint scrolling should be functional, and the settings can be changed in the Control Panel.

This is a major convenience, as I'm accustomed to using the TouchPad scrolling for everything.

"Death of a Juicer" from Matisyahu

2009-01-21T14:57:00.001-08:00

I'm a huge fan of Matisyahu, the Orthodox Jewish Reggae/HipHop/Rock/Rap artist from New York, and I just got a message from his Facebook group about the death of his juicer (juice maker). Here's a hilarious video depicting the demise of his beloved juicer while on tour.

Lenovo gives old equipment a new lease on life

2009-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

I just found out that Lenovo computers are like cats. Why? Because they have more than one life. Watch this short video explaining Lenovo's Asset Recovery Services (ARS), a recycling and refurbishing process for all Lenovo products that have reached the end of their useful life. Last year, they processes 7 million pounds of old computers, 98% of which was diverted from landfills. That is an ASTOUNDING amount of recycling! Their goal is to refurbish and reuse 80% of the commercial products they receive, and the rest they grind down to little pieces which are separated into recyclable commodities like metal, plastic, and glass. In the refurbishing process, security is of utmost importance, and they use advanced software to wipe each harddrive to the Department of Defense 3 Pass standards.

The best part? The recycled commodities go into building landscape stepping stones, railroad timbers, and park benches!!

Blogger Buddy Gadget

2009-01-19T17:41:00.001-08:00

I found a cool desktop gadget for Windows 7 and Vista. It's a "Blogger Buddy" from Blogspot.com and I can post to and view my blog from the little gadget on the side of my desktop. I'm writing this on it at the moment.

Another great desktop gadget I found is for Pandora internet radio. I LOVE Pandora, I have about 50 stations, and rarely listen to my own music collection anymore. And now I can play Pandora without opening a new internet browser window! It's just a little box that shows the name of the station, track info, album artwork, and player/menu controls. I put it on the right side of my screen, along with a calendar gadget, CPU monitor, and Windows Media Center portal.

While we're on the subject of stuff on my screen, I recently downloaded a free trial of DeskSpace, from http://www.otakusoftware.com. It's a 3D virtual desktop expansion that allows you to have 6 "desktops" in the form of the faces of a 3D cube that you can rotate around and select with a combination of keys and/or mouse scrolls. Here's an example of what it looks like when you press the keys to change desktops. You can select the background for each desktop, as well as which keys pull up the cube.

I'm going to try out a few other virtual desktop programs soon, to see if any of them will actually become more than novelties.

My Font - Courier

2009-01-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Related to the video in my previous post, I found this .
From KQED's Independent Lens, there's a film about the history and timelessness of the font Helvetica, and there's a related quiz to find out what font you are.
I took it, and the results were as follows:

You are Courier
Like a typewriter-style font on a computer, you go proudly against the grain. You're not afraid to let your opinions be known, and for you, anything is better than being known as "conventional."

Exploration of Windows 7

2009-01-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

Alas, it has been a few days since I last posted. Much has happened.

My experience with Windows 7 beta has been primarily good, with only a few hiccups so far. As I mentioned earlier, the install from DVD was a breeze, once the Microsoft servers responded to the huge demand for downloads. Having limited experience with Windows Vista, I was very pleased with the Windows 7 visual interface. I really like the transparent borders on all the program windows and the taskbar. The desktop gadgets are a nice treat, especially the CPU monitors, although I freaked out when I was at 100% CPU usage for a few minutes. As far as program compatibility, I was successful in installing Mozilla Firefox, Sophos Anti-Virus, OpenOffice, Adobe Photoshop CS2, AOL Instant Messenger, and Adobe Flash Player.

One problem I encountered was in installing Matlab R2007a Student version. This program is meant for XP and Vista. Running the setup program in Vista compatibility mode, I was able to install all the files and register, but when I run it, a list of Java errors pops up and it ends there. Also, I am unable to uninstall the program, getting an error box "Exception calling main".
Another issue is the trackpad scrolling and the use of the middle button of the Lenovo ultranav pad. Even re-installing the Ultranav drivers in Vista Compatibility does not fix the problem.

On a lighter note, I was happy to see Windows Update automatically installed a few Lenovo specific updates for the Lenovo modem, display, and bluetooth devices.

Just a few minutes ago I found a slight solution to my desire for a way to cascade all the windows of an open application that are minimized to the taskbar. Just as in Windows XP, when too many Firefox browser windows are open and they are all collapsed to one taskbar icon, you can cascade or tile them all open. In Windows 7, while you can't do that for a specific application, you can stack vertically, horizontally, or cascade all windows that are open and not minimized on the desktop.
This is done by right-clicking on an empty part of the taskbar and choosing your desired display.

I would like to see a built-in option for having multiple virtual desktops, similar to the X-Windows structure in Ubuntu or Spaces Mac OSX, so that I can have certain types of programs open in separate desktops.

The Windows Media Center is fairly new to me, and I think it has great potential for allowing access to all my favorite sources of information and media, no matter what form. Videos, radio, music, pictures are all easily accessible on the WMC. My only hesitation is that I foresee a significant amount commercial interruption when accessing some content. But so far, it's been very easy to get local radio and tv shows.

Overall, I notice a very quick response to all my actions, whether I'm exploring the file system, opening large programs, switching between programs, or chaning power states. I'm going to try reinstalling Matlab again, and hopefully can get it working. I assume when the official Windows 7 is released, software companies will follow up with compatible software.

More experiences to follow...

Liyana Concert

2009-01-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

I caught the last 20 minutes of the Liyana concert at Kresge Auditorium tonight. Liyana is an energetic Afro-fusion musical group of young adults from Zimbabwe. What makes them so spectacular is that each member was born with severe physical disabilities, yet the music they produce has as much if not more energy and enthusiasm than the rest of the acts out there. There were about 10 musicians, singing, playing drums, marimbas, keyboards, and other African instruments. The introductions to each song were very moving, talking about hope and never giving up, and it really meant something coming from this group, almost all of which are confined to wheelchairs. Yet when the music started, I couldn't tell for an instant that they were in any way disabled because how they were dancing around and moving to the music. The crowd was very appreciative and almost everyone was up dancing or clapping along to the upbeat songs. I tried to take a video clip on my cell phone, but it turned out so poor that it wouldn't have done them justice.

On an unrelated note, I got Windows 7 beta installed on my T61 (it only took about 30 minutes) and have been messing around on it for a day now, much to my pleasure. I'll blog about it and a few problems I'm having soon as I get some homework done.

Windows 7

2009-01-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

This weekend was exhausting yet oh so satisfying. Not because I got ahead on my work for the week, but because I got to ride my bike for 8 hours and then eat all my lost calories back. We had our Team Training Camp this weekend, and rode Friday: up Old La Honda and West Alpine, down Page Mill; Saturday - Canada road to Hwy 92 to Half Moon Bay then back on the inland hills and up Tunitas Creek, down King's back to campus. We had a great turnout and much merriment at the bakery stop and dinner at Patxi's pizza last night. Those with real guts also turned out for the Big Basin ride this morning, while I slept in. My legs are up on the shelf recovering, next to my textbooks.
Since I haven't gotten much studying done, I figured it'd be a great time to install the Windows 7 beta onto my ThinkPad T61. It took me a few tries to realize I had to use Internet Explorer to download the .iso from Microsoft...Firefox was not letting the ActiveX run. But thanks to Stanford's wickedly fast network, I got it and burned to DVD pretty quick. I loaded it just before starting this post, and it's in the final process of installation. We'll see how it goes!

John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is coming!

2009-01-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

This just in:
Exciting News Everyone...
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is coming!
The Stanford Bookstore, The Digtial Media Academy, and The Stanford Concert Network proudly present The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and Afro-Fusion Musical Group Liyana.

Lennon Bus Public Tours:
Sunday, January 11 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Monday, January 12 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

The bus will be parked between the bookstore & the Barnum Center
(when standing at the Claw Fountain in White Plaza with the bookstore in front of you, the bus will be around the left side of the bookstore as you walk to Meyer Library)

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit mobile audio and video recording studio dedicated to providing students of all ages with free hands-on programs to thousands of high schools, colleges, Boys and Girls Clubs, music festivals, concerts, conventions and community organizations. Working together with some of the biggest names in music, the Lennon Bus encourages students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce video projects using the latest audio, video, and live sound equipment.

An interactive installation of Yoko Ono's Wish Tree will occur as well. A component of many of her exhibitions, Wish Tree invites participants to write their wishes on pieces of paper and hang them on the branches of a tree. The wishes are buried at the foot of Imagine Peace Tower, an installation located off the coast of Reykjavík, Iceland, consisting of a column of light projected 30 meters into the sky. The Wish Tree will be next to the bus on Monday, January 12th, then will be moved to the bookstore's front patio for the remainder of the week.

Liyana Concerts:
Liyana, the Afro-fusion musical group from Zimbabwe ranging in age from 17-23, are extraordinary not only because of their remarkable talent, but also due to the fact that each member was born with severe physical disabilities. Join us as we see firsthand the transformative role music can play in building self confidence and personal power!

Concert Schedule:
Monday, January 12
12 noon Bookstore Front Patio
7:00 p.m. Kresge Auditorium
Both concerts are free & open to the public.

For more details, please visit stanfordbookstore.com.

"Lennon" and "John Lennon" are trademarks of Yoko Ono Lennon. All artwork © Yoko Ono Lennon. Licensed exclusively through Bag One Arts, Inc.
See you soon,
Michele Carson

Marketing & Event Planning Manager
Stanford Bookstore

53% OFF Coupon Code - ThinkPad X61 Tablet, X61s, X300

2009-01-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

I just got a great message from the Facebook Group: IBM ThinkPad Owners, about an extended 53% off online coupon code for Lenovo's ThinkPad X-series. The X61 Tablet, X61s, and X300 are all affected, and end up being substantially cheaper with this deal. It won't last long, so if you are on the brink about getting a new extremely portable high performance notebook, DON'T WAIT! Go for it. The savings work for all customizations, and only increase with the more options you choose.

Here is the link
http://www.thinkpadcouponcode.com/lenovo-thinkpad-x61-tablet-x61s-x300-coupon-code-53-off-extended.htmIt worked for me right now when I pasted the codes in at checkout, but it will last only as long as there is stock.

Dual Screen Thinkpad W700 on Sale

2009-01-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

* A video from Wes Williams of Lenovo Product Development Team

A couple days ago, the Thinkpad W700ds was released to the Thinkpad website for your customization and purchase. There are two starting options, one with a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and the "Elite" model with 2.8GHz processor. The rest of the starting specs are the same: NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M 48-core CUDA parallel computing processor 512MB dedicated; 2GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM; Ultra-nav and fingerprint reader; Internal RAID storage subsytem; 160GB 7200rpm Hard disk, DVD Recordable 8x (SATA); ThinkPad 11b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter III; Pantone Color Sensor; WACOM Digitizer tablet; 9 cell Li-Ion Battery, and a 1 year Depot Warranty. Theses base models start at $3,069 and $3,299 respectively, after considerable savings.

Your options only grow from there, as both models can be fully customized up to an Intel Core 2 QUAD Core Extreme Processor QX9300 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 12MBL2) (for a non-trivial extra cost), Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit, NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M 128-Core CUDA 1GB graphics processor, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, Dual 320GB 5400rpm Harddisks or 128GB Solid State Drives, 2GB Intel Turbo Memory, Blu-ray Recordable optical drive, Compact Flash card reader, Intel WiMax/WiFi Link 5350

After choosing the most powerful, fastest options, I got my customization up to $7,132 even after $639 of savings. This may be the most extreme laptop I have come across yet. I'd love to meet the person who can use this computer to the fullest of its capabilities, because I'm sure they'd be doing some ridiculously insane stuff.

Major Major Decisions

2009-01-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

I am having extreme difficulty choosing classes this quarter. Electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer systems, french.....too many great choices and not enough time.
I hope I figure it a way to fit all my interests into one major. Or minor? oh boy what fun

A Better Idea

2009-01-05T21:04:00.000-08:00

Just in time for this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Lenovo unveiled the IdeaCentre A600 all-in-one desktop PC on Sunday.

The IdeaCentre A600 has a built-in 21-inch 16:9 (1,920 x 1,080) display, a dual core Core 2 Duo processor, optional Blu-ray player, an ATSC/HDTV tuner, Dolby Home Theater and a built-in subwoofer. The design is similar to the Apple iMac and HP TouchSmart PC, but appears to be the slimmest of them all, just 27 mm at its thinnest.

A few cool features of the A600 are touch-sensitive controls and a one cable setup: just a single power cord, with a wireless keyboard, mouse, and networking. The hidden treaure is the A600's controller, a four-in-one device that is a standard multimedia remote; an air mouse; a motion sensitive device for gaming; and a VOIP headset! The built-in webcam can also recognize faces using included VeriFace security software.

Along with all new Lenovo computers, the A600 comes with Lenovo's remarkable Rescue and Recovery system, which can restore to factory settings or user selected backup points. It can also do a virus scan even if the system can't boot into Windows, recover data to an external device or special partition if the hard drive becomes damaged.

2008-12-31T23:09:00.000-08:00

Update on the W700ds

2008-12-30T18:12:00.000-08:00

So I read a few contradictory statements regarding the secondary screen on the Thinkpad W700ds concerning its ability to tilt inwards. However, I've found video evidence that it does in fact swivel about 30 degrees towards the user

You can check it out in this video from ComputerWorld
http://video.computerworld.com/services/link/bcpid1351827287/bctid5996724001

One Laptop, Two Screens

2008-12-22T22:13:00.001-08:00

Word on the street is that Lenovo is going to release a new beast onto the market, the Thinkpad W700ds, at next month's Consumer Electronics Show. This souped up "mobile workstation" appears to be the first ever to sport two LCD screens: a 17" primary and a 10.75" secondary screen that slides out from the right of the main display. GottaBeMobile.com has just released a couple short videos showing off the computer, and it is quite impressive. It comes with choice of Intel Core 2 processors and choice of either a 512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M or a 1GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M mobile graphics card. It supports up to 4GB of Intel Turbo RAM and storage options include RAID arrays of up to 320 GB hard drives or non-RAID dual solid-state drives, among others. Like the current W700, the ds also has a 5" WACOM digitizer tablet built into the palm rest for more detailed photo editing. Both have WiFi a/g/n, Bluetooth, dual-link DVI, gigabit ethernet, five USB 2.0 ports, and three Mini-PCIe slots. The W700ds has yet to appear on the Lenovo website, but prices have been estimated from $3000 to $6700.

Holidays with Lenovo!

2008-12-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Check out a sample of Stanford Bookstore's selection of top-notch Lenovo notebooks.

Here is a link to a complete list of the Bookstore's selection and specs.
Stanford Bookstore Lenovo Prices

Lenovo Black Friday - Cyber Monday Sale

2008-11-27T23:47:00.000-08:00

Lenovo is offering major savings for the next 4 days if you order from their website.
www.lenovo.com/us/en/
FREE SHIPPING for all online purchases of notebooks, desktops, and accessories

Special eCoupon until the end of the day December 1st: enter USPBLACKFRIDAY in your shopping cart to receive an additional discount on all computers and accessories.
Take an extra 15% off all notebooks and desktops (except the ThinkPad SL: 10% and IdeaCenter K210L 5%)
Take 20% off all Lenovo accessories,
10% off monitors and non-Lenovo accessories

With the eCoupon:
ThinkPad notebooks start at $449.10
IdeaPad notebooks start at $483.65
Desktops start at $284.05

This is INCREDIBLE savings on all levels of computers, and their website is awesome at letting you see all the available options, compare models, and customize your machine to your own specifications.

Scratch Resistant Commercial

2008-11-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a quirky commercial promoting Lenovo's scratch resistant screen.

SolidWorks on W500

2008-11-16T02:01:00.000-08:00

I just installed SolidWorks, a 3D mechanical CAD (computer aided design) program on my Lenovo w500. With the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 512mb graphics card, this is the perfect machine to start designing with. Solidworks is used by mechanical engineers and product designers worldwide, and it was suggested that I become familiar with it if I want to pursue an internship with Northrop Grumman this summer. My interview went well, and I got to see some cool projects and applications of concepts that we study in textbooks. We'll see if they extend me an offer. So look forward to some 3D objects in the future.

Thinkpad W500: Our first date

2008-11-07T03:36:00.000-08:00

I met a new 15" Thinkpad w500 notebook today. Things went so well in the Stanford Bookstore that we came back to my place for a little one on one interaction. From the moment I opened the box and pulled out the sleek, sturdy machine, I knew it was the start of a great relationship. The smooth black case, featuring a new embossed black Lenovo logo and larger silver ThinkPad logo, minus the outdated "IBM" letters, gave me a great first impression, and that was even before I opened the lid. For now, I will let this image sink into your mind as you fall asleep. Tomorrow I will reveal further details about my new acquantaince.

Lenovo Releases Second Quarter 2008 Report

2008-11-07T03:07:00.000-08:00

Lenovo released its Second Quarter 2008/09 report today.
A few numbers to note:

During 2nd fiscal quarter, Lenovo's worldwide PC shipments grew 7.4%. However, this still lagged industry shipment growth due to a weakened PC demand in the commercial and public sector, as well as slower growth in the China market.

Lenovo completed the sale of its mobile handset business in March 2008, so that it can better focus on PC business.

The global economic downturn has led to a shortfall in the execution of Lenovo's strategic plan, but Chairman Yang Yuanqing is optimistic for the future. "Going forward, we will address the situation by optimizing our operating structure to improve efficiency and reduce expenses, to increase our focus on execution, and to accelerate growth in emerging markets and the consumer sector."

On the bright side, that means we can look forward to more efficient, less expensive computers.
They are not letting the lag in the economy deter them from pulling ahead. President and CEO William J. Amelio says:

"It's important to remember that Lenovo has a strong, proven global engine for innovation, and a worldview that is built for exactly the kind of economic, social and political conditions we see today. We have a business strategy that is solid and fundamentally strong, and we intend to stay the course that has proven successful over the long term."

Lenovo has a new manufacturing plant in Monterrey, Mexico, which will help achieve a more streamlined and efficient regional supply chain.

Lenovo has just recently began offering notebooks to the entry-level segment of consumer markets. So it is becoming easier to get the high-quality performance and reliability Lenovo offers, at all levels of computing need.

Source: MarketWatch press release
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Lenovo-Reports-Second-Quarter-200809/story.aspx?guid={887EC067-C30C-43A7-AB46-E32BDCDB958A}