PC Mag delivers a roundup of 4 cheap laptops:

Dell Inspiron 6000
Sony VAIO VGN FJ180
HP Compaq Presario V2000Z
Averatec AV3715-EH1

The Dell, HP, and Averatec notebooks come in at under $1,000, but the Sony is $1,600, not exactly cheap. My personal pick out of those 4 laptops would be the Dell unit. 15.4″ screen and a Media Center OS. PC Mag also gives the Dell 6000 top marks:

Dell’s Inspiron 6000 is a repeat favorite of ours in the cheap laptops category. With a 15.4-inch widescreen, Media Center Edition OS, strong performance, and a price tag under $1000, it’s hard to go wrong with this system.

Nicholas Negroponte brings the $100 to reality. Here’s a link roundup of all the news and commentary surrounding the recent events:

• BBC News - UN debut for $100 laptop
• The $100 Laptop - Don’t get carried away
• Problems with the $100 laptop
• Negroponte Wired Interview
• Does Africa really need the $100 Laptop?
• $100 Laptop FAQ

Trackitback, which calls itself as a lost and found service, is esentially in the business of insuring laptops (and other gadgetry) against theft.

Here’s their official pitch:

Trackitback is a 24/7 Lost & Found Service for portable items. In today’s world, almost everyone owns a cell phone, camera, notebook, MP3 player or other valuable item. And the more gadgets we have, the more likely we are to misplace them. Unfortunately only 5% of lost items are ever returned to their rightful owners due to a lack of identification and convenient return process. Until now!

I think that it’s a half-assed attempt at laptop insurance. Disclaimer: I have never used their service, but I do have half-a-brain to understand how it works.

The label you buy is actually the premium you pay you avoid a small probability of loss in the future. So in case your laptop gets lost, there’s a label attached promising the finder of your laptop a reward if they call a phone number and turn it in.

The company is betting on the fact that there are more folks who worry (willing to buy insurance) than there are honest people in the world (who have to be paid a reward). It’s a crude way of doing business, but you can say that about the insurance industry in general (insurance/warranty premiums are always greater than the expected payouts — that’s how they make money).

The fact that their in business means piece-of-mind is worth something to people. Maybe a sticker on the side of your iMac helps you sleep better at night. For you folks, Trackitback is at your service.

UPDATE: Trackitback’s President, Jason Wagner, just commented gave me the some stats about the rate of recovery:

We have a recovery rate of over 80% and actual clients to prove it.

I was probably a bit too critical with this post. Just like I said, I’ve never tried the service before. So thanks for clarifying the facts, Jason.

There was a long piece in the WSJ today on the race to build the $100 laptop:

A novel plan to develop a $100 laptop computer for distribution to millions of schoolchildren in developing countries has caught the interest of governments and the attention of computer-industry heavyweights.

I follow this type of news closely for two reasons:

1. I’m interested in seeing the rapid evolution of technology. 3 years ago they said that the $1,000 laptop wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Boy were they wrong.
2. Computer access should be available to all. I don’t want to sound preachy here, but I think we’re all better off if we can give children across the world access to a computer and an Internet connection.

The article goes onto to say that heavyweights like Microsoft, Dell, Apple, and Intel are all pushing for the initiative. And what’s more interesting is that the bottom line isn’t really of concern to these companies.

Sure, everyone’s out to make a buck, but Dell would barely make a profit on a $100 laptop. MP3 players sell for more money than that. We’re close to reaching that $100 price point. Hopefully lots of deserving people will be able to benefit once we get there.

LaptopLogic.com has a killer guide on building your laptop from scratch.

This basic guide is to show you how to put one together using several components such as the CPU, hard drive, RAM, and Wi-Fi card.

They took an MSI barebone laptop and whipped up a powerhouse gaming machine. It’s nice to see that laptop builds are finally seeing some end-user customization.

It’s Friday. Before you embrace the weekend with arms wide open and tequilla bottle in hand, make sure you stop the ZDNet for some wacky laptop humor and discover how you can use your laptop as hair dryer, rain hat, or a portable camp stool (as pictured).

It’s time that we mobile warriors start showing more love towards the environment. Afterall, mother nature supplies the fresh air when we’re at the park surfing on the net on our laptop wi-fi. One way to do that is to pick up the new ‘green’ Asus U5 laptop. Stuff Mag has the scoop:

Yep, the Taiwanese company is set to blaze new ultraportable-shaped trails later this month with the U5, its first lead- and halogen-free laptop.

2 less chemicals to worry about. But this ‘green’ thing is being taken a tad bit overboard. I understand the need for hybrid cars that don’t emit less Ozone ruining emissions, but what the hell did a laptop fan ever do to the environment? Ah well, it looks like ‘green’ computing will take off in 2006.

A papertowel is the worst way to clean your sensitive laptop screen. A tissue is a little better, but it still leaves bits of fibers that may be noticable.

eHow has a fantastic article on cleaning your laptop screen:

1. Dilute isopropyl alcohol into a mix with no more than 50% alcohol and the rest distilled water.
2. Apply as needed to a terry cloth, like an old T-shirt or other very soft cloth.
3. Wipe cloth against the screen, in a counter-clockwise or other consistent motion.

In my younger days I cleaned my laptop screen with a towel (only if I had known). My mother now uses that laptop, and after a few years of cleaning with a towel, there’s a permanent film on the LCD screen. I’m not sure if the towel cleaning is what caused it, but I’m willing to bet that it was the towel.

Don’t make the same mistake. Use a softer cloth or a very soft old t-shirt.

The fine folks at Notebook Review have put together a Laptop RAM memory guide. They say:

RAM (Random Access Memory) has been widely regarded as the cheapest, easiest way to improve computer performance for the past decade at least. It’s one of the three main components responsible for your system’s day-to-day performance, alongside the CPU and the oft-forgotten hard disk, and too little of it can be a serious bottleneck.

The guide goes onto to discuss the different types of memory along with a discussion of how much memory is sufficient:

512MB: This should be the bare minimum. If you’re running a Windows XP laptop on any less than that, go out right now and buy another memory stick. You’ll notice a huge improvement in overall performance.

1GB: A gig of RAM is slowly becoming a standard. If you multi-task or do any sort of intenstive graphics work, you should be packing some serious RAM power in that laptop.

Finally, the guide recommends that you don’t go for the cheap OEM RAM. Shell out the few extra bucks for an established stick of RAM from a quality supplier like Crucial.

Laptop Magazine has to scoop on this $5,000 piece of mobile machinery. The Voodoo Envy u:703 comes in at 13 pounds. Their verdict on this powerhouse is:

The price of the u:703 is nearly five grand, but it’s one worth paying if you want the ultimate eye candy on the outside and raw graphics power on the inside.