Gearfuse

If someone ever stole my car, I’d wish for a feature that would allow me to cause my car to blow up via text message. That’s kind of the idea behind Lenovo’s latest notebook feature: Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable Feature.

Important data on your computer that you can’t have falling into the wrong hands? A porn library you can’t possibly have your wife stumbling upon? This new service will prevent any such scenarios by allowing the laptop’s owner to shut the computer down over a WWAN connection and lock it. All it takes is a simple text message from a cell phone to cripple your notebook’s capabilities. That will teach them to mess with your stuff! Look for this new feature around Q1 2009 on Lenovo notebooks at no additional charge.

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It’s the holiday season and you know what that means: toys! That’s why Toys ‘R’ Us is expanding its tech side by adding Apple iPods and Asus Eee PC netbooks to its inventory. The iPods will be sold within specially designed “iPod boutique” wall displays. iPod Shuffle,  Nano and Touch will all be available come next month, but for how long is anyone’s guess.

The netbooks will be available in Linux and Windows XP versions which are priced at $269 and $299, respectively. Has your kid been bugging you lately for a laptop computer? Netbooks are the affordable solution which provide all the basic necessities of computing without the superb specs. Even better, most kids will never know the difference.

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Netbooks are all the craze these days. Everyone is wondering if Apple is going to hop on the netbook bandwagon and produce a mini MacBook. As of now, no word from Apple regarding that. On the other hand, a member of a German MSI Wind forum just couldn’t wait on Apple. He used a Dremel and six white LCD lights to turn his MSI Wind netbook into a Mac look-a-like.

He even put together a mock commercial of his MacBook mini. You’d think it was an actual Apple product.

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Computing isn’t always about raw power and trying to build the best gaming rig out there. Sometimes the simple bare necessities will suffice.  Lenovo’s first netbook, the IdeaPad S10-42312CU, comes with all the bare necessities you’ll ever need to surf the web.

Featuring a 10.2-inch 1024×600 widescreen display, an Intel Atom N270 single core processor running at 1.6GHz, GMA 950 integrated graphics and Windows XP Home, this netbook packs quite the punch considering it only weighs 2.65 pounds. This specific model comes with 512MB of DDR2 memory and an 80GB hard drive, but other models will be available later with more RAM, hard drive space and a variety of colors. Unfortunately, it only comes with a 3-cell battery, but on the bright side the keyboard is 85-percent of the size of a full-sized laptop keyboard, meaning this thing is pretty damn small. Hopefully it doesn’t use up too much juice. It’s available now for an eye-popping $439 dollar price tag. Don’t forget to slap a warranty on that.

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Beautiful weather, beautiful babes and nothing but net. That’s how I described Afternoon Linkage to President Bush yesterday in Beijing.

It’s no mystery that home computers use up a lot of precious energy we could be using towards something else.  Ben Chase has designed a working computer that runs on the Windows operating system and only consumes an astonishing 27-watts of power. Its components are even upgradeable without the need of tools.

Hardware manufacturers could take a note from Ben Chase (or give him a job.) Anything to have these eco-friendly PCs in every household within the next few years.
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Excitement is mounting about the Olympics in Beijing. Some pretty extravagant arrangements are being erected (LOLz, erect) to show off Beijing’s growing environmental friendliness. The Greenpix Zero Energy Wall stands at the Xicui entertainment complex near the site of the Olympic Games.

The Greenpix wall uses a combination of the largest color LED display technology with a photovoltaic system, which allows the wall to burn only the energy it produces itself. The big ass wall is planned to go live at some point this month with a bunch of video installations and live performances by artists from China, Europe and the US planned after its launch. Hit the jump for a video of the wall in action. (more…)

Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics have come to the conclusion that it’s time for a completely green Olympic experience, instead of focusing on brand name torch designers or even the all-important weather control like the Chinese. This time around, even the iconic Olympic torch will be eco-friendly, boasting a carbon neutral flame.

London organizers have decided that instead of using paraffin or other high-carbon fuels, the flame which marks the start of the games will be lit with a low-carbon fuel, with hopes that such a potent symbol going green will signify the need for environmental change. — Andrew Dobrow

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What could possibly make a computer Olympic-inspired? The addition of a logo, of course! Lenovo introduces the 3000 line of Olympic Games-inspired PCs. These black and silver systems include the Lenovo brand name, with a quaint little Olympic rings logo added to the tower in support for their sponsorship of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The J200 will come with an Intel-based processor, while the J205 will come with a AMD-based processor, depending on which sort of processing you prefer. The desktops will also include Gigabit Ethernet, integrated graphics, six USB ports, a chassis intrusion lock and a PC lock slot. The PCs will also feature an optional 9-in-1 media bay, DVD multiburner with TPM 1.2 encryption. Available in August starting from $399. — Andrew Dobrow

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We wonder if this decision has anything to do with Lenovo being one of the greenest of the big tech companies. Though a torch isn’t really “eco-friendly”. Designing the 2008 Olympic Torch might knock Lenovo down a notch on the green scale.

Though with that notched peg, Lenovo is sure to gain a ridiculous amount of name recognition with how disgustingly over-hyped the summer Olympics always are. Now the only questions is, can a computer company design a satisfactory torch? Looks cool, but will it satisfy the world’s hunger for flame? — Andrew Dobrow

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