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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I’ve always wanted to integrate a touch pad into my clothing and thanks to Hannah Perner-Wilson (aka Plusea), that dream could become a reality. For those not familiar with Plusea, she’s all about wearable computing. Her latest work, the Knit Touchpad, is just like the touchpads we use on our notebooks, except this one is made of fabric.

It works with an anti-static glove that Plusea uses to scale the four corners of the fabric pad. Thanks to her intricate walkthrough at Instructables, this DIY yields a lot of potential for wearable touchpads in the future. I can’t wait to add one to my built-in keyboard pants.

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Today, Intel launched its first ever six-core processor: the Xeon 7400. While the name might not be as complex as the name Sony is giving to their new line of laptops, it certainly should be. Everything about this processor is “no joke” as it is geared towards high-end computing, like those used by the scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider.

An estimated 50-percent speed boost over its predecessor is possible as this processor peaks around 2.66GHz with 130W of power.  The new Xeons are going to be the last of their kind before Intel makes the jump to the new Core i7 architecture. Things are certainly looking fast for the computing world.

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