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Filed under: Tablet PCs

Dell’s Latitude XT is a pretty special piece of equipment, namely because it boasts multi-touch capabilities while being a Tablet PC. Unfortunately, it seems that quite a few users are growing increasingly frustrated with the touch-lovin’ screen, with GottaBeMobile going so far as to call Dell out to remedy the myriad issues with its N-Trig digitizer. Among the problems are “digitizer not found” errors upon restart, a digitizer that won’t work properly without a few reboots and a nice selection of applet loading errors to top things off. It seems the readers of the aforesaid site aren’t faring too well either, with the forums filling up with folks eager and willing to yell “amen!” and “me too!” Are you also experiencing wonky N-Trig problems? Are you fed up with Dell’s public silence on the matter? Or have you figured out a solution that you’ve been keeping all to yourself for the past seven months? Chime in down below.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

Generally speaking, HP’s Mini-Note 2133 is pretty well loved the world over. Sure, there are a few things that could use tweaking, but what good gadget couldn’t use even a small dose of overhaul? Nevertheless, a few reports have been trickling in suggesting that HP’s netbook is suddenly going dark and refusing to start back up. Folks are apparently being told that it’s a motherboard power failure, though it doesn’t seem to have become widespread just yet… or has it? Let us know in comments below.

[Via Chris Rue]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

Quite literally, we’ve been inundated with e-mails from Alienware Area-51 m15x owners who have shelled out thousands of bucks in order to take home a serious piece of gaming hardware, only to find that their machine is overheating and / or developing cracks in the frame for no apparent reason. If you’ll recall, this isn’t the first time the laptop aficionados over at Notebook Review got all worked up over an issue with the m15x, but it seems the latest round of quirks have pushed the community over the proverbial edge. So, have any of you out there awoke to see your machine slightly more damaged than it was the night before? Are things getting way to heated for anyone’s comfort? Let us know what’s up in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - Area-51 m15x owners experience overheating and cracking issues
Read - Alienware’s reply to the issue (we’re warned it could be a hoax)

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

The TSA has been known to take issue with products designed in Cupertino before, but for one particular traveler, it was Apple’s thinnest laptop ever that caused the latest holdup. Upon tossing his ultra-sleek slab of aluminum underneath the scanner, security managed to find enough peculiarities to remove it from the flow, pull it aside and wrangle up the owner for some questions. Apparently, the TSA employee manning the line was flabbergasted by the “lack of a drive” and the complete absence of “ports on the back,” and while hordes of co-workers swarmed to investigate, the user’s flight took off on schedule. Thankfully, said owner was finally allowed to pass through after some more in-the-know colleagues explained in painfully simple terms what an SSD was, but the poor jet-setter most definitely paid the price for trying to slip some of the latest and greatest under the sharp eyes of the TSA (and cutting it close on time, of course).

[Image courtesy of ABC]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As we’re certain you know by now, there are fails, and then there are epic fails. This case most definitely falls into the latter category, as Sea Change’s shark-deterrent system (affectionately dubbed Shark Shield) was actually bit into by a great white when tested off the coast of South Africa. Reportedly, the device sends out electronic fields that are meant to deter sharks from coming near surfers, but according to the company’s CEO, the botched trial was “due to a problem with the electrode’s configuration.” Furthermore, he noted that the thing is only “guaranteed to work when it’s stationary, not when it’s surfing in the wave or paddling.” Needless to say, the effectiveness of these type devices have now been called into question, and regardless of whether this thing actually works as advertised, the lack of total protection — you know, while actually surfing — is enough to make us steer clear.

[Via UberReview]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Laptops

Merely days after LG put the brakes on sales of its Z1-AE007 laptop due to suspicions of a faulty battery within, yet another lappie in South Korea is making headlines for its overheating, er, abilities. Reportedly, the battery in a P10 computer, produced in 2002, “melted” after inexplicably emitting smoke during use. The device managed to burn a bed and a certain part of the floor, but thankfully, no “big fire” was started. According to company spokesman James Chung, Samsung is now “checking details of the incident,” but the actual manufacturer of said battery has yet to be revealed.

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

At first glance, we seriously assumed that we had mentioned this exact same story before. Turns out, one particular Maxi Haulage driver doesn’t tune into Engadget, as he pulled the exact same trick in (almost) the same circumstances. Reportedly, this timber haul was cut short as the driver followed his personal GPS system down a “farm lane” suitable only for (presumably small) tractors, and needless to say, the 45-foot vehicle has been wedged ever since. Additionally, the owner of the property is quite irate, as the mishap is forcing her to drive an extra two miles until rescue arrives. Still, the motorist did cruise right by a sign noting that the upcoming road was unfit for heavy goods vehicles, so at least the sat nav can’t take all of the blame this go ’round.

[Thanks, Carl H.]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Portable Audio

Though not what we’d deem “common,” outages extending beyond a few hours have been known to happen to the services we love so dearly, and it seems that some Rhapsody users have become the latest to fall victim to an inexplicable lapse in service. Over at the Real forums, a number of customers have been unable to sign into their accounts for up to two days, and no amount of chicanery has solved the quandary. To make matters even more frightening, many are getting a message that their account simply is nowhere to be found, and customer service doesn’t seem to be getting anyone very far. Also curious is the fact that new accounts (as in, ones created while current customers are unable to login) seem to be working just fine, but we here haven’t personally experienced any of the login difficulties. What gives? Any of you out there pulling your hair out over this? Got a secret for getting logged in that you’d like to share?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Source: Darren Murph

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