Every year, it feels like the holidays start earlier and earlier. In preparation for that crazy Q4, Microsoft invited us out to check out a few "Gifts that Click" at their annual showcase of atest products. They heavily promoted the new Windows VISTA operating system, but we were able filter for the laptop only news that you might enjoy.
Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000
Microsoft showed off this new mouse that functions as a Bluetooth® laser notebook mouse, slide presenter, laser pointer and media remote. It's 4 devices in 1! It's the perfect mouse for that Powerpoint freak that hits the road a lot. As we all know, the Laptop Lifestyle is about being minimalist as possible, and if something like this can remove a few pounds of gadgets from my bag, that's great.
The mouse also features Microsoft’s High Definition technology which provides better precision, responsiveness and smoother tracking. Based on the extra weight this mouse has in its belly, it should definitely work better than the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Mouse 3000 that we reviewed earlier.
The mouse features some new features like:
- Customizable performance slider in the software lets advanced users increase performance for intense PC tasks or lower it to extend battery life.
- Faster than wired. Users will experience virtually no latency with Microsoft 2.4GHz mouse products.
- On/Off switch helps users extend battery life to approximately three months on average.
- Two-color battery life indicator warns users when it’s time to replace batteries. Red means the batteries are running low on power, and solid green glows and fades away when the mouse is turned on, indicating sufficient battery power.
- Carrying case allows users to carry the transceiver and protect the mouse.
The mouse is also ambidextrous so it works with lefties or righties. It'll be widely available by October 2006 for an estimated retail price of $119.95 (CDN). It is backed by a three-year limited hardware warranty from Microsoft in the U.S. and Canada.
Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000
Microsoft's new LifeCam products have rolled out to a fairly warm welcome. Being extremely easy to setup and offering some decent performance, it's no wonder people like them. Microsoft wants to give that joy to Laptop users now too. The latest NX-6000 LifeCam is just as easy to setup and is super small, taking up up very little room in your laptop case. It just perches to the top of your laptop screen and away you go. Connectivity is accomplished with USB.
As their top-of-the-line wired notebook webcam, it offers High Definition video and, at 7.6 megapixels (interpolated), offers the highest still photography resolution of any webcam on the market. It's Optimized for use with Windows Live™ Messenger and features Live Call button to get the connection setup right away.
Cool Features include:
Let's Talk About Vista
We spent a good portion of our meeting talking about the latest Windows Vista. Windows Vista is Microsoft's latest operating system due to be launched sometime in 2007 along with the new Office 2007. For the first time, the general public has been invited to sample interim builds of the new operating system currently at Release Candidate 1. Some would say that Microsoft is just using the public to beta test its software. That's really not such a bad thing. With such a larger sample group of early adopters jumping on to sample the new OS and report bugs, the launch version should be relatively bug free, though of course, that never quite happens as we all know.
Although our current experience with it has been on the desktop side, we can already see some issues for Laptop users. First off, the new Windows "AERO" interface is one of the highlights of VISTA. It really gives a cool look to the user interface with 3D Cascading windows like the ones above, and requires a 3D accelerator to do it. Most laptops on the market will not have the necessary hardware to succesfully use this new feature, thus you'll be greeted with a very plain jane version of the OS. Also, because of the 3D accelerator requirement to see all the eye candy, this will mean that laptops will use more power, and get less battery life, if users want to use it on their Vista Ready laptops. Heat will also be a factor, so expect a surge in Laptop Cooler sales when the new OS hits.
On the flip side, Windows Vista also promises an enhanced gaming experience and is boasting up to a "Five Time" performance boost with games patched or natively built for DirectX 10, Vista's 3D engine. So on one side, Vista uses more power to run the cool and pretty interface, but on another side, it gives you better gaming performance. Looks like non-gamers aren't going to be big fans of this.
The other thing that might turn Laptop users off to Vista may be the heavy RAM requirements. Windows Vista in the 64 bit flavours will require around 1 GB of RAM to run. Most older laptops max out at 1 GB. However, the new "ReadyBoost" feature allows you to use a standard USB Memory Drive to augment the RAM in your system.
As the Release Candidates Mature, we shold be able to install it on a laptop here to give you a better idea of how things will really work out. We won't even talk about Media Center. We haven't been able to get it to run on any of our systems yet, though what we saw at our meeting was looking fairly good. Windows Media Center will be bundled with the Ultimate and Premium editions of the operating system.
One More Thing...
Although we're really not supposed to say anything, we'll let you folks know that Microsofts favourite road trip software for your laptop will be getting a hardware and software upgrade in their latest product due out later this year. Stay tuned for a look at this new product! 
That's all we have to say about the Laptop side of Microsoft's "Gifts that Click" in 2006!
Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000
As their top-of-the-line wired notebook webcam, it offers High Definition video and, at 7.6 megapixels (interpolated), offers the highest still photography resolution of any webcam on the market. It's Optimized for use with Windows Live™ Messenger and features Live Call button to get the connection setup right away.
Cool Features include:
- Automatic face tracking keeps the subject in the camera’s field of view even when he or she is moving.4
- Video Effects let users personalize video calls with fun visual elements such as snow, stars and flowers.
- Protective carrying case enables easy and convenient portability while users are on the go.
Let's Talk About Vista
Although our current experience with it has been on the desktop side, we can already see some issues for Laptop users. First off, the new Windows "AERO" interface is one of the highlights of VISTA. It really gives a cool look to the user interface with 3D Cascading windows like the ones above, and requires a 3D accelerator to do it. Most laptops on the market will not have the necessary hardware to succesfully use this new feature, thus you'll be greeted with a very plain jane version of the OS. Also, because of the 3D accelerator requirement to see all the eye candy, this will mean that laptops will use more power, and get less battery life, if users want to use it on their Vista Ready laptops. Heat will also be a factor, so expect a surge in Laptop Cooler sales when the new OS hits.
On the flip side, Windows Vista also promises an enhanced gaming experience and is boasting up to a "Five Time" performance boost with games patched or natively built for DirectX 10, Vista's 3D engine. So on one side, Vista uses more power to run the cool and pretty interface, but on another side, it gives you better gaming performance. Looks like non-gamers aren't going to be big fans of this.
The other thing that might turn Laptop users off to Vista may be the heavy RAM requirements. Windows Vista in the 64 bit flavours will require around 1 GB of RAM to run. Most older laptops max out at 1 GB. However, the new "ReadyBoost" feature allows you to use a standard USB Memory Drive to augment the RAM in your system.
As the Release Candidates Mature, we shold be able to install it on a laptop here to give you a better idea of how things will really work out. We won't even talk about Media Center. We haven't been able to get it to run on any of our systems yet, though what we saw at our meeting was looking fairly good. Windows Media Center will be bundled with the Ultimate and Premium editions of the operating system.
One More Thing...
Although we're really not supposed to say anything, we'll let you folks know that Microsofts favourite road trip software for your laptop will be getting a hardware and software upgrade in their latest product due out later this year. Stay tuned for a look at this new product!