ASUS Eee PC S101 hits US November 1st for a steep $699

Filed under: Laptops

We went back and forth on price specifics for the States, and now it looks like ASUS has landed firmly in the “forth” category. ASUS’s new “fashion-on-the-go” Eee PC S101 hits the States November 1st, and brings with it a hefty $699 pricetag. What you get for that price is a new super-slim enclosure (a mere 0.75-inches thick) and some stylish accents, but the specs are pretty standard for the higher-end of netbooks. There’s an Atom N270 processor doing the heavy lifting, 1GB of RAM, a matte 10.2-inch 1024 x 600 LED-backlit display, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, multi-card reader, multi-touch touchpad, VGA webcam, 5.4 hours of quoted battery life (unlikely) and Windows XP. There won’t be a Linux option offered in the States. All of this weighs in at 2.3 pounds, and there’s still room for “hybrid storage” of a 16GB SSD and 30GB HDD — but despite the laptop’s slimness, it seems a bit of a reach at this price. The laptop comes in “copper brown” and “graphite” versions. Stand by for our impression later today.

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Filed under: Household, Robots

You try and you try to keep your plants well-watered and situated in the brightest spot you can find, but that darned sun has an annoying tendency to move and leave your urban foliage wilting. You could try leaving them in the window, or switching to creepy robotic flowers, or you could just replace your pots with PlantBot, a four-legged contraption designed to seek out the sun and plunk your plant right where it needs to be. Designed by The Play Coalition, a group of people who “love to design things that are often functional but usually just fun,” it looks like something out of a woodworking-themed anime, tickling our geeky natures while exuding that undeniable aesthetic of a well-made piece of furniture — even if not delivering quite the same level of usefulness. Alas, there’s no video available of this in action, but we do have an animation of it shambling across the room waiting for you just below.

[Via MAKE]

Continue reading PlantBot takes your flora in search of sun (and fun!)

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Via [Engadget]

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Filed under: Robots

If Yujin Robot has its way, cafes the world over will someday replace their waitstaff with robots like CAFERO (shown above at Robot World 2008 in Seoul). Details are scarce, but apparently the automaton takes orders on a touch screen and fills them with the help of a human operator (though it’s only a matter of time before the carbon-based barista is obsolete). Robot waitresses don’t flirt and they don’t ask for tips: does CAFERO represent food service utopia or a chilling vision of the future? Only time will tell.

[Via Hallyu Tech]

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Via [Engadget]

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Toshiba Portege A605: just like the R500, only different (and heavier)

Filed under: Laptops

Just when you thought you were safe from the overwhelming spate of laptops we saw last week, Toshiba strikes again with the Portege A605. This notebook is based on the R500, but where the R500 measures .77-inches thick and weighs in at 2.4 pounds, the A605 is a relative behemoth at 1.18-inches thick and over 3 pounds. And unlike the R500 series, there are no SSD options available. Other than that, you get just what you’d expect: a 12.1-inch LED backlit screen, Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB of RAM, 250GB SATA hard drive, DVD burner, and the promise of almost seven hours of battery life. Prices start at $1,399, hit the read link for more info.

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Fiat Eco Drive Tells You How To Drive Cleaner [Auto Gadgets]

There are lots of ways to get the most out of your fuel tank without resorting to buying a new car—closing the windows when traveling over 50mph, using a car’s air flow system rather than the AC, and easing on the break being just a couple of examples. In case you need a little help implementing these methods, Fiat and Microsoft are releasing an optional Eco Drive software that will record your driving habits and give you suggestions on how to roll more efficiently.

All you need is a Fiat car with Microsoft’s Blue&Me System, an onboard computer that’s currently offered in some Fiats, Alfa Romeos and Ford cars. Download the Eco Drive software from the internet, load it onto any USB drive and plug it into the auto PC’s port. The program will then measure your fuel consumption, speed, breaking style, and gear shifts to determine ways you can drive better. In case you don’t have a Fiat car, but still want some tips to keep in mind, they have a couple on their website. [Cnet]

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