The genius of the original plan has resulted in the new version - which for the very portable cool efficiently, as it was to be done with or without blocking critical airflow in the event that your laptop fan pattern is the port on the upper right corner of the Xpad, the lower edges well feel more comfortable sitting in the back, and a design of starcraft.

Dell Inspiron mini 9 - Black

The Dell Mini 9 will handle 2GB of RAM, but it can only be shipped with up to 1GB because of the software license with Windows XP. Thank you Miscrosoft for another slap in the face! I mean, anything's better than getting a machine with Vista on it, but REALLY. Dell also put the RAM cap on the Mini9s with Ubuntu, which really makes no sense. Anyway, it's nothing to pop open the cover, put in your extra GB of RAM, close it, and have the zippiest little netbook around. (I think it will handle a 4GB stick, but then you're looking at power and heat issues.) When you turn it on, it's ready to go in no time, even without a memory upgrade! Also, decompress the drive. Compression doesn't save that much space and it runs better. If hard drive space is an issue, add an external drive, thumb drive or SD card.

It doesn't come with a DVD drive, but how often do you really use one? I only use mine to install software and to rip my CDs to iTunes. I don't do either of those things when I'm out and about, and remember, it's all about that portability! Eventually you will need to buy a DVD drive, but you might not need one right away. Also plan on investing in an external mouse if you don't like touchpads. This one is particularly irritating because it's so small. I can't really comment on how this or anything else affects battery life, since I rarely run on the battery. The speakers are really small, so have some headphones on hand if sound is a problem for you.

National Semiconductor Introduces Industry’s First Online Tool for Developing Sensor Signal Path Solutions

WEBENCH Sensor Designer Tool Enables Engineers to Move from Concept to Simulation to Prototype in a Few Keystrokes

September 22, 2008 – National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:NSM) today introduced the industry’s first sensor signal path design tool that enables engineers to quickly move from concept to simulation to prototyping of common sensor solutions used in medical, industrial and high-end consumer products.

The WEBENCH® Sensor Designer tool significantly reduces design time and cost by configuring a complete sensor signal path solution with just a few keystrokes. Prior to this design tool, an engineer would have to consume valuable development time matching sensor characteristics and performance with an operational amplifier’s (op amp’s) DC performance and an analog-to-digital converter’s (ADC) resolution and accuracy. Additional time would then be required for circuit evaluation and prototyping.

The WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool streamlines the sensor interface and data conversion design, allowing the engineer to focus on the other parts of the overall system. With a few keystrokes, National’s WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool matches the industry’s leading bridge pressure sensors, photo detector sensors and thermocouple sensors with National’s PowerWise® energy-efficient op amps and pin- and function-compatible 8-, 10-, 12-, 14- and 16-bit ADCs.

For example, the WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool can combine the PowerWise LMP7731 precision amplifier with the new ADC161S626 16-bit, 250 kilo-samples per second (KSPS), differential input ADC. The LMP7731 features low input voltage noise of 2.9 nV/sqrt Hz with a 1/f noise corner of only 3 Hz, while the ADC161S626 provides signal accuracy of +/- 0.003 percent over the -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C temperature range. Each signal path solution amplifies, conditions and digitizes the sensor output to directly link to a microcontroller or digital signal processor (DSP). The tool also allows users to order a customized evaluation kit for prototyping their simulated WEBENCH solution in the lab.

How WEBENCH Sensor Designer Works
After selecting the appropriate sensor type, engineers simply click the “create a design” button. If a particular sensor is not pre-loaded in the tool, users have the ability to create a custom sensor and save it to their work space. The WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool then generates a design schematic, bill of materials (BOM) and performance summary, including a detailed error analysis, and presents this information on-screen in a matter of seconds. The tool also allows engineers to quickly make performance-to-price trade-offs and easily optimize their analog design for their particular sensor by choosing a different op amp or ADC, or by modifying system values.

Using the ‘Build It!’ option, designers can generate solutions they can use for evaluation and prototyping. Customized prototype kits can be shipped within 24 hours to accelerate test and validation. These kits interface directly to any system with a digital input. For engineers that would like to interface directly to a PC, a separate communications evaluation board (supplied with either an SPI or I2C to USB interface) and software is available. The software analyzes the sensor signal path to aid engineers with fine-tuning the design’s overall performance. To begin a design with the WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool, go to www.national.com/sensors.

Sensor manufacturers and distributors interested in being featured in the WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool should contact National directly at www.national.com/feedback/sensors.

The WEBENCH Sensor Designer tool is an extension of National’s WEBENCH tools for light-emitting diodes (LEDs), power, signal path design, audio, amplifiers and active filters, and National’s Analog University® online learning facility. To try any of National’s WEBENCH design tools, go to www.national.com/webench.

Note to editors: To view a high-resolution downloadable photo of this tool, visit National's photo gallery.

About National’s WEBENCH Design Environment
National’s WEBENCH environment eliminates the need for a design engineer to perform tedious hand calculations and includes extensive online tutorials in analog design. The tools offer instant access to the latest SPICE models, parametric data and package information, enabling designers to simultaneously compare the performance of multiple devices in multiple circuit requirements. National’s products in the WEBENCH environment ship within 24 hours worldwide.

About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor creates energy-efficient analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. Its PowerWise® products enable systems that consume less power, extend battery life and generate less heat. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., National reported sales of $1.89 billion for fiscal 2008 which ended May 25, 2008. Additional company and product information is available at www.national.com

HP Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook Launched

HP’s new 15.4-inch laptop, the Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook PC, sports Intel’s Centrino 2 technology, a futuristic redesign, hard drive protection, and blazing productivity and graphics performance.

Strike the right balance between mobility, size, and visual performance with our HP Pavilion dv5z Series Entertainment Notebook PC. This 15.4″ diagonal size notebook is ready to rock your entertainment world.

Hewlett-Packard launched the HP Pavilion dv5t Entertainment Notebook PC, featuring a 15.4-inch display, Intel’s “Montevina” Centrino 2 mobile platform, and the new finish.

According to the review, the Pavilion dv5t sports a “futuristic-chic” design and fast performance, provided by Intel’s new Core 2 Duo 9000-series 45-nanometer processor. In fact, Laptop Mag claims the dv5t is one of the fastest notebooks they have ever tested.

The HP Pavilion dv5t laptop includes the Intel Core 2 Duo 45nm processor at 2 - 2.8GHz, depending on model. There are also the new GMA X4500 integrated graphics, or one of the Nvidia’s dedicated GPUs - GeForce 9200M GS 256MB or GeForce 9600M GT 512MB. The laptop supports up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, up to 320GB of hard drive storage, and a DVD burner or Blu-Ray ROM. The 15.4? display in this notebook has a resolution of 1280×800 or 1680×1050 pixels, depending on customer’s choice.

Regarding connectivity, the dv5 sports 802.11b/g wireless LAN support or the new Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100AGN module supporting 802.11n draft standard. There are also an optional Bluetooth module, and an Ethernet LAN port. According to a specifications sheet, the dv5 laptop does not have a built-in modem.

The HP dv5t laptop features Altec Lansing stereo speakers, optional web camera and fingerprint reader, HDMI and VGA outputs, four USB ports (4th shared with eSATA port), an ExpressCard slot, 5-in-1 media card reader, and Infrared receiver.

HP says the dv5t weighs 5.83lbs with a 6 cell battery.

The dv5t includes the newly designed high-glossy HP Imprint 2 Mesh finish with a grid-like pattern in onyx and chrome.

The laptop PC is offered with Windows Vista 32-bit or 64-bit operating system and can be purchased through HP’s website for a starting price of $799.99