John G. Spooner

Dells battery recall—the largest battery recall thus far in computer history—may not get much bigger, according to the initial reactions of top PC makers, including Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo Group. Dell on Aug. 14 issued a recall for 4.1 million notebook PC battery packs due to manufacturing defects that could lead to fires. The battery pack […]

Advanced Micro Devices is counting on an updated version of its Opteron chip, unveiled Aug. 15, to set the pace for its server business in the coming months. The chip maker has gained momentum in x86 servers recently. Data from Mercury Research, in Cave Creek, Ariz., shows that the Opteron made up almost 26 percent […]

Lenovo Group is getting behind the idea of Linux on the desktop. The PC maker, at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo on Aug. 15, unveiled a plan to provide ThinkPad buyers with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, often called “SLED 10” for short. Lenovo, whose ThinkPads have long been a favorite of Linux users, becomes […]

Dell is recalling more than 4 million notebook PC batteries—an action it says is the largest battery recall thus far in computer history—following several incidents involving its machines. The Round Rock, Texas, PC maker on Aug. 14 announced that it was working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other agencies worldwide to recall […]

Lenovo Group is getting down to business. The PC maker, which purchased IBMs Personal Computer Division in May 2005, has begun rolling out a series of new products, including a ThinkCentre A60 corporate desktop based on Advanced Micro Devices processors. The new offerings fit into a formula—a mixture of standout products offering more choices to […]

Microsoft says it continues to discuss with PC makers and other partners a program to furnish PC buyers who intend to purchase new machines this holiday season with operating system upgrades to Windows Vista. Having put years of effort into creating the latest version of Windows, Microsoft is now working on ways to launch it. […]

Advanced Micro Devices says it is only days away from unveiling its next-generation dual-core Opteron server processor. The chip maker, in an Aug. 10 statement, said that it will announce the availability of its new Opteron—a redesigned version of the chip dubbed “Rev F” internally—on Aug. 15. The Rev F Opteron, which has already been […]

Business desktop PCs are set to get smarter next month with the arrival of chip maker Intels vPro platform for corporate desktops. The platform, which is based on Intels recently introduced Core 2 Duo processor along with a new supporting chip set that includes baked-in management technology, will be unveiled in early September, company officials […]

Microsoft wants PC buyers to recognize a machine running its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system from afar. The software giant has already set out the minimum hardware requirements for a PC to run the operating system. Now its begun sharing ideas on how to design a Vista PC as part of what it calls the […]

PC maker Lenovo Group says its business customers want more choice, so its offering machines with processors from Advanced Micro Devices. Lenovo, as expected, will on August 8 unveil ThinkCentre A60, a new line of business desktops targeted at large businesses. The line will offer AMDs Athlon and Sempron processors. Lenovo designed the ThinkCentre A60 […]