Shuttle is leading the way towards new notebook motherboard standards by launching two new formats that address the needs of both full-sized laptops as well as netbooks. Launched officially at the CES Expo in Las Vegas, SPA (which stands for Shuttle PCB Assembly) and Micro SPA are two new motherboard standards that Shuttle hopes will be adopted by all notebook manufacturers in order to make it easier for local/regional OEMs and brand names to make their products. The new standards could allow for easy upgrading and part replacement in the future, and they were showcased in several forms during the official unveiling at CES. Above is a photo of the sample Micro SPA motherboards designed by Shuttle, intended for use in notebooks with screens ranging from 10.1-inches to 12. Micro SPA motherboards boast integrated graphics and power-saving features. SPA motherboards, meanwhile, are intended for use in laptops with 13.3-inch screens and above. Read on for the full details in the press release.
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Dell has published photos with instructions on how to disassemble and upgrade or replace components of the Inspiron Mini 10. In these photos, it is revealed that replacing the hard drive and wireless card is quite difficult, as it requires removing the keyboard. And by removing the trackpad assemby, one can gain access to the spot for the optional TV tuner, Atom CPU and RAM. Unfortunately, the RAM is soldered to you won’t be able to upgrade it to a higher capacity. In any case, these photos will surely help out anyone looking to peek inside the Dell Mini 10′s innards. More photos at the link below.

Dell via JKKMobile

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 gets inspected from the inside is a post from: Eee PC

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No matter how many colors of the Samsung NC10 you buy, you won’t be able to get one and with Windows XP installed and upgrade it to Windows Vista Enterprise. Well, actually, you can install Vista Enterprise on it, but you will fail at activating it via KMS. There are two known causes for why this is happening, and both are documented on Microsoft’s pages. If you plan on doing the same thing with a future Samsung NC10, better check out a thread about it on Edugeek which we’ve linked to below to see the discussion.

Via Edugeek

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In case you buy a netbook ‘puter that’s got Windows Vista already installed on it on or after July 1st of this year, you should know that you will be eligible for a direct upgrade to the newer Microsoft OS, Windows 7, once it’s finally released. The whole Vista to Windows 7 upgrade scheme may have been confusing before, but it won’t be after now. The above mentioned information relating to Vista to Windows 7 upgrades came from a Microsoft issued draft that the guys from over at Tech ARP somehow got their hands on. So, if you were eyeing a new PC with Vista installed on it, you may want to stall buying for now and wait until the upgrade scheme for Windows 7 is finally clear.

Tech ARP

Vista netbooks bought after July 1st eligible for direct upgrade to Windows 7 is a post from: Eee PC

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Business Week’s Stephen Wildstrom clarifies a few key aspects of the upgrade path from Microsoft’s Windows XP to the recently beta-launched Windows 7. Microsoft will not be letting users directly upgrade their OS from Windows XP to Windows 7, but an upgrade pricing system should be in place for those who want to get discounts in purchasing Windows 7 when it comes to retail in the next few months. Wildstrom says, “The company has not yet said anything about Windows 7 pricing, but I expect that anyone moving from either XP or Vista will be eligible for upgrade pricing, that is, a substantial discount from the full retail charge.”

Microsoft’s official statement on the matter is: “Microsoft remains committed to making the transition to Windows 7 easier for all customers. With tools, guidance, and the work we’re doing with industry partners it is our belief that this will be an improved process . Furthermore, we expect most customers who upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 will be doing so through the purchase of a new computer, thereby making the upgrade virtually effortless. That said, Windows XP customers planning to upgrade to Windows 7 will need to perform a clean installation.”

Also, even though a user will not be able to directly upgrade their systems to Windows 7, a tool for easy file and settings migration should be available near the product’s official retail launch. This doesn’t solve the main problem of not having a direct upgrade from XP to 7 option, but it certainly helps it making the task easier.

Via Business Week

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Anyone who’s owned a netbook long enough will figure out that its stock 1GB of RAM won’t go too far when it comes to performance, especially when one is forced to make friends with Vista instead of the more lightweight Windows XP. It’s a good thing that manufacturers have provisioned for extra memory slots so that upgrades can easily be done, bringing the memory up to a nice 2GB spot which makes for a very healthy computing setup.

But what’s this? Looking at the recently exposed photos of the MSI Wind U120 innards, JKOnTheRun has found that an extra RAM slot is nowhere to be found. That means no matter how delicately a user manages to open its casing, the MSI Wind U120 will be stuck with 1GB of RAM, forever.

Perhaps MSI has done this on purpose in order to put a kind of gap between its netbooks and full-blown notebooks, but don’t you think that’s a bad idea? Limiting a product’s performance when it comes out of the box is one thing, but taking away a user’s options completely is just cruel. We’ll see how well consumers receive this when they get their hands on the MSI Wind U120. Which they can, now that it’s already available for order online.

Via Portable Monkey

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