Adobe vows fix for sluggish Flash in Chrome OS | Electronista

Image via CrunchBaseAdobe vows fix for sluggish Flash in Chrome OS | Electronista

Adobe's Senior Director of Engineering Paul Betlem apologized on Thursday for the state of Flash in Chrome OS on the Cr-48 netbook. Following criticisms (and Electronista impressions) that Flash on the netbook is very sluggish and often unusable for video, Betlem acknowledged that hardware video acceleration and optimization wasn't in place. He declined to give a timeframe but did say the update would come automatically.

"In terms of Chrome notebooks specifically, as with many aspects of the device, Flash Player 10.1 support remains a work in progress," he said. "Video performance in particular is the primary area for improvement and we are actively working with the engineers at Google to address this. Enabling video acceleration will deliver a more seamless experience on these devices."

Linux has received the least attention of all platforms where Adobe supports Flash, but the current state of the plugin potentially creates trouble for those part of the early access program for Chrome. With many of the titles in the Chrome Web Store based on Flash and web apps a central focus, the rough condition could leave testers with limited functionality for a long time.

A fix should be in place by the time finished Chrome OS computers ship from Acer and Samsung in mid-2011, but the lack of polish has underscored concerns about attempts to drive Flash on to low-end platforms. Flash for Android already uses hardware acceleration but still suffers from performance issues in some areas. Versions of Flash for BlackBerry, webOS and other platforms also haven't reached any publicly known test phases despite being promised early in 2009, outside of the yet to be released PlayBook.

Apple is one of the few holdouts refusing Flash on low-end hardware and has pointed to performance and long development times for suitably fast Flash as some of its key reasons.

By Electronista Staff

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Apple, ASUS top reliabilty while AT&T, Dell, HP flounder | Electronista

Apple, ASUS top reliabilty while AT&T, Dell, HP flounder | Electronista

Apple and ASUS lead reliabilty and service ranks

Apple and ASUS lead the way in computer reliability and support while Dell and HP are often the worst, according to a reader study published today by PCWorld that also included smartphones. Macs took the top spot in both desktops and notebooks as they almost always rated above average both in how few needed repair and in the quality of their over-the-phone support. ASUS came next closest with very high reliability for notebooks but mostly average desktops and phone help.

Both computer builders were significantly below the average for the number of systems needing repair in either category.

Dell and HP, however, consistently trailed in the results, often ranking at the bottom with most scores for both reliability and support going well below average. Both their business PC lineups fared better, but the deliberate sacrifices to the quality of home PC support were made apparent with wide gaps in the results. The two companies are well-known for producing some of the cheapest notebooks in the industry and were two of the first to outsource US support for home users beyond North America. HP has stressed it has set up support offices in Arkansas and New Mexico but has yet to staff them to where they can supplement outsourced help.

Apple wasn't uniformly the highest scoring in the smartphone study, taking the top marks in overall ease of use and happiness but losing out to Motorola's Android phones. Both rated well for an overall lack of issues, but only Motorola scored above average for its ability to cut down on major problems. The relatively heavy-duty construction of phones like the original Droid, Droid 2 and Droid X may have played a part.

Among phone designers, RIM was rated the worst with the number of problems and ease of use all rated as below average. LG, Nokia and Samsung were also criticized for the difficulty of using their devices; HTC achieved completely average scores in reliability, but Android's ease of use helped boost it to third place. Palm had poorer reliability, but webOS' ease pushed it higher up than some others.

In carriers, AT&T's claims of top marks were directly contradicted by scores. The current iPhone exclusive carrier was the only network to rate below average in any category, scoring at the bottom for both mobile data and voice. It had above-average retail help but was beaten by T-Mobile in phone help. Verizon was rated above average in both call and data quality, while Sprint also rated well in data and T-Mobile in voice.

The smartphone figures lent support to the importance of a Verizon iPhone widely expected to launch next year, since it would mate both one of the top-rated smartphones with a similarly well-received network.

Other top scorers in general electronics included Canon, whose cameras and printers were among the best, as well as Panasonic for its cameras and TVs. Brother, LG and Sony also fared well in printers and TVs.

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The HP Slate’s out! « Akihabara News

The HP Slate’s out! « Akihabara News

No, you’re not dreaming: after months of speculations, rumors and leaks, HP has finally announced the Slate 500 — with a twist: it’s meant for business, not for consumers (though anyone can buy one if they’re willing to fork over 800 bucks). In that sense, I don’t think it can be thought as competition for the iPad, but if designed correctly, it might be way more useful in a professional settings (say, a hospital) than the iPad.

The HP Slate 500 packs a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD under its 8.9-inch touchscreen, as well as 2 cameras and a special stylus, since yes, you can take notes with the Slate! Its Wacom active digitizer lets you use your stylus to do pretty much anything you want, if you don’t like handling touchscreens with your fingers. That, among others, definitely sets the Slate apart from most other tablets out there.

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