TechWatch: Hard Drives; Biometrics; Tablet PCs

Here's a true digital potpourri of products: the first ThinkPad to run Windows XP Tablet Edition, the latest in Serial ATA drive technology, and a fingerprint authentication now ready for shared use. If you have a product you want us to review, e-mail [email protected].

Driving For Speed And Capacity

As part of its annual barrage of new products, disk-drive manufacturer Seagate is now offering a new 500-GB drive for desktop, server and nearline storage solutions. The Barracuda 7200.9 is based on the current SATA specification supporting the 3-Gbps interface and native command queuing (NCQ). With a spin speed of 7,200 rpm, Seagate says the drive has an average seek time of 8 ms. Seagate is also planning to release this fall a new external drive based on the FireWire 800 spec (also known as 1394b), which boasts a throughput of 800 Mbps--double that of traditional FireWire. Rival Maxtor is also readying similar external drives, though only 200-GB and 300-GB versions will be available in July; a 500-GB unit is to be released later this year.

Barracuda 7200.9, www.seagate.com Price: N/A

Give A Shared PC the Finger

Looking to expand the use of biometric authentication, DigitalPersona is extending its fingerprint-based network-logon tools. A new release of its DigitalPersonaPro software supports public-access PCs and kiosks, and is intended for environments where multiple users share workstations. Individuals can log in to a system or network from a PC by putting their finger on a reader device. DigitalPersona Pro Kiosk eliminates the need for passwords or interfaces to specific applications. It also keeps logs of login activity for compliance purposes. The solution consists of the U.are.U fingerprint reader, client software for PCs running Windows, and the DigitalPersona Pro Server, which runs on Microsoft's Active Directory.

DigitalPersona Pro Kiosk, www.digitalpersona.com Price: $1,499, plus $125 per user

convertible Tablet

Remember a few years ago when IBM pulled out of the tablet market? It did so just months before Microsoft released its Windows XP Tablet Edition operating system. Big Blue at the time said the technology was immature, and it didn't see much demand. Seems Lenovo has a different take--the company that recently acquired IBM's PC business has launched a new ThinkPad device that is convertible, meaning it functions as a laptop with a keyboard that swivels around, converting the device into a tablet. Company officials say the ThinkPad X41 Tablet was actually in the works by IBM before Lenovo acquired its PC business, but now with the availability of third-party, tablet PC-based applications, the time is right to re-enter the tablet fray. The unit, available with Intel Pentium M Low Volt or Ultra Low Volt processors, weighs 3.5 pounds, is 1.14 inches thick and has a 12-inch display.

ThinkPad X41 Tablet, www.thinkpad.com/tabletpc Price: Starts at $1,900