DigiTimes is reporting that Asus will release an Intel Atom version of its new 8.9-inch screen Eee PC (it’ll be called the 901) on June 3rd for “below $650″. Aside from the Atom chipset, it’ll have some other upgrades too; Bluetooth, “metal alloy parts to the keyboard and hinge” and the touchpad will have a metallic border. Mmmm, metal-y.

Aside from those differences, everything else should pretty much be the same as what you’d find on the currently-available Eee PC 900, except that “the Eee PC 901 will replace the Asustek logo with an Eee logo at the bottom of the display and on the top of the lid, while the Linux version of the Eee PC 901 will have more software applications added to it.”

He’s installing the 4G network by himself. Flickr’d.

No love for CDMA. Alltel, which this map shows as being popular in what us latte-drinking, east coast elite call “fly-over country,” has committed its 4G future to LTE, a GSM technology. While the transition is still a ways away—like, three to five years away—the corp’s COO cautioned that “you should not expect to see us talking about 4G anytime at least in 2008.”

Basically, Alltel, one day, will move toward LTE. Just don’t ask about it for a few years.

The best is that we’re already talking about 4G when 3G hasn’t even rolled out yet for most folks.

OLED screens are nice but small. Perfect for a notebook but impractical for, say, a television. This prototype of a laptop by Samsung has a keyboard that’s made me agitated just by looking at it, but features a 12.1-inch 1280×768 active matrix OLED screen, which I bet is gorgeous. Now we just need the price of these screens to come way, way down and before you know it, laptops with screens that are just a few millimeters thick will be commonplace.

via Ubergizmo

The XO Laptop (or the OLPC, whatever you want to call it) will now run Windows, giving children around the world the opportunity to dislike Microsoft as much as we do. I think we alluded to the sort of problems they’ll have in last week’s Sweater Friends. OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte said the use of Windows “enhances [its] ability” to “transform education,” one BSOD at a time.

I don’t know, as a tech guy I’m supposed to applaud the program—hooray, computers in the third world—but I’m also supposed to hate M$. I really am torn.

Genuinely funny, last night’s episode of The Office (Hulu link) showcased the gravity of the situation between Apple and NBC. The long and short of it is, Michael wanted to create a mix CD using “M3Ps” for the office’s new human resources guy, who’s actually a girl; Michael falls in love with her immediately, or “love at first see with my ears.” Rather than download the songs from iTunes (or BitTorrent), he used AmazonMP3!

The humanity!

via The Apple Blog

Here’s the latest CrunchGear-themed crossword puzzle. You can find the answers to the clues spread throughout this week’s posts. Enjoy!

CrunchWord Puzzle for Friday, May 16th

Watch Blogger and horology genius died on May 12. His insight and research into everything from Omegas to mainsprings made him one of the most important names in this business. I’ve had limited interaction with him over the years but the exchanges I’ve had were quite cordial and he was always helpful.

I’m looking at this thing and looking at it and wondering what the heck it’s supposed to be? Is it a folding all-in-one desktop? Is it a laptop with half the screen exposed? Has Sony decided to take meth and rave all night and then spend the night in some rich guy’s house in Manhattan where everything is reflective and then decided to go and do its final design project at Pratt based on the experience? It should cost about $1,500 if Sony ever releases it here, which they won’t.

To add to the mystery, Aving writes:

Adopting a 15.4-inch wide LCD screen, the VGC-LJ25L features a holding keyboard that enables you to use the laptop efficiently even in narrow spaces.

Narrow spaces? Like the box in Cool Hand Luke?

Joel Johnson, blogger extraordinaire, has created on omnibus of videogame exercise gear, starting with a Wii-Fit-like JoyBoard to the Wii-Fit-like Wii Fit. Along the way he looks at exercise bikes that hooked up to your PC with software from Autodesk (!!) and the Atari “Puffer,” which sounds like something I saw on RedTube.

Best of all, Joel is funny so his little trip down memory lane will give you a good workout as you chuckle at his snide yet overtly nostalgic prose.

John Mayer got the BlackBerry Bold.
His post looks like this post.
Very short sentences.
Funny how he got it early.
He says its blazing fast and looks like the New York Times.
Has he ever seen the New York Times?
It’s made of paper, not plastic.
And it doesn’t have a very high resolution.
Maybe she should compare it to a Curve.
Or a TV.
Why is John Mayer blogging about technology?
He is not Wil Wheaton.