Asus U30Jc Notebook Packs Core i3, Nvidia Optimus Graphics

By Geoff Duncan Published April 5, 2010

Taiwanese computer maker Asus has officially launched its U30Jc notebook computer in the United States, and while the system’s specs aren’t going to make high-end gamers and desktop-replacement fans drool, they could certainly appeal to mobile professionals looking for a reasonably portable mix of performance coupled with long battery life.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The U30Jc offers a 13.3-inch backlit LCD display driven by either Intel integrated graphics or Nvidia GeForce GT310M graphics: the system includes Nvidia’s Optimus technology so users can switch between the graphics systems on an app-by-app basis, using Intel basic graphics for everyday computing tasks like spreadsheets and email, and kicking in the Nvidia graphics controller for games, multimedia, and other applications were performance is more important than saving power. Asus claims the U30Jc can get up to 9.5 hours of battery life.

Recommended Videos

Under the hood, the U30Jc packs an Intel Core i3 processor running at 2.26 GHz—the Core i3 features HyperThreading for supporting more application threads, but lacks the clock-accelerating TurboBoost feature in the Core i5 and Core i7 processors. The U30Jc also comes with 4 GB of RAM and sports 802.11n wireless networking, gigabit Ethernet, plus HDMI output for pushing high-definition content to a big screen.

The U30Jc is available now from selected retailers with suggested prices starting at $899.99.

Former Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

AI is finding Apple security flaws faster than Apple can sort through them

Apple has limited how many bug reports researchers can keep open as AI tools produce both genuine Mac vulnerabilities and a flood of questionable submissions

Lighting, Architecture, Building

Apple has capped the number of security reports researchers can keep open at once after AI bug hunting put its review process under pressure, according to the Financial Times.

Some submissions describe hallucinated or purely theoretical risks. Others uncover vulnerabilities serious enough to require patches. Bynario told the FT that it found more than 50 possible macOS flaws in three weeks, including a privilege-escalation chain that could give an attacker full control of a Mac.

Computing

Anthropic is paying $1.5 billion over pirated books, but it can still legally cut up purchased ones

The settlement addressed unauthorized ebook downloads, not the destructive scanning of lawfully bought physical copies, a distinction now alarming booksellers

Book, Publication, Indoors

A federal judge has approved Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement over nearly half a million pirated books. The same litigation also protected a more physical method of feeding its AI systems. Anthropic bought print books, removed their bindings, scanned every page and destroyed the originals.

The legal divide came down to acquisition. The settlement covers books downloaded from LibGen and PiLiMi, while the court treated Anthropic’s one-for-one conversion of purchased books into private digital files as fair use. Training AI models on lawfully acquired material was also considered transformative.

Computing

Google Earth’s AI misadventure lasted only a day. It was a tale of dangerous ignorance.

Nuclear reactors, tanks, and historical destruction on a life-like satellite map? Yeah, that's bad.

Nano Banana AI image generator representation.

Technology behemoths are clearly not reading the room, or they are just moving faster than they should when it comes to AI deployment. Google has already stuffed its Gemini AI in every corner of its software stack, from Android to daily productivity tools like Gmail that are used by hundreds of millions of users every day. AI is everywhere. Not all of it is bad, mind you. But in a few places, it just feels forced.

In its latest AI-fication experiment, the company targeted Google Earth. The idea was to let the audience use its Nano Banana 2 AI image generator and make images that can be placed on the map view. On paper, it's a cool idea. What would the Colosseum of Rome look like in your urban neighborhood? Yeah, fun stuff like that.