Remainders – The Good, Bad and Ugly Things We Didn’t Post (and Why)

Abandon all hope, ye who enter Remainders. Today, we’ve got: Windows 7 needs less tech support than anyone expected, Acer’s Olympic-themed laptop, Sprint’s Android phones skipping Android 2.0, and a leaked Panasonic (non-Micro) Four Thirds camera.

Windows 7 Customers Are Just so Savvy

Windows 7’s tech support lines have been far less busy than expected—but we can’t draw any easy conclusions, like, say, “Windows 7 rulz!,” because Windows online tech support has gotten much easier to use and online solutions have become more appropriate. People now know to just Google (or Bing) their problems, which probably filters out a lot of the knucklehead stuff. [CNET]

Acer’s Olympic Laptop Is the Lamest Tie-In Ever

Really, Acer? You can’t think of anything else to do with an Olympic-themed laptop than to slap the five ring logo on the lid? We expect better, Acer. You’ve come up with some phenomenal, gaudy, ostentatious and downright silly-looking laptops in the past—what’s up with this one? At least slap a GO USA! sticker on the front or something. [Engadget]

Sprint Confirms HTC Hero and Samsung Moment Will Skip 2.0, Head to 2.1

In an official Tweet (ugh), Sprint confirmed that two of its Android handsets, the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment, will actually skip Android 2.0 and move straight to 2.1 when they receive the update sometime in the first half of 2010. That’s sort of expected; we knew the update was coming around that time, and given the pace of Android’s dessert-themed releases, certainly 2.1 would be the current release. So, not earth-shattering news, but good to see that Sprint (and Google) plan to support those phones into the future. [Slashgear]

Leaked Panasonic Four Thirds Camera Ditches the Micro

A patent from Panasonic shows what appears to be a Four Thirds camera, though not the Micro type after which we so lust. Apparently it can flip between optical and live view viewfinders with a hardware switch, and has manual sensor cleaning and anti-shake feature. Rumors suggest it may be announced at CES in a few weeks, but we’ll have to wait and see. [Slashgear]

Related News

• World’s Oldest and Most Expensive Camera Hits the Auction Block
• Panasonic So Excited About Lumix GF1 Micro Four Thirds Camera They Show It a Little Early
• New Incase DSLR Bags Aren’t So Ridiculous Looking
• Cool Panasonic Lumix GF1 4/3 May End Up Being My Next Camera
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 and G10 Micro Four Thirds Cameras Get Handled [Panasonic G10]