A seven hour battery…in a notebook PC. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today's technology. IBM is out with a new ThinkPad…the X40….that weighs in at less than 2 and a half pounds….and is available with a battery that will keep it running, according to IBM, for more than 7 hours. Worldwide ThinkPad segment manager Jeff Samitt…says the X40 is the thinnest and lightest model IBM has ever produced…

"The X40 starts at 2.7 pounds. This is a very thin and light design. It's a ten and a half by eight point three inches length, width…under an inch in height. So it is one of the smallest machines out on the market today. Still with a 12.1 inch screen and a full size keyboard…which is very important to note. This is not typical for the ultra-portable industry."

IBM includes tools it calls Rescue and Recovery with Rapid Restore. The idea is to allow users to restore their systems easily in the event of problems…including viruses. On the downside….to use an optical drive…such as a DVD player or CD burner…you'll need to attach it via a USB cable or an expansion docking unit. Pricing starts at about 15 hundred dollars. Samitt says IBM expects to see more and more computer users shifting from desktop to notebook PCs. And IBM's eleven year old ThinkPad line has outsold all other brands Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.