Faulty modem software is holding up online traffic for HP notebooks owners.

As of Wednesday, Hp laptop battery owners of Gateway's Solo 3350 and of HP's Pavilion N5000 and Omnibook XE3 notebooks were unable to use their V.90 56kbps modems to get online. Representatives from both companies have said that the problem originates in a modem driver from Fremont, Calif.-based ESS Technology.

The companies wouldn't say how many notebooks are affected. The Solo 3350,HP Pavilion ZT1100 Battery, HP Omnibook XT1000 Battery, HP Omnibook XT1500 Battery which is an ultra-portable, represents a "very small portion of our overall notebook mix," Gateway spokeswoman Donna Kather said Thursday. Both the Pavilion N5000 and Omnibook XE3 are "very popular," an HP representative said.

A driver is software that allows a peripheral to communicate with the operating system on a PC. In this case, a date stamp in the programming code of the faulty driver is "delaying calls and preventing them from making connections," said Bill Wong, vice president of marketing at ESS Technology. Notebooks running Microsoft's Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 and NT operating systems are affected.

Wong said a "human error" in the code caused the problem.

Although a generic driver that fixes the problem is available on the ESS Web site, Wong recommends that the affected notebook owners wait for a qualified driver from Gateway or HP.

"Our major (manufacturers) will have their new drivers today," Wong said Thursday.

"We're working to qualify a new driver as we speak," Kather said late Thursday morning. "HP Pavilion ZT1100 Battery, A good temporary work around is to reset the date on the notebook to before Feb. 20."

Before it sends out the new driver, Gateway wants to make sure the software will work with its notebook to prevent causing more problems for customers, she said. A date for the new driver has not been set, but the company will make it available on its Web site and will also send floppy disks with the new driver to customers that request them.

HP representatives also recommended that Pavilion N5000 and Omnibook XE3 owners set their clocks back to before Feb. 20 until HP qualifies a new driver that the company will distribute online, as well as on a CD.

HP updates business, consumer notebooks

At an evening press event in New York, HP announced a much-needed new look for its business laptop line. With a silver finish, drop-hinge panel, and scooped-out keyboard, the new models look more modern than the boxy corporate HPs of yore, though they'll still blend in with traditional business environments. Inside the redesigned cases you'll find all the component options you'd expect from a business laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, DVD burners with LightScribe, and HP's ProtectTools support software. The three new models announced today include the 14.1-inch HP Compaq 6520s (price varies by region); the 15.4-inch HP Compaq 6720s (starting at $649) with a choice of antiglare or BrightView screen finishes; and the 17-inch HP Compaq 6820s (starting at $999) with ATI Mobility Radeon X1350 graphics as well as a full keyboard and 10-key number pad. All three models are currently shipping.

In other business news, HP announced that it will begin offering 64GB solid-state drives on its professional laptops and mobile workstations. HP Omnibook XT1000 Battery, Specific models to have this option include the HP Compaq 2710p, 2510p, 6910p, and 8000 series workstations.

It's not all business, though; the consumer-oriented Pavilion line will also see a few updates. Users who want always-on connectivity will have the option of adding built-in WWAN to their 14.1-inch Pavilion dv2500. New consumer laptops include the dv2500z, dv6500z, and dv9500z, which are AMD-based versions of existing Pavilion models. And the company announced a new variation on the existing 15.4-inch dv6500 model. The HP Pavilion dx6500 includes only Intel CPU and GPU options, as well as dual hard drives up to 320GB; it also lacks the fingerprint reader, HDMI support, and modem found on the dv6500 model. The Pavilion dx6500 will be available at retail outlets in October, at a starting price of $949.

At an evening press event in New York, HP announced a much-needed new look for its business laptop line. With a silver finish, drop-hinge panel, and scooped-out keyboard, the new models look more modern than the boxy corporate HPs of yore, HP Pavilion ZT1100 Battery, HP Omnibook XT1000 Battery, HP Omnibook XT1500 Batterythough they'll still blend in with traditional business environments. Inside the redesigned cases you'll find all the component options you'd expect from a business laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, DVD burners with LightScribe, and HP's ProtectTools support software.HP Omnibook XT1500 Battery The three new models announced today include the 14.1-inch HP Compaq 6520s (price varies by region); the 15.4-inch HP Compaq 6720s (starting at $649) with a choice of antiglare or BrightView screen finishes; and the 17-inch HP Compaq 6820s (starting at $999) with ATI Mobility Radeon X1350 graphics as well as a full keyboard and 10-key number pad. All three models are currently shipping.