2009 will bring us among other things the new generation of iMacs. We’re actually waiting for them early next year. One of their new features might be the new cooling system according to various sources outside the Taiwanese manufacturing facilities.

Foxconn is now said to be responsible with building the new iMacs. The company will be making the new magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis. And the same company will be responsible for the cooling system.

Other rumors are saying that Apple, HP, Acer and Dell have agreed, despite rivalries, to each use the new quad-core desktop chips provided by Intel. Desktops arriving in early 2009 should receive the new chips.

The chips are the Core 2 Quad Q8200 (2.33GHz/4MB L2), Core 2 Quad Q9400 (2.66GHz/6MB L2), and Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83GHz/12MB L2). The chips will be operating at 65W which is 10W higher than the usual 55W iMacs chips. That’s why Apple should ask for a new cooling system to cope with the extra power.

Apple has orders for 800,000 new iMacs per quarter starting with mid-January. What else are we going to expect?

TG Sambo has launched its latest all-in-one. The LLUON B2 will get you a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 processor, a 320GB HDD, an NVIDIA GeForce 9300 graphics card with 256MB of video memory and a 26 inch screen. A slot-loading DVD burner, a webcam and an eSATA port can also be found in this B2 all-in-one. Those interested in this iMac contender will have to pay around $1,421. Only Korea has the all-in one for now so you’ll have to wait for it.

via Engadget

The HP Firebird 803 has been leaked and we know it has a VoodooDNA to brag with. The gaming tower is pretty impressive. Santa has already taken off but maybe you still have time to ask for one. Watch out though, what you see is what you get. You won’t be able to make any modifications in the future. Here are the specs of this Firebird version:

• NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset
• Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor
• 4GB of RAM
• Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards
• Two 320GB SATA drives
• Blu-ray
• 5-in-1 card reader
• 6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVA dual-link
• Bluetooth
• 802.11n WiFi

CES 2009 is where we can expect this HP to show up. Hopefully we’re going to get some prices and availability dates there!

via

The new Mac Mini is supposed to arrive soon but it looks like it has already been leaked over. The picture here shows the smallest desktop in the world. First of all is that what I want? The world’s smallest desktop? What about getting a small laptop which also happen to be a really small, tiny desktop?

And what’s up with the lid? What’s cooking inside? Am I to open the Mini at any time I’d want to, you know, just to have a look inside? I imagine this is the first leaked image of the new Mini and we imagine it will be followed by others soon. Apple didn’t say anything about this one yet.

via Macenstein

There’s no official news on the matter but it looks like Lenovo is getting ready to launch a ThinkPad keyboard. The picture here has appeared on Lenovo’s Flickr stream out of nowhere.

It’s very thin and very wireless. It has a built-in trackpad that seems to have been taken right out of a laptop and of course the numpad is also there. Could we only ask for it to be backlit as well? What about pricing and a release date Lenovo? Pretty please?
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We’ve heard before how the Mini will definitely get refreshed and that hasn’t happen. The rumor mill goes wild once again and now people everywhere are saying that the new Mac Mini will arrive in January at Macworld Expo.

Here’s what a tipster says about the new Mac Mini:

Similar to the MacBooks, the Mac Mini will sport a silver enclosure composed of a block of aluminum. Some internal parts will be PVC-free, and combined with its size and low power requirements, Apple will tout this as the “greenest Mac ever.” For video output, the Mac Mini will use the DRM-crippled DisplayPort for connectivity, which Apple is offering to manufacturers for a no-fee license. It’ll have a CD-DVD slot loader (i.e. Super Drive). There will be no Blu-ray player, because Steve Jobs believes the format is a “bag of hurt.”

We’re just going to have to wait a little longer to have all this confirmed.

via Wired

Asus may be known most for its Eee-branded computers that are all the rage now, but the manufacturer is also known for quality hardware, including great LCD screens. The company unveiled four new desktop displays that all share the 16:9 aspect ratio that is slowly being adopted by computer makers.

The models are the 18.5 inch VH192, 21.5 inch VH222 and VH226 and 23.6 inch VH242. The latter three displays can natively display 1080p, with the VH192 going for 1366×768 resolution. They all use dynamic contrast ratios ranging from 10,000:1 in the 18.5 inch monitor to 20,000:1 for the latter two models.

All except the VH192 have HDMI video input as well as DVI and VGA. No available or pricing details were given.
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In a surprising move, HP today announced that it will begin offering desktops pre-loaded with a build of SUSE Linux. So far the computer manufacturer has been unwilling to offer the alternative, open-source operating system on its computers save for the Mini 1000 netbook, which is installed with the Ubuntu-based MIE.

The model in question is the Compaq dc5850 aimed at the enterprise and education markets. The PC will be available starting December 15 for $519. While the general public won’t be able to buy one of these, it signifies something greater: more manufacturers are jumping on the Linux bandwagon meaning more people will actually get to know about the OS, which is a good thing considering how long Microsoft has monopolized the market.

Designed to be a small and affordable but still quite capable storage server, the ARTiGO A2000 was released by VIA Technology today. It features a 1.5GHz VIA C7-D processor and VIA VX800 Unified Digital Media IGP chipset. It supports two SATA II hard drives, together taking you up to 3TB of available free space! And that home server is as big as a sugar bag. You can have your choice of OS installed. It supports Ubuntu, and Windows XP or Vista!

Jerry Yuan, VIA Embedded Business Development Manager says

The VIA ARTiGO A2000 proves that small can be not only beautiful, but also substantial when it comes to storage capacity. Building on the success of the ARTiGO A1000 Pico-ITX builder kit, VIA has once again broken the mould for barebones, creating a device that embodies VIA’s reputation for innovation and creativity in small spaces.

So how much is it?

AMD seems ready to unveil its new processor, the Phenom II. It’s said to be a quad-core, 45nm chip which will support both DDR2 and DDR3 and it will come at 3GHz and 2.8GHz. A 65nm version will also be available. The chips are supposed to arrive at the upcoming CES which means we’ll get more juicy details by then. If you’re wondering about prices we know so far that the 3GHz 45nm chip costs $275 while the 2.8GHz 45nm chip costs $235. Any hot computers care to wear one of them?

via Engadget

Acer just announced their latest Windows Vista Aero-compatible USB computer monitor with an integrated DisplayLink technology. It is the B223 22-inch screen and it’s a member of the great Acer ergonomic B monitor family.

By using the DisplayLink’s DL-160 network display chip, you can easily connect this monitor to a PC or a laptop with a simple USB 2.0 connection. Another cool feature is the the DisplayLink’s plug-and-play technology enables real quick and user friendly one set-up and only a 5mls response time, which translates in almost no latency and a exceptional performance over more screens.

Oliver Ahrens, Product Business Director at Acer said:

At Acer, we’re committed to enhancing our customers’ viewing experience and mobility, and we realize that different types of users want different features and functionality from their monitors. By adding DisplayLink’s USB technology to our popular 22-inch displays, we’re making it easy and cost-effective for computer users to add extra screens. Building on our expertise with the B series, this new addition is ideal for businesses that need to carry out document comparison activities, or put together complicated presentations, or indeed any other image- or text-intensive computer task.

The B223 will offer you 32-bit true color graphics and a 1680×1050 resolution. It can be yours for $430!
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If you’re one of those green nuts who’s always whining about toxic waste and whatnot, then you might have heard of the Advent Eco PC which launched in late September. However, it was sort of expensive at launch, coming in at 600 GBP (approximately $800), but that has now sunk to around 440 GBP ($650).

If that figure is within your budget, then you might want to take a look at this review. While the computer is praised for its extremely low wattage, its processing powers are not. The aluminium chassis looks pretty good and the whole computer is smaller than an Xbox 360, which is quite a miracle in my eyes. However, the reviewer notes that the performance is “nothing to write home about” and that an Intel Atom processor would have been a better ‘greener’ choice.

Finally, quibbles were made of the (cramped) keyboard and Windows Vista being the included operating system, but the reviewer recommends the PC to any ‘green’ nut.

Tired of those grainy, noisy webcam images of you whoring yourself on the Internet? Well, Samsung has something in store for you – the company has announced a new ¼ in CMOS sensor that produces 720p images at a full 30fps, and VGA (640×480) video at 60fps. Samsung somehow managed to preserve low-light performance at such resolutions and framerate on such a small sensor using a technique called “binning” where certain pixels are deactivated and grouped together to help gather light for active pixels.

The sensor has been designed for use in both laptops and desktops, with hope that it will go into manufacturing in the first half of 2009. 720p webcams in mainstream notebooks? Now that would be awesome.

While we’re waiting for Apple’s trial against Psystar to come to an end, we found another company ready to follow Psystar’s lead. OpeniMac is the new Mac Clone and it’s coming from Argentina.

An OpeniMac costs $990 and it will bring you a 2.53GHz processor, 3MB of shared L2 cache, 2GB of DDR2 SDRAM, a 320GB SATA HDD, an 8X SuperDrive, an ATI Radeon HD Pro with 256MB GDDR3. The 19-inch optional LCD display costs $340 and you will have all that’s needed to make your station work.

The OpeniMac Pro is also available. It costs almost double, at $1,710 and it comes with a 3.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 6MB of shared L2 cache, 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM, a 500 SATA HDD, an 8X SuperDrive and a NVIDIA GeForce GS with 1GB of GDDR3 memory. An LG 20 inch LCD is also included in this offer.

Should you get and OpeniMac with that Mac OS X on board? I wouldn’t, not at least until I’ve seen what Apple and Psystar are doing with their predicament.

The New Mac Mini Concept from Sait Alanyali on Vimeo.
What you see in this video is designer’s Sait Alanyali version of a new Mac Mini. One of the obvious advantage of this square shape is the I/O ports which are more accessible. But wait, there’s more. The 2.5 inch hard drives are hot swappable. There’s a default one and an empty slot for an extra. But wait, there’s more! The V shape will let air move around the heatsink more freely which means no more hot Minis from now on! And yes, in case you were wondering, there’s even more. The logo is always pointing up as there’s a sensor working for you on that.

So how much does such a baby cost anyway? Apple?

via YankoDesign

We were expecting this whole nettop movement. After Asus and HP it’s time for MSI to roll theirs. The MSI Wind Box is a small computer which can be attached to the back of any VESA mountable monitor. Inside the black box there are all recordings of in-flight communication there’s an Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, three USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and Windows XP. France will get it for $254.

Why not get a laptop instead of a nettop? Can anyone give me a smart answer to this question? And leave the price out of it! Wonder what’s the next nettop to be launched.
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I don’t know how much time you spend downloading stuff but if you’re a hardcore downloader you should be interested in Princeton Japan’s 5TB NAS. Loof for the DN-503AH-PDC. It supports RAID 0/1/5/6, 10/1000 Ethernet and hot-swappable HDDs. As you can see, the standard NAS features are present. Will you be able to download the Internet? Not likely but those 5TB should get you a nice chunk of it. Keep an eye out for this NAS this December. It will arrive in Japan and hopefully other markets will follow.

via CrunchGear

The title gives my surprise speaker pretty much away don’t you think? But the question is, is the sound coming from this Diamond Glass Tower, crystal clear. Here’s why the Niagara Waterfall Speakers cost just $53,000. For certain parts of the Waterfall Speakers, Niagara uses high quality Nappa leather hand stitched by a upholsterer in France. Other parts are made out of a solid aluminum block. The entire enclosure is made in 15mm thick Diamond Glass. The bottom panel houses a 21cm Atohm 18 cm ultra low frequency passive bass driver in a down firing position to extend bass frequencies.

Would you pay the $53,000 for a pair of speakers? At this price it’s a pretty hard decision to take especially with the current economical crisis.

via gadgetreview

We have a hot rumor for you all. It looks like LG is working on multi-touch displays somewhere in its Korean factories and it looks like these new display will be manufactured for Apple’s iMac soon. The only question is what is Apple going to do about touchscreen displays? Is Steve Jobs going to get those touchscreen displays in iMacs or MacBooks? Well we’ll keep you updated on this matter. For the time being we’re going to see what LG is going to do with the new displays and then we’re going to look at what Apple is planning to do.

via SlashGear

Asus wants a share of the touchscreen PCs market and who can blame them? With Windows 7 approaching manufacturers are going to do whatever it takes to have their systems sold before the competition wakes up. The Eee Top PCs is Asus’ idea of getting ready for the future. The current model brings you 1GB of RAM and 160GB HDD. And Asus is thinking 15.6 inch screens and even bigger. A 20 inch and a 22 inch version are likely to be released sometime next year. Hopefully the company is also thinking more RAM and HDD space.

We’ve seen the Eee get copied by everyone else. Are we going to see the Eee Top inspire other manufacturers to build similar PCs?