Dell has recently launched its netbook line. The Inspiron Mini 9 entered the market a little late, but I am confident it will catch the competition soon. And Dell went ahead and made its netbook available with Linux OS but with a twist. If you want to choose Ubuntu 8.04 as your default operating system then you will automatically choose the 8GB SSD model. If you want more memory, better get a card or an external hard drive.

The Mini 9 Linux version costs £269 or $472 while the Windows XP version costs £299 or $525.

Windows XP was supposed to be officially discontinued starting with January 31, 2009. According to a leaked email from a PC OEM, Microsoft has decided to postpone the XP retirement. The new rumored date is July 31, 2009. That gives us a whole six extra months to buy XP instead of Vista. After that you will probably be more likely to choose the future Windows 7 instead of Vista. That’s a nice trick Microsoft is pulling. Especially since they are working hard on promoting Vista.

Kingston is ready for the next DDR RAM level. I am talking about DDR3 memory modules which are already shipping in the USA. The model you should be looking for is the HyperX from Kingston. They will be the fastest DDR3 made so far with speeds of 2GHz. The 2GB model will feature CL9-9-9-27 @ 1.9v and their price will start from $227.

I’d expect the competition to come up with similar DDR3 modules soon which will lead to a price decrease. Not that $227 is that expensive for the speed the new RAM promises.

Tell the truth: just how much use did you get out of that overpriced PlayStation 3 webcam that the marketing druids call the “PlayStation Eye”? Not much, I guess.

Here to give you a reason not to throw that overpriced piece of plastic away, a bunch of programmers have come up with drivers for the PS3 Eye to make it operate as a standard webcam for your PC.

The PS Eye is actually a pretty good webcam, considering it pushes 60fps over USB 2.0, good wide viewing angle and low distortion, and more.

Be sure to wipe the dust off of it before you plug it in.

Marking the entry of Hollywood in PC manufacturing, Dell and Paramount Pictures have teamed up to allow consumers to preload Iron Man into newly purchased computers. This is the only film currently being offered, and consumers will be able to purchase it for an additional $20 on the price of their newly configured Dell computers.

"The key focus here is to lead off our slow immersion into content as a major piece of the puzzle in terms of what consumers want from a PC," said Rachna Bhasin, director of content for Dell’s global consumer group.

The movie will be preinstalled on Dell’s Inspiron, Studio and XPS laptop and desktop models. Surely crippled with DRM, consumers will be able to watch it on their computers, their TVs and burn one copy to DVD. Dell hopes to increase the selection of movies in the future.

MLC technology or multi-level-cell technology has been included in the new Toshiba SSD drives. These come in 8G, 16GB, 32GB and 250GB. What happened with the gap? Nothing in between 32GB and 256GB? Netbooks and desktops/laptops versions right? (more…)

We’ve heard about this mini projector all along. I mean we didn’t know that much but we know Dell had one on the pipe. The M109S is exactly the mini projector you were looking for.

Here are some specs of the tiny portable machine: (more…)

Where is this world heading too? I mean sure netbooks are popular but eventually a better product will be created. When it comes to portable tiny computers I’m going to assume we’re going to have smaller and smaller laptops with possibly holographic LCDs. Leaving Sci-Fi gadgets aside , I really can’t understand why a person would choose to get a PC box like the Shuttle D10 ten which would have a 7 inch incorporated touchscreen LCD in it. Why not get one of the Eee clones available today? (more…)

Dell, Microsoft and now HP have each launched at least a new pair of keyboard and mouse. Some look better and some are definitely more efficient. Today we came across HP’s Wireless Comfort Keyboard and Mouse. (more…)

Creative has a new gadget that might interest you. The Sound Blaster X-Fi Go! is exactly what you need to carry with you when traveling. It’s an USB sound stick card which will instantly upgrade that laptop of yours. (more…)

Seagate has just announced its new lineup of FreeAgent drives. They are external drives for desktops and laptops and they come pre-formatted either for PC or Mac.

The FreeAgent Go are made for laptops and they will come in 4 colors for PC: silver, black, red and blue. The PC version comes with USB 2.0. The Mac version comes in silver only but it has both USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity. A docking station is available for connecting it to a computer. The drives will get you up to 500GB of extra storage space. (more…)

I bet HP doesn’t like the new Microsoft commercials especially if they will end up promoting Vista as the perfect OS. From confirmed and unconfirmed sources it appears that HP has some of its money invested in two directions, both meant to cut Vista out of their current line and possible compete to a closer than ever Apple.

Let’s start with Vista. It sucks! That was easy! HP knows this and it is moving to Linux, or even better, it is building a replacement OS based on Linux. All that is being denied so far. The other rumor is that HP is developing a software which will modify Vista to bring out the best in it.

The chief technology officer of HP’s PC division, a Phil McKinny, is absolutely denying such nonsense. But he admits to such conversations which might have taken place below senior management levels. You know, in the dungeons of HP, where the true leaders are.

HP feels Apple breathing down their neck and knows for sure that as soon as Apple smartens to a point where it will lower PC and laptops prices, the Cupertino-based out of the box company will take a huge share of the market. Everyone would get a Mac if they were cheap enough right? Beware HP, that might actually happen in a little over a month from now.

Dell has designed a new mouse and a new keyboard for your future desktop systems. As you can see in the picture above, the mouse doesn’t look special. What’s special about it is the fact that it will sport the LaserStream Technology developed by Agilent Technologies and currently used in various Logitech G-series mice. That means the boring Dell mouse will have a second-generation laser sensor which will run at around 2000 DPI. (more…)

I’d like to be in any of the brain-storming meetings Apple’s employees go to. How else would they come up with all sorts of interesting ideas. We hear now that Apple wants to add voice and camera to multi-touch in an attempt to improve our gadgets experience.
(more…)

Not exactly the most portable devices, all-in-one PCs come in handy. They will save you some desk space and they will always be ready to go. Sony has launched three new all-in-one Vaio PCs which we’re going to inspect.

The Vaio JS, in the picture above, is a huge desktop. It has a 20.1 inch screen which has a 1,680 x 1,050 resolution. There’s a webcam above the screen and a speaker bar below. The Vaio JS has a 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo E8400 processor, 4GB of RAM, an integrated Intel GMA 4500HD graphics card, a 500GB and a standard DVD burner. The PC will cost around $1,000 if you’re interested.

The Vaio LS has a floating mirror design which resembles the Vaio LT19U. It has a 24 inch display which can deliver a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. Inside you will find either Blu-ray or regular drives, up to 1TB of hard drive space, and an HDMI input. Pricing starts at $1,600 depending on what you choose.

The last PC is Sony’s Vaio RT. It’s an even bigger model. It has a 25.5 inch LCD and inside it has an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU, up to 8GB of RAM, a 512MB GeForce 9600M GT graphics card and up to 1TB hard drive. A Blu-ray drive comes as standard and the RT has a pair of TV tuners and both HDMI in and out.

All models will feature WLAN and they will be available sometimes this fall. If you needed a new all-in-one, maybe it’s time to act and get a Vaio PC.

The LoCO2PC PC from Akhter looks like an LCD monitor. Well a rather big one. And it’s supposed to be an environment friendly all-in-one PC too. Inside there’s a Celeron dual-core or a Core 2 Duo processor, SXGA (1,280 X 1,024 ) resolution, a 250GB hard drive and 802.11b/g WiFi. The whole “mechanism” uses 55 Watts while in use and only 3 Watts when in sleep mode.

This PC will certainly leave its mark on your wallet. Depending on what you choose to arrange inside you will be paying from $975 to $1,156 to get one.

Are we getting new XPS laptops from Dell? Well it certainly looks that way. According to leaked images, the two new machines, the Studio XPS 13 and 16 are supposed to come out in November.

The new laptops are said to come with Intel Centrino 2 processors, with hybrid SLI support, slot-loading Blu-ray drives, edge-to-edge glass displays with LED backlight, WiMAX and UWB and backlit keyboards.

There aren’t any prices offered yet but we’re keeping an eye on them for you.

You should already be aware of the “war” Apple and Psystar. Apple sued Psystar for selling cheap PCs equipped with Mac OS. Psystar proves to be quite a tough nut to crack. Not only did it higher top notch lawyers but it started its own counteroffensive by suing Mac yesterday.

Psystar says that Apple is breaking the law by enforcing those terms of agreement which Psystar broke evidently when selling OpenComputers. According to Psystar, Apple is violating pro-competition laws which include the Clayton Antitrust Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Psystar’s chief Rudy Pedraza says:

What we want to do is to provide an alternative, an option. It’s not that people don’t want to use Mac OS, many people are open to the idea, but they’re not used to spending an exorbitant amount of money on something that is essentially generic hardware.

Apple isn’t saying anything, but they usually don’t. They are obligated to respond within 30 days to Psystar’s complaint so we’re going to hear more about this conflict.

We’re waiting anxiously for the USB 3.0 to be included in most motherboards and other gadgets. We know Intel has been studying the matter hard enough to give us a viable solution. AMD and NVIDIA have been also waiting impatiently for such technology to be shared or else. (more…)

When is the last time you bought a new keyboard? What about a new laser mouse? What about the Cordless Desktop Wave Pro from Logitech? This Wave Pro is made of a keyboard, the Logitech Wave Keyboard and a cordless laser mouse, the Logitech MX 1100. Exactly what you were looking for right? (more…)