Dell announced the availability of the Dell Studio and Studio Slim desktops. With their stylin’, sexy finish and small form factor, these PCs practically scream, “Ooh, ooh put me in your entertainment center, next to the hot Blu-ray!”
The desktops feature a multitude of connections including HDMI output, firewire and USB ports, Gigabyte ethernet, and more. Options include a TV tuner, Blu-ray player, and media card reader.
Tight on desk space? Or perhaps you have really small hands? Here you go. Brando’s ‘Super Tiny Keyboard’. It’s got 56 keys and connects via USB port. Measures 170 x 73 x 15mm and weighs 56 grams. Ya, that’s an iPhone for size comparison.
It’s official, Intel is shipping out the dual-core Atom 330. Designed for nettops, this new processor should add some pep to your applications. Specs include a 1.6GHz processing core, 1MB of level 2 cache, 8W TDP, and DDR2 667 support.
Read the official announcement after the ‘leap’
Intel Ships Dual Core Atom for Nettops
September 19, 2008
Intel has officially begun shipping a 45nm dual-core Intel® Atom™ Processor known as the Intel Atom Processor 330. The newest member of the Atom family is designed specifically for nettops, which are affordable desktops purpose-built primarily for web surfing, email, and basic Internet usage. The dual-core Intel® Atom™ Processor 330 features a 1.6GHz processing core, 1MB of level 2 cache, an 8W TDP and support for DDR2 667. The new processor is available as an integrated package and has been validated with the Intel® 945GC Express Chipset, featuring built-in Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 and Intel® High Definition Audio.
This isn’t the first time, and no doubt the last time we’ll see a desktop computer with a built-in LCD. Sure, the built-in monitor’s application is pretty limited, but it might give you that warm and fuzzy 80s feeling from the days of huge ass portable TVs, remember those? I think you got a 4 inch B&W screen in a tower sized box. The Shuttle D10’s screen achieves a 800×480 resolution and you can choose between a Core 2 Duo E4000 series, E2000 series, or Celeron 400 series processor. Other features are 2GB of RAM, 4 USB ports and probably a DVD burner ala tray format. The price is rumored to be around $500 and no word on whether it will come stateside.
CompuLab’s Fit-PC slim is fanless, wi-fi enabled, and did I mention really, really tiny? Measuring a mere 4.3 x 3.9 x 1.2 inches, this wonder of a mini PC features a 500MHz AMD Geode LX800, 256 or 512MB RAM, Audio I/O, serial port (with adapter), Ethernet, 3x USB ports, VGA output, WiFi, a 2.5-inch hard drive option, and runs Windows XP or Linux.
Price ranges from a barebones $220 (256MB RAM, no WiFi, no HDD) to $335 (512MB, WiFi, 60GB HDD).
The HP Touchsmart PCs have been lurking around in the shadows for sometime now. From what I can tell they haven’t gained mass appeal - Costco has or had them - but for some reason HP has decided to introduce a newer and improved version in the hopes of putting the computer maker smack in the middle of the living room. The latest iteration includes a Blu-ray player, TV Tuner, a wall mount and a larger 25.5-inch touchscreen LCD. The TouchSmart IQ800 is powered by an Intel Core2 processor and Nvidia GeForce 9600 GS HD graphics card. WiFi and a built-in Webcam are also included in the deal along with a wireless mouse and keyboard. The black Piano finish and HP energy saver technology should appeal to the Hollywood Hills crowd.
The HP Touchsmart IQ800s are available for preoorder here (includes extra $100 off) and ship around September 21st. Starting at $1,800
Cray, which long held THE Supercomputer status in the 80s, has partnered with Microsoft to launch the compact CX1 Supercomputer. To be officially unveiled next Monday, the CX1 is running Microsoft’s HPC (High Performance Computer) Server 2008, which is to be positioned as a suitable alternative to Linux and Unix operating systems. The CX1 was built for those in the financial services, aerospace, automotive, academic and life sciences fields that need a hefty amount of computing power. For instance, our very own Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at UCLA plan to use the machine to enhance their work.
Seagate announced in a press release it’s flagship of the FreeAgent portable hard drives today. A 3.5-inch, 7200RPM, 1.5TB, stylish hard drive that Seagates boasts is ‘the slimmest external drive available today. At a height of only 12.5mm…’ It’s available for both Mac and PC. It uses standard connection methods like USB 2.0, FireWire 400 or eSATA. Price for the 1.5TB drive is $300 and $160 for the 500GB. It’s available October of 2008.
It might just be me, but the C@T-one is eye sore worthy. All things considered it was launched back in 2006, so at this point, relatively speaking of course, it’s out dated design wise. So what can it do? The C@T-one doubles as a TV remote and mouse. Working on the 2.4Ghz frequency it includes a USB dongle for your ‘puter and built-in infraredness for good old regular TV channel flipping. There’s a scroll wheel for heavy web surfers, and a 30-minute auto shutoff making it less battery hungry.
The creators of T9 announced Swype, a very cool, potentially thumb-saving method of text entry. Simply trace the word and Swype figures it out. For instance, in the above image, the finger traced the lines between Q, I, C, and K to create the word ‘QUICK’ as in ‘50 words per minute QUICK!’
Check out the video after the ‘leap’ to see a demonstration
