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Computer Hardware

Dell's New Line Makes Like Apple

July 29, 2008

Finally it seems like somebody in the PC business besides Apple has grabbed the idea that style matters -- the message is in the medium, so to speak ...

Dell's smallest, most personalized and most environmentally responsible consumer PC, the Studio Hybrid, launched today; that's it in the photo at left.

Available immediately at www.dell.com/hybrid, the PC's new unique shape and size can be personalized with six optional, external jewel-toned color or bamboo sleeves.

Dell also unveiled two new Inspiron PCs, including the Inspiron 13, a sleek and stylish sub $800 13-inch laptop perfect for students heading back to school, available starting next week at Wal-Mart. (So much for that much ballyhooed direct model.)

The Inspiron 518 desktop, available immediately at www.dell.com, is designed for everyday family multi-media activities, like catching up on favorite TV shows via the Internet, playing online games and storing and accessing music playlists and digital images. 

See what else is new here by checking out the Dell press release.









Voodoo PCs Undergo HP Mumbo-Jumbo

July 24, 2008

Is Now the Time for e-Book Readers?

July 24, 2008

With Sony announcing today that its Reader Digital Book will be able to read electronic books published using the .epub format -- the same that many of the largest book publishers are using -- ring in a new age for e-books?

Until now, Sony's e-book reader could only read books available from the Sony e-book store, PDF documents and digital rights management (DRM)-free text.

Starting next month, the new PRS-505 Sony Reader will be able to access secure DRM- and non-DRM-protected content in the .epub format, formerly called the Open eBook format.

The Sony Reader Digital Book is the first e-book reading device to support the .epub format, which is the XML-based standard format proposed by the International Digital Publishing Forum. It allows publishers to convert books to different formats, protect the copy using DRM and adds the ability to resize PDF e-books and other text to better fit the reader's screen size.

Such publishers as Harper Collins, Random House, Simon & Schuster and Penguin are offering texts in the .epub format.

CNet has more on this development here.















Malware & Hackers Heading to Mac Land

July 23, 2008

A Crapware-Free PC? Now, You're Talking!

July 21, 2008

We Already Said Goodbye to the Computer Mouse

July 17, 2008

Did You Buy a Mouse Today? Much Cheaper Now!

July 11, 2008

You're probably using a mouse today, but you may never buy one again.

All the planets are aligning against this humble pointing device.

The computer mouse has long been associated with the PC, but in fact it was invented during the John F. Kennedy administration (in 1963) by Silicon Valley engineers Douglas Engelbart and Bill English. 

The mouse was nothing but a lab rat until the Xerox Star shipped in 1981. Though it was the first time anyone could buy a mouse, few did. The Star was overpriced ($16,000 -- wow!) and poorly marketed. (As if marketing would have made much of a difference ...)

The IBM PC came out that year, too -- without a mouse.







Storage? You Want Storage? How 'Bout 1.5TB?

July 10, 2008

Everything You Wanted to Know About Smart Cards ...

July 7, 2008

Apple Lets a Little Air Out ...

July 3, 2008

Apple has quietly dropped the price of the high-end MacBook Air by $500.

The Air, which comes with a 1.8GHz upgrade (from 1.6GHz) and a 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD), is now $2,598. Compare this to the original price of the 1.8GHz/SSD MacBook Air at $3,098 just last week.

The difference in price appears to be a combination of price drops in both the processor upgrade ($200 vs. $300) and SSD ($599 vs.



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