HP has dropped two notebooks catering to portable home theater addicts. Both computers run Windows Vista SP1 and come with Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 processors, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M graphics chips, 4GB DDR2 RAM, Wifi, Bluetooth, and a DVD±R/RW drive. The HDX16 has a 16 inch 1366x768 pixel Brightview display and comes with a 320GB hard drive while the HDX18 boasts an 18.4 inch 1920x1080p LCD screen and gives you an extra 180GB storage.
Other features include one-touch access to entertainment, video-upscaling to view standard DVDs in hi-def, a 55% wider viewing angle, a built-in bass subwoofer, an integrated fingerprint reader and... “lustrous sophistication with HP Fluid Imprint finish in titanium,” though I'm not really sure I see what's so lustrously sophisticated from the press photos. The HDX16 will drop in late September for $1299, while the HDX18 will cost you $1349.
[Via GIZMODO]
New HP Notebooks Boast Hi-Def 16:9 Screens
Portable Gaming Solutions Will Cram Your 360 Into a Suitcase for $550
Sometimes it's nice to just sit and consider exactly why you don't do so many of the things that you don't do. (That's why I don't tie my nipples to doorknobs! Of course!) This is a useful exercise that the guy behind Portable Gaming Solutions has apparently never tried. As a result, he is offering to convert your perfectly functional Xbox 360 into a strange-looking laptop for more than the cost of the original console. Ben Heck's previous efforts reflect a great deal of ingenuity and were skillfully executed. The results were interesting, but mainly as a feat of engineering and design. PGS will do a similar mod for anyone who is willing to cough up the cash, but the end product is more functional than it is attractive. And by functional I mean, well, it functions. To give the company credit, though, you can still connect to external displays and the prospect of (giant, hulking, hot) in-car Xboxing, which PGS claims is possible, is somewhat exciting.
[Via GIZMODO]
Alienware: Gaming PCs Are Hitting a Performance Wall
The last place I would expect to hear even a glimmer of doubt about the performance potential of gaming PCs would be Alienware. Yet Alienware's Marc Diana spills that 32-bit machines just aren't cutting it at the pure performance level anymore, saying that faster chips with more cores aren't the solution: 64-bit systems are the real fire. He castigates the rest of the industry for not stepping up, noting that Alienware doesn't actually offer 64-bit systems because driver support sucks, at best. For one, it'd let Alienware do things like offer more than 4GB of RAM (32-bit systems only support up to 4GB). Speaking of RAM, something else I wouldn't expect out of Alienware's performance-at-all-costs mouth is that high performance DDR3 RAM actually isn't worth the premium pricepoint: "It is the highest-performing memory now on the market. But I'm not so sure it's quite there yet. The cost is very high... Six months from now it will start making a lot more sense (economically) than it does right now." And that's why PC gaming sales have been dropping precipitously vs. console sales over the last few years. It just costs too much to stay ahead
[Via GIZMODO]
Eco-Friendly Asus' Bamboo PC
Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and other computer makers went on to make advanced PCs in metal and plastic casings, but now Taiwan's Asustek Computer Inc (2357.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) is finding potential beauty -- and sales -- in an eco-friendly notebook PC encased in another natural material: bamboo.
The Asus Eco Book, as it's dubbed, has a case made of laminated bamboo strips available in different shades.
Harvesting bamboo, an abundant, flexible, durable and fast-growing grass, is unlikely to harm the environment as processing wood from trees might, Asustek said, although glues and laminates for shaping and fortifying the material sometimes contain toxins.
The product is still in the prototype stage and engineers are checking to see if bamboo is suitable for laptops, which have to endure extreme conditions while allowing heat from microprocessors and monitors to escape.
The Eco book is a new tack for a company that caters to executives and other high-end users with its calf leather-bound notebooks and faux alligator-skin models.
"Originally we came out with a leather model style-book," said Cher Chronis, director of marketing communication for Asus Computer International, the Taipei-based company's U.S. unit.
"It was very popular," she said. "After that, it was kind of natural for us to experiment with other types of materials, so we decided to go green."
Asustek says its leather notebooks have not been criticized by animal-rights activists and that the Eco book is not meant to assuage critics.
BAMBOO MICE, KEYBOARDS
While just about all big computer makers are taking steps to make technology more environmentally friendly, Asustek is one of the first to unveil a bamboo-encased computer.
Some niche companies geared toward eco-conscious consumers offer bamboo computer mice, keyboards and monitor frames.
"As part of a portfolio of case choices, it makes sense," said Roger Kay, president of PC market researcher Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc.
"I don't think the computer is going to go over to wooden casing," Kay said. "It's ecological to grow it, but my sense is there's probably more show than substance to the claim of sustainable manufacturing."
While plastic casings often contain toxins like polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, the bigger environmental threats come from lead in cathode ray tube monitors
All major manufacturers, such as Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest PC maker, Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 2, Apple as well as Asian rivals Lenovo Group Ltd (0992.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) and Acer Inc (2353.TW: Quote, Profile, Research), have programs to reduce energy consumption, recycle components and reduce hazardous materials in computers.
Consumers and businesses are expected to buy about 260 million PCs this year, a 12 percent jump from 2006's level, according to market researcher IDC. Growth is being fueled by surging demand for notebook computers.
With so many computers being sold, and an estimated 500 million computers hitting obsolescence in the United States alone in the past 10 years, PC accessory makers are going green, too.
PVC-FREE
Laptop computer case and accessory maker Targus Inc recently introduced its environmentally-friendly Grove laptop cases, made of recyclable plastics, nickel-free hardware and PVC-free material.
Targus teamed up with the Texas-based computer maker last month to sell its cases on Dell's Web site and will donate a portion of its Dell-sold cases to Dell's "Plant a tree for me" program, which allows consumers to make donations to plant trees to offset the carbon impact of electricity for running their computers.
Dell and Lenovo plan to eliminate PVC and brominated flame retardants, or BFRs, another potential hazard, from their new products by 2009, and Dell requires its parts suppliers to meet environmental targets such as carbon-emission reductions.
Apple says it plans to eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs from all its products by the end of next year.
The major computer companies including Apple and Dell also have programs to recycle discarded PCs and monitors. By 2010, Apple expects to recycle 19 million pounds of so-called e-waste per year, or about 30 percent of the product weight it sold seven years earlier.
HP said it is on schedule to meet a goal of recycling 1 billion pounds of equipment and supplies by the end of this year.
Asustek, while small compared with HP, Dell and other heavyweights, says its size enables it to design, manufacture, market and distribute PCs on its own, allowing it to get new ideas like the bamboo PC to market faster. "If it does get to the point where we do find a model that meets all the engineering requirements and allows green computing, we will release it," the company's Chronis said. "Everybody loves the Eco book. It's a beautiful computer."
[Via Reuters]
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