Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

This one’s going to send a lot of Apple fanboys aflutter, saying “Copycat!” “Imitation!” and “Unoriginal!” But let’s face it, is it truly possible to create an all-in-one PC that doesn’t remind one of the Apple iMac? I mean, really? But before you answer that, let me just go ahead and list out this baby’s features, and hopefully shed some light on even just a few readers.

This all-in-one single body PC is from Averatec, and it features no less than a full-size keyboard, mouse, and of course, that single black slab of metal and plastic that houses the CPU, monitor, and other computer innards. The screen is a 22-inch 1680x1050p WSXGA+ HD display that hides an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, a 320GB hard drive, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 4GB) and nVidia GeForce graphics behind it. It has a built-in 1.3-megapixel camera, 4-in-1 card reader and DVD/CD writer for some multimedia good times. Windows Vista Home Premium is also preloaded with the thing, to further wash away beliefs that this is an iMac-clone.

Unfortunately, the price point couldn’t get any closer to the iMac, at $1,299. Watch out for it’s appearance in your favorite local/online stores next month.

Via [Gear Live]

The latest to land in what seems like a never ending stream of mini notebooks is the RazorBook 400 from 3K Computers. While the RazorBook 400 seems to have a very similar feature set as the Eee PC 701 it is lacking a little in the power department.

Similar to the Eee PC, the RazorBook 400 offers a 7-inch display, 4GB SSD, 512MB RAM, built-in card reader, Wi-Fi and runs Linux, but the processor is a lowly 400MHz. With people even at times questioning the 900Mhz of the Eee PC, its hard to imagine a similar notebook running at 400MHz and sadly the price is the same $399 that the Eee PC is retailing for.

Product [3K Computers] Via [Gotta Be Mobile]

Looking for a creative (albeit a bit expensive) way to banish your computer’s data? EDR Solutions might have just the right thing for you. Cleverly disguised as a seemingly hibernating war machine, the Hard Disk Crusher will offer to ‘drill’ through your hard drive’s spindles, effectively killing it just like how crunch waves do brain cells. A standard 110V outlet should be enough to give this monster some juice, but in the unlikely event that you need to use this where there’s no electricity available, you can use an emergency hand-pump and crush hard drives 15 pumps at a time. How much is one Hard Disk Crusher to destroy all your unwanted data easily? $11,500 (including a one-year warranty, at $995 per year extended). The comfort in knowing that nobody will ever find all your precious “YouTube videos?” Priceless.

Via [Oh Gizmo]

Here’s a contraption that would go nicely with your monster computer lounge setup. It’s the Gemini P29 wireless keyboard, which supposedly is the world’s “first 5-in-1.” However I haven’t been successful in clearly identifying what the other three features are, aside from it being a keyboard and a wireless remote.

It’ll measure larger than most average-sized keyboards, but the reason for this can be clearly seen - extra buttons and a joystick put on top, possibly for added convenience and more control. A 10 meter (about 33 foot) radius is afforded to you via a USB dongle for your PC, so you can control your PC apps, among other things, remotely.

Interested in getting one? I’m sure Xenics (from Korea) would be glad to help you out.

Product [Xenics Korea] Via [Akihabara News]

With resolving more Eee PC battery issues in mind, Asus has announced that they will be offering a “free upgrade” to customers who either purchased the Asus Eee PC 900 or received it for review with 4400mAh batteries instead of the advertised 5800 mAh ones. This is in relation to all the negative publicity that they have been getting lately because of the aforementioned battery issues, which they have rightly adjusted and countered with a good move. I wish all manufacturers were like that, open to the opinions of customers and ready to stoop down low for the sake of being understood. We admire you Asus, and keep up the good work! Now when’s my 80GB OS X powered Eee PC coming?

Via [jkk mobile]

Maybe it was the pressure of wanting to release their product as early as possible, but the makers of the OLPC XO-1 laptop sure have a lot of explaining to do regarding the recent news about widespread keyboard failure on their computers. Apparently, a lot of users are finding that most of the keys on their keyboard have been acting a bit funny lately, with some having keys getting activated by presses on nearby keys, as well as a few that keep getting stuck after being hit one. Which is definitely bad news, especially for the intended target market of non-techies and first time computer users. 

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Our good friend Microsoft and HCL Infosystems from India have decided to join forces in an attempt to deliver the world’s cheapest laptops running Windows XP. True, such a thing already exists in many versions, and one is the ultra-portable and ultra-cute Asus EeePC, which can run not only Windows XP, but Linux as well. Still Microsoft has decided to venture into this as of yet unexploited market, perhaps in hopes of conquering another niche.

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I don’t know what the occasion is, but apparently Microsoft has decided to dish out its Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 3000 in 5 dazzlingly bright colors. And no, the one pictured here is not pink, so stop your hating. This, my friend, is what the color Dragon Fruit looks like. At least that’s true according to Microsoft. Other colors include Aloe, Milk Chocolate, and Creme Brulee, and Pomegranate. You’ll be able to get these babies from Best Buy in May for around $30, and will reportedly be rolling out to other stores by June. Artsy type geeks, I think, are gonna love this.

Via [Gizmodo]

Microsoft’s Windows Vista SP1 OS gets an “unofficial” release date via Amazon’s Windows Vista comparison page. Though Microsoft has failed to issue an official statement concerning the said release date, Amazon had this to say:

You can pre-order Windows Vista with SP1 or Windows Vista with SP1 Upgrades now to get SP1 included in the box. Or buy the current versions of Windows Vista now, then update to SP1 online--free of charge--when the new versions are released on March, 18, 2008.

Well, it was bound to be released someday, and it’s already past mid-March so this news shouldn’t come as as a surprise. It always proves interesting to see when another company leaks a release date, lets see if this one holds true.

Read [Amazon] Via [Engadget]

Can you imagine splitting up your computer into several small devices and manipulating them individually to suit your own taste? A clever new prototype for such a device has been demonstrated by the researchers over at MIT Media Lab. Dubbed as “Siftables”, this new prototype aims to “enable people to interact with information and media in physical, natural ways that approach interactions with physical objects in our everyday lives.” They call Siftables an “interaction platform” that gives a user entirely new ways to control data with the application of technology from wireless sensor networks to tangible user interfaces.

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