Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

For many people just getting into digital photography, the world of photo editing can seem a tad overwhelming. Hewlett Packard offers some help in the foray through the forest of editing your precious snapshots and helping you turn them into all they can be, even if it didn’t happen exactly the way you wanted right from the camera.

The Adobe Photoshop program, a perennial favorite among many photographers is rather tried and true. It’s used by everyone from magazine layout staff and professionals to the Joe Schmoe who captured his son playing flag football at the weekend game. However, if you are first wading into the waters of photo editing...granted, the program may seem a little daunting, especially for those not familiar with any kind of editing or publishing software. 

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Some of you might remember back when Disneyland had their “House of the Future”.  I’m guessing it was located in Tomorrowland, and it featured such futuristic advances like speakerphones, big screen TVs, and microwave ovens.  Most homes of the present have these devices now, but during the ten year period that the exhibit was open (1957-1967), this was the future. 

Disneyland has just recently opened their new house of the future, otherwise known as the Innovative Dream Home.  The 5,000-square-foot house has been built as a collaborated effort with HP, Microsoft, and LifeІware.  Visitors can watch the everyday adventures of the fictional Elias family with their more modern advancements. 

Some of Microsoft’s contributions include the ever-so-popular Surface, the Home Server, but it also has some advancements we are all familiar with, such as Vista, the Zune, and even the Xbox 360. 

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HP has announced that they will begin deploying more than 7,000 HP Mini-Note PC’s to K-12 students in the Fresno United School District in California.

“The HP Mini-Note is a powerful laptop that is small enough to fit on students’ desks along with their textbooks and papers, allowing them access to the Internet and educational content from around the world without leaving their seats,” said Kurt Madden, chief technology officer, Fresno United School District.

Certainly a nice perk for students in that district, it seems like they will be given regular access to the computer, which should in turn make them a little more computer literate, especially at the younger ages, but also be able to be used as a tool to aid in their education.

No information was given on what OS these Mini-Notes will be running, or just how they are being spec’d out. I would imagine that the school district would have them running Windows, but if you remember the Mini-Note offers an option to have either Linux or Windows installed.

Hopefully we will see some additional announcements coming from HP.

Read [HP] Via [GottaBeMobile]

HP has just unveiled a new entertainment notebook PC called the HP Pavilion dv5z. Aside from an AMD Puma mobile platform, this powerful machine can also be configured with either an AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core, Turion X2 Dual-Core Ultra or Athlon mobile processor. You’ll also never end up short with it’s relatively large 15.4-inch LCD display which could very well answer your mobile entertainment needs.

The Pavilion dv5z is packed with 4GB of RAM, either an ATI Radeon HD 3200 integrated or ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB graphics, up to 320GB of hard drive space, a DVD burner with an upgrade option to a Blu-ray ROM, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g/n, an optional Bluetooth module, built-in 56k modem, Ethernet, HDMI, VGA output, four USB ports, ExpressCard slot and integrated Altec Lansing stereo speakers. You can also add an optional built-in web camera and fingerprint reader. And for its operating system, the machine comes pre-installed with Windows Vista.

If you’re in the market for a new laptop, you might want to consider getting one of these machines, they are currently available and retail beginning at $699.99.

Product [HP] Via [Laptoping]

HP has just switched one of their two HP TouchSmart models to the in-stock and ships-same-day category. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 PC which retails for $1,249.99 is ready and available for order, the other model (IQ506) is still noted as being “out of stock.”

But not to worry, because the IQ504 is still feature packed and includes a 22-inch widescreen touch-enabled display, a 2GHz Intel Core2 Duo T5750 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB 7,200 RPM hard drive and a SuperMulti DVD burner. The TouchSmart also includes a built-in webcam, 5-in-1 memory card reader, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, wireless keyboard and mouse as well as the the standard variety of ports.

Product [HP]

HP Mini-Note users listen up, VIA has just released an updated set of drivers that seem to be well worth the time it will take to complete the update. Now don’t get me wrong this update is not going to completely change your trusty little notebook, but the update has been noted as offering improved video playback, which for a lot of people has been a major issue.

According to the benchmarks from the folks over at HP 2133 Guide, they are claiming that the “video playback was improved quite a bit on each OS.” They ran the benchmarks on a Windows XP (with SP3) and Windows Vista (with SP1) based Mini-Note that featured a 1.6Ghz VIA C7-M processor, 2GB of RAM, and the standard 120GB 7200 RPM hard drive.

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Coming a little over a month after the notebook was released, HP has finally made the spare batteries for the Mini-Note 2133 available for purchase by themselves. It looks like the 6-cell battery is retailing for $129 and currently available for order. The 3-cell, although it has been reported to be priced at $207 could not be found on the HP website as of this posting. The model number for the 6-cell battery is 482263-001, and the 3-cell model number is 482262-001.

Hopefully the 3-cell will be closer, if not lower in pricing than the 6-cell when it becomes available on the website. Personally I have a 6-cell battery but don’t always need the extra bulk and power that comes with it. I also would not be all that willing to pay around $200 for that smaller battery, especially considering the notebook itself was just $749.

Product [HP] Via [MiniNoteUser.com]

HP has just announced that its latest smartphone, the iPAQ 900 Series Business Manager which has recently got the FCC’s kiss of approval, will start shipping on June 30. Touted as a Blackberry killer, the iPAQ 900 is a 3G smartphone flashing a stylish, glossy piano-black design. Being a smartphone, the iPAQ 900’s features and functionality suits well with the mobile connectivity and computing needs of business professionals. But of course non-business professionals especially those into smartphones would still find this smartphone a very useful toy.

The iPAQ 900 boasts a full QWERTY keyboard, tri-band UMTS/HSDPA and quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 3-megapixel camera. Plus its running on Windows Mobile 6.1 and it fully supports HP’s Enterprise Mobility Suite.

As for the pricing, HP said that the iPAQ 900’s retail price will vary by country and region, so you better check it out with your local HP distributor.

Via [IntoMobile]

Gamers do it right. 

HP’s Voodoo Business Unit, already known as a solid gaming brand recently expanded its portfolio by launching the Voodoo Envy 133. Now dubbed the thinnest laptop available, knocking out Apple’s MacBook Air not only in size, but also in features. 

The tale of the tape is impressive. The Voodoo Envy 133 measures 0.7 of an inch and weighs less than 3.4 pounds without compromising the notebook’s power or capabilities. Despite its thinness, the Envy 133 offers wireless and Ethernet connectivity, 2 USB ports, an HDMI port and a 13.3-inch backlit LED display all in a customizable and impressive design.

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For most of us, having a widescreen LCD monitor is nice. But for the more discerning users – art professionals, animation experts, graphic artists and video editors – the LCD’s color inaccuracy can be a critical flaw.

Together with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., HP has recently released its answer to this color problem – the HP DreamColor Display. Featuring an LCD that provides more than 1 billion colors, the DreamColor’s accurate color rendition would abolish redesigns and repetitive proofing across various displays.

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