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Posts Tagged ‘Optical Drive’

Dell jazzes up Vostro lineup with new look and Core 2010 processors, keeps prices in check

We’re starting to bank on the small business-oriented Vostro for a really compelling blend of features and price. Sure, it’s usually not the sexiest kit on the block (though the Vostro V13 would beg to differ), but it’s hard to argue with the stellar pricetags. Dell’s just thrown down a big 3000 series refresh to the Vostro lineup, with the Core i5 and Core i7 options across the line, and even a Core i7 Quad Core option for the 17-inch Vostro 3700. And it isn’t just spec upgrades — the 13-, 14-, 15- and 17-inch boxes all are available in silver, red or bronze, and are made of fairly sturdy stuff. Though the 17-inch 3700 is the mightiest of the bunch, we’re particularly taken with the 13-inch 3300 which starts at $699 and boasts a rather thin chassis, onboard optical drive and Core i5 power. Thankfully, all of the models are available with discrete graphics options, ramping up to a 1GB NVIDIA graphics option on the 3700. It sounds as if there will be some killer deals to be had, and you should be able to configure these puppies on Dell.com starting today. In the meantime feast your eyes on the colorful systems below and hit the break for the official press release.

Continue reading Dell jazzes up Vostro lineup with new look and Core 2010 processors, keeps prices in check

Dell jazzes up Vostro lineup with new look and Core 2010 processors, keeps prices in check originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patch for ancient DOS bug in latest Windows XP update causing blue screen errors

Looks like Patch Tuesday turned into BSOD Tuesday for some Windows XP users — Microsoft’s latest security updates for the venerable OS are causing blue screens and endless reboots for people. That’s the word according to a growing support thread on Microsoft’s site — and making matters just slightly worse / funnier, it’s apparently the patch for that 17-year-old DOS vulnerability that’s causing all the trouble. You win some, you lose some, right? Microsoft’s identified a fix for those with access to an XP install disc and an optical drive, but that leaves most netbook users out in the cold — and considering netbooks are where most of the recent XP action’s been going down lately, we’re hoping a better solution comes down the pike soon.

P.S.- That’s the BSOD tattoo guy in the photo — remember him?

[Thanks, HyperSl4ck3r]

Patch for ancient DOS bug in latest Windows XP update causing blue screen errors originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI X-Slim X620 keeps its ULV processor and ATI graphics, adds an optical drive

Filed under: Laptops

MSI X-Slim X620 keeps its ULV processor and ATI graphics, adds an optical drive originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS considering closing divisions responsible for LCDs, Eee Stick?
ASUS has seen its share of restructuring over the years, and it looks like it could be about to go through another fairly significant shake-up — at least if some of the leads DigiTimes has picked up actually pan out. The first (and seemingly more likely) of those is that the company is supposedly considering shutting down its division that builds “opto-mechatronics products” like the Eee Stick, which itself was formed from the remnants of the company’s old optical drive department, and has reportedly already seen its size shrink from one hundred team members to just twenty. Potentially even bigger than that, however, is talk that ASUS might possibly be thinking about getting out of the LCD business. Not surprisingly, however, there’s even less hard evidence for that — just some word that the division is facing “fierce competition” that’s inflicting some losses. For its part, ASUS is flatly denying that it’s considering any such shutdowns — and don’t worry about the Eee PC, it seems that ASUS is actually increasing its investment in that division to develop more Pine Trail-based netbooks.

ASUS considering closing divisions responsible for LCDs, Eee Stick? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Combination Mac mini, coffeemaker and subwoofer stuck in an iMac

Filed under: Hardware, Hacks, Odds and ends, iMac, Mods

Have you ever wondered why the coffeemaker in your kitchen doesn’t have a subwoofer attached to it? Us too! And if you’re going to put a sub on there, you might as well include a Mac mini, right? And when you really think about it, isn’t the only case worthy of holding all that stuff an iMac DV? It just makes sense.

That’s why, we’re guessing, tinkerer Klaus Diebel put together this incredibly useful device that will make your coffee, play some thumping tunes, and do your computing tasks as well. He tells us it was something like that — he really enjoyed the look of the gumdrop iMac, and has experimented with it a few times, creating both a mailbox and a birdhouse from the computer’s case. And this one just sort of snowballed — when he found that the Mac mini’s optical drive slot fit perfectly with the iMac’s slot, without any alterations at all, it had to happen.

And we’re glad it did. The iMac is an exceptional little computer with a very distinctive form factor — if you have to put a coffeemaker in the thing just to keep it on your desk, so be it!

TUAWCombination Mac mini, coffeemaker and subwoofer stuck in an iMac originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Eee Box EB1501 primed for $479 Amazon pre-order

We’d been wondering when ASUS’ NVIDIA Ion and optical drive packing Eee Box EB1501 would touch down on US soil, and lo and behold today it’s showing face for all those eager enough to pre-order. The device is available at Amazon for not a dollar less than $479 (though it does have free shipping), and if you’ll recall, the box is boasting a 1.6GHz Intel Atom dual core N330, NVIDIA Ion graphics, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive. All that and you get Windows 7 Home Premium rather than the ever-graying Windows XP. Of course, if you’re looking for all that in a mobile form factor you can always wait on the $499 ASUS Eee PC 1201N, but for set-top duty, feel free to unleash the credit card right now.

ASUS Eee Box EB1501 primed for $479 Amazon pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Foxconn distracts all with TXM-355 bamboo desktop chassis, brews bamboo tablet rumor

Look, we’ve all been giving Foxconn a bit of a hard time recently with all those Apple tablet and iPhone rumors, so it’s only fair for the Taiwanese giant to take some time off for something fresh. What we have here are a couple of self-proclaimed “world’s first” desktop chassis with bamboo front cover (so we guess that Dell Studio Hybrid doesn’t count to them), aiming to achieve environmentally-friendly status. While Foxconn’s Bamboo Forest 1 ATX case on the right has been announced for about a month, the TXM-355 or Bamboo Forest 2 microATX case on the left is fresh from the oven — visually already a good candidate for your next HTPC build. Despite a few rough cuts and the ugly glue work on the optical drive flap, PCPOP has given the smaller brother a thumbs up overall. Not bad for ￥368 ($54) either, and it’s only an extra $2 for the big daddy. Just watch out for that panda behind you.

Foxconn distracts all with TXM-355 bamboo desktop chassis, brews bamboo tablet rumor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BFG’s 18.4-inch Deimos X-10 gaming laptop packs twin GPUs, $1,859 starting tag

BFG Technologies, which could admittedly move laptops based on company name alone, has decided to actually toss in some unnecessary legwork with its latest beast. The 18.4-inch Deimos X-10 (likely a rebranded Clevo M980NU) is undoubtedly one of the larger desktop replacements on the market today, boasting Intel Core 2 Duo, Quad and Extreme CPU options, twin 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M GPUs, a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution display, three HDD bays for up to 1.5TB of storage, up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a Blu-ray optical drive. There’s also a built-in subwoofer, four USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI / DVI ports, 7-in-1 card reader, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a 2 megapixel webcam and a bundled backpack — because, you know, it’s physically impossible to lug this behemoth around any other way. It’ll ship with Windows 7 and start at just under two large, though you can save 10 percent if you get your order in prior to October 30th.

Continue reading BFG’s 18.4-inch Deimos X-10 gaming laptop packs twin GPUs, $1,859 starting tag

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

BFG’s 18.4-inch Deimos X-10 gaming laptop packs twin GPUs, $1,859 starting tag originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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