Computer Advice

• Microsoft to Yahoo: come back, this isn’t over!
  (tags: yahoo, microsoft, takeover)

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Sure, most of the Microsoft antitrust action is going down in Europe nowadays, but Uncle Sam’s lingering judgment against Redmond is still kicking around — Judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly (remember her?) just issued a ruling extending the consent decree against Microsoft for another two years. The judge said that the company has been extremely cooperative with the government thus far, but that “the extreme and unforeseen delay” in acquiring technical documentation from Bill and the boys requires that monitoring continue. That pretty much leaves things at the status quo, although we’re not exactly holding our breath for anything to change once the consent judgment actually does expire.

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Just as we feared, Dell will indeed be axing 100-percent of its US mall kiosks — 140 in total. Unsurprisingly, the official word attributes the move to Dell’s shift into big box retail stores, but we’re sure that’s not the least bit consoling to the fine folks who were pushing Round Rock’s machines to mall-goers just yesterday. According to Tony Weiss, vice president for Dell’s Global Consumer business, the move “fits in with how its broad global retail strategy is evolving,” and for whatever it’s worth, kiosks outside of US borders are still safe for now. You may still be getting a Dell, but dude, it won’t be from the mall.

[Image courtesy of NotebookReview]

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Filed under: Desktops

Gateway is releasing two new desktops today, both sporting some features we’ve grown accustomed to, but also introducing some new hotness into the typically stale market. The new models — the GM5664 and GT5662 — share a slew of the same features, like the ATI Radeon HD 2400XT graphics card, 3GB of RAM, and 8-channel 7.1 audio, but they also have some notable differences. The GM5664 comes equipped with a Hybrid-SuperMulti optical drive, which gives you the ability to play Blu-ray or HD DVDs to your heart’s content, while also handling typical DVD-RW functions. The system is also packed with a 2.3GHz AMD Phenom 9600 CPU, 1TB hard drive array, and an analog / digital TV tuner. The GT5662 includes a 2.2GHz AMD Phenom 9500 CPU, does away with the dual format drive, halves the storage space, and axes the TV tuner. Both are available now for $1,149.99 and $749.99, respectively.

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Filed under: Desktops

eMachines, long known for dropping mediocre, middle of the road, inoffensive desktops, has once again busted out of the gate with two new defiantly tame PCs that will make you say “Hello.” The latest entries — confusingly named the T5246 and T3642 — share similar guts, including NVIDIA GeForce 6100 GPUs, DVD DVD±R / RW SuperMulti drives, and 6-channel 5.1 audio. The differences are more apparent where it counts, with the T5246 utilizing a 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ dual core CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a 400GB hard drive, while the T3642 uses a 2.6GHz Athlon 64 4000+ CPU, carries 1GB of RAM, and downsizes the hard drive to 250GB. Both systems are available now, with the T5246 clocking in at $429.99, and the T3642 listed at $349.99.

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Sad news brewing in Round Rock this morning. After slashing “dozens” of call center employees in Ottawa yesterday (and scrapping plans for 1,200 more), it looks like Dell is taking its cost cutting initiatives retail. Unfortunately, we’re not talking lower prices here. We have word from a number of sources that Dell’s 150+ Dell Direct Stores are about to meet the business end of the corporate axe. Whether that be in full or a partial reduction we don’t know. Nevertheless, with Dell now firmly entrenched in Wal-mart, Staples, and Best Buy, the mall kiosks sure seem redundant. Expect more on this later in the AM after Michael Dell’s had a chance to address the troops.

Read — Dell Ottawa closures

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Filed under: Desktops, Home Entertainment, Laptops

Just as we feared, Asus is getting ready to dilute their Eee branding until it’s RAZRed down to a hint of its former panache. The new family of low-cost, Eee products will include the E-DT (desktop), E-TV, and E-Monitor. The $200 - $300 E-DT will initially sport a Celeron processor when it ships without a monitor sometime in April or May. The E-Monitor is more than just a display — it’s a 19- to 21-inch all-in-one PC with built-in TV tuner and a remarkable $499 price tag. It’ll be based on Intel’s Shelton platform when the AIO launches in September. The 42-inch E-TV will also launch in September and feature a Linux PC integrated into the LCD. It’s expected to list for a $200 premium over the low-cost 42-inch sets it will compete with. Just don’t get too hung up on those prices, kid. The Eee PC was only supposed to cost $200 when it was announced.

Now for the bad news. ASUS will not be offering a touch-panel in their next generation Eee PC after all — their market research shows limited demand. Not avid Engadget readers, are we ASUS?

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Filed under: Desktops

Most of the questionably-ostentatious gear we see is designed for use on the go — why else spark out your kit if not to blind your frenemies at the club? — but at some point even Diddy runs out of handhelds to ice up, which is where Japan’s Zeus Computer steps in. The company is offering two different glam desktops for your wallet’s delight: an ¥80,000,000 ($747,768) diamond-studded model, or (for cheapskates) a ¥60,000,000 ($560,826) gold version. Both offer a 3GHz E6850 Core 2 Duo on an Asus board with 2GB of RAM, a 256MB GeForce 8400GS, 1TB drive, Blu-ray + HD DVD combo drive, and Vista Ultimate — but that’s not at all what matters here, is it?

[Via F******gaijin, warning: sitename may be NSFW]

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

It’s that time again boys and girls — the time when Sony pours out enough VAIO updates all at once that your head starts throbbing uncontrollably. Without further ado, we’ll start by tackling the Type T (pictured), which gets upgraded to a 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo U7600, goes from 1GB to 2GB of RAM and now comes in a bevy of swank designs. Moving on, we’ve got the 17-inch Type A, which now sports one of those speedy new Penryn chips (exact model apparently depends on how you CTO it) but otherwise remains similar to the prior iteration. Lastly, we find that the outfit’s adorable TP1 now houses a Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU, a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M and a Blu-ray burner to boot. For all the nitty-gritty, put on your patience cap and wade through the links below, but be forewarned, it’s a jungle down there.

[Via AkihabaraNews]
Read - VAIO Type T / F / N updates
Read - VAIO Type A, TP1 and Type R Master updates

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Oh, Merom. It felt like just yesterday that we were shaking our heads in disappointment after reading lackluster reviews and wondering when you’d finally make an appearance in Apple’s MacBook Pro. Thankfully, times change, and with Intel’s mobile Penryn stealing all the limelight of late, we ’spose it’s about time the Merom lineup cashed out its 401(k) and sailed off to Maui. According to a PCN (product change notification) from the chip maker, the Core 2 Duo T7200, T7600, T5500, T5600 and LV L7200 are being flagged for discontinuation along with the less potent Celeron M 520 and 530. Granted, the whole family will still be available to ship until sometime in 2009, but for us, it’s on to bigger smaller and faster things. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via TGDaily, image courtesy of Gutenberg]

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