Best Laptops- Top Rated

By combining experts’ reviews with users’ ratings we can create interesting and informative product tops like the one I’ll present to you today and which is called Best Rated Computer Laptops. It’s not like a top 10 because instead of showing you a fixed number of models, we have a list with 5 laptop models picked from each of the top 5 brands with the highest ratings on 4 reviews websites - CNET, Epinions, reevoo, and alaTest.

The first in alaTest’s top is Asus Eee PC 900, a 9-inch model with a screen large enough for watching videos and work on the go, long battery life, multi-touch trackpad compatible with Windows XP, while the bad aspects include small storage capacity, no 3G, too small keyboard for some, and no optical drive among others.

Reevoo has the Asus X51RL T2310 in the top 5 brands, a 10-rated laptop recommended by all reviewers for its long battery life, durability, design, performance and value for money.

ASUS Eee PC 4G on Epinions scored 5 stars for its overall design and ultra-portability, while the bad aspects are related to the keyboard size, monitor casing getting hot too quickly, too small memory and no disk drive. I’d like to ask these guys what did they expect from a $350 laptop?!
On CNET, the same laptop has a Very Good rating for having Windows XP installed for the same price as Linux, while the Bad includes low hard drive space and low screen resolution. Still, it is considered one of the best rated computer laptops worldwide.



Sony Vaio VGN AR11S from reevoo has a 17-inch display, long battery life, several software utilities pre-installed, and no bad reviews yet.

Acer Aspire One has a score of 99 out of 100 and people like it because it is elegant, in a slim form factor, with a large keyboard, and at an affordable price. Some say it’s limited in RAM memory, battery life and helpful features such as the Bluetooth.

On Epinions, the same laptop is among best rated with maximum of 5 stars accumulated for the price, performance, design, web camera and microphone. Some didn’t like the fact that it has no Bluetooth, but small keyboard and short battery life.

One of the lightest and thinnest laptop models available on the market is the Lenovo ThinkPad X300. In addition to these main positive aspects it provides a built-in DVD burner, WWAN, GPS and wireless USB connectivity. The thing that seems to bother many on alaTest is the price of about $1,830, which is a bit high.


Lenovo ThinkPad T61 has a lower price of $750 for having fewer features, but its durable design and long battery life allowed it to score 5 stars on sites like Epinions.


From HP, the Compaq Presario V4332EA 15.4-inch laptop is one of the few highly recommended models on reevoo, while on Epinions you can find the HP Pavilion dv6000z with 5 stars, lowest price displayed of $1099, and some Cons including short battery life, small hard drive and overheating.


HP Pavilion dv5-1000us entertainment system was reviewed on CNET and there people liked the expandable RAM memory which reaches 8GB, its design line, high processing speed, wireless draft N support and others. What they liked less includes the material used for building the housing on the exterior. It attracts fingerprints. Besides this, it is not that easy to use and users need a better user guide in order to learn how to access all its features.

From Apple there is the MacBook 2008 Edition, a great portable computing system with fast operating speed, large hard drive, high-quality built-in web camera for video conferences, as well as many security layers. There are no negative reviews, just that it seems a bit pricey for some on CNET.

Apple MacBook Air, the thinnest notebook, has 158 user reviews on alaTest and 81 expert reviews. From what I read there, it is considered too expensive for having a non-replaceable battery, small storage on Solid State Drive, limited connectivity, and slower operating speed compared to other laptops from the same category.

Advent appears in the top 5 best rated computer laptops on both reevoo and alaTest, but with different models. While Advent 4211 is appreciated for screen quality and value for money, and disliked for not having 3G connectivity and a longer battery life, the Advent 8109 on reevoo has a score of 10 for all categories: size/weight, design, value for money, battery life and performance.




I have to recognize I don’t know much about Everex products’ quality but after taking a look at the reviews on Epinions and CNET, I can say that the Everex StepNote SA2053T has a good design at under 4 lbs, costs under $600, but supports maximum 2GB of RAM memory and has no web camera. Let’s say it’s a mid-level laptop. On CNET, Everex StepNote XT5000T shows that users are satisfied for the graphics quality and all other stuff, excepting the fact that it overheats from time to time and the battery life tends to shorten.




What brand do you think is missing from the picture till now? – Toshiba probably, as it scored 10 on reevoo with the Toshiba Satellite Pro L40-15A and almost 5 stars on CNET with the Toshiba Satellite M65-S809 model. The latter has a noisy hard disk, low sound, and gets hot quickly, these in addition to being kinda heavy. You might like at it the display quality and the overall design.

Fancy Hard Disks

Obtainable in a range of colors across in offer are the My Passport Essential and My Passport Elite range. Western Digital has proclaimed the initiation of the novel 500GB & 400GB capability My Passport Essential & My Passport Elite Portable USB Hard Drives. Analogous to existing proffering (320GB being the flagship until now), new-fangled copies let you store up to half a terabyte of music, videos and additional stuff in the palm of your hand. These USB 2.0 bus influenced hard drives weigh 7 ounces and feature built-in 128-bit encryption. They're also similar in temperament with PlayStation3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 game consoles.

Dell Renames 1420 and 1525 to Inspiron 14, 15

Dell has renamed select models in the Inspiron laptop lineup, giving them simpler names.

The 14.1-inch Inspiron 1420 is now Inspiron 14, while the 15.4-inch 1525 is now Inspiron 15. The Inspiron notebook series also includes a recently released 13.3-incher - the 13 - and the Mini 9. The 17-inch models are currently unavailable.

According to product pages, specifications of the laptops remained the same.

Portable USB Hard Drive for MacBook Air

Because of the fact that the MacBook Air has only 80GB P-ATA 4,200rpm hard disk drive storage capacity, with optional 64GB Solid State Drive, Iomega comes with a great solution for the world’s thinnest laptop, in a ultra-thin and ultra-light form factor measuring just 0.63 inches thick at 7 ounces. It is called the Iomega eGo Helium and is a portable hard drive matching Apple’s MacBook Air from all points of view, starting with the design and ending with its functionality.
In it you can store all your media and carry it with you wherever you go, while to use it you have to connect the external hard drive to the laptop’s USB port.
The 2.5-inch Iomega eGo Helium has 320GB space and comes with the Mozy online backup service starting October.

The company is known for its data protection and security solutions, and by adding this new product to its line it delivers both a portable storage solution and the online possibility via the Mozy service, which allows you to securely store your media online, like 850,000 users and 23,000 business customers do it currently.

The portable device is an anodized aluminum shell looking stylish and elegant, but with string elements for protecting the data. These include Drop Guard formatted with Apple's HFS+ file system and meant to keep the information safe even in case of drops of up to 51 inches height. It powers via your laptop’s USB port and can store up to 1,280,000 photos, 5,920 hours of music, or 480 hours of video.
Iomega delivers the eGo Helium with 2 Mac OS X backup software applications - EMC Retrospect Express for Macintosh 6.1 software and MozyHome online backup software with 2GB free storage or unlimited online storage for $4.95/month.

"Iomega's eGo portable hard drives have garnered tremendous attention
in the beige world of external storage by offering consumers a choice of several different vibrant colors as well as a camouflage print and genuine leather," said Peter Wharton, vice president of marketing, Iomega Corporation. "The eGo Helium extends that strong commitment to delivering style with substance. What makes eGo Helium such an effective piece of industrial design is the way it dresses up a highly functional 320GB hard drive device into a durable and sleek package with plenty of storage
capability, making it an easy-to-use 'eye-catcher' that's small enough to go anywhere."

The portable hard drive comes at a retail price of $149.99

Review: Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro

Conclusion

Once again, all of Logitech's promises have lived up to the marketing hype with their latest Wave keyboard and mouse. As I said previously, two of our editorial staff members (including yours truly) have been using Logitech Wave keyboards since last year and I'm a big believer in this ergonomic design. While the keyboard itself hasn't really changed in the last year, everything works as it should. The new MX 1100 cordless laser mouse is the main reason the new Cordless Desktop Wave Pro is so appealing over last year's model. Again, the new mouse is exceptional and nearly perfect ... as long as you're willing to install SetPoint and you aren't a southpaw.

Overall, I doubt there's a more comfortable cordless keyboard and mouse set on the market. However, for the full MSRP of $129, this wireless bundle might give you sticker shock since it costs $50 more than last year's Wave keyboard and mouse set.

Pros:

• Ergonomic keyboard design is etremely comfortable and easy to use
• Great mouse (for right-handed users)
• Fantastic advertised battery life

Cons:

• "Stealth" thumb button completely useless without installing bloated SetPoint software
• USB receiver is a little large, but not too bad
• Palm rest shows wear almost instantly
• More expensive than last year's model

Pricing and availability

The Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro keyboard and mouse set will be available soon in retail stores everywhere and has an MSRP of $129. Visit the Logitech website for more information about features and availability.

KINGSTON FLASH DRIVE GET MINI AND EVEN SLIM

The Data Traveler Mini Slim ($19 MSRP) is Kingston's most recent stab to generate a mini-sized USB Flash drive with multicolored options at a low down price for end users. The DT Mini Slim obtains its name from the excellent slim storage space design. Rather than make use of a characteristic USB plug, the DT Mini Slim utilizes a low-profile USB plug (fundamentally just the inferior half of the USB plug) that works with in the least standard USB port on your computer. Accessible in black, pink and blue with a grey bottom covering, Data Traveler Mini Slim is packed together and uncomplicated to use. It also approaches with Kingston's 2-year warranty and 24/7 tech customer support. Of course, the major reason that you'll desire to buy this drive is for the reason that it's so small.

Data Traveler Mini Slim drives requirements:

• Capacities: 2GB and 4GB
• Mass: 0.064 oz
• measurements: 1.529" x 06.45" x 0.253" (38.85mm x 16.40mm x 6.44mm)
• Working Temperature: 32° F to 140° F (0° C to 60° C)
• Storage Temperature: -4° F to 185° F (-20° C to 85° C)
• Assured: 2-year warranty
• Shade alternatives: black, blue, pink with grey bottom casing

NVIDIA'S Quadro FX 2700M GPU

NVIDIA has revealed a new-fangled series of NVIDIA Quadro FX mobile GPUs featuring CUDA Parallel Computing Processor. Stressing the flagship manufactured goods of the series is the Quadro FX 3700M, with 128 CUDA Parallel Computing Processor cores, which proffers an unparalleled 1GB of devoted graphics memory. Dell, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP and Lenovo are will almost immediately roll out new-fangled mobile terminals in the market proffering the novel series of Quadro FX mobile GPUs. Some of the significant technical specs of the flagship sculpt are listed below:


• Up to 1 GB GDDR3 memory
• Up to 256-bit memory crossing point
• Up to 51.2 GBps graphic memory bandwidth
• OpenGL 2.1, Shader Model 4.0, and DirectX 10
• Powermizer 8.0 adaptive power management tools


In adding together, the Quadro FX 2700M GPU, with 48 CUDA Parallel Computing Processor cores and 512 MB of GDDR3 reminiscence, is an idyllic graphics answer for 17-inch laptop platforms targeting high-end intend and content-creation applications. The Quadro FX 1700M GPU with 32 CUDA Parallel Computing Processor cores, the Quadro FX 770M GPU with 32 CUDA Parallel Computing Processor cores, and the Quadro FX 370M GPU with 8 CUDA Parallel Computing Processor cores, are premeditated for 15.4-inch and 14.1-inch laptops, which facilitate round out the innovative Intel Centrino II-based podiums.

Logitech V550 Nano

Before we take a closer look at what the Logitech V550 Nano has to offer, below are the key features and specs for this cordless laser mouse:

• PC (Windows XP or Vista) and MAC compatible
• Cordless/storable USB 2.4 GHz receiver
• Left and Right hand usage
• MicroGear precision scroll wheel
• Laser technology
• Clip-and-Go dock
• Estimated 18-month battery life
• Low battery life warning
• 3-year warranty
• Price: $59.99

Conclusion

The Logitech V550 Nano packs impressive performance and convenience into a tiny mouse. Although there are smaller mouse designs on the market, none of the smaller mice have such a convenient way to store your mouse with the notebook.

Size does matter for notebook users. The V550 cordless mouse and receiver combo is easy to live with and works extremely well. While I would have liked some tougher plastics and paint, the V550 is an excellent mouse. As of this writing, I think it's safe to say that Logitech has given us yet another great mouse for notebook users.

Pros

• "The world's smallest USB receiver"
• Excellent scroll wheel
• Great laser sensitivity
• Glide feet help the mouse move smooth
• Auto-off feature when mouse is clipped to notebook
• Auto-on feature when mouse isremoved from notebook

Cons

• Plastic base of mouse is easily scratched
• Clip-and-Go dock seems to hold firm ... but for how long?
• Silver paint is easily scratched
• More color options would be nice (black rather than silver or gray?)

Dell's Ming Laptops

In May Dell made available some nice laptop cover designs based on the 15.4-inch Inspiron 1525 model. They were created by the designer Michael Miyahira from Brooklin, and the notebook design line was called Mike Ming Extreme Edition. It featured Sea Sky theme and Bunch O Surfers covers.
Now, the same designer came up with other cool creations for the Studio 15 and Studio 17 Dell laptops, to offer the customers the possibility to personalize their new acquisitions.



"The technology behind creating Dell's Art House series of laptops allows me to share my visual creations with people who are inspired by art and who want to express their own individually unique sense of style," says Michael Miyahira.



These Special Art Edition urban designs for Dell Mike Ming line have a fluid organic style and you can choose from Red Swirl, Seaweed or Sunburst. Dell Inspiron 1525 is again the base laptop configuration and it starts at a price of $799.



Characteristics of the laptops include built-in web camera, capacitive touch media control buttons, slot load drives, optional mercury-free LED displays, backlit keyboards, built-in mobile broadband for high-speed transfers, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB memory and 320GB hard drive.



"It's exciting and fun discovering new artists around the world who can create emotional ties, uniqueness and personalization with individuals' personal technology," said Michael Tatelman, vice president of global consumer sales and marketing at Dell. "The Special Art Edition designs reflect our customers' desires to add another level of individuality to everyday life."

AMazing invisible shield for gadgets

Invisible Shield isn't anything new - it's been available in the US for years. What is new is that these military-grade clear casings for your gadgets are now available down under.

Prices start at $19.95, and there's literally thousands of designs for different gadgets, with everything from phones and PDAs to laptops included.

The local website doesn't seem to be up and running yet, but when it is you should be able to order directly from them online.

Kingston DT Mini Slim and DT 400

DataTraveler Mini Slim drive specifications:

• Capacities: 2GB and 4GB
• Weight: 0.064 oz
• Dimensions: 1.529" x 06.45" x 0.253" (38.85mm x 16.40mm x 6.44mm)
• Operating Temperature: 32° F to 140° F (0° C to 60° C)
• Storage Temperature: -4° F to 185° F (-20° C to 85° C)
• Guaranteed: two-year warranty
• Color options: black, blue, pink with grey bottom casing

DataTraveler 400 drive specifications:

• Capacities: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB
• Dimensions: 2.58 x 0.71 x 0.41"
• Speed: data transfer rates of 20MB/sec. read and 10MB/sec. write
• Enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost on Vista-based systems
• Operating Temperature: 32° to 140° F
• Storage Temperature: -4° to 185° F
• Guaranteed: five-year warranty

Conclusion

The DataTraveler Mini Slim and updated DataTraveler 400 are both excellent USB flash drives that offer a number of features for different users. The low-profile design of the Mini Slim makes this drive an ideal companion for laptop users who are constantly on the move and don't have much room to spare inside their bag (or pockets). The Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit included with the new DT 400 allows accident-prone users to salvage their files and folders after a major computer error.

In short, the latest batch of Kingston USB flash drives continue to provide performance, stylish design, and helpful features at reasonable prices. While you can still find slightly cheaper drives in some stores, these drives are reasonably priced and many people will find the performance and features worth the modest price premium.

Pros

• Both Kingston drives are reasonably fast
• Durable, capless design of DT 400
• Amazingly compact design of the DT Mini Slim
• Symantec Pocket Diasaster Recovery Kit on the DT 400 is a nice extra

Cons

• The DT 400 is a physically large flash drive ... larger than it needs to be
• The DT Mini Slim is so small it's like a postage stamp ... maybe too small for some
• Not the cheapest drives you can find

Logitech's USB Hubs for Laptops

Logitech has launched a 4-Port USB hub for notebooks and a Premium model of the same.

These new peripherals further expand Logitech's line of notebook products, which also includes notebook stands, notebook mice and presenters, webcams, headsets, speakers and bags and also establishes a new notebook peripheral category for Logitech - USB hubs.

"Executive travel compels us to have thin and light notebooks. This, usually, ends up in scaling down of some notebook features to enhance portability. One such feature that is sacrificed is the USB port. Many products today connect to the notebook through this port. These include printers, mice, webcams, notebook stands, digital cameras, Internet data cards, pen drives; the list is growing by the day." says Subrotah Biswas, Country Manager, India and SAARC, Logitech. "In order to cater to make the lives of notebook users easier, we have added these hi-speed USB Hubs to our already existing wide range of notebook peripherals," added Mr Biswas.

The Logitech 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub for notebooks provides high-speed connectivity with speeds up to 480 Mbps. Its compact design allows users to plug devices into the front and back of the hub.

The Logitech Premium 4-Port USB Hub for notebooks also provides users with connectivity up to 480 Mbps. It has indicator lights over each port that helps users understand whether the connections have been set or not. The bundled external power adapter lets one use all the high-power USB devices, while the bundled carrying case protects the hub when the user is traveling.

The 4-Port USB 2.0 hub is priced at Rs. 895 while the Premium 4-Port USB hub is priced at Rs. 1495.

The USB hubs come with a one-year replacement warranty and are available at all electronic showrooms.

MICROSOFT SPHERE

Key points mentioned in the video:

• Photo Browser: Basic drag-and-drop movements as well as the two-finger resizing of photos that users come to expect from multitouch.
• Video Browser: Videos can be manipulated exactly the same way as photos, both when stopped or while playing.
• Object Auto-Rotation: Pushing an image with a finger not centered on the image will cause it to rotate while it slides away.
• Circular Menu: The menu for the Sphere's software, accessible by holding down both hands on top of the Sphere for a second. In this video, the menu contains the following options: RoundTable, Videos, Photos, Painting, Pong, Globe, and Navigation.
• Send-to-Dark-Side: Placing a hand facedown on an object will send it over to the opposite side of the Sphere.
• Live omni-directional camera: The Sphere can provide an outward view outside of itself, which includes its surroundings and the user.

How to Polish Your Scratched Glossy Notebook

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No brand is immune from this problem, with most manufactures offering at least one notebook with a glossy plastic exterior. Below is a small list outlining some popular laptops that have glossy finishes:

Lenovo: IdeaPad Y series, SL series
Toshiba: Satellite and new Qosmio series
Dell: New Vostros, M1730
HP: Almost the entire consumer lineup

Materials Needed

• One scratched notebook
• Polish (Novus 3 Step Plastic Polish, Meguiars Scratch-X)
• Clean soft cloth (one for each step)
• Patience

I chose Novus plastic cleaner for this guide since I had good luck with this polish in the past. You probably won't find it at your local autoparts store, but it can be easily and cheaply purchased online. I went to McMaster-Carr for this purchase, where it cost $17 plus shipping. The Meguiar's Scratch-X came from my local Advanced Auto store for $8, but it can be found online as well. The Scratch-X polish was added to the mix since it was a finer polish than the Novus cleaners and helped give the notebook a much smoother final look.

Cleaning the notebook

Before you even touch the notebook with some of the fine rubbing compound to buff out scratches, you want the notebook to be clean enough to eat off of. You need to remove any leftover dust or fine grit that might re-scratch your notebook during the polishing process, which would make it look much worse than when you started. A damp cloth sprayed with the Novus Step 1 polish (just a cleaning spray) will work, or plain soap and water.

Polishing the notebook

Start off with the Novus #3 or Novus #2 depending on how bad the scratches are. If you have a very mild scuff that you can't feel with your fingernail, start with the #2 fine scratch remover. If it is deep enough to catch your fingernail, you will need to start with the #3 heavy scratch remover. Apply the polish to a clean cloth and gently rub the surface of the notebook. A circular motion or just up and down will work fine. Continue rubbing the polish onto the surface until it starts to dry and absorb into your cloth. When barely anything is left on the surface, wipe the dried polish bits off the notebook and inspect the surface.

Don't be alarmed if you see many fine scratches. If you started with the number 3 cleaner, it will leave a mild haze. The important thing are the original blemishes on the notebook, and if they have been removed or greatly lessened. Deep scratches will be impossible to completely remove unless you polish away a good deal of the plastic layer. I prefer to just smooth off the rough edges and let them blend into the notebook surface.

Move onto the finer polish once you find the original blemish to be acceptable. Apply it in the same manner, with a gentle motion and continue until the polish completely dries and absorbs into your cloth. Continue this step until the original polished area matches the surrounding notebook surface. It might take a few reapplications before all of the haze and fine scratches are gone. If you had deep scratches when you started, you will still see them, but they should be less noticeable and blended into the glossy finish.

Below is a quick example of a line of fine scratches being removed from the lid of a glossy Acer notebook. First picture is before, second is after the #3 polish, and last is after the fine polish.

Notice how the bulk of the scratches were removed, and you are left with the deeper marks. Once the highly scuffed area is polished the visibility of the scratches is greatly reduced. You are only left with deep blemishes that are only visible under close scrutiny. Each stage of the polishing took about 30-45 seconds and the entire process took roughly five minutes. Additional polishing effort (much greater time) might yield better results.

Results may vary

Depending on the exact glossy surface and the process used you might remove all marks or be left with some leftovers from an abusive past. While our example shows the process with regular "by hand" application, some of our more adventurous readers might experiment with power buffers or additional applications. This could yield much better results, but also runs the risk of wearing away more of the surface with the possibility of damaging the glossy notebook further.

Review CODi Phantom CT3

The Phantom CT3 Specifications

• Dimensions: 16.5" x 6.25" x 12.25"
• Notebook compartment: approx. 14.5" x 11.5" x 2"
• Weight: 3.67 lbs. (CODi says 2.8 lbs.)
• Military grade ballistic materials
• Business organization system
• Butterfly design with a dedicated laptop compartment for a clear x-ray image
• Ergonomic shoulder strap
• Carry-all sleeve
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

Conclusion

The Phantom CT3 is a quality bag with some great features beyond the "checkpoint friendly" selling point. In fact, other than the price - a whopping $225 - it was hard to find many cons with this bag.

On top of that, CODi's Phantom CT3 seems to pass every test that TSA has set for manufacturers but only time will tell. We are going to try to test this bag in an actual airport once the training as been completed so stay tuned for an update sometime in the coming weeks.

Pros

• "Checkpoint friendly"
• Stores a ton of accessories
• Good amount of padding
• Lifetime warranty

Cons

• Side buckles are plastic
• Bland design
• Very expensive

COOL NEW FINGERPRINT SENSOR

Motion Computing’s first semi-rugged tablet PV, the F5, will feature Authentec’s fingerprint sensor technology for protecting stored data and networks the tablet connects to.


Other mobile devices have adopted this security module considered to be the most advanced, and these include cell phones such as the Asus M536 and Asus M50 and M70 notebooks.


"We worked very closely with our customers on the development of the new F5 tablet, and among the requirements was best-in-class security. That's why we turned to Motion's longtime fingerprint sensor supplier AuthenTec to add convenient security to this innovative new tablet," said Jerome Kearns, Motion's SVP of Operations. "We believe that the AuthenTec fingerprint sensor helps simplify password management while increasing data security on highly mobile devices."


Designed and optimized for field workers’ needs, Motion Computing F5 tablet PC is small and semi-rugged with magnesium-alloy internal frame and Elastomer overmolding.


Available at a suggested retail price of $2,699, Motion Computing F5 runs on Windows Vista Business or XP Tablet PC Edition being powered by the Intel Core Solo U1400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, and integrating 1GB RAM memory, 40GB HDD storage, wireless module, optional mobile broadband module, optional barcode scanner, optional SSD drive, high-clarity display, and built-in 2MP camera.


"We are pleased to further expand our longstanding relationship with Motion, and we look forward to supporting the successful launch of their new semi-rugged tablet PC," said Tom Aebli, AuthenTec's senior director of PC Marketing. "Our durable fingerprint sensor adds convenient security to the F5. Today's field service personnel will experience reliable and consistent operation when they're ready to put the F5 to work. That's because our TruePrint-based fingerprint sensor reads below the surface of the skin to quickly and easily image their worn, calloused or dirty fingerprints."

Why We Always Write to the Hard Disk

Just to clarify, we're not posting this "5.25 floppy inches" shirt for actual purchase and real world wear. But if you absolutely cannot resist, then go ahead. Just wear it to bed when you're sleeping alone. That way the precious illusion is maintained that the solitude is optional. [Geek Swag via Gearfuse]

Make Your Own USB Batman Spotlight

Unless you are a race car driver or something, work is boring. This DIY project is slightly more fun than spinning around in your seat and does a good job of killing around 2 hours of time. And, when all is said and done, you will have the satisfaction that comes with building a USB Batman spotlight that is fairly useless but amusing. It is an easy hack to pull off, and most of the materials are basic--bottle caps, tin foil, some cardboard etc.

0 watt displays

Fujitsu Siemens' latest line of LCDs will have a standby mode that draws no power, compared to the 1-6 watts of power competitors' monitors draw in standby. According to BIOS Magazine, the technology will be included in the 20-inch P20W-5 ECO and 22-inch P22W-5 ECO, and consists of a switch in the power supply breaks when the connected PC goes idle, and powers back on when any key is pressed (essentially, your keyboard acts as the power button).

Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick 801e available now

The Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick 801e is a very-portable TV tuner intended for the traveler. That means watch LIVE standard or high definition TV on your notebook. The PCTV HD Pro Stick is in reality 3 devices in 1: HDTV Tuner & FM radio receiver, DVR, and A/V adapter to convey camcorder recordings into digital format.

Upon opening the wrap up for the apparatus, you'll find the following tidily placed inside:

• USB 2.0 TV tuner for ATSC/ClearQAM/NTSC and FM radio greeting
• Mini remote control together with batteries
• Portable telescopic high-gain antenna
• A/V Adapter wire
• USB extender wire
• Printed swift start guide
• CD with Pinnacle TV Center Pro and Video Spin editing software

When you 1st pick up the PCTV HD Pro Stick, you’ll be surprised at the size of this appliance consider it can do so much. Measuring the size of nearly all USB Pen drives, the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick is about 3.2-inch in length. Whip it out, plug it in and you have on the spot TV! What wasn’t so stimulating was the incorporated high gain antenna that reminded me of amazing from the 1980’s. However, Pinnacle has also incorporated a remote control so you can punt back and relax while flipping through channels while meeting at the beach!