BinaryWolf

$5K Prize Giveaway HP Entertainment Notebook

The HP Pavilion HDX Entertainment Notebook PC features a 20.1″ display, an Intel Core-2 Extreme Processor, 4 GB of RAM, a Blu-Ray drive, a dedicated 512MB NVIDIA GeForce graphics card and an integrated HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner. The retail value of HP HDX Dragon notebook computer is $4,500 and with the included software, is above $5,000.

31 blogs across the globe will give away one HDX laptop per day from May 9 until June 8, 2008. Details will be forthcoming. Stay tuned.

02 May - 09 May www.absolutevista.com
03 May - 10 May www.arstechnica.com
04 May - 11 May www.osnn.net
05 May - 12 May www.jkontherun.com
06 May - 13 May digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com
07 May - 14 May www.bostonpocketpc.com
08 May - 15 May www.the-gadgeteer.com
09 May - 16 May www.thedigitallifestyle.com
10 May - 17 May www.digitalhomethoughts.com
11 May - 18 May www.windows-now.com
12 May - 19 May www.windowsconnected.com
13 May - 20 May www.geekstogo.com
14 May - 21 May bink.nu
15 May - 22 May www.mediablab.com
16 May - 23 May www.last100.com
17 May - 24 May www.labnol.org
18 May - 25 May www.notebooks.com
19 May - 26 May www.slashdotreview.com
20 May - 27 May www.neowin.net
21 May - 28 May www.geek.com
22 May - 29 May www.lockergnome.com
23 May - 30 May www.planetx64.com
24 May - 31 May www.thegreenbutton.com
25 May - 01 Jun www.istartedsomething.com
26 May - 02 Jun www.bleepingcomputer.com
27 May - 03 Jun www.hardwaregeeks.com
28 May - 04 Jun www.geeknewscentral.com
29 May - 05 Jun www.geekzone.co.nz
30 May - 06 Jun www.thetabletpc.net
31 May - 07 Jun www.gearlive.com
01 Jun - 08 Jun www.gottabemobile.com

Tags: HDX laptop

Widescreen UltraSharp Monitor

Happy New Year! This popular 22-inch Dell UltraSharp Widescreen LCD monitor replaces an aging 19-inch Samsung SyncMaster CRT that I was using. The UltraSharp was the monitor option I chose for my new Dell Optiplex Mini Tower.

Tags: Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor

Dell Laptop New $399

Great Deal — Dell Vostro 1000 Notebook with dual-core processor, 1GB memory and 120GB storage starting from $399.

AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 Dual-Core processor TK-53 (1.7GHz/512KB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 Dimm
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Anti-Glare Display
120GB1 5400RPM Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW2 with double-layer3 DVD+R write capability, Cyberlink Power DVD
1 Year Limited Hardware Warranty4 with Mail-in Service

Dell Notebook Smart Values!

Tags: Dell Vostro, $399

Green Computer

Zonbu is selling a simplified, environmentally responsible Linux-based PC for $99 and a $12.95 monthly subscription charge. The company says the 15-watt PC can save up to $10 a month in electricity compared with a standard 200-watt PC.

The computer is the size of a cigar box and uses a low-power, Intel-compatible microprocessor. It comes with 4 gigabytes of flash memory instead of a disk drive. It also lacks a fan, another big energy user. By eliminating fans and hard drives, the device is completely silent.

The Zonbu PC uses a Gentoo version of the Linux operating system and will come with a range of software applications such as the Mozilla Firefox Web browser, Skype voice-over-Internet service, OpenOffice software suite and a number of games. With your subscription to the Zonbu service, you gain access to an additional 25 gigabytes of online storage space, where your files are automatically encrypted and stored on backed up servers.

The concept here is that companies can sell the PC the same way cell phones are sold, subsidizing the cost of the hardware with the revenue from the monthly service charge.

Tags: Green Computer, environmentally responsible Linux-based PC

Buy Your New iPod and Sell Your Old iPod

Buying a new iPod touch, iPod nano or iPod shuffle?

Sell your old iPod for cash!

Tags: iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, Sell your old iPod for cash

Increased iPhone Battery Life Without 3G

Why did Apple leave the faster 3G (third-generation technology wide area cellular telephone networks with high-speed internet access) capability out of the iPhone?

Anandtech does an interesting analysis of a few of the reasons why the much slower AT&T EDGE network was selected and why using Wi-Fi with your iPhone makes sense.

Without a doubt, current 3G implementations do require more space and consume more power than simply outfitting a phone with support for EDGE.

At the same time, Apple’s choice to include 802.11b/g support in the iPhone makes a lot of sense. Battery life actually increases with Wi-Fi over EDGE whenever the data connection is being used, not to mention that performance goes up tremendously as well.

At least based on these initial results, it would seem that Apple’s Wi-Fi implementation is a no-brainer: you get better performance and better battery life. It definitely doesn’t have the convenience of 3G, but if you find yourself using your phone in areas where Wi-Fi is prevalent then it makes a lot of sense.

If you live near an Apple Store, go play with an iPhone. It’s the future of mobile devices.

Tags: iPhone, AT&T EDGE, 3G

No Charge for iBook G4 Case Repair

Recently I inherited an older Mac laptop, the iBook G4. The locking ring for the battery compartment was damaged, so the battery would drop out when anyone picked up the laptop.

Attempting to figure out how to fix this I viewed a how to guide on repairing an iBook broken bottom case. The case (Apple Part #922-6148) was available for $29.95 from the same site. It was doable, but I had another option.

Fortunately, when it was purchased, the original owner bought the 3-year AppleCare Protection Plan for $249.00. It was (is) still in effect so I brought my iBook to the local Apple Store. They took it and told me it would be ready in a few days. When I went in to pick it up, I looked at my receipt and was amazed at what I would have been charged: $135.00 for labor and $54.69 for the lower case for a grand total of $189.69!

The extended warranty was a good investment, but when it eventually runs out I’ll remember the Mac repair do-it-yourself guides at ifixit.com.

Tags: iBook G4, AppleCare Protection Plan, Mac repair