John Morris and Sean Portnoy deliver straight talk about notebook and desktop computers.
John Morris is a former executive editor at CNET Networks and senior editor at PC Magazine.
Sean Portnoy is a former executive editor at Computer Shopper magazine and editor at CNET Networks.
Dell's Studio XPS was one of the first desktops to offer Intel's Core i7 processor (aka Nehalem) at prices starting below $1,000. Now it looks like Dell may be close to releasing a second Studio XPS desktop with a bolder design and higher-end configurations to match the Core i7's performance.
Gateway's latest laptop, the 14-inch TC Series, looks like a good value. There are currently two models, the black TC7306u and the burgundy TC7307u, but both have the same $649.
Archos, the company better-known for its innovative hard drive-based portable media players and Internet tablets, is making a big push into Atom-based netbooks. At Mobile World Congress this week, the company announced a thinner version of its new 10-inch MiniPCs, and said it was working on several new versions based on both current and unreleased Intel chips and chipsets.
The average tax refund is around $2,500. Given the state of the economy, you may be tempted to stick it in your mattress.
Netbooks powered by Nvidia's Ion platform are nowhere in sight, but that hasn't stopped reviewers from taking it for a spin. These first reviews aren't based on real-world systems-we won't see those until mid-2009 at the earliest.
The unveiling of the $20 laptop-the result of a major project involving the government, universities and the private sector in India-so far hasn't done much to clear up the mystery surrounding the ultra-inexpensive notebook. All we really know about the device is that it will have a low-power chip (it consumes about 2 watts), 2GB of memory, and Ethernet and WiFi connectivity.
As the PC market goes, so goes graphics cards. After "defying gravity" in the third quarter of 2008, the market for graphics processing units (GPUs) came crashing down to earth in the fourth quarter, according to Jon Peddie Research.
Stop me if you've heard this one before. . . BusinessWeek reports that Intel is readying a big push for a new class of handhelds known as MIDs, or Mobile Internet Devices.
AMD has already cut prices for its flagship 45nm processor--which the company announced on January 8--for competitive reasons.The 3.
Dell hopes the stylish Studio XPS laptops, announced at CES a few weeks back, will help shake up its image, and it may be working. CNET, Laptop Magazine and PC Magazine have all posted reviews of the 16-inch entertainment notebook, and the latter two awarded it an Editors' Choice.