NerdGrind - How-to Computer Help - Tutorials - Tech and Gadget News » PC

Allio Readies HDTV Integrated Media PC with Built-In Blu-Ray

Nerd Grind — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:55:49 +0000

Allio has done the unthinkable, shoved a full-blown media PC into a 1080p LCD TV. The units come in sizes up to 42 inches and buyers can customize a set that features a Vista-powered PC. The PC features a Core2Duo, 4GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, 1TB of storage and a Blu-Ray player. Even with those specs, the system still only costs $2,800.

The company hasn’t released where exactly the guts of the PC would be wedged within the TV. Also, the TV itself features a paltry 2000:1 contrast ratio. Allio plans on releasing the unit later in the month.

Microsoft Begins Placing Competing Recording Booths Outside of Apple Stores

Nerd Grind — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:41:04 +0000

Microsoft raises the stakes on their ad war with Apple by starting to place "I’m a PC" recording booths directly outside of select Apple Stores. Pictured above is one such occurrence in Birmingham, England. The booths are staffed with Microsoft employees who will extol the virtues of their OS while dissuading you from their competitors OS. Pretty standard stuff. Let’s see what Apple comes up with next.

ASUS G50 / G71 laptops and ARES CG6155 gaming PC on store shelves

Nerd Grind — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:40:07 +0000

These machines made our radar a while back but with all of this election year excitement we plum forget about ’em. Well, here they are. Ready to be scooped up by the adoring public. The laptops are going for approximately $1,249.99. The gaming PC, however, still remains to be priced. Kind of odd considering they are heading to retail shelves as we speak. is ASUS planning an "honor system" with gaming PC? Pay how much you think it’s worth? That actually might be a good gambit. I’d always feel guilty and torn when teachers would ask me to grade my own performance. I always marked myself lower than I probably deserved. Are they counting on that to nab $3,000+ for each PC? More as it develops.

Click here for a press release on the ASUS ARES CG6155

Click here for a press release on the ASUS G5 and G71

Tranquil PC’s home server includes even kitchen sink

Nerd Grind — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:16:51 +0000

The Tranquil PC SQA-5H home server drops today. Aside from coming with two or three friendly IT guys, this unit seems to have it all. The SQA-5H server has five hot-swappable drive bays, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom 330 processor and 1 GB of ram that can be upgraded to 2 GB. It also comes with a quick system backup for transferring your stored data onto an external HDD. Oh yeah, there’s also a "Mode" button for quick capacity checks and an optional SQA-EX slave unit for an extra five bays of swappable fun. Phew. It doesn’t do your taxes for you though. Nothing in this world is perfect.

Word is, pricing will come out later today on their website. I’m going to buy one hundred and build an igloo to sleep inside of. The gentle hum of swappable bays just can’t be beat.

CherryPal delays their Cloud PC again

Nerd Grind — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:42:52 +0000

CherryPal has announced that their $249 Cloud PC has been delayed yet again. The new and improved release date has been set in stone for November 4th. By "set in stone" they actually mean probably, hopefully, maybe.

To soften the blow to consumers, the company also announced that the 4GB C100 model has been replaced by the 8GB C114 model. All previously made orders will be upgraded free of charge. Head on over to their website if you want to play the waiting game.

Asus Redefines Mobile

Nerd Grind — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:35:24 +0000

Asus is set to launch its UMPC, the R50A, which has full PC and GPS functionality, in January. Not much more info at this time, but stay tuned!.

Marvell Chip

Nerd Grind — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:19:34 +0000

Marvell has released chips for PC and notebook that determine the amount of power an application will need and will optimize accordingly.

Optimizing power cuts down on power consumption and, of course, global warming-causing greenhouse gasses. It seems such a small thing – our PCs adding to global warming, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that there are more than 10 billion AC-DC power supplies attached to computers out there. At least our electric bills might go down a bit.

Look for these chips in PCs in about a year.

ATI TV Wonder(s)

Nerd Grind — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:28:35 +0000

The $149 ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USb offers two TV tuners allowing users to watch and record off-the-air Digital TV/HDTV, unencrypted Digital TV (ClearQAM) cable programming, analog TV, and listen to FM broadcasts.

â€œNo other company offers this exceptional choice of connectivity and configuration in TV tuner PC products,â€ said Matt Skynner, vice president of marketing, Graphics Products Group, AMD. â€œOur graphics pedigree is built on long-standing leadership in TV and video on the PC. The ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo USB and ATI TV Wonder 600 PCI/PCI Express, offered through VisionTek, take the best of our companyâ€™s digital TV experience and enable amazing HDTV on PCs today.â€

For those who live in areas where the TV air signals are poor or non-existent, the ATI TV Wonderâ„¢ Digital Cable Tuner is the solution to enjoy premium digital cable shows , such as HBO and Showtime, on the PC.

Dell XPS 410 Gets CableCARD

Nerd Grind — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:52:08 +0000

As a heavy user of my own PVR, I’ve been hankering to convert to a system with CableCARD support. It’s just plain silly to pay the $6.00/month for a cable receiver, and then futz around with the IR blaster (which inevitably gets out of synch right when I’m ready to start recording). No, I’d rather just plug in that CableCARD and let my PVR software do its stuff. So, Dell, your XPS 410 might have just jumped to the top of the list for my upcoming upgrade. The premium’s not even all that much, at $236 per tuner. Most good tuners for for around the same price, anyway.

If You Just Gotta Have One Now – Alienware Area-51 M5550

Nerd Grind — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:10:28 +0000

Some manufacturers are having some difficulties shipping their hottest machines (cough, Dell, cough), but Alienware will ship you a mediocre, moderately configured Area-51 M5550 "Quick Ship" version. It’s nothing to get that excited about, with no Santa Rosa, a T7200 Core 2 Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (not the best performer), 2Gb RAM, a 15.4" LCD, typical optical drive, and a 160GB HDD. Pricing is $1,699, and they’re promising a 48-hour shipping time. So, if you’re will to trade time for performance (something of a contradiction, if you think about it), here’s you’re deal.

NerdGrind - How-to Computer Help - Tutorials - Tech and Gadget News » PC

Allio Readies HDTV Integrated Media PC with Built-In Blu-Ray

Related posts:

Microsoft Begins Placing Competing Recording Booths Outside of Apple Stores

Related posts:

ASUS G50 / G71 laptops and ARES CG6155 gaming PC on store shelves

Related posts:

Tranquil PC’s home server includes even kitchen sink

Related posts:

CherryPal delays their Cloud PC again

Related posts:

Asus Redefines Mobile

Related posts:

Marvell Chip

Related posts:

ATI TV Wonder(s)

Related posts:

Dell XPS 410 Gets CableCARD

Related posts:

If You Just Gotta Have One Now – Alienware Area-51 M5550

Related posts: