Hardware Geeks

When HP asked me if I was interested in reviewing one of their work stations, I said sure. When they told me it was on its way I expected a huge box, but what arrived was a small one.  I immediately thought it was something else, maybe some accessories to go along with it.  I was quite surprised when I opened the box though.  It was indeed the HP Ultra Slim dc7800, a workstation that measures 9.90 x 10.00 x 2.60 inches and weighs only 7 pounds.

I was immediately impressed by its size, or lack of. While the size surprised me I was a bit concerned that a machine this small could not handle the same day to day workings as a traditional work station. (But) I was always told great things come in small packages so the fact that it was being powered by Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33 Ghz CPU and 2 Gigs of ram reassured me.  The dc7800 could probably deliver the same results as a traditional work station.

In responce to a YouTube video by a user who claimed they found a glitch in the popular golf game Tiger Woods 2009, EA released a video of their own, showing that the supposed glitch was in deed not a glitch but the fact that Tiger Woods simply is that good.

Let’s roll the Video Tape!

IE 8 Beta 2 is available for download. Click here to download a version suited to your specs.

The new IE 8 beta 2 is loaded with features and plug-ins, and after reading all the features it has it makes me wonder if it isn’t becoming a bloated Monster. Feel free to post and let us know what you think of it, I have been using it for about 20 minutes now and I have to say it is a lot more stable than the previous version and I like it a bit but may go back to IE 7 depending how the next few hours or so go with it. 

http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=MAGICNUMBER&kbln=en-us

Just replace MAGICNUMBER with the hotfix’s KB article number and you’ll get a download link to the out of band hotfix within a few minutes.

Epson on Wednesday will officially announce their new high end Artisan line. The new line will launch with two new all-in-one printers, the Artisan 700 and my favorite the Artisan 800.

The Artisan 800 if the mother-load of all printers, it is wi-fi capable, has a 3.5 inch LCD touchscreen that only lights up the buttons you need to use at that moment, the screen will also allow you to control the printers functions, edit images (brighten, darken, rorate and even crop).

Dish Network today announced that it is the first company in the Pay-TV industry to offer all of its standard and High-Def channels in MPEG 4, but only on the east coast.

New customers in 21 designated markets in the eastern half of the U.S. who sign up for any DISH Network HD package will be the first in the nation to receive the industry’s most advanced delivery system on all televisions connected to DISH Network service. This includes all SD and HD programming broadcast in MPEG-4 via DISH Network’s award-winning MPEG-4 HD and HD DVR receivers – even further enhancing DISH Network’s already superior picture.

After a somewhat confusing law was passed in NY, Newegg.com began collecting taxes, as of this past Thursday August 21st 2008 Newegg stopped collecting NY State Tax.

In an email on the 22nd, Newegg informed its customers of the change, it also made NY residents aware that they are responsible for paying taxes for their purchases on their NY State income tax return, under the terms of the “use tax”.

I am new to photography, but on my first two photo shoots I lugged around my tx2000 notebook PC to check the pictures I had just taken.  I could’ve looked on the LCD screen on the back of the camera, but sometimes what you see on that screen isn’t what you always get.

The problem with taking my laptop is that I like to pack light and although the Nikon D60 is a small DSLR, the added 4 pounds the laptop adds to my bag are 4 pounds I wouldn’t mind shedding.

So when Epson asked if I wanted to take a look at their P-7000 I said yes, I even begged for them to send it on a Saturday as I would be leaving Sunday for Disneyland on business. Yes it was a business trip but I did get on a lot of rides before and after my business meeting with HP.

Announced by Sony at Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, is a new PS3 configuration.  The limited edition Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune PS3 Bundle will include a 160 GB PS3, a copy of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, a voucher to download PAIN from the PSN, and a DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller.  The 160 GB PS3 is taking the same route as the current 80 GB model, and will not include PS2 backwards compatibility.  The Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune PS3 Bundle is set to be released in November for a retail price of $499.99.

Also announced is a Wireless Keypad attachment, similar to the Chatpad for Microsoft’s Xbox 360.  The new accessory will attach to the top of PS3 controllers and feature a full QWERTY keypad as well as a feature that turns the key area into a touch pad for cursor navigation.  The accessory also has shortcut keys for quick access to your friends list and messages.  The Wireless Keypad makes use of Bluetooth, so you will not only have the ability to use it with the PS3, but also with mobile phones or other devices with Bluetooth that support it.  A price has not been announced, but the Wireless Keypad will be sold starting in late November.