Filed under: Desktops, Displays, Laptops

In case you haven’t noticed, HP has a thing for attempting (emphasis on attempting) to stay one step ahead of the sector. Now, it’s being reported that touch technology is all the rage within Palo Alto, and HP is purportedly aiming to introduce “an array of products, including notebooks,” that utilize the finger-friendly tech within the next 18 months. Details on those very products are few and far between, but Phil McKinney (CTO of the Personal Systems Group) sees touch “as the almost preferred method for nontechnical users.” Funny thing, though — it seems most everyone else recognized touch as the new hotness a good while back. We’re betting HP has just been holding all of this mighty close to the chest… guess we’ll see in 18 months, huh?

[Image courtesy of Old-Computers]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

So now that HP’s joined Dell in releasing information on which laptops have those defective NVIDIA GPUs, we can sort of piece together which chips are faulty — and just as had been rumored, it looks like basically every Geforce 8600M and 8400M chip is affected. That’s not good news for NVIDIA, which has been saying that only “previous-generation” chips were problematic — unless the chipmaker is planning on updating the hugely popular 8×00 series sometime, say, now, that’s not exactly true, now is it? Other affected chips appear to be in the GeForce Go 7000 and 6000 lines, as well as the Quadro NVS 135M and the Quadro FX 360M, but that’s just looking at model numbers, and we can’t be exactly sure. We’d say that if you’ve got a machine with any one of these GPUs, it might be wise to call in and see what your laptop maker is going to do — and it would be smart for NVIDIA to come right out and say exactly how big and how bad this problem really is.

Read - Dell list of machines and patch
Read - HP list of machines, extended warranty info

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

DeviceVM’s SplashTop “instant-on” OS is based on Linux, even though it’s locked down to only run IM, Skype, media software, and Firefox, and you know what that means — it’s already been hacked wide open. Yep, the clever kids at the Phoronix forums have managed to open up the BIOS-based OS and make it do all kinds of tricks, including run other programs and boot other machines off a flash drive. The hacks are still a little complex, but with ASUS shipping tons of ExpressGate-enabled mobos and laptops and HP’s support in the Voodoo Envy 133, we’d there’s a one-click unlocker in the wild fairly soon. Anyone brave enough to install it on their machines?

[Thanks, george85]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Storage

If you’ve experienced some shockingly slow results from your Windows Home Server-based unit, we’ve one question for you: do you have Power Pack 1 and the HP add-ons installed? If so, you may not be alone in your frustrations. Apparently a number of users have seen dramatic slowdowns that have rendered their WHS devices nearly unusable. It seems that all the “bloatware” really takes a toll, as the hard drives are constantly pounded and console menus take ages (minutes, to be more precise) to appear. According to Within Windows, the only real solutions are to install more RAM and / or tweak your pagefile configurations afterwards. Anyone else raging mad about the performance issues? What are you going to do about it?

[Thanks, Bryant]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

It was inevitable, was it not? With the success of HP’s 2133 Mini-Note, it was pretty obvious that the outfit would be working up a second edition, and according to Jerel Chong, HP Australia’s Market Development Manager for Notebook PCs, it’s already “looking at a similar device but at a lower cost.” Reportedly, the lower cost low-cost laptop will be ready for budget-conscience consumers sometime before 2009, though we have no idea what corners will be cut in order to hack down the price. Mr. Chong did mention that the cheaper edition would be less “durable,” but considering that we never viewed the original as a Toughbook replacement, we’re not so sure what he’s really getting at. Nevertheless, those looking seriously at the more business-minded 2133 may want to hold off, but good luck suppressing that insatiable desire to be instantly gratified.

[Via TheGadgetSite]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Just weeks after “reinventing” Voodoo with the Envy 133 laptop and Omen gaming desktop, it looks like HP’s had enough — it’s decided to straight-up merge the specialty PC shop with its core consumer business, and sell its products alongside the Compaq Presario and HP Pavilion lines. Yeah, that’ll make Voodoo seem totally hardcore. For it’s part, HP says it’s always been planning on this kind of merger, and that the move will make Voodoo product easier to buy worldwide and faster to get with no change in service for existing customers, but it’s also oddly ambiguous on whether the Voodoo name will live on — saying only that it’s “likely,” but that a decision hasn’t been reached. All this means that it’s even weirder that HP has both the Voodoo and Blackbird gaming lines, of course — any bets on which one gets axed first?

Read - PC World article
Read - HP CTO Raul Sood’s blog entry on the merger

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Apparently some folks have $6,600 to toss on a gaming PC, and thankfully, those folks — we won’t mention names — invested in a camera to let us all live vicariously. HP’s Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition, which packs a pair of NVIDIA’s potent GeForce GTX 280 cards, has landed in the home of one lucky gamer, and there’s a good selection of pictures to prove it. You know where to head from here.

[Thanks, bioender]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Well, that didn’t take long. Atul Malhotra, the HP executive charged with stealing printer market data when he left IBM and sending it to his new colleagues at HP with the genius-level subject line “For Your Eyes Only,” has pled guilty to one count of theft of trade secrets. Malhotra probably made the right choice — he specifically requested the information just before he left IBM and HP itself investigated and turned him in when he was found sending it around, so the case against him was pretty airtight. It’s not clear what his plea deal is, but sentencing is scheduled for October 29, and he can get up to 10 years in the clink with a fine of up to a quarter-million dollars. Crime don’t pay, kids.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

Alright, it’s finally here — Voodoo’s configuration page for the Envy 133 just went live with pricing information, and we’re being told that orders are being accepted over the phone. Depending on options and paint jobs, you’re going to put a dent in your wallet anywhere from $2100 to $3400, but it’s still not clear exactly when units will be shipping out. Anyone taking the plunge?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

The printer market isn’t exactly full of the most intersting news, but it’s still big money, and big money tends to bring out the worst in people — like former HP VP Atul Malhotra, who was just charged with stealing trade secrets from his former employer IBM and emailing them to other HP execs. Apparently Malhotra requested some confidential sales data two months before he went from the three-letter company to the two-letter one, and when he got there he hit up some other senior execs with the files — marking the subject line “For Your Eyes Only.” Yeah, that’s an effective way to keep a lid on things. Malhotra was fired from HP in 2006, so all this went down some time ago, and HP says it actually conducted an internal investigation about the matter before firing Malhotra and reporting the theft to both IBM and the authorities. Sure, sure — but we’ll know what’s up when the next HP AIO is running a Cell chip.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Hey you. Yeah, you. You’re about to beam that resume facsimile-style to a prospective employer, aren’t you? If said machine is a Hewlett-Packard Fax 1010 or 1010xi, we’re recommend firing (ahem) it over through email instead. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with HP, has issued a voluntary recall for the aforementioned fax machines after receiving three reports of “overheating,” two of which resulted in “minor property damage.” If you just so happen to own one of these machines, and you’d prefer your abode not be burned to the ground anytime soon, we’d suggest following the read link and applying for your rebate. After you unplug the machine and shove it in the freeze, of course.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

It’s safe to say the flood gates are officially open, as just a fortnight after HP’s Pavilion tx2500z tablet got upgraded with Puma-based innards, along comes the Pavilion dv5z series to join the fold. Available for ordering right now at HP’s website, users can grab one of these lappies with an AMD Athlon / Turion X2 (Ultra) dual-core processor, a 15.4-inch panel, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, ATI’s Radeon HD 3200 / HD 3450 graphics, integrated WiFi / Bluetooth, up to 320GB of hard drive space and your choice of a DVD burner or Blu-ray drive. For the full list of specifications and to get one of these headed your way, head southwest to the read link and be prepared to hand over a bare minimum of $699.99.

[Via Laptoping, thanks Danijel]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

Not particularly thrilled with the performance of your HP Mini-Note 2133? If you’re vigorously shaking your head up and down as that render chugs along in the background, take a listen at this. The folks over at HP 2133 Guide took the time to benchmark their Vista / XP systems and then apply VIA’s recently released drivers for the CN896 chipset and Chrome9 integrated graphics. Not surprisingly, they found the update totally worthwhile. Based on pure numerical changes, there’s not a lot to phone home about, but critics did note that “video playback was improved quite a bit on each OS,” and that YouTube / Hulu vids were actually watchable post-update. Not a lot of downside to upgrading, so head on over and see what the new drivers have in store for you.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops

Yeah, we realize that the first two words after “HP TouchSmart IQ504 PC” are “coming soon,” but apparently the web design humanoid forgot to notice that little “Ships same day” note down there by the Purchase button. That’s right kids, HP’s latest all-in-one PC (you know, the TouchSmart 2) is all boxed up and ready to be shipped to your home or office. All’s that left for you to do is scrounge up $1,249.99 and punch in those gory details e-tailers tend to ask for.

[Thanks, jmacman1]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Laptops

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Yeah, you may be burning that midnight oil, but your weariness isn’t the reason you’re certain you’ve seen this thing before. Touted at CES as the MediaSmart Receiver, the re-dubbed MediaSmart Connect is finally available for pre-order. Just as we heard before, this unit takes full advantage of Extender for Windows Media Center technology, and although it possesses no internal storage space, it will pull in digital media from around your home (and a variety of online media outlets) and pipe it straight to your HDTV. The unit plays nice with other UPnP- and DLNA-compliant devices and includes 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, an Ethernet port, HDMI / component jacks and support for MPEG2/4, DivX, XviD, WMV, MP3, WMA, AAC, JPEG and BMP files (among others). Prospective buyers can get their order in today for $349.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Alienware was making some noise earlier today about being first out the gate with NVIDIA’s new GeForce GTX 280 cards, but HP’s gaming division isn’t about get shown up: it’s launching the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition which features two GTX 280 cards in SLI today, and it says it’ll be shipping almost a month sooner than Alienware for $6,600 — just over a thousand dollars less than a similar Area-51 setup. That’s fightin’ talk, people — hopefully these two will get their prices down to something actually reasonable by the time this is all over.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments