Both XPS and Alienware are computer brands that cater mostly to gamers. The Wall Street Journal report stated that Dell will abandon its long standing XPS line of computers. The newspaper also said that this will be done to bring more attention to the Alienware brand.

Dell countered by saying that its XPS line has evolved from being a purely gaming PC. Recent releases from the brand incorporated more features that allow for business use. The XPS One computer is being touted as an all-purpose machine. Its specifications still allow it to handle high-performance computer games. However, the machine has been modified to allow it to handle several other processes. Another product called the XPS M1330 is the leading portable laptop, while the XPS 420 desktop is a machine designed for creating, editing and supporting multimedia.

Alienware develops a line of computers dedicated solely to gaming. The Alienware Company was acquired by Dell in 2006. Both companies have remained independent in terms of PC hardware and system development. Alienware focuses on custom-made computers with unique designs and high-performance engines. Its machines are patronized by gamers who use high-end computers for hours of game play.

Dell has continued to develop both brands independently. Its own XPS line was developed toward other markets while Alienware continues to develop specialty engines for gaming. Alienware machines take a long time to develop and perfect. Their machines also use both Intel and Advanced Micro Device chips. In contrast, Dell uses an efficient development process that allows it to release several new products and has an exclusive deal with Intel.

Dell’s acquisition of Alienware allows the PC gaming manufacturer to gain access to Dell’s massive marketing engine, while Alienware gives Dell a slice of the high-end computer market.

The Wall Street Journal article that led to the press release states that Dell was switching its main gaming brand to increase profits. In the article, it is said that Dell is disappointed when it placed after Hewlett-Packard in terms of revenue. To solve the problem, the article claims that Dell would abandon the XPS line to focus on the more popular and profitable high-end Alienware products.

For a moment there HD DVD seemed to be the future Now, many people are not so sure anymore. But big manufacturers such as Microsoft already produced hardware based on the hi-def standard and have to face the consequences. As a result the external USB 2.0 HD DVD player add-on for Xbox360 suffered a $50 downgrade from $179.99 to $129.99. It’s a bit cheaper now and it also works with a PC.

The price-cut and the 5 free HD DVDs offer say now’s the time if you always wanted to upgrade your Xbox.

When Google announced Android, everybody was overexcited with the news and started dreaming (again) of a Google Phone.

For the moment rumors have it, that HTC will be responsible with creating the terminal, and of new, it seems Samsung wants to put out the market its very own Google Phone early 2009.

If all goes according to the plan, the terminal will be cheap, the main revenue source being the integrated ads. Besides the “Google Phone” was supposed to incorporate a GPS module and a Linux kernel. For the moment all that’s just rumor and the end-product might be quite different.

What’s certain is that Google will produce mobile terminals in the near future, and I don’t expect Google to fail in any way, given all the material support and brainpower the search engine giant can offer.

This is the largest 2.5″ NAND drive yet announced and places NAND technology firmly in competition with magnetic media for mainline storage applications.

NAND drives use a form of flash memory. As such, they have no moving parts and are therefore much more durable and reliable than traditional hard drives.

In addition, as NAND drives do not suffer from the tradition seek time delays inherent in any media designed with rotating disks, NAND drives can perform faster than magnetic or optical media.

This new drive is estimated to support 20,000 I/O operations per second and a sustained transfer rate of 100MB/sec.

Currently, price is the main limitation to the adoption of NAND drive technology. As memory prices decrease, NAND drives should slowly replace magnetic media for storage applications.

The Two Common Monitor Technologies

Before stating the advantages and disadvantages of each type of monitor, let me first explain how both types of monitors work and their basic features.

The CRT Monitor

The cathode ray tube monitor is the type of monitor that has been around sine the beginning of personal computers. These monitors use the same technology as normal TV sets.

The Flat Panel Monitor

There are two types of flat panel monitors: LCD (liquid crystal display) and plasma. However, it should be noted that he vast majority of flat panel monitors are LCD and these are the type that we will discuss today. LCD monitors use small crystal that can receive electric charges. When they receive an electric charge, they turn different colors producing an image.

Advantages of Flat Panel Monitors

There are several advantages of a flat panel monitor including desk space savings, display size and power consumption. Besides these advantages, flat panel monitors are also usually relatively equal with CRT monitors on features such as amount of colors, quality of image and price (depending on size).

Desk Space Savings

Perhaps the flat monitor’s biggest advantage over a CRT monitor is the amount of space you save on your desktop. All CRT monitors are extremely bulky and heavy. Even the smallest 15 inch CRT monitors usually require more than half of a desktop to fit. For those that like an open work space and plenty of room on their desktop to complete other tasks besides working on their computer, a flat panel monitor is a must have technology. Flat panel monitors have extremely small foot prints (amount of space required on a desktop). They are super thin and very light weight. Trying lugging your small CRT monitor from one desk to another, many of these monitors weigh in excess of 40 pounds. A flat panel monitor can be only several inches thick and weigh less than 5 pounds.

Display Size

All CRT monitors are extremely bulky. While the screen may be 15 inches diagonal, the casing may be several inches thicker, and that is not even considering the depth in the rear part of the monitor that holds the cathode ray tube. This is why CRT monitors require a deep desk to just to fit on. On the other hand, a flat panel monitor uses its display size very efficiently. A 15 inch monitor might be encased in a 15 ½ inch casing and the total depth in the rear may be less than 5 inches thick.

Besides a small case, the size of monitors can vary with flat panel monitors. Many flat panel monitors are available in widescreen and extra large screen sizes. You wouldn’t be able to fit a 32 inch CRT monitor on your desk, but with a flat panel monitor, a 32 inch monitor not only fits on your desk, but with plenty of room to boot.

Power Consumption

LCD flat panel monitors use much less power than a CRT monitor. This is great news for those that use their computers quite frequently. You can save plenty of money over the lifetime of your purchase. In addition, LCD flat monitors give off much less radiation than a CRT monitor making it a much safer product.

Flat Panel Monitors VS. CRT Monitors on Price, Color Quality & Viewing Angle

It should be noted that although flat panel monitors do not usually exceed CRT monitors in price, color quality or viewing angle, flat panels are either relatively equal or competitive with their CRT counterparts.

Price: Obviously flat panel monitors cost more than CRT monitors, but for those looking for value, you will definitely get more bang for your buck with a flat panel monitor. For instance, a 15 inch CRT monitor will cost around $75 to $125, where as a flat panel monitor will start from prices at around $125. It should be noted that energy savings, especially for corporate environments will easily pay for this price premium over the life of the monitor.

Color Quality: CRT monitors are extremely effective at producing high quality, sharp images. And yes, CRT monitors for the most part produce a better overall image. However, today’s flat panel monitors might lack color quality when it comes to specifications, but to the average viewer, flat panel monitors will be just as crisp, clear and vivid as a CRT monitor.

Viewing Angle: Liquid crystal display monitors are made from tiny crystals that receive an electric charge and thus produce color. When LCD monitors first came out, their viewing angle was inferior to CRT monitors. For instance, a CRT monitor can be viewed from a wide viewing angle, flat panel monitors when they first were introduced could not be viewed from a far angle and must be viewed as close to the center as possible. While flat panel monitor technology has improved and with it wider viewing angles, CRT monitors continue to have better viewing angles. But for those that sit in front of their computer monitor to do tasks, this should not be an issue.

Alienware released their media server platform as a response to Sony’s Home Entertainment Server. But unlike Sony who offers a meager 500GB of storage, Alienware gives you 4TB to store your favorite movies, songs, etc.

And not only that but the HD Media Server offers a HDMI output, Dolby Digital 7.1 preamplified output, wireless connection with other devices like computers or mobile devices. Besides it can provide automation for many functions around the house like lighting, air conditioning, or room music.

What Alienware is trying to do with this new Media Server, is not only beat Sony, but conquer a new market of centralized home entertainment. A Media Server that not only takes care of your movies and music, records TV-shows or downloads media content from the web, but also centralize other house functions into one media core. It sounds good but I don’t know for sure if this trend for centralization is leading us in the right direction.

Stealth Computer Corporation a leading ISO 9001 manufacturer of industrial rugged computers and peripherals has released a small form factor or mini PC that is so small that it can fit on the palm of your hand. The LPC-350PCI Little PC employs Intel’s Pentium and Celeron M series processors, designed for optimum power efficiency without compromising processor performance. The robust anodized aluminum chassis measures just over 2 inches tall having the overall footprint about the size of a hard cover novel, measuring in at 10″ x 5.87″ x 2.75″ and weighing approximately 6 lbs.

One of the unique attributes the LPC-350PCI possesses is the open PCI card slot. “Clients can simply add specialized I/O, video, data acquisition and communications cards, something that cannot be achieved with other small computers such as notebook PCs” remarks Stealth’s President & CEO, Ed Boutilier.

The LPC-350PCI mini PC features a multitude of I/O connectivity built into its impressively small design such as; LAN, Serial, 3-USB 2.0, FireWire, Video, Audio, PS/2 Mouse & Keyboard ports. The LPC-350PCI has a built-in 2.5” high-shock hard drive with up to 160GB’s of storage space for archived data.

For applications that require extra high shock, vibration and wide temperature ranges an optional Solid State Hard Drive or Flash Drive is available. A slim DVD/CD-RW optical drive comes standard with an optional DVD burner available. Systems are compatible with Microsoft Vista/XP, Linux etc and can be custom configured to meet the exact needs of the OEM or end user. The Stealth LPC-350 series Little PCs are shipping now with prices starting at $995.00 USD depending on configurations. Stealth’s LittlePC products serve a demanding market where powerful solutions are being deployed in space-challenged applications around the world. Digital Signs, Kiosks, Embedded Control, Thin-Clients, POS & Human/Machine Interface are just a few of the applications that are ideal for Stealth’s LittlePC products.

New iMacs were expected for a while now. That’s why Apple’s morning release was not such a shock to the tech passionates out there. To skip straight to the point, Apple released new iMacs. Built from aluminum and strong glass the prototypes “suffered” a complete redesign. These now come in two basic sizes. A 20-inch and a 24-inch.

Here are the main features, for those interested:

* USB 2.0, Firewire 400/800 ports
* SuperDrive
* iSight camera
* Glossy display
* New keyboard (mini wireless or extended wired / Bluetooth 2.0 included)
* Core 2 Extreme 2.8GhZ processor
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphic card
* 1TB storage space
* Wireless and Bluetooth 2.0
* 1GB of standard RAM

The price for these fancy iMacs? $1,799 for the 24-inch one and $2,299 for the Core 2 Extreme. They might seem a bit expensive in the beginning, but trust me, they truly are worth it.

Nintendo Wii’s Shopping Channel was unavailable for three hours or so earlier. It was a sign. It seems that Nintendo updated the Wii firmware in order to include a few small but very nice features. Some sources report that an increase of the User Interface’s speed is in place.

See this report on the full features implemented with this Firmware upgrade, and you can see some interesting screenshots from the referred source.

I myself own a Nintendo Wii and I will update it to the new features as soon as I have some free time