Top 5 Best Desktop Replacement Laptops

Desktop replacements are one of the largest growing segments in the portable market. These system pack in the features and functions that make them competitive with full sized computers. There are even a lot of specialized multimedia and gaming models.

The following are the Five Best Laptops rated according to their configuration, real-time performance and design.


1. Dell XPS M1730

For those looking for a high performance system for gaming, Dell's XPS offers the XPS M1730 laptop. The system is highly customizable to fit to a wide variety of budgets but does offer some superb 3D graphics performance thanks to its ability to run a mobile SLI setup with NVIDIA GeForce mobile graphics processors. They even offer the Core 2 Extreme mobile processor for some of the best processing power available. Of course, the top of the line performance will cost a lot. Dell even makes a specially skinned version for those who play World of Warcraft.

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2. Gateway P-173XL FX

If gaming is one of your primary reasons for getting a desktop replacement but you don't want to spend the huge sums for a gaming oriented laptop configuration, check out Gateway's FX series of laptops. The 17-inch P-173XL FX offers a very well balanced system configuration with a very strong GeForce 8800M GTS graphics processor that is even capable of playing 3D games up to the 17-inch screens 1920x1200 resolution. The RAID drive setup helps boost performance and storage space and the wide variety of peripheral connectors lets you hook up just about anything. The only real drawbacks to it are its fairly large size and battery pack that extends out from the case.

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3. HP Pavilion dv9830us

If multimedia and high definition video are what draws you to a desktop replacement, HP offers some extremely strong values. The Pavilion dv9830us has a very attractive price and includes features such as a Blu-ray reader and DVD burner combo drive and digital/analog HDTV tuner card that let it play a wide variety of HD media. One big downside to the system though is the 17-inch LCD is limited to a 1440x900 resolution preventing it from being used for 1080p video. It is still possible to do it with an extrenal monitor via the HDMI connector. The price might also be so low as it uses an older Core 2 Duo T5550 mobile processor.

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4. Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch

The MacBook Pro is probably one of the more expensive desktop replacement laptops on the market, but it is also the most portable. The svelte aluminum clad laptop is just one inch thick with a very light 6.8 pounds. Performance is also quite strong thanks to the Core 2 Duo T9300 processor. With the Mac OS X 10.5 operating system, it is also possible to run the Windows operating system thanks to the new Boot Camp feature. This makes the system extremely flexible in what it can run. The price just makes it something that many people might reconsider.

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5. Lenovo IdeaPad Y710

Prior to the purchase by Lenovo, IBM was not a company that built any laptops with screens larger than 15-inches. The IdeaPad Y710 was a major step away from that by producing the first 17-inch desktop replacement laptop. The system integrates well loved features such as the ThinkPads great keyboard design and matched it with features consumers would like. The system ranges for very affordable budget systems to high end PC gaming platforms. Whether you need an affordable system, strong general performance or gaming, Lenovo has an IdeaPad Y710 that can match those needs.

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IBM Roadrunner Judged World's Fastest Computer

IBM (NYSE: IBM)'s Roadrunner, which provides more than 1 quadrillion calculations a second for nuclear security and scientific research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, topped the list Wednesday of the world's 500 fastest computers. The supercomputer also was found to be one of the most energy-efficient systems.

IBM also grabbed the No. 2 and No. 3 slots in the Top 500 list with the Blue Gene/L system at the National Nuclear Security Administration's Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California and the Team Blue Gene/P system at the Department of Energy's Argonne National Lab in Chicago, respectively. The biannual list was released at the International Supercomputing Conference in Dresden, Germany.

The $100 million Roadrunner, built by IBM and scientists at the NNSA-run Los Alamos in New Mexico, gets its muscle of 1.026 petaflops from 12,240 IBM PowerXCell 8i chips, which handle the math-intensive calculations. For all other chores, the machine uses 6,562 Opteron Dual-Core processors from Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD). The PowerXCell chips are derived from the same processors that power Sony (NYSE: SNE)'s PlayStation 3 video game console.

The Roadrunner, which is based on IBM QS22 blade servers, is more than twice as powerful as the Blue Gene/L system, which held the top spot in the last list, released in November. That machine clocked in at 478 teraflops, or 478 trillion calculations per second. The No. 3 Team Blue Gene reaches 450-teraflop performance.

Rounding out the top five systems was the new Sun Microsystems (NSDQ: JAVA)' Sun Blade x6420 Ranger system, at 326 teraflops, and the upgraded Cray XT4 Jaguar, at 205 teraflops. The Sun system is at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas, and the Cray machine is at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

The remaining top 10 systems, respectively, were the IBM Blue Gene/P system at Forschungszentrum Juelich in Germany, the SGI Altix ICE 8200 at the New Mexico Computing Applications Center, the Hewlett-Packard Cluster Platform 3000 BL460c at the Computational Research Laboratories in India, the IBM Blue Gene/P at IDRIS in France, and the SGI Altix ICE 8200EX at Total Exploration Production in France.

IBM had 210 systems on the list, the most of any supercomputer vendor. HP, however, was not far behind with 183 systems, including the No. 8 system.

source:Information week

How to Turn Your PS-3 into PC (Linux Computer)

Extracted from Popular Mechanics(PM).


The Cell processor inside Sony's PlayStation 3 is a powerhouse that lets the gaming console render highly detailed graphics at blistering speed. That same chip gives the PS3 all the processing muscle it needs to become a fully functional computer. When they(PM) first heard this was possible, they(PM) were sure the procedure had to be illegal, or that it would at least void the warranty. But as it turns out, this is that rarest of finds in consumer electronics: a perfectly legal, manufacturer-supported hack that adds significant functionality. With a little bit of effort and expense, they(PM) turned a PS3 into a Linux computer—without losing any of the machine's native gaming goodness.

Step 1: Back Up

Sony hardly walks people through the conversion process—you've got to know where to look in the PS3's menus, and many of the steps can be a bit tricky. But the first procedure is a no-brainer—back up your data. That's a good idea before doing major tinkering with any PC, and it's especially smart with this project, which requires the installation of a second operating system and either reformatting or replacing the PS3's hard drive. The PlayStation's own OS won't disappear in the process (it's stored on flash memory), but saved games will be wiped clean, so it's critical to back them up. A backup command that works with any USB-connected external drive is built into the PS3 OS (it's under "System Settings"), but it will only back up saved game data. Other media files (music, video, etc.) need to be backed up manually.

Step 2: Upgrade Your Drive

PlayStation 3 ships with either a 40 or 80 GB drive. That's plenty of storage for games and could suffice for basic computing. But upgrading the hard drive on the PS3 is remarkably easy, so we saw it as a good excuse to bump up the storage capacity to a more PC-friendly level. The PS3 uses 2.5-in. laptop drives, and high­capacity replacements can be purchased from online retailers such as Newegg or Directron for $60 to $150. We went for Toshiba's capacious 250 GB—ample space for large movie, music and photo collections.

The drive is located behind a small removable panel on the side of the PS3 and can be replaced without too much muss and fuss. It is secured in a removable cage, which is held in place by one screw. The upgrade is similar to a drive replacement in a PC—old drive pops out, new drive pops in. When the console is turned on, the PS3 formats the new drive.

Step 3: Install Your New OS

This is where things get somewhat complicated. PS3 can't run Microsoft Windows or Apple's OS X but it can run Linux operating systems. There are many Linux varieties, but our favorite is Ubuntu. And it turns out that the open-source community has created a program called kboot that helps load Ubuntu onto the PS3.

To download an installation kit including both kboot and the Ubuntu OS, click right here. The file is an ISO, which can be burned to a CD or DVD to create a bootable disc with a program such as ImgBurn.

The first step in loading the new operating system is to create a drive partition. Select "System Settings," then "Format Utility" from the menu of the PS3. Choose "Custom" and allot 10 GB to the "Other OS." Choose "Quick Format," then restart.

Once the partition is made, the OS can be loaded from the Ubuntu disc using the "Install Other OS" function under "Settings" in the PS3 menu. This installs kboot, which allows the PS3 to install Ubuntu.

Switching between the Play­Station operating system and Ubuntu is not as straightforward as dual booting a standard PC. In fact, after installing the kboot file, you need to delve back into the PS3's System Menu to designate "Other OS" under "Default System" before the PS3 even installs the full Ubuntu OS. When you restart the PS3, plug a mouse and keyboard into the USB ports. (PlayStation controllers are good for gaming, but terrible for computing.) The console will boot using your Ubuntu disc and install the new system. (Expect it to take about an hour.)

With Ubuntu installed, you can use your PS3 to run programs such as OpenOffice for spreadsheets and word processing, Firefox for Web surfing and VLC for movie playback. In short, your console will be able to do anything a normal PC can do.

There is, however, a trick to getting back to the native PlayStation OS. To make the switch, reboot the console, and at the boot prompt, type "boot-os-game," then press Enter. This brings the PS3 back to game land.

iPhone 3G vs Google

Sure, Apple's next-gen iPhone still looks pretty, and the iClones will follow from the old guard of handset makers. But even if Steve Jobs is playing nice with the cellphone market, PM's resident geek says it's the software, stupid. Here's how Google Android could really take down iPhone 2.0 in the upcoming code wars.

Apple didn't reinvent the phone. But it came close with the iPhone, creating an entirely new breed of mobile device—and promptly selling 6 million of them. In other words, the first iPhone wasn't the Sputnik of cellphones, but it may have been the Apollo 11.

A year later, as Apple launches its second-generation iPhone, the competition must realize that time is running out. If someone doesn't build a comparable touchscreen phone—right now—then the iPhone could become more than a historic success story. It will be unassailable, and the concept of an iPhone killer will become as mythical and useless as that other holy grail of consumer electronics: the iPod killer.

While companies like Samsung, LG and Motorola are used to fighting it out over handset design and built-in features, dutifully serving a range of niche customers while stumbling toward the next RAZR, beating the iPhone will mean excelling in an arena where phone makers have generally failed: software.

It's not that a touchscreen phone's hardware is irrelevant. The screen has to be tough enough to survive a fall, the processor fast enough to keep the phone from feeling too much like an underpowered computer, and the hard buttons smart enough to offset the inevitable interface hiccups. But more than any other kind of phone, a touchphone is a bundle of potential energy, a platform for software that defines not only the features, but the look and feel of the device. As iPhone competitors like the Samsung Instinct and LG Vu enter the market, it's been clear that the interface is what sets one model apart from another—turned off, every touchphone is a shiny little monolith. So even on a cosmetic level, the touchphone war will be fought with code.

Compared to Windows Mobile or the various proprietary operating systems built by other phone makers, the iPhone's OS and graphical user interface is clean, efficient and surprisingly free of embarrassment. Anyone who's tried to browse the Internet with directional buttons, or do anything at all with a RAZR, knows what I'm talking about. There's some room for improvement, of course. The lack of a landscape view for every iPhone application—and particularly ones where you're required to type—is mysterious, while video support in Safari is practically non-existent.

But no phone maker today is poised to take advantage of the software chinks—however small—in the iPhone's armor. Companies like BlackBerry may have excelled at direct, no-frills interfaces, but with the flood of new iPhone applications due to arrive July 11, it will take a true software giant to mount any sort of defense.

A giant like Google.

The company, which is spearheading the release of the open-source mobile phone operating system Android, also cut its teeth on simple, intuitive interfaces. It quietly releases free, browser-based applications that rival the Microsoft Office empire, and has already proven its mobile chops with the iPhone's Maps functionality.

While Apple attempts to encourage creative iPhone applications ideas with venture capital, the $10 million prize money that Google is sinking into its Android Developers Challenge may seem more tempting and less predatory to programmers. The first prize-winning Android applications will be released later this year—and early startups, like a GPS tracking program or even open-source hardware, are promising.

For Google, the emphasis is on open architecture and a wealth of smart programs for all kinds of phones. But as the iPhone has demonstrated, touchphones are the true battleground for software supremacy. If any of the first Android handsets released in the second half of this year is, say, touch-sensitive, with a screen somewhere between 3 and 4 in., the gauntlet will be thrown.

There's another possible endgame, though. "Do I believe that all applications are equal, and that more is always better," asks Muzib Khan, vice president of product management and engineering for Samsung Telecomm. "I don't think so." Samsung, it should be noted, is part of the Open Handset Alliance, but Khan points out that not every customer has the time—or desire—to filter through a constant flood of relatively untested applications. And with deep-pocketed providers like Sprint already investing billions in services like mobile TV, the company that can best implement a proven service, instead of enabling a million potentially buggy ones, could hold its own in the touchphone market. That's one reason why Samsung, for one, isn't planning on switching all of its new models to the Android platform. There's a place, you could argue, for proprietary, device-specific operating systems and services.

Still, given the track record that phone makers and providers have—with laughable browsers, stuttering television feeds and arcane e-mail programs—it's hard to imagine the old guard making an impact in the coming war between Apple and Android. Companies like Samsung will continue to deliver millions of devices that make excellent phone calls. But for something that does everything else, the last, best hope for a true iPhone-killer is Google.

10 most extreme accessories for computer geeks

Here are the Top Ten Computer Accessories for Web Search computer geeks; Computer geeks are notoriously difficult to shop for, but these geeky gift ideas will help you get your holiday shopping done - and it's all from the comfort of your own home.

1. Digital Picture Frame with Remote

Instead of using up valuable hard drive space to store your digital photos, simply pop the memory card out of your digital camera and place it into the Digital Picture Frame - you can view all of your photos as a slideshow, control fadeouts, and you can even add music. Very cool; comes with remote control. Perfect for geeky grandparents, perhaps?

2. Illuminated Mouse Pad

For those of us whose Dilbert mouse pads are sadly losing their flair. This Illuminated Mouse Pad comes with seven different color combinations, and is a "Gaming enthusiast approved mousing surface". I just think it looks really cool.

3 Antec PC Case

In the market for a good, solid, no frills (well, maybe a couple) PC case? A friend of mine just bought the Antec PC Case and couldn't be happier. Features "10 drive bays, a removeable motherboard tray, and a low-speed 120mm fan...front-mounted USB, firewire and audio ports."

4. Rear View Mirror For Your PC

Say you're at work, and you're playing a hot game of RuneScape online against your fellow cube slaves, and your boss keeps catching you, leading to awkward explanations? Squirm no longer, because a simple rearview mirror will save you.

5. USB Optical Liquid Mouse

This USB Optical Liquid Mouse is a great way to give your hand and wrist a bit of a break while surfing the Web.

6. Illuminated Keyboard

As someone who makes their living on the Web, I spend a lot of late nights blearily propping up my eyelids with toothpicks just so I can report on the latest Web trends and actually get some work done (that part about the toothpicks was kind of a lie-that would hurt). So, this Illuminated Keyboard is just the thing for us late night Web surfers.

7.Logitech Internet Chat Headset

For anyone who telecommutes and needs to talk via Skype or Google Talk, this Logitech Internet Chat Headset is a solid solution. "The Internet Chat Headset has it all at a great price: rich stereo sound, a noise-canceling microphone, in-line control for extra convenience, and a sleek behind-the-head design. The 9-foot cable gives you plenty of room to move around." I've got one of these on order from a friend's suggestion-he said that it was "the best one he'd found out there."

8. Mobile Edge Madison Tote-High Style Laptop Carrying Case for the Geeky Girl

Available in a stylish black or two-tone (gray and black) design. This does not look like the run of the mill laptop carrying cases out there; it looks more like a largish Hermes bag, if you ask me (and that's why I like it so much). Real leather accents, SafetyCell computer protection compartment,and extra compartments for all your extra stuff.

9. SnapStream Beyond TV 3 - PVR Software and Setup

Your PC can be used for a lot of things: work, play, surfing the Web, and watching and recording your favorite TV shows and movies. With SnapStream Beyond TV 3 (formerly PVR), you can "use your PC to record, watch, pause, and SmartSkip your favorite programs using the award-winning ViewScape interface." No clunky video tapes needed, and you can record and store all your favorite shows from one central location-your PC-and then download and stream them to any room in your house.

10. Wi Fi Signal Locator-Use Your Keychain To Find Hot Spots

Just the other day, I watched and waited as four different people had to boot up their laptops and manually search for a signal. This would have been a lot faster if we would have had the Wi Fi Signal Locator. This is the world's smallest Wi Fi signal detector, and fits easily on your keychain. Best of all: you don't have to boot up and waste valuable battery time, you can just let your Wi Fi Signal Locator do the work. Next time I go to the local coffee shop to surf the Web, I'm taking this.

By Wendy Boswell, Extracted from About.com

Top 10 strangest keyboards

The keyboard is a very much needed device in the computer. Nobody experiments with keyboards too much, even the layout that most of us use (QWERTY) did not change since typewriters. However, there would be no development without evolution, and while some of us make wireless keyboards with displays and USB hubs,........

10. Luxeed LED Rainbow Keyboard

The backlit buttons on a keyboard is a very useful feature, especially if you sit all night in front of your computer. This keyboard has this feature too, but... It goes further, letting you to customize each button's color. Therefore, you can choose the pattern you like the most, or just color the different blocks of buttons to different colors. Maybe this is not the strangest keyboard, but it is definitely not regular one. The backlit buttons on a keyboard is a very useful feature, especially if you sit all night in front of your computer. This keyboard has this feature too, but... It goes further, letting you to customize each button's color. Therefore, you can choose the pattern you like the most, or just color the different blocks of buttons to different colors. Maybe this is not the strangest keyboard, but it is definitely not regular one.

9. Roll-up Keyboard

If you think that your keyboard must go everywhere with you, then you will be interested in this extremly portable rubber keyboard. You can roll it up and stick it in your pocket with ease. That is all that makes it different from an ordinary one, but is it not enough for a keyboard to consider it strange? The biggest advantage of this keyboard - there will be no food under the buttons.

8. The Wrist keyboard

Hey, this one reminds me of Predator from Aliens vs Predator movie. The Predator had a computer on his wrist and typed on it regularly. However, this one only serves as a keyboard. It is hard to think of conditions when this keyboard is useful, maybe when you need to type while standing, or to control some device on the field. The main disadvantage is that only one hand is involved in typing, which makes typing painfully slow compared to usual method.

7. The Frogpad

This tiny keyboard can is more suitable to call a keypad, because it has only 20 buttons instead of 110. However, each button can accomplish several different functions. For example, button labeled as "O" can be used to type "O", slash, backslash, "Q", 7, or it can be the left arrow button and Insert button. All button operations are done via set of symbol shifting keys. It is obvious that they did all this 10 operation per button thing for reducing keyboard's size, but will it be comfortable to use? Creators say that after a good training you will be able to get up to 40 words per minute with this keypad... Nevertheless, why should you bother so much if you can do all that with the regular one?

6. The Twiddler 2

This keyboard is very similar to previous one, but it uses very different approach to typing. On this keyboard (keypad?) you need to press buttons just like when playing on the guitar. Maybe this keyboard is made especially for Guitar Hero fans or musicians, but for the ordinary people it will be very uncomfortable. The designers say that it will take "a weekend" to learn to type 30 words per minute on this thing. The question is - should you bother learning?

5. The cre8txt keyboard

This interesting keyboard continues the row of tiny compact keypads. It has one huge difference: it is created for SMS fanatics in mind. The button layout will be known to people who own cell phones - it is made in good and old three letters per button style. This keyboard has predictive input software, even slang to normal English translator, but it hugely lacks in speed compared with usual 110-buttoned keyboard.

4. Toshiba Gaming Keyboard

If you are a gamer then you know that regular keyboard is not that good for gaming as it is for typing. Therefore, person who wants to play often usually purchases a gamepad. Toshiba thinks that a true gamer must stick with a keyboard instead of a gamepad, but not with the regular one - with modified one. This gaming keyboard is almost completely useless for typing - it has only 55 buttons, which is enough for any game but is not enough for typing. It is questionable, why a gamer should buy this keyboard instead of a gamepad if he is not a First Person Shooter games fan.

3. Maltron 3D Ergonomic Keyboard

First thing you will notice - this keyboard is made especially to prevent RSI and to increase ergonomics. Yes, it is very ergonomic. However, you will need a week or two to get used to this "ergonomicness". It is the good idea to move button groups to the different sides, so the hands lie comfortably while typing. It even features some multimedia buttons, which are near the numpad panel that rests in the center of this keyboard. If this is what the ideal keyboard is, it is best to stick with the usual one instead, because this one looks completely strange.

2. The SafeType keyboard

This one looks even stranger that the previous one, but at least it is understandable why it is shaped like this. The main idea is that while typing position of your hands will be more comfortable, and they will not suffer from RSI and many other side effects of usual keyboards. However, the efforts you make to master this type of keyboard will overcome any advantages of this layout.

1. Orbitouch keyboard

This keyboard is the strangest of them all - it has no buttons. Not even a single one. How the keystrokes are made? Simple. The orbiTouch creates a keystroke when you rotate the two domes into one of their eight respective positions. Sliding the domes will result caracters respective to their positions. It also has a mouse function built in so thi one keyboard is able to replace a usual keyboard and a mouse. It is for sure that even after a hard training you will be able to slide (the word "type" just isn't right for this thing) words faster than on a usual keyboard. However, it may be useful for people with limited abilities.

Extracted from gadgetreviews