NASA investigates problems with Mars Spirit rover

They've manged to make it to the five-year mark despite a few considerable bumps in the road, but it looks like one of the Mars rovers has once again hit a snag, and NASA is now furiously trying to sort out the problem. Apparently, the issue first arose earlier this week when Spirit reported that it had received its driving commands but didn't move. Things were then further complicated later in the day when Spirit failed to record its daily activities, and it seems to have been all downhill since, with the rover unable to even locate the sun in order to reorient itself. What's more, while they're still trying to run some diagnostics to pinpoint the problem, NASA engineers say that the troubles could possibly be caused by cosmic rays hitting the rover, which we all know can only lead to one thing.... zombie rovers.

Samsung's 4Gb chip promises 32GB DDR3 memory modules for PCs and laptops

Oh Samsung, you and your world's firsts. We like to tease but your latest breakthrough is truly notable: the world's first 4Gb (bit, not Byte) DDR3 DRAM PC memory chip based on relatively frugal 50-nm processes. Two things here: 1) the new chips consume 40% less power than previous DD3 memory modules, and 2) the chips pave the way for 32GB (Byte, not bit) DIMM modules. The first modules will come in capacities of 16GB (containing 32 of the new 4Gb chips) for servers, 8GB DDR3 DIMMs for desktops, and 8GB SO-DIMMs for laptops. When, is the question Samsung fails to answer. The question to you is this: you're not still buying full-spec'd DDR2-based laptops are you?

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green review roundup

Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag on Western Digital's 2TB Caviar Green HDD, hardware fanatics have had a chance to take the 3.5-inch drive for a spin. While its performance leaves something to be desired -- transferring files took longer than the 1TB Caviar Black or 1.5TB Seagate Barracuda -- instead we've got low heat and noise. Of course, the biggest boon is a ginormous storage capacity for just three Benjamins, the same price as some 128GB SSDs. Solid state be damned, rotating disks aren't going away anytime soon.

WSJ: Dell "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month"

You know who's blabbing again? That reclusive set of business people who always seem to be "familiar with the matter," that's who. This time, they've got the Wall Street Journal in a twist over renewed rumors that Dell is "preparing a move into cellphones as early as next month." Next month, is of course the big cellphone coming out party known as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona -- an event Dell has flat-out denied any intention to attend. Still, the evidence presented by the WSJ is pretty overwhelming. First, sources say that a variety of smartphone prototypes, including one with a QWERTY-less touchscreen and another with a sliding keyboard, have already been built running Android and Windows Mobile. Second, Dell's smartphone team "spent much of last year" meeting with suppliers, carriers, and Asian phone manufacturers. Dell's team includes the former head of Motorola's phone division (Ron Garriques) and another Moto employee (John Thode) who heads up Dell's netbook group. The latter being of interest since the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm are considered netbooks by their makers. Oh, and Dell still hasn't made good on its purchase of Zing and its plans to build an all encompassing media ecosystem to manage your audio and video files across PCs and mobile devices. Sources do contend that plans have not been finalized and Dell may still abandon the effort. But with Acer making the jump into Smartphones next month and other non-traditional players having great success in the space at the expense of the former cellphonepowerhouses, one thing is clear: PC guys "will just walk in" and figure this out. Right Ed?

Windows fanperson revs up "Release Windows 7 Now" campaign

It's no secret that the Windows 7 beta that's creeping about the world is generating a lot of excitement -- people want this OS, like, now. To that end, Kelly Poe of Nashville, Tennessee has started up a "Release Windows 7 Now" campaign to get Microsoft to move its behind a little faster. It hasn't gained that much steam yet -- as of this writing, he's only collected 153 votes -- but hey, you just never know, right? Right

Palm's VP of design shows off Pre features, scoffs at N95

We thought we'd seen all that Palm intended to reveal about the magical company-saving Pre at CES a few weeks back, but quality footage continues to roll in -- and it just gets even better when it's being shown off by an exec instead of your standard-issue PR type. Peter Skillman, Palm's design VP, does the honors here with a 4-plus minute overview of some of the cooler things the Pre has to offer, including a demo of the Touchstone inductive charger at about 2:26 in (curious fact: it apparently uses the "same technology that are in gecko feet" to stick to the table). At the 2:06 mark, he puts down the Nokia N95 for looking like a post-apocalyptic industrial design nightmare of exposed hardware and mechanisms (our words, not his), which is kinda funny since we'd never really considered the N95 as a Pre competitor. Finally, he wraps up with a quick look at the Amazon music store starting around 3:19 -- and at a first glance, it looks a heck of a lot prettier than the one we get on the G1. Not to say we're going to let the prettiness of the store affect how much DRM-free music we buy. Wait, yes we are. See the full video after the break.

Microsoft Surface being used to coordinate Super Bowl security

If you've been watching the news this week, you might have caught NFL security VP Milton Ahlerich saying that Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will be "one the safest locations you can possibly be" during the Super Bowl on Sunday, and it looks like Microsoft Surface will be a big reason why: it's being used to coordinate security forces around the site. It's seriously slick -- maps are integrated with planning and voice communications software so the field commanders can immediately assess incident responses and personnel deployments, with the ability to initiate radio contact directly from the interface. Definitely much cooler than zooming in and out of photos and ordering drinks, we'd say -- video after the break.

Obama BlackBerry alert: it's a BlackBerry

Guess what? Obama isn't using the Super Phone 6000. He's using the BlackBerry 8830, by Research In Motion (the photo above was taken today). So much for your shot at the big leagues, Sectera Edge. Maybe next time.

Hey Sony, where's the 1.86GHz VAIO P for America?

We already asked this question with "1.6GHz" in place of "1.86GHz," but seriously Sony, is there some sort of weird embargo on high-speed chips to America that we aren't aware of? While we Yanks have exactly one CPU option for the newly released VAIO P (that'd be the 1.3GHz Atom), those in Japan can order up the VGN-P90S with a 1.86GHz Atom Z540 processor. Of course, it's a ¥15,800 ($174) option over the baseline Z520, but an option nonetheless.

Acer confirms plans for Linux, SSD-equipped 10-inch Aspire One netbooks

It wasn't making any promises on launch day, but Acer has reportedly now confirmed that it will indeed be offering both Linux and SSD options on its new 10-inch Aspire One netbook, though you won't be able to get either option right out of the gate. Expectedly, the Linux distribution on tap is Linpus Linux, and it looks like the only SSD option will be a 16GB drive -- no word on pricing for either, unfortunatly. There's also no firm word on a released date, though it'll apparently be some time after the mid-February roll out of the Windows XP-equipped model

Acer smartphone launching February 16th, everybody flamenco!

Shortly after Acer msnapped up E-Tenm last year it's been been making public and private mention of plans to launch an Acer-branded smartphone. Now we've got a date: February 16th at the big Mobile World Congress cellphone event in Barcelona. We'll be there so let's call it a date, deal? Iaaaaiaiaiiaa!

T-Mobile launches new Shadow today alongside Nokia 7510

It always brings joy to our hearts to see a new UMA-compatible device come into the market, and T-Mobile's revised Shadow from HTC certainly fits the bill. In fact, it's being launched today as the very first Windows Mobile device to support HotSpot calls over WiFi, joining BlackBerrys and a handful of dumbphones on the support list. Speaking of HotSpot dumbphones, the stylish 7510 flip is also hitting shelves today with changeable faceplates, a trick semi-hidden external display, and 2 megapixels of Pulitzer-caliber shooting power around back in addition to the WiFi radio. Nab the Shadow for $199.99 and the 7510 for $49.99, both on contract after rebates

AMD has no plans for Geode successor, retirement party

You know that low-power Geode processor that powered a-many of OLPC XOs? Better stock up now, 'cause AMD isn't planning a proper successor. In the words of spokesman Phil Hughes: "There are no plans for a follow-on product to today's available AMD Geode LX products, but we expect to make this very successful processor available to customers as long as the market demands." Pretty straightforward if we should say so ourselves, but it'll be kind of weird with just VIA and Intel holding down the low-power CPU fort. According to Dean McCarron, president for Mercury Research, the Geode was "a nice niche market for [AMD]," but considering the current market, the chip maker is being forced to focus its efforts on fewer devices. It's been real, Geode -- way to go out on top.

Sony XEL-1 OLED TV lands in the UK, now twice the price

Good news: The world's thinnest and first commercially available OLED television -- the Sony XEL-1 -- is on sale in the UK today.

Bad news: It'll cost Brits £3,489 (about $4,944) -- that's more than twice the price of the same set sold in the US.

Look, we knew the European price hikes were coming from Sony in 2009, but we weren't expecting this. Then again, if you're the type who thinks dropping a couple of thousand Quid on an 11-inch television makes sense, well, you probably won't even notice.

T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve 8900 review

Along with the Pearl, the Curve series represents the kinder, gentler side of BlackBerry; it's the side that appeals to consumers without sacrificing power, and from time to time, it's the side that's even been known to show some sex appeal. The Curve 8900 really takes that sex appeal to the next level, delivering one of the most drop-dead gorgeous phones ever to grace a corporate boardroom -- and it just so happens that T-Mobile USA's the first American carrier to deliver it, so we've taken the opportunity to put it through its paces. Does it out-Bold the Bold? Head on over to Engadget Mobile for the full rundown.

Microsoft sez next-gen Zune hardware / software is still "on track"

Given just how shaky the economy as a whole has been of late, Microsoft's sour news in relation to the Zune isn't quite as shocking as it might be otherwise. That said, plenty of outlets publicly voiced their concern for the future of the line, but now Microsoft has hit back with assurance that everything's still moving ahead according to plan. In a recent interview, Adam Sohn, the Zune's director of marketing, said rather defensively that "every time anything comes up, there is a set of people who pull a Chicken Little and say, 'The Sky is Falling. Zune is dead.' " He continued by stating rather outrightly that Microsoft was "still on track to deliver the next generation of Zune innovation in software and hardware," noting that the planning was "fast and furious" and that "progress" would be delivered this calendar year. Welp, that settles that, huh?

i465 to be first Motorola iDEN phone with QWERTY

A year ago, "innovation" and "iDEN" were two words we wouldn't dare use in the same sentence -- but in the age of i9s and 8350is, the landscape has changed just a bit. That's not to say we'd dare consider switching from CDMA or GSM to the old-school PTT airwaves, but hey, it's good to know the Nextels and Mikes of the world are still getting theirs in 2009. This year should see the release of the Motorola i465, the very first iDEN Moto to score a QWERTY keyboard -- and no, it's not Windows Mobile or anything fancy like that. Instead, it seems they'll be taking the low-tech route by grafting a full keyboard onto a dumbphone, a strategy that's really caught on with many of the world's carriers in the past year as they've looked to boost messaging revenue with cool, affordable phones geared toward a younger segment. It's got Bluetooth 2.0 and a lowly VGA cam, but other than that, specs, release dates, and target carriers are all a mystery to us -- so if you're in that curious group of folks who text and push-to-talk like monsters and can't tolerate anything out of Waterloo, keep your eyes peeled.

Verizon touts 1 million BlackBerry Storms sold to date

Well, it looks like the BlackBerry faithful have come out in full force to snag "Verizon's best-selling device," after all. Despite RIM's nightmarish "new reality," of half-baked firmware and broken dreams, Verizon has made it known that the latest 'Berry has grown to a full 1 million units sold between the November 21st launch and the end of January. Apparently the ever-leaking updates have kept enough people satisfied with the keyboardless device to reach this milestone, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed that the updates don't stop flowing and this powerhouse becomes the titan it has the potential to become.

Shelby's amazing Aero EV: 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds, 10 minute recharge

Man juices in a boil? No shame, that's Shelby Super Cars' Aero EV in pursuit of the "world's fastest production electric car" title. SSC just came clean with the details behind its All-Electric Scalable Powertrain (AESP) producing 1,000 horsepower and 800 lb-ft of torque that rips the Aero EV through 0 to 60 in just 2.5 seconds at a 208mph top speed. Compare that to the Tesla Roadster's 0-60 in 3.9 seconds (or 3.7 for the 2009 sport model) and you'll understand all the hubbub, bub. Better yet, the 150-220 mile battery can be refilled in just 10 minutes (Tesla takes 3.5 hours) from a 220V service thanks to what SSC calls its "Charge on the Run" onboard charging system -- something that nearly eliminates (or at least minimizes) the need for a battery swapping infrastructure. The first full-scale, pre-production Ultimate Aero EV should be on the streets before June with production deliveries expected in the fourth quarter. Now we just need a price.

NYC, Google join forces for high-tech tourist center

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled this week a new information center, located at 53rd St. and 7th Ave., where visitors can browse the metropolis on Google Maps-powered interactive tables. Places of interest are saved via "You are here" coasters, which can then be used to print itineraries or carried over to wall-mounted screens for a virtual tour, care of Google Earth. Designed by WXY Architecture and Urban Design Local Projects, we can't shake the thought of the center looking like a drab Apple store. And though they may be reminiscent of Microsoft Surface, a rep tells CNET the tables are custom-made for the exhibit. Check out video of the wayfarer hot spot after the break.

Wii Check-up Channel will link you to health professionals, Dr. Mario

It was inevitable we guess what with everyone plus your grandma using the Wii. Now Nintendo Japan has announced a new Wii "Check-Up" channel that acts as a health guidance system between you and health professionals. Scheduled for an April launch, the system developed in partnership with Hitachi, NEC, Panasonic and a health insurance company is said to provide 2-way communication between users and health leaders who'll provide "healthy guidance" to otherwise Cheeto-stained gamer-types. The service appears to be compatible with both Wii Fit and its Balance Board as well as NEC's mobile phone health platform for checking progress or accessing advice remotely. It also appears to be usable anonymously. We'll update you just as soon as we get all these Japanese press releases translated.

Panasonic's DMC-FT1, TZ7, TZ6, FX550, and FX40 cameras outed by French authority

We're not sure what's going in France at the moment but a bevy of new 12 megapixel Panasonic cameras have broken loose with or without corporate approval. Let's start with the rugged €399 DMC-FT1 (pictured). It features a 12 megapixel (1/2.33-inches) with a 28-128mm optically stabilized 4.6x zoom Leica lens and a 2.7-inch LCD. It'll survive drops of up to 1.5 meters, water to a depth of 3 meters, while surviving storage in the dustiest of apartments. It'll even shoot 720p video in "AVCHD Lite" format... whatever that is. Next up are the €429 DMC-TZ7 and its £329 DMC-TZ6 little buddy. The TZ7 couples a 12x optically stabilized zoom (25-300mm) with the ability to shoot 720p HD video in that same AVCHD Lite format and reviewable on a biggie (but relatively common) 3-inch LCD.

Also outed is the €299 FX550 with 5x zoom, 720p video capture, and a 3-inch touchscreen buzzing along with haptic feedback. It'll even handle aperture and shutter priority modes in addition to manual exposure for those who wish to push their amateur credentials to the edge. The €299 DMC-FX40 dials things back with a skinnier chassis and smaller 2.5-inch LCD while ditching the manual stuff

Sony VAIO P begins shipping Stateside

Officially announced to ship in February, Sony's VAIO P was just spotted riding the FedEx truck to destiny. At least one lucky reader can gaze longingly at his very own shipping confirmation received from Sony Style USA. That puts him and his VGNP530H/Q on course for a January rendezvous. It's another Obama miracle.

Western Digital's 2TB Caviar Green HDD on sale in Australia

Just as we'd heard, Western Digital is indeed producing (and shipping) a standalone 2TB internal hard drive. Available now for purchase from Mwave Australia, the 3.5-inch WD20EADS sports a 7,200RPM spin speed, 32MB of cache and a AU$377.80 price tag, which converts to just under $250 in greenbacks. We get the feeling that this drive is just hours away from launching here in the US of A (we're guessing the time zones are to blame), so we'll be keeping a close eye out for early reports on performance

Apple throws another curveball, approves Podcaster for the App Store with changes

Apple had already solidly cemented its reputation as the confused, identity crisis-stricken, moral dilemma-having lord ruler of the App Store with its recent approval of a number of browsers that would seemingly violate its "duplication of functionality" policy, but now it's doing some serious soul-searching with this latest move. Remember Podcaster? The on-the-go podcast downloader predated Apple's own mobile download capability by months -- but Cupertino struck the thing down for encroaching on iTunes' territory, seemingly dooming it to a life of ad hoc installs and jailbreaks. It's just been given a fresh lease on life, though, emerging as "RSS Player" and killing off Podcaster's built-in directory of casts; Apple's suddenly cool with the revised app, giving it two thumbs-up on the way to the App Store, but it's not clear if the directory functionality was the problem, there's a policy change in play here, or the name change simply fooled the App Store admins into giving the green light. At any rate, in case you're wondering why you'd shell out $1.99 for the pleasure of this "duplication of functionality," RSS Player will let you blow by iTunes' 10MB limit -- and, of course, you can download any feed you like. Thanks, Apple.

Astro Gaming's Headset Hanger needs little explanation

Astro Gaming may not produce the most invigorating products out there, but you'd never know it by its marketing approach. In fact, we dare any HP Blackbird owner to give the read link a look and not have even the slightest desire to pick this here gizmo up. The Headset Hanger, contrary to popular belief, actually isn't a makeshift racing wheel; rather, it's designed to be the first (and only, probably) accessory to bolt directly onto the Blackbird's built-in VESA-compliant hardpoint. The purpose? To hold your gaming headphones, which would obviously be the A40s if Astro had any say in the matter. You could spend $19.95 on this just to satisfy your curiosity

Colorware gets ahold of BlackBerry Curve 8900

It was inevitable, really. RIM's BlackBerry Curve 8900 is now being offered up by the paint gun-wielding fools at Colorware, who will gladly ugly up your handset as you see fit. 'Course, you can put together a rather striking piece of work too, but make sure you get a second opinion on your dream color scheme before mashing the buy button. As for costs? A solid coat will run you a buck twenty-nine, but if you change up the top, bottom, frame or sides, you can count on that figure inching higher and higher.

Multiple Windows 7 versions coming? Say it ain't so!

These pictures supposedly come from a new build of the Windows 7 beta, 7025. It goes without saying that while we knew this was a possibility, we've been seriously wishing against it. We hope these are fake (and they very well could be), but seriously Microsoft... don't even think about this.

Details on AT&T's 3G MicroCell: everything but the date and price

T-Mobile has HotSpot @Home, Sprint has AIRAVE, and Verizon has its Wireless Network Extender, leaving just AT&T among the States' big four carriers without a launched WiFi or femtocell solution for extending signals into the home -- but it looks like that's finally getting close to changing. We know that they've been in the process of trialing some units recently, and tipsters have observed that there's now a pretty slick site launched on AT&T's domain for its 3G MicroCell, an indication that they might be looking to go retail eventually. There's quite a bit of detail here; from the picture, we can make out that the unit comes from Cisco (versus Samsung for Sprint and Verizon), and like its competitors, the MicroCell will require a broadband connection to operate. It'll cover up to 5,000 square feet, allow up to four simultaneous voice or data connections (locked down so that your neighbors can't pilfer the signal), and most interestingly, will only work with 3G phones. We've heard that femtocells are more difficult to manage in a 2G GSM environment than in CDMA and WCDMA -- hence the 3G requirement -- but the cells offered by Sprint and Samsung only offer 2G coverage, so AT&T's arguably got an advantage here. We still don't know exactly when this is coming or for how much dough, but the site makes mention of a "3G MicroCell service plan," so we'd count on a fee for the pleasure of extending AT&T's network on their behalf. Follow the break for AT&T's full rundown of the device.

Sony adds four new PSP "Carnival Colors" to worship

In a sudden retch of pigmentation, Sony just spat out the "Carnival Colors" collection of PSPs. Starting March 5th in Japan, the new colors matched with a 2200mAh battery will set you back a tax-inclusive price of ¥19,800 (about $223). Otherwise, you can drop ¥24,800 (about $279) for the 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark2), PSP pouch, wrist strap and cloth bundle. Now go ahead, revel in your paganism before ritualistically prostrating yourselves at the feet of the Lord Knight of consumer electronics. Mmm, feels good doesn't it?

Visenta V1 multitouch wireless keyboard gets the hands-on treatment

It may not exactly boast the HTPC-friendly looks of something like the diNovo Edge, but if you're looking for a basic wireless keyboard with a bit of added multitouch, you may want to keep an eye out for this V1 model from Visenta, which the folks at Engadget Chinese recently managed to get their hands on. This one makes use of the tried-and-true 2.4GHz band to give you a range of up to 20 meters (hence the dongle), and includes ten dedicated Vista Media Center buttons, plus all the usual energy saving measures you'd expect to help you get the most from the required four AAA batteries. What's more, while there's no official word on a release 'round here just yet, it looks like some are already turning up on eBay for $130 (plus shipping from China, naturally).

AMD's Phenom II pushed to 6.5GHz, 3DMark record demolished

Ha, and you thought a 3DMark06 score of 5,086 was intense when AMD's Phenom II was overclocked to a blistering 3.85GHz. Just after CES, a team of hardcore speed freaks with access to liquid nitrogen and liquid helium created an environment for OC'ing one of AMD's latest Phenom II X4 chips in -232 degrees Celsius weather. Once the silicon was appropriately chilled, they proceeded to push the clock speed to a staggering 6.5GHz, which proved nimble enough to deliver a patently absurd 45,474 3DMark05 score. The best part? The adoring public was there to bear witness, and every nail-biting second of it is hosted up in the video just past the break.

Microsoft extends Windows 7 beta downloads to February 10

Good news for those of you who haven't yet snagged a copy of the Windows 7 beta -- Microsoft's decided to extend the beta download period to February 10th. That's the second extension we've gotten from Redmond -- the company says that interest is so high in 7 that it doesn't want anyone to miss out. So what are you waiting for? Hit the read link for the download and then snuggle up with our detailed install round-up and hands-on impressions while your bits tumble in.

Windows Mobile 6.5 shows up on the Compulab exeda

The more we see Compulab's sort-of-silly, sort-of-awesome exeda, the more we like it -- although the reason we're smitten today might be because it's running what appears to be Windows Mobile 6.5, complete with that "honeycomb" app launcher UI. The company says this is an alpha build of the OS, but it does look farther along than those leaked ROMs we've been seeing loaded on a few HTC devices, and we're intrigued by whispers that it takes full advantage of 6.5's inertial scrolling and other touch enhancements. All that running on a phone which can also boot Android, sports an Ethernet port, and has left- and right-click buttons? We'll take two. One more pic at the read link.

Olympus E-30 DSLR reviewed: distinctly different, but that's a good thing

Olympus' E-30 just recently began to hit store shelves after being announced last November, and the shutterbugs at DigitalCameraReview have taken the liberty of critiquing it for all prospective buyers to see. The cam maintained the quirkiness that tends make an Olympus, well, an Olympus, but when it came down to actual performance, the DSLR didn't disappoint... much, anyway. It should be noted that it couldn't hold a candle to the D90 at ISO 3,200, so low-light fiends may want to look elsewhere. That aside, critics were more than pleased with the copious amount of features, the top-shelf focusing speed and the remarkable build quality. If it were priced a few hundies lower, it'd almost be a no-brainer, but with an asking price of around $1,300 at present time, it'll be hard to sway the eyes of those already focusing on another shooter. Have a look at the read link for a few sample shot comparisons and the full writeup.

Dell Latitude XT2 shows up in a flurry of documentation

Dell's Latitude XT2 convertible was leaked to us way back in March,and although it missed that planned November ship date, it's suddenly showed up in an absolute downpour of documentation -- great news if you didn't have any light reading for the weekend. We did a nice heavy skimming of the material for you, and spec-wise, it's basically just the expected bump up to Montevina: an unspecified ULV Core 2 Duo on an 800MHz bus with integrated Intel GMA X4500 graphics, up to 5GB of DDR3 RAM and the same 12.1-inch multitouch-capable capacitive touchscreen as in the original. (Hellooo Windows 7!) Still no solid word on availability or pricing yet -- hopefully we'll hear more soon.

Datto gets official with Box 2 Box specs, pricing

Datto dropped a few details about its Box 2 Box peer-to-peer network attached storage device at CES earlier this month, but it's only now actually dished out the complete specs for the device, and the all-important pricing details. As we had heard, the P2P NAS is available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB versions, which'll set you back $350, $380 or $480 if you pre-order them now, or $620, $660 or $850 if you go for the twin-pack of each (non pre-order prices are a bit higher). Each of those are effectively computers in their own right, and come equipped with a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, four USB 2.0 ports, 7,200 rpm 3.5-inch hard drives with up to 32MB cache, and a Linux-based OS of some sort. Hit up the link below to get your order in, and look for them to start shipping in the first week of March.

How would you change HP's Firebird gaming rigs?

After arguably the biggest hype-fest of late 2008, HP's Firebird with VoodooDNA was revealed as Rahul Sood's ambitious little secret. The miniaturized gaming rigs began shipping out during CES, and we've no doubt that a few of you with space constraints and a lust of high frame rates have already chomped on the bullet. So, does the machine live up to the hype? Is it worth the asking price? What features weren't included that should have been? Has it handled your gaming demands with ease? Feel free to sound off below -- who knows, maybe Mr. Sood will tune in and hear you out

RAmos T10 ikiss PMP looks pretty good, probably stole its outfit

Call us crazy (no really, go on -- it's cool), but we get the feeling that RAmos' T10 ikiss portable media player got its inspiration from a fresh little BlackBerry called the Storm. For those willing to overlook that fact, you may be interested in knowing that it supports 1080i output and can handle just about every audio and video format known to man. It should arrive soon with 16GB of internal storage for an undisclosed price, but we've yet to hear if some sort of "clicky" screen will be included.

Prototype Apple Interactive Television Box up for auction: there goes your savings

From what we can gather, even Apple purist Jeremy Mehrle doesn't own one of these ultra-rare set-top-boxes, and if you think you're the only Apple fanboy out there eying this one seriously, we fear you'll be sorely mistaken. This prototype Interactive Television Box was crafted in or around 1994 and was designed to deliver content to one's TV by connecting to a central server and downloading content. Thus, the unit itself doesn't boot into anything nor does it feature an internal hard drive. Still, DIYers and collectors alike will have a hard time passing up the opportunity of snagging this piece and turning it into a makeshift iTunes server, but given the remarkably low $249.99 buy-it-now price, we'd say that window of opportunity may not be open for long. Oh, and Apple TV -- you ain't got nothin' on this in terms of desirability. Sorry, bub.

Tesco's £349 Mini 10 actually a £349 Mini 9

Can you say "oops?" That so-called Mini 10, which curiously emerged at Tesco before anywhere else, is actually not a Mini 10. As the story goes, folks across the pond who plunked down £349 for their very own 10-inch Dell netbook have started receiving shipments only to find a perfectly average Mini 9 within. Furthermore, Tesco's Mini 10 order page is now completely nonexistent, further signaling that a serious mishap occurred somewhere along the line. Hate to burst your bubble, but if you ordered one of these pups from this vendor, you should probably expect to hit the return to sender option and eagerly await a refund.

2eleven introduces souped-up foosball table

It's not quite as elaborate as some foosball tables we've seen, but this new rig from 2eleven will no doubt attract its fair share of attention nonetheless and, unlike some of those other units, it's actually pre-built. While there doesn't seem to be a complete breakdown of all its intricacies, the table does come equipped with some LED score displays, a pair of LCD displays apparently intended to display advertisements, an automatic ball lift mechanism and, yes, cup holders. Of course, those accommodations for ads would seem to suggest that this one isn't exactly intended for home use, but we're guessing at least a few folks out there will find a way around that.

Windows 7 put up against Vista and XP in hardcore multicore benchmarks, XP wins

Now that the Windows 7 beta is out, the benchmarks are coming fast and furious, and while 7's been previously found to best XP and Vista during "real-world" tasks, it looks like XP is still the outright speed champ on current hardware. That's at least the word according to InfoWorld, which pitted all three systems against each other in a suite of tests designed to suss out how each performed on modern multicore systems, and while we won't pretend to grok all the data, there's nothing complicated about the final results, which showed that "any illusions about Windows 7 somehow being leaner or more efficient than Vista can now be thrown out the window." Sure, there was some speedup -- 7 was 60 percent faster than Vista during the dual-core workflow tests -- but overall, 7's just slower on dual- and quad-core hardware than XP. However, there's a silver lining here: InfoWorld says the slowdown is in large part due to the extra code Vista and 7 use to manage multicore processors, and as the number of cores increase, the corresponding performance gains are much bigger than with XP since they can be used more efficiently. Of course, by the time we're all sitting pretty with 48-core Larrabee machines this all might be just a distant memory, so for right now we're just going to get back to installing the Windows 7 beta on anything we can find and reveling in the glory of perceived speedups.

The portable, rollable X-mini II speaker gets a refresh

The kids over at CNET have got their hands on the new X-mini II portable speaker for laptops, PMPs, and the like -- and they've been gracious enough to give us the lowdown. The speaker is an update to the X-mini, incrementally larger than its predecessor and packing a 40mm driver. Powered by a rechargeable battery, this bad boy can be juiced up via mini-USB cable (included) and boasts a pretty impressive eleven hours of run time before it needs to be recharged. And if that weren't enough, several of these guys can be daisy chained together -- so if you should find yourself in your dorm room with nothing to amuse yourself but your iPhone, an acoustic guitar, and some Dave Matthews Band MP3s, you can string up a half dozen or so of these things and have an old fashioned grape jam. Look for the speaker sometime in March, with a probable MSRP of $29.

Apple patents adaptive volume controls based on environment, not quality of your music

Ever walk through a crowd with your headphones on, only to find your music drowned out by the uproar? A recent Apple patent proposes dynamic volume adjustment based on your local surroundings. According to the filing, a sound sensor would be used to detect ambient noise and adapt accordingly. It says user volume controls are accounted for, so passing by a construction site likely won't cause your jams to be pumped up to an ear-shattering 11. Although it sounds more likely than some of the company's other patents, don't get your hopes up for seeing this any time soon. Hit up the read link for more details.

BlackBerry Curve 8900s trickling down to users from T-Mobile

Visiting T-Mobile's site still gives you a disheartening "Coming Soon" when you click on the 8900, but it seems that at least a few folks have badgered customer service reps just enough to get 'em to drop the newest Curve in the mail. The official date for consumers is still February-ish, but this dovetails nicely with talk that suits would be able to latch on to one a few days early -- so, you know, just tell 'em you're with Callahan Auto or Initech and see how far you get.

Rumor: 10-inch Acer Aspire One to replace 8.9-incher

We're hearing some murmurings today that Acer's planning on replacing its current, 8.9-inch Aspire One with the previously seen 10.1-inch Aspire One (the 103), phasing out the former. The new model will pack a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, and 1GB of RAM, optional 3G, SDHC card slot, and 3 USB ports -- relatively standard fare, to be sure -- though it's going to come in a few sexy colors we sure do like the looks of Sure, Digitimes (the source of this rumor) isn't necessarily the most reliable paper we read in the morning with our coffee, but this particular tidbit doesn't strike us as terribly far-fetched. We'll have to (reportedly) wait until sometime in the second quarter to find out for sure, though. In the meantime: calm down.

Palm responds to Apple's veiled threat: "we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves"

We've been waiting for this. Ever since Tim Cook made his non-specific, veiled threats in response to a direct question about how the Palm Pre "almost directly emulates the kind of touch interface" found on the iPhone, the entire tech community has waited for the next move. Now Lynn Fox, a Palm spokesperson has stepped into the fray. In a response given to Digital Daily and presumably crafted by a team of lawyers over the 2 days since the Apple analyst call, Lynn says the following:

Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.

The gauntlet is thrown. Now, will Apple risk the ire of a million new and middle-aged fanboys by going after Palm and crushing its Cinderella comeback by forcing the Pre into some state of unreleased legal limbo? Or will Rubenstein and Jobs quietly sort it out over a yoghurt parfait in some strip mall in The Valley. Oh boy, this is going to be good.

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 GPU brings powerhouse graphics to SFF rigs

NVIDIA's Quadro NVS 420 is quite the unique offering -- on one hand, it's rather intriguing that a workstation card has been whittled down to fit within a small form factor PC, but then again, who else outside of advertisers (and their digital signage applications) will even need it? Nevertheless, said card is the industry's only low-profile professional GPU that can sneak within SFF PCs and still power four 30-inch displays at 2,560 x 1,600 resolution via DisplayPort / dual-link DVI. As for specs, it's boasting 512MB of memory, 11.2GB/sec (per GPU) of memory bandwidth and a CUDA Parallel Computing Processor. It'll be available next month for the niche that needs it at $499.

Apple quietly updates $999 white MacBook with unibody specs

Hmmm, what's this? Did Apple just update its lowly, $999 white plastic polycarbonate MacBook to more closely align with its new unibody MacBooks? Why yes, yes it has... sometime in the last 3 days according to Google's cache. So for the same $999 you now get that newer generation 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor with faster 1,066MHz frontside bus, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory standard (up from 1GB), and integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. Whitey is still stuck with DDR2 SDRAM though, not the speedier DDR3 found in the unibodies. Disk drive and other specs (including Firewire 400) appear to be the same. Getting ready for Snow Leopard's OpenCL GPU support are we Apple?