Cubans have been able to get underground and illegal PCs for a while, but the Cuban government only recently lifted the official ban on them. The first publicly-available machines just went on sale Friday. The QTECH PCs are state-approved are only available at a single store. The crowds had a chance to gawk at some not too cutting edge tech. The towers cost $780 and feature Celeron processors, 512MB of RAM, Windows XP, and come with a CRT display.

And even should they buy one, most Cubans won’t be allowed to have Internet access. Silly Cubans, the net is only for certain “trusted officials” and state journalists. The good news is that with computers now legally available, some expect black market prices on more up-to-date gear down the road.

Here’s another entry from Microsoft’s Next-Gen PC Design Competition. The AlphaGrip Handheld Computer (or AlphaGrip HC, for short), features full-size rocker keys on the front with a flip-up display and a keypad for thumb-typing. It also has a trackball for mousing and some buttons for “sophisticated PC games”.

Thing is, you may have noticed two things, both unappealing: It’s bulky and the top is shaped somewhat like a heart. I can’t imagine ever using this in public, but despite that fact, I like it. It took some imagination and looks a lot like the Atari Jaguar.

This strange bamboo-encased eco-PC concept was unveiled at Fortune’s Brainstorm Green conference today. They’re saying it’s Dell’s smallest-ever computer. For comparison, it’s 81 percent smaller than a standard desktop and more importantly it uses 70 percent less power.

No info yet on what’s inside or an official name for that matter, but according to Dell the machine is scheduled to be released later this year, with a price between $500 and $700. I suppose if anyone can make people buy bamboo computers, it’s dell. Maybe they can bring the Dell dude back and instead of saying, “Dude I’m getting a Dell”, maybe he can say, “Dude, I’m getting wood”.

Desk top space is a precious thing. We save it wherever we can, but it just seems to get reclaimed by something else. This should help. The ZPC-GX31 will save you desktop space by putting an Intel Core Duo PC with a CDRW/DVD drive and a card reader inside a “normal size keyboard”.

Some features are Dual Display capabilities, 4MB of DDR2/667MHz RAM, 1Gb LAN and DVI interface. They claim that this is a complete personal computer that takes up no more space than a typical keyboard. Just put it on your desktop, plug in a monitor and you are done. You can customize the ZPC-GX31 All-in-One PC to fit whatever your needs may be, which makes the price range anywhere from $629 to $1099. While it does admittedly look like an old Commodore 64 I still have to ask myself, is this the future as far as home PC’s are concerned?

This blue Gameboy type device comes from Innovations for Learning and is designed for schools. It’s got the typical directional buttons, a few other buttons, a 2.5-inch LCD, USB sync, SD card storage, AC/USB charging, and a 3.5-hour battery life.

Supposedly it has “complete reading and math curriculum that is aligned with all of the major reading and math programs,” inside of the device. The idea is to help substitute the learning that Kindergarten through second grade students already get. The company is non-profit, so they only charge for the cost of manufacturing the device, which is $50. However, the reading and math programs will cost $20 per student. They will start rolling them out at 500 Chicago elementary schools.

Socket Communications has introduced something interesting in the new SoMo 650 handheld computer that uses anti-bacterial plastic in its construction. The handheld has a fast 624 MHz processor, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a large bright QVGA display, and plenty of SDRAM and Flash memory. The antibacterial SoMo 650 handheld computer and docking cradle will be available in fall 2008.

That little cuddly, bean-bag like Chumby computer device we had talked about last year is finally available for sale to everyone. We thought it would hit sometime last fall but it looks like it took a little longer.

The Chumby comes in 3 colors of latte, black or pearl with a retail price of $179.95. The small device comes with a customizable Linux OS and WiFi bringing it updates on a frequent basis according to the company. Among the many built-in features it can bring in news and weather information, work as an alarm clock, play music, view photos and email along with whatever else you’d like to make it do yourself.

Like golf? Want a simulator that absolutely kicks ass? Got $55,000? Well, to quote Meatloaf, “Two out of three ain’t bad”. But if you do have 55 grand to burn, you might want to pick up this golf simulator called Full Swing Golf. Oh, you’ll also need a spare 20 x 13 x 10.5 foot room to park it in.

Once you’ve overcome those hurdles, you can practice your golfing skills from the comfort of your own home. The huge screen is actually powered by a windows based PC which will let you play on golf courses from around the world at the touch of a button. The picture is projected on the large screen and you basically hit balls onto it. Two 360 degree curtains of infra-red beams emit 60000 pulses per second and will track the trajectory, speed and other details of the ball. Check out a video after the jump.

Having a smart coffee mug in the morning would certainly make life a whole lot sweeter. Imagine a mug that could have your stock quotes scrolling across it’s surface, or display a newscast right before your eyes as you pour your coffee in. It seems like Science Fiction, even now, but the day may not be that far off. This concept of a Yuno coffee mug PC boldly steers your morning ritual in that direction.

Computer chips are getting smaller and smaller, it’s not a quantum leap to envision a mug equipped with a touch-screen that would let you wake up away from the PC. It would let you display your own images as a screensaver or play a slide show while you’re taking your coffee break. The idea would be to have a complete PC on the mug.

This gamepad mouse from Evergreen might be the coolest mouse we’ve seen yet. It’s called The Genius Navigator and hidden inside, you will find a gamepad featuring six buttons, plus Turbo and Clear buttons, and a directional pad.

The 1600/800dpi USB laser mouse weighs 67 grams and is compatible with Windows Vista, XP and 2000. The Genius Navigator will cost you about about $33 USD. I suspect that both the gamepad and mouse don’t work all that well together, but like Peanut butter and chocolate, I do think it’s awesome that they put them together. I’d like to see them take it one step further and put a Nintendo DS in a mouse. That I would buy. Who am I kidding? I would buy this one, too.

Many people hate to be away from their computer, even while in the car. Despite the fact that driving requires all of your attention, you still crave that screen, that contact, you don’t want to miss out on anything damnit! There’s no need to suffer withdrawal symptoms while in your vehicle any longer thanks to the Navisurfer II.

It’s a complete PC that can be installed in your car and it only takes up a single DIN slot in your car’s dashboard, which is the same size as a typical car stereo. It even features a flip-out touchscreen 7-inch color display, with 800 x 480 resolution. It will run either Windows XP or Linux as the OS. The Navisurfer II also has all of the software applications that you would want in your car, like media player, GPS navigator, rear view camera, plus an application for displaying vehicle diagnostic information.