BMW Level 10 case actually exists, caught on camera

Posted in Computer Cases by Conner Flynn on March 16th, 2009

BMW Level 10 case actually exists, caught on cameraYou just have to love a case that radically changes the form factor. The Level 10 by BMW DesignworksUSA is a masterpiece of a PC case with loads of style. And it manages great design while giving you easy access to all components. We showed you the case a few weeks ago and now it’s been spotted in the wild.

We’re happy to say it looks even better in the flesh. Thermaltake and BMW teamed up to create the “Level 10” PC case, which was on display at the CeBIT conference in Hanover, Germany. Everything has it’s own enclosure, even the motherboard. And yet it maintains a graceful and thin composure. A beautiful monster if you will.

Sting Scorpion PC casemod

Posted in Cases by Conner Flynn on March 15th, 2009

Sting Scorpion PC casemodThe last time we saw this much circuit board on the outside of a mod, it was my very own Atari-Hero guitar mod. So right away this caught my attention.

Modder Frenkie designed this glow-in-the-dark case mod that features strips of circuit board to give it the scorpion-inspired look. Dubbed Sting, the case features a custom cut PCB boards pattern all over the body. It looks deadly. If you’re going to build something, make it stand out and have a life of its own. Make it look like it can sting the hell out of you.

Dell’s multi-touch Studio One 19 PC debuts in Japan

Posted in Dell by Conner Flynn on March 12th, 2009

Dell's multi-touch Studio One 19 PC debuts in JapanAs usual the Japanese have scored something before us. In this case they have an exclusive on this new multi-touch Studio One 19 PC from Dell, which looks kinda sexy. The All-in-One “entertainment PC” comes in a bunch of colors to match your life with specs that include a Core 2 Quad processor, 4GB of memory, 750GB hard disk, 6x USB, integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, and NVIDIA GeForce 9400 graphics, and a Blu-ray player.

The 18.5 inch display has a 1,366 x 768 aspect ratio with touch or non-touch glass panels. Prices start at about $699 and it will launch in other countries later this spring.

Zero Mouse makes mousing feel more like ironing

Posted in Concepts by Conner Flynn on March 11th, 2009

Zero Mouse makes mousing feel more like ironingThis is bound to be the preferred mouse of housewives and maids everywhere. Shunning conventional computer mouse design, Oliver Rosito’s Zero Mouse concept “combines state of the art design with lightweight materials.”

We’re just a little concerned that the lack of side grips may have your grandmother holding it like an iron and accidentally fake-ironing your shirt, which has now become a mousepad, while chatting on the Martha Stewart forums and playing online bingo.

Lenovo intros smaller ThinkCentre A58 and M58e desktops

Posted in Lenovo by Conner Flynn on March 10th, 2009

Lenovo intros smaller ThinkCentre A58 and M58e desktopsAside from Lenovo’s W700ds ThinkPad, and maybe one or two other offerings, frankly, most things branded Lenovo aren’t all that exciting. That includes Lenovo’s ThinkCentre line, which is understandable as they’re not aimed at gamers

What they’ve done here is shrink the size of towers. The ThinkCentre A58 and M58e feature Intel Core 2 Duo / Core 2 Quad CPUs, onboard graphics, up to 1TB of HDD space, 4GB of RAM and up, and optional Blu-ray drives.

SmartNav units control PCs with your brain

Posted in Computers by Conner Flynn on March 10th, 2009

SmartNav units control PCs with your brainThere have been plenty of conceptual gadgets that claim to control computers with just the brain, but the difficulty is getting them ready for the commercial market. That’s where NaturalPoint comes in. They are serving up a new pair of SmartNav 4 human-computer interface devices that will let users control all basic tasks with just by using their noggin.

The AT and EG models are designed so that physically handicapped individuals can control their PCs like a Jedi, moving the mouse around by with head movements and selecting commands and phrases on a virtual keyboard. Like Stephen Hawking for instance.

iBuyPower announces two affordable 3D gaming desktops

Posted in iBuyPower by Shane McGlaun on March 10th, 2009

ibuypowerdesktop-sbGaming computers tend to be very expensive systems that pack all sorts of the latest technology into a machine designed to allow gamers to play games. At CES this year one of the coolest things I saw on display was the NVIDIA 3D vision 3D system. The system includes glasses and requires a special monitor to operate but provides slick and realistic 3D effects.

Boutique gaming desktop maker iBuyPower has announced a pair of new gaming desktops that are bundled with everything you need for 3D gaming at great prices. The machines include the Gamer Fire 640 and the Gamer Paladin F830. The Gamer Fire 640 runs an AMD Phenom II X3 720 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 500GB HDD, NVIDIA 9800GTX+ graphics and 64-bit Vista all for an MSRP of $1,349.

Level 10: The inside-out PC case

Posted in Computer Cases by Conner Flynn on March 8th, 2009

Level 10: The inside-out PC caseThis awesome looking PC case appears to be from a distant future. Thermaltake and BMW have teamed up to create the “Level 10” PC case, which is on display at the CeBIT conference in Hanover, Germany. All of the components are outside the case yet inside their own compartments.

Visually, it’s great. Would the cables be running everywhere or would those be hidden as well? There isn’t very much info on this thing so we aren’t sure if it will actually be for sale, for how much or when. All we know is that they would be crazy to not sell something so beautiful.

[Crunchgear]

IDC says PC shipments will drop 4.5% in 2009

Posted in Computer Components by Shane McGlaun on March 6th, 2009

IDC LogoThe slow global economy is hurting the PC market. Demand for computers is up and what computers are selling are being sold at lower than traditional retail prices leading to reduced revenues for computer makers. Many consumers are also resorting to cheaper computers like netbooks as well.

According to research firm IDC, the computer market is in for a big loss in 2009 as PC shipments are expected to drop 4.5% for the year. The company reports that shipment sin Q4 2008 dropped 1.9% in what is traditionally a big shopping season.

Pyramid PC mod built by ancient astronauts

Posted in Cases by Conner Flynn on March 4th, 2009

Pyramid PC mod built by ancient astronautsOr is it? No one knows for sure. But is man capable of such a feat? How could man have built such a thing using only primitive tools? It may forever remain a mystery. One theory is that the Great Pyramid PC Mod was made by modder polo360x from the Techpowerup forums.

The amazing case was made from a customized Luxor Pyramid case, which itself was made from laser cut aluminum, and is a combination of black and silver aluminum. The base measures 19 by 19 inches and the case stands 25 inches tall. Some specs: CPU: Q6600 B3 OC @ 3.15 GHz (Max stable OC @ 3.4 GHz) – “water cooled”, Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L, RAM: G-Skills 4GB PC2-8000 OC @ 1066 MHz, GPU: 512 MB 8800GT Zotac AMP Editions (700 MHz Core/ 2000 Mhz Memory), HDD: 500 GB Cavier WD 300 SATA, PSU: 500 Watts Rosewill, Cooling: Thermaltake Tide water plus w/ Swiftech apogee GT CPU block.

Asus Eee touchscreen keyboard PC available in May/June for $400-$600

Posted in ASUS by Conner Flynn on March 3rd, 2009

Asus Eee touchscreen keyboard PCGreat news. Asus’s awesome Eee Keyboard will be available in May or June for only $400-$600. It’s essentially a home theater PC inside of a keyboard, complete with wireless HDMI and a secondary touchscreen. According to Asus CEO Jerry Shen, they’re working on two different models, one wired and one wireless. The wired version will cost around $400 while the wireless will be around $600.

The keyboard features a 5-inch built-in display, 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16/32 GB SSD, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It’s got all of the ports you want like wireless HDMI, 2 USB 2.0, VGA, HDMI, and audio in/out. We’ve been waiting for this one. It’s almost here.

ASUS Eee Top available for pre-order on Amazon

Posted in ASUS by Conner Flynn on March 3rd, 2009

ASUS Eee Top available for pre-order on AmazonMaybe you’ve been looking for an inexpensive all-in-one for your kitchen, so you can look up recipes or read the ‘Brick while burning dinner. If so, you might want to have a look at ASUS’s Eee Top.

It’s almost available in the US as it has a pre-order page on Amazon.com. The 15.6-inch touchscreen model has a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 1GB of memory, and XP installed on a 160GB drive. It’s available in either black or white flavors for $599.99 with free shipping. If you already have one by the time you read this…Something’s burning. Go check.

Wall-E PC casemod is pretty awesome

Posted in Robots by Conner Flynn on February 15th, 2009

Wall-E PC casemod is pretty awesomeWho knew that Wall-E ran on Windows XP? That’s how modder Jonathan Berg enviosioned it when he put together this Wall-E PC mod that features a 7-inch touchscreen monitor inside his boxy stomach.

He did a great job with detail, but it’s kinda shocking to see the bot looking so clean and brand new. Wall-E is made from custom cut Plexiglas, the arms from Logitech speakers, and even sports a webcam behind his eyes. Even cooler, he’s even been outfitted with voice recognition software, so his master can command him by voice.

LEGO House is an amazingly detailed computer

Posted in lego by Conner Flynn on February 15th, 2009

LEGO House is an amazingly detailed computerWe’ve seen some pretty impressive Lego creations. Whether it’s the Lego Uzi, the Lego Playstation, or the old Lego safe, one thing is for sure. We love playing with Legos.

This functional LEGO house is a working computer. But the amount of detail that went into it is simply stunning. You could look at it all day and still find more things that you missed. Sadly, the display was not given the LEGO treatment. Hit the link below for a video.

MSI AP1900 is the slimmest All-In-One LCD PC

Posted in PCs by Conner Flynn on February 8th, 2009

MSI AP1900 is the slimmest All-In-One LCD PCMSI intros the slimmest all-in-one LCD PC in the world with the AP1900. It measures just 35mm in depth. Obviously this all-in-one will give you more desk space. You also won’t have to worry about those black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.

Some features include : 160 degree viewing angle, Intel Atom processor, Energy-saving and noise-reduction functions, Adjustable 5° to 15° back-and-forth, Integrated webcam, Dual track quality microphone, Stereo 3W speakers, and Multi DVD burner.





Other blogs from the Topic Soup Network that you might like:

PopTherapy.com - A therapeutic guide to popular culture

WeathyReader.com - Where reading pays off.

HealthyReader.com web site

Botropolis.com web site