For a quick solution, especially for something like a laptop that can't even get a better quality bit of hardware, it's probably worth taking a look at. A "Pro" version should be out soon that includes a remote.

Read - ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0 [ViperLair]

Neuros II Reviewed

The Register has a properly in-depth review of the Neuros II 20GB HDD music player, a bulky and sort of awkward device whose main claim to fame is swappable 'backpacks' that allow additional hard drives to be added without the need for buying a whole different unit. Sadly, it seems that the implementation is less than the sum of its concepts, although I have to say I was intrigued by one aspect of its direct-to-MP3 recording of FM radio. By using a service called HiSi ("Hear it. Save it.") the Neuros is able to identify - after being plugged back into your computer - songs you've recorded from the radio by comparing short audio snippets to those in HiSi's database, which returns the correct ID3 tag. It even color codes the results depending on how certain it is that it's identified the song correctly.

Unfortunately, that's about the best part. The 20GB Neuros II is a pretty good value, though - an 80GB model can be had for just $450.

Re ad - Neuros II 20GB HDD music player [TheRegisterUK]

Scribus 1.1.6 Reviewed

Spider-Man 2 Reviewed

Rio Carbon Reviewed

Pocket-Lint manages to score the first proper Rio Carbon review I've seen, and certainly the first to use Guns & Roses as their test music. One thing that is a nice is the Carbon's drag-and-drop ability, because while music managing software can be very nice, it's also nice to have the option to just copy over some music (or whatever) via Windows' Explorer or the Mac's Finder. From the sound of it, it seems Rio has a real winner in the 5GB hard disk music player. The question is, will the consumer market think so?

Read - Rio Carbon - First Look [Pocket-Lint]

Related
Rio Carbon: 5GB iPod Mini Fighter [Gizmodo]

Gravis G-Pod Reviewed

Gravis, a division of the snowboarding outfitter Burton (and not related to the gamepad and soundcard company, to my knowledge) sent me one of their G-Pod third-generation iPod cases to review, and I have to say I'm fairly impressed. There's a number of subtle but intelligent decisions apparent in the design, like a stiff, sturdy nylon that protects almost the whole unit except for the top left corner, where the remote/minijack plug resides (I'll presume they had a reason for covering up the hold switch, since it wouldn't have affected the design in the least to move the flap to the other side). Essentially two, hard flaps of material held together by an elastic mesh, the G-Pod really seems to hold tight to the iPod -- maybe too tight, if you ever want to pull it out of the case -- and protects the unit from damage by sticking out a little past the edges of the iPod. Unless you clipped the exposed corner, your iPod should stay pretty much unscathed.

IBM ThinkPad R51 Reviewed

BIOS reviews the IBM ThinkPad R51 and finds it to be an excellent value for a solid laptop, as long as you stay away from adding lots of the overpriced options from IBM's catalog (generally good advice when buying any laptop, really). For less that thousand dollars you can bring home a ThinkPad of your own, albeit one that is wholly unsuitable for gaming or other performance-intensive activities. That's okay, though - it's still a ThinkPad, one of the best laptops you can buy.

ThinkPad R51 Review [BIOS]

MT3d Reviewed

Sharp LL-151-3D Reviewed

There's no doubt that the Sharp LL-151-3D is a cool product—3D displays without any goofy headgear is the double pluses. But are any of you guys actually using them? I can think of a few situations (medical, 3D imaging) where they'd be handy, but the 15-inch size seems a little down market for hot-to-trot medical researchers/Science Officers. And it's too expensive for gaming, costing more than most gaming PCs do in total. Anyway, just curious. There's got to be a way I can justify buying one for work.

Sharp LL-151-3D - 3D LCD Monitor [TrustedReviews]

Vonage reviewed

The Edison, New Jersey based company gives you one Cisco ATA186 and a phone number in an area code of your choosing (I had a little piece of northern New Jersey in my living room). You have a choice of two different levels of service to go along with this box: for $25.99/month you get unlimited local/regional calling (where local/regional is defined by the area code you choose for your phone number) and 500 minutes of free US long distance, and for $39.99/month you get unlimited long distance. And you also get international rates that rivals most common calling cards. The only problem is that the service only delivers one ATA186, and that specific model is required to use the service -- no other SIP compatible devices are supported yet. If you want to use more than one phone with the box, you will either have to rig up a network of telephone splitters and wires; or you can do what some have done and hack your house to plug the Cisco box into your house's in wall telephone network.

iRiver PMP-140 (P)Reviewed

Soroban Geek's Portable Media World got their webbed hands on a pre-release version of the iRiver PMP-140, the upcoming personal media player that is the one that isn't the Windows-branded Portable Media Center (that's the PMC- models). Although the review is a little heavy on pictures and a little light on opinion, they seem fairly impressed with the device. It does look nice enough (from a feature perspective, at least; its case is ugly as sin), and I've got fairly high hopes for this one. DRM-free means, if nothing else, greater ease of use as a rule of thumb.

Read - Teasing Preview iRIVER PMP-140 (UK/US) [PMW.SorobanGeeks]

Related
Sony HMP-A1 VAIO Video Pocket Review [Gizmodo]
More iRiver PMP and PMC Details [Gizmodo]

Reviewed: Documents To Go 6

Find out how version 6 can dramatically increase the value of your Palm in Brian's review.

Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign
Grok Description matches for Dialogue Flybook Reviewed
GrokA matches for Dialogue Flybook Reviewed

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Acer Ferrari 3200 Laptop Review

Although it seems like brand dilution to me, if you really need a laptop with the famous Ferrari red and logo, you should check out the Acer Ferrari 3200 reviews, like the one they just posted at Pocket Lint. While it's not the absolute fastest laptop out there, it's no slouch--a AMD Athlon 64 2800+ compliments an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128MB RAM, plus multi-format DVD burner, 4-in-1 integrated card reader, and in-built 802.11g and Bluetooth. The one saving grace of this machine, in my opinion, is the price. Although the price varies wildly from vendor to vendor, it can be found fairly easily for about $2,000 without much searching--at least Acer left out the premium Ferrari price.
Read [Pocket-Lint]

Related
Acer's Ferrari laptop [Gizmodo]

Review of Sony's ultrathin X505 laptop

Voodoo Envy M:860 Gaming Laptop Review

If there's one thing that Apple laptops have done to effect the PC laptop world, it's convince everyone that white is a fine color for notebooks. Case in point: the Voodoo Envy M:860, an Athlon 64 3400+ powered gaming laptop that, while available in a variety of colors, is being marketed in a familiar-looking white. Trusted Reviews gives it a few games to chew on, and it does as well as you'd expect (which is to say, very), but interestingly they had the same sort of underperformance from the M:860's Athlon 64 as they did from the recently-reviewed Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo A1630. Is there something snarling the performance of notebook Athlon 64s? I don't know, but I'd be happy to give the M:860 (and its 1,680 x 1,050 screen) a thorough workout.
Read [TrustedReviews]