Notebook, Server & Desktop Computer System Reviews
Welcome to FeaturedSystems.com, a gateway to information on computer systems ranging from desktops to laptops, refurbished servers to mobile devices and software. Review the revised structure of the site to enjoy blog articles about the computers you've seen featured online presented with prices, consumer reviews and cross-references to the info needed to make a decision on the latest deal. For those interested in browsing multiple listings of available bargains, shop for computer systems using our secure shopping cart.
Enough about us, here's our latest computer system review:
Having recently received another bargain offer on an Inspiron laptop that is only fairly decent, I asked myself where the REAL deals are for those in the market for a dependable notebook computer. How about taking a page out of the desktop world and exploring refurb laptops (aka “refurbished”)? These are perfect for consumers who don’t mind a machine that’s a model year back or perhaps have a scratch or dent.
ThinkPad T40 (Off Lease) - Pentium M 1.6GHz, 14.1″ XGA from $412.00
While you may have to upgrade the memory or put up with a little scuff here and there, these provide significant savings over the same computer bought brand new. Many times, these laptops even come with a full warranty. That’s what refurb is all about - buying the features, not the flash.
A brand of computer system I’ve often read about is Alienware. Named for the founders’ love of the hit series The X-Files, the sleek brand features a product line with advanced desktops, laptops, home entertainment systems and accessories. Alienware systems are known to be specialized for the gamer community, offering high-performance computing options like advanced liquid cooling, overclocked processors and way-cool cases.
If it’s not a name you know, the company offers the following as an introduction:
Established in 1996, Alienware® manufactures high-performance desktop, notebook, media center, and professional systems. Operating under the philosophy of “build it as if it were your own,” Alienware has earned numerous awards for excellence and has become a respected brand name worldwide with systems available direct within the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.
While this descriptions captures their go-it-alone attitude, it does bear mentioning that the former “outsider” company was acquired by Dell in 2006 and remains a wholly-owned subsidiary. That purchase didn’t squelch their competitive drive, though. As recently as October 2007, the company has launched two new services: AlienContact and AlienExchange. The former is a remote support application to help diagnose problems. The latter is a computer trade-in/trade-up offer. Neither are industry firsts, but both efforts show you this isn’t your father’s computer company.
I’ve run across to recent promotions for Alienware systems: one for a desktop and one for a laptop.
Featured Desktop Deal: NEW Area-51® ALX - Extreme Gaming Performance Desktop. This Quad Core gamer system has an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, DDR3 memory, ATI Radeon 512MB graphics card and more. At just $150/month, you should take a look at this MONSTER system.
Yes, my prediction is that Android, Google’s open source mobile phone software, is going to take over soon… might I say rule the world!? Ok, maybe not, but there is a lot of buzz about the Open Handset Alliance and Google’s desire to produce a mobile phone “platform” that would be available for open source application development. What’s the story?
Originally, there were rumors that Google was going to produce a “GPhone” much like Apple’s iPhone hardware. Adding fuel to the fire was the company’s acquisition of Android back in August 2005. Then, there were rumors they were just going to start producing some phone software. But (last week) Google announced its leadership of the Open Handset Alliance,
a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience. Together we have developed Android™, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform. [more]
With this, they have now positioned themselves as a leading participant in an open source phone platform that can be freely distributed & infinitely customized by ALL mobile phone manufacturers. Why just stock the shelves when you can run the store, right? Of course they still have their eye on the hardware market (the Open Handset Alliance promises a handset w/ Android in 2008) but the primary goal is to provide handset makers and even individual wireless operators an easy way to develop custom applications for their users. It’s easy to imagine how the apps developed by companies and end users are going to turn mobile devices into a hotbed of 2.0 mashup applications using maps, profiles (ala Dodgeball) and geo-information. People are already putting together alpha versions of Android apps, as mentioned in this recent News.com article.
It’s an exciting time to watch the mobile world. No doubt Google has positioned itself, alongside its Android, to rule the world.
Posted in Buzz, Websites by admin on November 3, 2007.
As online shopping becomes more a part of everyday life, buying a video online has also become second nature to most. Amazon and other providers like them use the medium to
show, directly on your site, movie and TV trailers and previews for a huge range of recent and classic titles
Worth checking out? Sure. It’s another way large bandwidth connections for the masses has improved stores’ ability to market their wares. Will it attract a disproportionately higher number of viewers and buyers? We’ll see!
