FeaturedSystems.com

If you haven’t heard, there is quite a bit of buzz about Psystar home-built Open Computers. Essentially, these boxes are PC hardware set up to run an unmodified OS X Leopard kernel. When you see that they start at $399 + $155 for the OS pre-installed, you can imagine that the Mac guys are hopping on these.

So what’s the problem? Well, the OS installation/distribution is against the End User License Agreement (”EULA”) and, therefore, just waiting for a lawsuit by Apple. In that doc, it says the OS cannot be installed by end users on anything other than an “Apple labeled” computer. CNET has an interesting take on this:

If Mac OS X was the only operating system in the entire universe, and Apple required you to use its hardware, lawyers would have a field day.

For that reason, it seems interested users should buy now before everyone’s favorite benevolent monopoly (Apple) shuts the company down.

Paul Murphy with ZDNET goes one step farther and speculates “this particular group is going nowhere because there’s no real value in using even lower quality hardware to compete with Apple’s already low quality hardware”. Honestly, I haven’t yet read of anyone who has actually received their Psystar computer so, at this point, who knows what the true value is going to be other than an interesting legal challenge.

Get one of these Psystar Computers while you can. Not only is their payment processor giving them problems, but the looming EULA challenge by Apple is going to make this a short lived experiment.

Technorati Tags: Psystar

Think fast, what are two of the most important things in a desktop PC? RAM and drive space. Browsing our desktop systems page, I came across the Acer Aspire M3100-UD5200A Desktop PC for under $519.00. Big deal (you say) but check this out: it comes with 3 GB of RAM and a 1/2 TB hard drive. Incredible how inexpensive chips and storage have become… but I digress. The Acer Aspire M3100 could be an instant, low cost performer in any home office.

The specifications:

Acer AM3100 – MiniTower Desktop. AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor x2 5200+ (2×1MB cache) 3GB (1/1/1) DDRII SDRAM, 500GB SATA 7200 RPM HDD, DVD+/- RW drive, ATI Radeon x1250 graphics solution, 9-in-1 card reader, parallel, RJ-45 Gigabit LAN, VGA, HDMI, FireWire (IEEE 1394), headphones, microphone, six audio, eight USB 2.0 (four front, four back), Windows Vista Home Premium, includes USB keyboard and mouse.

The pros: inexpensive, lots of RAM, drive space and 8 USB ports. The cons: the ATI graphics card is a bit of an underperformer and the price doesn’t include a monitor. Now that would be a deal… but monitors are a cheap add on, or something most nerds like me already have around.

Technorati Tags: acer

Ranking high on the way-cool scale, the Apple Mac Mini is a compact but powerful desktop computer system many friends of mine are raving about. Yes, it’s now old news (the Mini came out in early 2005) but the specs have kept up with the times and the tiny footprint is still very attractive. What seals the deal? A price starting at under $600.

The first thing you notice about the Mac Mini is the minimal “case”, if you can even call it that. With dimensions (in inches) of 8.7 x 8.6 x 5.4 and a shipping weight under 10 lbs, there’s a lot going on in a small package.

Mac Mini

What are the specs? Start with a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Add 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 2 GB), a 80 GB SATA hard drive with Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard and a slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive. Finish with a FireWire port, 4 USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet and built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11g) and the small package suddenly looks much, much bigger. One reviewer wrote

This little Mac CPU is perfect for people who want a powerful but inexpensive CPU without the frills. Just 2.5″ high and 6.5″ square, it fits almost anywhere: on a desk, in a drawer, on a narrow shelf. The unit comes with a Mac SuperDrive for burning and playing DVD/CDs, a remote control, BlueTooth technology, the iLife Suite (iPhoto, iTunes, Garage Band, Photo Booth, iMovie, etc.), and the newest OS X Leopard (on CDs, not installed.) That’s it. You have to buy your own keyboard, mouse, monitor, and anything else you’d like to add.

For the most part, people rave about the OS, footprint and speed of the Apple Mac Mini. The two cons I’ve consistently found were i) the power button is in the back and hard to find and ii) upgrading the RAM is difficult. Honestly, that’s it? A quick search turned up this Mac Mini RAM Upgrade article so it seems available resources can cure at least one of those negatives. *L* ok, upgrading the RAM does involve a putty knife.

For those looking to break into the Apple world or simply want a small, powerful desktop, the $595 Mac Mini appears to be a clear option. Pair this machine with your Apple monitor, keyboard and mouse of choice and you have everything that makes Mac great at your fingertips.

Technorati Tags: mac mini

Home computers have now been on the market for around 20 years. As they’ve become more than just number-crunching machines, our requirement of them (as users) has grown from simple completion of tasks to integration into the fabric of our lives. Think of the ugly beige boxes you had to buy back in the 80s and 90s… then came the iMac, which started us down the path of “pretty” computers that looked nice on our desks. This trend has continued with computer system manufacturers like Alienware, who feature slick outer shells and light up interiors. But there are also those desktop systems that truly seek beauty in their design and simplicity in use. Enter the Sony VAIO VGC-LT17N All-In-One Desktop – a 4.5 star rated computer that’s as much a piece of art as it is a powerful computing platform.

Sony VAIO All-In-One

From first glance, you can tell this is more than just an ordinary box. The all in one design merges the motherboard into the beautiful 22-inch LCD screen. What results is a computer you can hang on your wall that looks like a nice picture frame when turned off. But will you ever turn it off? Since it includes an integrated TV tuner and remote, this system truly can become an all-in-one solution for your home or home office. In case you’re wondering, the wireless keyboard and mouse communicate with the main unit via Wi-Fi LAN, virtually eliminating ugly, hard wiring.

So what about the specs? The VGC-LT17N uses a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor with 4 MB L2 cache for power. This is complemented by a 320 GB hard drive, 2 GB installed RAM (with 4 GB max) and up to 358 MB of vRAM through the Intel GMA X3100 graphics card. There are five USB ports, 1 FireWire, 1 PCMCIAs slot and even a 56K modem if you feel like going old school. Being a Sony, it also features a multi-format Memory Stick reader, a Secure Digital memory card slot and support for Gigabit Ethernet wired networking built in. (Sony just loves those memory sticks…) It ships with Windows Vista Business which, honestly, appears to be the only reason why anyone who purchased the VAIO VGC-LT17N complained.

The reviews are excellent, with owners quoted as saying “flawless”, “easiest setup ever” and “absolutely the best” and freely giving 5 stars out of 5. Those who were skeptical were won over by the ease of setup and boot time, the beauty of the 22 inch screen and the overall execution of the all-in-one computing goal.

I’ve checked the price through our shopping system, which is $1,661.68 + FREE shipping. Since the total weight of this machine is around 35 lbs, I’d say the free shipping offer trumps the slightly-lower price seen when you search Google for the VAIO VGC-LT17N.

See Also:

• BizRate reviews
• ZDNet’s information on the VGC-LT1N
• Sony All-In-One info on Retrevo
• PCWorld’s pricing roundup

It’s hard to pass up a capable PC at under $250. The uses are almost endless: a print server, web server or thin client are just a few. Enter the refurbished eMachines T5082 – for just $249.00 USD, this box boasts a P4 3.0 GHz Processor, 512 MB DDR2 RAM (expandable to 2 GB) and a 160GB hard drive. Even at this low price, it comes with a licensed version of Vista Home Basic, a 16x DVDRW Multi-Format dual layer drive and 15-in-1 Digital Media Manager.

Take a look at the eMachines product summary and you’ll see this retails for $399, so it’s a good deal at $150 off. Browsing the web, CNET.com has a few user reviews of 8, 8 and 5 out of 10. Yahoo Tech gives it 4 out of 5 stars, so you know it’s a quality buy as well as a cheap one. An important note: for Windows Vista, 512MB is not much memory at all. I would definitely recommend upgrading for any serious application around your home or office.

Technorati Tags: eMachines