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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.

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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.

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Normally, I don’t use this space to blog about software but the Flock web browser has recently shown up on my radar. At version 1.1, this is an early stage in the development of this “Social Web Browser” - a Mozilla/Gecko browsing core with integrated social bookmarking, blogging, media and webmail support.

Users who are online all day know that every keystroke saved is worth investigating. That (and my general, geek’s interest) what was initially intriguing about the FREE Flock browser download I saw in the PC Magazine Best Free Software list. Through a vertical browser frame, Flock loads quick links to your favorite social services. If you’re big into communities like Facebook, Flickr, Blogger or Magnolia the browser allows you to pre-load your user information for quick and easy access to those services. Webmail services like GMail are supported as well, so all bases are covered. As stated within their company info,

Flock is an open source company that innovates on the superior, constantly-improving Mozilla architecture to provide a fast, safe and competitive browsing experience.

Which brings me to my only cynical question: How is the Flock browser better or different than customizing Firefox itself with toolbars and add-ins? Maybe you can tell me. The two are so closely related that my StatsCounter info reads Flock as Firefox. To be precise, the browser footprint reads as Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.12) Gecko/20080304 Firefox/2.0.0.12 Flock/1.1.

The install is currently only approved for Windows machines (with the notable exception of Ultima Linux) but indications are it’ll run smoothly on any GNU/Linux on x86 box. Perhaps I’ll hop on my Asus Laptop running their slick Linux OS, install the browser and see what happens.

What kind of reception is this upstart receiving from the tech world at large? Recently, the Flock web browser was awarded a South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Annual Web Award under the “community” category. There’s been a bit of press in Wired and other outlets but let’s see if their user base can drum up enough support to keep the angel-funded venture on a roll. If the 160+ topics in the Community section of their forums is any indication, good buzz is well under way.

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Good things come in small packages… 7.5 x 9.4 x 3.2 packages to be precise. The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet PC is one of the new breed of web-enabled devices that use 802.11b/g Wi-Fi to connect to the world with Internet calling, IM and multimedia capabilities. Is it worth the low $239.00 sale price we have featured?

The device is described by the manufacturer as including:

4.1-inch touchscreen has an 800 x 400-pixel resolution with up to 65,536 colors. You can access controls with your fingers or use the included stylus, and the N800 provides intuitive handwriting recognition and a full-screen finger keyboard.

Rechargeable battery provides up to 10 days of standby time and up to 3 hours of continuous Web browsing or media playback.

256 MB of on-board flash memory and 128 MB of RAM. It also offers two expansion slots that are compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia, miniSD, and microSD memory cards with a size limit of 2 GB. (Adapter required for miniSD and microSD.) You can also connect the N800 to a PC using the included USB cable to update software and transfer files from the PC to the a memory card. For multimedia playback, the N800 is compatible with MP3 and WMA digital audio files (as well as AAC, M3U, and WAV), Real Audio streams, and video files encoded as AVI or MPEG4. The UPnP media server lets users share music, video, and photos with others on the same Wi-Fi network. The device uses two integrated speakers as well as a headphone jack for personal listening.

Features the Opera web browser, which provides Flash 7 multimedia support. Other applications include an RSS feed reader (for accessing all your favorite news sources), a PDF reader, image viewer, Internet radio player, and instant messenger with voice and video conferencing capabilities (using the Jabber and Google Talk services).

Built-in chat programs and easy-to-use onscreen keyboard.

While there are a few three star reviews, most self-professed “gear heads” rated this device with 4 or 5 stars. Here’s one user’s detailed review:

INTERNET - I am a little frustrated over Internet visibility, even though the resolution is excellent. When I magnify the webpage for text, the icons also magnify and crowd out the visibility of the text, so I cannot read all the information. My laptop is obviously much more accommodating. The I-phone does a better job with the visibility issue.

NOKIA DOWNLOADS - I am having trouble finding just where there might be a complete list of available downloads for this great little thing. The ones recommended within the device are good, but the list is small. I am looking for something like OPEN OFFICE, so I have good calendar and address book programs. I would also like a good Bible reader and recording software, which I am not finding.

SKYPE - I downloaded SKYPE right away, and when I call my friends, they say they can hear me just fine, so the microphone and speakers are adequate. My one criticism of the software is that I cannot type in the name of someone and just isolate that person. I have to scroll to find the person I want to call.

RADIO - One of the most pleasant surprises for me as been Internet radio. I can easily download the radio stations I want to listen to and pick them up when in a WIFI environment. The Sound Quality is excellent. As for local radio, I love the fact that I can pick up local FM stations. I just wish I could also pick up AM stations. Is there software out there to do that?

MEMORY - I appreciate that there are two SD card slots for external memory. I have downloaded a lot of my digital music, and it is easier to use for choosing selections than my daughter’s mp3 player. They say the maximum capacity is 2 gigs for each card, but I am going to try an 8 gig card in one of the slots to see if it will play all of the digital music I have stored on my laptop.

TEXT - So far, the only useful software I have downloaded is the PDF reader. Nothing Microsoft can be read by the Nokia N800 as it has come, and I have not yet found any software that will allow me to read my documents from Word, Excel, Power Point… I hope there is software that will allow me to store my documents with Microsoft software on my SD card, but allow me to read and even edit my documents on this handheld.

EMAIL - I am enjoying the email software this device came pre-loaded with. I have two different servers sending my emails to this little device, and it has been very handy for reading, but not for editing, just because the keyboard is so small.

So if you’re the type that likes to have multiple gadgets, this is a low cost option. From what I’m reading, though, those interested in the MOST power and the MOST options should probably look elsewhere. Anyone with another opinion?

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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