Mark Best » Desktops

Digital City No. 55: PS3′s Netflix play; Sony’s Vaio X; and Halloween horrors

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:37 +0000

This week on the Digital City, we consider the PlayStation 3′s awkward Netflix implementation; marvel over the super-thin Sony Vaio X laptop; debate the fate of FireWire in new MacBooks; and review

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Originally posted at Digital City Podcast

Apple set to raise curtain on 4th Manhattan store

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:36 +0000

The image of a red curtain hides the construction of Apple’s latest store.

(Credit:
David Carnoy/CNET)

While it was confirmed several months ago that Apple would open a fourth Manhattan retail store on the Upper West Side, the company appears to be just days away from taking the …

A quad-core, Blu-ray, media-center desktop for $479.99

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:36 +0000

HP's ultra-compact Pavilion is stuffed with home theater-friendly features.

(Credit:
HP)

If you’re in the market for a PC to serve as the hub of your home theater, look no further than the refurbished HP Pavilion Slimline S3750F. It’s compact, loaded, and on sale at Buy.com for $479.99 shipped….

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

Lenovo bringing new gaming desktops to the U.S.

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:35 +0000

Lenovo made a handful of new system announcements this morning that mark a change of tactic for the Chinese-owned manufacturer. Both its IdeaCentre B500 all-in-one and its IdeaCentre K300 desktop feature gaming-oriented components, representing a departure for the typically business-focused PC maker.

Lenovo’s new IdeaCentre B500 gaming-oriented all-in-one

(Credit:

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Wal-Mart preps to battle Best Buy’s Geek Squad

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:35 +0000

Wal-Mart is preparing to offer in-home tech support to its customers, according to Reuters.

The retail giant will partner with product-support firm N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, the report said. By the holiday-shopping season, all U.S. Wal-Mart stores plan to offer customers the opportunity to use N.E….

Originally posted at The Digital Home

PC vs. Mac now vs. PC and Mac then

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:34 +0000

In one of Apple’s latest TV ads featuring the omnipresent Mac (Justin Long) and PC (John Hodgman), we see PC going retro. It’s actually a cute ad as PC regresses back in time with various incarnations of himself through the years, each time promising that a particular version of Windows won’t suck. “Trust me,” he says. Sure thing, PC. And nice wig.

But since we’re going retro, maybe we should look at a few of Apple’s ads from around the time PC and Mac apparently met (according to the ad): the ’90s.

For those who don’t remember Apple’s advertisements from then, I offer a collection of some of the most sucktastic ads Apple has ever had (remember Think Different? Yeah, me too). Enjoy them. You can thank me later.

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I just bought a Vista PC, how do I get my free Windows 7 upgrade?

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:33 +0000

Now that we’re past the official release of Windows 7, most new PCs should come with it pre-installed. But if you purchased a new computer with Windows Vista recently, or for whatever reason end up with a Vista system in the near future, there’s a very good chance …

Originally posted at Windows 7 Insider

Getting Blu-ray on a new 27-inch iMac

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:32 +0000

(Credit:
Matthew Fitzgerald)

Apple’s new iMac all-in-one desktops impressed us, especially the massive 27-inch model we reviewed this week. But we’re left wondering what happened to the rumored Blu-ray drive option. Playing HD optical disc content on that big 2,560×1,440 screen seems like a no-brainer, so …

Originally posted at Digital City Podcast

Amazon set to release Kindle for PC app

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:31 +0000

Amazon already has a free Kindle iPhone app. And soon it will have a free Kindle app for Windows PCs.

While the new app won’t be available for download until next month, Microsoft demonstrated it at the Windows 7 launch event in New York City on Thursday. Like the …

Windows 7: The first wave

Mark Best — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:40:29 +0000

All-in-one desktops and laptops are among the first PCs with Windows 7.

With the launch of Windows 7, computer shoppers are emerging from a dark period when newly purchased desktops and laptops would arrive with an already archaic operating system. Even with the promise of a free upgrade, it made …

Originally posted at Windows 7 Insider