HP Firebird gaming towers with VoodooDNA to start at $1,799
It’d be a gross understatement to say that we weren’t remarkably excited about the HP Firebird 803 when we caught wind of it last week, but now you can safely say that our emotions have settled down after hearing the price. Granted, the $1,799 starting figure for the Firebird 802 isn’t totally unexpected — after all, the Blackbird 002 went for upwards of three large — but we still see the sticker as a touch high given the weaker innards and the lack of upgrade options. Those of you who vehemently disagree can certainly hand over your wallet starting on January 9th, or you can wait for the boxes to hit unnamed retail outlets in February. Read
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HP released an iPhone app!
How would you like to be able to shoot photos on your iPhone, and then immediately print them on your HP printer?
HP has a new product called iPrint Photo (click opens iTunes) available in the App Store that makes it very simple to print your iPhone pictures. The free download opens to a list of photo albums that looks very similar to the list in the Photos app on the iPhone. Tapping on a photo brings up a Print Photo page with a large Print button on it (see photo at right). If you only have one networked printer available, just tapping the Print button sends a 4×6 inch (10×15 cm) print job to that printer.
If more than one HP inkjet printer is on your local Wi-Fi network, tapping on a printer search icon brings up a Chooser-like list of printers that you can select one from. This is an excellent free app — it took no setup and I was able to print a picture immediately after downloading the software from the app store.
Between this software and HP’s announcement of their Mac-compatible media server, it looks like HP is starting to play nice with Apple!
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HP MediaSmart Server: Now Mac friendly
It’s been a long, long while since we’ve heard the words HP MediaSmart, and in fact, the last mention that was made wasn’t exactly positive. HP’s looking to put the past away and forge ahead with two new ones in the line: the Mac-friendly ex485 and ex487. Both devices are (of course) based on Microsoft’s Windows Home Server platform, and just like their predecessors, these are meant to automatically backup machines around the home and act as a network-accessible repository for all things media. The pair features HP’s Media Collector (used to schedule, copy and centralize digital files from networked PCs) and also acts as an iTunes server and an external backup device for Macs running Leopard and using Apple’s Time Machine software. As for specs, you’ll find a 2GHz Celeron CPU in each with 2GB of DDR2 RAM, gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA jack and four internal HDD bays. The February-bound duo can be pre-ordered on January 5th for $599 (ex485; 750GB) / $749 (ex487; 1.5TB), and each can be scaled up to 9TB. Full release:
HP Launches New Home Server for PCs and Macs
HP MediaSmart Server centralizes digital media and files for backup, remote access, sharing and uploading to social media sites
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 29, 2008 – HP today launched a home server designed for use with both Windows and Mac computers.
Based on the Microsoft Windows® Home Server platform, the HP MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 is a central repository for automatically backing up and accessing digital music, videos, photos and documents from multiple computers on a home network.(1)
The MediaSmart Server automatically organizes files across all PCs, streams media across a home network and the Internet,(2) and publishes photos to popular social networking and photo sharing sites.
“A growing number of digital-savvy households have both Windows and Mac computers, with hundreds and sometimes thousands of media files and documents scattered across these devices,” said Jason Zajac, vice president of strategy, Worldwide Attach Group, HP. “The HP MediaSmart Server protects, stores and organizes this content from anywhere on a network so consumers can access and share it any place they are connected.”
“HP continues to innovate on the Windows Home Server platform giving consumers even more options to enjoy and protect their precious memories and valuable data,” said Charlie Kindel, general manager, Windows Server Solutions, Microsoft. “We believe consumers will embrace the new MediaSmart Server as one of the most exciting computing products for the home.”
MediaSmart Server ex485/ex487 features include:
· HP Media Collector: conveniently schedules the MediaSmart Server to copy and centralize digital files and libraries from networked PCs
· Media Streaming: remotely streams photos and music to any Internet-connected PC or Mac
· Server for iTunes: centralizes iTunes music libraries on the server for playback to any networked Mac or PC running iTunes
· HP Photo Publisher: easily upload photos to Facebook®, PicasaTM Web Albums and Snapfish(3)
· HP Photo Viewer: allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family
· PC Hard Drive Backup: backs up networked PCs via the Windows Home Server backup feature
· Mac Hard Drive Backup: backs up Macs running Leopard using Apple Time Machine software
· Server Backup: duplicates designated shared folders to a separate hard disk drive
· Online Backup: duplicates designated folders to Amazon’s S3 online backup service for an additional layer of protection
· Smart Power Management: can schedule times for server to go to “sleep” and “wake up,” saving on energy costs
· Processor: Intel® Celeron®, 2.0 GHz 64-bit. Two gigabytes (GB) of 800-MHz DDR2 DRAM now standard on MediaSmart Server
· Expandability: additional drives can be added for up to 9 terabytes (TB)
“Customers are always looking for the right mix of features and ease-of-use when choosing digital home products,” said Danielle Levitas, group vice president, consumer, broadband and digital marketplace at IDC. “HP’s focus and investment in software allows it to deliver a home server with compelling features for Mac and PC users while offering a great customer experience that helps simplify the complexity of the connected home. This unique offering will help expand the home server market.”
Pricing and availability
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the HP MediaSmart Server ex485 with 750 GB of hard disk storage is $599 while the HP MediaSmart Server ex487 with 1.5 TB is $749.(4)
The HP MediaSmart Server can be pre-ordered beginning on Jan. 5, 2009, from Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Buy.com, Frys.com and NewEgg.com; it is expected to ship in February.
The first 200 consumers who visit HP Home & Home Office (www.hpshopping.com) or call +1 888 271 2982 between Jan. 5 – 11, 2009, to reserve a MediaSmart Server and use coupon code “AC5674″ will receive a $50 savings off their purchase.(5)
More information is available at www.hp.com/go/mediasmartserver.
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HP Firebird 803 tower with VoodooDNA leaked!
We always loved us that Voodoo-designed HP Blackbird 002, but it was certainly a behemoth. Now it looks like the duo are going for a more realistic size — and hopefully pricepoint — with the all-new HP Firebird PC 803 that just fell in our lap, a gaming tower which flips the disc drive and most other components on their sides to save on space. The resulting kit seems to have more in common with gaming consoles than desktop PCs in terms of design, with very little configurability or expansion available, but the leaked specs are still quite palatable to the modern PC gamer:
- NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset
- Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor
- 4GB of RAM
- Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards
- Two 320GB SATA drives
- Blu-ray
- 5-in-1 card reader
- 6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVI dual-link
- Bluetooth
- 802.11n WiFi
To save on space (and heat), the Firebird actually uses an external power supply, but we suppose the included wireless keyboard and mouse should help to make up for that clutter. As you’ve probably gleaned from the specs, those small form factor 9800S cards aren’t going to be putting away the frame rates quite like the cutting edge cards from NVIDIA and AMD, and the seeming lack of expandability makes the (theoretical) up-front cost savings seem a bit less exciting, but for a certain type of gamer the Firebird could be a welcome respite from monstrous, unrealistic and just-as-quickly-outmoded performance towers.
P.S.: Rahul’s dubious rant about the boutique gaming industry — which Voodoo still serves — makes a lot more sense in this light.
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HP Compaq’s Mini 700 now on sale in Europe
To our knowledge, neither HP nor Compaq (nor HP Compaq, for the record) have uttered a single word about the clearly real Mini 700. After going a few months without hearing an update, we now have reports that it is widely available overseas. According to NotebookItalia, said netbook will boast a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, GMA950 integrated graphics, 10.2-inch display (1,204 x 600), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, webcam / microphone, an integrated card reader, audio in / out, Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports and a pair of Altec Lansing speakers. Additionally, the Italian version (at least) includes a 3-cell battery and Windows XP Home while providing optional WiFi, Bluetooth and HSDPA. Curiously, the quoted price for the now-shipping unit is up one hundred quid to £399 ($594), though it’s difficult to tell if that’s a baseline rig or a fully loaded machine. Anyone across the pond care to chime in? Read
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Mac OS on a netbook? Here’s the compatibility list.
Who needs Psystar?
Apple says it’s had “pretty interesting ideas” for a Mac netbook, but it’s everyday users who’ve already taken action. Due to their similar technical underpinnings, most of the popular netbooks can run OS X, but there are plenty of caveats: non-functioning components which lack drivers and need to be replaced—or which simply can’t be gotten to at all.
Unfortunately, the Googles are choked with info, and much of it’s out of date. I’d like to maintain a one-look chart to help people figure out out if their netbook (or one they’ve got their eye on) will run it well enough to their needs.
The short answer: get an MSI Wind or Dell Mini 9. Thanks to new WiFi drivers (direct download), the Wind runs the whole show out the can. 
Now, I’m 100 percent sure this first version has errors and omissions: post updates and corrections to the comment.
If you’re thinking about making yourself a Hackintosh, know that it’s still not a no-brainer. For starters, standard OS X disks won’t work: you’ll need to grab a hacked version of it from the tubes. This contravenes Apple’s EULA, even if you own a legal copy. The following guides also generally require an external DVD drive and familiarity with the terminal.
How To Guides:
Running Mac OS X on a Netbook: Guide, Tips, Tutorial, Walkthrough [Ditii]
Run Mac OS X on an Eee PC [Wired]
Installing OSX on Eee 1000h [Wikidot]
OS X For the Eee PC 901 and 1000H [Mac Eee]
Install OS X on the MSI Wind [Make]
Guide to Installing OS X on a Lenovo Ideapad s10 [Netbook Tech]
OSX on a Samsung NC10 [Wired]
Again, corrections and updates are most welcome!
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HP Pavilion dv6 laptops show up online for pre-order
Eagle-eyed Engadget readers have spotted two new listings on JR.com for dv6-series HP Pavilion laptops. The $800 dv6-1030us houses a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400, 320GB HDD, and Bluetooth, while the $1,050 model has a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo P7450, 400GB HDD, 2 firewire ports, and a GeForce 9200M GS (oddly enough, the 1050 model has no mention of Bluetooth capabilities). Both laptops have a 16-inch, 16:9 screen, 4GB RAM, DVD±R/RW, a webcam, 802.11a/g/n and Vista Home Premium 64-Bit. The devices aren’t listed on HP’s US site, although support documents for the dv6 series are. No release dates given, but both models are currently available for pre-order.
Read — JR.com listings
Read — HP Pavilion dv6 series support page
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HP Vivienne Tam Edition Mini 1000 Digital Clutch now available
Well, we heard that the Vivienne Tam-designed Mini 1000 was coming in December, and here it is, available to order on HP’s site. The custom 10-inch netbook is, as expected, sporting a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom with 1GB of RAM, plus an up to 60GB hard drive — a little smaller than the 80GB we initially heard about. The fashion-conscious laptop is less than an inch thick and has a starting weight of 2.45 pounds, and though it’s not exactly an example of “understated elegance,” those who want to start (loudly) classing up their act can do just that for a starting price of $699. Read
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