My question while reading this was, "so what about the comparison to DirecTV?" Am I alone in thinking that the Comcast/DirecTV HDTV channel penis size commercials are really getting old...? At any rate, compression is nothing new, but if it affects PQ as badly as those shots suggest, it's yet another "feather" to add to Comcast's cap.

"A thread at AV Science Forum updated last Monday details what appears to be compression of up to 38%, allowing Comcast to deliver more HDTV channels per line while using the same amount of bandwidth."

If I'm reading this article correctly, the reason that the other laptops went down so quickly, & the Sony running Ubuntu fared the best is that the volunteer "hackers" just didn't feel like messing with the Ubuntu install. Doesn't surprise me in the least.

"'It was actually a lack of interest' on the part of the PWN to OWN contestants, Forslof said. '[Shane Macaulay's] exploit would have worked on Linux. He could have knocked it over. But [the contestants] get a lot more mileage out of attacks on the Mac or Windows,' she continued."

The DigitalTrends crew have posted a two page GPS buying guide. Page one for your car, & page two for running/hiking/city navigating by foot.

"Models specific to activities like hiking, geocaching, biking, boating, and running are also available, and a handful of smartphones have built-in GPS hardware, with service for around $10 a month on top of voice and data plans."

The TWL guys take a look at exactly what RAID brings (and doesn't bring) to the table while running that latest eye-candy game on your rig.

"If you want blazing transfer rates and enhanced system performance then Raid may well be a good otion for you."

PCs

Gateway FX540XT @ DigitalTrends

Video Cards

Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 OC Edition @ ThinkComputers

ASUS EN8800GTS TOP 512MB @ TechGage

EVGA e-GeForce 9800GTX 512MB @ Gamepyre

Motherboards

GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6 DDR3 @ TweakTown

RAM

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2Gig PC2-8500 DDR2 @ Tweaknews

Power

Tuniq Ensemble ENS-1200W-BK 1200W @ TweakTown

Nesteq ECS 7001 700W @ OCIA  Apevia Warlock 750W @ Pro-Clockers

External Enclosures

Eagle Tech I-Series Dual SATA HDD USB Enclosure @ Madshrimps

Icy Box NAS Enclosure @ TechwareLabs

Etc.

Yoggie Firestick Pico - Security via USB @ XtremeComputing

It's 9800GTX day today, & the reviews are rolling in. In short, if you want a single-GPU card that can pump out Crysis at 1920X1080 at better than 30fps at high settings, this is the card for you.

HotHardware (BFG, eVGA, & Zogis in SLi & Tri-SLi)
LegitReviews(XFX & Palit)
techPowerUp (Zotac)
BenchmarkReviews (Zotac)
Guru3D (BFG in SLi)
Hexus (BFG)
the [H] (BFG)
Anandtech (eVGA in Tri-SLi)
FiringSquad (BFG, XFX, eVGA)

If the rumors are true, looks like we'll be seeing BD for the 360 after all. I guess after all is said & done, MS was pretty smart to leave the HD drive external....

"Lite-On's shipments of the BD ROMs to Microsoft will start in the second half of 2008, the sources added. Lite-On is currently one of the suppliers of Xbox 360-use internal DVD-ROM drives."

CPUs

AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition @ Futurelooks

Video Cards

ATI Radeon HD3450 @ TechwareLabs

Asus EN9600GT TOP 512MB @ APHNetworks

Motherboards

ECS GF7100PVT-M GeForce 7100 mATX @ Bigbruin

Cases

Silverstone GD02 HTPC @ OCIA  Cooler Master COSMOS S @ HotHardware

Etc.

Nexus NHP-2200 Northbridge Cooler @ BurnOutPC

TWM Performance Complete Short Shifter Kit @ APHNetworks

Unified ForceWare 201.77 @ TweakTown   Myka Digital TV Appliance @ DigitalTrends

Kingston DataTraveler 400 2GB Flash Drive @ ThinkComputers

SteelSeries Ikari Laser Mouse @ TechGage

Like one of the commenters wonders, it's just a matter of time before cheaper knock-offs hit the market.

"If you've got friends over who break into a rash when clutching a GameCube controller, though, I guess you could get another. How much is that going to cost you, though?"

PCs

HP Pavilion Elite m9200t @ DigitalTrends

CPUs

AMD Phenom 9850 X4 Black Edition @ Motherboards.org

Video Cards

Foxconn GeForce 9600GT OC @ TweakTown

Modified Galaxy 9600 GT Breaks World Records @ Madshrimps

Palit GeForce 8800 GTS 1GB Sonic SLI @ LegitReviews

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M @ Phoronix

Albatron GeForce 9600GT-512X @ TweakTown

ASUS EN9600GT TOP 512MB @ TechGage

NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT @ techARP

HIS & Jetway HD3870X2 Compared and Tested @ Madshrimps

Motherboards

ASUS Maximus Formula @ Motherboards.org

RAM

Corsair XMS2 DHX 4GB PC2-6400 @ ASELabs

Mushkin Redline XP2-8000 4GB @ HardwareLogic

Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB PC3-12800 @Virtual-Hideout

Patriot Viper Series 2GB PC3-12800 @ Bigbruin

Storage

OCZ Rally 2 Turbo 4GB @ Phoronix

Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB External @ ThinkComputers

OCZ Rally2 Turbo 4GB @ OCModShop

Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini 250GB External @ Futurelooks

Mousing

SteelSeries SP Mousing Surface @ APHNetworks

Razer Destructor @ DVHardware

Cases

Apevia X-Qboii Mid Tower @ Pro-Clockers

Sunbeamtech Quarterback @ TechwareLabs

Thermaltake M9 @ 3DGameMan  SilverStone KL02B-W OverclockersOnline

Software

Stealth Surfer @ TechwareLabs  Unreal Tournament 3 PS3 @ TTGamer

Spitfire Heroes: Tales of the Royal Air Force (DS) @ OCModShop

Need For Speed Pro Street PSP @ Gamepyre

Cooling

Cooljag Mini LED Flash Fans @ ThinkComputers

Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme 8800 Cooler @ techPowerUp

Cooler Master Aquagate Max vs Thermaltake Bigwater 760i @ hi-techreviews

Tuniq Sanctum HDD Cooler @ Pro-Clockers

Etc.

Dream Cheeky USB Missile Launcher @ TechwareLabs

Tagan Icy Box 390 External HDD Enclosure @ HardwareLogic

JVC Everio GZ-HD6 @ DigitalTrends

i-mate Ultimate 8150 Smartphone @ TweakTown

Thermaltake's BlacX hard drive docking station @ the TechReport

Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket Headset for iPhone and Curve @ LegitReviews

ASUS PG221 22-inch Widescreen LCD @ ThinkComputers

I'm guessing this is a result of increased competition from both AMD/ATi & Intel. It's really too bad that we'll never see a quality chipset like nForce2 with SoundStorm again without being saddled with integrated graphics. Then again, this whole "Hybrid SLi" thing could turn out to be the best thing since the original SLi... time will tell.

"Graphics chipset always has a low-end tone to it, but Nvidia’s announcement does not mean that the company will stop creating high-end chipsets, but rather work on expanding the power saving features of upcoming desktop and notebook parts."

The first of April is just around the corner, & ComputerWorld's got a top-ten guide for sites to hit next Tuesday.

"Perhaps it's that, in the midst of the crushing influx of information that many of us cope with daily, a well-constructed prank provides a welcome break. For a moment, we smile, even when the joke is a tried-and-true chestnut."