CPUs

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550/Q9450 @ HardwareZone

AMD Phenom X4 9850 (B3) @ TweakTown

Video Cards

ATI Radeon 3870 @ TechwareLabs

Motherboards

ASUS P5E3 Premium WiFi-AP @n @ HardwareLogic

RAM

Kingston HyperX 1GB PC2-9600 @ Bigbruin

Audio

Asus Xonar DX @ the TechReport

Saitek Cyborg Gaming Headset @ TechwareLabs

Video

Canon Vixia HF10 HD Camcorder @ DigitalTrends

Apple TV 2.0 @ DigitalTrends

Honeywell ARIUS 22" LCD Monitor @ ASELabs

Power

Logisys 550W Clear Acrylic @ TechwareLabs

OCZ EliteXStream 1000w @ the [H]

Input

Zalman FPSGun FG1000 Gaming Mouse @ Virtual-Hideout

Nyko Zero Wireless Controller for Playstation 3 @ LegitReviews

Cooling

Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX Intel CPU Cooler @ ThinkComputers

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Heatsink @ Ninjalane

Etc.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Xbox 360 @ Gamepyre

In Win B2 Stealth Bomber Case @ Tweaknews

Thecus N1200 Single-Drive NAS @ TechGage

Sun is now staying the executioner's axe by another ten years for the 1.4 version of JavaSE. 1.4 is the now ancient version of Java from the era before Sun simply ditched the "1." from the beginning of the nomenclature. I can think of a couple of programs (SAS being the most notable) that still require 1.4.x and will install it if it doesn't find it in your system; so I suppose the support extension is important in that respect.

"This is for paying customers only. Others must upgrade to the latest edition of Java SE, with free support slashed from six to three years - or fend for themselves using Sun's OpenJDK."

The Yahoo/Microsoft deal is getting interesting. It seems that MS is getting forceful with its "offer" to buy the search giant, and has threatened to bypass Yahoo's board in the process. Does this mean that an MS purchase of Yahoo is now inevitable? Would the Yahoo brand/services live on after such an acquisition? Crazy to imagine a web without it...

"But, in so many words, Balmer also smugly concluded that resistance was futile and that, not only would they end up taking over Yahoo, but that Yahoo shareholders might well be more than a little peeved at the fact the company had turned down a pretty good deal at the get go, resulting in months of unhelpful stalling."

Notebooks

ASUS Eee 8G PC 8GB SSD @ BenchmarkReviews

Video Cards

ASUS GeForce 9600GT 512MB @ TweakTown

XFX GeForce 9600GT XXX Alpha Dog @ Motherboards.org

Gainward 9800 GTX 512MB @ Madshrimps

Gigabyte 9600 GT 512MB @ TechGage

Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 512MB Toxic @ HotHardware

Motherboards

Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4 Socket 775 @ Pro-Clockers

Audio

Razer Piranha Gaming Headset @ Phoronix

Razer Piranha Gaming Communicator @ OCIA

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 @ DigitalTrends

Power

Corsair TX750 750W @ ThinkComputers  Nesteq EECS 700W @ XSReviews

OCZ StealthXStream 600W @ HardwareSecrets

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610EPS12V @ Futurelooks

Games

Obscure II: The Aftermath Review (PC, Wii, PS2) @ OCModShop

MX vs ATX Untamed PSP @ Gamepyre

Frontlines: Fuel of War Xbox 360 @ TTGamer

Input

Razer Destructor Gaming Mat @ OCIA  Logitech diNovo Mini @ TechGage

Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 @ Tweaknews

Etc.

Samsung CLP-610ND Printer @ OverclockersOnline

Tagan Icy Box NAS4220 Server @ 3DGameMan

Nexus HXR-5500 @ BurnOutPC

The TR crew have looked at performance levels on both pre- & post-SP1 Vista systems to see if there are any glaring differences.

"How does Service Pack 1 affect Windows Vista's day-to-day performance in common desktop applications and games? We've run a host of benchmarks in order to find out."

This interactive blood-squirter is a pretty crazy idea for a "sculpture." I doubt it'll make the teenagers who play the game stop & think, but it might get the wheels turning in some of the elder visitors. Creepy either way.

"Most of us kill a lot of people in digital worlds, and don't think much about the consequences of death."

Patch Tuesday is next Tuesday, & guess what's on the list to get a critical patch already? Yep, you guessed it. Surprising? Nah.

"As usual, Microsoft revealed no details in the monthly preview of next week's 'Patch Tuesday,' but it did label each version of Windows -- including Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Vista SP1 and Server 2008 -- as critical."

Video Cards

Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX @ THG

Motherboards

ASUS M3A78-EMH HDMI @ HotHardware

ASUS P5K Pro Intel P35 @ ThinkComputers

Audio

Creative Aurvana Live @ DigitalTrends

Microsoft Zune 80GB @ Futurelooks

Storage

Hitachi Travelstar 5K250 2.5 @ TweakTown

Maxtor Shared Storage II 1TB @ TechGage

Power

Logisys 650W @ TechwareLabs

Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W @ Bigbruin

Games

Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core PSP @ Gamepyre

Bully: Scholarship Edition XB360 @ TTGamer

Input

Logitech Cordless MediaBoard Pro Keyboard for PS3 & PC @ LegitReviews

Logitech diNovo Mini Bluetooth Thumb Keyboard @ APHNetworks

Cases

Cooler Master Cosmos S @ TechwareLabs

SilverStone KLO2 Kublai Series @ Motherboards.org

Thermaltake M9 @ HardwareSecrets  CSX Wraith Tower @ OCIA

In Win B2 Stealth Bomber @ HighTechReviews

Cooling

CoolIT Systems Pure CPU Cooler @ LegitReviews

Kingwin Heat-Pipe Direct Touch CPU Coolers @Virtual-Hideout

Etc.

EagleTech I-Series JBOD Enclosure @ Pro-Clockers

Any way you slice it, a 100% overclock is nothing to sneeze at. By doubling the operating frequency of AMD's 780G, they were able to get a score of over 2200 in 3DMark06. Dang.

"AMD’s 780G chipset works at 500MHz and J&W managed to push it all the way to 1050MHz. The result is an incredibly high score for IGP chipset graphics."

Just in case you can't get enough Second Life while at home glued to your PC for all available free time hours, you can now keep up with your alternate reality on your commutes, or over your lunch break... or in church... you get the idea...

"And while at least a little technically impressive, we're wondering what drove Samsung to support a game that's been noted to have an extremely small user base."

Good ol' magnetic flux pinning could be the solution to holding modules of a spacecraft together without tethers or retrorockets. I was all psyched when I saw the article title, but though it starts off by talking about Luke Skywalker, the actual discussion centers around slightly more practical goals. Hey, one step at a time, right?

"The cold of space is enough to make the superconductors work--although for spacecraft inside the orbit of Mars, the superconductors will have to be shaded from direct sunlight in order to maintain their grip."

The TweakTown crew have posted a graphics cooler roundup that includes a total of nine different coolers. The tested the coolers on both nVidia 8800-series cards and ATi 1900- and 2900-series cards to see which aftermarket solution is worth your money.

"For the most part, all of the coolers tested installed easily. All of the instruction manuals are written well and you will not find any surprises along the way. Some of the coolers did possess little features that make them stand out from the others."

It's crazy to think that a guide like this is even necessary, but techARP does a good job editing the initial Hardspell guide that covers everything you need to know to tell the real thing from a fake.

"It has been reported that each set of fake packaging only costs US$0.43 while the cooler costs less than US$1.50. In total, it only costs these people less than US$2 to repackage the processors. This gives them an additional profit margin of US$13 per processor."

First up, Hardy Heron's release date has been officially set for three weeks from today (4/24). The day after that, Ubuntu will officially stop LTS for 6.10. The 8.10 version will include Wubi, which sounds like a terrible idea to me, but I guess if it helps to change some minds about switching, it'll be worth it.

Next on the Ubuntu front today is the news that Sun will be certifying Ubuntu for use on its hardware. They'll be the first major server manufacturer to do so; most likely not the last. Sun reps are saying, "very soon," so I'm betting there'll be an announcement when Hardy Heron hits.

Notebooks

MSI GX600 Performance @ Madshrimps

Video Cards

ASUS GeForce 8800GS TOP 384MB @ TweakTown

XFX GeForce 9800GTX @ Motherboards.org

RAM

OCZ PC3-10666 ReaperX 4GB @ 3DGameMan

Cases

Antec NSK4480 @ HardwareSecrets  Apevia X-QBOII Micro-ATX @ OCIA

Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Full-Tower @ Futurelooks

Apevia X-Supra G Type @ HardwareLogic

Cooling

Xigmatek XP-S964 & HDT-S1283 Direct Touch Heatpipe @ Metku.net

OrigenAE C10 Low Profile CPU Cooler @ techPowerUp

Etc.

Frontlines: Fuel of War (PC, Xbox 360) @ OCModShop

Tagan BZ900 900W PSU @ OverclockersOnline

Helio Mysto @ DigitalTrends

ASUS WL-520gU Wireless Router @ TechGage

Head-Direct RE2 Earphones @ techPowerUp