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

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