envy

 

Computers

Voodoo Envy 133 Review (Verdict: Plenty Thin, Plenty Pricey)

Posted by Wilson Rothman at 6:55 AM on October 7, 2008

VoodooPC's Envy 133, the world's thinnest laptop, just started shipping, and we scored one of the first production units straight outta Calgary. It's a lithe black laptop that keeps cool while running Vista, a super light machine that's strong as hell thanks to a carbon-fibre frame. It's the size of a MacBook Air with way more tech crammed inside, including its own second Linux-based operating system. And though it costs a lot more than most laptops that perform similar chores, it does it with a grace that I haven't seen since Vista's launch. It's not a gamer's system, but the Voodoo team deserves credit for using what they've learned to build a laptop that stands out when everything else on the PC market just blends in. Does it have any flaws? Yep, plenty. Here's the full review:


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Software

SplashTop Instant-On Linux OS Gets Hacked to Do More Tricks

Posted by John Mahoney at 11:00 PM on July 30, 2008

Splashtop, the instant-on Linux mini-OS found embedded in many Asus motherboards as well as the Voodoo Envy 133, has been hacked to allow installation of additional apps, access to the computer's main file system, and more. Initial impressions of the Envy have noted that Splashtop can go from off to surfing in 15 seconds with SplashTop (which Voodoo calls "IOS"), but out of the box it's somewhat locked down and only works with a predefined list of common applications. Being a Linux system, it's not that hard to believe that someone has successfully made SplashTop jump through some hoops, but it beats waiting for an official SDK, which has been delayed. Give it a shot on your SplashTop-capable machine if you're not afraid of a whole bunch of terminal messiness. [Phoronix]


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