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]
Laptop and Maximum PC have gotten their hands on Voodoo/HP’s Envy 133 thinnest-of-the-thin power notebooks and had some light hands on time. Nothing too shocking has been uncovered–it looks as good in person as it does in pictures, is almost as light as the Macbook Air, and all the rest, but Laptop was able to test one of the Envy’s more interesting features, the Splashtop instant-on Linux kernel.
The configuration page for the Voodoo Envy went live today, showing the full pricing scheme for the 133 PC, which starts at US$2100 and goes as high as US$4000. The low end model features a 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and an 80 GB, 4200 RPM HDD. The high end model has a 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, Windows Vista Business Edition and a 64 GB SSD, bringing the total to US$3400. Another US$600 dollars can be spent on a variety custom finishes other than the standard black — white costing US$500 and “flat black” US$600.
HP is one of the first out the door with Nvidia’s right-off-the-presses GeForce GTX 280 in its Blackbird 002 Exhilaration edition. Also making up the Blackbird‘s refreshed guts are an nForce 790i Ultra motherboard (’cause the GTX 280s are in SLI), 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, quad-core Core 2 Extreme processor (QX9770). Naturally, all of this is liquid cooled so it doesn’t melt a hole in your floor.
Voodoo’s Omen gaming desktop is the best-looking one around. But we (and gamers) care about inner beauty too, and the insides shot by Pocket Lint look like the Matrix’s people farm with all of the magenta tubes and cables flying around–a far cry from its clean, steely exterior, though about as neat as one can expect of such an intricate cooling system. It’s definitely designed around heat dissipation, though I’m not totally sold on the whole rotated motherboard.
Voodoo’s Envy 133 notebook is skinny slice of hotness–basically the skinniest notebook alive when it launches (only .7 inches thick), bumping the MacBook Air into the fatty column, courtesy of its .76-inch bulge. It sounds good on paper for the Envy 133, but the Air’s slick tapering definitely masks its love handle, so even though it isn’t technically slimmer, it sure looks it. We’re not that shallow though–it’s what’s inside that counts, and the Envy’s got guts in spades (if you’ve got the $$$). One more shot:
[Journal du Geek via Engadget]
Voodoo’s new Envy 133 will be the thinnest laptop on the market at 0.7″. It matches Intel’s most holy Metro concept laptop, and with good reason: Says Voodoo, the Envy 133 was “developed using the smallest available Intel Centrino technology and elements from an innovative Intel reference design.” This means that, when it goes on sale, the Envy will bump the MacBook Air—at 18mm thick in the middle—off the throne. Before you jump to the comment box, YES, there HAVE been even thinner notebooks, though none with this little compromise in power.
I almost don’t care what’s inside Voodoo’s Omen desktop, beyond the usual gaming PC bombast —quad radiator and liquid cooling with integrated copper pipes to stave thermonuclear meltdown for extreme overclocking—because this is the best-looking made-to-order gaming desktop I’ve ever seen. It looks like a clean, efficient killing machine, not a disco-in-a-box. (Okay, there is a built-in seven-inch LCD auxiliary display that adds the necessary over-the-top flourish for obscene gaming PCs.) You can party it up with custom lights and paint, but I urge otherwise. But, if you can afford the US$20,000 for the top of the line model, I’m two social classes away from judging you. Update: Full spec sheet below shows what US$20k will buy you.
It’s difficult to make out what VoodooPC’s teaser video is trying to show, but whatever’s in this Indiana Jones of-the-future clip has really clean, metallic lines. There’s a quick peek of a laptop in there (maybe?), but all the rest seems like a Mac Pro-esque desktop. We could also be wrong entirely and this could be Voodoo and HP’s entrance into the toaster market.
newVideoPlayer("itp_voodoobuddy_giz.flv", 494, 296,""); With the VoodooBuddy doll, you can finally stop wondering if your pin-pricks-in-effigy are all for naught. Just fire up the VoodooBuddy website, plug in your boss’s (or ex, mother-in-law, etc.) contact info, grab the doll and poke away. Pricking certain places on the doll curses your target, who is notified of their plight via text message and e-mail. Be careful not to curse your enemy too much; if you overload the VoodooBuddy it will take your picture with its built-in camera, send it to your victim, and reverse the curses onto you. The doll was designed by Rodrigo de Benito and Zannah Marsh, two ITP students you clearly shouldn’t upset. Great work, guys! [VoodooBuddy; ITP 2008]
