desktops

The price of LCD panels for notebooks and desktop monitors has been on the rise since April, though the increase has not yet been passed on to consumers. But that could change very soon, according to a new report from iSuppli.

Though LCD television prices have stabilized, monitor prices are far more volatile right now. As an example, the average price for a 15-inch notebook display has inched up from $90 to $108 between April and September, according to iSuppli. But during that time, monitor prices did not go up even as panels did, severely eating into the margins of … Read more

I already reported that the Mac is on a massive ramp, but what about Linux? Well, according to this note on Slashdot, desktop Linux nearly doubled in the past year (to 0.81%). Nothing to write home about, perhaps, but still significant.

Vista may be cruising, but when you have the Mac and Linux growing at torrid paces, there's serious cause for Microsoft alarm. The world doesn't seem to want its online presence, where most of the action is. Microsoft continues to churn out monopoly rents on Office and Windows, but as the world moves online and open … Read more

While Power Downloader was sifting through criminal case files recently, he received an e-mail from Kitty Kilobyte who had gone back to school. After telling him of her latest "impossible" assignments and new "amazing" friends she had made, Kitty had an interesting software request. Kitty wanted some way to make her computer stand out from the rest of her classmates. She figured, if she's the niece of a famous software superhero, it should show--perhaps even if it's just in her computer's interface.… Read more

Apparently round is the new square.

This sort of guarantees itself as a conversation piece. Displaying this in your living room, office, or where-have-you, is sure to inspire furrowed brows, curiosity or both.

This is one of Suissa's takes on the personal computer, which can be completely customized and built on either Intel or AMD chips. Suissa is a Canadian designer that has a demonstrated history of putting a decidedly different spin on the rectangular box-style PC. They're also not the only company going round--earlier this year Sony debuted the Vaio TP1.

This model, called "Enlighten," … Read more

Corel Painter Essentials 4, available for both Windows and Mac, combines the resources of a Photoshop with the carte blanche of a art studio program, but without the attitude of either. The end result is something that's more appropriate for people looking to either paint or artistically tweak their photos and to have fun doing it.

… Read more

And here it is, officially, the Gateway One.

Touting the slim, all-in-one desktop as the first move toward a new strategy focused on industrial design (is there any PC manufacturer that isn't doing that these days?), the once-mighty Gateway described the minimalistic machine as an ideal centerpiece for the digital home.

The announcement was made Thursday morning at a press breakfast at the DigitalLife consumer technology convention in New York.

It's a striking-looking machine: black with a glass front and brushed-aluminum back that evokes none other than Apple, the company that remains the leader in aesthetically inclined PCs. … Read more

Gateway may be a shadow of its one-time self but apparently wants to prove that it still has some life as an independent company before formally being subsumed by Acer. Its "One" desktop--so-named because of its all-in-one form--follows the likes of Apple, Sony, HP and other manufacturers, including some overseas.

But Gateway's version isn't just a cheap copycat, sporting an attractive design of its own as well as specs that include a 2GHz Core 2 Duo chip, a 500GB hard drive, 3GB of memory, DVD burner and a 5-in-1 card reader for $1,800, according to … Read more

Most desktop publishing types making posters, pamphlets, and newsletters will gravitate toward the largest, shiniest apple on the proverbial tree, most notably Adobe InDesign (there's a free trial of the $700 app for the curious).

However, the smaller, more muted Scribus (for Mac and Windows) or Portable Scribus (read review) could be a riper pick for you. Being able to tote a full program on a USB drive is especially beneficial for students, small businesses, and locale-shifters; amateur users will find more than enough features to create good-looking documents.… Read more

In an attempt to reduce its dependence on foreign software, Russia is planning to install its own version of Linux on school children's desktops across the country, according to CNews. Fantastic, right? Well, all that glitters is not gold.

Leonid Reiman, RF acting Minister of Communication states Russian OS and application program package development is of vital importance,...[with] [t]he main aim of the given work [being] to reduce dependence on foreign commercial software and provide education institutions with the possibility to choose whether to pay for commercial items or to use the software, provided by the government....… Read more