Review, iBuyPower Erebus

iBuyPower’s flagship Erebus Gaming PC delivers the bang if you’ve got the bucks. Ridiculous gaming performance outshines some minor design oddities.

iBuypower’s brand new flagship Erebus system tips the scales at over 80 pounds (our review system arrived on a palette via a forklift) and contains a sampling of some of the best computer hardware available in today’s market. Expertly assembled, the Erebus rightly includes a window on the left side of the chassis to show off the system’s impressive guts, including an elaborate liquid cooling solution.
Note: Our review system is a pre-release review sample and some specs are subject to change. We tested the system as-is, except where as noted.

Review HP EliteBook 8560p

The HP EliteBook 8560p offers potent performance wrapped in a stylish and durable metal chassis that would make 007 swoon.

HP’s EliteBooks have always been the unsung heroes of the business notebook world. While not as visible as the ubiquitous MacBook Pro or as prestigious as the ThinkPad, the sturdy business notebooks have soldiered on in relative obscurity, relied upon by businesses but unseen but the public at large.
With a redesign this spring, that may change. A complete refresh brings the design of HP’s workhorse into the 21st century, while additional rugged features and practical updates like a supersized glass trackpad make it more practical than ever, too.

Asus U41JF-A1 Review

The key to any successful mainstream laptop is to compliment blazingly fast parts with a battery large enough to handle them. There are a few that can strike this tough balance, including the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch ($1,199 direct, 4 stars) and Samsung QX410-J01 ($829.99 street, 4 stars). The Asus U45Jc-A1 ($867 street, 4.5 stars) mainstream laptop knocks it out of the ballpark in terms of performance and battery life, with over 10 hours of battery, and a good CPU and GPU combo. Now meet its successor, the Asus U41JF-A1 ($857 street). The U41JF-A1 has the biggest battery in the mainstream category, only this time it's paired with the highest-clocked Core i3 processor available and an Nvidia's GeForce 425M graphics chip. While its 8 hours of battery life wasn't as impressive as the U45Jc-A1, it still beats the socks off of any of its rivals. Thus, the U41Jc-A1 takes over as the new Editors' Choice and has made it on our list of best laptops.

ORIGIN EON17-S with Intel Core i7 overclocked to 4.5 GHz ships in May

Gaming laptops were out of favor recently regarding to Intel Sandy Bridge mainstream machines from all vendors taking up all the attention. We had enough of them by now and luckily ORIGIN has just finished overclocking 2nd generation Intel Extreme Edition Core i7 so that you could configure your ORIGIN EON17-S with a 4.0 GHz to 4.5 GHz with Turbo Boost processor. This is in EON17-S’ top configuration and the company also provides you with a fistful of processing units, graphics cards, storage modules, etc. to choose from.

US government officially recognizes video games as art

Video games, the Internet and mobile apps are now considered "art" or art platforms by the federally funded National Endowment for the Arts.

Enthusiasts have long debated whether video games qualify as “art.” But that conversation is now over at the US government’s National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), which just declared “all” forms of media, including video games, content made for the Internet, and “mobile technologies” officially-sanctioned art forms.
The status upgrade is due to a change in the NEA’s guidelines for its new “Arts in Media” category. They are, as NEA director of Media Arts Alyce Myatt says, “expanding.”
Astonishingly, the NEA’s previous rules only counted radio and television as viable art platforms in the multi-media realm. According to the new guidelines, content produced for “all available media platforms such as the Internet, interactive and mobile technologies, digital games, arts content delivered via satellite, as well as on radio and television,” will be recognized by the NEA.
Of course, anyone can call anything they want art. What the NEA’s endorsement does is make it possible for artists who create pieces entirely in digital form, delivered through a digital device, to get grants from the federal government to fund their projects.
According to the NEA’s website, the parameters of what can qualify for cash are as follows:
“Grants are available to support the development, production, and national distribution of innovative media projects about the arts (e.g., visual arts, music, dance, literature, design, theater, musical theater, opera, folk & traditional arts, and media arts including film, audio, animation, and digital art) and media projects that can be considered works of art.
“Projects may include high profile multi-part or single television and radio programs (documentaries and dramatic narratives); media created for theatrical release; performance programs; artistic segments for use within an existing series; multi-part webisodes; installations; and interactive games. Short films, five minutes and under, will be considered in packages of three or more.”
The amount of money delivered through grants will generally range between $10,000 and $200,000. Anyone who wants to start a project before May 1, 2012, must submit their application to the NEA by September 1 of this year.
By: Andrew Couts
-www.digitaltrends.com-

T-Mobile G-Slate Review

The American tablet market is heating up. With the iPad now in its second generation, the BlackBerry PlayBook attempting to capture a new audience, the Acer Iconia Tab targeting bargain hunters, and the Motorola Xoom already deemed a failure, where does the T-Mobile G-Slate (aka the LG Optimus Pad) stand? Well, time will reveal the sales, but from our time with the device, the forecast is decidedly hazy.