The folks over at UMPC Fever have got their hands on one of the very first-to-market, Intel Atom processor-based MIDs (Mobile Internet Device). It is the Aigo MID, which they claim is the Asian version of the Gigabyte M528 we’ll be seeing shortly in the U.S.:”Apart from the interior Intel Atom processor, my first impression on aigo MID is it’s size and weight! It is a real small and light and even lighter than Raon Digital Everun which is the smallest UMPC I’ve played before! When you holding it, it is just

Adobe’s Flash player has a 98% percent install rate, so I guess it’s safe to call it an industry standard for video content. They’ve just released the latest version, Flash Player 10,  nicknamed “Astro,” as a beta test. It’s got some interesting things under the hood that work in the background to make video playback faster. On the visual side, it allows interactive 3D display based on 2D pictures, and for some reason, a “Pixel Bender” that allows you to swirl and distort the image and make yourself seasick

Big on performance and easy on the wallet, the Albatron GeForce 9600GT-512X video card offers unheard of graphics processing power at a wallet friendly price point. Finally you can enjoy decent frame rates in the latest DirectX 10 games at resolutions that gamers actually want to use. Read on as we take a look at the Albatron GeForce 9600GT-512X and how it does when we game on it and then overclock it to the max.

The guys over at Thermaltake USA just sent us word that the have announced the ProWater 850i Water Cooler. Notice we didn't say BigWater as Thermaltake is launching a brand new series of DIY liquid cooling systems, the ProWater Series. The first model to be introduced is the new PW850i that incorporates the latest production techniques and technology of the internal liquid cooling segment. The $149.99 Thermaltake BigWater 760i was a great success as you can see from our review on the unit here, so keep your fingers crossed that the ProWater 850i will perform even better.

The P500 Pump used in the PW850i has a maximum high output of 500L per hour to support the liquid cooling system even under heavy load; the hard-wearing ceramic bearing further increases the life span of the pump, users will not need to worry about pump failure even with extended VGA or memory liquid cooling components. The professionally designed inlet and outlet will eliminate the possibility of air blockages. The PW850i also adopts an automotive style radiator with Thermaltake exclusive “Dimple Dimpled Tubes” DDT technology rather than traditional round tubes, and with the adjustable 120mm fan (1300~2400 RPM); CPU heat will be transmitted efficiently in the coordinated system environment.

Today's announcement was made in light of the fact that the owners of PC Club were apparently forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. With the bankruptcy, PC Club closed 37 stores in eight states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Prior to today, PC Club had three stores in Utah (in Riverdale, Murray and Orem), as well as a store in Las Vegas. In addition, PC Club also shuttered its online e-commerce Website: ClubIT.com.

“It stinks to be left with no place to turn to for any help, particularly with something like a personal computer,” said Dan (“The Laptop Man”) Young, president and founder of PC Laptops. “That's why (as the largest independent personal computer company in the Rocky Mountain region) we're announcing free lifetime labor and service support to any owner of a PC Club brand computer. Simply put, if you own a PC Club computer and you need help, come see us. Bring your desktop or laptop into one of our eight stores in Utah and Nevada, and we'll get you taken care of right away – at no cost for labor or service.”

CBS announced plans today to buy CNET for $1.8 billion in a deal that would combine an old-school television network with one of the Internet's pioneers.

The deal would instantly give CBS a top 10 presence on the Internet. At the same time, it likely will help CNET appease shareholders who have pressed for changes amid frustrations about the company's stock performance and business execution.

“There are very few opportunities to acquire a company like CNET Networks,” said CBS CEO Leslie Moonves in a statement. “CNET will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music and information content to a whole new global audience.”

“We're thrilled to join CBS and combine our interactive media experience with CBS's world-class content,” CNET CEO Neil Ashe added in the statement.

Under the deal, which CNET's board has approved, CBS will pay $11.50 a share for the San Francisco-based online media company. That represents a 45 percent premium to CNET's closing price on Wednesday of $7.95 a share.

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba.com and Intel plan to jointly develop a computer designed to get small and medium-sized Chinese businesses online, the companies said this week. The planned computer, the first step in a broader alliance between the two companies, will come with Alibaba's e-commerce applications preinstalled and use Intel components, according to a joint statement.

The statement did not detail which Intel components would be used in the PC, but one likely candidate is the company's upcoming Atom processor, due to be launched next month. Formerly called Diamondville, Atom was designed for low-cost laptops but will also be used in a crop of low-cost desktops. These desktops, which Intel calls nettops, are basic systems designed to be inexpensive and used for Internet applications, a description that neatly fits the announced objectives of Intel and Alibaba. However, Intel ruled out Atom as an option. “The PCs will not be nettops, or based on Atom,” said Leo Wang, a company spokesman, in an e-mail response to questions.

Apple Inc unveiled its largest U.S. store on Wednesday, a glass-facade building sheathed in steel that a senior company official said reflects Apple's plans to expand retail ventures at home and abroad. Sandwiched between aging brick buildings, the minimalist 20,000-square-foot store stands out on Boston's historic Boylston Street, featuring a ground floor with more than 100 Mac laptops and computers, a second level for iPod music players and iPhones, and a third entirely for service.

“Concierges” stand at attention in orange shirts bearing the slogan “I know people” — part of changes made in recent weeks to more thoroughly identify roles played by employees with the color of their shirts worn in Apple stores. A sales force of “specialists” wear aqua blue and technicians are each dubbed “genius” as they work the third floor wearing dark blue — all projecting a trademark retail image that has helped drive sales growth. “These stores have served them very, very well and really raised the bar in terms of technology customer service,” said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, a technology consulting firm.

Madshrimps posted their GeForce 9800 GTX Extreme Overclocking Experiment. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!

“The GeForce 9800 GTX product was received with mixed feelings; on the one hand you had an affordable high end VGA solution, but on the other hand it was not much of improvement over the 8800 GTX. One area where the 9800 GTX might shine through however is overclocking, the new GPU generates less heat, and with the help of some LN2 it will be interesting to see how high it can climb!”

Dell issued a statement on Tuesday night, saying the XPS brand will live on but that more resources will go into Alienware. It seems the Wall Street Journal didn't lay down the facts correctly in a recent article and Dell has a blog post setting the record straight. With new gaming systems like the Dell XPS M1730 gaming notebook and the Dell XPS 730 H2C would you expect Dell to pull back?

XPS remains an important Dell brand with its heritage of premium performance. While closely associated with gaming, in the last year XPS has expanded well beyond a gaming brand look at the XPS One, our first entry into the all-in-one market, the XPS M1330, an industry leading ultraportable or the XPS 420 desktop, designed for multi-media activities. How the WSJ missed all this is a little beyond us. And XPS gaming systems will remain an important part of our gaming product portfolio. We dont plan an early phase-out of these systems as the WSJ incorrectly stated, and in fact will continue to refresh them to keep them on the front edge of gaming.