| Newegg Daily Deals: Asus Z97-A Motheroard, Corsair CX Series 430W PSU, and More! Posted: 02 Dec 2014 01:26 PM PST |
| HP Elitebook 1020 SE Blends MacBook Air Aesthetics with Windows Functionality Posted: 02 Dec 2014 12:47 PM PST Billed as the world's thinnest and lightest business-class laptop  HP today introduced its Elitebook Folio 1020 family highlighted by the Elitebook 1020 Special Edition (SE), supposedly the world's thinnest and lightest laptop in the business world. Comparisons to Apple's MacBook Air are inevitable, and that's because of the physical design -- HP said it used an exclusive blend of magnesium-lithium alloy and reusable carbon fiber to achieve a weight of just 2.2 pounds.
"The HP Elitebook 1020 represents game-changing innovation in both materials and mechanical engineering to create the world's thinnest and lightest business notebooks in a form factor that enables our customers to be more productive in more places," said Alex Cho, vice president & general manager, HP Commercial PCs. "Customers demand not only a stylish, thin and light notebook, but also a device that delivers advanced security and can withstand the rigorous demands that come with a highly mobile lifestyle – and the HP Elitebook1020 delivers this complete solution." In terms of durability, the 1020 SE was designed to pass military-grade (MIL-STD 810G) testing for drops, shocks, and exposure to extreme temperatures and humidity, as well as high pressure testing. 
Both the regular Elitebook 1020 and Special Edition measure 15.7mm thin and sport a 12.5-inch display with fanless cooling and SSD storage options. The regular model will have a 1920x1080 resolution and optional touch support, whereas the Special Edition will boast a Quad HD (2560x1440) resolution, also with optional touch. The Elitebook 1020 will be available in February of next year and the Special Edition will release in April. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Sprint Makes a Bold Move, Offers to Halve Phone Bills for AT&T and Verizon Defectors Posted: 02 Dec 2014 11:04 AM PST  Mobile wars just got real
In what might be the boldest move yet by a wireless carrier, Sprint today announced it will cut in half the monthly rate plan for Verizon and AT&T customers if they jump ship and swim to Sprint beginning Friday, December 5. It's called the "Cut Your Bill in Half Event," and customers who make the switch will get unlimited talk and text in the U.S., regardless of their current plan, plus the same data allowance that they're currently receiving, for half of whatever they're paying. "The Cut Your Bill in Half Event clearly demonstrates that Sprint delivers the best value in wireless," said Marcelo Claure, CEO, Sprint. "It's as simple as this: Bring Sprint your Verizon or AT&T bill along with your phone and we'll cut your rate plan in half. That's a 50 percent savings on your rate plan every month. And this great deal is not just a promotion. This will be the customer's ongoing price." To give an example, if you're an AT&T subscriber with four lines and 15GB of shared data, you're paying $100 for data access and $60 for line access, bringing the total to $160. Switching to Sprint cuts that in half to $80 per month. That's fine and dandy, but what about activation fees and early termination fees? Those would surely offset any savings that might be had, right? Not so fast. Sprint is waiving its activation fee as part of the deal, which normally run $36 per line, and is also pay off early termination fees, up to $350 per line (via Visa prepaid card). Plain in simple, Sprint just threw down the gauntlet without any obvious catches. The not-so-obvious one is coverage -- depending on where you live, Verizon and/or AT&T might offer superior coverage than Sprint. That brings up the question of whether it's worth paying double for. Image Credit: Flickr (Images Money) Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Firefox 34 Arrives with Yahoo as Default Search Engine, Doesn't Switch Automatically Posted: 02 Dec 2014 10:12 AM PST  Mozilla chooses the less obtrusive path
It's the end of the Google era at Mozilla. Firefox 34 is available to download today, and with it comes Yahoo as the new default search partner in the U.S. However, don't fret if you're not cool with the change -- Mozilla isn't forcing Yahoo down anyone's throat. If you're content with whichever search engine is currently your default, Firefox will courteously leave it alone, so there's no need to make any changes following today's update. At least that was case when we updated our browser installs. In multiple instances, Firefox left things alone and simply asked if we'd like to switch to Yahoo the first time we fired up the updated build. It's a pretty unobtrusive way of making the transition, especially since it was previously reported that Firefox would switch over to Yahoo automatically. Also new to Firefox 34 is the One-Click search functionality. When you type a query into the search field, you'll see a grid of icons appear representing different search engines, like DuckDuckGo, eBay, Bing, and so forth. Just click on any of them to conduct a search for whatever you typed into the field and it will use that search engine without changing your default -- pretty slick. You can find more of what's new in Firefox 34 in the release notes. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Microsoft Sends Clip Art into Retirement, Wants You to Use Bing Images Posted: 02 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST  A casualty of the Internet
Microsoft just shut down its Clip Art library, and going forward, the company suggests using Bing's image search functionality instead. No problem, most people have already made the transition to web-based image searches when they're in need of a graphic or photographic, just not everyone has been using Bing to hunt down images. In an initial draft of the blog post announcing the change, Microsoft was blunt in saying that usage of the image library in Office has seen a steady decline as users turn towards search engines. Prior to its closure, Microsoft's Clip Art library contained stock pictures of objects, people, animals, scenes, and more. Many were drawn in stick figure form. They were popular additions to school presentations, though as time went on, the rudimentary art became dated. "The Office.com Clip Art and image library has closed shop. Customers can still add images to their documents, presentations, and other files that they have saved to their devices (phones, tablets, and PCs), OneDrive, and SharePoint. Customers also still have the ability to add images to their documents using Bing Image Search," Microsoft said. Microsoft also provided a bit of guidance on how to track down images that are legal to use. The company points out that Bing Image Search uses a copyright filter based on the Creative Commons licensing system and returns links to sources of images provided. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Sceptre Launches a 27-inch LED 1080p Monitor for $200 Street Posted: 02 Dec 2014 07:55 AM PST  Not every new monitor is 4K
Sceptre today announced the availability of its E275W-1920, a 27-inch monitor with an LED backlight and 1920x1080 display resolution. It's not the elusive (so far, anyway) 4K monitor with IPS panel, 120Hz refresh rate, and affordable price tag that we're all waiting for, but then again, there are reasons why someone might want to stick with 1080p if buying a new display, like the lack of scaling issues. Whether or not Sceptre's 1080p display fits the bill is up to you. It seems to lack any gee-whiz amenities, like G-Sync support or any other fancy tricks. However, it is a big panel at a relatively affordable price -- it streets for around $200. As for rated specs, it has a 5ms gray-to-gray response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 250 cd/m2 brightness, built-in 2W speakers, and a stand that can tilt 15 degrees backward and 5 degrees forward. Alternately, you can detach the base and mount it to your wall. Connectivity options consist of HDMI, DVI, and VGA. There's also a headphone jack. The E275W-1920 is available now at several retailers and e-tailers. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
