Cool Tech Reviews

Yes, you can still buy a new PC with Windows XP installed on it. Windows XP ceased to be available at retail on June 30, 2008 but there are a number of exceptions. The relevant exception for a consumer or a small business owner is that "OEMs can downgrade Vista Business or Vista Ultimate licenses to Windows XP Professional or Tablet PC versions for customers indefinitely," where OEMs are the large PC manufacturers.

However, there’s a difference between "can" and "will" or "will with no hassle" so Christopher Null at PC World tried to purchase a PC with XP from Dell, HP, Gateway, Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu, Lenovo, and Asus and reports on the very mixed results. Hit the article for the full details on each, but the best bets for an machine with XP preinstalled are:

Consumer PC: Toshiba, Fujitsu, Lenovo

Business PC: HP, Fujitsu, Lenovo

If you are willing to pay extra or install XP from a CD, the choices are even more numerous. Also Asus has its line of Eee ultra low-cost PCs (ULPC) which come with XP under a different exemption in the rules.

Paul Miller at Engadget has a screen shot from the Sony online store demonstrating a new height in chutzpah:

Sony has quite the history of crippling excellent, beautiful hardware with horrible, useless software. The company’s UX UMPC bluescreened on us the first time we turned it on, and crashed the first time we tried to shut it down thanks to all the bloatware on it, while a Laptop Mag review says their Vaio TZ ran “as if it were broken” before they managed to wipe it clean. Lucky for us, it appears Sony is finally seeing the error of its ways, but instead of removing the crapware altogether, Sony has the nerve to offer a $50 “Fresh Start” option, which “scrubs” the machine clean before shipping it your way.

Actually it’s only the Vaio TZ2000 notebook that can be ordered crapware-free right now, but it is likely a sign of things to come.

Unlike many commentators, I sympathize with the OEM PC manufacturers and understand that the money they make by preloading trial software (AKA “crapware” or “bloatware”) applications is key to profitability in the low margin PC business - yes, that $50 is very important to the bottom line. However, there’s no excuse for buggy and incompatible applications infesting a new machine. Thumbs down to Sony until they get their act together.

Update: Responding to a firestorm of criticism, Sony has removed the $50 fee, but will offer the “Fresh Start” option only on some systems:

Fresh Start will now be a no-cost option on Sony’s slick subnotebooks, but only for those who opt for Windows Vista Business Edition, a $100 upgrade.

Ed Bott, who coincidentally had been trying to resuscitate two crapware laden Sony systems, has more including this quote from Mike Abary, Senior Vice President of the VAIO division:

“We heard the message loud and clear,” Abary told me. “VAIO is the poster child for negative experiences people had [with trialware]. We recognize that, and we acknowledge it. We’ve been really beat up by this issue. We’re listening and we’re taking action.”

Good for Sony.

Tim Conneally at BetaNews alerts us to the latest entry in the lowest priced PC competition - Sears.com offers the cheapest desktop PC at $185:

Another low-end PC hit the market today, this time it is a machine by Mirus equipped with Freespire 2.0, available at Sears’ online shop for $185.

The Mirus desktop system is equipped with an Intel Celeron D 420-1.6Ghz, 1GB of RAM, 80GB HDD, CDRW optical drive, and Freespire 2.0.
…
This system retails for $284.99, but comes with a promotional Mail-in $100 rebate, making it less expensive than the cheapest Wal-Mart PC, the $199, gOS-equipped Everex TC2502.

No monitor included, but the Mirus system comes with speakers, keyboard, mouse, 56K modem, ethernet, and a 15-in-1 memory card reader. It also comes with a beta of the CNR.com Client, a free Linux software delivery service for one click software updates.

The Mirus system has 512MB more RAM than the Everex so it is likely a better deal until the rebate program ends.  For the technically inclined they are both bargains, but I doubt that either will be big hits with the average consumer because of the Linux fear factor.

I was a little late getting over to Super Warehouse for Cyber Monday, but that’s OK since their sale goes through 11/30 or longer in some cases. Some sample items:

• Acer Veriton M261-UC4300P Desktop only $358.99. 1.8 GHz Celeron, XP Pro, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB drive.
• Lenovo ThinkPad R61e 7650 Notebook, 1.86GHz, only $579.99 SHIPPED. Celeron, 15.4″ WXGA, XP Pro, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB drive. 
• $50 Off + Free Shipping - HP 530 Business Notebook only $617.99. Intel Core Duo T2300E 1.66 GHz, 15.4″ WXGA, 1GB RAM, 80 GB drive, loaded with Vista Business.
• V7 NAV700 Automobile Navigator GPS only $212.99. 4″ WQVGA color LCD touch screen.
• Coby DP882 8 inch Black Digital Picture Frame only $123.99. 8 inch TFT LCD color display. Takes SD, MMC, xD, and CF memory cards. This photo frame also plays MP3 and WMA Audio files and plays most MP4 and AVI Video files from Digital Cameras.

As had been promised, Dell today announced three computers with the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux distribution preloaded. There was a bigger surprise, however, in the other announcement that Dell would start selling exclusive models of their PCs at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club retail stores in the USA and Canada. 

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You may recall the AOpen look-alike of the Mac mini that they launched last fall. engadget reports that it has been revamped:

It seems that the engineers over at PC manufacturer AOpen have been studiously reading the reviews of the first generation of their Mac mini ripoff homage, the miniPC, as the latest version is promising to eliminate the loud whine that made its predecessor almost unusable. The company has just formally announced the Core Duo-powered version of what is now called the MiniPC (with the capital “M” presumably meant to further differentiate the box from its Apple counterpart), which is essentially the same machine that was being shown off at CeBIT 2006, except with a black case that makes it look less like an external DVD burner.

I’ve always been dubious as to the utility of this system and Dan Ackerman’s review at CNET confirms my doubts:

The good: Not much bigger than a Mac Mini; speedy Core Duo CPU; multiple video output options.

The bad: More expensive than the Mac Mini; BYOKMM (bring your own keyboard, mouse, and monitor); only two USB ports; no remote control; not much in the way of bundled software.

The bottom line: The clone that comes closest to the nearly flawless Mac Mini, AOpen’s MiniPC Duo MP945-V would be easier to recommend if it hit the same price point as Apple’s pocket-size box.

That price point is variously reported as $955 or $899 and the model number is sometimes reported as MP945-VXR.

Let me be clear: there’s nothing wrong with a compact form factor machine since there are a number of places where it would be useful such as among home entertainment components, for portability, or just to reduce desk space consumption. But slavish imitation of the Mac mini serves no particular purpose.