So what’s the big deal with these latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, anyway? Well, the Merom chips introduced today take the higher power and efficiency of the desktop Core 2 Duo processors introduced a few weeks back and apply that to laptops. Intel claimed the Merom Core 2 Duo processors would show a 20% performance boost over their predecessors, the Core Duo processors used in notebooks.

But we’re not going to believe Intel, are we? Trusty testers at Laptop Magazine checked out Intel’s claims and it turns out the chip giant’s boasts were accurate, even conservative in some cases. The testers used two identical notebooks, where the only difference was one of them had the fastest Core 2 Duo processor and the other had the fastest Core Duo processor. Sure enough, the new Core 2 Duo processor was 22% faster than the old Core Duo, while battery life was still pretty much the same. The newer processor did even better in multitasking operations.

Twenty-two percent faster processor, same battery life? Neat trick. See Laptop Magazine’s benchmark results tables after the jump.– Charlie White

Special thanks to Laptop Magazine for the use of these graphics!
from Gizmodo

The Canadian Microsoft retail pricing page had the various versions of Microsoft Vista listed along with their SKUs. It immediately got taken down, but not before they were recorded for the world to see. Here is the big ‘ole list. I busted out the abacus and converted all of the prices to USD. I’m such a nice guy.

Full Version
•Vista Ultimate $450
•Vista Business $341
•Vista Home Premium $269
•Vista Home Basic $233
Upgrade Version
•Vista Ultimate Upgrade $269
•Vista Business Upgrade $224
•Vista Home Premium Upgrade $179
•Vista Home Basic Upgrade $116

In all reality the prices are pretty average. Sure the $450 standalone Ultimate version is a bit high, but most users will be buying upgrade versions, and $116 isn’t that bad for an entire operating system. – Travis Hudson

Vista prices revealed! [ZDNet]
from gizmodo

Skype continues its march to take over the world, and all sorts of phone manufacturers are rushing into lubricate the transition, one of them being Radiant Technologies with its SkyTone RST102 USB Phone. It’s specifically designed for Skype, and was reviewed on ZDNet with a conditional thumbs-up.

Like many of us, the ZDNet reviewer is accustomed to using headsets with Skype, but says less geeky types will love its telephone-like look and feel. From here, what we like is the way you plug it in and it just works. Best of all, the reviewer described its sound quality as being somewhere between “sounds just fine” to “crystal clear.”

Now if Skype’s network quality would just get a bit more consistent, the potential POTS-killing phone service along with this little USB phone might find a bigger niche. – Charlie White

New toys – USB Skype phone [ZDNet, via CrunchGear]
from gizmodo

The folks at Alienware haven’t really made their trade on budget price-points, but their new line of Core 2 Duo laptops has some of the best pricing we’ve seen for the new processor. Of course, to score the 17-inch m5750 for it’s base price of $1,399 you’ll have to settle for the 1.66GHz T5500 Core 2 Duo, a 60GB HDD, 512MB of RAM and a CD-RW / DVD ROM combo drive, but the specs only go up from there, and all m5750 configurations include an ATI Radeon Mobility X1800 card with 256MB of memory. The other laptops feature similarly weak base configurations, but even better prices. The 15.4-inch Area-51 m5550 starts at $899, while the 14.1-inch Sentia m3450 hits $849. All three models have the full range of Core 2 Duo chips available to them, from the T5500 to the 2.33GHz T7600, other than the Sentia which omits the middling T5600. The laptops are due to ship in the first half of September.

Read – Area-51 m5750
Read – Area-51 m5550
Read – Sentia m3450

From engadget

Here’s an interesting DIY project: “Electro-Graf“, which is basically “a graffiti piece or throw-up that uses conductive spray-paint and magnet paint to embed movable LED display electronics.” Learn how to make your own with this tutorial.

From techeblog

Before you start ringing up the SPCA about this apparent cruelty to fish, read on. The Fish n’ Flush aquarium is actually a two-piece aquarium toilet tank that would not have any trouble fitting into most toilets. This aquarium is encased around a transparent inner tank and is equipped with a 12-volt dual filter system that are child-friendly, a couple of 9″ plastic aquatic foliage, the fill valve, flush valve, flushing system, LED lighting, and even a built-in feeder door. You are required to add in your own gravel, water, of course fish (preferably tiny ones). At $450, this aquarium will definitely get visitors talking.

more info
from Ubergizmo

The last time we saw a Venzero ONE, it was at a café in New York and was in severely pre-production condition; a little rickety, a little shaky, but still showed some real potential. Now, from here it’s a little difficult to tell of these new shots of the ONE in the wild indicate that it’s much closer to completion than it was a few months ago, but we hope they move fast and get this thing out because in a couple months the Zune and the MusicGremlin (and maybe even the wireless iPod) could make this device’s big selling point, the Shareport USB file swapping system, a little shall we say, démodé.

[Via DAPreview]
more info
from Engadget