Hmmph. And we thought the Precision M6400 was hardcore. Check out the unapologetically named Precision M6400 Covet Mobile Workstation, a hotly colored beast that can’t be procured direct from Dell for less than $3,859 (stackable coupons notwithstanding). Aside from the sweet orange paint job, this one also comes packing a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo T9400, Vista Business, a dual-layer DVD writer, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, 160GB 7,200 RPM hard drive, NVIDIA’s 1GB Quadro FX 3700M GPU, a 2-megapixel webcam, WiFi, 9-cell battery and a 17-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) LED-backlit display. Those who don’t mind throwing in a few extra hundies can spring for an optional SSD, WWAN, a Core 2 Quad CPU and 16GB of RAM. You’re due for a new lappie at work anyway, right?

[Thanks, dualboot]

We know the past couple years haven’t been kind to VIA-owned S3 Graphics — market share has declined, and NVIDIA and ATI keep introducing fancy new technologies, making it tough to keep up. That said, we’re inspired by S3′s ardent attempts to stay relevant in an industry that won’t easily make room for small competitors. The latest case in point: the company has released a photo-editing app to demonstrate the newly-programmed GPGPU (general-purpose computing on graphics processing units) functionalities of its DirectX 10.1 Chrome 400 line of discrete graphics cards. S3 claims its hard work has produced an HPC environment that can be used to reduce processing time for scientific and other applications from days to seconds — we’ll believe it when we see it, but you’ve gotta admire the tenacity.

[Via CustomPC]

Sony didn’t want to make a big deal about this (so humble, that Sony) but the PlayStation 3′s recent 2.50 firmware update has a few extra additions aimed straight at home theater buffs. First up is a place to enter your DivX VOD Registration code — necessary if you want to get any of that Sony Pictures or Warner Bros. DivX-encoded video that’s on the way — along with new Sequential Playback and 50Hz video output settings, plus support for chroma upsampling & Mosquito Noise Reduction video enhancement on homemade Blu-ray discs and DVDs. On a more minor note, the BD/DVD settings section has been renamed just Video Settings, while the Cinema Conversion and Upscale options are getting all their mail delivered to BD/DVD Cinema Conversion and BD/DVD Upscaler, respectively. Peep the PlayStation site for the rest of the exciting details (there’s a German keyboard layout change that is not to be missed), and then go back to watching Hulu in a tiny box with a poor framerate in your newly Flash-enabled browser.

[Via PS3 Blog]

We had it on good authority that Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds debut, the Lumix DMC-G1, was tracking for a November release at $799, and Panasonic USA just dropped some PR to exactly that effect. We’d prefer an exact calendar date to Panny’s vague “mid-November” timeframe, but we’re sure we’ll live. Alongside the camera Panasonic will be launching the Lumix G Vario 45-200mm / F4.0-5.6 / MEGA O.I.S. telephoto Micro Four Thirds lens for $350. Panasonic’s also still chatting up a G1 followup for 2009 that will include HD video capabilities, which probably should’ve made it into round one if you ask us.

With HP’s touchscreen laptop looming on the horizon, out come the leaks of an ASUS touchscreen lappie scheduled for launch in the first half of 2009. Touchscreen Eee PCs too (finally, right?) if DigiTimes‘ sources at panel makers are correct (which they tend to be with regard to ASUS). According to the Taiwanese industry rag, ASUS will likely use either a 12.1-inch or 11.6-inch touchscreen panel developed by AU Optronics (AUO) or Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO). What’s odd here is the claim by sources that the touch-panel notebooks “are expected to take advantage of Windows 7″ and presumably the new Microsoft OS’s multi-touch capabilities. Strange, since Windows 7 isn’t officially expected until sometime in early 2010 — a date looking more and more like a publicly padded goal to avoid the bashing Microsoft received for its Vista delays. The whispers certainly add a bit more credence to rumors of a 2009 release as expressed by Bill Gates himself, or more specifically June 3rd, 2009 as allegedly marked in the internal Microsoft calendar.

Late last month, we found that Toshiba’s Satellite NB100 netbook was making a beeline to the UK, and while a press shot is well, fine and good, there’s just nothing like a little hands-on action to get you salivating. The crew over at TrustedReviews made it over to Zurich for Tosh’s first ever Mobility Conference, and the star of the show wasn’t one of those new Portégé machines or the Tecra R10; rather, it was the 2.29-pound NB100. Of note, the unit shown was a pre-production rig that shouldn’t change much before it’s loosed on the public, and contrary to earlier reports, it will boast three USB sockets to bring it in line with most of its closest competitors. Unfortunately, early impressions were that the keyboard was lacking, and the glare-filled display wasn’t exactly smiled upon. Check the read link for additional shots and a few more blurbs.

[Thanks, Patrice]