Explain to your wife/girlfriend/mother/sister why you need that multi-thousand peso thingamajig when a perfectly cheap alternative exists. Yes, I am speaking for the most part to the males with the typical male failing of wanting that more powerful power tool, that bigger big-screen TV, that Toyota Avanza with every option in the book attached to it making it cost as much as a Fortuner. Is it something that can be explained? I’m not sure, but someone in geek heaven is surely trying to throw up some alternatives.

It’s the mark of a maturing PC components market that there are now more videocard brands in than there are honest MMDA personnel. Competition is always a good thing, and the companies that jump into our local market already know that there is always a chance to make it big and sell thousands of units a month, that is, if they can find that special mix of price and performance that is so important to our penny-pinching enthusiasts. Manli , with their 9600GT videocard duo, may be hitting a sweet spot here.

                                              The two 9600GTs from Manli, one overclocked, the other stock.

In the well-beaten path of conventional tech writing, we inevitably see descriptions of devices with adjectives like “innovative”, forward-looking”, and “nifty”, but that was before this editor saw this device. Fashioned by Jamie O’Shea of the “Office for the Development of Substitute Materials”, this prosthetic/accessory set for the pedestrian who’s always in danger of falling asleep on his/her feet allows for a vertical sleeping arrangement, and is naturally called “The Vertical Bed”.

Picking up where we left off, we take a look at the Imaging and Printing Group’s newest offerings, in this second part of HWM’s coverage of the recently concluded HP Big Bang event held in Hong Kong. For a look at part one, please follow this link.

We expected HP’s regional Big Bang event to introduce a multitude of products, but we did not expect it to be the virtual smorgasbord of ideas, technologies and innovation that it turned out to be. HP’s Big Bang Regional Product Launch held in Hong Kong from September 8-11 took on the event theme of “Engage. Excite. Experience", and stayed true to it, if the sheer number of great products are any indication. HWM goes into the thick of things and emerges with vital information, presented in this two-part feature, for the computer user intent on staying ahead of the technology curve.

                                             Christopher Morgan, SVP for the Imaging and Printing Group for HP Asia Pacific and Japan is on the left, while See Chin Teik, SVP for the Personal Systems Group for the same region stands on the right.

Dell’s Consumer Launch held at the Ayala Tent was only the second launch event held by Dell locally, but one wouldn’t know from the energy and casual yet accomplished atmosphere prevalent during the event. Which is no accident – Dell wants to project a relaxed, “colorful” attitude to the consumers who desires ease-of-use and friendly features from their PCs. Backed by quality and reliability, the new Dell PCs consisting of the Studio Laptop series, the Studio Hybrid PC series, and the highly anticipated Inspiron Mini 9, stand ready to welcome new Dell customers into the fold.

The Ayala Tent venue looked spectacular in person, but is informal enough for the purposes of Dell's launch - a chic place but not overwhelming like a hotel events hall.

There always comes a time in a PC gamer’s life when he feels he absolutely, positively needs to upgrade his PC, or be left in the dust and debris of old, obsolete games. This is not true for everybody of course, but for the select few who needs to play the lates games at the highest possible resolution that their hardware (and wallet) is capable of, they have benchmarks that change from generation to generation that reflect the needs of the gaming industry so much that they become the basis of “leetness” and determines how updated your hardware is.

                                             Luxury didn't factor into the building of the Warhead PC.

I guess it was inevitable with the march of progress and the incessant convergence of technologies. The “Scan Toaster” puts everything you need with breakfast onto a slice of bread, that is, if your typical breakfast consists of bread and a quick look at current events from your favorite broadsheet.

                                           This isn't even close to being a "fancy piece of toast".

Samsung has always been a good bet for a good bash, and for the Innov8 multimedia phone/mobile entertainment phone, Samsung has one of the most compelling reasons to throw the biggest bash ever, as the Innov8 is their first 8MP camera phone and one of the first to have a full 16GB of storage already on-board. Combined with the sheer number of features that it brings to the current, local market, Samsung felt it was high time for a party, timed just on the eve of this phone's launch date. The launch did not just involve a party and dinner during the evening, there was also an Amazing Race style event which unfortunately was not attended by yours truly. Instead, our stalwart Editor-in-Chief had the honor of representing the whole HWM team.

                                             The Innov8 hogging the spotlight(s).

I guess it’s the jaded part of me that’s at fault, but I didn’t immediately notice anything exceptional with Asus’ LS221H LCD Monitor. Since the system here at the office for delegating reviews and writing assignments for the blog is sometimes arbitrary and sudden, I didn’t get the chance to review the blogosphere or even Asus’ website regarding the specs of this beautifully appointed LCD.

                                            An Asus flying saucer resides on the back panel of the LS221.

Shuttle has had a solid hold on the small form factor PC market for a long time, and it is evident that Shuttle maintains this hold not only by being one of the first to offer a good, quality product in this category, but also by constantly refreshing and innovating with their products to stay viable in a market with fast-changing tastes and needs. The Shuttle D10 Digital Home PC is the latest and by far the most interesting product to come out of the Shuttle factories for a long time.

                                             The usual non-descript Shuttle facade is interrupted here by a touch screen 7" LCD.

Your notebook/productivity tool/mobile office dragging you down with a sub 3-hour battery life? Aren't these devices meant to "free you from the wired inconvenience of desktop-bound machines"? (quoted from an ad somewhere). Well so far the most dissapointing aspect ofmobile devices have always been the battery life, or the lack thereof. In comparison, wireless performance, form-factor and the resulting portability, applications and the features have all improved tremendously over the years, leaving long battery life as the holy grail for future mobile devices.

                                            Getting desperate for power?

Peripheralistic Paralysis Syndrome, or PPS, is probably something that you've never heard of before. A pretty sure thing, since I just made that up. Still, it's an appropriate description for gadget-centric dudes n dudettes who can't get enough of plugging in more and more gadgets into their PC, consoles, home theatre systems and others.

It’s easy to dismiss this card as nothing more than an alternative to traditionally weaker on-board video preferred by budget system builders and big names (like Dell and HP), but that would be a big mistake. Even if most enthusiasts turn up their nose on this little card’s specs and features, there are always people who can appreciate the subtle blend of price and adequate performance offered by the 9400GT videocard, here represented by the Axle 9400 GT videocard.

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of any large data-centric facility that you use on a regular basis? This could mean anything from doing your payments and withdrawals at your local bank, plonking down in front of your PC to log onto an online RPG, picking up your phone to make a call, or perhaps keeping an eye out on market and investment trends on your TV. All these rely on massive computational power, to keep track of all of the data if for nothing else. This is where EYP, an HP company, comes in.