Hasta La Gadget!

If you’ve ever considered building your own PC I have good news for you–it’s a lot easier than you think! You’ll feel that way too once you check out the free “How To Easily Build Your Own Cheap Computer” from MakeUseOf.com.

It really can be done easily. Think Legos or some other toy where it’s reasonably difficult to plug the wrong piece in the wrong place. The same goes for computers. Even better, after you finish every time you fire it up you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you put it together.

A game-changing look
to match blazing performance
in this behemoth.

—Nicole Price Fasig

For the full-length, free-verse Dell Studio XPS 435 review check out PCMag.com.

Lenovo said Monday that it will label eight ThinkPad laptops as “semi-ruggedized,” after those laptops passed special tests designed by the U.S. military to measure the toughness of a notebook.

The ThinkPad X200, X301, X200s, X200 Tablet, T400, T500, R400 and SL300 have all received the special designation, which was arrived at after all eight passed some specialized military tests. However, they have not been officially designed as “ruggedized,” which can also mean compliant with the MIL-STD-810F tests set up by the U.S. government for testing notebooks under a variety of conditions.

(A press release announcing the changes was posted on Engadget. Lenovo representatives could not be reached for comment, or for confirmation.)

Lenovo also said that it would equip its ThinkPad T400 laptop with an optional high brightness, wide angle screen. Prices will begin at about $1,350.

Today I took the Gateway MD7801u notebook, which Cisco Cheng recently reviewed for PCMag.com, out for a spin. There’s a lot to like about it–in styling, performance, and certain features such as its cavernous (500GB) hard drive. Even better, you get it for a surprisingly affordable price for what it offers.

I’d never have guessed that this was an $800 laptop. A media-center machine, the MD7801u’s 15.6-inch glossy widescreen (at 1,366-by-768 resolution) is in the 16:9 format that’s become prevalent in recent laptops, and it displayed photos and video well. Photoshop was very responsive, bearing out the MD7801’s quite respectable multimedia performance scores in our Photoshop (as well as Cinebench R10 and Windows Media Encoder) tests.

There’s a case to made for the genericization of the word “netbook.” The term has come to refer to lightweight, low-power PCs. Even as the definition of what constitutes a netbook becomes more blurred, the word’s place in our daily vocabulary has become further cemented. After all, in this age of cloud computing and economic uncertainly, netbook manufacturers have been doing pretty brisk business.

The thing is, Psion owns the right to the term. The company copyrighted it in the 90s, and as it has become commonly used, Psion has become more aggressive about attempting to secure its trademark: It has sent letters to manufacturers who have been bandying about the term. Dell is among those guilty parties, having just released the Inspiron Mini 10.

So now, Dell has taken it upon itself to file a Trademark Cancellation petition: “Upon information and belief, Psion intends not to resume bona fide use of the Netbook name in the ordinary course of trade.”