Last week, I was visiting my Mom when she received some very bad news--her enormous, seven-year-old Dell desktop PC had finally bitten the dust (due, it seems, to being clogged up by too much dust). Luckily, I've spent my fair share of time doing research on PCs this year, and I immediately suggested the
HP Slimline S7500N desktop. I've been rather enamored with this HP Pavilion series as it features everything you need from a desktop--large hard drive space, a processor that can handle office software suites and digital media, and expansion capability--but at just one-third the size of a standard PC tower.What a difference a week makes. Had I known about the new
Sony VAIO VGC-LS1, my suggestion might have changed. At base level, the VGC-LS1 is Sony's answer to
Apple's iMac (for a fun stroll down memory lane, check out this
Wikipedia entry in evolution of the iMac). But where Apple is content to have its iMac act as your digital hub--playing music, storing digital camera snapshots, processing home video--Sony's VGC-LS1 wants to become your complete entertainment center with the addition of an integrated TV tuner. And with the installed Windows XP Media Center operating system, you can use it as a TiVo-like digital video recorder (DVR) to store dozens of hours of your favorite shows.
It features a gorgeous 19-inch XBrite LCD screen with a massive 1680 x 1050-pixel resolution that's encased in a transparent polycarbonate frame. Under the svelte hood, it's also quite a stunner with a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor (though not the new Core 2 Duo), 250 GB Serial ATA hard drive, 2 GB of RAM, dual-layer DVD burner, and an integrated webcam. It also comes with a very handsome wireless keyboard and mouse set.
That said, it is missing something very important--HDTV capability. It doesn't include a digital ATSC tuner (for picking up over-the-air high-def broadcasts), nor does it include an HD-compatible video input (i.e., component video, HDMI, or DVI). If HDTV isn't that important to you, the VGC-LS1 might be just the system for your bedroom or home office--as
PC Mag points out in its positive review, it'll look great sitting next to your Herman Miller Aeron chair. If only it had come out a week earlier. Sorry, Mom.
--Posted by Agen
Link to Article
09-01-06, 01:30 AM
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