Digital City Podcast

It's episode 59 of the Digital City, and if our cast looks a little different today, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Joey, Julie, and Scott all called in sick, so we recruited some of our CNET colleagues to step in and offer their holiday shopping advice.

David Katzmaier, John Falcone, and Matt Fitzgerald weigh in on Black Friday tips for big-screen TVs, home theater equipment, and digital cameras, and we go over some of the best and worst laptop deals around.

Also discussed was the high-concept Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard video game, the surprise popularity of Assassin's Creed 2, and Dan showed off his new Forza-3-branded Pumas.

Added bonus: we've got a handful of beta invites for MAG, the massive 256-person PS3 shooter to give away. Ping me on Twitter , or e-mail us at digitalcity@cnet.com, and we'll hook the first five people up.

Related links:
>>Are these Apple's Black Friday laptop deals?
>>Rating Black Friday laptop doorbuster deals
>>Review: the ColcaSac hemp MacBook sleeve
>>Hands on with 15th-century Italy in Assassin's Creed II

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

This week on the Digital City, Joey tests the new Netflix/PS3 BD Live disc, with mixed results; we talk about all the cool new luxury laptops you'll never buy, including Sony's Vaio X, Dell's Adamo XPS, and HP's Envy.

We also show off Nokia's new Booklet 3G Netbook, and debate the relative merits of games sequels, from Bioshock 2 to God of War 3. We also note how everyone in New York seems to have gotten their hands on a copy of Modern Warfare 2 early, giving the holiday season's biggest game an unusually sloppy launch.

Related links:
>>Hands on with Nokia's Booklet 3G
>>Say goodbye to sleep: Modern Warfare 2 arrives
>>Hands on with the new Dell Adamo XPS

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter; and Scott!

The Gateway NV5807u: $599.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

This week's review of the Gateway NV5807u and an in-progress review of a higher-end configuration in the Dell Inspiron 15 line raised an interesting question: is it better to configure your laptop yourself online, or buy a premade, all-in-one, retail package?

With Netbook purchases, these decisions are rarely made. The internal specs of Windows XP-running Netbooks have already been locked at the same set for months, and consumer decisions instead run to considerations like design and screen/keyboard size.

With laptops, especially the midrange, it's a totally different story. Our review of the Gateway NV5807u is up, and the Dell Inspiron 1545 review is in progress. But both have similar specs and performance, with the exception of a better video card in the Dell. The Gateway NV5807u costs a mere $599. The Dell Inspiron 1545, as configured from Dell with 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, runs $794. Both are 15-inch laptops with T6400/T6500 Core 2 Duo processors.

The knee-jerk is to favor the Gateway. It is a great package for the price, and was pretty comfortable to use here at the office. On the other hand, there is no way to add or remove features as one desires. Dell's Inspiron 15 line allows nearly everything to be customized--Blu-ray drives, hard drive, battery size, processor, graphics, screen resolution, RAM, and Wi-Fi card, to name a few. The bit-by-bit purchase process, however, can be a steep and slippery slope from what was a $399 laptop to one that looms near $1,000.

Of course, we've also recently been reviewing a number of retail laptops for our Back-to-School Roundup, some of which have been excellent values. And, sometimes, finding a good laptop model in a retail setting can feel like looking for a needle in a swamp.

Do incremental add-ons appeal to you, or do you prefer discrete, prepackaged machines, like Gateway's NV5807u, where the fixed specs potentially lead to reduced production cost and consumer savings? Do you like the freedom of choice, or the savings of a fixed box?

In the meantime, read our review of the Gateway NV5807u.

Venerable retail chain Radio Shack has somehow outlived Circuit City, The Wiz, and many others, with a mix of cordless phones, RC cars, and a hard-to-beat assortment of plugs, wires, and adapters for electronic tinkerers and vintage gear fans like myself.

The company is planning to unveil a new image, as "The Shack," in a mere 16 hours (6am EST on August 6) at launch events in NYC and San Francisco, but we're more fascinated by a few leaked images (via engadget and Metblogs) of giant laptop props that have popped up online.

According to The Shack, these two giant laptops will beam Webcam footage to each other during the launch event. We just hope we don't peek at the manufacturer's sticker underneath and find it labeled "Skynet."

Once again, the tilde key gets shafted.

(Credit: Engadget)

A marketing department rendering of a giant laptop prop.

(Credit: Metblogs )

It's a free-for-all gripe fest as we talk about our personal frustrations with the PS3, AT&T, the iPhone, and whatever else was crossing our minds at that point.

From cyberdoormen and using your baby's mama for an iPhone replacement at the AT&T store, to Scott finding pleasure in getting Julie so worked up that she accidentally drops a naughty word and Joseph's failed attempt to pit Scott and Julie against each other...it's all on the table.

We're also holding a contest for the best Digital City desktop wallpaper creation (not a logo). The contest will be held from July 24 to August 7. Joe gave you guys a week to do this, but I think two weeks is a little more feasible. It should include all four of us--Dan, Scott, Joseph, and Julie--or Scott will have a conniption fit (love ya, man!). Caricatures, superheroes, three pimps and a 'ho, it doesn't matter as long as it's nothing too nasty or we won't be able to show it. Once you've created your masterpiece, attach and send it to us via e-mail at digitalcity@cnet.com.

The prize: Joe is giving away a copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for either the Xbox 360 or the Wii (specify for which console in your e-mail).

At the close of the contest, we'll be more than happy to give all participants a shout-out on the show. The fact you participated is awesome--win or lose. There could be a runner-up prize, but don't quote me on that, I'd have to confer with the rest of the crew.

Get creative!

>>Watch the Digital City live every Friday at 3 p.m. EST on CNET Live!
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See me, feel me, touch me.

(Credit: Asus)

Spotted at the German CeBit 2009 show was this interesting concept piece from Asus. It's a laptop with two displays, instead of a traditional screen and keyboard. The company calls it "a revolutionary dual-panel concept notebook," and says the design was inspired by "ideas contributed from users from around the world."

Using a Web site called WePC.com, consumers could submit and discuss ideas for innovative laptops, and many of the submitted ideas seem to revolve around multiple displays in a single unit.

These photos represent a stab at bringing one of these crowd-sourced ideas to life, but Asus warns that "the concept is still a work-in-progress which requires continued feedback."

This is how Asus describes the system:

The dual panel offers a flexible working space in which users can adapt to suit their prevailing usage scenarios, for example adjusting the size of the virtual touchpad and keyboard.

Through hand gestures, handwriting recognition, and multitouch, users are presented with a control surface that is both flexible and intuitive. Users can use the dual-panel concept in a myriad of usage scenarios, for example as a conventional notebook with multitouch screens, a virtual keyboard and touchpad; a multimedia hub, in which both dual panels could combine to form a larger display for widescreen entertainment; or an E-book mode in which users can hold the dual panel concept notebook just like they would a conventional book while flipping pages through intuitive gestures or by touch.

These concepts aim to bring convenience to the user through technological innovations and user-centric design.

More pics after the break. ... Read more

(Credit: iD Software)

Set the wayback machine for 1999/2000, and you'll find a lot of Gen-X office workers doing the same thing I was back then--wasting hour upon hour of company time playing "Quake III" (or "Unreal Tournament II") with my office mates. (At least in my case, there were extenuating circumstances: I was covering the video game beat at pop-culture Web site UGO.com at the time).

In the years since then, first-person shooters have come to require the kind of dedicated hardware that virtually no office workers have, effectively eliminating the daily fragfest that was so common during the original dot-com boom. Instead, browser-based casual games such as "Puzzle Quest" and "Peggle" have taken over as workplace time killers (and have built a huge new market in the process).

In an effort to bridge the gap between "casual" and "serious" gaming, the company behind "Quake" (and "Doom" before that), Id Software, is readying a revamp of the classic "Quake III" experience, called "Quake Live." Id just completed an invite-only closed beta round test for "Quake Live" and is set to open its servers to a broader public beta test for the game, starting Tuesday.

In the intervening years, PCs have gotten fast enough, and broadband connections common enough, that the game can be cast as a browser-based experience, played by visiting Quakelive.com and signing up for a free account. With its forgiving hardware requirements and pick-up-and-play style, it seems made for laptops and low-power office PCs.

(Credit: Id Software)

Having played several rounds of the beta version of "Quake Live," we can say the ad-supported game is a fairly faithful adaptation of "Quake III," at least as far as our decade-old memories serve, and has all the classic maps from the game, including our favorite, The Longest Yard (set on a series of floating platforms).

The feel is definitely retro, with none of the strategic elements, such as cover fire or stealth, that have defined the last few generations of shooters. Instead the action is fast-paced and kinetic, with players running around at breakneck speeds, bunny-hopping along the way to avoid getting shot.

Archos, a popular maker of Portable Media Players and Mobile Internet Devices, is joining the Netbook fray by releasing one of its own.

Earlier this week, the company announced the availability of its new 10-inch Netbook on its online store. The Netbook was originally slated for release in April, but because it was announced at CES in January, I guess the company felt ready for prime time. Finally, Archos is said to be working on several new versions based on Intel's Moorestown platform, which will replace Intel's current Netbook and MID platform sometime in 2010.

(Credit: Archos)

For now, let's take a quick look at the specs of the Archos 10, which will sound awfully familiar, especially to those people who've either purchased a Netbook or done some research on getting one.

• Microsoft Windows XP Home edition
• Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz Processor
• 160 GB hard drive
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• Multi-card reader slot, Wi-Fi, and 3G USB ready
• 3 USB ports
• 10.2-inch WXGA screen at 1024x600 resolution

The Archos 10-inch Netbook is now available for purchase for $399 with the standard three-cell battery, or for $449 with the extended six-cell battery.

Forget your laptop stand and hideously mismatched secondary display, because Samsung's Lapfit series offers external LCD monitors that will match your laptop beautifully. The Lapfit External Display, which coordinates with the design of Samsung's latest laptops and comes in 19- and 22-inch versions, connects to your notebook, considerably enlarging your workable display area.

(Credit: Samsung Korea)

The pair of low-profile, wide-screen monitors, the LD190G (19-inch) and LD220G (22-inch), sit at the height of your typical laptop and have adjustable tilt angles from 10-30 degrees. Both monitors offer 1,360x768 pixel resolution (16:9 aspect ratio), 4ms response time, and a 20,000:1 dynamic-contrast ratio.

There's nothing groundbreaking about these monitors, but their USB 2.0 graphic connectivity and low power usage is a nice boon. We'd recommend a notebook with a beefy graphics card to go along with this if you want to take full advantage of the features.

The 22-inch LD220G will purportedly see a March release in Korea, with a retail price of $215, while the 19-inch LD190G will sell for $165. No announcements were made about a U.S. release.

So, is anyone hoping to chuck their laptop stand in exchange for one of these?