pureSilicon isn't offering up the first rugged SSD or anything, but its Renegade line is still tough enough to be compliant with MIL-STD-810F (and this guy's) standards. Hailed as the first solid state drive to integrate hardware-based encryption approved by the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), the device boasts up to 128GB of capacity, a dedicated on-board cryptographic processor, hard-anodized unibody enclosure and the ability to withstand most anything that you could put it through (save for a blender). Select customers have already received samples, but if you're dumbstruck by such a notion, you'll have to wait with the rest of the citizenry and nab yours in Q1 2009.

Question: How can you tell that a Dell XPS desktop is still in the prototype phase? Answer: You'd be willing to put it in plain-sight on top of your desk. Excessive paint jobs aside, there isn't a gamer alive who doesn't get a little excited when reading an XPS spec sheet featuring such terms as "Quad-SLI," "4.xxGHz," and "free 30-inch display," so we're sure there will be some interest in this backroom shot that Joystiq captured of an XPS work-in-progress. As you can tell by the photo, the protoype that Dell was seeking feedback on is nowhere near ready to be adorned with a $10,000 price tag, and the journalists on hand got absolutely nothing from the suits in terms of specs or features. Still, we are able to speculate that the open grating in the front will lead to better airflow -- and thus cooler components -- which a good sign for whatever insanely overclocked processor gets stuffed inside.

[Thanks, Einhanderkiller]

If you've been saving your pennies for one of Dell's $10,000 XPS 600 Renegade computers, you can stop now and spend the cash on something else (like, maybe, an Alienware box). Dell has announced that the luxe gaming rig is already sold out, after less than a month on the market. Of course, the Renegade was always listed as a "Limited Edition" box, and Dell was a little coy about what that actually meant. We figure they probably made about 10, and Michael Dell picked up at least three of those for his own collection, and gave two more to Nelson Gonzalez and Alex Aguila. The other five? Our guess is that they burst into flames from that "factory overclocked" processor (or the paint job), and are now being refurbished for sale via Dell's outlet site for a mere $8,999.

[Thanks, Michael]