Conjuring up your own desktop is pretty far down on the list of "world's most difficult tasks," but actually building your own laptop is another thing entirely. As we've seen with Ben Heck's creations, assembling a lappie rather than buying a pre-fabricated model is a serious undertaking, and while Computer Shopper's guide to constructing your own is more of an "upgrade an existing" walk-through, it's still chock full of interesting tidbits. Ever had the urge to snap up a barebones lap warmer and have your way with it? Head on down to the read link, and don't be afraid of getting your hands covered in thermal adhesive, okay?

With prime motorcycling weather nearly here, TomTom has prepped an update to bring a handful of new features to its RIDER 2nd Edition. Aside from including Map Share technology and the "Help Me" menu, the enhanced 2nd Edition GPS will also provide a latest map guarantee, trip statistics and itinerary planning. Reportedly, the upgraded unit will go on sale early next month for £349.99 ($691) / £399.99 ($790) depending on whether you're picking up UK / Ireland maps or all of Europe, but existing 1st Edition / 2nd Edition owners can snag the update gratis via TomTom HOME. No word on a North American release just yet.

We can't really see the logic in releasing a Blu-ray player without BD-Live in 2008 -- and neither can Samsung, which just announced its fourth generation BD-P1500 will be BD-Live Ready. The bad news is the May release date announced earlier has slipped to June, and the formerly comfortable $399 MSRP is now a less promising TBA. We're not sure if that "ready" tag means it will be BD-Live enabled out of the gate, however DTS-HD "High resolution" is confirmed on the way in a future firmware update. A slight delay for a significant upgrade in features? We'll allow it.

Update: Samsung let us know the press release was in error, the MSRP will remain at $399.

Though we originally expected (read: hoped) that Microsoft would dish out Service Pack 3 for Windows XP late last month, it seems the deed may actually get done before May dawns. According to an "internal schedule" fetched over at Neowin, OEMs, volume license, Connect, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the update on April 21st, while most average joes / janes won't notice it until April 29th when it hits the Microsoft / Windows Update download center. For folks too busy carrying on to worry over which SP their XP is running, they could very well overlook the automatic update scheduled to land on June 10th. (Re)mark your calendars, won't you?

[Via InformationWeek]

Although Pleo just got upgraded to v1.0.2 earlier this month, UGOBE is taking the Life OS to 1.1 and adding a laundry list of features to boot. Initially available for install only through an SD card (download via USB should hit within a few weeks), the update enables your favorite dino pet to sit, sing a variety of melodies, call for attention, get sick (coughing / sneezing) and change attitudes based on how much attention it gets. As these things always go, there's also the promise of a few unannounced inclusions ("strange habits," as it were), and it should be noted that previous downloads -- Holiday, Love-struck, MySkit, Yapt, etc. -- will need to eventually be re-downloaded in new versions to be compatible with the Life OS 1.1 update. Give the read link some attention to check out the changes, and fire up the download while you're over there.

[Thanks, Caaahl]

While Panasonic's rugged Toughbook 30 has been strutting its stuff with a Core 2 Duo within, the poor, poor Toughbook 19 has been going without. No more, however, as Panny has just announced that it'll be boosting the speed and expanding the memory available in the beastly convertible tablet. Available now, the 5.1-pound rig is stuffed with a 1.06GHz U7500 processor (2MB L2 cache), up to 4GB of SDRAM, 80GB shock-mounted HDD, 10.4-inch daylight-readable display, a battery good for around seven hours, optional integrated WWAN / GPS / 2-megapixel webcam and a magnesium alloy case that won't mind getting trampled. So, what's the price for such an (almost) impossible-to-destroy machine? $3,199 and up, we're afraid.

If Pleo's holiday behavior mode left you thirsty for more, chances are the first bona fide update to its Life OS won't disappoint. Version 1.0.2 enables your dino to explore its surroundings more, engage in fits of singing when encountering groups, and hear erratic noises when sleeping softly. Of note, UGOBE promises the update won't change your Pleo's existing personality, so apparently, there's nothing to lose (but more spare time). Go on, hit up the read link and start that download -- right after you tell Pleo to expect a treat, of course.

Lots of news on the VUDU front today, starting with the announcement that the grossly overpriced VUDU XL is finally shipping to all three people who forked out for one. Moving on to more important matters, the forthcoming v1.3 software -- which is hitting barely a month after v1.2 was loosed -- will open up the VUDU Vault. Put simply, this feature will "enable consumer to move owned titles from the VUDU hard drive to a secure area on VUDU servers to free up space for additional purchases." As expected, the feature will only be available on "select titles," but hey, we suppose we'll take what we can get. Moving on, VUDU is also announcing the $39 IR receiver kit for both the original STB and the XL, which will "allow for the operation of the service using approved programmable remotes." Lastly, v1.3 will bring about a numerically listed Most Watched overlay as well as improved searching for TV episodes. No word on when the update will start being pushed out, but we'd guess it'll be sooner rather than later.

Bummer to everyone who just got their Modbook, what, two months ago? As with the inevitable tide of technology, Axiotron just upgraded the line, bumping the specs to 2.1 or 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo configs with 120 or 160GB drives. The price on the base model stays the same ($2,290), but the new 2.4GHz config will run you $2,480.

Uh, we figured this whole Penryn update thing was all taken care of by now, but for whatever reason, Dell has found it quite pleasing to roll out said chips to its machines on a one (or two) at a time basis. Just a day after the new processors landed in the Precision M2300 and M4300 -- and merely two days since they crawled within the M6300 -- the Round Rock powerhouse has seen fit to hook up the all-business Latitude D630 and D830. Effective immediately, interested consumers can snatch up one (or both, we 'spose) of the aforementioned machines with a 2.5GHz T9300 or 2.6GHz T9500, both of which include 6MB of L2 cache. Meanwhile, prospective M1530 buyers are becoming increasingly incensed at Dell's apparent negligence of their favorite machine.

[Thanks, Juha]
Read - Latitude D630
Read - Latitude D830

As the Penryn updates slow to a trickle, Dell is looking out for one remaining straggler by updating the potent Precision M6300 workstation. Starting today, users can select either the 2.6GHz T9500 Core 2 Duo or the drool-worthy 2.8GHz X9000 Core 2 Extreme, but curiously enough, only the T9500 is listed as an option ($370 upgrade over the base T7500) when entering the US configuration site. Nevertheless, we reckon Dell will have that sorted soon enough, and while you're ordering, why not indulge in the 512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 3600M, too? It's only an extra $699, after all.

[Via Electronista]

Following a so-called "insider's release" last year that targeted early adopters with beta software running on final-spec hardware, Chumby has finally completed and rolled out a somewhat massive firmware update for the plush lil' buggers that adds significant functionality -- significant enough, in fact, that they're now being sold disclaimer-free to all comers. Besides a long, what's-what list of bug fixes, the real draw in the new firmware is fairly comprehensive support for a variety of internet radio services, a feature that previous builds technically supported but had no user interface for (they are Linux-based, after all, and totally hackable). So yeah, if a cute touchscreen with an open-source platform, Flash player, and integrated speakers is just what the doctor ordered, you can pick one up now without the worry of pre-release software getting in your way for $179.95 in black, white, or "latte."

[Thanks, Kurt]

That right kids, it's everyone's wildest dream come to fruition: Vista SP1 is now officially available for your beta testing pleasure. According to a report from Geekzone in New Zealand, the update is now making its way into the hands of beta testers, with a broad rollout planned sometime in March. Apparently, those desperate to get with the newness will have to use a standalone installer as opposed to the updater, and there are some minor issues with driver compatibility -- but we're pretty sure that won't stop you from going to town on this baby. Get it now if you're a beta tester... or have a BitTorrent client.

HTC's Advantage is getting a new badge -- X7510 -- and a long overdue upgrade, today. Now officially equipped with 16GB flash memory (instead of that 8GB microdrive), the new Advantage features TouchFLO, Opera Mobile 9, and Google Maps, as well as all the rest of the features you've come to know and love: GPS (with TomTom Navigator 6), 5-inch VGA display, 624MHz processor, ATI video acceleration (ahem), 256MB ROM / 128MB RAM, tri-band HSDPA, quad-band GSM / GPRS / EDGE, magnetic QWERTY keyboard, WiFi, Bluetooth, and a "future version of Windows Mobile," which we're taking to mean Windows Mobile 6.1. It'll be out in Europe in March, no price or specific date give, though -- and yes, US users are out of luck (for now).

For those of you who simply can't wait one more second to get your hands on one of the more hyped updates in recent memory, Vista SP1, you're in luck. According to a report (and our BitTorrent client, chugging along in the background), the new service pack has been leaked, then promptly made available for your forbidden downloading pleasure. Apparently, the full install doesn't provide you with an upgrade option, so make sure you backup necessary files (like those pictures of Mom, apple pie, etc.). PC World offers a highly detailed report on how many seeders and / or leechers were available at the time its article was written, but we'll spare you. Suffice to say, it's there for the taking.