Not a whole lot to make this N6420, Fujitsu's new 17-inch flagship, stand out from the rest of the jumbo-sized WMCE laptops out there these days, but with a base configuration at $1,500, it doesn't look like the pricing will be too painful. The new laptop features options for an HD DVD drive in the high end, and when teamed with the fancy new Fujitsu Visual Optimizer, you should be getting some fairly sharp HD imagery -- even if it's a bit hard to tell at that screen size. There's also room for dual 200GB hard drives, but that's nothing too special these days, and the rest of the spec sheet looks pretty standard for a 17-incher. The laptop runs a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 processor, 512MB (256MB dedicated, 256MB shared) ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics, 1GB of RAM, fingerprint reader / scroll button, a/b/g WiFi, PC and ExpressCard slots and a Media Center Edition remote. Of course, that specced out HD DVD version will cost you $2,770, while the base model has a mere DVD burner, 1.66GHz processor, 256MB X1400 graphics and single 160GB HDD. As for company, the N6420 is being released in the US alongside the A3110 and A6010 we've already spotted in Asia, which will start at $1,400 and $1,150 respectively. All three laptops are available now.

[Via LAPTOP]

While various solutions do exist for setting up recording times with your WMCE box remotely, we're not sure many of them could match Casey's new mobileRecord MSN chat bot for sheer geekery. Basically, it allows you to ping your WMCE unit via MSN Messenger with a last minute reminder to record those primetime soap opera episodes you forgot to program -- which sounds great as long as it doesn't get some sort of attitude. After a couple of questions to make sure it's on the right track, the bot takes over and schedules the recording for Media Center. The general idea is for use with a smartphone, but you can message from another desktop just as well. Apparently, the software also supports voice recognition using the Speech Server 2007 beta, which would allow you to just phone in your recording requests, but since Speech Server has been delayed until next year, it looks like it'll be all text requests for now.

[Via MAKE]

Many have tried, but few have conquered the Mac mini when it comes to keeping slim and looking fit. Lucky for us -- or at least our Japanese friends -- DosPara seems to have managed both feats, and they even tossed in some Core 2 Duo action in there, just to show off. We couldn't really ask for much better specs on this little 1.7-inch thick dynamo. Beyond the 1.66GHz T5500 C2D processor, the box runs a dual-layer DVD burner, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g WiFi, a 4-in-1 card reader, DVI and S-Video outs, and a TV tuner on the WMCE version. The 512MB of ram and 80GB HDD aren't quite as exciting, but we'll live. Unfortunately, the price isn't so hot, at 122,580 Yen ($1,043 US) for the base version and 139,980 Yen ($1,191 US) for the WMCE unit. Still, we like what we see, and we think we'll have to wish Apple and AOpen better luck next time.

[Via Akihabara]

The iHome Multi-Center on display at CEDIA has been around for awhile but somehow managed to slip below our radar. Still, when a Windows Media Center Edition device touts the ability to playback Apple's DRM-protected AAC files, well, it makes sense to double-back and take notice. The device is said to exploit iTunes and the Quicktime APIs to create a two-zone (analog and digital audio) music server in addition to its MCE capabilities. The magic created by using Quicktime as the output driver makes the iHome the only server product we know of that will playback your FairPlay tracks purchased off the iTunes store. The slab even busts-out an IP control server which generates both full-sized and mini flash-based HTML pages for two-way control over the system from any networked device sportin' a web browser with Flash support. Sweet. The iHome MCE features a couple of 400GB disks (750GB disks coming early next year) and an HDTV video card for a luxurious, $8,000 addition to your home audio rack. You do have one don't you?

[Via TalkAbout:CEDIA]

If MythTV's promise of a free Windows Media Center alternative sounds exciting, but you can't quite bring yourself to navigate the trials of a Linux install on your own, then you might be interested in Monolith's pre-built Media Center PCs, which come with MythTV pre-installed on top of Ubuntu Linux. Models start at $650, and include a remote, an IRBlaster, and free electronic programming guide access -- none of those silly TiVo-style monthly fees. Specs range from a single analog tuner to dual HDTV tuners, and you can get a 400GB HDD and DVD burner as well. The 3.2GHz P4 CPU isn't exactly cutting edge, but all the same, the Monolith box should be fine for someone who doesn't want to mess with setup, and isn't afraid to spend a bit more than they would otherwise.

It might not be quite as edgy as the Slingbox in the design department, and the software support seems a bit lacking as far as client viewers, but the HAVA from Snappy Multimedia has a couple of welcome additions to the Slingbox repertoire. First off, the box includes built-in 802.11b/g WiFi, so adding it to your network shouldn't as much of a hassle. Second, the HAVA includes its own TV tuner, so you can have dual TV inputs if you'd like, or even use it as the primary (and wireless) tuner for your Windows Media Center box. Of course, all the usual location shifting capabilities are there, with up to 30fps DVD quality video available to multiple users over your home network, while lower bit-rate video can simultaneously be encoded for viewing over the Internets. Currently the HAVA is going for $200 after a pair of rebates, so if you're not bent on handheld or Mac support, and your inner fashionista is willing to take a hike, this little unit doesn't seem like a bad option for the remote viewing lifestyle.

If the joys of prime time serial dramas such as 24, Lost and Desperate Housewives are proving a bit taxing on that garden variety DVR or WMCE of yours, it might be time to bump your storage with a bit of NAS action. Luckily, Interact-TV has an incredibly pricey solution to your woes, which doesn't just bump your storage, but includes a whole DVR/DVD/CD managing system to bear on your media problems. The newly launched TellyRAID, bundled with the TellyVizion, allows you to rip and store DVDs, CDs, Photos TV shows and surf the web for even more content to stuff into the 2TB TellyRAID. The TellyVizion can also burn CD playlists, and can be scheduled remotely via the Telly website. The RAID runs quietly, and can work with other computers or compatible media devices to serve  up media over Gigabit Ethernet or USB 2.0. It supports up to four SATA drives, and can work with a USB network adapter for WiFi connectivity. All of this doesn't come cheap, you can get the pair for $2,860, but it should hold onto a season or two of those prime time good times.

CNET's staff just strapped on their bionic suits and hoisted Dell's 20-pound XPS M2010 into the lab for a full, hands-on review. Calling this desktop/laptop hybrid a "striking feat of engineering" (that's a compliment, we think), the reviewer fawns over the M2010's premium components, bright 20-inch glossy display, and 8-speaker system with subwoofer which is said to deliver "rich, clear" audio and more low-end sound than any laptop he's seen. The guy's equally stoked by the magnetically held Bluetooth keyboard and gyroscopic Media Center remote which includes a small LCD screen for peeping music and video track details when not flittering the thing about to control the onscreen cursor. The M2010 also proved to be an "able gaming machine" though not the best. However, the M2010 is still "absurdly expensive" with a $3500 base config rocketing upwards to $8000 fully spec'd and the battery only lasted about 2-hours while the machine simply idled. Oh, and the pig is just too heavy to be truly portable thereby limiting its appeal. Still, if you're a smarmy sales type, LAN party trust-funder, or Ivy league media troll looking for a single all-in-one desktop / laptop / home stereo / TV(via optional USB tuner) then this hulk of Dell-icousness might be calling you home.

[Thanks, Chris]

With Apple's general method of publicly denying the demand for a product until they announce its imminent release, Steve Jobs' words at today's annual shareholder meeting were quite telling. Without giving much away, Jobs stated: "The new products in the pipeline are the best I’ve ever seen in my life." But in response to a particular shareholder's request for Apple to develop "the ultimate media center" to give Microsoft's WMCE a run for its money, Jobs responded: "we hear you loud and clear." Quite the strong words from such a secretive man, though he was on a bit of a roll. In regards to the recent 17-inch MacBook Pro's release, Jobs let everyone know, "Everyone wants a MacBook Pro because they are so bitchin’." Thanks for that, Steve. Jobs also mentioned the possible demise of the CRT in their lineup, due to environmental concerns and their general lack of bitchin-ness.

Instead of merely devouring DVR software developer Meedio and leaving us to wait months for the results, Yahoo is releasing their new Meedio-based Yahoo Go TV software a mere week after announcing their acquisition. There's minor Flickr integration, and the software seems bent on answering the call of Front Row, along with the standard WMCE fare. If sounds like your thing, we've got even better news for you: it's free. At least for now, Yahoo! has the public beta of Yahoo! Go TV as a free download, so unless you have a certain aversion deep blue and purple stylings (lets hope the theming community jumps on this one right quick) there isn't much holding you back from giving it a spin.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

We kind of thought Escient was somehow taking things in a slightly more "cost effective" direction with their $1000 Escient SE-D1 media manager last year, but they've just gone quite a bit the other way with their new $6000 FireBall DVDM-552 which just started shipping. From the looks of things they're spending most of that $6000 on component video hookups, though there's plenty more to love here. The DVDM-552 can manage up to 2000 DVDs or CDs stored in Sony DVD changers, can send multiple video or digital audio streams to multiple rooms, holds a 500GB HDD, and can stream networked media. Everything can be operated through a web control panel, a PDA, or from a particularly brave remote. Sounds pretty exciting, though for the amount you'd be spending on this thing it seems like you could afford to put a WMCE PC in each room instead. But we're not going to try and stop you or anything.

[Via TRFJ]