redesigns
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Snag YouTube's redesign early with a quick browser cookie change
After a debut this summer, YouTube's visual refresh hasn't rolled out to all of its users, but the folks at OMG! Chrome! have stumbled upon a way for you to get in on the action a little early. Simply point Chrome or Firefox to YouTube, open up the browser's console, enter a line that'll fiddle with a cookie and you'll be able to cruise Google's video service with its fresh coat of paint. To open up your console in Firefox, just punch Control+Shift+K on Windows or Command+Alt+K on a Mac. For Chrome, hit Control+Shift+J on a PC or Alt+Command+J on machines running OS X. Can't wait to take the new look, which gives Google+ a nod, for a spin? Hit the source link below for the code snippet to get started.
Toshiba announces fresh C, L, S and P series laptops for back-to-school season
Chances are, college students are merely gearing up for finals, and the high school seniors among us are still months away from graduating. No matter to Toshiba. The company is getting ahead of the competition, showing off its back to school collection now. In addition to refreshing its entry-level C series, the outfit has redesigned its mainstream L and high-end P laptops. Look closely and you'll also see an entirely new line, the S series, which offers some of the same premium features as the P laptops, but with more of an emphasis on top-shelf specs than bells and whistles (because let's face it, bang-for-your-buck is likely to be a bigger priority for parents footing the bill). To keep things simple, we'll say this up front: each of these laptops is available in 14-, 15- and 17-inch sizes. Oh, and Toshiba isn't dishing too much on specs at the moment (Intel's Ivy Bridge processors still being shrouded in mystery and all.) Want the one-minute elevator pitch? You can jump straight to those pictures below. If you're curious about what makes each line distinct, follow past the break for the full breakdown.
HP Envy 15 review (early 2012)
If there's one thing we took away from our jaunt at CES, it's this: consumers' appetites for mainstream laptops haven't waned all that much. Even in the Ultrabook category, Intel expects half of the models to go on sale this year will have 14- and 15-inch screens -- as strong an indicator as any that lots of folks aren't yet ready to give up their slightly larger screens, their discrete graphics, their (gasp!) optical drives. While HP recently announced its first Ultrabook for the consumer market, the Envy 14 Spectre, it's fully fleshed out its premium Envy series to include two additional models for people who crave more oomph.The Envy 15 is the medium-sized member of the crew, with a 15.6-inch screen and the same overhauled design you'll find across the Envy lineup. Delightfully, too, it marks the return of HP's eye-popping Radiance display, and also comes with a generous two-year warranty and full copies of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements. And with a starting price of $1,100, it sharply undercuts the 15-inch MacBook Pro, while taking direct aim at other high-end 15-inchers, like the Dell XPS 15z and Samsung Series 7 Chronos. So how does it stack up? Meet us after the break to find out.
HP redesigns its Envy laptops, announces the Envy 15, 17 and 17 3D (video)
Just last month, we off-handedly said that HP's Envy laptops were among the most shameless MacBook impersonations we've seen. Looks like we spoke too soon: the company just introduced a redesigned Envy 15, Envy 17 and Envy 17 3D, and we have to say: the resemblance in the interior is just uncanny. If you ask company reps, they'll tell you the old taupe design was too masculine (despite the divets arranged in a floral pattern!), and that the new aesthetic is more gender-neutral. Fair enough, we suppose, though we defy you to tell us that touchpad, silvery aluminum chassis and black, chiclet-style keyboard aren't familiar. To be fair, it's not a complete facsimile: HP also throw in a few design flourishes of its own, most of them Beats-inspired. Chief among them is a red-accented, analog volume dial on the right side of the keyboard deck, though the black lid and thin red strip around the keyboard also add some kick. All three laptops will be available December 7th, with the Envy 15, Envy 17 and Envy 17 3D starting at $1,100, $1,250 and $1,600, respectively. For now, though, we've got hands-on shots below, along with a rundown of the starting specs just past the break. %Gallery-137834%%Gallery-139310%
Dell intros slimmed-down Inspiron 13z and 14z laptops with aluminum lids, USB 3.0
Can you blame Dell for deciding its laptops needed a makeover? After suffering some serious market share losses and earning a reputation for bland designs and questionable customer service, we can see why the company would be keen on revamping its lineup as a way of distancing itself from its not-so-sunny rap. That seems to be precisely what the outfit's doing with the Inspiron 13z and 14z, which Dell unveiled today. Both laptops move to aluminum lids and palm rests, available in a small (and fairly toned-down) color selection, with black and red being your only choices. The two have also whittled to under an inch thick, with the beefier 14z leaving enough room for an optical drive. Not surprisingly, the resolution's 1366 x 768 -- precisely what you'd expect in a $600 laptop. Also predictable: this generation of Inspirons offers USB 3.0 and Sandy Bridge, with a choice of Core i3 and Core i5 processors. Both models start at $599.99, with the 14z available in the states today, and the 13z launching in "select" Asian countries. Curious? We've got a handful of hands-on shots below and the full PR after the break. %Gallery-130429%
Wiimote getting more changes?
Take this for what you will, but IGN is reporting that a comment made by the esteemed Shigeru Miyamoto in an interview with Japan's Famitsu may indicate that the supposed "final design" of the Wii controller that we saw at E3 isn't so final after all. Responding to a question about problems the company had in developing the Wiimote, Miyamoto stated that in fact "we're still debating on the area of how many buttons to use," which could be taken to mean that Nintendo has PS3-like changes in mind for the controller before the console ships. Of course, it could just as easily mean that although the design has been finalized, the Wii development team still discusses its merits and detriments amongst themselves, and the fact that the interview was translated over from the native Japanese only further muddies the issue, as Miyamoto's comments may have been taken out of context or lost the meaning he intended. Like we said, this is all just pie-in-the-sky speculation for now, and we're mainly passing it along so you don't freak out if you go to pick up your new Wii in a few months and the controller doesn't look exactly like you've been daydreaming it would.[Thanks, Dave Z.]
