HP's Webcam's Are Racist?

I'm hoping that this is some sort of glitch that somehow made it past HP's quality control, but this video is a PR nightmare for them. HP's webcam doesn't seem to recognize (facial recognition) African Americans, and the funny thing about it is black people have been here for a while.

Fix this HP!!!!

[Crunchgear]

HP / VoodooPC merger creates new baby

Hewlett-Packard, using the expertise of VoodooPC, is launching a new line of high-end gaming PC's. The initial offering is the Blackbird 002. The PC was announced yesterday at a press event and has some great features.
The coolest thing is that the whole PC is tool-less that requires no screw-driving to add or remove components. Hit the jump for tech specs and more pictures from the event.

Inside the "Dedication Edition", which launches on September 15 (and there will only be 518 made), gamers will find:
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3.0GHz
Dual nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra
CPU & GPU Liquid Cooling
Razor Mouse & Keyboard
Voucher for The Orange Box from Valve Software
The rigs will be customizable starting on October 1st. The official website can be found here.

Courtesy of G4TV

Birth of a Deathstar?

That's not a PC manufacturer, that's a Deathstar. The word is getting around that Acer has purchased Gateway. The Taiwanese manufacturer now can count US-based Gateway in its solid bid to be the third largest PC manufacturer. The good news is that there are no plans to retire the black and white cow motiff that has been a Gateway signature since.... well, day one. In fact, Acer plans to grow the Gateway brand, and is also thinking of buying HP.

I've been using an Acer 4212 laptop for the past couple of years. It's a nearly-permanent fixture on the dining room table, and despite having it on and open with cat fuzz, coffee spills, and breakfast crumbs, it still ticks like a clock. I've logged zero issues that were not user-centric.

I remember a few years ago that Gateway was going to try the retail space and open brick-and-mortar stores. I've never heard a peep out of that effort since then, so I sort of assume that idea flopped. If they needed a new direction, I hope Acer can supply it.

HP Home Server Shipping Date: September 15th

So who's ready for some 'Windows home server' lovin?

Well if you're looking to store and share digital photos, videos, and documents between multiple computers, this is your answer. Hewlett Packard’s MediaSmart Home Server is available on September 15th, and will have two models for you to choose from. Both servers will have an AMD Sempron processor running at 1.8GHZ, and the 500GB server will run you $599 and a 1TB version for $749.

So choose wisely if you have a lot of porn to share.

Amazon leaks price, date of first Windows Home Server box [ComputerWorld via Crunchgear]

HP 20-inch Pavilion HDX: Gaming Notebook

HP is about to release a new 20-inch gaming laptop, the Pavilion HDX. Weighing in at a hefty 12 pounds, the computer is large enough to house both a full-sized keyboard and a windows media remote, side by side.

Rumor has it that it will have the new Santa Rosa chipset (Centrino successor), GeForce Go 8000 video card, HDMI out, and HD DVD option.

12 pounds is enough that, even the most inactive World of Warcraft players buff up by lugging it around.

No word on price or the release date as of yet.