Earl's Cyber Steals and Deals

TigerDirect.com offers the HP 505B Athlon II X2 3GHz Desktop PC (no monitor), model no. XZ777UT, for $399.99. Coupon code "VGR19276" cuts it to $369.99. With $12.88 for shipping, that ties a deal from two weeks ago and the lowest total price we could find by $30. It features an AMD Athlon II X2 250 3GHz dual-core processor, 3GB RAM, 250GB 7200 rpm hard drive, DVD burner, 802.11n wireless, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.

Lenovo has the Logitech S120 2.0 Multimedia Speakers for $9.50 with free shipping. Features integrated power and volume control, 3.5mm jack for connecting headphones, 50 - 20000 Hz frequency response, and comes with a 3-year warranty.

Newegg has the Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB Hard Drive for $65 - $10 off with coupon code EMCKHJJ25 [Exp 2/17] = $55 with free shipping. Sports a 7200RPM rotational speed, 32MB buffer, and 7.7W average power consumption at idle

Newegg has the D-Link DGS-1008G 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch for $45 - $5 off with coupon code EMCKHJJ53 [Exp 2/17] = $40 with free shipping. Features CSMA/CD protocols, QoS prioritization, and jumbo frame support of up to 9000 bytes

FREE - TradePub has The GNU/Linux Basic eBook for Free. This 255-page guide introduces GNU/Linux operating systems including the philosophy of free software, how to approach and solve problems you may encounter, and supplies the tools required to move easily in the world of GNU/Linux.

Ends 2/14. Wirefly has the Motorola DROID X Android Smartphone on sale for Free with activation of a new Verizon Wireless account. Free shipping, free activation, free lifetime Wirefly Mobile Backup Service. Features a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, aka 3G Mobile Hotspot


Newegg has the A-DATA ASDH32GCL10-R 32GB SDHC Class 10 Flash Memory Card for $47 - $7 rebate [Exp 2/17] = $40 with free shipping. Rated at class 10 speeds, which means up to 23MB/s transfer speeds.

Best Buy has the Logitech ClearChat Style Headset on sale for $15 with free shipping. Features noise-canceling microphone, flexible boom and in-line volume and mute controls round out this premium headset.

Ends 2/19. Office Depot has the Lenovo G560 (0679-99U) 15.6" Intel Pentium 2.0GHz Dual-Core P6100 Laptop on sale for $400 with free shipping. Intel Pentium P6100 Dual-Core 2.0GHz, 320GB HDD, 4GB DDR3 Intel Graphics with Shared Memory, DVD±RW, Win 7 HP 64-bit

PennyWise has the Kensington K38056US 1200 mAh Lithium Polymer USB Pocket Battery for $10 + $0.01 shipping = $10 shipped. Adds 3.5 hours of additional talk time and includes mini and micro USB charging cables

Newegg has the Auria 26" EQ266A LCD Monitor for $190 with free shipping. Features a 16:9 1920 x 1080 resolution, 5ms response time, 1000:1 native contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness, and 170/160 H/V viewing angles.

Net 10 Wireless has the refurbished LG 300 Phone with a 750 minute card for $25 - $5 off with coupon code 44477 = $20 with free shipping (shown at final checkout

6ave.com has the Toshiba 40E200U 40" 1080p LCD HDTV for $439 - 3% off with coupon code AFL3 = $426 with free shipping. 1080p 1920x1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, 4 HDMI inputs DynaLight backlight control, Gaming mode, photo frame capability

T-Mobile: all phones free this weekend, including smartphones

T-Mobile USA has announced that it will offer every single phone in its lineup—smartphones included—for free this coming weekend. The catch is that customers must sign onto a new two-year contract, but since that's required anyway for most phone discounts, it's hard to argue with completely free.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-06-11

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-06-11. You can listen live every Sunday from 11AM to 12PM Pacific that's 2PM to 3PM Eastern. Join us for the live show and chat.

Links from the Gregg Zone

1) To start off the week another of those nano-solar promises for the future, I have seen so many of these breakthrough concepts, supposedly with a proven new process, it makes me wonder when demand will out-weigh supply enough to encourage development of these new products into the solar energy market. It seems to me venture that capitol is being held back due to a fear of becoming obsolete during the introductory period. It just might be technology is moving to fast to be efficient, but that seems to be a difficult idea to argue either way. http://www.techeye.net

2) Well once again it is that time of year when super bowl madness takes over Las Vegas; while I do not follow any sports, including football. I thought I should at least find something related. I literally hate commercials, dislike television in general, and have very little interest in football, I have actually taken interest in super ball commercials. Here is a link to over 30 of the old ones in case you might like to trip down memory lane before the game. http://mashable.com

3) For those who use Chrome, it seems there is a new version out Chrome 9. Seems we don’t have to do anything, according to the article it updated without any interaction on my part. I checked as the article said, and lo and behold I am running 9.0.597.84. Of course I have no idea what I was running before, so I have to take their word for it. Now I need to do a little research to see what has been introduced in the new version. http://blogs.sitepoint.com

4) This is a link to an interesting article talking about the comparison of the Silicone Valley geek set with the Roman Legion. It is an intriguing take on venture capital, development of world trade, the fear of rip-off products, and several other considerations. There are defiantly a few different takes on several subjects, just a good read in my quest to get a grip on where we might be heading in our planet development project. After all in an interesting way we are busy terraforming the planet in many different ways, for better or worse. http://gigaom.com

5) And now, as usual something geeky that just flies just out of reach of my personal radar due to my lack of interest in the phone, or mobile device market. However this looks like it may have much broader implications. It seems to me that the eventual evolution for internet and phone connectivity will be something like broadcast television, or radio. That is just as free as the air we breathe, the emphasis of money being made by using the media as a vector to sell goods and services increasing, as opposed to the selling of basic connectivity diminishing which only limits the market place in general through a process of monetary selectivity of access to the market. The problem with that is by necessity the process eliminates more and more people, by being more and more restrictive based on affluence. Even the poorest among us spend money on goods and services, but they still need access to the market. http://nextmontreal.com

How to hack the $250 Nook Color into a full Android tablet

If you’re tempted for an Android tablet but don’t want to spend a small fortune, then you may want to try the Barnes & Noble Nook Color and hack it to run a full version of the Android OS. Then you can install your favorite homescreen UI and your favorite Android apps. You can even install the Amazon Kindle app and other e-reader apps and libraries