fx

2009 Infiniti FX50S, like a hippo in a tux (review)

Whether the Infiniti FX's bulbous curves can be considered beautiful is debatable, but one thing we know for certain is that--in FX50S trim--it certainly is imposing. With muscular front fenders, a large dark chrome grill, and a pair of the most aggressive headlights we've ever seen on an SUV, the 2009 Infiniti FX50S prowls the streets looking like an angry hippopotamus on 21-inch wheels.

Before you laugh, there's something you should know about the hippo. It is one of the most aggressive animals in the world, and is often regarded as the most dangerous animal in Africa … Read more

Dell has the ASUS SUPPORT AMD PHENOM FX/PROCESSOR/ATHLON64 FX/X2/SEMPRON PROCESSORS UP TO 140W, AMD for $70.39, after $17.60 Instant savings.

Save $17.6 on the ASUS SUPPORT AMD PHENOM FX/PROCESSOR/ATHLON64 FX/X2/SEMPRON PROCESSORS UP TO 140W, AMD from Dell >> Regular price is $87.99 >> Sale price is $70.39 >> Savings $17.6 (20.00%) >> Click here for deal

Nvidia unveils new professional graphics card

You think your SLI or CrossFire setup of the latest graphics card is powerful? Well, it might be. However, it's nothing compared to the single card that Nvidia introduced on Monday.

The Quadro FX 5800 is arguably the most powerful professional graphics card in the world...for now. Unfortunately, it's not a gaming card.

The new card works best for professionals searching for oil, diagnosing illness, or styling the next high-performance luxury vehicle, or anyone with the need for advanced visual-computing solutions.

The Quadro FX 5800 has 240 CUDA programmable parallel cores and features 4GB of graphics RAM. (… Read more

Featured Freeware: FxFoto

This image editor earns kudos for its impressive feature set. Before it launches, FxFoto offers to scan your PC for images and gives you the option to view a detailed tutorial. The cluttered interface might make you wary, but it's not as bad as it looks.

FxFoto has just about every image-editing tool most folks will need. You can automatically or manually improve shots, remove red-eye and blemishes, apply a number of effects, add frames and borders, correct colors, and alter white balance. FxFoto supplies a standard set of drawing tools and lets you add captions to any of … Read more

Review: Altec Lansing's retro-futuristic Expressionist Bass PC speakers

Altec Lansing's motto for its striking $129.99 Expressionist Bass FX3022 PC multimedia speakers is, "All the bass in half the space." The concept is a good one. You take the subwoofer that normally sits on the floor, shrink it down, and integrate one into the bottom of each speaker. That way the user gets an ample amount of bass without having to deal the extra gear and wiring.

But how did they ultimately perform in our tests? (Hint: good for gaming and movies, not as great for music).

Read the full review of the Expressionist Bass FX3022 PC speakers.… Read more

Quick Tip: Customize your Windows Vista cursor

If desktop eye candy never gets too sweet for your tastes, you may already know about CursorFX.

The free cursor-enhancing tool that used to be known as CursorXP keeps polishing its cursor choices and effects to bring interest to your screen. CNET Executive Editor Molly Wood talks you through CursorFX in this Quick Tip video.

P.S. It also glorifies plain pointers for Windows XP.

Google hedges against foreign currency swings

In recent months, financial analysts have expressed concern that Google's financial results could be hurt by foreign-exchange rate changes. But Google said Thursday that it has taken measures to insulate itself from the potential problem.

Specifically, Google has invested about $80 million in hedging programs that counteract currency swings, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said on a conference call to discuss Google's third-quarter financial results. The foreign-exchange issue that currently afflicts Google is that the dollar is growing stronger relative to other currencies right now, which effectively devalues revenue from other countries.

The hedging programs "should be … Read more

Sony's HDV camcorder for the indie crowd

Sony's HDR-FX1, a camcorder popular with indie videographers looking for HD on the cheap, shipped almost four years ago; that's a pretty long product cycle, even for the semi-professional class it inhabits, especially given that Canon's competing entrant, the XH A1, shipped almost two years ago. So it's just a tiny bit disappointing that the FX1's replacement, the Handycam HDR-FX1000, merely offers parity with the XH A1 rather than leapfrogging it.

First, some basic specs compared:

Sony HDR-FX1 Sony HDR-FX1000 Canon XH A1 Sensors 3 1/3-inch 1,080x960 Super HAD CCDs 3 1/… Read more

PC speaker-design alert: Altec Lansing goes mod with Expressionist Bass

When it comes to PC speakers these days, separate subwoofers that sit on the floor are out, built-in subs (or no sub whatsoever) are in. Altec Lansing's playing up the whole built-in sub theme with its modular FX3022 Expressionist Bass speakers, which come in a black and white and will carry an MSRP of $129.95 when they're released in October.

The company's marketing material says the Expressionist Bass features twin-desktop speakers with 4-inch subwoofers built into the base of each speaker. There are separate 1.5-inch drivers for mid and high frequencies, along with an auxiliary … Read more

Gateway's bargain gaming monster even cheaper

We don't normally concern ourselves with what big retail stores put on sale every week--after all, they spend enough money to advertise their wares, they certainly don't need our help.

But while flipping through the Sunday sales circulars in the New York Times, we spotted the recently reviewed Gateway P-7811FX laptopin the Best Buy ad. We loved the latest version on Gateway's bargain-priced gaming rig enough to give it an Editors' Choice award--but we did grouse that at $1,450, it was about $100 more than previous versions.

For this week, at least, the P-7811FX is on sale for $1,249, which is a great deal for an Intel P8400 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 1,920x1,200 17-inch display, and Nvidia's new GeForce 9800 graphics card.

The ad even promises a free PC game (up to $49.99), so you can show off Crysis on a laptop that can actually play it. That being said, we'd avoid the PC game bundled in the newspaper circular--we probably don't need a GeForce 9800 to play James Patterson's Women's Murder Club.… Read more