The Cheapskate

Normally $99.99, this exceptional desktop-publishing program can be yours for just $16.99.

(Credit: Buy.com)

Whatever happened to desktop publishing software? A decade ago you had your pick of at least a dozen programs, but now the field is nearly empty.

Sure, you can still buy Adobe PageMaker or QuarkXPress for a small fortune (make that a medium fortune: they run $499 and $799, respectively), but what if you just want a simple program for creating newsletters, brochures, flyers, and the like?

Enter Serif PagePlus X4, a terrific desktop-publishing application that's ideal for designing print and Web-based documents alike.

Right now, Buy.com has PagePlus X4 for just $16.99 shipped. That's after a $25 mail-in rebate [PDF], but even at the prerebate price of $41.99, this software's a steal.

Indeed, although you can use PagePlus for any number of everyday projects (calendars, greeting cards, etc.), it's powerful enough to create professional-level documents (books, magazines, etc.).

In addition to robust page-layout tools, PagePlus features a PDF editor, logo builder, and photo lab. It also comes with a huge assortment of templates so you can hit the design-ground running. And to help beginners get started, it incorporates tutorial videos.

The software supports nearly every imaginable output option, including four color separations, press-ready PDFs, double-sided printing, and Web publishing.

In short, PagePlus X4 can stand toe-to-toe with Quark and PageMaker, but at a fraction of the cost.

I'm a huge fan of the program, which I've used for years. In fact, I've been plugging along just fine with PagePlus X2, but now that I can score the latest version for just $16.99, I'll definitely be upgrading.

Update: Sorry, folks, looks like the deal is no longer valid. But check back in a day or two to see if Buy.com replenishes its stock. It's been known to happen!

HP's ultra-compact Pavilion is stuffed with home theater-friendly features.

(Credit: HP)

If you're in the market for a PC to serve as the hub of your home theater, look no further than the refurbished HP Pavilion Slimline S3750F. It's compact, loaded, and on sale at Buy.com for $479.99 shipped.

As many of you pointed out in last weekend's post about the Nero LiquidTV TiVo PC, Windows Media Center offers some pretty killer DVR features.

I agree 100 percent, which is why there's a PC much like this HP sitting in my family room, connected to my TV.

The S3750F features a quad-core AMD processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and a Blu-ray drive/LightScribe DVD burner.

It also comes with an AverMedia ATSC/NTSC TV tuner, which can pull in analog cable or over-the-air digital signals. My advice: add a couple extra tuners so you can record multiple shows from multiple sources simultaneously. (Thursday night is just a bear this year, isn't it?)

HP supplies a remote for couch-friendly operation and 802.11n Wi-Fi for wireless-friendly operation.

My one and only complaint with this system (apart from the 90-day warranty, which I consider minor) is that it comes with Vista Home Premium, not Windows 7. And because it's a refurb, it's not eligible for a free upgrade.

Still, I'm running Vista on my media-center PC, and it's been absolutely fine and dandy. In other words, an upgrade isn't essential, IMHO.

Shop around a bit and you'll see this system selling for at least $800 elsewhere, and as high as $1,000 at many stores (including Amazon). A desktop this loaded for $479 is a real deal.

Get a stylish, smartly equipped quad-core tower for under $300.

(Credit: Woot)

I try not to go to the Woot well very often--it's a competing deal-of-the-day site, after all--but this is too good to pass up: a refurbished Gateway quad-core desktop system for $289.99. Shipping runs a mere $5.

Because it's Woot, the offer expires at the end of the day, and stands a good chance of selling out before then.

That's because this is a really nicely loaded tower. It packs a 1.8GHz AMD Phenom X4 9100e 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and a SuperMulti drive with LabelFlash technology (LightScribe's red-headed cousin).

On the video side, you get an OK-but-not-great-for-games integrated ATI Radeon HD 3200 that borrows up to 256MB of system memory. On the plus side, it sports an HDMI port, meaning this system can easily pull media-center duty.

The system comes with Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit). Alas, because it's a refurb, it doesn't qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 7.

It does, however, have the refurb-standard 90-day warranty. I don't consider that a major compromise, but some buyers might.

This is, I think, the lowest price I've ever seen on a quad-core desktop, and it's a nicely equipped one at that. If you've been looking for a cheap replacement for that aging XP box, look no further.

(By the way, if this does sell out, check back later. I'll find something else cool for your weekend!)

It's not perfect, but it's still a 17-inch desktop replacement for $350!

(Credit: Toshiba)

If you missed out on Walmart's recent $348 Toshiba laptop, fear not: Buy.com has an almost identical Toshiba Satellite L355-S7905 for $349.95, with free shipping.

That's a pretty jaw-dropping price, but there are a couple caveats. First, the out-the-door price is $399.95; you'll have to wait 8 weeks or so on a $50 mail-in rebate [PDF].

Second, this is a refurbished system, so the warranty expires after 90 days. You can extend it to one year for $60, but at that point you might be better off with a new model.

Finally, I don't love the Toshiba's 2.16GHz Intel Celeron processor. (Celerons are notoriously pokey.) At least the remaining specs are solid, including 3GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and a SuperMulti DVD drive.

Oh, and that glorious 17-inch LCD, which has a native resolution of 1,440 x 900 (that's better than 720p, if you prefer to think in HDTV terms).

Alas, there's no Webcam, and the OS is Vista Home Basic. You can always upgrade to Windows 7 when the time comes, but there's no free upgrade included here.

So, yeah, this deal definitely has a few compromises. On the other hand, I continue to be blown away that you can get a 17-inch desktop replacement for just $350. A year ago, you'd have paid twice that.

And make no mistake, the Satellite has plenty of horsepower for everyday computing. Indeed, it's faster and way better equipped than your average Netbook, which sells for about the same price.

While you're mulling that over, keep in mind that the rebate offer expires in two days (Sunday, Sept. 6). Have a great holiday weekend, and I'll see you back here on Tuesday!

A 17-inch laptop for under $500? Yes! Until you add shipping and sales tax, that is.

(Credit: Dell)

By now you've probably heard about the $348 Toshiba 17-inch laptop that's available at Walmart starting this Sunday.

That's a pretty amazing deal, but I see two downsides. First, it requires a trip to Walmart (and possibly some throwing of elbows, as this is a Black Friday-class price). Second, that Toshiba comes with a seriously pokey Celeron processor.

If you've got a little more room in the budget and want a system that's a tad more robust, you can get a Dell Inspiron 17 dual-core laptop for $499.

In addition to a 17.3-inch LED display and 2GHz Pentium T4200 processor, the Inspiron features 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and all the other standard goodies.

In other words, it's a fine choice for students heading back to school or anyone looking for a no-frills desktop replacement.

Unfortunately, shipping will run you $29, and you may have to pay sales tax as well. Plus, the system comes with Vista Home Basic. I think it's worth spending an extra $30 for Vista Home Premium, which comes with a free Windows 7 upgrade.

By the time you get out the door, then, you may be spending closer to $600. That's still a very solid deal on a 17-inch notebook.

That said, how many of you will be lining up at Walmart Sunday morning? Mighty tempting.

Quad-core? Check. Blu-ray? Check. Free Windows 7 upgrade? Check!

(Credit: HP)

Update: Sorry, folks, looks like the discount code has expired.

If you're in the market for a new desktop that's equally well-suited to games and movies, HP has a ridiculously good deal going. It's the HP Pavilion Elite e9110t, which you can get for $649.99 shipped after a few configuration tweaks and a coupon code.

The tiger in the tank, Intel's 2.33GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor, roars along with 6GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and a 512MB GeForce G210 video card. Those are some kick-ass specs.

Other highlights: a Blu-ray drive with LightScribe-DVD capabilities, an 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter, and a 15-month subscription to Norton Internet Security 2009 (aka the good version).

Perhaps best of all, the system comes with Windows Vista Home Premium but is eligible for a free Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade come October 22.

By the way, this is a new Pavilion, not a refurb, so you get HP's full one-year warranty. Here's how to put it all together, courtesy of DealNews:

1. Ctrl-click this link to open the product page in a new tab.
2. Click the Customize & Buy button next to the $649.99 option.
3. Click the Memory option and choose the free 6GB upgrade.
4. Click the Primary CD/DVD Drive option and choose the Blu-ray player.
5. Click the Networking option and choose the Wireless-N LAN card and external modem.
6. Click Review & Buy, then apply coupon code DTM4558.

Presto! That should get you out the door for $649.99. In an ideal world, this system would also have a TV tuner (which you can add for $80), but it's still one of the best desktop deals I've ever seen.

HP's various discounts on this system end Aug. 15, so you've got a little time if you want to shop around. I'll be mighty surprised if you can find a better configuration for the money.

This smokin' quad-core desktop is new, not refurbished, and a steal at $599.

(Credit: HP)

Remember the HP Pavilion M9350F from back in January? That post elicited a ton of discussion (nearly 150 comments), in part because it was a uniquely awesome deal, and in part because of a little controversy. More on that in a bit.

The original deal was $619.99, plus $30 shipping, for a refurbished model. BuyDig has the HP Pavilion M9350F, new, for $599 shipped. If you're in the market for a desktop, get out your wallet: It doesn't get better than this.

I say that as the owner of this exact system. Although I did suffer a couple months of frustration owing to a hardware glitch (the machine would slow to a crawl for hours at a time), I eventually tracked down a hard-drive firmware update that solved the problem. The M9350F has been a gem ever since.

As I said the first time around, the specs on this thing are unreal: a quad-core AMD processor, 6GB of RAM, a 750GB hard drive, a 512MB GeForce 9800GT graphics card, a TV tuner, and 802.11n wireless connectivity.

It lacks a Blu-ray drive, but I don't need one. I'm happy with the LightScribe DVD burner. If you do decide to leverage its media-center capabilities, you'll appreciate the HDMI output (via DVI adapter) and Windows Media Center remote.

In short, this system is loaded, and it's $50 less than it was five months ago. Plus, you get a full one-year warranty instead of just 90 days. (Speaking of which, I dealt with HP technical support a couple times, and they were surprisingly efficient. I even got follow-up calls to make sure my problem was resolved.)

Indeed, despite my rocky start with the M9350F, I have no qualms about recommending it--especially at this price. Just make damn sure you install that firmware update.

For just a few bucks more than the refurb price, you can get HP's desktop-friendly Pavilion GX-235DX brand new.

(Credit: Best Buy)

Remember the HP Pavilion G60-235DX notebook from last week? Buy.com had refurbs for $469.99 shipped. (They still do, in fact.)

But eagle-eyed reader Mike wrote in to say that Best Buy has new HP Pavilion G60-235DX notebooks for $499.99. In other words, for an extra 30 bucks (plus sales tax in most states), you're getting the same system brand new, with a full one-year warranty instead of just 90 days.

Worth it? Absolutely. I mean, at any price under $500, this notebook is a steal. The 16-inch LCD makes it more than suitable as a desktop replacement, and it offers ample mainstream-computing power from its 2GHz dual-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and roomy 320GB hard drive. (Check the original post if you want more specs or commentary.)

User reviews for this model are stellar on the Best Buy and Buy.com sites alike. And just to clarify that one point of confusion from last week, Buy.com did indeed have the wrong product photo, which they've since corrected. The G60-D235DX does have a full-size keyboard with separate numeric keypad.

If you don't have a Best Buy in your area, you'll have to pony up an extra $25 for shipping. But I still think this is a system worth considering, especially if you're shopping for, say, a high-school grad who needs a college-ready notebook.

Reader Dan wrote in to say that he'd missed the 17-inch Dell Studio notebook deal from a couple weeks ago, and wanted to know if this HP Pavilion G60-235DX from Buy.com was just as good.

Well, let's take a look. For starters, the HP costs just $469.99 shipped--a full $80 less than the Dell. It's not quite apples to apples when it comes to specs, but it's very close.

For example, the Pavilion has a 2GHz dual-core processor, as opposed to the Dell's 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Real-world difference? Not much. The Pavilion also has 3GB of RAM instead of 4GB--still more than enough to run Vista Home Premium at a speedy clip.

Other features include a 16-inch LCD, 320GB hard drive, Webcam, and LightScribe DVD burner. There's also an HDMI port, should you want to connect the system to a big TV or monitor.

Curiously, Buy.com seems to have the wrong model pictured. As shown in CNET's review video (above) and HP's own product page, the G60-DX235 sports a 101-key keyboard (meaning it has a separate numeric keypad, just like a desktop keyboard). Buy.com's photos show a notebook with a smaller keyboard.

However, the accompanying specs do reference the 101 keys, so I do think it's just an honest error. At least one of the user reviews makes specific reference to the G60-DX235's larger keyboard.

And speaking of reviews, the Pavilion averages 4.5 stars out of 5 from Buy.com customers and CNET readers. That's pretty impressive.

My only real complaint is HP's 90-day warranty; Dell covers its refurbs for a full year. Of course, 90 days is pretty typical, and the conventional wisdom is that if something's going to break, it usually happens within the first couple months anyway.

Bottom line: this is a lot of notebook for the money. I think you found yourself a winner, Dan!

Update: First-time Buy.com customers can save an extra $10 by redeeming this coupon.