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Seagate announced on Monday its fall 2008 lineup of FreeAgent external hard drives, including desktop and laptop models. They come preformatted for either Mac or PC file systems.

Seagate's new FreeAgent Go drives come in different colors and have an optional docking station.

(Credit: Seagate)

The laptop models, dubbed FreeAgent Go, come in four colors for PC users--silver, black, red, and blue--and only silver for Mac users. The Mac version, however, features both USB 2.0 and FireWire connections, while the PC version has only USB 2.0. The new drives also feature a docking station for easily connecting to a computer.

The FreeAgent Go drives feature Seagate's latest 2.5-inch 5400RPM internal hard drives that offer storage space up to 500GB. These new FreeAgent Go external hard drives are thin and light--measuring 0.49 inch by 3.15 inches by 5.12 inches (PC version) and 0.69 inch by 3.15 inches by 5.40 inches (Mac version)--and are bus-powered, where they draw power directly from the computer's port.

The desktop models include the FreeAgent Desk drive (Mac) and FreeAgent XTreme drive (PC) that can provide up to 1.5TB of storage. The Mac version offers USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800 connections, while the PC version trade the FireWire 800 for eSATA. The two models are designed to stand either vertically or horizontally and are both made of brushed aluminum. There's another budget version of the FreeAgent Desk (PC) that features only a USB 2.0 connection.

Regardless of what platform the new FreeAgent drives are preformatted, all are compatible with both Mac and PC (though some reformatting might be necessary) and come with Seagate Manager software. The software provides scheduled automated backup and multicomputer synchronization. The drives are compatible with OS X's Time Machine and offer software-based AES-256-bit encryption and Seagate DrivePass password protection for Windows users.

The FreeAgent drives will be available in October with suggested prices ranging from $160 to $350 for the laptop models and from $160 to $300 for the desktop models.

This is the D-Link DIR-855, one of the three new D-Link routers that belong to the company's Green Initiative.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

D-Link claimed today to be the first company to offer green Wi-Fi home networking. While the "first" notion of the claim is debatable--I've seen routers from other vendors with an eco-friendly design--the green aspect is more than welcome.

The company said its green initiative that adds eco-friendly features to the Xtreme NT line of wireless routers could reduce the devices' power consumption by 40 percent without sacrificing performance.

These new features cut down the power usage by automatically detecting link status and network cable length then adjusting the power accordingly. The new routers also feature Wi-Fi scheduling that allows customers to easily program when the Wi-Fi radio signals are turned on and off to further save energy consumption. Though this is not really new, many other routers allows for selectively turning off the wireless signal, D-Link has made this a lot easier to use and provides a user-selectable radio shutdown option that's adjustable by day and start/end times.

All D-Link's new routers are now available for purchase with the price varying from $150 to $350.

(Credit: Zenith)

If you thought only cockroaches would survive a nuclear holocaust, here's something else to add to the rarefied list--Zenith's Defy Xtreme Zero-G Watch. Its makers have apparently imbued this timepiece with the powers of Superman since it not only defies gravity (being accurate even in extreme gravity), but it's also waterproof down to 1,000 feet. You can read about the technology behind this feat at the Web site. Did we mention it costs $500,000? Yes, that's five zeros.

As for bodywork, it's armored in a blackened titanium body, with a titanium strap sporting Kevlar inserts, and 294 ultra-complicated parts, according to Uncrate. Unfortunately, even if this watch does manage to defy the worst disasters it's designed to survive, keeping time probably won't be a top priority.

(Source: Crave Asia)

(Credit: Xtreme Notebooks)

Xtreme Notebooks, the company responsible for sticking a quad-core desktop processor in a laptop case, may have to change its name: This evening the manufacturer announced its first nonlaptop offering, the all-in-one Xtreme XN1 PC/TV hybrid.

Key features include your choice of a 19-inch or 22-inch WSXGA+ LCD display, optional dual TV tuners, high-definition audio and room for two terabyte hard drives. The whole system runs on Core 2 Duo E series or Extreme Edition series processor, with your choice of integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics or a 256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7600 graphics card. There's also a rotating Webcam for video chats, a slot-loading LightScribe DVD burner, and optional Bluetooth so you can drive the PC with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

At 4.3 inches thick and 26 pounds, the Xtreme XN1 seems ready to be the centerpiece of a (small) home entertainment setup. To that end the PC carries Intel's Viiv badge, and the launch press release leans heavily on the product's entertainment potential in every room of the home, including the garage. (Which, frankly, we don't understand. But to each his own.)

Pricing for the 19-inch model starts at $1,489; the 22-inch model starts at $1,599. Both are available for order on the company's Web site and will reportedly ship immediately.

A star-spangled laptop

Six weeks ago, we told you about the Xtreme Notebooks 917V, one of the very first laptops purporting to offer quad-core computing, featuring the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and Q6700 CPUs. While this was an xtremely interesting development, as our colleague Matt Elliott sagely pondered: "It all adds up to an unquestionably powerful laptop, but I'd like to know what the Xtreme 917V Accelerator sounds like when it's cooling a desktop CPU, two video cards, and three hard drives." Other vendors agreed, and even wrote in to let us know that these quad-core chips were not officially supported by Clevo, the manufacturer of the chassis used in the Xtreme Accelerator 917V.

We figured we'd wait until this 12-pound monster showed up in our Lab before passing judgment. It was certainly hard to miss when it did show up. As illustrated above, the entire system was decked out in a bizarre American flag pattern, complete with stars printed right on the wrist rest. We didn't see a flag option on the Xtreme Notebooks Web site, so we figure this is an example of the company's offer to paint the system and put any graphic you want on it for $389 (on top of a base price of $3,199).

That doesn't look right...

Checking out new hardware is always exciting, especially when it breaks new ground, like stuffing a desktop quad-core CPU into a laptop. Equally disappointing, however, is booting up a system like that and running into immediate problems. Our Xtreme 917V had an unusual quirk--it ran fine when plugged in, but the screen image broke up whenever we pulled the plug and attempted to run it off of the battery.

After some elementary troubleshooting, we decided to cut our losses and ship the system back to the vendor for repair before benchmarking it, so it'll be at least several more days before we can tell you about our first experience with a quad-core laptop. Doubtless, you're just as eager to find out as we are, so we certainly hope they'll be xtremely quick in getting it back to us.

Against the OEM's wishes, the Accelerator 917V features a quad-core CPU.

(Credit: Xtreme Notebooks)

After last week's post about Xtreme Notebooks squeezing a quad-core processor inside a laptop, another small laptop vendor, ProStar Computer, contacted me to say such a feat is impossible. In his email, the ProStar rep claims that Clevo, the manufacturer of the chassis used in the Xtreme Accelerator 917V, has not approved any quad-core processors for use inside the Clevo D900C. To my eyes, it looks like the Accelerator 917V uses the gray D901C chassis. Either way, the product pages for both Clevo chassis list the supported CPUs as Core 2 Duo E6300/E6400, E6600/E6700, and the Core 2 Extreme X6800. No Core 2 Quad in sight.

I contacted Allen Hsieh, Clevo's Director of U.S. Sales, who told me that, indeed, it's true--the company has yet to approve quad-core chips for this platform. I can see why, as a quad-core desktop chip runs hotter than a more efficient laptop part with fewer cores and a lower clockspeed. Then again, the supported Core 2 Extreme chip is clocked at 2.93GHz, which is higher than the either of the Core 2 Quad chips, the 2.4GHz Q6600 or the 2.66GHz Q6700, Xtreme Notebooks offers on the Accelerator 917V. Plus, if Xtreme Notebooks is willing to assume the risk of selling (and supporting) such a system, what's stopping them?

When I contacted Xtreme Notebooks regarding this matter, the company's president, Steven Nichols, assured me that he is selling this quad-core laptop and has already, in fact, shipped a number out to customers. And he promised that CNET would have a review unit in its labs within a couple weeks.

While it appears the Accelerator 917V is for real (it's listed for sale here, after all), I would urge a little caution to those considering this system, since the OEM of the chassis hasn't approved anything more than a dual-core CPU. We'll know more once we're able to run the Accelerator 917V through our tests and get a feeling for its stability. It's not like you're running any software that's crying out for four processing cores anyway. Give it a couple of weeks and hopefully, we'll have a full rundown of its performance and thermal output.

(Credit: Xtreme Notebooks)

Never mind that there's little-to-no software that can take advantage of four processing cores, Xtreme Notebooks has released the first quad-core laptop in the U.S. With no mobile quad-core parts in existence, the Xtreme 917V Accelerator turns to desktop CPUs, giving you a choice between the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and the Q6700. Pricing starts at $3,359. Other niceties on this gaming laptop/mobile workstation include: a glossy widescreen 17-inch display (up to 1920x1200 resolution), one or two Nvidia GeForce Go 8700M GT or 7950 GTX graphics cards, and up to three hard drives in RAID 0, 1 or 5 configurations. It ships with 4.1 speakers (yes, this beast has a subwoofer), a Webcam, and a hefty 12-cell battery, while giving you the option to add a Blu-ray drive, a TV tuner, and 11n Wi-Fi. You can outfit it with XP or Vista or opt out of a preloaded OS entirely. Xtreme Notebooks quotes a system weight of 12.5 pounds.

It all adds up to an unquestionably powerful laptop, but I'd like to know what the Xtreme 917V Accelerator sounds like when it's cooling a desktop CPU, two video cards, and three hard drives. I retired an old Dell laptop last year that used a Pentium 4 desktop chip; the thing was not what you'd call quiet.

Hopefully, our request for a review unit will be met with a positive response. Ideally, the Xtreme 917V Accelerator will occupy a spot in our labs right next to the diametrically opposed Asus Eee PC.

(Via Laptoping.com)

XtremeMac's InCharge Auto adapter is just the thing for non-smoking iPhone commuters.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

I got my hands on XtremeMac's latest in-car iPhone power adapter, the InCharge Auto. As luck would have it, CNET car tech writer Kevin Massy loaned me his trusty desktop car lighter power supply to see if the adapter was worth its salt.

The result? It works! In fact, the adapter's standard USB connection will likely work on other USB-chargeable products as well.

For just $20, this seems like a good solution for charging you iPhone between destinations.

(Credit: Gadget Universe)

Until MP3 players and phones get built-in speakers with truly big sound, we may be stuck with mutant-looking plug-in versions to let loose our inner boombox. Various companies are come up with stopgap solutions that may not look pretty but are at least aimed at delivering beach-boardwalk volume without blowing up.

One of them is the "PodXtreme," which won't win any beauty contests but claims to have a bass that no standard handheld's built-in speakers can come close to achieving, at least not yet, according to OhGizmo. The secret is something that looks like a miniature foot pump but is actually an expandable "resonator" that's supposed to work like a subwoofer in its adult-sized counterparts.

Marketing-speak aside, it won't break the bank at $30. But if you really want to do some serious auditory damage, you can always go with the real thing.