Apple will hold a special, invitation-only event on October 14 at 10AM PST at their headquarters in Cupertino, CA.

Will there be new MacBooks and MacBook Pros that even remotely resemble the spy photos? We’ll have to wait and see.

Stuart Lowe installed Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.5 on a Gigabyte M912X netbook tablet. For us Mac users out there, this would make a pretty cool little portable. The Gigabyte M912X has a swivel 8.9-inch touchscreen and is powered by the Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor.

Some interesting photos have surfaced on the ‘net that would somewhat confirm the “brick” method of making a laptop case from a block of aluminum (or other metal). The photos show the bottom half of a laptop case with openings for each key and for the trackpad.

[sources Engadget and Apple.pro]

ASUS introduced a new, ultra-thin netbook that is spec’ed very much like all their other netbooks. The S101 comes in brown, champagne, and graphite, and measures a thin 1.8cm to 2.5cm (0.71 in to 0.98 in).

Screen is 10.2-inches and 1024×600 resolution. Processor is an Intel Atom, Connectivity comes in the form of 802.11n, Bluetooth, and 10/100 ethernet. The S101 comes with 1GB of memory and storage options consist solid-state drives in 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB. The S101 is outfitted with the standard array of ports: 1 x VGA port, 3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x LAN RJ-45, 2 x audio jacks. Battery life is said to be 5-hours due to the exclusive Super Hybrid Engine (SHE).

Pricing will range from $699 to $799 USD.

A user has installed Leopard 10.5.4 on a Dell Mini Inspiron 9 using an installer image designed for the MSI Wind. There is a script to install the Dell Broadcom drivers, and there is also an application that fixes the sound output on the Mini 9. After running those two patches, OS X will be fully functional* on the Mini 9.

* some small things aren’t working such as two-finger scrolling

HP is now shipping their new HDX 18t series of laptop computers. This 18.4-inch laptop is geared for media enthusiasts with a Full HD display (1920×1080p) and HDMI output. The HDX 18t series starts at $1,549.99, with a recommended configuration right about $2,000.00. Configuration options max out at Intel Core2 Quad Processor QX9300 (2.53Hz), 640GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (320GB x 2) , 8GB DDR2 memory, 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT video card, Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW optical drive, and Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth

Buy the HDX 18t

If you like the idea of a small laptop or netbook, but don’t like the idea of the integrated graphics chip, then the ASUS N10 might be just what you are looking for. The ASUS N10 comes with the netbook standard fare in the graphics department — the Intel GMA950, however in addition to that, there is an onboard Nvidia 9300MGS graphics card with 256MB of memory. There is a switch on the side of the N10 to activate/deactivate the Nvidia 9300MGS, but the change requires a reboot to take effect. This is a great improvement over the GMA950, but still not quite adequate for 720p video. You will be able to do some gaming with the N10, if you so choose.

Mobile Computer Mag actually tested the N10 with Call of Duty 4, and the N10 performed surprisingly well. See the video after the break below. Visit Mobile Computer Mag for the full video.

Buy the ASUS N10 10.2-inch laptop with 1.60GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 2GB RAM, 320GB HDD, Nvidia 9300MGS, and Windows Vista (with XP downgrade disc):
Amazon

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LG has put a 10-inch netbook on their site dubbed the X110 “Momo” (as in More Mobility). The features include:

• Main Processor-Intel Atom 1.6Ghz + 945GSE + ICH7M
• LCD-10” WSVGA
• Memory-80GB / 120GB HDD
• RF Receiver-HSUPA
• Input-82 Key full keyboard
• Camera-1.3 Mega pixel

It looks to be a respectable entry into the netbook market. No word yet on which it can be purchased.

The ASUS Eee Box is now available.

* Operating system: Windows XP Home
* Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
* Internal memory: 80 GB hard disk drive
* RAM: 1 GB DDR2
* Video card: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
* Memory card slot: Compatible with SD/SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
* Networking: Tri-mode Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n), 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
* Peripheral connectivity: Three USB 2.0
* External video: One DVI
* External audio: One headphone/line-out with S/PDIF digital audio
* Weight: 2.2 pounds
* Dimensions: 8.5 x 7 x 1 inches

ASUS Eee Box PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Pure Black at Amazon.com

ASUS Eee Box PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Pure White at Amazon.com

ASUS Eee PC mounted to back of HDTV

According to HKEPC Hardware, the next addition to the ASUS Eee PC lineup is the S101 as revealed by ASUS’ president Jerry Shen. The S101 features an Intel Atom 1.6GHz N270 processor and 945GME chipset and will have a 10.2-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and LED backlighting with either a 32GB or 64GB SSD, and a thickness of 16mm - 21mm. This sounds like a sweet setup.
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