Do you think that the VAIO UX series UMPC is old fashioned and boring? Well, check out what some folks over at MicroPCTalk did to the UX490 (the latest UX model from Sony, which was released back in November 2007). Modifications include:

• The original 48GB SSD has been replaced with a 128GB SSD
• Core 2 Solo U2200 1.2GHz processor replaced with a Core 2 Duo U7700 1.33Ghz processor, overlocked to 1.438GHz
• Included E169 Huawei terminal for 3G
• Quad-boots Mac OSX Leopard, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows Vista Business and Windows XP Pro

With netbooks becoming more and more popular, you’ll probably be hard pressed to make yours stand out amongst what your friends have. That’s probably what Dell is aiming to solve when its limited edition netbook design by Deanne Cheuk. In case you’re wondering, Deanne Cheuk has previously commissioned work for companies like Nike, Swatch, Target, MTV, American Express and the Net York Times. There will be a total of 5250 units of this laptop available, and each of them will be individually numbered. It’s a Best Buy exclusive, so we certainly don’t have to tell you where you can pick up one of these for $379.

Microsoft has rejected claims that it deliberately put a backdoor in Windows 7 at the request of NSA (National Security Agency) which would allegedly allow NSA to spy on users. Some parties are also concerned that Microsoft might be compelled to do so as the US government is one of its most important customers, though other experts note that the consequences of allowing such a thing to be included could be even more severe. Do you think Microsoft would put such a function into Windows 7? Drop us a comment and let us know what you think.

Folks who attended Microsoft’s PDC09 (Professional Developers Conference) should be rather happy, as Steven Sinofsky, Windows and Windows Live Division President, announced that all of the PDC09 attendees will be receiving a free Acer Aspire 1420P Convertible Tablet PC. The free tablet was supposedly to show Microsoft’s gratitude towards all of the PDC attendees and the support that the developers gave Microsoft during the Windows 7 release. In case you were wondering, the features of said laptop include:

• Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition
• Intel Celeron 1.2GHz
• 2GB RAM
• Intel graphics
• 3G mobile broadband
• 250GB hard disk
• 11.6-inch screen

With Windows 7 having been released nearly a month since today to rave reviews worldwide, it does make us sit up and take notice that Microsoft has plans to roll out Windows 8 in 2012 - that's a mere 3 years since Windows 7 was launched, keep in sync with Microsoft's rhythm of releasing major and new software every four years apart. What do you think of this move? Will Windows 7 have the longevity that XP had to throw things off course?

Google co-founder Sergey Brin revealed that the two operating systems from the company, Chrome and Android, were "likely to converge over time," without offering any specific date for our reference. This is interesting news, and it would certainly bode well for developers as they won't need to make too many modifications to the coding when releasing an application for both mobile devices and computers, but does this mean the merged OS on a PC will be rather gimped since it will need to cater to the lowest common denominator, which would be a smartphone? After all, smartphones are still far behind in processing power even when compared against netbooks.

If you're a huge fan of convergence devices, then the USB VOIP Phone and Card Reader might just rock your boat as it boasts the functionality of a full-duplex plug-and-play VOIP phone alongside an integrated USB card reader that can handle both SD and MMC formats. Apart from that, it has an external speaker capability for hands-free conversation just in case you're frantically trying to finish typing up a document your boss has requested for since yesterday. This nifty device retails for $12.69 from Uxsight.

Want to attend a BYOC event but don't have the hottest looking case on the block? That can be rectified with you doing a good deed at the same time, thanks to this stunning custom PC casemod that is currently undergoing the hammer for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Not only does this glowing computer look solid on the outside, its innards are something to shout about with an Intel Core i7 975 Extreme Edition processor, a couple of nVidia GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards running in SLI mode, a whopping 12GB DDR3 RAM, a 2.5 TB hard drive, a Logitech G19 gaming keyboard, a custom Razer Boomslang mouse and 13 video games pre-loaded to get you started right out of the box. Its innards alone are worth more than 10 grand, but the bidding price starts at $4,000 - what are you waiting for?

Intel wants to have chips (theirs, obviously) inside our brains in the future so that there is no need for a mouse or keyboard to take charge of our computers. Dean Pomerleau is the brains behind this vision, where he works for Intel on matters of cognitive neuroscience, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, man-machine interfaces, brain processing of semantic information, and various brain-scanning technologies including fMRI, MEG, EEG and ECoG. We don't think something like this will ever take off - it would certainly leave the thought of Big Brother knowing our every move and thoughts.

The SmartFish ErgoMotion Mouse isn't exactly new, but it is now back on sale for $49.95. Targeting folks who spend long hours in front of the computer and want to avoid suffering from side effects such as RSI, the ErgoMotion Mouse “features a patented pivot base that for the first time allows the mouse to move with your natural hand and wrist positions adapting to your unique movements while you work.”

Some initial information on Intel’s successor to the Pine Trail platform has surfaced. The next iteration will be codenamed Cedar Trail and this 2011 update will be built on the 32 nanometer processor. Aside from that, it will take advantage of a new integrated graphics core, and also support DirectX 10, as well as HD video decoding. Other features should include dual digital outputs that support DisplayPort and HDMI, not to mention support for 1,066MHz DDR3 will also be a welcome addition. It’s nice to see processor technology moving happily along, giving us faster and more efficient chips.

Hackers have managed to get around Mac OS X 10.6.2, allowing netbooks running on Intel Atom processors to work with it again after being shut out by the recent update. Bear in mind that this hack is applicable only to a selected number of users, since not everyone who installs Mac OS X on non-apple machines uses an Intel Atom processor. It still remains to be seen whether Apple will disable Atom processor support permanently in the future. Atom is not used in any Apple products at the moment.

The Pegatron smartbook is on its way to hit the US, where it will retail for a sweet, sweet sub-$200 price point in the first quarter of next year. Powered by an ARM processor, this 10" netbook will run on Ubuntu where it will function more like a cellphone than notebook thanks to its Always On capability, while boasting a Quick On function that helps it get up to speed in a jiffy instead of wasting a couple of minutes of your life waiting for the machine to boot up. Hopefully the battery life would be a strong point, otherwise all the good work mentioned might just be undone.