03/26, 10:15pm
Razer seen fostering Apple-like culture
Voodoo PC founder and former HP veteran Rahul Sood in a commentary put Razer in a unique position among Windows PC builders. He saw it at a minimum inheriting the title Voodoo had before HP bought it, taking over the high-end gaming PC space. Razer's new Blade notebook also represented a rare instance of a Windows PC developer striving for the level of quality from Apple, paying attention to the experience of the product, not simply chasing specifications.
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10/31, 4:50pm
HP CTO jumps ship amid wider chaos
HP's PC division faced more repercussions from recent months on Monday as its Personal Systems Group's CTO Phil McKinney said he would be retiring from HP. He planned an active retirement and would be an advisor to others without conflicts of interest or other "corporate restrictions," he said. The exit from HP was on friendly terms, but he wanted to "help innovators get better at innovating."
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10/20, 8:35pm
HP drops strategy head in first big shakeup
HP conducted the first big corporate shakeup since it fired Leo Apotheker on Thursday after it said its chief strategy and technology officer Shane Robison would retire as of November 1. While characterized as a graceful exit, it said Robison wouldn't be replaced. The move was to bring "strategy, research and development" more directly into HP, pointing to the restructuring as the primary incentive.
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11/15, 4:00pm
Rahul Sood announces departure from HP
Rahul Sood, the founder of Voodoo PC and the CTO of Global Gaming at HP, announced on his blog on Monday that he will leave his post at HP effective December 2. In the lengthy letter, Sood reflects upon his time at HP and starting the Voodoo brand out of high school, but does little to explain his hard-fought decision to leave HP. Sood does take the time to thank all those involved in helping him along his career path, however, including fans, partners at AMD, ATI, Intel and NVIDIA.
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09/07, 12:20pm
HP CULV and Core i7 notebooks leak
HP's impending plans to revamp its notebook line have likely been uncovered in advance today courtesy of a pair of leaks (one, two). Leading the group should be the Pavilion dv8, one of the first systems to use Intel's mobile Core i7; it should be an 18.4-inch desktop replacement with an early 1.6GHz quad-core processor that scales up to 2.8GHz when it can ramp down one or more cores. It's also expected that the system would come with a Blu-ray drive as well as 4GB of RAM and 640GB of storage, likely spread across two disks.
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01/06, 12:00am
HP Firebird 800
HP's CES introductions are being headlined today by an entirely new entry to its desktop line. The Firebird 800 is built with help from the Voodoo sub-label and aims to take up the minimal amount of space of a small form factor desktop with the performance of a full tower, thanks to new Intel processors: new set of Core 2 Quad chips consume just 65W of power without losing features over previous 95W versions. A custom liquid cooling setup also cuts back on fan noise from the chip and simultaneously frees up space for accessing RAM and the two drop-in notebook hard drive bays.
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01/01, 11:55pm
HP Firefly Preview
HP will reveal a concept notebook at CES that acts a showcase for the future of desktop replacement notebooks, Laptop reveals in a hands-on preview. A prototype known as the Firefly carries the 17-inch display typical of many notebooks its size but centers on a multi-touch trackpad borrowed from the Voodoo Envy 133 placed in an unusual location. Rather than ahead of the keyboard, the pad is placed at the side in a reportedly more comfortable position. The pad supports more complex gestures like pinch-to-zoom and scrolling but also supports left- and right-clicking and is said to be closer to a true mouse in terms of input.
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12/26, 8:50am
HP Voodoo 15in Notebook
HP is developing its first mid-size Voodoo PC-branded notebook since the reinvention of the label earlier in the year, a slip from within the PC builder claims. The system would be HP's first known high-end portable to carry a 15.6-inch, 16:9 aspect ratio display and will use an LED backlight that should both slim down the display and improve battery life. The system is reportedly due to ship during the summer and so is a candidate for Intel's mobile Core i7 processors.
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12/24, 12:50pm
Dell Adamo Power Leak
A leak of a 45W power adapter on Wednesday has revealed key details of Dell's Adamo notebook ahead of its official debut. Since changed to anonymize the description, the entry has previously described the power brick as designed specifically for the "Adamo Thirteen," confirming that at least one Adamo model will carry a 13-inch display and that the future system won't use any processor more demanding than the low-voltage Core 2 Duo chips used in Apple's MacBook Air, Lenovo's ThinkPad X301 or similar systems.
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12/23, 12:15pm
HP Firebird 803 Leak
A new leak floated by Engadget has revealed both a new compact HP gaming PC as well as new technology by PC. Supporting hints by HP's Rahul Sood of a Voodoo-influenced new gaming PC, the Firebird 803 appears targeted at gamers who still hope to have relatively compact desktops and should provide gaming-level performance using a new low-power video array: the system will carry two previously unknown GeForce 9800S chips that take up less space and power than regular desktop chips but should perform better than mobile chips.
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12/19, 4:15pm
Voodoo PC to go big at CES
Voodoo PC founder and HP Global Gaming Business CTO Rahul Sood announced on his
blog this past Tuesday that the press can expect the launch of a "really crazy" new product at the CES exhibition in less than a month's time from the company. Sood's excitement about whatever this new product will turn out to be is evident, as he goes on to describe it as "truly awesome" and with the "potential of re-landscaping the high-performance computing space."
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11/11, 3:45pm
MacBook Air Carbon Fiber
Not satisfied with the three-pound weight of the almost exclusively aluminum MacBook Air, Apple is investigating the possibility of building some of the ultraportable out of carbon fiber, a reported source of AppleInsider claims. The contact, which has allegedly proven reliable on MacBook updates in the past, notes that Apple would use the ultra lightweight but very strong material to replace the underside of the notebook, which is the second-heaviest component of the system. No changes would be made to the unibody aluminum top shell or the lid.
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11/04, 4:30pm
Voodoo, HP price drops
HP has recently dropped prices on two of its products, including the Envy 133 from its Voodoo PC line and the HP Blackbird 002 gaming desktop PC. As of Tuesday, both computers are now $200 less expensive, with the Envy 133 now priced at $1,899 and the Blackbird 002 at $1,799. In addition, those who order the Envy 133 will get a second battery for the notebook free of charge.
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09/09, 11:00pm
HP ships Voodoo Envy
HP on Tuesday announced it is shipping the Voodoo Envy 133 notebook, while Voodoo co-founder Rahul Sood alludes to a mystery product on the company's blog. CNET reveals that the MacBook Air and Lenovo X300 competitor saw an exclusive rollout event in Germany, easing concerns that HP would roll the Voodoo line into its consumer products. The Envy offers users a sleek computing experience, reminiscent of Dell's Alienware line of computers.
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08/12, 5:00pm
Dell execs pump Latitude
Electronista on Tuesday had an opportunity to listen to Dell executives on camera following the PC maker's Latitude introduction that reveals the company's approach to targeting systems such as the MacBook Air. The firm says it isn't worried about the competition from Apple, Lenovo, or other rivals as the Latitude "brackets" these systems; the E4200 is smaller and lighter than the Air through its use of an ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor, while the 13.3-inch E4300 uses a full-power Core 2 Duo and has an optical drive bay absent on these competitors.
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07/28, 4:25pm
MacBook Custom Platform
Apple is dropping Intel's reference platform in favor of custom circuitry, according to a new rumor floated by AppleInsider. Although every Intel-based Mac has to date used Intel's stock chipsets but with a custom layout, Apple is now purportedly using little to none of Intel's own components in favor of outside parts. Whether this involves licensing components from an outside firm or even custom-designed chips is unknown, though Apple would keep using Intel's processors.
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07/23, 11:05pm
HP absorbs Voodoo PCs
HP's Voodoo PC business has been merged into its main business division and may discontinue the use of the Voodoo brand name as the company tries push the products through its mainstream and worldwide channels. HP said it would likely retain Voodoo as a brand name, but had not reached a final decision yet. Until now, HP had operated the Voodoo PC division as a standalone business unit and sold its PCs independently. Following the announcement, the Voodoo-branded products will be sold alongside HP's consumer Compaq Presario and Pavilion PC lines, HP told PC World.
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06/11, 12:00pm
HP on Multi-Touch Notebook
Users should expect multi-touch displays in notebooks well before the release of official operating system updates like Windows 7, Hewlett-Packard's consumer notebook general manager Kevin Frost says. The feature won't officially appear in Microsoft's software until 2010 but should be available "long before" then in shipping products, according to the executive. Technical marketing head Kevin Wentzel supports the notion and mentions that the advancement is more a question developing software than any limits in current hardware.
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06/10, 4:00am
Voodoo Envy 133 and Omen
HP's performance label Voodoo PC today launched a complete overhaul of tis designs with systems that directly challenge the design aesthetics of the MacBook Air and the Mac Pro. The Envy 133 notebook joins both the Air and the ThinkPad X300 in the newer class of ultra-thin but still fast portables: the use of an LED-backlit screen and a carbon fiber chassis help the Envy measure 0.7 inches thick at every point while weighing under 3.4 pounds. A new generation of Intel's notebook platform helps reach these dimensions while still supplying speed, the company says. Voodoo's design is also the third after those from Apple and ASUS to sport a multi-touch trackpad with support for pinching and scrolling.
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06/05, 3:55pm
Voodoo PC Teaser
HP's Voodoo PC gaming division today hinted at a planned major update to its lineup through both its website and a teaser video (posted below). The company's website appears consumed by flames, suggesting a complete overhaul of what customers are familiar with in Voodoo's gaming-oriented systems; the video points to a much more refined look for the company's desktops and notebooks with aluminum, carbon fiber, and much more seamless, minimalist designs.
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06/02, 12:50pm
HP/Voodoo crossover plans
HP and its gaming acquisition, Voodoo PC, are planning to make a major announcement on June 10th, Forbes writes. Though the companies are refusing to detail any specifics in their early publicity efforts, they will say that the product(s) are intended to bring Voodoo's emphasis on aesthetics and performance to HP's mainstream audience. With few exceptions, most HP computers are designed for a budget or mid-range level, and do not use unique case or monitor shapes.
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