For all of you aspiring gypsies/rock singers/divorcees.

Can’t go wrong with fringe.

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Right around the time Windows Vista came out, Microsoft was engaged in a PR campaign where they would give a blogger an Acer laptop loaded with Vista (see above picture) and not ask for it back. Free laptops mean good reviews, right? The whole thing blew up in Microsoft’s face, so in mid-2009, you’d think it’d learn its lesson, right?

Nope. Microsoft is out attacking Apple again with this whole “real life stories” bullshit campaign (they use actors). This time around, Microsoft will send you a laptop for six months plus a copy of Office 2010. Of course, you’ll be “reviewing” it, but what teenager wouldn’t feel great about getting a laptop for six months? More deception and bullshit from the best of the best, folks: Microsoft.

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As always, whenever a new gadget is released, the guys at iFixIt are keen to immediately ripping it apart. This time around, they’re blogging their teardown of the new 13-inch Macbook Pro. Those who are squeamish should exercise caution when clicking the link below.

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Dell, HP, Apple and plenty of other computer manufacturers are flipping a shit today. Know why? It’s because China is nothing but a pro-censorship, communist country that shelters its people from truth. Starting next month, all computers going into the country will have to contain software that filters websites that China deems “unhealthy.” News, video and plenty of other websites will now be censored, leaving the Chinese population in the dark about what’s really happening in the world.

The New York Times has an in-depth look at what’s going to happen as a result of this. Be sure to check it out, especially if you’re heading over there anytime soon.

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Dell is diving even deeper into the netbook market. In this video, a Dell engineer shows off the new 10v laptop running Ubuntu and the “Cupcake” version of Google’s Android OS. He calls it “snappy” and makes sure to note that Dell is not offering this as an option on any of its computers. However, it’s very possible to port it over to your 10v, so if Google’s mobile OS tickles your fancy, you better start coding.

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Looking to get your hands on a netbook with some official Android goodness? While the US manufacturers haven’t caught on yet, China’s Skytone certainly has and would love to offer you the Alpha-680 netbook for about $100. It comes in white, black, yellow, pink and red. 3G, Ethernet, Wifi and USB ports are all included to get you connected and an SD card reader will provide you with more storage. You’re going to need it too since it only sports 1GB of solid state memory.

Essentially, it’s the G1 on steroids. Import if you dare but you might want to wait until something a little nicer pops up on the radar.

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Prefer ripping apart older electronics than purchasing new ones? You’re gonna love this mod. Essentially, you’ll be ripping an Eee PC apart, jamming into into a wood frame and placing it on your wall. How is this better than dropping $100 on a digital photo frame at Best Buy? Simple: You can easily display slideshows of pictures from Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket and other online photo services. All you gotta do is hit the eBay circuit to find a used Eee and you’re good to go.

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Dream for days of true retro-gaming on the go? Ben Heck has you covered. He’s put his master modder skills to good use this time around, creating a portable Commodore 64 laptop. Says Heck:

This project somehow has the distinction of being both the longest and fastest portable electronics project I have ever done. I originally started making a C64 laptop in the fall of 2006, and kept pecking away at it every so often. Finally, a few weeks ago, I said “screw it” and started over.

I redid everything in a week and a half - the shortest project ever. (The previous record hold was the Wii portable at 2 weeks) The goal this time was to make something that looked exactly like a computer from the early 80’s, yet in a new form. Including the color beige and texture

Full keyboard, SD slot for loading up programs and a display that rings true to the original. Nice work. Hit the link to see how Ben did it and plenty o’ pictures.

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Why is it that women just can’t resist tainted fruit? First, Eve came along and fucked up immortality for the whole human race (thanks a lot, Satan), and then Snow White, for some reason, thought some random apple from a poorly disguised farmer would be totally wholesome and delicious. I think the lesson we’ve learned here is never to accept fruit from cartoon characters or serpents.

With that womanly weakness for fruit in mind, this Apple Macbook case mod ingeniously uses Apple’s iconic logo to incorporate the symbol of the ultimate female temptation, a ripe and supple pair of shoes piece of fruit.

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Check out these laptop bags from designer Giles Miller. He does wondrous things with cardboard, attaches a leather belt and calls it a laptop case. While I love the look, it’s still a cardboard case. What happens if it rains? In fact, scratch that. Who cares. Didn’t your laptop come in a cardboard box? If you hung onto that, why not just attach a piece of rope on each side and voila! You’ve got yourself a case. Last I checked, Apple’s box design is more chic than half of the laptop bags out there today but I think Giles’ design wins overall due to the street cred.

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