For the Labor Day Weekend, Dell.com’s slashed $190 off the XPS 430. Such a unit configured with the following specs:
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Intel® Core 2 Q8200 Quad-Core (4MB L2 cache,2.33GHz,1333FSB)
3GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz – 3 DIMMs
500GB – 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB
Dell 19 in 1 Media Reader with Bluetooth

Thus retails for $599. The only thing missing? A monitor. Dell has told me this promo will only apply to the first 500 units, so if you’re looking for a decent computer powerful enough to run mid-range …read more

Thanks for punishing the early adopters once again Valve! I kid of course, but I imagine those who bought Fallout 3 at $50 (when it first came out) are probably cringing at today’s $20 price, available under Steam’s Weekend Deal program.

What’s Fallout 3 you ask? Are you ok? It’s the best solo RPG to come out in recent memory, features a relatively massive gameplay world worth weeks of losing sleep over. Owners of the game will also enjoy free access to current or future downloadable content packs. Over five have been released or are about to be released, and they …read more

No matter what you think of Dell, their prices still represent the highest spec-for-buck ratio I’ve ever seen.
For instance, the basic Studio XPS 13 laptop costs $999. Here’s what you get for that price:

A 2.0 GHz Processor (Intel P7350)
Vista Home Premium
A 13.3″ 1366 x 768 display, with an integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam
DVD/CD burner
3GB DDR3 RAM
250GB 7200 rpm hard disk
NVIDIA 9400M G
Support for Wireless N (802.11n)

That setup won’t be able to run more demanding games like the notorious Crysis, but it’s powerful enough for practically any other task. Shop for an XPS Studio 13.
Other Deals
Dell’s also upped the ante by discounting …read more

The $10,000 Internet Explorer 8 Promo: Follow clues laid down @tengrand_IE8 on Twitter, to find “a cleverly concealed webpage that only Internet Explorer 8 can view.” Seems straightforward enough, except the promo makes sure to ask you to “Ditch the web browser you’re using. If you try to find the $10,000 with Firefox, you’ll get nowhere.” The promo details are here.
Hopefully Microsoft is trying to promote how well IE8 properly displays web pages, being so faithful to existing web standards that it can reveal what competing browsers can’t. This so-called hidden website had better not be dependent on any special …read more

Part of Steam’s appeal must be its regular discounts and price drops. But with so many titles in the catalog, it can be easy to miss out on some of them.

Yet that should now be practically impossible, thanks to the efforts of Steam forum user sciss0rz, who’s taken it upon himself to update other forum members with information on—you guessed it—the latest discounts and price drops on Steam! The list (found here) also includes information on Steam game packs, compilations of multiple titles that are usually available at a lower total price (sciss0rz does not list packs that represent no …read more

Up for this weekend: 50% off on Assassin’s Creed for the PC, and 10% off the Freedom Force: Freedom Pack, for a total of just under 17 dollars! The Assassin’s Creed promo lasts over the weekend, while the Freedom Pack goes back to regular price by the end of June 5.

Why would you get those games? Well, Assassin’s Creed is probably the best 3D platformer I’ve played in quite a while (finished it on the PS3 last year). For some reason, dealing fatal counters to attacking enemies seemed very therapeutic.
The original Freedom Force, on the other hand, is a great …read more

If for some reason you haven’t played Team Fortress 2, today’s TF2-for-$10 promo leaves you with no excuses. That’s 50% off the regular price until the day ends, a promo coordinated with the addition of new features to the game. Sure, the Steam platform responsible for serving the game has some kinks that Valve really really really needs to work out, but no one can fault the software company’s games. But don’t take my word for it: TF2 is available to play for free until May 25.

Of course, you could’ve bought The Orange Box, a five-in-1 package featuring three Half-Life …read more

Husbands, boyfriends, and sons, lend me your ears! Sony’s got a couple of promos for Mother’s Day:

A Sony Cybershot S980BDL/P + a Pink and Black Camera Case for $150 – The CyberShot is a 12.1 Megapixel camera, features a washed metal finish, and of course, comes in pink. A 2GB Memory Stick Duo is part of the package.
Select VAIO CS notebooks + Dooney & Bourke tote bag = $150 in savings – Or basically, you get the bag (which costs $150) for free. This promo is somewhat limited though, since it only applies to “pre-built” CS notebooks. At least you’re …read more

b5media’s Sports Channel is celebrating the Breeder’s Cup, some prestigious Thoroughbred race in the US. Sports blog Thoroughbred Fever is giving away an Amazon gift certificate worth $200!
What does this have to do with you, fellow gadget geek? Well, you can always use up that $200 in Amazon’s electronics section. Check out how to join here.
Image by b5media.com