Drool

I think this has to be the coolest Media Center PC (not to mention pricey too). Since I just build mine, maybe in a few years I can save up to get this one… :)

Got money to burn? PC Magazine is here to help, and they are not talking Champaign kisses and caviar dreams; they are talking about the hottest entertainment technology money can buy. Their roundup covers everything from 61-inch plasma displays to media hubs for piping tunes throughout your house. Go ahead and ogle . Your $150 million lottery haul snuggles safely in the mattress. Another $100 million, left you by the cat lady for rescuing Hieronymus, rests pleasantly under the petunias. You own both Park Place and Boardwalk. Life is good, but then Ed McMahon saddles you with a check for a million - annoying pocket change hardly worth hiding in the sock drawer. What to do? ...

 Dell has done it again. The company has just released a 24" LCD monitor for your computer at an amazing price. While most other comparable monitors cross $2k - their’s costs only $1200! The monitor also includes 4 usb ports and a 6-in-1 card reader supporting CompactFlash (type I and II), SD/mini-SD card, Sony Memory Stick / MS Pro, Smart Media and Hitachi Microdrive. The display also offers a load of connectivity options, including VGA, DVI, composite, component, and S-video connections. It also has integrated picture-in-picture (PiP) that works with any pair of inputs. The PiP lets you display a small window in one corner (user-selectable) or side-by-side windows. The addition of component inputs is welcome and makes the unit suitable as a small HDTV monitor. But the DVI input does not support HDCP content protection, so you can’t use it with HDTV sources that require HDCP. Since this is primarily a desktop PC monitor, it also lacks HDMI connections. The on-screen display (OSD), is in color (the first time I have seen one). You can read up the full review (including pictures) here . ...

Watch this space as I add my drool factors here - things that mostly I probably don’t need - but would love to get my hands on. Meenakshi, if you are reading, think of this as the wish-list for the presents. :o). As they say boys with toys after all!! This is not to be confused with the .food category.