My colleague Cisco Cheng has already looked at the Lenovo 3000 series N100 notebook, and has dubbed it the "low cost cousin of the Lenovo ThinkPad z60m."  We just got the budget-oriented Lenovo 3000 J105 desktop in the labs, and so far it has caught a few eyeballs as people walk by it.  To me it looks like a more colorful take on the ThinkCentre desktops, with the same sort of lip/handle sticking out on top of the case.  The floppy and optical drive eject buttons are even more orange in person than you can see in the picture, and I'm not entirely sure I dig the whole look.

The J105 comes with an AMD Athlon 64 processor, a rarity in business-oriented PCs, though a proprietor can't exactly fire himself for not buying an Intel.  Some of the IT oriented ThinkVantage features from the ThinkCentres are present, like the system recovery tool, which is a good thing.

Look for the small-buisiness/home office oriented J105 review coming up soon on pcmag.com.

Update: It looks like they will be selling the Lenovo 3000 series desktops and notebooks at Best Buy, under their 'Best Buy for Business' brand.  Lenovo plus Geek Squad=a win for the blueshirts?

When I first saw these Smiley Cables over on Gizmodo.com, I knew I had to say something about them, since I am the bearer of all things smiley.

Designed by Speck Products, the Cable Guys Audio/Video Cable can connect your iPod to a TV or stereo. Each cable is color-coded and 4.5-feet in length. What differentiates these cables from any ordinary one is the fact that, yes, they're smiling back at ya. I suppose the company was feeling extra happy the day they came up with these smirky cables. Although some people may find them unamusing, I think they're just adorable, considering they're also adorned with a nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.

Even better, if you want to share your music with others, the Cable Guys Audio Pack includes 3 cables that let you play music through two sets of headphones, a computer, or a stereo.

Since I don't have an iPod-compatible stereo, the Cable Guys stereo cables is a nice substitution (and a lot cheaper).

Don't worry, be happy with the Cable Guys Audio/Video Cable for $19.95 or the Cable Guys Audio Pack for $24.95.

Buyers of luxury cars may be most accommodating to all-online purchases in the future, says Leadpile, a Phoenix-based provider of online leads to dealers. Why is that? According to Leadpile, they're "more demanding of their online buying experience" and appreciate services such as cars coming to them for test drives at home or work, rather than having to go to dealerships.

Leadpile says that buyers in the luxury market (called "epicures" by J.D. Power and Associates) have the highest share of $100,000-plus household incomes and the second-highest share of female buyers. What Leadpile leaves unsaid is that luxury car buyers tend to be older and somewhat less inclined to use the Web. It's the same conundrum automakers face when deciding where to stack their newest technological advances: Old guys have the money, but youngsters have the greatest interest in technology, except for things like the Twilight Sentinel, which turns headlights on at dusk. (A Turn-Signal Sentinel would be useful, too.)

According to Andrew Jacob, CEO of Leadpile: "The luxury buyer of the future will have totally different demands than what dealerships have become accustomed to. The luxury buyer… will have to be serviced at unprecedented levels. I see a day, very soon, when the luxury auto buyer will not even come into the dealership to buy the car. The dealership will have to come to them."

The portable Playaway has a lot going for it... and a few things not going for it.

It's a digital audiobook that plays itself: no other gadget needed, no confusing audio-synching required. (Most people reading Gearlog probably wouldn't be put off by getting digital audiobooks onto a player, but lots of mainstream users are.) That's convenient, but of course, unless you want to trade or sell it when you're done, it's got a limited life. On the other hand, so does a book or an audiobook CD. And the company, to its credit, encourages sharing it with others or donating it to a library. There's even a section on the product's site that gives you ideas on how to pass the Playaway along. Even so, the green in me cringes a little at the idea of a disposable audiobook! I hope people really do recycle them.

Ben Gottesman is our audiobook aficionado, and he tried it out. The Playaway runs on one AAA battery, which is supposed to last for a whole listen; Ben reports that it didn't last that long for him, and he had to replace it once. He also said that the Playaway lost his place in the book a couple times. But he liked that it's small, light (about the size of an iPod mini, and 2 ounces) and so simple to use: You just plug in the headset, pull a tab to activate the battery, and listen.

The headset comes with the package, and so does a battery. This could sell really well in airports or train stations for last-minute, I-need-entertainment-badly purchases.

Be ready to spend as much (or more) as you would for a hardcover book or audiobook CD. Prices start at $34.99 and go up from there.

Looks like you can purchase Blu-Ray media before the actual players come out. TDK is officially selling BR media to the public, and boy is it expensive. The cheapest one will run you twenty bucks. Make sure the content you're using is worthy of one of these BD-Rs


Retail pricing is set at:

TDK 25GB BD-R (recordable):  $19.99
TDK 25GB BD-RE (rewritable): $24.99

TDK 50GB Blu-ray media will be available later this year with retail pricing set at:

TDK 50GB BD-R (recordable):   $47.99
TDK 50GB BD-RE (rewritable): $59.99

Every TDK Blu-ray Disc includes DURABIS, the world's most advanced and most protective hard coating formulation.

After a two-day press preview April 12 and 13, the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) will run for a week and two weekends, from April 14 through April 23, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

SLIDESHOW (7)

Slideshow | All Shots

Small and medium (and occasionally, large) are the favored automobile sizes this year. Look for a host of smaller cars, crossover utility vehicles (read: smallish SUVs), as well as sporty cars. Even in these tough financial and environmental times, horsepower still sells—responsible horsepower, this year.

Acura and Mazda have new SUVs: Acura's is the smaller-than-the-MDX RDX (which seats five), and Mazda will show the bigger-than-the-CX-7 CX-9 (which seats seven). Ford will chime in with the Edge CUV. Saturn will revamp much of its line. Honda, Nissan, Toyota and others will have their first New York showing of small subcompacts. Saab will show the Aero-X concept car that was the hit of the Geneva Auto Show in March. Saturn will show a heavily revamped lineup, including the fire-breathing 260-hp, two-seat Sky Red Line sports car and Outlook SUV.

New introductions are expected to include the Bentley Continental GTC convertible, Ford Shelby GT-H, Honda Element, Hyundai Elantra, Infiniti G35, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, Lexus LS hybrid, Mazda CX-9, Mercedes-Benz E class, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Altima, Nissan Maxima, Saturn Aura, Saturn Outlook, Saturn Sky Red Line, Suzuki XL-7, and Volvo XC90. In autospeak, "new" may mean a redesign of an existing model, such as the Merecedes-Benz E-Class. But expect more than just the normal year-to-year bumper facelift "new." Concept cars include the next-generation Acura MDX SUV, Pontiac G6 GXP sporty car, and Scion Fuse sport coupe.

For those who are thinking of attending the show, remember that the Javits Center is the roach motel of public transportation: It's easy to get in (in the morning), but not so easy to leave. If you can't find a cab or a bus (New York City 34th and 42nd Street buses run crosstown to Javits), you can always walk back to Penn Station at 34th Street and 7th Avenue. And public parking is plentiful, but it's not cheap.