"We're basically plugging into the larger businesses," he says. "Notebooks will be manufactured and handled in Asia where there's much broader distribution. I can't just snap my fingers and have [the Envy and Omen] in Russia, Dubai and other places where people are begging for them. To scale the business and stay true to the brand, we have to structure it accordingly." Regarding layoffs, he did acknowledge: "There are definitely going to be people impacted. With any change, we have to take that impact in stride and keep pressing forward."

Rahul also addressed the concerns that some gamers had that Voodoo had abandoned its core audience. He surprised us with an interesting statistic: 25% of the Voodoo customer base are gamers, he says. The other 75% are "fortunate people who love the style and the fact that our products are so different." On the matter of the sleek new Envy not being a gaming PC at all, he mentions that it's not the first time, and that the hot-selling 12-inch Envy had integrated graphics too.

He stresses that the crazy Omen desktop and the Blackbird are both solid gaming platform. He also says that he's interested in the new directions that DIY enthusiast gamers will soon be taking. "The DIY enthusiast market will change," he says. "They're going to focus on more efficient computing rather than speeds and feeds, to bring more value to the end than just framerates. The DIY market will evolve—that's an opportunity for us to look into."

We have no idea what that might mean. Could it be a line of Voodoo-branded accessories? Or simply designing systems themselves with more DIY tweakbility in mind, like the Blackbird? Your guess is as good, or actually probably better, than mine, so go ahead and guess.

HP Introduces HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 16, 2008 – HP today announced the release of the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition, built for the ultimate PC gaming and performance computing experience.

The system, developed by the company's Voodoo business unit, is among the first to offer the newly released NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 GPU-based graphics cards with DirectX 10 support in an NVIDIA SLI configuration, along with the NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra MCP-based motherboard, DDR3 memory from Corsair, a liquid-cooled Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9770(1), Windows Vista® Ultimate 64-bit edition(2) and more.

Available for order today, the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition balances the performance of its next-generation component suite with stable high-performance gaming and computing. Each Exhilaration Edition system includes a Voodoo keyboard and mouse, as well as special edition SkinIt skins.

"Since its unveiling last year, HP Blackbird 002 has been recognized as one of the best designed gaming and performance systems available," said Rahul Sood, chief technology officer, HP Voodoo Business Unit. "With the HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition, we have made an incredible machine even better by leveraging the very latest in next generation components and conducting exhaustive tests to ensure that our customers enjoy a stable and immersive high-performance computing experience. We are also excited by the prospect that this system will accelerate more than just gaming applications through Visual Computing. We are so excited about this machine that I am personally signing every Exhilaration Edition Blackbird on behalf of our entire team."

The HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition includes:

· Liquid-Cooled Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor QX9770(1) – With a core speed of 3.2 GHz, a 2 MB L2 Cache and a 1,600 MHz Front Side Bus, the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor QX9770 is the heartbeat of the system. Experience games the way they were meant to be played, and run multimedia applications without breaking a sweat. With Intel's 45nm CPU coupled with HP Voodoo's liquid-cooling solution, users have power and performance at their disposal.

· NVIDIA Nforce 790i Ultra – The nForce 790i motherboard is Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core ready and designed to work and play well with the latest generation of Intel CPUs. It features full support for dual channel DDR3 1600MHz memory and beyond. And even though it arrives factory tuned for performance, the performance BIOS allows for complete end-user configuration.

· NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards in SLI – The Blackbird Exhilaration Edition features dual liquid-cooled GeForce GTX 280 Gpus, each with 240 multi-threaded processing cores.

· Corsair 1,600 MHZ DDR3 memory – Corsair 1,600 MHz DDR3 memory, upgradeable to 4 GB(3), lets the Blackbird run the most demanding applications and games smoothly.

· Creative Audio Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtremegamer FATAL1TY Professional – True 7.1 digital sound that was developed specifically for gamers. X-RAM provides earth-shattering quality and performance enhancement for games with X-RAM support.

· Super Multi BLU-RAY disc and HD DVD-ROM drive- The Blackbird's Super Multi Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD-ROM(4) drive gives users an expansive range of high-definition playback options. Users can enjoy next-generation media without sacrificing support for the titles already in their collection. Play BD-DVDs, HD-DVDs, DVDs, and CDs, and burn CDs and DVDs(5), all on a single optical drive.

· Windows Vista Ultimate– To support the high performance needs of its users, the Blackbird includes Windows Vista Ultimate, the most complete edition of Windows.

HP Blackbird 002 Exhilaration Edition can be ordered on the new Voodoo DNA website www.hp.com/voodoodna.

About HP

HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $110.4 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended April 30, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.

[HP]

•The case is all aluminum and the large pieces are stamped from a single sheet—only one factory in the whole of China can do this, and they usually do car doors.
•The foot cal holds 800 pounds and is lit by an array of LEDs.
•The back panel has LEDs
•To help deaden the sound of fans, they're mounted deep in the front of the case.
•There is a card reader and front mounted ports on the top. Click on the case to have it soft-open.
•The front of the machine has
•All components are tool-less. Except the back panel. Lo, there is a built-in tool kit for this! (Allen wrench)
•The sixth side, the bottom, is an air intake. It has a mesh grill, but won't stop dust. This thing needs filters, in my opinion. Dust is everywhere, on every floor!
•The graphics cards and other cards are in their own channel for cold air, and are secured by a single lid with springs and a latch. Card ends seem to be customized for this case, which is weird. Do you have you upgrade to HP cards later on?
•The graphics cards and CPU are watercooled, but no peltiers, as they tend to add too much heat to the case, says Rahul Sood. The radiator and output fans, which look like 12cm fans (two of em) are roof mounted.
•The VoodooDNA is their "ingredient brand".
•The 5 drive slots for 3.5 inch HDDs are tool free, as well.

It is by far the most beautiful looking PC I've ever seen. I worry about the dust issue, but that could be easily fixed by adding filters.

Introducing HP Blackbird 002

HP Blackbird 002 is a machine born from the minds of gamers, created with gamers in mind. Designed
by a core group of gaming enthusiasts at HP and performance computing experts from VoodooPC, HP
Blackbird 002 offers gamers new levels of innovation and versatility. Every element of HP Blackbird 002
- from its aluminum chassis to the cast-aluminum foot - contributes to its dynamic look and its extreme
performance.
Built with industry standard components, it is also designed to encourage gaming enthusiasts to make
modifications to existing hardware and upgrade to future generations of performance hardware.
Features like the removable side panel and interior/exterior back panel LED lighting make it convenient
for gamers to get inside the machine and tweak it.

To ensure performance meets each Blackbird owner's expectations, every HP Blackbird 002 is
configured to the individual's preference when it is purchased and ships with a completely open BIOS,
allowing for total customization.
Although the system was designed with gamers in mind, it is also ideal for anyone needing a
performance machine. People looking for a PC to handle demanding tasks such as photo, video and
music editing will also love the innovation packed into HP Blackbird 002.
Product Highlights

•Industry Standard Components - HP Blackbird 002 is the most versatile and configurable
performance PC in its class, simply because industry standard components are used throughout
the machine, making modification easy and driver conflicts a thing of the past.

•Full System Liquid Cooling - HP Blackbird 002 is the first in its class to feature full system,
maintenance-free liquid cooling that draws heat away from the CPU, motherboard and GPUs.
The factory-sealed system does not require the periodic maintenance other systems demand
and keeps the machine running quiet.

•Thermals - Heat is the enemy of performance PCs, and the three biggest heat generators are
the CPU, the GPUs and the power supply. HP Blackbird 002 isolates each heat source in its own
thermal chamber, ensuring that cooling air isn't contaminated with heat from one component
on its way to cool off another one. The HP Blackbird 002 can handle the heat.

•Easy Access - The machine invites users to pop the hood and tinker away. HP Blackbird 002 and
its removable side panel, interior and back panel lighting, and Voodoo-style wiring provides easy
access for enthusiasts to fine tune their machine's performance.

•Tool-less Upgrades - HP Blackbird 002 doesn't come with a toolkit. All the components, from
the CPU and GPU to the hard drives and optical drives, can be removed and installed sans tools.

•Flexible Overclocking - The HP Blackbird 002 standard BIOS allows user-controlled overclocking.
LCS systems are factory overclocked.

Key Design Elements

•Aluminum Chassis - Every element of the system's unique aluminum chassis tells a story. Its
wedge-shaped design and vectored lines hint at the raw speed inside. The fins that line the top
and front reflect a heat sink, paying homage to HP Blackbird's extraordinary thermal
management capabilities. And the tight fit and finish of the chamfered edges make it clear that
this finely crafted machine is tuned to perfection.

•The Hover - The single, cast-aluminum foot supporting HP Blackbird 002 is capable of
supporting up to 600 lbs., and only a select number of production facilities are capable of
manufacturing it. The cantilevered design allows airflow under HP Blackbird 002, making it
possible to seat the 1.1 kW power supply at the base of the chassis.

Availability, Pricing & Warranty

•Purchasing - The machine can be purchased online at www.hp.com/blackbird beginning Sept. 5,
2007
•Pricing - $2,500 - $7,100 USD
•Warranty - One year limited warranty*

More pictures, info and pricing:

Notice the sound hole is next to the guitar's neck rather than underneath the strings. Then, there's another opening called the stereo sound hole (the company calls this SSH, making it sound all scientific-like) on the guitar's head, in an attempt to maximize the resonance of this instrument.

There will be just 100 of these axes available, and pros taking this carbon fiber jewel on stage will certainly elicit the awe of any geeksters in the audience. But this Blackbird is going to have to do a lot of singing in the dead of night to make up for its $1599 price tag.

That price is not too bad, though, considering that the gold-standard Martin D-28 guitar costs at least $500 more than that. – Charlie White

Product Page [Blackbird Guitars]