This month will be the launch of the Creature Creator for Will Wright's Spore, and the evolution simulator is set to touch two thirds of the PC population: Windows and Mac. What we have here are for gamers on both segments, though several Linux players might be interested as well. Are your Windows (emulation or non-emulation) and Mac rigs ready? The system requirements to run EA Maxis' masterpiece follows at the full story.

What's hot in the PC side of things (well, the Windows side of the PC side, that is)? It's what you've been waiting for, Windows gamer. At this year's D: All Things Digital, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer of Microsoft have demoed one of the new facets of Windows 7 in front of an audience that once witnessed the one-on-one between Gates and Jobs. And guess what? Windows 7's new features starts off with touch.

In a bid to make the Windows brand become more involved in the ultra low-cost PC market, Microsoft has been prepping up the usually-pricey Windows XP into becoming OS of choice for the budget machines, including OLPC's XO notebooks, which are aimed towards developing countries. More in the full article.

Linux is the first choice when it comes to pre-loading an operating system onto ultra low-cost PCs, but not for long. Microsoft is making a move to make Windows XP an option as an ULPC OS, and it should be good news to those looking for more options in their budget laptops. More details in the full article.

People prone to putting their laptops in precarious situations (such as dropping it into water, or onto concrete) may want to consider getting one of NEC's ShieldPRO tablet PC. It's rugged build promises to offer some resistance against water, dust, and other harm that may befall the poor laptop. More details in the full article.

Boo yeah! Now we've got more reason to trade in our Eee PC 701s, and it's because a beefier 900 is definitely forthcoming. Official specifications have been spilled from ASUS itself, and to it we've added other tasty delights such as regional launch dates and target price range. Learn more about the next in line for the million-selling Eee PC series at the full story.

Presenting the ultimate in compact technology, the newly-released Asus Eee PC 900 is small, sleek, and just too darn cute not to snap up. But for those of us a bit more tech-minded than most, it's been discovered that the processor churning inside the Hong Kong/Taiwan retail versions of the Eee PC 900 isn't what they originally promised it would be. All the details after the jump.

Being affordable is one of the main features of Asustek's Eee PCs, and many believe that this is due to the notebook's use of the open source Linux operating system. However, it doesn't seem to be the case: Windows XP Eees have been spotted in Best Buy, and guess what? They have the same price tag as the Linux-flavored Eees. More details in the full article.

Wondering what ever happened to Microsoft's original plan for Live Anywhere? For some, it's been taking the company a while to fully finish the integration of the service across many platforms. Xbox Live Executive John Schappert said that the service is till going to push through. Know more after the jump!

When Microsoft's David Hufford said that the ideal price for a console was a buck below US$ 200, he never thought that one of Taiwan's biggest hardware manufacturing moguls could match that price... on a laptop.

Introduced at the 2007 Computex showcase, the wee (yes pronounced "wii") ASUS EeePC 701 caught the eyes of many a techie not because of its size, but because of its starting price.

The product manager at the ASUS booth also revealed that each laptop would come pre-installed with a flavor of Linux, although the demo product was seen to have performed well with Windows XP. Users still hooked to Microsoft's OS will be given XP driver support, however.

SSD support now expands to 32 GB, while the manager hinted at a possible 3G module that would either be attachable as a dongle or built-in to the final model. A separate version of the "English speaking countries" has been estimated to be available as soon as August, but that remains to be seen. Engadget, however, eyed the demo unit in perfect, near-completion condition and speculates that the ETA could become a near-distinct possibility.

EeePC 701 Specification

• Display： 7 inches
  
• CPU & Chipset: Intel mobile CPU and Intel chipset
• OS: Linux/ Microsoft Windows XP compatible
• Communication: 10/100 Mbps Ethernet; 56K modem
• WLAN: WiFi 802.11b/g
• Graphic: Intel Unified Memory Architecture graphics solution
  
• Memory: 512MB, DDR2-400
• Storage: 4/ 8/ 16GB Flash
• Webcam: 300K-pixel video camera
• Audio: Hi-Definition Audio CODEC; Built-in stereo speaker; Built-in microphone
• Battery Life: 3hrs (4 cells: 5200mAh, 2S2P)
• Dimension & Weight: 22.5 x 16.5 x 2.1~3.5cm, 0.89kg