Dell’s 11.6-inch Inspiron 11z just went on sale last month, and already the outfit is opening up the options for those not entirely pleased with the single $399 model. Starting today, a $479 configuration is available to ship with a 250GB HDD and Vista Home Premium (with a Windows 7 upgrade, of course), and if that’s still not enough, prospective customers can soon select their 11z in a variety of colors.

Ah, the Windows install process. Long associated with repeated clicking of the “Next” button, it’s also home to one of the more shady practices to exist in modern software: the bundled application. Hapless users looking to get through the process as quickly as possible inevitably wind up installing some junk software that they don’t really want or need, only to scratch their heads when their browser is suddenly slowed down by a clunky new toolbar.

Google just started handing out Wave invites, and they’re planning to dish out more all day. The door is open to 100,000 new users; if you’re one of the lucky ones, you can share the love (and your invites) here. It’s 11am in Sydney, Australia, where the Wave team is based, so “all day” means they’ll be handing out invites for quite a few more hours to come

So, a little situation for you. You leave your ThinkPad in the third row of waiting seats at Jackson Hole Airport, already distraught that you’re departing Winter Wonderland and heading back to reality. A kindhearted Wyomian happens upon it, and clearly recognizes that he / she should figure out a way to return it.

Ah September, it’s like we hardly knew you. Before we say goodbye for good, let’s enjoy a look back at the Hackintosh-building, underhyped-webapp-highlighting, browser-speed-testing, workspace-supercharging posts that were most popular this month. How to Build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, Start to Finish Two years ago, I detailed how to build a Hackintosh for under $800—then covered how to do the same with less hacking

Did you know that Failblog serves up 22 million video views per month, and Engadget gets at least 2.3 million monthly views for its gadget videos, while Joystiq gets another 2 million? All three blogs use Viddler , which is now selling ads directly for its top content providers though its just-launched Viddler AdWorks .

Georgia Institute of Technology augments Google Earth with dynamic video, Chrome updates to address a high-severity security flaw, and Google’s spam guru highlights a fun Google Reader easter egg. Google Earth Will Track Cars and People In Real Time, Eventually Destroy Privacy Georgia Tech students map CCTV video, vehicles, and people onto Google Earth. It’s anonymous (and amazing) fun at the moment, but it’s also slightly terrifying for the tinfoil-hat crowd

Windows only: Learning through repetition is a proven method for learning new information. Freeware application Memoriser brings that repetition to the screen you stare at all day with a digital approach to flash cards. Memoriser pops up questions at predetermined intervals while you use your computer to quiz you on whatever you’re trying to memorize

Continuing its streak of questionably high priced media PCs Okoro has announced the new OMS-Q100 and OMS-Q200 Quantum mini Digital Entertainment Systems. Combining an Intel Atom processor and NVIDIA ION in the OMS-Q200 and Mobile Core 2 Duo in the OMS-Q200 with 4GB of RAM with 320GB of hard drive space, 7.1 audio outputs, OTA & QAM recording capability (plus optional digital cable tuner) these tiny, quiet boxes could find a welcoming home theater somewhere, though the starting price of $1,295 may make for a difficult fit. You probably don’t need our help to put together something equivalent or better for less than that, but feel welcome to it .

Have you gotten your Google Wave invite yet? Just kidding — they’re not out yet. The team (which is based in Australia) decided to push them out later today so they could be up to deal with issues surrounding the massive influx of new users.