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Samsung is gearing up for an exclusive launch at Best Buy stores nationwide this weekend. Expect to see the new Q430-11 laptop, along with the upgraded R580-11 laptop and N150-11 netbook.

The standout machine of the Samsung trio is the new Q430 laptop. On paper, this notebook isn’t all that different from the R580 (pictured above), as both have Windows 7 Home Premium OS, a 500GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory, a very basic 0.3-megapixel webcam, HDMI support and a 3W stereo speaker. The R580 even has a few things better than the Q430, like the slightly larger display and the Blu-ray optical drive.

But with a marginally lower weight count, the Q430 packs more power into within that brushed aluminum casing, including a Core i5 CPU and advanced NVIDIA 3D graphics processing.

Given that there are many more specs to go over, here’s a breakdown of each one starting with the netbook and going up from there:

N150-11

• 10.1-inch LED-backlit, WSVGA non-glare display (1,024 x 600 resolution)
• Intel Atom N450 Processor
• Windows 7 Starter OS
• Intel GMA 3150 graphics
• 1GB of DDR2 667MHz memory
• 250GB hard drive
• 3W stereo speaker
• 0.3-megapixel webcam
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Connectivity: Three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet
• Island keyboard
• 9-hour battery life
• Dimensions: 10.5- x 7.4- x 0.97-inches
• Weight: 2.73 lbs.

R580-11

• 15.6-inch LED-backlit glossy HD display (1,366 x 768 resolution; 16:9 aspect ratio)
• Intel Core i3-350M Processor
• Windows 7 Home Premium OS
• Intel HD Graphics
• 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory
• 500GB hard drive
• Blu-ray optical drive
• 3W Stereo Speaker
• 0.3-megapixel webcam
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Connectivity: Three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI
• Island keyboard
• Dimensions: 13.5- x 9.4- x 1.20-inches
• Weight: 5.45 lbs.

Q430-11

• 14.0-inch glossy LED-backlit glass HD display (1,366 x 768 resolution; 16:9 aspect ratio)
• Intel Core i5-450M processor
• Windows 7 Home Premium OS
• 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory
• 500GB hard drive
• NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics with 512MB of DDR3 memory
• DVD dual-layer optical drive
• 3W Stereo Speaker
• 0.3-megapixel webcam
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Connectivity: Three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI
• Dimensions: 13.5- x 9.37- x 1.04-inches
• Weight: 5.25 lbs.

Pricing starts at $349 for the N150 netbook, then bumps up to $849 and $899 for the R580 and Q430 laptops, respectively. All three of the Samsung computers mentioned here will be available tomorrow at Best Buy. So if you’re looking for a very last-minute gift for dad, there’s a few more options now.

Sticklers for journalistic propriety have always frowned upon checkbook journalism, which is far more rampant now thanks to the internet. Thankfully for checkbook journalists though, their critics can do little more than protest. But buying a story is one thing, and flouting the law in doing so a totally different affair.

Last week, when Gizmodo proudly flaunted what it claimed to be a misplaced prototype of the next iPhone, it prompted many to question the legality of the way in which the phone was acquired – the blog’s editors avowedly paid $5000 for the misplaced phone. Under state law, a finder of goods who can determine the owner of lost property is under legal obligation to return it to its original owner, and the failure to do so makes him guilty of theft.

It has now emerged that cops investigating the matter raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s house on Friday and confiscated four computers and two servers. According to Jason Chen, cops bust into his house in his absence and were busy scouring the place for evidence when he and his wife arrived from dinner at around 9:45PM. The cops were carrying a search warrant issued by the Superior Court of the County of San Mateo, California.

Gawker Media COO Gaby Darbyshire believes that the search warrant against Gizmodo’s editor contravened section 1524(g) of the California Penal Code, which states that “a publisher, editor, reporter, or other person connected with or employed upon a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication” can not be forced to make any disclosures with regards to the source of any information obtained by them in their official capacity.

Darbyshire isn’t the only one raising a stink, though. Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press told CNET that the search warrant was issued in violation of the federal Privacy Protection Act. “This is such an incredibly clear violation of state and federal law it takes my breath away. The only thing left for the authorities to do is return everything immediately and issue one of hell of an apology,” she said.