Notebook Critic

Rahul Sood is the chief technology officer of the HP Voodoo Business Unit (VBU), a new business under the HP emerging businesses group. In this role, he oversees the technical strategy and product vision for the business unit’s products, including the Voodoo Omen and Envy product lines, the award-winning HP Blackbird 002 and other products with the Voodoo DNA ingredient brand. He is also responsible for identifying intellectual property from HP and its partners for use in consumer gaming and high-performance devices.

Sood joined HP in November 2006 after it acquired luxury and gaming computer manufacturer VoodooPC, a company he founded in 1991. As founder and CTO of VoodooPC, Sood introduced fanless PC technology to the industry and was the first to bring liquid cooling and active liquid chilling to the high-performance market segment. These innovations helped VoodooPC’s Omen desktop earn the coveted Ziff Davis Editors’ Choice award in the Ultimate Gaming Machine competition for five years running.

Since joining HP, Sood played a leadership role in the design and architecture of HP Blackbird 002, the VBU’s flagship product. His contribution helped the system win over 10 Editors’ Choice Awards, including the highest-ever rating given to a desktop PC from CNET and a five out of five rating from PC Magazine. He writes regular technology columns for CPU Magazine and Custom PC, and has captured the attention of the industry and Wall Street with his blog, www.rahulsood.com.

HP PR recently got me access to ask some questions. Here is a reprint of the questions and answers as they originally appeared on NBR.

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