My techside!

LUXURY PHONES:Tiffany does a diamond phone for Japan

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:39:00 +0000

Tiffany does a diamond phone for Japan

There are two basic questions about Tiffany's entry into the luxury phone market: why it took so long and why it doesn't cost more. Sure, $94,000 is a lot of money but, come on, this is Tiffany. You'd think it would have hit six figures on principle alone (though it does sound more impressive in yen--10 million).

The 3G handset, a joint project with Japan's Softbank Mobile, doesn't skimp either: It's encrusted with more than 400 diamonds totaling well over 20 carats, according to BornRich. Maybe Tiffany just decided that it can't pass up a literally golden opportunity on the Japanese market. If Zeus Computer is any indication, there's clearly plenty to be mined.

LUXURY PHONES:Bellperre

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:34:00 +0000

Bellperre luxury phones: Plastic out, buffalo in

Last year luxury handset maker Bellperre made some news with the audacious claim that it would produce mobile phones without using a single plastic part (heresy). And now it's come out with a new line that focuses on its exterior as well.

So what is it like to make a product without synthetic polymers? Try crocodile, shark, and buffalo skin, combined with aircraft aluminum, premium hardwoods, and 18k rose gold. Those are a few of the options offered in the European company's latest models, which come in more than 200 colors, according to Newlaunches. Handmade in the Netherlands, they're supposedly no heavier than their plastic competitors.

It will be interesting to see how Bellperre fares in the luxury phone market, where competition is extreme by any measure. But there's one advantage to making handsets with no plastic: There are fewer crafts materials that can be glued on.

Luxury Phones Rival Handmade Watches

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:29:00 +0000

Luxury mobile phones are seeking to rival handmade watches for many jet-set consumers, especially business travelers who rely on digital gadgets to tell the time abroad.

At Baselworld, the watch and jewelery industry's largest annual trade fair, telephones draped in diamonds and sapphires were displayed alongside traditional wrist accessories. Some included tools to instantly track flights, convert currencies and check the weather.

The luxury unit of the world's top mobile handset maker Nokia, Vertu, displayed sleek telephones ranging from $4,350 to $310,000 at its booth in Basel, a few steps from hotel heiress Paris Hilton's new watch collection, in one of six huge exhibition halls heaving with people.

Vertu President Alberto Torres said many of the company's younger customers were more interested in their mobile phones than their watches, unlike older clientele who show deep loyalty to luxury watchmakers such as Patek Philippe, Rolex or Cartier.

"The phone has a strong association for a lot of young people," he said in an interview on Friday in "The Hall of Inspirations", one of the show's six giant exhibition areas.

Some of Vertu's designs are marketed at busy people whose days may feature "breakfast in London, shopping in Paris and a late dinner in New York," offering a virtual concierge service for help with restaurant bookings and gift ordering.

Others are wrapped in diamond-perforated leather that resists "almost everything from lipstick to suntan lotion," according to promotional material.

Because they are constantly holding their phones, laying them on dinner tables and otherwise flashing them about, Torres said many wealthy people had become increasingly conscious of the image their handsets projected.

"A phone has become an important element of lifestyle. The phone says something about yourself," he said.

Vertu's sales increased by 140 percent last year and should rise another 100 percent in 2007, Torres said, declining to specify a dollar figure.

One of Nokia's smallest but most profitable segments, Vertu is approaching the 100,000 per year mark in numbers of handsets sold, Torres said, noting that overall turnover was in line with many medium- to large-sized luxury watch companies.

"We would be a significant brand in the watch industry (in terms of sales)," he said, while stressing that Vertu did not believe the shift to pricier mobiles would prompt the rich to stop buying high-end watches.

"Our customers tend to have several luxury items," he said.

Like most luxury goods segments, high-end mobile phones have benefited from a surge in the number of millionaires worldwide alongside fast economic growth in countries such as China, India and Russia. Rich people in the oil-producing Middle East have also flocked to status symbols with the recent commodities boom.

Other companies have also entered the luxury mobile field to greet the new clientele. Motorola and designers Dolce & Gabbana have launched a gold-colored version of the best-selling RAZR model, and South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. has helped develop a Prada phone to complement Prada accessories

LUXURY PHONES:Royal White Diamonds Phone by Gresso

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:22:00 +0000

$52,000 Royal White Diamonds Phone by Gresso

Whilst earlier this Russia-based mobile phone maker Gresso rolled its hand in black diamonds tub and now touching another pole stands with its elite offering of White Diamonds collection. The two worth-flaunting mobile phones falling in this collection includes Gresso White Diamonds and Gresso Royal White Diamonds. The phone features an inherit hand-assembled body panels developed using 200-year old African blackwood and the base plate of the keypad is formed using titanium and stainless steel battery cover with a magnetic lock. All this comes in a layer of gold and leather.

At luxury front, the phone features display with striking 42K sapphire crystal glass, 18-karat gold keys with a signature feature and how can I skip to inform that all the imprinted numbers on the keypad are laser-cut in Roman style. Out of the two, the Gresso Royal White Diamonds is pricier at $52, 000 and counted 200 models are available for sale. Its cost is justified as its 23 keys are crowned with gold and 2.53K of white diamonds.

Against it, the Gresso White Diamond handset features only navigation keys coated with white diamonds and is retailed at $14,000. At technical front, these handsets feature a tri-band GSM support, a microSD memory card slot, a 65K color TFT display QVGA resolution plus a two-megapixel camera. Listen, they run on Windows Mobile 6 Standard only.

LUXURY PHONES: Blinged Nokia 8800 Screams Luxury

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:13:00 +0000

Austrian designer Peter Aloisson has enthralled us with its revolutionary offering of $176,400 iPhone Princess Plus, claiming to be the world's most expensive iPhone. And hence today it seems no strange news when he unveils his striking creation of Nokia bejeweled model. Priced at 85,000 euros ($134,000), Nokia 8800 Arte sports designer ringtones and wallpapers and comes clad in an 18-karat white gold finish. Taking a step further towards offering a new address to the world of luxury, Aloisson has added 680 pink and white brilliant-cut diamonds on its skin minus screen and slide-out keyboard.

To be precise, around 21 carats of diamonds is being used to produce this bling creation.

LUXURY PHONES: OBSSESION

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:02:00 +0000

Obsession Luxury Mobile Phone

The Obsession collection was first inspired by Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust & beauty.
Obsession marvelled in her infinite qualities. From that moment, it was certain that the first collection would be sculpted & touched with the beauty of her name.

Like a sheer work of art, each individual phone is sculpted and crafted by hand.
The unique and distinct marking of the phone casing is created using state of the art precision laser technology.
To put simply, Obsession mobile engineers work painstakingly hard to create a handset which is visually and naturally stunning in every sense. This skill in itself can take a lifetime to achieve.

Elegance, Poise, and purposeful stance are achieved throughout. Intense Attraction is inevitable & a singular feature within.

LATEST PHONES: LG KF750 Secret

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:55:00 +0000

LG KF750 Secret

Key Features

Weight : 116 g

Talktime : Up to 4 h

Standby : Up to 260 h

Colour Display : TFT touchscreen, 256K colors

Ringtones : Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3

Camera : 5 MP

MP3 : yes

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

Infrared :

GPRS : Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps

Video Recording : Yes

3G : HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps

LG KF750 Secret Description:-

The elegant, sleek and highly affordable LG KF750 Secret comes power-packed with world-class mobile features. It has 2.4 inches TFT touchscreen with 256K colours and has a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. It has an accelerometer sensor for auto rotation. The stunning mobile phone is beautifully designed with the dimensions of 102.8 x 50.8 x 11.8 mm and has a weight of 116 grams. The mobile phone comes in vibrant Black colour. The smart phone LG KF750 Secret is loaded with features such as Class 10 (4+1/3 + 2 slots) GPRS with 32-48 Kbps, 3G HSDPA with 3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB v2.0, SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging and MP3/WMA/AAC/AAC+ player. It also includes FM radio with RDS. It also comes with 5 mega pixels camera with a resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels with autofocus and face detection

LATEST PHONES: HTC Touch Diamond

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:50:00 +0000

HTC Touch Diamond

Key Features

Weight : 110 g

Talktime : Up to 5 h 30 min

Standby : Up to 285 h

Colour Display : TFT touchscreen, 65K colors

Ringtones : Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, WAV, WMA

Camera : 3.15 MP

MP3 : Yes

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

Infrared :

GPRS : Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps

Video Recording : Yes

3G : HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps

The HTC Diamond is a compact mobile phone with high-end specifications. The high-resolution 2.8-inch VGA screen, an accelerometer, 400 MHz processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and QWERTY keyboard are some of the noticeable features of the handset. Get an amazing internet experience with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. The 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera helps you capture the perfect moments. The massive 4GB of internal storage lets you store all your essential files. The impressive highlights of this mobile phone are a vibrant 3D user interface, integrated GPS, Wi-fi and lots more. The handset works on the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system. The quality MP3 player, video playback and stereo FM player are some of the entertainment features of the HTC Diamond. Get access to word, Excel, Outlook, PDF viewer, etc. The small and lightweight mobile phone is a powerful Windows device with useful features for professionals which wish to facilitate their work on the go.

LATEST PHONES: Nokia 7500 Prism

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Nokia 7500 Prism

Key Features

Weight : 83 g

Talktime : Up to 2 h 50 min

Standby : Up to 240 h

Colour Display : TFT, 16M colors

Ringtones : Polyphonic, MP3

Camera : 2 Mega pixel

MP3 : MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player

Bluetooth :

Infrared :

GPRS : Class 10

Video Recording : Yes

3G : yes

The Nokia 7500 prism has a 2 Megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and a built-in flash. It can record high quality movies, play music for nine hours and hold up to 1500 songs on an optional 2 GB microSD card. It supports GSM Triband EGSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 / 1900 Mhz connectively, with this feature users of this phone can enjoy world connectivity without loosing contact from any part of the world. It has a dimension of length 109 mm, width 43.9 mm, thickness 14.4 mm; and its weight of 82 grams makes the mobile phone very comfortable to carry and hold.
Very fashionable for those diamond lovers. It can fit any fabulous women and lux men!

LATEST PHONES: Samsung F480 Tocco Pink

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:32:00 +0000

Samsung F480 Tocco Pink

Weight : 100.6 grms

Talktime : Up to 3 h

Standby : Up to 250 h

Colour Display : TFT touchscreen, 256K colors

Ringtones : Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3

Camera : 5 MP

MP3 : MP3/AAC/AAC+ player

Bluetooth : YES

Infrared : NO

GPRS : YES

Video Recording : YES

3G : HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps

The Samsung F480 Tocco mobile phone is specially designed for fashion conscious users. Some of the impressive features of the highly capable handset include a beautiful colour touch screen, 3G video calling, high speed internet, built-in browser and lots more. The 5 megapixels camera with flash and autofocus make this handset a camera focussed device. Entertain yourself to the fullest through the music player and FM radio. Play high-end games and get an exciting gaming experience. Experience superb data transfer rates through the built in EDGE technology. Connectivity features like Bluetooth and USB let the users transfer files between devices such as a laptop, PC, printer, etc. The feature packed phone supports GSM network. Enjoy a high-end gaming experience by playing the latest games. The user can enjoy high speed internet, 3G video calling, transfer rates and downloads on this superb handset. With so many highly sophisticated applications, the Samsung F480 Tocco Pink enjoys the attention of the customers.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Geek's marriage proposal on Google Street View

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:21:00 +0000

A LOVESTRUCK geek has asked his girlfriend to marry him - again - and the whole world can witness the proposal using Google Street View.
Software engineer Michael Weiss-Malik had been dating his girlfriend, Leslie Moreno, for "some years" when he decided to ask her to marry him in April.
But this "Proposal 1.0" as he called it, was "quiet and low-key", he said on his website, and "lacking in pizzazz".
So Mr Weiss-Malik decided to make a large sign that read "Proposal 2.0: Marry me Leslie!" and hold it up as the Street View car rolled past his office.
Mr Weiss-Malik, a Google employee, had heard that the Street View cars would be updating the images of the street outside his Silicon Valley workplace, and like other employees, he was encouraged to do a funny pose for the car-mounted cameras as an "Easter Egg" – an extra treat hidden within Street View.
Some employees rode bikes behind the car, others staged mock fights, and one even dressed up as the yellow Street View placemark.
Mr Weiss-Malik didn't tell Leslie about the stunt. Instead he set up a website, www.marrymeleslie.com, to explain his upgraded proposal and encourage visitors to tell Leslie about it.
"When she woke me up, she asked why there were all these strangers e-mailing her telling her to marry me," Mr Weiss-Malik told The Mercury News.
Google Street View has been criticised for invading people's privacy as the service, which launched in Australia this week, allows anyone with a broadband connection to see 360-degree views of most streets in major cities and country towns.
A pro-privacy group recently protested against Street View by posting images of Google co-founder Larry Page's house, plus details of his car route to work.
Despite the issues, Mr Weiss-Malik said he was comfortable with the technology.
"I dare say that it's the first time anyone in the history of mankind has proposed marriage in quite this way," he said on his website.
The couple plan to get married in May.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Lost gadgets 'phone home' to catch thieves

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:16:00 +0000

ALISON DeLauzon thought the snapshots and home videos of her infant son were gone for good when she lost her digital camera while on vacation in Florida.
Then a funny thing happened: her camera "phoned home".
Equipped with a special memory card with wireless internet capability, DeLauzon's camera had not only automatically sent her holiday pictures to her computer, but had even uploaded photos of the miscreants who swiped her equipment bag after she accidentally left it behind at a restaurant.
"I opened up the Eye-Fi manager on the computer and, lo and behold, there are the guys that stole our cameras," said Ms DeLauzon, a native of New York's Long Island.
"Not only is it the guy who stole our camera... but the guy took a picture of (his accomplice) holding our other camera."
Ms DeLauzon received the Eye-Fi, a 2-gigabyte SD memory card that fits into millions of digital cameras, as a holiday gift to go with her Canon camera.
Priced at about $US100 ($104), the card automatically uploads pictures to a home computer or online photosharing service like Flickr as soon as the user is linked to a familiar wireless network.
Luckily, the culprits passed by an unsecured network, whose factory-installed setting matched that of Ms DeLauzon's home system, and the Eye-Fi automatically shipped the photos: first baby pictures, then the snap-happy scoundrels.
Her experience reflects the rise of technology that empowers everyday gadgets to protect themselves or the priceless personal data – from family phone numbers to business budgets – that consumers keep on portable electronics devices.
Cameras are perhaps the most common home-phoning gadget used to thwart criminals.
An eerie case occurred last month, when a Japanese man set up a hidden camera because food was disappearing from his kitchen. While he was out, the camera sent pictures to his mobile phone of the intruder – an unknown woman living secretly in his closet.
A few years ago, there was a well-publicised case of a Sidekick mobile phone that was first lost in a New York taxi, then found by a 16-year-old who used it to take pictures and send instant messages.
But the device's mobile service provider automatically backed up such data on remote computers, allowing the owner's friend, Evan Guttman, to uncover a trail – and launch an online shaming campaign against the 16-year-old, who was eventually arrested.
While passive systems have helped reunite missing gadgets with their owners, more aggressive measures can be employed to protect everything from laptops to iPods and BlackBerrys.
US company GadgetTrak sells software that can be loaded onto any of those devices and works from anywhere in the world. If a BlackBerry, for example, falls into the wrong hands, the software grabs information from the new user's SIM data card and emails it to the rightful owner.
With an Apple Mac computer, the software instructs the built-in camera to take video of the thief and sends to the owner, along information about nearby wireless networks.
Some 20,000 GadgetTrack licenses have been purchased in about one year -- including 10,000 from storage company Seagate.
"The reason we have been so successful is that people are not expecting this kind of software to be installed," said Ken Westin, the company's founder.
"No security solution is 100 per cent – there are always going to be work-arounds. But your average thief is not going to be a computer expert."
Ms DeLauzon didn't want to press charges against the people who had her camera, both employed at the restaurant where she accidentally left it. Retrieving pictures of her baby boy was the most important concern.
"When we finally got it back, my husband and I spent the night just sitting and watching the videos – stupid videos, like him feeding himself for the first time or him pulling himself up in his crib for the first time. We sat down one night and just relished it."

LATEST GADGETS: SPEAKER SYSTEM

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:10:00 +0000

Price: $249.95
Features:
Number of speakers: 4
Frequency response: 20kHz
Talk time: Up to 540 minutes
Standby time: Up to 200 hours
Power supply: AC power, battery
Pros:
Versatile, streamlined design, decent sound quality, doubles as hands-free speakerphone
Cons:
Slight hissing sound when connected via A2DP
The final word:
The Motorokr EQ7 is a versatile device that performs well for both music and mobile phone calls. This well-designed speaker system produces reasonable sound considering its size.
THE Motorokr EQ7 is an extremely versatile wireless speaker system. This UFO-shaped audio system provides A2DP Bluetooth audio streaming and a traditional audio-in jack, and acts as a wireless speakerphone for mobile phone conversations.
Taking into account its Motorokr branding and partnership with JBL, Motorola clearly considers the EQ7 first and foremost a music accessory. Although it is JBL branded, the EQ7 is distributed and sold solely by Motorola.
The design is definitely eye catching. A nice touch is the gloss black edging surrounding the unit and the chrome volume buttons on the front. The anti-slip rubber on the bottom ensures the speaker remains firmly in place on a desk or table. On top, the black speaker grill hides four transducers, while a bass port is located at the rear of the unit. In addition to steaming A2DP audio, the EQ7 has basic playback controls: volume, previous and next track and play/pause.
One of the best features of the EQ7 is its versatility. This unit is compatible with a whole range of devices, including iPods, notebook PCs, mobile phones that support A2DP and any device that supports a standard 3.5mm audio jack – including the iPhone and iPhone 3G.
We tested the EQ7 with a first-generation iPhone as well as the Nokia 6220 classic and were impressed with the results on the whole. Audio streaming from a mobile phone via the A2DP Bluetooth profile resulted in reasonable, but not outstanding sound. We have often criticised A2DP Bluetooth products in the past for poor audio quality, but the EQ7 doesn't fall into this category. Although distortion is evident at high volume, anything below this doesn't suffer. There is a slight, underlying hissing sound when connected via Bluetooth, but this isn't as noticeable as it is with many other A2DP units.
When connected via the standard 3.5mm audio jack, the EQ7 produces sound loud enough to fill a small room. A weakness is instrumental separation – in complex riffs individual elements can be lost, creating a somewhat muddy sound. Particularly impressive, however, is bass, which is punchy but not overpowering. For a small unit, the sound is fair. It's obviously not audiophile quality, but most people shouldn't have too many complaints.
Where the EQ7 also shines is in handling phone calls. When connected to a Bluetooth mobile phone, the unit acts as a hands-free speakerphone. If you are playing music when a phone call comes in, the music dims and the phone rings through the speaker. An answer call button allows you to take the call without touching your phone. Sound quality during calls is excellent and the microphone located just underneath the JBL logo is powerful enough to pick up your voice from a few metres away. Though it's marketed mainly as a music device, we feel the EQ7's speakerphone capabilities make it an ideal office tool for conference calls during meetings.
The EQ7 comes with an AC adapter but the unit can also run on four AA batteries, located beneath a plastic lock at the bottom of the unit.

LATEST GADGETS: Bluetooth headset

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:02:00 +0000

Plantronics Discovery 925

Price:
$199
Features:
Talk time: Up to 300 minutes
Wireless range: Up to 10 metres
Standby time: Up to 175 hours (with multipoint off); up to 100 (with multipoint on)
Weight: 8g
Pros:
Design, simple operation, comfortable, excellent voice quality, carrying pouch doubles as a charger
Cons:
Volume could have been louder in some instances
The final word:
The Discovery 925 is one of the best looking and best performing Bluetooth headsets to hit the market; the carrying pouch that doubles as a charger is a nice touch.
AS worn by the likes of Brooke Shields and Eva Longoria Parker, Plantronics' latest Bluetooth headset features unique VFrame design and comes packaged with a rechargeable case and AC and USB chargers.
This latest Bluetooth headset isn't just for the ladies though, as its refreshing black and chrome design suits men just fine.
As much a fashion accessory as a convenient hands-free device, the Discovery 925's design definitely captures the eye. The thin, plastic design is striking; the gloss black and chrome colour scheme certainly gives this headset a touch of class. Plantronics claims the design isn't just about looks though, as the VFrame is structured to follow the contours of the face and draw the microphone closer to your mouth.
In addition to a stylish design, the Discovery 925's compact build also means it's comfortable to wear. Particularly interesting is what Plantronics has dubbed “self-stabilising” ear tips – these clear rubber ear tips come in three different sizes and are comfortable to wear for long periods despite their unconventional design.

LATEST GAMES: Too Human

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:09:00 +0000

Price:
$99.95
Reviewed on:
Xbox360
Summary:
Any game that opens with a quote from Nietzsche had better have the content to back it up. To err is human and forgiveness may be divine - but we're not in the business of forgiving. We're here to spell it out for you; Too Human is what happens when big ideas get in the way of good ideas.
TOO Human is a game with a serious identity crisis.
It wants so badly to be everything to everyone – a slick, frantic brawler in the tradition of Devil May Cry; an epic tale of Norse gods, power and corruption; a hardcore dungeon-crawling RPG like Diablo with swarms of enemies and loads of loot; a thoughtful meditation on technology and religion; a cinematic masterpiece – and all of it wrapped around a curious double-planed techno-organic landscape that shares more than a passing resemblance to The Matrix Revolutions.
Too Human tries its hand at all of these elements and succeeds only in proving the old adage that "more" doesn't necessarily equate to 'better'. There are more outside influences in Too Human's final design than original thoughts; the culmination of more than a decade of on-off development is the clear culprit here.

Silicon Knights' repeatedly delayed, reworked and arguably overhyped release is, in a word, harmless. It won't move you with its writing; it won't impress you with the latest, greatest graphics; it might not even compel you to finish the adventure if you're not immediately taken with the gameplay. It doesn't push the envelope as much as it pretends to on the surface.
What Too Human will do is serve to remind you that, even in a market flooded with dystopian adventures, moralistic epics, mini-game compilations, formalist Japanese turn-based RPGs, World War X shooters and hardcore sports simulations, sometimes the genius is in choosing the right niche, sticking with it to the end and getting it right the first time.
The story is a strange journey – and being the first instalment of a planned trilogy of games, it's also noticeably incomplete. The hero, Baldur, is a member of the Aesir gods, who have sided with humanity in the long-running battle against sentient machines. Superficially, your quest is to wage war and hunt down GRNDL-1, a rogue machine, but this eventually gives way to a more conspiratorial story of gods-against-gods and the implications of overreliance on technology.
At all times, you get the feeling Silicon Knights is holding back. You're tossed into a conflict that your grunt-fodder allies are quick to point out that they don't understand – and neither do we, really. There's a fair amount of exposition between missions that starts to stitch together Baldur's strange memories and weaves them into the rest of the story.

LATEST GAMES:Spore

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:05:00 +0000

Price:
$99.95
Summary:
As absorbing as the game may be, Spore is best savoured and not rushed through. Enjoy the subtleties of each individual creature, with its gargantuan testicles and a name like "milfmeister". Explore each planet and reflect on just what a random-number-generator is capable of in the right hands. Spore will take you on a grand journey. It will make you acknowledge just how far we've come, and just how far we have to go, and Spore will change the way you think about the universe we live in.
DRIFTING through the vastness of space, a lone asteroid breaks apart as it descends on a planet, exploding on impact. A tiny fragment, almost microscopic, flies into the vast ocean, and as the ice keeping it together melts; life is borne where once there was none. Welcome to Spore.
Will Wright's fascination with letting people play god – from SimCity in 1989 to the game that garnered Will – and Maxis – worldwide fame and cemented EA as the top-dog in game publishing for over half a decade, The Sims – has led to Spore, the first game where your actions truly feel god-like. But a new Sim game this is not, and this is apparent right from the moment your asteroid fragment breaks apart and you lay eyes on the amoeba-like creature you're going to manifest.
No longer a mouse pointer magically setting fire to the denizens of an arbitrary city, or moving some poor guy's sink to the back of his yard, forcing him to forgo sleep in favour of washing his dishes – rather, you are this single-celled organism, and you need to fight for survival amongst a multitude of other simple creatures.

At the start, you're prompted to choose between being a carnivore or a herbivore, and that determines whether your little cell starts with a meat-eating jaw or a collection of small tentacle-like appendages for tearing apart microscopic plant matter. You direct your cell around and eat accordingly. Eating – and surviving – are the only real objectives for this first section of the game, which plays like an organic blend of fl0w and Pac-Man, and becomes progressively more difficult as your cell becomes multicellular – bigger and more complex. Eating earns you points towards evolution, which takes place when you call a mate, sending you to the much-touted creature creator.
Thanks to the well-marketed and timely Spore Creature Creator downloadable demo, many people by now are familiar with how the creator works. It's truly a magnificent piece of software, and allows for some amazing things to be made within a few minutes. Even people completely unfamiliar with the typical conventions of a game can get the hang of the creator in a matter of minutes. The cell-stage creator is very similar to the freely-available demo, but works on a 2D plane, and has a very small number of parts. It's simple and will quickly get you used to how the creation process works, if you aren't already. You can switch out any of the parts you've currently got, including your mouth, allowing you to go from herbivore to carnivore (and eventually omnivore) if you so choose. Any parts you add or remove will alter the performance of the animal, and this remains the case for the majority of the game.
As you evolve and eat, you grow and sink deeper into the sea, where the larger creatures reside, and the risk of becoming another animal's meal increases. Herbivores can try to avoid the bigger brutes and spend time chasing down the larger plant chunks, but carnivores are going to have to get used to confrontations, and killing the other cells is a necessity. Eventually you'll devour enough to grow a (tiny) brain, and advance to the second phase of the game – the creature phase.

LATEST GADGETS: WEBCAM:Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:01:00 +0000

Price:
$149.95
Features:
Camera resolution: 2 megapixelsVideo speed: 30fpsWarranty: 24 months
Pros:
Accurate colour representation, easy to use, fun and quirky avatars
Cons:
Not compatible with Macs
The final word:
The Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 is a great webcam with some very amusing and entertaining features.
THE Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 is a delightful, high quality and relatively inexpensive webcam for online chats and creating basic YouTube videos. It's about the size of an average mobile phone and connects to your PC using USB 2.0.
If you've ever wanted to be a cat or a velociraptor but have intelligently accepted the laws of nature then the next best thing is to impersonate one using the wonders of technology. The QuickCam Pro 9000 comes with a selection of 30 motion-sensing avatars, face accessories, fun filters and video masks, as well as countless more downloadable for free from the Logitech website. The very intelligent little piece of bundled software induced many a genuine "LOL" on Windows Live Messenger when we tested it.
Installation was a breeze, but it did take a little while. It took us about 15min to open the box, install the software and run through the step-by-step process customising the speaker and microphone settings. This was essential in order to get optimal performance for Internet calling applications and other programs. Unfortunately, the QuickCam Pro 9000 only runs on Windows, thus Mac users miss out on all the fun it has to offer.

Sporting a 2 megapixel sensor and a Carl Zeiss autofocus lens, this webcam has great image quality. Colours were displayed accurately and focusing on a moving subject was no problem for the QuickCam Pro 9000.
At times there was the annoying jerkiness or lag you would expect from a webcam, but we put that behaviour down to running multiple programs while the video was streaming, as well as a congested Internet pipe. Of course, a modern computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo CPU will have no problems running this webcam, and your online experience will be much smoother if you have a fast Internet connection.
Costing just $149.95, the QuickCam Pro 9000 proved to be a lot of fun and it's well recommended if you want to have some fun while chatting to your mates online.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY: SOFTWARE:Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:59:00 +0000

Price:
$45.92
System requirements:
Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista 100MB hard drive space 256MB RAM400MHz Intel or AMD processor
Pros:
Ad-Watch Connect
Cons:
RegShield is annoying
The final word:
In general, apart from the poor execution of RegShield, Ad-Aware does a competent job. Its overall performance, however, can be improved upon by alternative antivirus and antispyware programs.
WHILE the original Ad-Aware was designed simply to warn you when Web sites were tracking information on your PC, Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro stretches to such demanding tasks as protecting your system from viruses and spyware, and securing your banking details and files.
Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro actually comes in four flavours (the most advanced Enterprise version is aimed at medium to large businesses). Home users can get a taste of what Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro offers simply by downloading the free version, capable of performing a basic scan on your PC.
If you have an existing antivirus program to team this with, the free version could prove a decent option. You still don't get real-time detection of adware, although such a feature is, happily, available as Ad-Watch in the upgrade, Ad-Aware Plus. This more expensive version also adds (amongst other features) integrated antivirus protection and free technical support.
The Plus version of Ad-aware 2008 will suffice for most users, although Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro, which we've tested for the purposes of this review, comes with a few more advanced tools. These include the rather unexciting command line support and network drive scanning, and the far more dynamic Ad-Watch Connect, which lets you see exactly what programs on your PC (Internet Explorer, Real Player etc.) are communicating with the outside world.

Used in conjunction with the general Processes monitor, these could prove a convenient way of checking that there are no uninvited guests sending information from your PC. As such, this feature is well worth the extra cost of the Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro version.
Long-standing concerns about the lack of clarity in Ad-Aware's interface were fixed in the 2007 edition, with the result that the look and feel of the software was radically overhauled.
Having so recently nipped and tucked the interface, Lavasoft clearly felt no major changes were needed for the latest edition, and those upgrading from 2007 to Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 may be surprised at just how similar the two versions look. This is no criticism though, and the layout works remarkably well.
The Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 interface is clean and straightforward, with most of the detailed options stashed away behind menus. Should you want to closely monitor specific areas, or use TrackSweep to clean the tracks left behind as you cruise the Internet, it's easy to access some of the more advanced features.
One annoying aspect of the Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 interface is RegShield. This notifies you whenever changes are made to the registry, cookies etc. Unfortunately, it isn't terribly discreet, hitting you with irritating pop-ups simply for opening a harmless Web page. It takes time to get the program used to your habits, so you can expect your initial experience with RegShield to be an aggravating one.
We had to run Lavasoft Ad-Aware 2008 Pro twice in order to get it to work on our test PC, and it needed over 26 minutes to assess our machine with a Full Scan. Once done, the program then lists the different threats on your machine, according each one a Threat Analysis Index (or, to you and me, a score out of 10) to tell you whether or not you should be worried. It then offered to remove some or all of the threats and, one reboot later, the PC came back with a clean bill of health. Ad-Aware licenses its antivirus protection from Avira, and this engine has a solid reputation, even if it's not considered to be the best in the business.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY: SOFTWARE:PC Tools ThreatFire 3.5

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:56:00 +0000

Price:
Free
System requirements:
Windows Vista/XP/ 2003/2008/2000 SP 4 with Update Rollup 115 MB of disk space Some program functions require a connection to the internet
Pros:
Blocks brand-new threats, monitors system activity
Cons:
Occasional PC lockups
The final word:
ThreatFire adds a worthwhile layer of security for your computer. Even more impressively, it's free.
YOUR current antivirus program may offer plenty of protection, but new, unknown threats still could slip through. That's where PC Tools' ThreatFire comes in.
Now in version 3.5, this free utility adds an extra layer of protection to the security software you already have. It blocks an impressive number of threats through behaviour-based analysis. As can sometimes happen with security tools, however, it caused some system lockups in our testing.
The new edition of this popular free security program, released in May, adds an on-demand signature-based scanner, a mostly just-for-fun world map that shows detected threats, and a useful system-activity monitor that provides a good deal of information on the programs and services running on your PC.
To identify a malware threat based on a positive signature match – which is still the primary method that most antivirus programs use – a lab must first obtain a sample of the malware and create a full signature for it. It that window of time, before a signature is available, your machine could be infected with the virus. By contrast, proactive detection such as behavioural analysis can detect and block brand-new threats without signatures, thereby providing immediate protection. Most antivirus programs supplement signature scanners with some type of proactive detection, but not all are as effective as ThreatFire.

In independent tests conducted for PC World by AV-Test.org, a German security-program testing operation, ThreatFire's performance was outstanding. It correctly identified 18 of 20 new, relatively unknown malware samples by looking purely at factors such as where the program came from, what changes it made to files or the system Registry, and whether the program attempted to send information to the Internet. It successfully blocked 17 of those 18 (one sample stopped ThreatFire before the block could occur), and it successfully cleaned 16 of those blocked (it left part of one infection behind).
What's more, ThreatFire didn't register any false alarms in AV-Test.org's run-throughs; this is a definite plus, since proactive, non-signature protection is often prone to false alarms.
Version 3.5 adds PC Tools' signature-based scanner, formerly available only in the Pro version. Since it isn't real-time protection, it won't scan every new saved file, so you will need to schedule it or activate the scan manually. The free version also requires that you keep its community features (which send anonymous detection info to PC Tools) enabled in order to continue receiving no-cost updates; doing so improves threat detection for all users, and there's no good reason to disable it. The Pro 3.5 version allows you to disable the feature, but unless you're running a business, you have no need to shell out for Pro. The free version of ThreatFire 3.5 is for home use.
The anonymous detection data also provides info for the utility's new Threat Detection display. Red dots on a global map show infection points for selected malware and adware threats.
Though the map is interesting, the new system-activity monitor is more useful. For the programs and services that are currently running, the monitor displays in-depth background info, such as the author, the command line, a list of open windows and modules, and other details for all processes. You can stop a process, or kick off a Google search for more information on it, with a right-click on the process name.
Other changes in 3.5 include better default options for handling alerts. For one thing, you can now instruct the tool to automatically quarantine, allow, or prompt whenever it encounters a suspected threat or potentially unwanted program (known threats are always quarantined). This version of ThreatFire also has improved master boot record scanning.
While you don't have to pay for ThreatFire, installing it entails another kind of cost. The lightweight ThreatFire service and system tray process didn't noticeably impact our test system while we surfed the web and performed common tasks, and together they used less than 10 megabytes of system memory. But security programs by nature have to reach far into your PC, and as a result they can often conflict with other software and cause trouble. In our tests on one heavily used PC with a wide range of installed programs and utilities, the computer locked up each time we attempted to run an on-demand scan using ThreatFire's signature scanner. You don't need to run the signature scanner to get ThreatFire's worthwhile behavioral protection, but such lockups are a good example of why you should be careful about installing too many security extras.
ThreatFire's thorough behavioral protection provides a worthwhile additional layer of security, particularly for shared or other at-risk PCs. It's all the more impressive for being free. As always, however, be careful about loading your computer down with security programs.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY: SOFTWARE:WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:53:00 +0000

Price:
$136.99
System requirements:
Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Vista
Pros:
Pretty good at picking out definitive errors
Cons:
Unforgiving of any deviation from absolute best practice, even in creative writing mode
The final word:
As a comfort blanket for checking documents before you send them on, WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive offers more than MS Word. It's full-featured, easy to use and picks up basic mistakes. However WhiteSmoke suffers from problems intrinsic to all automatic editors; without a human to make judgements, it will never be infallible. At $136.99 WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive seems a little expensive, but the $79 General Writing version may suit your needs just as well.
WHITESMOKE 2008+ Executive is software that aims to improve and edit your writing, but it's far from perfect.
WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive checks your grammar and punctuation and uses what it calls “text enrichment” to enhance your writing – although that enhancement is a matter of taste. WhiteSmoke comes in several flavours, from the basic $79 General Writing, to the Executive flavour we tested. WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive helps you check letters and emails in styles ranging from general, business and medical, to legal and creative writing.
Document templates are included in WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive, along with a dictionary and thesaurus, as well as an idiom checker and translation tool that includes 18 languages.
Once installed, using WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive is a cinch. You can use the program as a word processor, and when using any kind of text input, hitting F2 brings up a WhiteSmoke editing pane. The program checks the copy on the fly, so within a second or two you have WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive's suggested edits.

WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive highlights words it thinks you need to change. Each edit is colour coded: red for spelling, green for grammar and blue for enrichment. It really is a simple process.
It's not always a useful or even a reliable process, however. We liked the fact that despite being a download from a US website, WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive knows its favor from its favour (unlike your office suite, we'd wager). It's also pretty slick at verb/noun license/licence type conundrums, and we can vouch for its spellchecker capabilities. In terms of picking out definitive errors, WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive will serve you better than your word processor – although it criminally failed to spot when we incorrectly used “less” instead of “fewer”.
WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive then is not a panacea, so AutoCorrect should be avoided. Proper nouns will fox it, for example. And WhiteSmoke has something of a mania for commas.
It's also unforgiving of any deviation from absolute best practice. This makes sense when writing legalise, for instance, but even when checking “creative writing” WhiteSmoke will pull out any instances of sentences starting with “but” or “and”. Indeed, when we test edited a 350-word review with WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive, the results were the same when checked for “general”, “business” and “creative writing”.
Which leads us to the “text enrichment”. At any point you can ask WhiteSmoke 2008+ Executive to enhance any given part of your text. It's a nice concept, but computers aren't writers, and “enriching” copy piecemeal is an odd process. Suffice to say that relying on software to add style to your copy is never a great idea.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY: SOFTWARE:AVG Internet Security 8.0

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:50:00 +0000

Price:
$69.95
System requirements:
Windows 2000 SP4 + Update Rollup 1, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Pro x64 Edition SP1 or Windows Vista/Vista x64Intel Pentium 1.2 GHz 70 MB free hard drive space, 256 MB RAM minimum
Pros:
Light system footprint
Cons:
Attempts to install Yahoo toolbar
The final word:
AVG Internet Security 8.0 is a long overdue update to v7.5. It's easier to use and more effective but still has one or two rough edges. It remains a top-tier security bundle.
AVG'S Internet Security 8.0 features a new, pastel blue UI, which is a vast improvement over its dated, clunky predecessor.
Doesn't time fly? Can it really be three years since AVG 7.0 was released? That's an eternity in PC time and so the release of its successor was well in to injury time. But now AVG 8.0 is out and is now available in a variety of bundle permutations. Apart from anti-virus, this bundle also includes anti-spyware, anti-spam, firewall and rootkit protection.
As is the norm these days, the UI comprises an array of module icons, a dozen in this case, each marked by a green status tick when all is well. At the side are just three tabs, Overview, which brings up the module status screen, Computer Scanner, and Update now, which are self-explanatory. In use, AVG IS 8.0 has a light system footprint.

You'll come across one irritation when you install the program. It seems that AVG has got into bed with Yahoo and wants to install the Yahoo toolbar - and change your default search engine too. While you can disable this "feature", we don't like seeing this sort of thing in retail software. It may be fine in the free version but not here.
Aside from that, installation is smooth and once the updates have been applied (this version updates four times a day) AVG Internet Security 8.0 does a quick scan of your system, scanning for malware and spyware simultaneously. As before it offers on-access, on-demand and scheduled scanning. AVG Internet Security 8.0 continues to garner top scores from the likes of Virus Bulletin, West Coast Labs and ICSA so we have no doubts as to its continued efficacy.
The firewall uses an automatic multi-profile system which should minimise user intervention and offers a good level of protection. But we got pestered to approve Internet connections for a couple of days after installation, which niggled.
The new LinkScanner web protection works much like McAfee's SiteAdvisor, issuing alerts when you visit a dodgy site and flagging search results with ticks or crosses depending on their cleanliness.
Each site is scanned “live” and so the status mark can take a few seconds to appear. Spam email is automatically tagged as such and moved to a junk folder. Interestingly it supports Real-time Blackhole Lists (RBLs), such as Spamhaus or Spamcop, which helps eliminate a lot of spoofed spam.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY: SOFTWARE:CyberLink YouCam 2

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:44:00 +0000

Price:

$39.49
System requirements:

Intel Pentium D 3.0 GHz or above, or AMD Athlon 64 3200+ or above512 MB RAM, Windows Vista / XP (with DirectX 9 or above)1GB of hard disk space 640 x 480 screen resolutionWebcam
Pros:

Easy to use, cute enhancements, business conferencing features
Cons:

Webcam chat enhancements somewhat shallow, cost of software
The final word:

Although this package is aimed at webcam enthusiasts, the only thing that really makes it worth the cost is the business conferencing facility.
CYBERLINK YouCam 2 is an interesting piece of software that means webcam users can facilitate business discussions.
With a simple interface and a family-friendly selection of cartoon-style animations and effects, users of YouCam 2 can keep themselves and others entertained. Of special note is the avatar chat system, which allows the user to assume one of 12 cute and cuddly characters.
In theory, when the user blinks, winks, moves or yawns so too does the fluffy creature on the screen. When we tried the function, however, the effect was a little more sporadic, with the cute little dogs and dolls sometimes still as stone while we fidgeted violently, but then active when we left the camera's view. Even so, this feature will amuse for a while.
Other entertaining stalwarts of webcam software are present, with a range of animated frames available to users. Filter animations can also be activated, with snowdrops and candy showers just two of the many effects available (others are downloadable for free).

The software allows you to record images using selected effects or avatars, and users can publish their footage directly to YouTube without going through the trouble of logging on to the service via a browser.
When webcam chatting using popular instant messaging programs such as MSN Messenger, a range of frames and avatars are available through YouCam 2's IM Mode – a minimised version of the full program. This provides a few gimmicky extras that can liven up a conversation.
But it isn't all play and no work. Two positive points for small to medium business users to consider are the security monitoring and presentation capabilities.
The first of these has been a staple of webcam software for years. As soon as motion is detected, time-stamped footage begins recording and images of possible intruders are captured on your hard drive.
Unfortunately, if the computer on which the program is installed is the target of a thief, it spells the end of this feature's usefulness (along with your ownership of the computer).
More useful is the ability to share documents, such as PowerPoint presentation files, through instant messaging programs. Users can set the duration for each slide to be displayed as the information is discussed and presented via standard webcam methods. This gives users and businesses that can't afford teleconferencing equipment and software, such as Cisco's expensive Telepresence package, a basic substitute.
The entertainment functions of the package are rather gimmicky. Whether or not these gimmicks are worth the price of purchase depends on how much amusement you think you'll get from them. For small to medium businesses that want a cheap off-the-shelf solution to facilitate online presentations and discussions, CyberLink YouCam 2 may be a surprisingly good business investment.

LATEST COMPUTER REVIEWS:Altech NRG-W-02

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:37:00 +0000

Price:
$5011
Features:
Hard drive storage capacity:
1TBGraphics processor: 2 x GeForce GTX 280
Installed memory (RAM): 2GB
Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650
Processor speed: 4.2GHz
Pros:
Excellent DirectX-10 gaming performance, looks good, very well built, overclocked to 4.2GHz, liquid cooled
Cons:
Doesn't use 10,000rpm hard drives, consumes a lot of electricity
The final word:
If you're a serious gamer, you need a serious machine - and a serious wallet. This $5011 Altech NRG PC is about as serious as they come. It's beautifully built, has a GeForce GTX 280 SLI graphics card configuration and plenty of straight-line speed thanks to its overclocked quad-core CPU.
THERE are normal PCs, and then there are statement PCs.
Altech's NRG is one of the latter and it's designed with high-end gamers in mind. It's the "don't mess with me or you'll get creamed" statement that's heard loudest from its fans' synchronous whispering, and it's definitely one of the best built and most intimidating machines we've seen in a while.
It stands out from the crowd not only because of its liquid-cooled quad-core processor, but also because it has two Inno3D GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards set up in an SLI configuration. They give the PC enough 3-D grunt to smoothly render pretty much all current games on the market. They propelled the system to a score of 21,700 in 3DMark06, which is a tremendous result, and they also had no problems churning through frames while running at the highest possible graphics settings in the DirectX 10-based Call of Juarez and Lost Planet: Extreme Condition benchmarks; the system averaged 65 frames per second in the Call of Juarez test and 54fps in Lost Planet.

Altech has installed an EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 motherboard as the base for this system, and it runs NVIDIA's nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset. It supplies full-speed SLI performance from its PCI Express x16 slots, and it also accommodates a front-side bus speed of 1600MHz for the CPU and memory. Altech has put this board to good use by running two Corsair 1 gigabyte (GB) DDR3 memory modules at 1600MHz, matching the front-side bus speed of the CPU. A CPU multiplier of 10.5 has been used to crank its speed up to 4.2GHz, and it's decidedly quick in a straight line.
In the Blender 3D test, the CPU used all of its four cores to render a test job in only 22sec. Meanwhile, it took 38sec to encode 53min worth of WAV files to 192Kbps ap3s. Both times are very fast, so there's no doubt this machine will suit the keen video editor or anyone else who does a lot of encoding.
Cooling the overclocked CPU is an Alphacool liquid cooling kit, which seems to fit perfectly in the machine's Antec Twelve Hundred full-tower case. Its pump sits at the bottom-front of the machine, and it feeds UV-reactive coolant through green pipes, which are attached to the reservoir at the top-front of the machine, and the radiator, which is attached to the ceiling of the case. The reservoir can be seen from the front of the machine, while the side panel is windowed and exposes the lovely, cold-cathode-illuminated craftsmanship of the interior.
Despite being liquid cooled, it's not a quiet machine by any means. In fact, it's damn loud. There are no fewer than 15 fans in the system when you count all the memory, graphics and power supply fans along with the case fans, but this shouldn't faze most gamers unless they have poor headphones or speakers. It's not a machine that you'll want to leave switched on overnight though. Not only will its lights and fans be bothersome, but it will also consume a lot of power. We measured its power consumption at over 310W when just browsing the web, over 420W when using all four cores to render a 3-D project, and 590W when running a DirectX 10-based game at high settings. Even when it's switched off, it will still draw 60W from the outlet.
We love the way it has been assembled though. All cabling has been routed between the case's motherboard base and right-hand side panel, which means the system is very much a hallmark of neatness. The combination of blue lights along with the yellowish-green tubing looks quite good and should provide a nice ambience when gaming in the dark, unless you place the unit under a table.
An aspect of the NRG that's a bit of a let-down is its storage. Our test machine shipped with two 7200rpm, 500 GB Hitachi hard drives in a RAID 0 array, and while these turned in a fast performance (they combined to produce a 49.3MBps file transfer result), a couple of Western Digital VelociRaptor (WD3000GLFS) drives would make this machine even faster. We think that if you're going to be spending over five grand on a gaming system, you may as well go all the way and put in the faster disk system.
In saying that, the NRG is still a monster and it was a pleasure using it. If you want a pre-built system that's fast and looks great, and it's within your budget, then it's hard to overlook it.

LATEST GADGETS: LaCie Rugged All-Terrain Hard Disk 500GB

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:31:00 +0000

Price:
$499
Features:
Storage capacity:
500GBCache memory: 8MBInterface: FireWire 800 (1394b), USB 2.0, FireWire 400 (1394a)Weight: 298gWarranty: 36 months
Pros:
Rugged case design, fast read/write times, bus-powered, triple interface
Cons:
Installation can be finicky, didn't check Firefox 3's security
The final word:
The LaCie Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive isn't built to withstand a nuclear holocaust, but it provides better protection than standard portable hard drives. We were impressed with the read/write times and the fact that it can provide 500GB of hard drive space powered by USB.
LACIE'S Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive has the protection it needs to be able to function over a long period of time in everyday rough-and-tumble situations.
The LaCie Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive isn't new – we reviewed the 80GB version back in 2006. Since then not much has changed physically, but LaCie has bumped the drive's capacity to 500 gigabytes (GB). The drive still retains its small case. Amazingly, LaCie has managed to keep the drive bus-powered, making it one of the first 500GB portable hard drives on the market that only requires USB for power. It also manages to pack in FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and a secondary USB port for supplementary power.
The drive is protected by anti-shock rubber bumpers, and encased in aluminium. A replaceable shock-resistant rubber sleeve fits over the case. Although the drive's interface ports are slightly recessed, there's no other form of protection for them, leaving them at the mercy of the elements. Given that it would require only slightly more rubber to protect the ports, we're puzzled as to why LaCie didn't address this.

The drive is rated to withstand a 90cm drop when turned off. Its tight case design is scratch-proof, and the extra protection it provides helps ensure drive durability (it probably won't survive a mortar shell, however).
Given the case's design, the unit is slightly larger than the standard 2.5” portable hard drive. It definitely won't fit into a pocket like Western Digital's My Passport Elite 320GB, but it remains small enough to be packed snugly in your baggage.
The unit is accompanied by a basic one-click backup application, as well as a trial for MacDrive, which allows Windows to read OS X–based file systems such as HFS and HFS+. Other drives provide better value in terms of software, but we're glad LaCie didn't bloat the drive with unnecessary programs.
The biggest surprise with this drive, apart from its capacity, is its speed, particularly given that it only spins at 5400rpm. While transferring a 5GB file from the drive to a 7200rpm laptop drive over USB 2.0, write speeds averaged 21.19MBps; read speeds were even faster at 26.88MBps. It performed even better over FireWire 800, averaging read and write speeds of 41.7MBps and 43.5MBps, respectively. For a portable hard drive spinning at 5400rpm, these speeds are remarkable.
LaCie's Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive probably won't suit all terrains. However, it provides fast transfer speeds, great storage capacity in a small package, and enough protection to withstand the rigours of everyday travel.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY: SOFTWARE:Speed Meter Pro

noreply@blogger.com (queenmadison) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:24:00 +0000

Price:
46.50
System requirements:
Microsoft Windows Vista or Microsoft Windows XP with SP2 or higher Intel Pentium III or equivalent 128MB RAM (512MB for Vista)80MB of available hard-disk space Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 or later; Internet Explorer version 5.5 or later
Pros:
Automatic network mapping, suggests solutions to network issues
Cons:
Isn't fully featured
The final word:
The bottom line? Speed Meter Pro does a very good job of tracking and analysing network performance issues, but by itself it simply doesn't do enough. If you want a full-blown network troubleshooting tool, you'll have to buy the combo.
SPEED Meter Pro focuses on network slowdowns and ignores other issues such as IP woes, making it only a partial salve for the beleaguered.
Like most other computer owners in the world, you've probably become a network administrator by default, forced to handle the myriad problems that can bedevil your home network or small-office network. Pure Networks' software app, Speed Meter Pro, can help you do the job – but only to a point.
Still, what it does do it does exceptionally well. Install the program and it automatically creates a network map that shows every device on your network, including your router. It also scans your PC and the network for problems, such as too many applications and devices trying to use the network at the same time; then it suggests solutions.
Speed Meter sits in the background, monitoring network performance and popping up alerts and accompanying recommendations whenever it detects a slowdown. You can also use it to troubleshoot network performance. For example, if you notice that an Internet connection on one PC seems particularly sluggish, open Speed Meter and it will show you which PCs and applications are using too much network bandwidth. The program also tracks your Internet use and bandwidth over time.

Unfortunately, Speed Meter Pro can't solve all of your network woes: It won't detect and resolve problems related to sharing printers, IP conflicts, and network setup. For that Pure Networks has a companion product, called Network Magic. You can buy the two in a bundle.