Tech Check
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- Dell Inspiron 531s
The slim Dell Inspiron 531s is a small-form-factor desktop that doesn't exact a price penalty for its size. It comes with a fairly powerful processor, 2GB of system memory (important in these Vista-oriented days) and discrete graphics. Oh, yeah, and it does all this for $499 (direct, with e-value code DDPMGX1). This is the system I would steer people toward if they are looking for a well-equipped, stylish budget desktop.
The "s" in 531s stands for small or slim. This means that the system is a lot thinner than the average mini tower desktop, at about 14 by 4 by 17 inches (HWD). Does this mean there is less expansion room in the system? Whereas that may have been true for older systems, the motherboard in the 531s has all the usual internal connectors, including two PCI card slots, a PCIe x1 and a PCIe x16 graphics card slot (occupied by an ATI Radeon HD 2400 card). The card slots are only half-height because of the slim desktop form factor, which limits some choices—but if you're buying a $500 PC, you're not likely to be looking to equip it with a $700 full-size graphics card, anyway. There's space for two additional system memory DIMMs, though most people will find the 2GB the system comes with to be plenty. (Many systems in the sub-$500 price range have only 1GB). The 531s includes a 160GB hard drive, which is average for systems at this price. But it comes with eight USB ports, which is exemplary for any system and exceptional in the category of small-form-factor PCs.
Dell took a couple of shortcuts, however, to get the 531s down to the low price it lists for. The most notable example is its choice to go with a Windows Vista Home Basic OS, which shaved off $30. (It did this $30 shave so that it could qualify as a sub-$500 PC for the purposes of this story.) If you can spare the cash, I recommend the upgrade to Home Premium later on, especially since Premium includes the MCE interface. As much as I hate to say it, I'd rather have the 2GB of RAM and the discrete graphics card over Vista Home Premium as a trade-off at the start.
The other $30 in cost savings was achieved by omitting a DVD burner in favor of a cheaper DVD/CD-RW combo drive. These days, with a lot of homebrew video and music going directly to the Web (for example, MySpace and YouTube), burned DVDs are becoming a relic of sorts. Using DVDs for backup is becoming as outdated as using floppy disks. Though DVDs are cheap, they are now unwieldy (40 DVD-Rs to back up this system if it's full), and hand-printed DVDs can easily get lost. I'm now recommending using external hard drives for backup. Searching and retrieving files is easier on external hard drives than hunting down "DVD 10/02/04-Disc 15." Still, these two omissions together do take some points away from the system, although I do think that this is a very good system in its class—it gets the Editors' Choice.
The 531s comes across as more powerful and sleeker than similar systems such as the eMachines T5234 and Compaq Presario SR5130NX. The 531s lacks the others' DVD burner, but it has discrete graphics and more system memory, hence better performance. It's less likely to seem slow a year or two down the road.
A very good choice for the budget-conscious PC buyer, the Dell Inspiron 531s proves that you don't need a big, honking tower to get a decent computer. It will even do 3D, which is a stumbling block for systems in this price range. Budget an extra $60 if DVD burning and Vista Premium are must-haves, but as is, the Inspiron 531s I tested is worthy of our Editors' Choice.
Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:03:00 +0000 - Nero 8 is here
Nero 8 Ultra Edition is a software solution that brings the digital world to your PC with features that make it fun and easy to create multimedia projects with high-quality, professional results. Create MP3 mixes and edit vacation videos in high-definition format. Share content around the world with simple Internet upload functions. Burn a disc with just one click, and then enjoy it in any room in your house with versatile streaming features. Rest easy knowing your data is safe in the event of a system crash or a damaged disc. Nero 8 Ultra Edition lets you live the digital life with cutting-edge technology and world-class features.Version 8 adds support for Windows Vista, increased Blu-ray and HD-DVD recording and playback support, an improved graphical interface, and improved video-menu authoring and transition effects.
Nero 8 Ultra delivers a refurbished digital media suite that's still as comprehensive as they come, though now in a more polished wrapper. The installation file is massive; also, once Nero is on your machine, it consumes a hefty serving of memory. Considering all it can do, though, we can only complain so much.
CD- and DVD-burning is still Nero's core; welcome shortcuts for burning and ripping CDs and DVDs are now accessible from the new StartSmart GUI, which is now adorned with a programmable RSS reader. Authoring and burning high-definition CDs and DVDs are added features, and so is the ability to export video files made and edited with Nero to YouTube, MySpace, and MyNero.
Nero 8 Ultra introduces RescueAgent, a tool to recover data from damaged disks, and a gaggle of Vista features, including a one-click desktop gadget for copying CDs.
Despite the cosmetic alterations, Vista support, and enhancements, particularly to Nero Vision, the dramatic changes are slim. However, Nero Ultra 8's significantly faster application launch time and improved usability make the audio, video, photo, data, and home entertainment workhorse that lets you edit MP3s, capture and edit video, record and playback TV, create slide shows, back up data, convert audio files, check your hardware specs, and design disc covers with ease well worth a try.
Sun, 07 Oct 2007 10:22:00 +0000 - Bungie and Microsoft Officially Split
Rumours have been bubbling over the Internet cauldron all week that Bungie would be jumping ship from its corporate masters at Microsoft. The rumours seemed unlikely to be true, as Bungie has been wholly owned by the Microsoft machine since 2000.Today, though, the unlikely became reality. This morning, Bungie announced it was officially splitting away from Microsoft to become an independent, privately held developer, Bungie LLC. Microsoft will continue to retain a minority stake in Bungie, and continue its long-standing publishing agreement with the company.
"While we are supporting Bungie's desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our Halo entertainment property with Bungie and other partners, such as Peter Jackson, on a new interactive series set in the Halo universe," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.
Bungie will remain in its current location in Kirkland, Washington, and will retain its primary focus on Microsoft platforms. Harold Ryan, Bungie's studio head, commented, "This... will enable us to expand both creatively and organizationally." Ryan also stated that the studio would continue to work on Halo, and "beyond."
Sat, 06 Oct 2007 06:21:00 +0000 - Yahoo! enters the social networking arena
Yahoo! has finally stepped into the shoes of social networking websites and has launched its own exclusive social network which is known as the Yahoo! Mash. Modules are basically the widgets you can add to pimp out your page. Yahoo’s modules include Flickr RSS, Ego Boost, Common Friends, MyMoshLog2, Blog Module, Asteroids, Astrology, PimpMyPet, Hover, Kaleidescope, Guestbook, and My Stuff. The modules can be loaded onto your profile page and moved around using drag-and-drop
The profile page gives you a wide array of options to play with and edit like - your photo, friend list, tags, about me, modules (widgets), Blurts (status messages) and a guestbook.
Wiki-friends is where users are encouraged to edit each other’s pages and create new pages for friends. Every time you visit your profile page, you will see new modules which your friends loaded for you.
Blurt is a Yahoo! Mash Module which will let you add announcements to your Profile page. The My Stuff module is a very good and handy module that will allow you to interact with your friends. You paste HTML snippets there which includes Flash Games, YouTube videos and other miscellaneous interactive content. Tags module is used to tag your profile with the most relevant keywords and The Mash Pet is a funny new way to express your mood to others who visit your profile.
Pulse is a feature which takes you to a page which compiles updates and blurts from all your friends. Whether they added a new friend or added a new module… it’s all reported here.
Overall, Mash is Yahoo’s latest attempt at social networking and still needs some work. It’s currently in BETA. It will surely get a lot of early adopters and members purely based on it’s Yahoo! brand and existing Yahoo loyalists will like the idea of their own network to hang out in.
Keep an eye on the official Yahoo! Mash Blog which will enlist the updates and will inform you about the latest feature and system updates.
Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:31:00 +0000 - Vista Tweaking Tools
Looking for tools to get the most out of Windows Vista ??
Here are a few utilities to tweak up Windows Vista ..
1. VistaTweaker - VistaTweaker is, as its name says, a reliable, smart and yet easy-to-use Windows Vista tweaking tool. The interface is nice and simple.
· Every tweak has its description so the user can see what each one does.
· Tweaks are organized into tabs, each tab is subdivided in sections by group boxes. This way it is easy to find the tweak the user is looking for.
2. XdN Tweaker - Tweaking program that supports Vista (and XP/Server 203). It doesn't have tons of tweaking options, but does focus on ones that most users may want to attend to. No installation required (but .NET is for XP/2003). Address areas with Vista UAC, Control Panel, Media Player, Right-Click context options, Files and Folder tweaks, File Associations, Start Menu, IE7, Outlook Express/Windows Mail, Misc. Tools, and System Settings. Pretty handy little utility.
3. Windows Sidebar Styler - Allows some easy fine-tuning of the Windows Sidebar and provides extensions to the Windows Sidebar in Vista. Supports custom styles for resizing and customizing how it integrates with other elements. Still being refined but looks pretty handy.
4. EasyBCD 1.6 - Hard-core NeoSmart tool that is definitely NOT for "average" Vista users. Allows advanced Vista users/tweakers to set up, configure, and tweak the Windows Vista bootloader.
5. TweakUAC - this utility allows folks running under an Administrator-level profile to easily turn off UAC (User Account Control), turn it back on, or keep it running, but suppress the UAC elevation prompt requests.
6. Tweak VI from Totalidea - The basic version is free and additional feature "plugins" can be purchased. It's a nice business model. The Basic version allows you to tweak desktop items, Start menu items, IE, Firefox, hardware settings, system info, virtual desktops, subsystem folders, mousing, and shutdown options.
7. Vispa - This tweak-tool uses a non-install executable and is a bare-bones Vista utility. Run it and you get a long list of check boxes organized by subjects. To apply a setting, activate the checkbox. Pro: simple interface. Con: simple interface. So unless you already know and understand the consequence of your choice, this might not be a utility for Vista noobies.
Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:16:00 +0000 - UT3 for PS3 officially pushed to '08
Last month, Epic Games president Mark Rein cautioned fans that a November release for Unreal Tournament 3 on the PlayStation 3 and PC was just a target and not a certainty. Epic appears to have missed the target with the PS3 edition of the game: Publisher Midway today announced that it expects that it won't ship that version of the game until the first quarter of 2008.
The warning comes in spite of a statement from Rein late Tuesday saying that the studio is still toiling to get the PS3 UT3 completed by year's end. However, Midway president and CEO David Zucker said in an investor conference call that any delay will not affect the PC edition, which is still set to release in early November.
Zucker also said there is release window yet announced for the Xbox 360 version of Unreal Tournament 3, which is set to arrive sometime next year. However, a Midway representative confirmed to GameSpot that UT3 would still see a period of console exclusivity on the PS3.
Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:38:00 +0000 - Microsoft Sings a New Zune
It’s hard to imagine anyone reading the reports of the second generation of Microsoft’s Zune audio player and deciding it should go at the top of their Christmas wish list. Sure, Microsoft will sell some. They have global distribution, infinite money for marketing and a brand that, to many, is credible, if not cool.
Microsoft has chosen not to compete on price, matching Apple’s price points for devices of the same size. (That is, flashy players with 4 gigabytes for $149 and 8 gigabytes for $199, and an 80-gigabyte hard drive player for $249.) That’s probably wise in the long run. Microsoft isn’t a brand that should rely on discounting. Microsoft includes a Wi-Fi connection on these models, while Apple charges $100 more for its Wi-Fi enabled iPod Touch series.
From the specs and early reviews, the new Zunes are solid, with better software and other features that improve on the first generations, which fared poorly in the market. There’s a bigger screen, a social networking site and a bit more you can do with the built in Wi-Fi connection. Frankly, feature for feature, it gives the iPod Classic — Apple’s hard drive model — a run for its money. But the flash models can’t compete on fashion with Apple’s Nano and Shuffle. And despite being in the market with a Wi-Fi player a year ahead of Apple, Microsoft hasn’t been able to match the innovation in the Touch: the Safari browser and Wi-Fi music store, not to mention the touch-screen interface.
Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:31:00 +0000 - iPhone buyer sues Apple for $1m
An angry iPhone buyer is suing Apple for $1 million (£490,000) after the company slashed the price of the device by $200 only 68 days after its US launch.
Dongmei Li, of New York, who waited "for hours" to buy a 4GB version of the iPhone in July three days after its debut, is accusing Apple of "price discrimination, underselling, discrimination in rebates, deceptive actions and other wrongdoings," according to a filing by her attorney, C Jean Wang, of Wang Law Offices.
Apple cut the price of the 8GB model of the iPhone to $399 from $599 last month, triggering an outcry from consumers who had stumped up the higher price for the much-hyped gadget.
At the same time it phased out the lower-specification 4GB model.
Under an existing return policy, Apple refunded the $200 difference for those who bought the phone within 14 days of the discount.Later, in a bid to make peace with irked early iPhone adopters, it offered a $100 credit to purchasers at Apple stores.
Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:10:00 +0000 - Samsung Unveils Its iPhone Rival
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and audio product maker Bang & Olufsen on Tuesday unveiled their latest joint music-mobile phone, Serenata, which holds 4G bytes of songs and has a number of other music features similar to the iPhone.
The handsets will go on sale in Europe by the end of the month, said Anthony Lee, a spokesman at Samsung. Pricing has not yet been determined.
The handset doesn't look much like a mobile phone: the top half is dominated by a navigation wheel, the designers having dispensed with buttons. The 2.26-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) touch screen is below the navigation wheel, in the place where the buttons are found on conventional mobile phones.
The navigation wheel is intended to be used one-handed. All primary functions on the phone are controlled by the navigation wheel, including searching menus, dialing, writing and accessing music lists, the companies said. The touch screen is secondary.
Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:07:00 +0000 - Pentax Launches 12.1MP Point-and-Shoot DigiCam
Pentax announced two new compact, point-and-shoot digital cameras today, the Optio A40 and Optio V10.
The A40 has an advanced feature set and includes a 12.1-megapixel imaging sensor and three forms of shake-reduction technology. To cut down on blurry still-shots caused by unsteady hands, the 3X optical zoom camera comes with mechanical and digital image stabilization. For steady video capture, the A40 also features a special movie anti-shake ability. Weighing in at 5.3 ounces, the A40 saves pictures and movies to standard SD and larger capacity SDHC memory cards. The A40 can record video in the popular Divx AVI file format as well.
Much more of a party cam, the slim and trim OPTI V10 weighs a slightly lighter 4.9 ounces and features a large 3-inch LCD for framing and sharing your photos. The V10 uses an 8-megapixel sensor and 3X optical zoom lens, and a 9-point autofocus system also is able to lock onto people and objects.
Expect the Optio A40 to hit stores this month for a list price of $299.95. The Optio V10 should ship in November 2007 with a lower price of $249.95.
Tue, 02 Oct 2007 06:03:00 +0000 - Facebook hacks
Here is a collection of ways to modify your Facebook .
The scripts in these hacks require Firefox. Firefox is a free web-browsing program similar to Internet Explorer with additional security features and options.
After you install Firefox, you’ll need Greasemonkey. Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension which lets you to add bits of DHTML (”user scripts”) to any web page to change its behavior .
Download Greasemonkey .
After you’ve installed Firefox and Greasemonkey, you can install these scripts:- AutoLogin: Facebook autologin automatically logs you in to Facebook (it stops asking you to log in every time!)
- Change the color of Facebook: This script changes the default color of your Facebook. By modifying the code you can make it whatever color scheme you want.
Tiled Friends View :
Did you know it's possible to view all your friends at once in a big, tiled mosaic format ? It's also very simple! Here is how to do it -
1.) Go to MY FRIENDS on the main Facebook menu on the top/left of the page.
2.) From the "SHOW" drop-down menu in the top/left, select the dashed lines "—-"
3.) DONE!!
NOTE: If you have A LOT of friends, it might take a little while to load up as it shows ALL of your friends at once.
Which Facebook Member Are You ?
It's possible to find out which Facebook member number you are, and also how many people use Facebook at your school.
There's a simple method to find out:
1.) Identify your Facebook ID.
This is a 7-digit number you can view in the URL box of your browser by clicking "My Profile" or clicking on one of your friends profile.
It should look like this:
2.) Compare several Facebook ID numbers.
Get two or three Facebook ID numbers and find the COMMON NUMBER, this will be your school's ID code. For example, The Univeristy of Texas has a school code 79.
3.) DONE!
Once you know the school code, the remaining numbers are your Facebook signup number. So in the example above, the numbers would be like this:
7949314 = The 49,314th person to sign up at UT.
7920636 = The 20,636th person to sign up at UT.
7921677 = The 21,677th person to sign up at UT.
Mon, 01 Oct 2007 13:37:00 +0000 - Apple Patches The iPhone, Turns Some Into iBricks
Apple came out Thursday with an iPhone software update that patches 10 security bugs that could enable a hacker to remotely execute malicious code, reveal e-mail credentials, or even make a call without the user's consent. In some cases, however, where the user has tinkered with the guts of the iPhone, the software update has rendered the phone unusable. The update -- iPhone V1.1.1 -- patches one bug in Bluetooth, two in the device's mail service, and seven in its Safari browser. U.S.-CERT is "strongly encouraging" users to review the advisory and follow best practices in determining what updates should be applied.
The fixes come out amid a lot of brouhaha in the research and hacker communities about software for sale that would enable the smartphone to work on any service provider with a standard GSM SIM card. Just this past Monday, though, Apple warned users that unlocking the programs used to connect the device to cellular networks other than AT&T's causes "irreparable damage." The company also warned that the modifications would probably cause the iPhone to be inoperable when the updates were released.
Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:46:00 +0000 - Halo 3 Mimics Halo 2, With Some Improved Graphics
For those who have played Halo and Halo 2, the wildly popular shooter games, Halo 3 can be reviewed in one sentence.
"Halo 3 is Halo 2 with somewhat better graphics."
That’s all you really need to know. If you loved Halo 2, you will feel just the same about Halo 3. If you played Halo 2 and couldn’t figure out what all the fuss was about, Halo 3 is not the revelatory experience that will change your view of the series forever.
So you could simply search through old issues of The New York Times for my review of Halo 2 and learn almost everything you need to know about the game, but rather than put you to that trouble, allow me to share with you my experience.
If you have never played any version of Halo, expect to have precious little idea of what is going on as Halo 3 begins. The game makes almost no effort to explain that humanity is battling a war against two enemies. One, the Flood, is a mindless, voracious collection of creepy crawlies that will attack anything that moves. The other evil is the Covenant, an order of alien religious zealots eager to set off an ancient device intended to wipe out the Flood and all other life in the universe. Halo 3 is the final game in the Halo trilogy that has followed protagonist Master Chief’s valiant efforts to save us all.Put more simply, the story of Halo 3 is the same as that of Halo 2 and the original Halo: a lot of things get in your way and you kill them.
Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:18:00 +0000 - Microsoft extends Windows XP's stay
Bowing to pressure from customers and computer makers, Microsoft plans to keep Windows XP around a little longer.
Large PC manufacturers were slated to have to stop selling XP after January 31. However, they have successfully lobbied Microsoft to allow them to continue selling PCs with all flavors of Windows XP preloaded until June 30, a further five months. Microsoft also plans to keep XP on retail shelves longer and will allow computer makers in emerging markets to build machines with Windows XP Starter Edition until June 2010.
The move indicates the continued demand for the older operating system, some nine months after Windows Vista hit store shelves.
In recent weeks, several PC makers launched programs that allow new PC buyers to more easily "downgrade" their Vista Business and Vista Ultimate machines to Windows XP. Fujitsu, which was among those lobbying for the change, has started including an XP restore disc in the box with all of its laptops running Vista Business.
Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:15:00 +0000 - Sony launches new Walkman players with Digital TV
Sony has unveiled its new series of Walkman players, called the NW-A919, NW-A918 and NW-A916 Walkman.
The specifications of all the three portable devices are same; the only difference is the storage space.
The A910 series of Walkman measure 47.2×86.x12.3mm, claiming to be the smallest and lightest device to watch and record digital TV.
Featuring 2.4-inch screen with 320×240 pixels of resolution, the latest line of Walkman device also provides direct recording of TV programming, 6 hours of video playback, 36 hours music playback, direct encoding, Clear Bass, Clear Stereo, MP3, WMA and ATRAC music format support, AVC(H.264/AVC)/MPEG-4 video format support and photo viewer.
The NW-A919 comes in 16GB memory, the NW-A918 will be available in 8GB and the NW-A916 carries 4GB of storage capacity.
All the three A910 series of Walkman player will be available from 17th November 2007. The price of the NW-A919, NW-A918 and NW-A916 are 45,000¥ (approx. Rs. 15,600), 35,000¥ (approx. Rs. 12,080) and 30,000¥ (approx. Rs. 10,400), respectively.
Fri, 28 Sep 2007 14:26:00 +0000
