Computer Shopper articles from February 2009

Computer Shopper archives from February 2009

CES 2009.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Our exclusive CES coverage will include preshow posts on our favorite-and least-favorite-gear from last year's convention, product news, updates from the show floor, anda postshow wrap-up. Bookmark computershopper.com/CES2009,

Best prices.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Before you start shopping online, we can help you locate the best deal on whatever tech product you're in the market for. computershopper.com/best-prices

New video page.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Let ComputerShopper.com's editors show you how the experts do it. Go to our new video page for shopping advice and information about the latest products. computershopper.com/videos

Buying guides.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Ready to buy, but not sure what you're looking for? Our tech guides tell you everything you need to know to make the right purchase. computershopper.com/buying-guides

Free downloads.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Check out our blog every day for the Daily Download, where Assistant Editor Matt Safford offers you his tips for the hottest free downloads. computershopper.com/shoptalk

Hot downloads.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Our Downloads Center serves up thousands of apps: essential utilities, virus stoppers, photo-editing software, and much more. Better yet, most are free. computershopper.com/downloads

Reviews.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... Our editors are constantly performing hands-on tests of the latest PC products. check in daily to read our latest findings. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] computershopper.com/reviews

Free newsletters.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Sign up for our newsletters and get the best of Computer Shopper delivered right to your inbox. computershopper.com/newsletters

Multimedia laptop roundup.(This Month Online: ComputerShopper.com)
February 1, 2009... Looking for a notebook that will do it all Check out our roundup of multimedia laptops. computershopper.com/multimedia-|aptops [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Geek speak: M&J come to praise Silverlight, not squash it; wipe out a wing of the Library of Congress; and ponder PCs that pander.(BOOT UP: TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE WORLD OF TECH)
February 1, 2009... ON THE 10TH FLOOR of Shopper HQ, in the heart of midtown Manhattan, two enterprising editors on a diet of tech, talk, and cheese bring you their impressions of the connected life... in a disconnected way. TOO BIG TO FAIL "One point...

In a busy mom's life, when is blogging worth the time?(TechMom)(Personal account)
February 1, 2009... WHEN MY SON was born, he was diagnosed with craniosynostosis, and my first response was, cranio-what? So my husband and I did what any 21st-century parents would do: We Googled it. And although we learned a lot about his condition from experts,...

The Beatles enter the digital age, but is it too late?(Clickable culture)
February 1, 2009... IT'S OFFICIAL: Nearly 40 years after they called it quits and went their own ways, the Beatles are coming to a video-game console near you. Details of the deal are still sketchy, but the announcement that music-game developers Harmonix will...

Digital sherpa.(DeLorme Earthmate PN-40)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Drivers aren't the only ones who can benefit from GPS devices. If you're the outdoors type, your chances of getting lost in the wild are even greater than on the interstate, so let the DeLorme Earthmate PN-40...

PowerPoint helper.(NEW PRODUCTS: GEAR)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Thanks to Apple's increased popularity and continued growth, Mac users are now being showered with peripherals designed just for them. Case in point: the Targus Bluetooth Presenter ($79.99), a wireless pointing device that lets you navigate...

Case closed.(Timbuk2)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Timbuk2, the purveyors of cool messenger bags, are injecting some much-needed fun into the suddenly unglamorous travel industry with the $225 Suitcase. A highlight of the company's new Travel collection, this...

Quick charge.(Powerstick V2 from Ecosol )(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Portable batteries are a great way to keep your handheld devices juiced up, but they're often cumbersome to carry around, especially when you don't have a bag to stash them in. The Powerstick V2 from Ecosol ($59.99)...

Wannabe guitarist.(Logitech's Wireless Guitar Controller Premiere Edition)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Guitar-based video games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band let you unleash your inner rock star even if you can't strum so much as two notes together. Now you can go cordless with Logitech's Wireless Guitar Controller Premiere Edition ($250) for...

Talk smarter.(SmartTalk from Griffin )(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Headphones with a built-in microphone let you keep the tunes going without having to pull them out just to take a cell call, but oftentimes the headphones themselves aren't up to snuff. The affordable SmartTalk from...

Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708: blazing performance and design.(REVIEWS: THE LATEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PRODUCTS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THE TOSHIBA QOSMIO X305-QT08 takes direct aim at the gaming crowd. Featuring an SLI graphics engine, a solid-state drive (SSD), and a high-end CPU, this slick-looking system is clearly built for speed, but you'll need some deep pockets to meet...

MSI X58 Eclipse: competition, look out--this Core i7 motherboard lives up to its name.(REVIEWS: THE LATEST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE PRODUCTS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... [EDITORS' CHOICE] SOMEBODY apparently forgot to tell MSI that a single motherboard can't be everything to everyone, because the new X58 Eclipse not only tries, it succeeds in almost every category. Only those looking for a bargain-basement...

Dell XPS 730x: get lots of flash--for lots of cash.(REVIEWS: DESKTOP)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... NOW THAT INTEL'S new Core i7 family of processors brings terrific performance out of the stratospheric price ranges where it's too often been trapped in recent years, outstanding machines can at last be built from middle-of-the-road CPUs. This...

Gateway LX6200-01: low-cost home theater PC lacks performance.(REVIEWS: DESKTOPS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THOUGH GATEWAY'S $779.99 LX6200-01 is outfitted with several useful tools that allow it to be classified as a home theater PC, we're not convinced those tools are worth the reduced speeds that come with them. The CPU in the LX6200-01 is...

HP Pavilion Slimline s3650f: well-outfitted home theater PC has game, too.(REVIEWS: DESKTOPS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... IT'S RARE that we encounter a home theater PC better suited to gaming than to traditional media chores. But that certainly seems to be the case with HP's $999 Pavilion Slimline s3650f. Due in part to its energy-efficient but underperforming...

Apple MacBook Pro (15.4-inch): solid construction merges with top-notch performance.(REVIEWS: LAPTOPS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... [EDITORS' CHOICE] [check] NEW MACBOOK PRO, Apple has not only redesigned the case to make it even sleeker but updated the specs to make one potent portable. Our $2,499 review unit had a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a 1,066MHz...

Lenovo ThinkPad SL300: a good start for a budget notebook, but performance could be better.(REVIEWS: LAPTOPS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... LENOVO'S THINKPAD SL line addresses the needs (and budgets) of small businesses by including many of the ThinkPad's benefits and discarding the corporate-focused extras that drive up the cost. Except for its glossy black lid, the SL300's...

Lenovo IdeaPad U330: a sleek consumer notebook with a touch of business class.(REVIEWS: LAPTOPS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... LENOVO SEEMS TO HAVE COME into its own with the IdeaPad series. The $1,249 U330 is polished both inside and out: Not just a solid performer and lightweight travel companion, it offers switchable graphics, facial-recognition software, and...

Toshiba Satellite E105-S1402: a consumer-driven notebook that almost delivers.(REVIEWS: LAPTOPS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THE $1,099 SATELLITE E105-S1402 isn't just any mass-produced laptop. It was mass-produced specifically for electronics retailer Best Buy, based at least partly on customer feedback. According to Toshiba, Best Buy customers asked for a lighter,...

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB: spacious and inexpensive storage for media--or anything else.(REVIEWS: COMPONENTS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... REMEMBER WHEN a 1TB hard drive for $300 was a bargain? Seagate has shot that scheme full of holes with its $149 Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB drive. Our testing with HDTach showed a burst transfer rate of 249.5MB per second and an average read...

ATI Radeon HD 4830: get high performance--and details--at a low price.(REVIEWS: COMPONENTS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... WITH THE RELEASE of the $129 ATI Radeon HD 4830, AMD has closed the one gap in the company's graphics-card lineup, offering performance good enough to play the latest games at decent resolutions and high detail at a price under $150. This...

BenQ E2400HD: cheap 16-to-9, but performance doesn't shine.(REVIEWS: DISPLAYS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... WE LIKE THE $369 E2400HD'S understated design and slim profile. Gaming and movies also look good--but not great--on this matte-finished, 24-inch, 1,920x1,080 monitor. Expect to see more 16-to-9 screens this year, as panel manufacturers are...

Asus LS221H: high-end features, ho-hum performance.(REVIEWS: DISPLAYS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THE ASUS LS221H IS A 22-INCH (1,680x1,050) monitor with stunning design elements, including a slim profile, a leather-adorned bezel, and a hardened glass screen that strikes the perfect balance between glossy and glare. In our tests, however,...

Epson WorkForce 600: a business MFP with a photo finish.(REVIEWS: PRINTERS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... [EDITORS' CHOICE] EPSON'S $199.99 WORKFORCE 600 has just about everything SOHO users need, including superior-quality business text and graphics, wired and wireless networking, and a 30-page automatic document feeder. Better yet, it's one...

Canon Pixma MP620: packed with features, but lags in performance.(REVIEWS: PRINTERS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... CANON PULLS OUT ALL THE STOPS with its $149.99 Pixma MP620. This all-in-one printer offers every connection option under the sun, better-than-average print quality, and a few surprising extras. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With its...

Samsung i8: do-it-all cam is merely competent.(REVIEWS: DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE SAMSUNG i8 FOLLOWS the trend of convergence devices: It's a digital camera, an MP3 player, a text viewer, a traveler's guide, and a video player. As a camera, though, the i8 performs competently, but not...

Canon PowerShot SD880 IS: great point-and-shoot for a reasonable price.(REVIEWS: DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... LIKE MOST MODELS in Canon's ELPH line, the 10-megapixel PowerShot SD880 IS is stylish and easy to use. Image quality is respectable, and $299 is not a bad price for a camera that shoots well. Packed in a sleek silver or gold case, the SD880...

BlackBerry Bold (AT&T): slick interface makes this RIM's best smartphone to date.(REVIEWS: CONSUMER TECH)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THE BLACKBERRY BOLD marks a new era for RIM, whose smartphones have traditionally been used mostly for business e-mail. The latest model, priced at $299.99 with a two-year service agreement from AT&T, boasts a new display, a redesigned user...

HP iPAQ 910: business-centric handheld suffers from a few quirks.(REVIEWS: CONSUMER TECH)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... THE HP IPAQ 910 BUSINESS MESSENGER is a good, though not stellar, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional smartphone. With a sharp 2.5-inch, LED-backlit display, a QWERTY keypad that's comfortable to use, and various connectivity options--including...

Sonos Multi-Room Music System: great audio solution at a premium.(REVIEWS: CONSUMER TECH)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THERE ARE MANY WAYS to pipe digital music throughout your house, but they often result in a mishmash of PCs, media servers, and extenders that don't always play nice together. With Sonos's new Multi-Room Music System, you have full control of...

McAfee Total Protection 2009: good security, but poky and poorly designed.(REVIEWS: SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... "TOTAL PROTECTION" is a huge claim for any security package. It makes even less sense when the product in question is difficult to operate and lacks some useful features--all of which describe McAfee Total Protection 2009. Installation and...

Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2: feature-rich security package prefers to work alone.(REVIEWS: SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... TREND MICRO Internet Security Pro 2 offers a good selection of tools and an easy-to-navigate interface. It does the job, and if you get confused or experience problems, there's lots of built-in help, as well as free e-mail, phone, and online...

Bento 2: personal database software is easy to learn, use.(REVIEWS: SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CREATED BY APPLE-OWNED subsidiary FileMaker for the general computer user, the Mac-only Bento is personal database software that's easy to learn, thanks to its intuitive, visually attractive interface. Bento...

The Print Shop 23 Deluxe: quick and easy printing for thousands of projects.(REVIEWS: SOFTWARE)(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... THE PRINT SHOP 23 Deluxe ($49.99), the latest version of the popular consumer-oriented desktop-publishing program, has more than 21,000 project templates, 370,000 images, and 600 fonts, as well as advanced photo-editing tools. The interface...

2009 Shoppers' Choice awards: our readers choose the top tech from the past year.
February 1, 2009... Although people pick up magazines like Computer Shopper (and visit tech sites like ComputerShopper.com) to read reviews of the latest products, there's an equally important source of information that can help you make important tech decisions:...

Budget-PC blowout: these 13 desktops and laptops pack major features and functionality for under $800 each. Should one be your next PC?(Product/service evaluation)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JUST BECAUSE MONEY'S TIGHT doesn't mean you have to give up on upgrading your tech life. If you need to buy a new computer now--whether as a replacement for your primary PC, or as an inexpensive second or third...

Bios baffler.(Computer Cures: COMPUTER SHOPPER'S EDITORS SOLVE YOUR TOUGHEST TECH PROBLEMS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... I'm installing a 200GB Seagate Barracuda hard drive in my PC. The disk is visible in the BIOS, but when I run Windows XP Professional SP2, I get the error message "Setup did not find any hard disk installed in your computer." The interface of...

Out of touch.
February 1, 2009... I'm facing a problem with my Acer laptop, which uses Windows XP. To remove dirt from its keyboard, I tilted the notebook upside down and ran my finger through the keys. Some dirt particles did come out, but my touch pad has now gone out of...

Tech trail mix.(COMPUTER CURES)(Viewpoint essay)
February 1, 2009... I'm planning on hiking the 2,170 miles of the Appalachian Trail and want to document every step of the way. I'm looking for an ultralight laptop with loads of storage for all the HD digital video and HD digital stills I intend to shoot. Of...

Search and scrub.(COMPUTER CURES)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Is it possible to delete search-engine queries (for example, in Google, Ask.com, or Ask Jeeves)? KRISTINE SIEMENS Managing Editor Jonathan Rougeot erases your tracks: There are several ways to delete your search-engine history. The...

How to add a second monitor: increase your PC's screen spread in five easy steps.(HELP & HOW-TO: WEEKEND PROJECT)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN RECENT YEARS, wide-screen displays have diminished the need for multiple monitors on your desktop--their extra width provides plenty of space for comparing documents, arranging windows, or viewing particularly...

Core i7 cool.(Noctua's NH-UI2P SE1366 )(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Noctua's $65 NH-UI2P SE1366 is one of the first third-party CPU coolers we've seen that is compatible with Intel's blazing new Core i7 processors. With a pair of quiet 120mm fans, a copper base, and six heat pipes, it certainly seems up to the...

Masterful multimedia.(ANTEC Corp.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Antec is best known for its computer cases, but its recent foray into drive-bay devices impressed us. Its top-of-the-line $120 Veris Multimedia Station Premier occupies two 5.25-inch drive bays, offering up a nifty...

Dual drive dock.(Build Your Own: NEW PRODUCTS FOR BUILDING A CUSTOM PC)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... As PC cases get smaller and smaller, devices like the Vizo Ares II drive-bay rack will no doubt become more popular. Occupying a single 3.5-inch bay, this $40 device leaves space for two 2.5-inch Serial ATA (SATA) laptop hard drives or...

Port-packing power.(Build Your Own: NEW PRODUCTS FOR BUILDING A CUSTOM PC)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... Palit calls its Revolution 700 Deluxe the world's fastest graphics card. This beastly board-with its two ATI Radeon HD 4870 GPUs overclocked to 750MHz and 2GB of GDDR5 memory running at a scorching 3,800MHz-has the hardware to contend for that...

Quad-card power.(Seasonic's M12D modular power supply )(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Seasonic's M12D modular power supply offers a DC-to-DC converter design, which the company claims should provide enhanced system stability. And it's 80 Plus Silver-certified, so you can feel eco-friendly while...

Externally excellent.(Build Your Own: NEW PRODUCTS FOR BUILDING A CUSTOM PC)(Brief article)
February 1, 2009... It might not look like much, but the SilverStone Clear CMOS will save tweakers and overclockers a lot of time and trouble. Mounting in a rear expansion slot, it lets you clear your PC's CMOS after a failed overclocking attempt or similar mishap...

30 years of Computer Shopper!(SHUT DOWN: A LOOK BACK INTO THE COMPUTER SHOPPER ARCHIVES)
February 1, 2009... TO CELEBRATE our 30th anniversary year, we'll be digging back into the Shopper archives throughout 2009. This month, our Wayback Machine halted in December 1986. The Cold War was raging, Iran-Contra had just hit the headlines, and the venerable...