Archive for August, 2009
Snow Leopard: Great news for Windows 7, too
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
OS X 10.6 includes Boot Camp 3.0, a new collection of software drivers that make Windows run much better on Mac hardware.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)
Every time I see the “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” ads on TV, I can’t help but wonder, “Why not both?” And it has never been a better time for that.
Overall, personally, I found that while the new Mac OS doesn’t warrant a “wow,” it’s still definitely worth the $29 upgrade price. Snow Leopard offers an even more streamlined Mac experience than Leopard and noticeably faster interface responsiveness. The application performance, however, is slightly slower than it is with Leopard, at least on the MacBook Pro we used as our test machine. As the OS is now a pure 64-bit operating system, expect the application performance to improve over Leopard as you add RAM or use it with a high-end desktop.
Mac users can read more about Snow Leopard in my colleague Jason Parker’s full review. On the other hand, for Windows users, especially Windows 7, the release of Snow Leopard is straight-on great news.
Boot Camp 3.0 enables Windows to read files from OS X’s partition.
(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)
I recently blogged about running Windows 7 on a 15-inch Unibody Macbook Pro, which required some tweaking with Boot Camp 2.1. Snow Leopard comes with Boot Camp 3.0, which makes installing and running Windows on a laptop a much more pleasant experience.
First of all, the new Boot Camp includes all the drivers necessary to run both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 smoothly on the Mac hardware.
(Note that you only need to run the Boot Camp Assistant, BCA, if you want to dual-boot OS X and Windows on the same machine. The utility will then create a new partition for the installation of Windows. In this case, make sure you run the BCA first when the computer boots up to avoid file errors. If you want to run just Windows and skip OS X altogether, you can boot from the Windows 7 install DVD and start the installation the way you would install the OS on any PC from scratch.)
After the installation is done, Boot Camp 3.0 can be installed from the Snow Leopard DVD. Then, without further ado, you got yourself a great Windows computer.
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Sansa Clip+: If it ain’t broke, just make it prettier
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
Flash memory and device manufacturer SanDisk clearly has a thorough understanding of the saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And we sure are pleased about that, because when the company decided to update its extremely popular Sansa Clip, it could have mangled a perfectly peachy player. …
Originally posted at MP3 Insider
Mini and Mazda convertibles offer most fun per dollar
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
Two tiny convertibles — the two-seat Mazda MX-5 Miata and four-seat Mini Cooper — blend performance and quality at a reasonable price, experts say. The four-seat BMW 3 Series convertible adds space and luxury without sacrificing performance. For the ultimate driving experience, reviews say no convertible can equal the two-seat Porsche Boxster.
LED televisions take the lead
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
LED-backlit LCD TVs are grabbing all of the attention — and the best reviews. However, conventional backlit LCD TVs are still great performers and offer great value. Samsung and Sony are still tops among makers, but LG and others are edging into the discussion.
Makita, Hitachi cordless drills and drivers overtake Bosch and Panasonic
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
Newer, lighter lithium-ion (Li-ion) cordless drills by Makita and Hitachi are earning high marks in reviews. They also offer longer warranties than Bosch and Panasonic; Hitachi has doubled its warranty on Li-ion cordless tools to 10 years.
Alienware, Dell and Lenovo laptops top reviews
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
Laptops balance power and portability, so your choice depends heavily on how much you’ll be traveling with your laptop. If you plan mainly on leaving your laptop on a desk, the Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds and Alienware M17x are good desktop replacements for business users and gamers, respectively.
Mini fridges: Best bets for dorms
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
Cube-shaped mini fridges are the type you most often seen promoted as dorm fridges, but be careful; some of these models aren’t true refrigerators and are only appropriate for chilling drinks. For only a little more than these bargain-basement models, you can get a better mini fridge that’s still small in size, but can also safely store leftovers and perishables at colder temperatures.
Introducing the nondenominational Laptop Burka
by Talk about Deal on Aug.31, 2009, under Review
For those of you in parts of the world where there remain only four or five sunny days–London, New York–the wonderful news that I am about to impart may well be a little frustrating.
However, for those of us in the deserving paradise of the American west coast, this is …
Originally posted at Technically Incorrect
Sirius’ nifty new home satellite radio tuner
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
That blurry thing under the display is the SR-H2000.
(Credit: Sirius XM)
I went to Sirius XM’s New York City headquarters on Wednesday to see what’s new. They showed a bunch of docking units and the like, but the only new product that got my juices flowing was …
Originally posted at The Audiophiliac
Digital City No. 47: Installing Snow Leopard and the fallout from falling PS3 and Xbox 360 prices
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Episode 47 of the Digital City, where we install Apple’s new Snow Leopard OS update; discuss the current round of game console price cuts; check out some Netbooks with HD displays; and
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Originally posted at Digital City Podcast
This week in Crave: The Snow-in-summer edition
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Too busy following in the tracks of Snow Leopard this week to keep up-to-the-minute on the rest of the Crave goings-on? Don’t fret. Here are just a few of the stories you missed.
• Sony upped the ante on its e-book readers with the Reader Daily Edition.
• And …
Wheelchair of the future takes on the scooter
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
This next-gen electric wheelchair operates for about four hours per charge.
(Credit: Veda International Robot R&D Center)
Sometimes function can successfully follow form. That may be the case for Japan’s Veda International Robot R&D Center, whose electric wheelchair for the immobile and elderly might be giving scooters …
Originally posted at News – Health Tech
New E- and S-Series Walkmans pop up at CNET
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Apparently, Disney does not have a problem with this.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)
Yes, it’s true: I’ve managed to get my grubby little mitts on Sony’s new E- and S-Series Walkman MP3 players. How, you ask? I will never share my secrets…NEVER! OK, dramatics aside, it …
Originally posted at MP3 Insider
Japanese create teddy bear robot nurse
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Nurse robot Riba, from a Reuters video on YouTube
(Credit: Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET)
Japanese researchers have created a robot nurse that can lift elderly patients from wheelchairs and beds. Naturally, it looks like a giant teddy bear.
Riba, short for Robot for Interactive Body Assistance, was developed
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Apartment Guide releases Android app
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Apartment Guide for Android makes it easy to locate apartments while on the go.
(Credit: ApartmentGuide.com)
As a young bachelor, I’m no stranger to apartment hunting. Normally, I do my research online, make a list of apartments, and head out in my car to visit the listings. This …
Originally posted at Android Atlas
Vizio Via TVs combine Internet and LEDs, could torpedo major brands’ flagships
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
The well-equipped Vizio VF552XVT takes aim at the best HDTVs available when it launches in November.
(Credit: CNET)
The Via line of HDTVs from Vizio, due this November, promises the most comprehensive suite of interactive features yet seen on any HDTV, including a Bluetooth remote control with a keyboard. The two largest models will also pack LED backlighting with local dimming, the holy grail of LCD picture quality. These highly desirable features, combined with Vizio’s customarily aggressive pricing, propel the flagship Vizio TVs past their counterparts from major brands like Samsung, Panasonic, and Sony–at least on paper.
Designed foremost to compete against current Internet-enabled HDTVs, the three “Via” (Vizio Interactive Apps) models are available in 42-inch, 47-inch, and 55-inch varieties. Here’s a quick rundown:
Key features of the Vizio Via 2XVT series:
- LED backlight with local dimming (47- and 55-inch models only)
- 240Hz processing
- Bluetooth remote with full QWERTY keyboard
- Integrated 802.11(n) Wi-Fi
- Support for Adobe Flash for the Digital Home
- Yahoo widgets engine
- 42-inch SV422XVT: $1,199 MSRP | 47-inch SV472XVT: $1,699 | 55-inch XV552XVT: $2,199
- Available in November
As CNET noted earlier, the Bluetooth keyboard remote and built-in Wi-fi will be firsts among interactive TVs, which typically require cumbersome virtual keyboards for text entry and expensive extra dongles or third-party solutions for wireless connectivity. Since few people have an Ethernet cable next to their televisions, Wi-fi makes setup much more convenient, while the keyboard on the remote should make accessing and using the TV’s “Apps” as easy as sending an e-mail on a BlackBerry.
(Credit: Vizio)Vizio promises to have more such applications on the Via platform than any other current maker, and the list is impressive indeed. …
Sharp unleashes Ubuntu-based Netbook
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Lest you think that Netbooks are dead, Sharp is out with the PC-Z1, released under the “NetWalker” brand in Japan.
Running an Ubuntu Linux derivative, several sites have compared the PC-Z1 to the fabled Sharp Zaurus.
Ubuntu is a logical choice for Netbooks and other low-cost …
Originally posted at Software, Interrupted
Palm Pre gets virtual keyboard, unofficially
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Now you can type in landscape mode!
(Credit: Screenshot by Daren Darrow/CNET)
The WebOS Internals crew on Friday released a virtual keyboard patch for the Palm Pre.
Now, with the homebrew patch installed (homebrew apps are developed and distributed through third-party sources, not Palm or through the official App Catalog), Pre users can type without opening the slider keyboard.
Having an onscreen keyboard is a godsend for browsing the Web in landscape mode. Instead of rotating the phone and using the built-in keyboard, users can now just double-tap the gesture area and type away–without all the twisting, sliding, and pressing.
The patch modifies the operation of the onscreen keyboard that WebOS uses to insert symbols with the slider keyboard. The patch works well, but has at least one hang-up: You can’t use it for all text entry areas. It can be used to type a URL in a Web browser, but not to fill in forms on Web sites. Even with this issue, it’s better than not having a virtual keyboard, at least until Palm releases an update that includes one.
(Credit: Dieter Bohn/PreCentral.net)
While there are a lot of steps to installing homebrew apps and patches, they are not difficult to perform. People new to the homebrew scene should just follow the instructions.
To install the patch, follow the steps that PreCentral posted on its blog. To install WebOS Quick Install, follow the steps in its forum.
Requirements: Palm Pre with developer mode enabled, WebOS Quick Installer or command line access to the phone.
(Source: PreCentral)
Nokia 3710 clears FCC
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Nokia 3710
(Credit: CNET Asia)
Passionate cell phone geeks know that the Federal Communications Commission holds a treasure trove of information on upcoming handsets. This week the highlights are the Nokia 3710 and the Samsung SCH-M720.
Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not …
Originally posted at Dialed In Podcast
The 404 414: Where we eat Snow Leopard for dinner
by Talk about Deal on Aug.29, 2009, under Review
Wilson’s back, but we figure everyone is tired of hearing about the Apple Mac OS X Snow Leopard by now, so we shift gears and talk about Walmart shoppers instead. Behold: a new blog documenting the People of Walmart. While Wilson “Tennessee” Tang thinks this all looks pretty typical, Jeff and I are straight up spooked. It’s humiliating enough to set foot in a Walmart, but what if I just need to pick up deodorant? Now I have to worry about being publicly humiliated on this blog too? And who brought that goat into the store?
After our rant is over, we move on to dissect a few upcoming movies like James Cameron’s newest science fiction CGI powerhouse, “Avatar.” The weird part is that James Cameron has been planning this movie for 10 years but hasn’t been able to make it because the technology just wasn’t there. Well, now it’s here…and the movie looks like a cheesy cut scene from Halo. Next up on the butcher block is “Cirque de Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant.” Don’t get me wrong, I love me some John C. Reilly, but a convincing vampire he is not. When was the last time you’ve seen a bloodsucker with curly hair?
The rest of the show devolves into the three hosts doing vampire impressions, which isn’t incredibly hard to do, just follow these three steps:
- Talk loudly and open-mouthed
- Raise the intonation of your voice at the end of every sentence
- Don’t forget the “AH AH AHHH” at the end
If you’re like Wilson and don’t have anything to do over the weekend, why don’t you give us a call at 1-866-404-CNET and tell us what’s on your mind? We’re also on Twitter, Facebook, and Meetup as well, so there’s really no excuse for falling out of touch. Or, if you have a suggestion for our Weekend Throwback Episode, let me know in a comment below!
EPISODE 414
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Originally posted at The 404