Familiar, Sturdy Design

When it comes to design, the Lenovo X301 has the same look as most other ThinkPad notebooks that have come before it.  It’s a personal choice if you like the ThinkPad design.  Some think it’s dull, some people believe it to be simple and effective.  It’s a matter of opinion either way.  However, there’s no argument that ThinkPad machines have some strong characteristics that stand out from the competition.  The X301 laptop weighs a little less than 3.5lbs with an 8X DVD burner and a 6-cell battery equipped.  The X301’s exterior is squared off and has a matte black finish. It’s dimensions are 12.5 x 9.1 x 0.9, and just like it’s predecessor the X300, the sides are slightly tapered. The X301 is a beautifully constructed machine with Lenovo’s internal roll cage design and a carbon and class fiber interior, which according to Lenovo, is not only stronger but lighter than titanium.

The keyboard deck and outer shell utilize a new rubberized soft touch paint which helps provide a more secure grip and a more comfortable feel. The X301 has all the regular connectors and ports with three USB 2.0, Ethernet, microphone and headphone jacks, DisplayPort, and a VGA connector. Unfortunately, no memory card slot is included with this laptop, which means you’ll have to use a USB card reader device or adapter to read from memory cards.

Display and Speakers

The X301 employs a LED-backlit, 13.3" (1440×900 resolution) display with a matte finish that prevents most glare. The high resolution certainly makes a difference when viewing documents and web pages, though the default text may be too small for some eyes. The backlit, low-reflectivity LED keeps the display legible when outdoors.  Rich colors and wide viewing angles are available for watching DVDs and other content. The stereo speakers lacked low-end punch, but due to their close proximity (they’re located in the palmrest), the volume was clear and loud. Above the display is a 1.3 megapixel webcam that provided somewhat dark visuals when tested through video chat.

With the high resolution (1440×900) 13.3" screen, the X301 is great for surfing the web and viewing documents. The LED display is amazingly clear for viewing outdoors because it’s extremely low reflectivity negates glare. The ThinkPad X301 features wide viewing angles with rich colors, which makes watching a DVD or other content more enjoyable.  The 1.3 megapixel camera (located above the display) was a little dark during the video chat tests performed via MSN Messenger.

First-Class Ergonomics

In line with all the other ThinkPad models, the X301 features a magnificent keyboard that definitely ranks with the top runners in the business. The typing experience is excellent because the keyboard provides space in between individual keys. The X301 includes a touchpad and a pointing stick (located between the G and H keys) for navigation. The touchpad may be small for some users since the design accommodates for the larger keys. A biometric fingerprint reader is integrated to the right of the touchpad to help keep private business away from unauthorized individuals.  Above the keyboard, you’ll notice buttons for volume, mute, ThinkVantage (for launching Lenovo’s system utilities), and, of course, the power button.

Performance 

The base configuration is equipped with 2GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Due (1.4GHz) U9400 Ultra Low Voltage processor.  The ThinkPad X301 achieved a PCMark Vantage score of 3157, which is 400 points higher than most ultraportables. It’s a great score, but still falls about 60 points shy of the Sony VAIO VGN-Z530N’s and almost 500 points shy of the Lenovo ThinkPad X200.

The X301 didn’t fare so well on all of its graphics tests. On the 3DMark03 benchmark, the X301 (which is powered by an Intel GMA X4500MHD graphics card) netted an 1812, a score that’s 400 points higher than its competitors and its predecessor the X300.  However, the 3DMark06 score was 200 points less than other machines in its category. F.E.A.R was also tested in auto-detect mode, and the game ran at a miniscule 14fps. When the settings were increased to maximum, it ran at only 6fps. W.O.W ran at 27.4fps, which is okay, but it is important to remember that this is not a gaming laptop, and should not be expected to out perform Alienware, for example.

Lenovo’s X301’s boot-up time was a little slower than expected. The X301, with its 64GB SSD, took about 1 minute and 37 seconds to boot-up Windows Vista, almost 30 seconds slower than the average ultraportable and 48 seconds slower than the older X300. The SSD did not disappoint and definitely lived up to its fast transfer time copying a 5 GB folder in about 2 minutes and 40 seconds, however. The SSD has a transfer rate of 32.4 megabytes per second, which is miles ahead of the 13.4 megabyte per second transfer rate of competitors using mechanical drives. If 64GB does not fill your needs for capacity, an upgrade option is available for a 128GB SSD, which costs $400.

Test Results

Wi-Fi and Battery Life

The 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi moves data at an excellent speed of 20.8 MB/s at a distance of 15 feet from the access point, and 18.7 MB/s at 50 feet.  These are nice improvements over the 16.7 MB/s and 16.1 MB/s averages presented by the X300, and made for a pleasant surfing experience. Although the default configuration does not include integrated mobile broadband, you can add a 3G connection from AT&T ($80) or Verizon Wireless ($150), which also features integrated GPS. The X301 will support WiMAX and Ultra-Wideband technologies when they become available.

When it comes to long battery life, the X301 definitely falls short by quite a bit. Its six cell battery lasted only 3 hours and a half during tests.  On the same test, Sony’s VAIO VGN-Z530N lasted 5 hours.  A little more should be expected out of ultraportable laptops when it comes to battery life (at least 4 hours).

Software, Security, and Warranty

Those who care about security on their portable computers will definitely appreciate the X301’s full disk encryption, centrally managed passwords, ability to disable the BIOS port, and remote lockdown. The machine is covered with an extendable 1 year warranty and 24/7 tech support. Included with the X301 is Lenovo Camera Center, a 60-day trial to Microsoft Office, Access Connections 5, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Roxio Creator Business Edition.

The X300 was an outstanding laptop released by Lenovo, but they have definitely done a nice job with the ThinkPad X301. They took all the good aspects from the X300, and made them better for the X301. With the new Centrino 2 platform and an ultra-fast 64GB SSD, the X301 comes at a price. If you’re looking for an amazing business notebook, though, it will not disappoint. One thing we’d have to mention, however, is that you should consider investing in a spare battery.

Technical Specifications

Design and Dimensions

Even though there aren’t too many differences in the exterior of the models, we are going to point them out before we get to the hardware. The screen size is exactly the same at 3.5" on both models, which provides for an ultra-clear 480×320 screen resolution. The rear of the original iPhone has a smooth metal finish with a black strip at the bottom. The front of it has a shiny metal piece that surrounds the side of the phone and ends behind the screen. The iPhone 3G has a smooth piano black or white finish. It also has the shiny metal piece around the outside of the screen. The iPhone 3G features buttons that are made from a shiny metal, excluding the home button. This gives them a sturdier feel compared to its predecessor. The shape of the 3G phone is a major difference as the original iPhone is a little thicker and completely flat when set down. The 3G has more of a round feel to it that flattens out slightly around the edges. It has been said that the screen of the 3G heats to a warmer temperature than that of the original iPhone.

Features & Technical Specifications

Once we get under the hood, we begin to see where the 3G separates itself from it’s older brother. The iPhone 2G only supported WiFi, GSM, and Bluetooth. This means its speed surfing the Internet were quite limited. The iPhone 3G introduced 3G speeds to Apple’s flagship model, and it also supports WiFi, GSM, and Bluetooth. This makes for a better experience surfing, watching Youtube videos, and downloading data onto the phone from the Internet. The first generation iPhone supported the following frequencies:  GSM and Quad-Band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). The iPhone 3G supports all of those frequencies, but added to the list quite a few more to enable running at 3G speeds, including UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz). The iPhone 3G also supports GPS, which was not included in the original iPhone.

Both phones have a 2MP camera, but do not feature a video recorder. The iPhone 3G weighs 4.7 ounces compared to the 2G’s weight of 4.8 ounces (not a notable difference). The only downside to 3G capabilities is that it eats into battery life.  The iPhone 2G beats out the newer version in that regard by providing up to 8 hours of talk-time compared to 5 hours with the 3G.

Bottom Line

Comparing two great phones is always hard, but Apple made a great move by creating the 3G iPhone. The iPhone 2G is impressive, but with the features the 3G provides and the transition with new phones all moving to 3G, it’s a definite requirement if Apple wants to maintain its new status as the #1 selling phone in the US.

Solid state drives do not have any moving components, and since their predecessors (hard drives) speed is measured in revolutions per minute, they needed a way to gauge the speed of an SSD. This fueled the creation of vRPM, virtual RPM. vRPM accurately and easily allows customers/consumers to compare SSDs to HDDs when used in PCs. It has been predicted that SSD net performance next year will be more than four times faster than current solid state drives and almost six times faster than the latest 2.5" HDDs.

In addition to virtual RPM, SanDisk also announced LDE, or Long-Term Data Endurance. LDE simplifies endurance as a useful number, which would be the first actual metric data of long term endurance. You can compare it to measuring tread wear on a tire. LDE represents the total amount of data writes allowed in the lifespan of a SSD. SanDisk believes other companies should take note and follow suit.

When it comes to LDE’s impact on SSD adoption, Greg Wong of Forward Insights said: "LDE provides OEMs a simple way to compare SSDs and determine, based on application usage patterns, which drives are suitable for a particular application. The beauty of LDE," he added, "is that it captures endurance in one single, understandable figure. A common metric is necessary to facilitate SSD adoption moving forward."

The Quadro Plex 2200 is housed in an aesthetic tower, also referred to as a dedicated desk-side visual computing system (VCS).  The breakthrough machine offers professional visual computing power that enhances image quality, facilitates dynamic product scaling, and adds to the arsenal of NVIDIA cores for SLI multi-GPU technology, which in turn enables Mosaic Mode. A Mosaic Mode configuration can use multiple Quadro GPUs on many displays, but with all working in unison as one ultra-powerful processing unit.

Specifications

Form Factor	Deskside or 3U Rackmount Kit
NVIDIA Quadro GPU	Quadro FX 5800
# NVIDIA Quadro GPUs	2 or 4
Total Frame Buffer	8 GB or 16 GB (4GB/GPU)
Display Channels	4 dual-link DVI
SLI Mosaic Mode
Shader Model	4.0
NVIDIA® CUDA™ Parallel Computing Processor
Genlock/Framelock
Frame Synchronization
FSAA (maximum)	64x
G-Sync Version	II

It has the best resolution, image quality, and display size with solutions up to 128 SLI FSAA. The system also features the Quadro G-Sync solution, which enables frame synchronization, frame lock, and gen lock to help with performance, quality, and resolution.

The Quadro Plex 2200 is built on the proven Quadro GPU architecture and has the flexibility to be combined with any certified PCI Express platform with Gen 2 support. The system can be positioned desk-side, or fit into any standard 19" rack environment.

Full pricing information is not currently available, but the unit is said to be priced in the $10,750 range.

The technology industry and enthusiasts alike are buzzing about the soon-to-be-released Core i7 CPUs from Intel.  Discussions are abundant for questions like “should I upgrade my computer?”  After all, the Intel Core i7 processors promise unparalleled efficiency and performance.

Mostly, enthusiasts are dying to find out how well their applications and benchmarks run on this next generation technology. Having a new generation CPU also means that other parts of the computer (i.e. the motherboard and RAM) also have to be upgraded.  Already, motherboard and memory manufacturers have announced X58 motherboard and triple channel DDR3 memory kits that are compatible with Intel Core i7 processors.

Fortunately, enthusiasts do not have to speculate any longer. Intel has sent pre-release samples of the entire Core i7 systems to respected technology websites for review. State of the art applications are used to run tests on the performance of a Core i7 system. The results are rather exciting, as you will soon see.

Intel Core i7 CPU

The code name for the Intel Core i7 is Nehalem. The primary goal of the Nehalem technology is scalability. Intel engineers have taken great pains to design the Intel Core i7 processors for scalability and ensure that the processors dynamically manage many of the core functions, such as cache, threads, and interfaces. In other words, you can expect to see different versions of the Core i7 processor for different types of computers. For example, there will be one version for laptops, a version for servers, another for personal desktops, and so on. This is done to enable various price points, performance, etc. for the needs of different users and requirements, and facilitate the utilization of processing power most efficiently.

The Nehalem micro architecture includes many prominent features that will enhance performance. The entire architecture dynamically manages cores, threads, interfaces, and power. The new architecture also allows running two threads simultaneously per core. That means a quad-core processor is capable of running up to eight threads simultaneously. New extensions are applied to Intel Streaming SMID that focus on improving string, XML, and text processing. The architecture also boasts a superior shared L3 cache. The high-end design delivers up to two or three times more peak bandwidth, and up to four times realized bandwidth when compared with Core 2 or Intel Xeon processors.

The Intel Core i7 will debut in three editions: Core i7-965, Core i7-940, and Core i7-920. The clock speeds, in GHz, are 3.20, 2.93, and 2.66 respectively. All three editions have 8MB of cache each. All three processors have recorded idle temperatures of around the 40 degrees range (Celsius), and load temperatures going into the 50-60 degrees range (depending on the configuration) at stock speeds and cooling. All of the processor models use Intel’s Quickpath Interconnect technology, which means that motherboards have to be upgraded along with the processors.

Intel Core i7 Processor Series Key Features & Specifications

Intel DX58SO Motherboard

Bottle necks slow down performance. This happens when the processor, or one of its core, is unable to fetch data or instructions fast enough. The memory of the computer system is particularly important because of the amount of data that is passed through it as the system receives instructions from the applications. Theoretically speaking, this means that the faster a processor receives data from memory, the better the performance.

Traditionally, processors have been connected to the memory of a computer via an external bi-directional front-side bus (FSB). This bus served as the central connection point between the processors, the chipset that contains the memory controller hub, and all the other buses such as PCI, AGP, etc.

Intel engineers know that having more powerful processors means that the architecture must also be upgraded to ensure that data flows more quickly between all the different components, and thus the Quickpath Interconnect was created.

The most notable element of the Quickpath architecture is that the memory controller is now integrated into each microprocessor. Each processor has a dedicated memory controller. In the event that a processor needs to access data from the dedicated memory of another core, it can do so through a high speed connection. This allows the cores to get data from memory controllers directly, and connection with other components of the system is also greatly enhanced. The technology is named Quickpath Interconnect because that is precisely what it offers: high speed connection between all the components.

For this reason, the Core i7 processors can only be used on motherboards that support Quickpath Interconnect. The Intel DX58SO is one such example.

The Intel DX58SO motherboard (codename “Smackover”) consists of the Intel X58 Express chipset with ICH10R south bridge chip. The ICH offers support for all the other devices such as video and audio. All buses and components operate on a 133.33 MHz base clock. In other words, a multiplier is applied to the base clock to acquire a speed value. There are four multipliers on the motherboard that affects the overall system speed. They are the CPU speed, the memory speed, the Quickpath Interconnect (QPI) speed, and the uncore speed. The first three are dedicated to overclocking.  Uncore speed is the multiplier that is applied to devices that do not draw power from the processor. Together, these four multipliers manage the overall system performance.

Besides support for the Core i7 processors (it supports all three editions), the DX58SO also offers other features, including integrated Intel audio, improved graphics performance, and the PCI Express 2.0 interface that delivers up to 16GB/s bandwidth per port.

As all data and applications are stored on a systems hard drive, it is of utmost importance that the system is able to draw data from the drives very quickly. This is achieved through six SATA ports with transfer speeds of up to 3GB/s. For external storage devices, eSATA is available to help achieve the same performance.

With the DX58SO motherboard, Intel actually emphasizes system stability significantly. For example, the motherboard features an exclusive fault tolerant BIOS that virtually eliminates downtime due to a corrupted BIOS.

The new features certainly promise highly enhanced performance. However, how does the Core i7 perform under stringent hardware tests?

Test Results

Testing has been performed on four separate systems. The first three systems are the three editions of Core i7 processors. They are mounted on the DX58SO motherboard. The last system is the Intel X3350 processor (overclocked to 3.2 GHz), mounted on an ASUS P5E3 motherboard.

All 4 systems were put through a series of benchmarking tests using leading diagnostic/testing applications such as 3DMark system test, SANDRA 2009 system test, Everest Ultimate system test, POV Ray, SuperPi, WinRAR, Crysis, and World in Conflict tests. The results from so many tests reveal almost everything that enthusiasts would want to know about how the Core processors fare when compared to the X3350 overclocked processor. Performance values are obtained for CPU, memory, and storage system tests, single and quad-core rendering tests, and graphics performance tests (DirectX).

The CPU system tests reveal that the Core i7 processors outperform the X3350 processor by as much as 40%. The difference is even more dramatic for the memory tests. Memory bandwidth was shown to be over 100% higher (more than double) for all three editions of the Core i7 processor. Compared to the X3350 system, which uses external memory controllers, the direct memory controllers on the Core i7-based systems certainly works much better. 

The 3DMark scores are usually used by gamers to gauge how efficient a system performs when running a 3D game. There are two scores – one for the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and one for the CPU. The GPU scores showed very little differences, as the graphics card used on all systems is the same. As the graphics processing was offloaded to the GPU while the tests were ran, the results are rather predictable. However, the CPU reflects slight differences that fall between the range of 5% to 10%, with the highest end Core i7 processor having the highest score.

The SuperPi scores are used by overclockers and enthusiasts all over the world to benchmark and test the stability of an overclocked system. The assumption is that if a system can successfully compute PI values for up to the 32 millionth decimal place without error, it is moderately stable in terms of RAM and CPU. Tests done on 1M, 2M, and 4M calculations all show that the highest end Core i7 processor produces the best performance. The X3350 processor loses out to the Core i7 920 by a small margin.

Conclusion

Whether you are a hardcore 3D gamer, a professional graphics artist, or an overclocker, the information will help you make better buying decisions. After all, the additional power from the Core i7 processors is meant to provide significant value for the consumer.

3D applications, audio, and video software definitely perform much better on Core i7 based systems. The new architecture is also more stable compared to traditional configurations. Traditionally, graphics and video editing is very time-intensive as the system must process a great deal of data from activities such as panning, zooming, and adding special effects.  With higher performance hardware, the editing process can proceed more smoothly and requires less time. The latest edition of the immensely popular image and video software suite, Adobe CS4 from software giant Adobe Systems, has already announced that their software is now compatible with the latest Core i7 based systems.  Pegasys Inc.’s TMPGEnc also utilizes the threading capabilities of the processor very well.

Ultimately, the buying decision depends on one’s personal needs and preferences. The suggested retail price for Core i7 processors is as follows: $999.00 for Core i7-965, $562.00 for Core i7-940, and $299.00 for Core i7-920. For professionals and gamers who run a lot of resource intensive applications, the higher end models will be highly desirable. For typical consumers looking to upgrade for improved performance, anything better than the Core i7-920 may be overkill.

The first distinct difference is the 2.5 inch LCD monitor. This is an exclusive device that can be plugged into the motherboard through any available USB port. It displays overclocking options and vital system information such as CPU temperature, fan speeds, etc. The user can easily monitor system performance, and take action should a problem arise (e.g. temperature rising to unstable/unacceptable levels). A Yahoo! Widget can also be used to access the data.

The ASUS P6T has three PCI Express 2.0 slots. The first two slots will run at x16 speed. If the second slot is set to x8 speed, the third slot can also run at x8 speed. This gives the user more flexibility for the hardware that can be used. Obviously, if you only need to use two slots (e.g. installing two graphics cards), both will run at x16 speed. In addition, a x4 speed PCI slot and two regular PCI slots are provided.

Another key feature of the ASUS P6T motherboard is the inclusion of SLI support.  This is a strategic business move on the part of ASUS, since NVIDIA charges a royalty fee per motherboard sold to manufacturers that offer support for SLI.  It is not supported by all manufacturers for this reason.

Memory wise, the board offers six physical slots, separated into two different colors. To achieve maximum efficiency, only three or six memory modules should be installed. If only 3 modules are installed, the same color slots should be used. In total, you can install up to 12GB of memory on the ASUS board.

Overall, the ASUS P6T compares very favorably to other options in many ways.  While it doesn’t offer the four PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots or fourteen USB 2.0 ports of the Foxconn Renaissance motherboard, the ASUS P6T is an excellent option due to the extras assuming it includes all the functionality you require.

The exterior design of the Archos 5 is made of stainless steel, which provides for a very solid build quality.  However, it also results in the player being highly prone to smugging and fingerprints

The new player also boasts Internet operations such as web browsing and email.  streaming video is also available.  While some Internet TV content appears clear and smooth, other services yield jerky, low resolution content. Of course, this is not under the control of Archos, but it is worth mentioning nonetheless so that buyers are not surprised.

The Archos 5 is compact at 5”x3”x.5”, with a weight of .55 pound for the 60GB version and 5”x3”x.75”, with a weight of .66 pound for the 120GB and 250GB versions.

Available accessories for the unit include the DVR Station, which allows customers to connect the Archos directly to a television for recording TV programs onto the device or transmitting content from the media player to the TV. GPS and Webcam accessories are also available.

Prices

• Archos 5 60 GB Internet Media Tablet:  $339.49
• Archos 5 120 GB Internet Media Tablet:  $389.49
• Archos 5 250 GB Internet Media Tablet:  $439.49

It serves very well as a photo frame because as a standalone gadget, it is able to store over 700 photos with its in-built 128MB memory. The product features auto image rotation for vertical or horizontal placement. If the in-built memory is not enough, adding additional storage devices is also possible. The UFOTO supports CF/FD/MMC/MS/xD cards and an external USB flash drive. It can be plugged into an AC power source, or it can operate on its own, drawing power from its in-built rechargeable battery. It even allows photo searching by specific dates. Several  popular image formats are supported, including JPG (the most common), BMP, and GIF.

The UFOTO looks very elegant sitting on a desk or hanging on a wall. Left on its own, it is able to display a huge number of photos in a slideshow. To make the slideshow more interesting, it is also possible to play MP3 while the slideshow is displaying.

Similar to full-size LCD monitors, the UFOTO is also capable of adjusting its brightness according to the surrounding ambiance automatically. For example, when the surrounding light dims, the display adjusts itself until a comfortable level is attained. This is to ensure that the photos are always displayed in the best possible light.

The other primary function that the UFOTO serves is as a secondary LCD monitor. When plugged into the USB port of a desktop computer, the display can be synchronized to either look exactly like the parent monitor or display a totally different application altogether. This is useful for being able to see your screen from another location or running multiple applications concurrently without cluttering up monitor space.

For those who are concerned about the design of the unit, the ASUS UFOTO comes in three cool colors: star silver, blush pink, and sky blue. It has a shiny exterior casing, which makes the appearance highly compatible with Apple desktops and laptops.

Finally, note that the ASUS UFOTO is designed to be a simple piece of hardware. As the USB video technology is still in its infancy, do not expect the UFOTO to be able to display advanced 3D graphics. However, the technology at its current stage is ideal for displaying photos, playing music, or even watching videos. Available at a mere 06kg, the UFOTO is perhaps the smallest monitor around with this much functionality.

The WD TV offers HDMI and composite video connections. ArcSoft MediaConverter 2.5 is included with the packaging for photo, video, and audio file conversion in case file compatibility is an issue at any point.  However, the WD TV player provides comprehensive format support. 

Video formats supported include AVI (MPEG-4, XviD, AVC), MPEG-1/2, WMV9, MOV (MPEG-4 and H.264), MKV, and H.264.  MP3, WMA, OGG, PCM WAV, AAC, FLAC, AIF/AIFF, and MKA are supported for audio.  JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF/TIFF, and BMP image formats can be viewed.  PLS, M3U, and WPL playlist formats are also recognized.

Aside for the player itself and the conversion software already mentioned, the packaging also includes a stand for WD My Passport hard drives (although any type of USB drive can be used), a remote control, composite AV cables, AC power adapter, and installation guide. The WD TV provides a simple, affordable solution for playback of PC video formats.  Note that the WD TV does not currently offer network support/streaming functionality.

Pricing for the WD TV is expected to be around USD $125.00, and will be available through all major retailers.

1) IOGEAR Portable Media Player

With the ability to store 50 DVD movies on its 120 GB hard drive, the IOGEAR Portable Media Player is quite possibly your best friend on travels. It is tiny compared to other PMPs and offers the unique ability to convert standard definition content up to 720p HD resolution. Even better, you won’t be stuck paying $9.99 per movie in hotels. This little gadget will hook into just about anything that can play movies.

2) Mobile Printers

When doing business abroad, don’t assume that you won’t need a printer when you reach your destination (or when you’re on the way). It’s always good to be prepared in the event printing is required. Trying to hook up to someone else’s printer requires drivers. Transferring files to computers that already have printer hookups results in inconvenience from the transfer as well as any security concerns. Then, there is always the potential for a printer to not be available at all. When considering mobile printers, size matters. It’s probably better to take a more compact solution and sacrifice a little speed.

3) Video Eyeware

You’re probably wondering why you will need video eyeware. When traveling, there is one thing to always keep in mind — there is always someone looking over your shoulder. This nifty little piece of technology, the EnVision Video Eyeware, gives you privacy and the ability to be completely unobtrusive to travelers around you. Before you say "but you have to connect to your laptop to play", check out. the product information.  You’ll likely be surprised at its capabilities.

4) Portable GPS Navigation

Trying to rely on maps and directions when driving in unfamiliar territory can be an unnecessary burden. Many car rental companies charge a super-premium price to have a vehicle with navigation. For those who travel and rent often, a portable GPS navigation system is perfect for keeping on the right path.  We have mentioned the Garmin GPSMAP 640 GPS navigation system previously.  Another option, the portable GPS by Delphi, has many features and an attractive price tag.  The unit allows you to input places on your itinerary to receive directions, saving time and energy during the trip that can be spent on more important things.

5) True Global Travel Plug Adapter

If you will be traveling internationally, remember that the power outlets overseas are different from one another. Gadgets also have different plugs. Having the means to power up may sound simple, but without a tool like the Travel Plug Adapter, you may end up being out of juice, out of luck, and out of time.

Regardless of where you travel or how often, having the important gadgets with you can make or break a trip.  The best thing about all the gadgets mentioned is that they can all fit in one nice, neat travel bag for placement inside a suitcase or work as one of your carryon bags.

Business is all about being prepared. This information should make preparation easier and your trips a more enjoyable experience.

Graphics

IrfanView

IrfanView is a free, small, and fast image viewer that can handle virtually any image file format (some require additional plugins). It offers an arsenal of image manipulation features (crop, resize, color adjustment, etc.), as well as a multitude of special features usually found only in expensive packages. There are too many to list here, but some of the best features include complete effects (sharpen, blur, etc.), paint capabilities (draw on images), desktop/window capturing, thumbnail viewer/creator, multimedia player, batch conversion (optional image processing), support for Adobe Photoshop filters, and many plugins available to add even more features.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Irfan Skiljan

Internet

AI RoboForm Pro

AI RoboForm is a powerful, yet easy to use password manager and web form filler that automates password management and form filling. It can save passwords, log in to sites automatically, fill long registration and purchase forms with a single click, encrypt passwords for security, generate random passwords, and much more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $29.95 (Free Version Also Available)
• Developer: Siber Systems, Inc.

CuteFTP

CuteFTP is an intuitive application for transferring files between a PC and remote server via the FTP protocol. Features include an easy-to-use interface, connection wizard, automatic-transfer-resume functionality, Turbo Transfer, transfer queue, built-in HTML editor, advanced search capabilities, backup for a local machine to a remote server, directory comparison, custom commands, firewall and proxy support, path bookmarks, and filtered listings.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.99
• Developer: GlobalSCAPE

FeedDemon

FeedDemon is a free, easy-to-use RSS feed reader that makes it quick and convenient to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information. The software is highly customizable, including the way feeds are organized and displayed. Custom news watches based on keywords can be setup, and podcasts can be easily transferred to portable audio devices.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: NewsGator

Group Mail Business Edition

Group Mail Business Edition is a feature-rich, powerful, and flexible email marketing application that allows users to send bulk email with ease. Options are provided to ensure rapid mailing as well as address validation, group merging and purging, backup, Habeas support, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $349.95
• Developer: Infacta Ltd

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox has now become established as an exceptional web browser. Due primarily to its extension capabilities, we highly recommend use of Firefox. In addition to the comprehensive extension support, Firefox also offers fast browsing, browser tabs, pop-up blocking, advanced privacy and security, smart searching, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Mozilla

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail, newsgroup, and RSS feed client that offers a simple solution for online communication and information retrieval. The software is also highly customizable and expandable via a massive collection of available extensions.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Mozilla

MozyPro

MozyPro is a software/service combination that provides secure, enterprise-level online backup via a highly customizable, powerful, yet easy to use software application.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price:USD $3.95 + $0.50/GB Monthly
• Developer: Mozy, Inc.

NewsBin Pro

NewsBin is a multi-threaded news robot that automatically downloads and decodes binary posts from Usenet newsgroups. The software takes full advantage of high-bandwidth Internet connections with multiple, simultaneous connections to news server(s). NewsBin offers resume functionality to recover from lost connections. It can also reassemble multi-part posts across multiple servers and provides a thumbnail display when downloading images. Additional features available include Internet and local search, built-in RAR file handling, SSL support, NZB message ID file support, and advanced connection management. The settings are a bit daunting, but once configured, it provides the very best solution for binary newsgroup access.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $35.00
• Developer: DJI Interprises, LLC

PocoMail

PocoMail is a powerful email client that offers many useful features, such as strong spam filtering, flexible message editing, and ultra-fast search capabilities. PocoMail’s greatest strengths are PocoScript, the advanced filtering capabilities, events, and Message Templates. PocoScript allows for pre- and post-processing incoming and outgoing mail in virtually any way imaginable. It also store a message in a temporary file for processing by an external application, and notify upon completion. Filtering allows messages to be processing in many different ways based on any defined criteria, such as directed into different folders based on the recipient email address. Message Templates are pre-defined blocks of text that can be quickly and easily inserted into messages via a context menu or hotkey, which is very useful when you have to reply to the same questions a lot of send repetitive bits of information. The text inserted can be customized before sending, of course, to more closely fit any particular case.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.95
• Developer: Poco Systems, Inc.

Trillian Pro

Trillian is a full-featured, skinnable IM client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, IRC, and Jabber/GTalk (via a plugin). It offers features that are not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard capabilities, such as file transfers, audio chat, group chat, chat rooms, buddy icons, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, tabbed chatting, system-tray notifications and alerts, and privacy settings.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $25.00 (Free Version Also Available)
• Developer: Cerulean Studios

Multimedia

AnyDVD

AnyDVD is a Microsoft Windows driver that provides decryption of DVDs on-the-fly, as well as targeted removal of copy prevention and UOP. AnyDVD runs in the background, making discs unrestricted and region-free. In addition to removing digital restrictions, AnyDVD also handles Macrovision analog copy prevention.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: EUR €49.00
• Developer: SlySoft

Blaze Media Pro

Blaze Media Pro is a powerful all-in-one audio and video converter for CD, MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, WMV, MOV, Flash (SWF and FLV), iPod, PSP, 3GP, etc.; editor; recorder; CD/DVD ripper; audio, video, data CD/DVD burner for DVD, VCD, and SVCD; and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $50.00
• Developer: Mystik Media

ChrisTV PVR Professional

ChrisTV PVR Professional is a highly configurable TV/video capture and PVR application that provides high quality image and sound output. The software supports all TV cards based on the BT8×8, Philips SAA713x, and Conexant CX2388x chipsets as well as TV cards with MPEG hardware encoder functionality. A few of the supported devices include the Hauppauge PVR series, Leadtek PVR2000, and ATI TV Wonder cards, and it also works with Web cams and graphic cards. Features include multi-tuner support, time-shifting, advanced recording settings, advanced scheduler, recording profiles, FM radio support, channel autoscan and fine tuning, support for the DScaler deinterlace DirectShow filter, and zoom functionality. ChrisTV can also broadcast your favorite TV shows, movies, and radio stations to friends through local networks and the Internet. ChrisTV supports MPEG-1/2 and AVI recording (using any audio/video codecs).

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $49.95
• Developer: Chris P.C. srl.

Replay Media Catcher

Replay Media Catcher is a streaming video and audio/music downloader that allows users to easily download virtually any type of online video, including YouTube video. It can also capture streaming MP3 files, automatically name and tag songs and video files, edit and change MP3 tags, extract MP3 tracks from FLV video files, and more. Recording can be performed with a single click.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.95
• Developer: Applian Technologies, Inc.

Replay Video Capture

Replay Video Capture is an easy-to-use screen capture application that creates high-quality videos from anything you can see on your PC screen, including website content, any streaming video protocol, DVDs, Webcam sites, PowerPoint presentations, Skype video conversations, video chat sessions, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.95
• Developer: Applian Technologies, Inc.

TMPGEnc Xpress

TMPGEnc XPress offers video conversion for many formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX, AVI, QuickTime, MPEG 4-ISO, H.264, DVD-Video, DVD-VR, HDV camcorder, and Blu-ray discs. The powerful software provides features for cutting and extracting video selections as well as video filtering and effects. TMPGEnc XPress will also be among the first video encoders to utilize GPU acceleration.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $99.95
• Developer: Pegasys, Inc.

Productivity

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org is an open source productivity suite that serves as a replacement for Microsoft Office. It contains the same basic feature-set, but saves you hundreds of dollars since it is free. With that being said, OpenOffice.org does not include the grammar checking, macros, and a replacement for Microsoft Outlook. However, it does offer PDF output, Writer macros (Writer’s own macro and scripting feature), smaller file size documents than Microsoft Office, and simplicity. The suite includes Writer (replacement for Word), Calc (replacement for Excel), Impress (replacement for PowerPoint), Base (replacement for Access), Draw (replacement for Visio), and Math (replacement for Equation Editor).

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Sun Microsystems

Utilities

Autoruns

AutoRuns displays the programs that are configured to run during system bootup or login. These programs include those in the startup folder, Services, Run, RunOnce, and other registry keys. Users can highlight a startup item and click the "jump to" button to launch Regedit at the location the selected entry is specified. In addition to startup programs, Autoruns also displays a list of Services, scheduled tasks, Winsock providers, Internet Explorer BHOs, and more that can all be enabled/disabled with ease. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are both available.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Microsoft Corporation

CCleaner

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy, and cleaning tool that removes unused files from your system, which allowing Windows to run faster and frees up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities, such as Internet history. Additionally, it contains a full-featured registry cleaner. The tool is fast and easy to use.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Piriform, Ltd.

CPU-Z

CPU-Z is a handy tool that provides quick, convenient access to a load of information about your system. Information available includes CPU details (name and model, core stepping and process, package, core voltage, internal and external clocks and clock multiplier, supported instruction sets, cache information), motherboard details (vendor, model, and revision, BIOS model and date, northbridge and southbridge chipset and sensor, graphic interface), memory (frequency and timings, module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect): vendor, serial number, timings table), system (Windows and DirectX versions), and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: CPUID

Dependency Walker

Dependency Walker is a free utility that scans any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module (exe, dll, ocx, scr, sys, etc.) and displays all of its dependent modules. For each dependency located, the application lists all the functions that are exported by that module, and which of those functions are actually being called by other modules. Another view displays the minimum set of required files, along with detailed information about each file including a full path to the file, base address, version numbers, machine type, debug information, and more. Dependency Walker is very useful for troubleshooting applications that will not start or system errors related to loading and executing modules. Dependency Walker detects many common application problems such as missing DLLs, invalid modules, import/export mismatches, etc.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Steve P. Miller

Directory Opus

Directory Opus (DOpus) is an extremely powerful and highly customizable file manager application that features single or dual-panel display, folder tree (either shared or two separate for dual-display), tabbed explorer panels, built-in ZIP and RAR processing (browse files as if they were folders), built-in FTP support (can be browsed in the same fashion as local folders), built-in image viewer, comprehensive file selection and renaming tools (with advanced regex support), configurable toolbars, menus, file types, and file type groups, preview panel and thumbnail previews (including video), and file collections (virtual folders that contain links to the original files, but allow direct access to the source files. Directory Opus can replace Windows Explorer, including Windows shell connections.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: AUD $85.00
• Developer: GPSoftware

EVEREST Ultimate Edition

EVEREST Ultimate Edition is an advanced benchmarking and diagnostics tool that helps users maximize security, performance, and trouble-shooting capabilities for home and home office PC environments, PC Professionals, and consulting firms. It offers comprehensive system information as well as system stability testing and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $34.95
• Developer: Lavalys Consulting Group, Inc.

Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is a free, light-weight PDF reader that is quick to load and easy to use, without sacrificing features. Foxit Reader offers annotations, text conversion, privacy and security options, bookmarking, multi-tab support, callouts and text boxes, commenting, rulers and guides, magnifier, automatic scrolling, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Foxit Software Company, LLC.

HWMonitor

HWMonitor is a handy tool that provides comprehensive information and monitoring for the CPU, motherboard, video card, memory modules, hard drives, and more. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are both available.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: CPUID

Process Explorer

Process Explorer is a free Windows Task Manager replacement that offers features above and beyond the standard Windows utility. It can be set to show much more information about running processes, such as start time, file version, window title, the .dll’s they have loaded, highlighting (such as for distinguishing services), and much more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Remind-Me

Remind-Me is a simple, easy-to-use tool that is designed to store and present reminders of important events before they pass. Remind-Me handles holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and any custom event (one-time or reoccurring). The software’s interface is shown in the form of a list or traditional calendar. Reminders can be shown when the computer starts or any pre-defined time. Remind-Me can play a custom sound or send email when a scheduled time is reached. The program is customizable to function the way the user wants. The program minimizes to the system tray so that it functions constantly, out of the way.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $24.95
• Developer: Beiley Software, Inc.

TweakUI

Tweak UI is a free user interface customization application released by Microsoft to help with customizing the Windows operating system. Although it is not supported by Microsoft, Tweak UI offers a more convenient way to adjust settings that would otherwise require manual registry editing. Most significantly, the software enables users with older, slower systems to turn off components of the operating system, such as menu fading, drop shadows, and cursor shadows to improve performance. Tweak UI also includes many features for customizing the way various aspects of the Windows interface function, such as the taskbar, desktop, and start menu. The program also allows users to move the location of special folders in Windows, such as My Documents, Music, and Pictures, as well as other system folders. It also offers tools that help users repair components of the Windows operating system, such as icons, hotkeys, the font folder, and file extension associations. Tweak UI can be used to disable AutoPlay on one or more drives as well. Tweak UI provides the capability to set up Xmouse for those familiar with the X Window System.  Note:  This tool is for use with Windows XP.  It is not designed for Windows Vista.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Type Pilot

Type Pilot is a simple tool that helps users input frequently used text quickly and easily via a pre-defined trigger word. Once the trigger word is typed, Type Pilot automatically replaces it with the corresponding phrase or paragraph. Type Pilot is useful for writing standard phrases, such as signatures, email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, addresses, frequently used sentences, letter templates, etc. The program will work with any text editor. The software’s tree-like interface structure makes it easy to keep information organized.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $29.95
• Developer: Two Pilots

VMWare Workstation

VMware Workstation is a virtual machine software suite for x86 and x86-64 based computers that allows users to setup multiple x86 and x86-64 virtual computers for application usage, software testing, or any other operation where it is practical to have a fresh system to use or a system at a certain state. Each virtual machine can be configured with its own guest operating system, hardware components, disk space, RAM capacity, etc. In short, VMware Workstation allows one physical machine to run multiple operating systems simultaneously with any desired hardware configurations and software installed. It is also easy to revert a virtual machine back to a previously saved state.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $189.00
• Developer: VMware, Inc.

Web Development

Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Dreamweaver is an industry-leading web development tool that provides users with an intuitive interface for web page design and maintenance, but also allows access to advanced features and the latest technologies for those that want to utilize them.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $399.00
• Developer: Adobe Systems, Inc.

HTML Search and Replace

HTML Search and Replace is a handy, powerful tool for webmasters (or anyone that needs search and replace functionality within text files of any format) that offers advanced search capabilities and the option to replace any amount of text in multiple documents with ease. Folders can be processed, with or without subfolders included. The software includes a built-in offline browser for previewing files before and after adjustments and an internal editor with HTML syntax highlighting.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $19.00
• Developer: Alentum Software, Inc.

Web Site Promotion

Advanced Web Ranking

Advanced Web Ranking is a search engine keyword ranking, analyzing, and research tool that helps web site owners determine current rankings for any number of web sites. The software also functions as a link popularity analyzer, assists with manual submission to over 400 search engines, and helps users find relevant link partners.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $199.00
• Developer: Caphyon, Ltd.

Having a dedicated GPU means that all graphics related processing can be offloaded to the graphics card, which can do a much better job at rendering graphics. The more efficient the GPU, the better the graphics display. In the 1990s, with the rise of the Windows operating system, 2D GPUs capable of high resolution rendering took the market by storm. As hardware and software applications continue to evolve, more powerful GPUs are needed to cater to the more demanding needs.

Modern games and software applications often require significant graphics processing power, mainly for 3D rendering and image/video processing. Such applications include 3D games and graphics/video manipulation software like Adobe CS4.

GPUs have now matured to the point that they can be used for processing other than visual.  The latest GPUs, including the GeForce 8, 9, and 200-series with a minimum of 256MB of local graphics memory, can accelerate such operations as video decoding, encoding, editing, audio encoding, image manipulation, and content creation.  This first came in the form of video decoding.  It would take at least eight Intel CPU cores to match the video decoding power of a single GPU using the NVIDIA PureVideo HD or ATI UVD decode engine in many cases.  With software designed to utilize the GPU for processing, the GPU is much faster than today’s dual-core and quad-core CPUs for other operations as well.  Another example is video encoding and transcoding.  An applications such as Badaboom can be accelerated as much as 400% using GPU processing.

Adobe CS4 is a modern image manipulation software used by many professional designers. The software started out as an image editing software, commonly known as Adobe Photoshop. Adobe Photoshop was used by many designers to edit 2D images – mostly photographs. Since then, Adobe has released a suite of image and video editing software. The whole suite of software is known as Adobe CS4. In the complete suite, you find new features that were not possible before the existence of 3D GPU.  In fact, with the CS4 release, Adobe has implemented full GPU acceleration to massively improve the performance of almost every operation.

For example, when using Adobe Photoshop CS4, you find that real-time zooming, panning, and rotation of even the largest image appears smooth and instantaneous. In other words, you will not see flickering as you would otherwise experience with a different video card or software application.

The differences are even more remarkable when you are using Adobe Premiere CS4. Adobe Premiere is one of the best video editing software solutions in the market. As special effects in videos such as blur effects or turbulent noise demand a lot more processing power, Adobe Premiere CS4 is able to take better advantage of nVidia’s GPU accelerating capabilities. The user will find it easier to add graphics and video effects to a video, thus speeding up the work flow dramatically.

As you can see, GPU acceleration is becoming well established as a “partner” of the CPU for many intensive tasks.  More and more applications will use GPU acceleration in the near future to offer significant performance increases and even power operations that were formerly not approachable with CPU power alone.   The popular TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress from Pegasys Inc. is one such application that is highly anticipated to utilize CUDA GPU acceleration.

We have compiled a list of what we consider to be the best extensions for Firefox. When evaluating extensions for recommendation, not only do we consder the functionality and features of the extension, but we also test to ensure it works well with all the other extensions we recommend. This has been a lengthy evaluation in which we have taken great care to recommend high quality extensions that serve a useful purpose. The recommended extensions will also be updated on an ongoing basis. Therefore, be sure to check back for updates periodically.

Adblock Plus

Adblock Plus does an exceptional job of blocking ads and annoying content in pages. It is very customizable and can also easily eliminate any desired elements of a page on command. A complete subscription-based, automatic update solution is available for the block list, free of charge, as well as the ability to setup custom block lists. The only downside about Adblock Plus is that on occassion, it can also result in a page not displaying as designed, often ommitting necessary content. However, it is easy to either disable Adblock Plus temporarily or set it to always be disabled on certain sites only.

• Download Extension

Adsense Notifier

If you operate one or more web sites, chances are that you are currently or have in the past used AdSense for web site revenue. If you’re currently using AdSense, the Adsense Notifier extension is very handy. It provides quick, convenient access to the revenue for the date range of interest. It can be set to show the revenue for the follow ranges: Today, Past 7 Days, This Month, All Time, Yesterday, Two Days Ago, Last Month, This week, Last Week, Last Business Week, and Since Last Payment.

• Download Adsense Notifier

AI RoboForm

As we have mentioned before, we’re big fans of AI RoboForm. If you use RoboForm for web form filling, site logins, and/or password management, be sure to use the extension for Firefox.

• Download AI RoboForm

Always Remember Password

By default, when a web site instructs the browser to never allow a password manager to retain the login information, Firefox will honor this. However, if your PC is not accessible to others, it can be very handy to have these passwords saved. This extension will enable passwords to be saved on any site, including Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and banking sites. Note: This extension was not updated for later versions of Firefox by the author. We have modified the extension so that it will work flawlessly with the current version of Firefox.

• Download Always Remember Password ( modified version )

AutoAuth

When your password has been saved for a HTTP authentication dialog, using this extension will cause the login to occur automatically, without you have to click the OK button on the dialog.

• Download AutoAuth

Converter

The Converter Firefox extension offers unit conversion from any page. For example, if a page contains the text "15 m", you can select it, and right click. It will show the length in yards and feet. The extension supports a wide range of unit conversions.

• Download Converter

Copy Link Text

When you right click a link in Firefox, it shows an option called "Copy Link Location", which is very handy for copying the URL of a link. Likewise, the Copy Link Text extension adds an option called Copy Link Text. When you right click a link, and select the option, the anchor text of that link is copied to the clipboard. This is a quicker method than selecting the text and then copying, plus it works on sites that block copying normally.

• Download Copy Link Text

Download Statusbar

Instead of showing a dialog for your downloads, this extension includes downloads conveniently in the Firefox statusbar. Downloads can be easily paused/resumed; double click a download to run it; right click for an option to open the containing folder; download speed display; and much more. The extension’s options also provide the ability to automatically clear files of certain extensions from the bar to keep it tidy, such as files that open automatically.

• Download Extension

ErrorZilla Mod

We have not been using this extension for very long, and do not have a lot of experience with it yet, but what we have seen of it seems quite handy. When a page fails to load in Firefox, ErrorZilla Mod will show options for "Try Again," "Google Cache," "Coralize," "Wayback," "Ping," "Trace," and "Whois", which can be used to gain access to the page, even with the site down or access information about the site.

• Download ErrorZilla Mod

Fireshot

The Fireshot extension makes taking a screen shot of a web page a snap. Even if entire page is not visible, Fireshot can still capture the entire page. If you prefer, it can also capture just the visible area of a page. With a single click, Fireshot can capture the page and upload, copy, mail, print, or open the file for editing (in the internal editor or an external editor of choice). The internal editor provides the ability to add shapes, pointers, text, another image, or draw on the image.

• Download Fireshot

Flagfox

The Flagfox extension shows a flag icon for the country in which the current web site is hosted in the statusbar or address bar. A tooltip is provided that also offers the name of the country, in case the flag is not familiar. The extension uses an IP address database rather than relying on the top-level domain. When the flag icon is clicked, GeoTool will be loaded, which provides a location map, as well as information on the ISP, city, IP address, local time, country code, region, postal code, and more.

• Download Flagfox

Google Cache Checker

The Google Cache Checker Firefox extension automatically checks visited pages to determine if the current page is Google cached. The result is immediately shown conveniently in the browser statusbar. This extension is available exclusively from Gadget Advisor.

• Download Google Cache Checker

Highlander

When you click a link to a URL that’s already open in another Firefox tab, the Highlander extension will cause the already opened tab to be focused, rather than duplicating the URL in a new tab.

• Download Highlander

IE View Lite

The IE View Lite extension provides a context menu item for opening the current page in IE. The extension also has the ability to enter sites that will always open in IE. It can close the tabs for pages being opened in IE automatically, and send any additional parameters to the of the page to the Internet Explorer EXE. As much as we like Firefox, every once in a while, we run into a page that will not work properly in Firefox, which makes this extension handy.

• Download IE View Lite

Navigational Sounds

When this extension is enabled, Firefox will play the Windows OS start and end navigation sounds when pages start and finish loading (the "click" from IE when a page navigation begins).

• Download Navigational Sounds

Nightly Tester Tools

We recommend this extension only for those who are experienced or desperate. If you’ve been using Firefox for a while and use a number of extensions, you have no doubt experienced the anguish of an extension no longer working after a Firefox update. Even worse is when the extension’s developer decides not to update it anymore. This extension can be used to force extensions to work with the new Firefox version. Most extensions will work normally with minor Firefox updates (some even work properly after major version upgrades), and you can always disable an extension again if needed. However, we do recommend being careful when using this extension, nonetheless.

• Download Nightly Tester Tools

Oldbar

For those who dislike the new "AwesomeBar" introduced with Firefox 3, the oldbar extension will cause Firefox to maintain the familiar address bar from earlier versions of Firefox. The browser will still benefit from the enhanced autocomplete algorithm of Firefox 3, but with the appearance of Firefox 2.

• Download Oldbar

OpenBook

The OpenBook Firefox extension provides customization for the Add Bookmark dialog, including the ability to automatically open the bookmarks tree and resize the Add Bookmark dialog.

• Download OpenBook

SearchStatus

The SearchStatus extension provides extensive search-related information about visited web sites, including Google PageRank, Google Category, Alexa popularity ranking, Compete.com ranking, Alexa incoming links, Alexa related links, and backward links from Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The key information is all presented conveniently in one discreet and compact area, with the remaining data available via a right-click. The information displayed is also customizable. For example, if the Compete.com ranking is not inportant to you, it can be easily disabled, thus making more room available.

• Download SearchStatus

Tab Mix Plus

Tab Mix Plus is a very robust extension that enhances Firefox’s tab browsing functionality. It provides options for controlling tab focus, link opening, many new tab display capabilities, tab clicking behavior, undo closed tabs and windows (as well as a list of previously closed tabs), advanced session management, and much more.

• Download Tab Mix Plus

Text Link

The Text Link extension enables URLs that are not linked on web pages to be easily launched via a double click. Settings are also provided that enable URLs to be executed with different key and/or mouse combinations.

• Download Text Link

WeatherBug

The WeatherBug extension provides quick access to local weather conditions and forecasts. Icons representing forecast are shown in the statusbar, and more information is available via tooltips for the icons. The current temperature (or other information) can also be shown directly on the statusbar. The data presented as well as its placement is highly configurable.

• Download WeatherBug

Web Directory Form Filler

The Web Directory Form Filler is a web form filling extension that is similar in functionality to AI RoboForm, except that it is designed specifically for use in submitting to web directories. It is feature-rich and easy to use. The extension features title rotation, deep link support, and even deep link title rotation. The sidebar also provides exceptional submission management.

• We are making this extension available free here exclusively

Formats supported for playback include WMV9, WMV-HD, DIVX, XVid, HDV, MKV, H.264, VOB (DVD layouts), ISO, MP3, WMA, FLAC, WavPack, PCM, DTS, and more.  Unfortunately, the player does not support WMV8.

Another beneficial feature of the TViX player is the bi-directional USB support.  That is, the unit can be connected to the PC to transfer files to and from the internal drive and external drives (USB slave) and USB flash drives can be connected as an additional source for video playback.  The latter is particularly useful for single-use content since users can simply copy a desired file onto a USB flash drive, connect it, and immediately play the video.  Both NTFS and FAT32 are supported for media file systems.

In addition to video, the player also offers music playback and image display.  All multimedia formats can be streamed via a LAN connection, played from the internal HDD, or accessed from an external USB device.

As for shortcomings, while the DViCo TViX M-6500A Network Media Player provides excellent overall format support, we have experienced playback trouble with some AVI videos.  The fact that high-definition formats and video content as fully supported (HD 1080i/720p/1080p Video output) is indeed a plus.  However, due to the player’s UI being specifically designed for hi-def display, if you have an older TV that does not support HD or does not support it well, the UI will be difficult to read.  Remember that having a LCD TV does not automatically mean that it is HD-ready.  In fact, we had to replace one of the test LCD TVs for this very reason.

The TViX M-6500A sells for about $399.  Note:  The TViX M-7000A model also exists.  However, it is not readily available in the US.  Also, feature-wise, it is almost idential to the M-6500A, while costing more and possessing a shape that does not fit well with most home theater systems.

Both models support 15 or more devices.  The device database is extensive, and is perfect if you have lost a remote control or have a damaged remote.  Otherwise, you can also program a device from an existing remote control.  The setup wizards are intuitive and enable easy setup of devices.

One-touch operation is provided for operation, including turning on a device and any other component(s) that may be required to use it (such as turning on a TV also when playing a DVD).  Buttons can be customized for specific tasks.  Backlighting is provided for the buttons as well as the LCD display.  The remotes are also rechargeable via the charging station, with low battery notification available when in use.

The device compatibility for the Harmony remotes is incredible.  You can control a televisions, satellite or cable box, DVD player, video recorder, digital media player, TiVo or other PVR, game console, amplifier, stereo, or even a PC or home automation setup.  More than 5,000 brands and 225,000 devices are supported.

While Mozy also offers an unlimited home service plan, we do not suggest it for most due to the capped transfer speed and one problem that was experienced with the home-level service.

Intronis eSureIT is the runner-up in our testing.  While their software is capable, and the service offers some very interesting features, such as Intelliblox and multiple PC backup support, higher pricing, slower transfer speeds, and the fact that revisions count against the disk space quota cause Mozy Pro to come out on top.  We have also reported a few suggestions to Intronis regarding usability enhancements that should be made to the software.

IDrive deserves mention.  The IDrive software is excellent, and the service works flawlessly for small backups.  However, we encountered serious problems when backing up a large collection of files, such as icons or fonts.  IDrive provides very attractive pricing.  If the issue mentioned above were resolved, we could easily see IDrive moving into the top position.

The only downside we have noticed with Mozy Pro is a delay which often occurs when transitioning between files for upload and download operations.  The delay can sometimes be frustrating, but in tests, the overall speed of Mozy Pro still beats the competition.

Update:  Please see the comments for an evaluation of the ElephantDrive backup service.

"The installation of Blaze Media Pro is easy and intuitive, you can place the program files where you want them.

It has been awhile since we have done a review of Blaze Media Pro and WOW what a change! Now Blaze Media Pro does everything but wash the dishes.

…

Can you believe it? Simply amazing is what I have to say. With Blaze Media Pro I’ve been able to save lots of money because it does so many things. For instance I was just going to go out and look for a good program for burning CD/DVDs and as I’m sure you are aware most of the top names in that business are bloatware and cost lots more than Blaze Media Pro.

Don’t get the idea though that Blaze Media Pro because it does all of these things isn’t sophisticated, for instance I have on my computer some high end studio recording hardware. Windows recording software won’t find it, and it took me half an hour to get Adobe Audition to find it and it then took a reboot to use it. Blaze Media Pro found it right away and it was ready to go. It even has a built in Audio Tag editor!

If there something in the Audio/Video field that Blaze Media Pro doesn’t do and do well I sure don’t know what it is.

In conclusion run don’t walk to the Blaze Media Pro website and download it.  I guarantee you will like it."