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While the quality of Microsoft software offerings is debatable, Microsoft's hardware offerings are usually top notch. Today we are going to look at Microsoft's newest wireless desktop set, the Wireless Desktop 3000. Upon first glance, the Wireless Desktop 3000 appears to be like most other Microsoft desktop sets. However, it is one of the first to include a BlueTrack mouse.
Over the years, I’ve owned a number of WACOM tablets. It started with a relatively inexpensive Graphire 2 (small) USB tablet, and I still use it to this day. I take it to classes and use it as a lightweight note-taking tool, but its lack of extra features beyond pressure sensitivities keeps me from using it for extended Photoshop use. I have recently reviewed the Intuos 3, which offered a number of additional control surfaces alongside the tablet area. The Intuos 4 is the next progression in WACOM’s line, offering a number of advancements in its extraneous controls, and an upgrade to the main tablet sensitivity. Let’s take a look!
As an iPhone user, I love the functionality, the convenience, the form factor, the App Store… but the battery life? not so much. I use my iPhone to death on a daily basis, and as such I have to charge it every day if not more than once. Fastmac was kind enough to send over the iV extended iPhone battery that should amend the iPhone’s most serious drawbacks.
Logitech is constantly attempting to up the bar in terms of quality and features added for gaming keyboards. This one is no exception, not in the least bit, but comes with a steep price tag. When asked if I'd be willing to review Logitech's new G19 keyboard I jumped at the opportunity. I was not too familiar with the keyboard; in fact the only feature I was aware of at that time was the inclusion of a color LCD display in the middle. But after researching the new features, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on this baby!
Kodak has recently limited its camera offerings to Point-and-Shoot digital cameras, and has presented its products as being easy to use. Their latest offering is the EasyShare Z915, and promises a large optical zoom in a relatively small body. The last Kodak product I used was positive slide film, so I went into this having never used an EasyShare camera before.
A couple months ago, I reviewed BlueAnt's V1 voice controlled Bluetooth headset and while the hardware end of the V1 was good, I found the voice interface to be rather useless. Today we will be taking a look at BlueAnt's newest voice controlled headset, the Q1. While the specs are fairly similar to the V1, the Q1 sports a new look, a couple new features, and hopefully a much improved voice control interface.
Big C makes a series o f high end digital microscopes for hobby or professional use. They call the standard microscope series “Dino-Lite”. There are many models available, with different resolutions, zoom levels, and functions; some are UV or IR, and there are models available with a metal shell instead of plastic. In this review I cover two microscopes, and an adjustable stand.
“Asus has designed a card that uses what it calls the “Ultimate Armaments” to build a card that performs well not only at stock speeds but to push the envelope when overclocked. Lower RDS on MOSFETs that run cooler, solid capacitors for a longer service life, shielded DVI connections for improved clarity and covered chokes for cooler operation and better efficiency are the things that ASUS uses to separate its products from the reference design cards. Pricing on the reference HD 4770 cards runs anywhere from $99 to $119, which is right at the price point for many of the reference design HD 4850s, which could put a crimp in the sales of the 4770. Rumors of a shortage of 40nm chips may have prompted AMD/ATI to drop the price on the HD 4850 to keep the pressure on nVidia at this price point since really this is where the money is made for the most part. What you have in the Asus EAH4770 is a video card that performs above its price point when overclocked, delivers cooling performance without the noise penalty associated with AMD/ATI reference heatsinks and is built with high quality components for a price that won’t break the bank.”
“The Voltage Tweak model from ASUS is something we’ve heard about for a while now. The idea behind it is that ASUS gives the user even more control of the card when it comes to overclocking. Not only do you have the ability to overclock the standard clocks like memory and core, but you also have the ability to adjust the voltage.
You may be wondering what this exactly means; it gives you the ability to adjust the voltage to higher levels which in turn gives you the ability to run the card at even higher speeds, much like you do with a CPU where adding more voltage gives you the ability to obtain higher clock speeds.”
“Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel by Frank Miller and directed with immense style by Robert Rodriguez, Sin City signaled a new found maturity in comic book to film adaptations that continued with Batman Begins and paved the way for the even darker The Dark Knight and Watchmen.
Sin City worked as a graphic novel and it works just as well, if not better, as a film. This could have been a disaster that forever sullied the name of comic book adaptations, but that mantel is still retained by Batman and Robin.”
Benchmark Reviews recently called on the Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC computer case to complete our NVIDIA ION Home Theater PC project. The lightweight mITX case offers a 65W power supply and room for a slim optical drive and 2.5″ SSD or HDD. The Antec ISK300 fits two 80mm fans along the side, which help exhaust heated air out of the enclosure. Enthusiast can stand the ISK300 case upright, allowing this HTPC enclosure to fit nicely beside other entertainment center electronics.
“I am very impressed by what I achieved with the TWKR. Going extreme cooling allowed for a great boost in frequency. What amazed me the most is that the processor required much lower voltages than the previous Phenom II chips. Even when overclocked to around 5GHz, it did not need more than 1.6V. However, I know there is much more left on the table. I felt dry ice could not provide the temperatures needed to scale to the top of the processor’s performance. In fact, the processor ran better with lower voltages than 1.6V. My theory is that maybe it was getting a bit too warm when I pushed high voltages in it, which it is supposed to sustain without any problems due to its high leakage. The same thing happened if I increased the integrated memory controller voltage beyond a certain point at the same time as the core voltage, even if it ran fine when the only overclock was on the IMC. In other words, I felt dry ice cooling was still very limiting for the TWKR Edition since it did not allow the high voltages it can take.”
Acoustibuds are adapters that can change normal earbuds to fit in the ear canal, while also adding passive noise canceling. They fit a wide range of earbuds, allowing the owner to continue using their favorite pair with more functionality and less dropping out. We will try them out on several pairs of earbuds to see how they fare.
Roughly a year ago we reviewed the Asus Crosshair II Formula, based on the Nvidia nForce 780a SLI chipset. This board provided those who were brave enough to pick up a Phenom processor with a stable platform that sported a number of impressive features such as Triple-SLI. At the time we said the Crosshair II Formula was a well designed motherboard that was let down by a power hungry chipset and sub-par processors.
But AMD managed to turn things around when they released the Phenom II X4 with models clocked at 2.8GHz and 3.0GHz. And now with the Phenom II X4 955 in their arsenal, AMD is finally starting to look like they mean business.
Now after much anticipation AMD has a processor that really deserves a quality high-end motherboard. The new Crosshair III Formula dumps the Nvidia chipset for the popular AMD 790FX and as a result drops SLI support for CrossFireX. This latest Asus motherboard comes stocked with just about everything in traditional ROG (Republic Of Gamers) fashion.
