H&R Block Tango
2008-03-19 22:14:37
Tango is the new kid at the H&R Block party of tax preparation offerings, among which TaxCut is the main attraction. The online service's sleek and stylish interface is one of the best looking, most intuitive, and easiest to navigate that we've seen.H&R Block says that the Tango site is designed for taxpayers who want a "do it with me" experience (which is why Tango includes unlimited free access to tax advisors via live chat, phone, or e-mail), though it's also likely to attract young, hip filers who want something less stodgy and more stimulating than the standard Block treatment.That's because Tango is oddly entertaining: The instructions have a casual tone, and a window on the right side of the screen dishes out commentary, tax trivia, and even compliments (it called me a "rock
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Pop-Up Stopper Free
2008-03-23 02:54:00
Eliminate irritating pop-up windows with this free program.Very few of us have a warm place in our hearts for browser windows that pop up in front of the screen without permission.The free Pop-Up Stopper
prevents them (and pop-under windows) from displaying. You can have sounds notify you when a pop-up has been blocked. The program also allows you to briefly disable the blocking by double-clicking the system tray icon or by pressing Shift or Ctrl when following a new link.This version features a new ad-blocking technology, an improved interface, and more sound and visual options to play when an ad is blocked. This free version is one of four versions offered.
Xdrive Desktop Lite
2008-03-23 02:38:00
AOL's new Xdrive Desktop
Lite application makes accessing the files and folders in your Xdrive online data-storage account even easier. The app, still in beta, has some useful features--such as the ability to preview media files--but it can be confusing to use.An Xdrive account with 5GB of storage is available for free (a 500GB account costs $10 per month). Previously, you could access the storage space only via your Web browser or through the Xdrive Desktop utility, which assigns a drive letter to your virtual Xdrive in Windows Explorer. Unlike those two options, Lite runs in its own program window. It uses the Adobe AIR platform, which allows Web-based apps to run outside a browser.The Lite interface looks very similar to Windows Explorer, with main folders such as My Music and My Docume
Jango
2008-03-22 02:56:00
HAPPY HOLIIf you're tired of tuning in to the same old music, try shaking things up with Jango
. Similar to sites like Pandora and Last.fm, Jango streams custom Internet radio stations based on your favorite artists. But it goes way beyond playing DJ; the beta version I tested integrates a social aspect that makes it fun to discover new music by matching you with like-minded listeners.When you enter the name of an artist, the site creates a radio station centered on that artist. (Unlike Pandora, it won't let you enter a song title.) Jango also adds other tunes it thinks you'll enjoy based on a number of criteria. For instance, the service takes into account what users who like the same artist are also listening to, and it looks at stylistically analogous acts from similar genres and time p
NUANCE PDF Converter Professional 5.0
2008-03-22 02:48:00
Do you work in an environment that relies on PDF documents as much as it does on Microsoft Office? If so, you may find it becoming difficult to manage all those file formats. That's when you need to invest in a PDF conversion tool. I tried out Nuance's $100 PDF Converter Pro 5, and was very impressed with its ease of use and outstanding accuracy.Of course, you don't have to spend $100 on a PDF conversion tool--you can find free downloads and free Web services that convert documents into PDFs. For a quick conversion, such tools are fine in a pinch. You also can opt for one of the two $50 products that Nuance offers--PDF Converter 5 or PDF Create--that do one-way conversions to PDF. But Nuance PDF Converter Pro 5 is a veritable Swiss-army-knife solution, offering advanced features such as di
Iolo System Mechanic Pro 7.5
2008-03-22 02:42:00
Iolo's System
Mechanic
, now in version 7.5, has been garnering positive reviews for ages--for good reason. Its two flavors, regular and Professional, offer Windows repair, tune-ups, and preventive security features that work well and keep a relatively low profile, providing the software equivalent of the "geeky friend" many users lack.In its $50 regular incarnation, System Mechanic 7.5 will back up, repair, and compact the Windows Registry; detect and remove many types of spyware; optimize your startup files and system memory; and tweak your Internet connection settings for best performance. In my tests the Registry and startup optimizations worked well, but my Internet connection seemed no faster. (I did not test the spyware removal.) Using the program's ActiveCare feature, you may schedu
Intel Lanches New Quad-Core Xeons
2008-03-26 09:23:18
Intel introduces new quad-core Intel Xeon L5400 Series processors on Tuesday,designed for energy-efficient workstations and servers. The L5240 processor runs at 2.5GHz and the L5410 processor runs at 2.33GHz. Both are quad-core, and both have 12 Mbytes of on-die cache and 1333-MHz front side buses. A number of systems vendors are supporting the L5400 series and L5210, including Asus , Dell , Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Gigabyte, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Microstar, NEC, Quanta, Rackable, Supermicro, Tyan and Verari. The L5400 Series Xeons are also designed for multiprocessor servers in "high-compute density" environments (i.e., racks full of servers). The Xeon L5400 processors are built on the 45-nanometer process seen in the Wolfdale and Penryn desktop and laptop processors, including hafnium high-
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, Quad
Windows XP SP3 RC2 Refresh Available
2008-03-26 09:11:36
A new "Refresh
" version of Windows
XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 2 was made available Tuesday on Microsoft Update, according to Microsoft representatives.The primary goal of the release is for its developers to validate improvements to the Windows Update procedure, but a couple of minor additions were also included. As with the previous RC2, you need to download and run a small program available from Microsoft Download Center that makes a registry change on your PC in order for the update to be offered.Microsoft does not recommend using this still-beta version for mission-critical computing. The Refresh includes rollups of all previous updates, "as well as functionality that make it easier for enterprises to co-manage both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista PCs within same corporate en
Microsoft Office Live Small Business
2008-03-25 01:50:31
Microsoft is putting all its online small-business eggs in one basket and hoping to entice small businesses with free admission. If a product purports to let anyone with a small business build and run a Web shop, the aspiring e-merchant had better be able to create an attractive and useful site, do so quickly and easily, have access to necessary tools (like multiple e-mail accounts), and be able to call on straightforward but effective business-promotion capabilities. When testing Office Live Small
Business
(OLSB), I examined how it fared in those critical areas, both on its own and against the only really comparable service—Yahoo! Small Business. The results are pretty impressive.Until recently, Microsoft offered three different levels of its Office Live Small Business (OLSB): Basics, a
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, Microsoft Office
Sony VAIO VGN-SZ791N
2008-03-25 01:33:29
When Sony
kicked off its SZ series of ultraportables with the VAIO VGN-SZ170P, the company showed that it was the first to understand how important discrete graphics and an optical drive were to performance-seeking world travelers. Battery life was the only element that stood in the way of an SZ-series laptop overtaking the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet. The Sony VAIO
VGN-SZ791N ($2,499 direct) is the latest refresh. It keeps intact the successful compact design while providing a compelling performance boost with one of Intel's new Penryn processors, a 2.5-GHz Core 2 Duo T9300. In addition to tallying improved performance scores, the SZ791N sustained over 5 hours of battery life, enough to earn it an Editor's Choice in the ultraportable category.The SZ791N has a svelte, appealing look. The ca
Gateway P-171XL FX
2008-03-25 01:15:45
Gateway has had a gaming laptop in its lineup for years—the company just never advertised it as such. Its 17-inch laptop series, from 2004's M675XL to the current P-170L QS (recently renamed the P-171 FX), can be customized with a speedy processor, a powerful graphics card, and a wide selection of components. With this in view, it made sense for Gateway to come out with an official mobile gaming line, which it calls the FX series. The Gateway P-171XL FX ($2,999.99 direct) is the über-gaming machine out of three FX models being offered on Gateway's Web site. Although it lacks extravagant artwork or cool LED effects, the copper trimmings do make it stand out—at least a little bit. If you're a hard-core gamer, you'll appreciate the 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X7900 processor and the
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Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi4
2008-03-25 00:27:40
Toshiba doesn't take it slow when it comes to updating the Satellite
brand. Ever since the company launched its first gaming laptop—the Satellite P105-S921—in early 2006, the torrential downpour of beastly laptops equipped with powerful graphics cards hasn't ceased. As of this review, Toshiba has a total of nine laptops that target gamers, four of them legitimate contenders against big names like Alienware, Dell, Gateway, and Voodoo. The Toshiba Satellite
X205-SLi4 ($2,499 direct) is the latest gaming laptop to emerge with SLI graphics and an Intel Penryn processor. These parts aren't as powerful as the screaming ones on the Dell XPS M1730 or the Gateway P-171XL FX, but the low cost of ownership relative to other gaming laptops should grab the attention of part-time gamers and college-
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Lenovo IdeaPad Y510
2008-03-24 11:45:44
The ThinkPad brand is an iconic image in the corporate world, but Lenovo
has been absent from the U.S. consumer laptop market—until now. The company's recently launched the IdeaPad line as its first set of non-business models to debut on these shores. Think of the 15.4-inch IdeaPad Y510 as the ThinkPad T61 Widescreen's alter ego, albeit with some trendier features, such as a fabric-like cover, a "frameless" widescreen, and five speakers, including a subwoofer. One gets the sense that Lenovo's foray into our consumer market is tentative, because the Y510 and the rest of the IdeaPad line (there's also a 17-inch version, and a couple of configurations of the model reviewed here) are not being sold on Lenovo's Web site. You can get them only through retailers, both online and brick-and-morta
HTC Shift
2008-03-24 11:39:46
In a perfect world, a single device would serve as both your laptop and smartphone. The Apple iPhone, the Motorola Q, and the many flavors of BlackBerry are terrific smartphone platforms, but they are far from laptop replacements. By the same token, laptops aren't ready to replace smartphones. The HTC Shift
($1,499 list) comes close to making this dream a reality. The Shift is first and foremost a convertible tablet that doesn't use the old swivel-and-tilt paradigm like the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet. Rather, it slides up to expose a 69 percent QWERTY keyboard, then tilts upward to a 125-degree angle. It has the ability to shift between two platforms: a Windows Mobile –like interface that does push e-mail and a full-blown version of Windows Vista Business .
Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1
2008-03-24 11:18:16
A little over a year after the first appearance of Vista
, Service
Pack 1 (SP1) is nearly ready for download. [There have been a couple of release snafus, including the accidental release, on 2/21/08, of the 64-bit version.–Editor]. SP1 is a useful but not crucial update to the OS, and one that won't greatly affect your computing day, at least not outwardly. The bulk of the development effort has gone toward upgrading security subsystems—elements that enterprise clients find appealing but consumers and small-business users won't really notice (although they'll feel better knowing about them). The bottom line is that there's absolutely no reason not to download SP1 (which you'll receive automatically if you have AutoUpdate turned on), so it's almost a given that it will become the standa
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, Microsoft
, Microsoft Windows
, Microsoft Windows Vista
AppFresh Keeps Your Mac Up to Date
2008-03-27 06:03:01
Numerous Mac apps are designed to help you keep your programs up to date with the most recent security and feature patches, but most of them have drawbacks: They don't let you actually download the updates, they don't update everything, or they update only one type of application. AppFresh is different. Not only does it grab Apple software updates for your Mac, it also grabs updates for your Microsoft applications, your widgets and plug-ins, and any other app that uses RSS to deliver update notifications.Before AppFresh came along, the best tool for Mac users looking to keep their systems easily updated was AppUpdate, a Dashboard widget that searches multiple software repositories for your program updates. When an update was found, it directs you to the download page for that app. AppFresh
Photoshop Express: Adobe's Free New Web App
2008-03-27 05:18:55
Adobe announced on Thursday the launch of the long-awaited Web component to its flagship digital imaging line, Photoshop
. Debuting today in public beta, Adobe Photoshop Express
is a free online photo sharing, editing, and storage site.At launch, users will be provided with 2GB of free storage and integration with popular Web apps like Facebook and Photobucket, with further partnerships with sites like Flickr in the works."Photoshop is trusted technology that has changed the visual landscape of our world. Now, Photoshop Express allows anyone who snaps a digital photo to easily achieve the high-impact results for which Adobe is known," the company's vice president of Consumer and Hosted, Doug Mack said. "Photoshop Express is a convenient, single destination where you can store, edit and sha
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Adobe Premiere Elements 4
2008-03-27 04:49:54
A new interface and a number of new features bring Adobe
Premiere
Elements 4 to near parity with the best of the best in the consumer video-editing crowd. it's one of the few consumer editors that can't capture and edit AVCHD, the high-definition video format that's grabbing increasing market share in the consumer HD space. Second, unlike such programs as Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 11 and Ulead VideoStudio 11 Plus, Premiere Elements can't produce Blu-ray or HD DVD playable discs on DVD±R media. Though Toshiba has withdrawn HD DVD , this is still an issue if you're one of the estimated 1 million users to buy an HD DVD Player. Premiere Elements can record Blu-ray discs only to a Blu-ray recorder, which few consumers have.A new interface and a number of new features bring Adobe Premiere
Eleme
Hitachi P50X901
2008-03-27 04:06:59
Hitachi 's P50X901 plasma HDTV comes with an impressively complete selection of audio and video controls, but this stylishly modern flat-panel television has some major picture-quality issues. Its 50-inch, 1,920-by-1,080-pixel screen updates every other horizontal line per cycle, effectively making it an interlaced display. In addition, relatively high black levels result in poor average picture contrast. With an ever-increasing selection of true 1080p sets offering better contrast with fewer artifacts associated with interlacing, I find it hard to recommend the set for serious video aficionados.The glass-topped face and inch-thin side trim give the set a sleek appearance, and it's durable and easy to clean. Beneath its flat glass surface are standard-size bezels that, with the parameter t
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Velocity Micro Edge M40
2008-03-27 03:48:57
The Velocity
Micro Edge M40 ($2,980 direct) wants to bring hard-core gaming down to a more earthly price. As such, the M40 uses a relatively modest (but still quad-core) AMD Phenom 9600 processor instead of the overclocked Core 2 Extreme CPU found in many $5K boxes these days. Other pluses are a pair of ATI's Radeon HD 3870 graphics cards in a CrossFire configuration, dual 750GB hard drives, and a Blu-ray reader. On paper, this is a great system, but because of a flaw that's not really Velocity Micro's fault, the Edge is a bit underwhelming.All of the Edge's parts are high-end, just below top-of-the-line for each category. The version we got came in VM's Signature case, so it's a pretty beast with a windowed side panel to show off its dual-card goodness. All of the internal wiring is neatl
Brother QL-570 Professional Label Printer
2008-03-27 03:43:47
Printing business labels—file-folder labels, mailing labels, return-address labels, and the like—has the feel of a serious task. The Brother
QL-570 Professional Label
Printer
($100 street) manages to turn a boring chore into—well, maybe not your idea of fun, but a much easier job than it could be. The QL-570 has a distinctly gadgety feel to it, with graceful lines and a handsome, two-tone design: silver and dark gray. It delivers great speed, a wide assortment of labels to print on, and the easiest approach I've yet seen to changing from one type of label to another.The QL-570 is Brother's second-generation office label printer for labels up to just over 2.4 inches wide. Earlier models combined an impressive piece of hardware with less-than-impressive software. The QL-570 retains eve
Motorola Q9c
2008-03-27 00:22:18
Since its inception, the Motorola
Q has been successful. Versions of the popular slim handheld—originally billed as the "RAZR smartphone" at just 0.4 inches thick—can now be found on three carriers, with the device available in both CDMA and GSM versions. When Motorola revamped the Q, Verizon saw the new model first and branded it the Q9m. AT&T followed with its upgraded version, the Q9h, which bested the Verizon model with its excellent software bundle. Now Sprint finally has a new Q, and I'm pleased to report that the Q9c is a highly capable, inexpensive ($99.99 with a two-year contract, after a $100 mail-in rebate) smartphone, even if a few flaws hold it back from true greatness.The Motorola Q9c looks a lot like its siblings except for one key difference—its battery pack. For
SanDisk Sansa Fuze
2008-03-27 00:05:10
SanDisk 's latest addition to its portable media player line, the Sansa
Fuze, fits cozily in between the dirt-cheap and diminutive Sansa Clip and the larger Sansa View in terms of both price and size. It's possible that the Fuze was introduced by SanDisk to round out its line, since the Sansa Connect, which was tightly integrated with the now-defunct Yahoo! Music, was recently discontinued. As it stands, none of the Sansa players, the Fuze included, do anything as innovative as the Connect, with its Wi-Fi access to Yahoo! Music accounts, but they all deliver quality, performance, and features at low prices.The Fuze is a third-gen iPod nano competitor, and at 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities (for $80, $100, and $130, respectively), it offers the same storage at much lower prices than the 4GB ($
Read more: SanDisk Sansa
Canon PowerShot A590 IS
2008-03-26 13:44:41
Though perhaps not as well known as Canon
's sexy ultracompact Digital Elph series, the company's A series of entry-level cameras are equally worthy of attention for their ease of use and high quality. The new 8-megapixel PowerShot
A590 IS ($179.99 list) offers face detection, image stabilization, and manual exposure settings—features not typically found in budget cameras and sometimes missing even in some higher-priced ones. Throw in a 4X optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD, an optical viewfinder, a 5.8mm-to-23.2mm lens (equivalent to a 35mm lens with a 35mm-to-140mm zoom), and you've got a great bargain shooter. The A590 IS does have a few drawbacks: With its boring, gray body, it's not as stylish as the Digital Elph series, and although it's not heavy, it is bulky. And I would have preferred
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Nikon D300
2008-03-26 13:36:47
Nikon the 12.3-megapixel D300, is a worthy successor in so many ways that you may never want to put it down. With a ton of features and terrific image quality, the D300 stands out as one of the best D-SLRs you can buy. Among the new features are a big 3-inch LCD, a 51-point autofocus system with 3D tracking, two live view modes, and enough manual settings to fill a 421-page user manual. Although the D300 is still a little expensive for this category, the image quality alone is well worth the cost. Regardless of price, with everything the D300 offers.Nikon offers two lens kits for the D300, or you can purchase the body alone for about $1,800. For my testing I used the DX 18mm-to-200mm (equivalent to a 35mm lens with a 27mm-to-300mm zoom) f/3.5-to-f/5.6G ED VR lens ($2,540 for body and lens)
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Olympus E-3
2008-03-26 13:27:38
Directly competing against the Canon EOS 40D and the Nikon D300 the Olympus
E-3 is one big, bad shooter: Even for a D-SLR, it's pretty huge. But with girth comes superb image quality and a hearty assortment of features, such as a swiveling LCD, live view, two in-camera image stabilization settings, and an extensive menu system, to name a few. Although it can't quite match the Nikon D300 in image quality or feature set, I have no problem recommending the E-3 as a slightly less-expensive alternative in the semi-pro D-SLR category.You can buy a few different versions of the E-3. For $1,700 you get the body only, and the other two options are kits. The body can be combined with a Zuiko Digital 14mm–54mm f/2.8–f/3.5 lens (35mm equivalent: 28mm–108mm) or the Zuiko ED 12mm–60mm f/2.8–f/
Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Penryn)
2008-04-02 11:23:52
Apple MacBook
Pro 15-inch (Penryn), at $3,149 (direct), isn't the first laptop to undergo an Intel brain transplant in the form of a next-generation Penryn processor , but it's among the most sizzling we've seen so far. At the heart of this MacBook Pro, the 2.6-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 CPU and 4GB RAM played a pivotal role in tearing up performance tests, including a compelling 15 percent increase in battery life. There are other new additions worth talking about, but performance enhancements alone should encourage first-generation MacBook Pro owners and frustrated Windows users to take the plunge.With all the time spent on perfecting the MacBook Air 's design, it's surprising that Apple did little to enhance the looks of the MacBook Pro 15-inch (Penryn). Until someone can come up with a
Read more: Apple
, Apple MacBook
Axiotron Modbook
2008-04-12 00:58:51
Apple has long neglected the tablet community by not offering a tablet PC of its own. But now, another company has stepped into the breach with its take on a Mac-based tablet PC. The Axiotron Modbook ($2,629 list) is certain to pique the interest of Mac-based graphics designers and illustrators who prefer to work with a pen rather than a keyboard. Axiotron literally took an Apple MacBook 13-inch (Core 2 Duo), ripped off the lid, and fused a Wacom digitizer screen to the chassis. The Modbook is a slate tablet (rather than a convertible tablet that would have had the benefit of an integrated keyboard), but it's a better alternative to plugging a Wacom device into an Apple computer. This slate tablet doesn't come cheap, though, and it's available only through Other World Computing, an online
Sony Walkman NWZ-S718F
2008-04-13 12:03:21
The $200 Sony
NWZ-S718F, one of the latest additions to the Walkman
line of portable media players, looks similar to the previous round of Walkmans. Ostensibly, this compact 8GB player's major selling point is integrated noise cancellation. Sony takes a commendable stab at noise cancellation here, but it's nowhere near as strong as with, say, Bose's Quiet Comfort 3 headphones. In addition, the circuitry works solely with the included earphones.The real selling point of the player is its excellent sound quality, which, paradoxically, can be fully realized only with an upgraded pair of earphones. This Walkman produces some of the roundest bass I've heard on a player, which helps overshadow shortcomings like mediocre video file support and a user interface that could stand a little sprucing u
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iriver E100
2008-04-13 11:47:14
The fun factor isn't so important in, say, a lawnmower or a dishwasher, but a portable media player should be fun to use, and the E100 just isn't. This player looks sweet and offers robust audio file support, as well as extras like line-in recording and a microSD slot, but it just doesn't deliver in the usability department. The controls aren't intuitive, and since the user manual is thin and vague, you can end up spending a lot of time fiddling with buttons and options until the player does what you want it to. I expected more from the manufacturers of the excellent Clix and the Clix gen 2. Ultimately, the frustration of navigating the E100 outweighs the player's laudable feature set.The player comes in 4GB ($110 street) and 8GB ($160) capacities and resembles the flash-memory-based Micro
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