Sunday, April 17, 2022
Monday, May 17, 2021
How to Download Instagram Videos
How to Download Videos on Instagram?
Instagram is now one of the popular social media that is frequently visited and has millions of active users every day. Unlike other social media, Instagram is a social application for sharing story moments in the form of photos or videos. This application is in great demand by all people, starting from teenagers, artists, to those who have grown up.
Every day, Instagram is always enlivened by its users who upload their various photos or videos in their daily life activities or as a place to promote their services or business.
Easy Ways to Download Videos on Instagram Without Installing Any Application
Millions of photos and videos are posted every day, and sometimes we come across a video that catches our attention enough that there is a desire on our part to download the video. But unfortunately, Instagram doesn't support the video download feature.
How do I download videos on Instagram?
Download Instagram Video is the website you use to download Instagram photos, videos, carousels, igtv and reels as well.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter
YouTube to MP3
YouTube to MP3 The latest advance system to listen to your favorite music in Iphone, Ipod or any other MP3 Player by converting Youtube to MP3. And yes, Youtube to MP3 is absolutely free ;)No Limitation. No Registration required. Just paste the URL of youtube in above textbox and click convert. Conversion takes only few seconds. You can also share that converted MP3 to your friends and family.
You can also checkout the related videos on right side on the download page. So, if you are interested to convert another Video just click and enjoy.
YouTube to MP3 Converter
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter
YouTube to MP3
YouTube to MP3 converter is fast, free and easy to use website on the Internet. You can call this service a number one YouTube to MP3 Converter over the net.
You don't have to search the net anymore for the best converting service when you decide to save one of your favorite videos to your computer, iPod, iPhone or any other device.
You have finally come to the best place to do it! All you will need to do is copy/paste the URL of your favorite video on YouTube and our service will immediately convert it to high quality mp3 format, which you can use for you personal needs.
Happy Converting YouTube to MP3 :)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Archos 28 Internet Tablet Review
To look at it, the Archos 28 Internet Tablet would be more commonly associated with cell phones than tablets, but since it doesn’t make phone calls and it does have a web browser, it must be a tablet, right? The operating system is based on Android 2.2, customized here and there by Archos—with mixed results. The Archos 28′s primary flaw, however, isn’t its size but its poor touch screen. At $99.99 for 4GB, it’s cheap enough that we can forgive some drawbacks, but it’s hard to think of this “tablet” in the same realm as the iPad, Samsung Galaxy Tab, or even its more natural competition, the iPod touch ($229, 5 stars).
Archos 28 Design
Measuring 3.9 by 2.1 by 0.4 inches (HWD) and weighing 2.4 ounces, the Archos 28 Internet Tablet has an attractive dark metallic design, but make no mistake: it looks like a classic (as in, two years ago) portable media player. Smaller than an iPod touch, with a 2.8-inch QVGA (320 by 240-pixel) touch screen that dominates the front panel, the Archos 28 is one of the last remaining iPod competitors out there. Most of these devices have disappeared as manufacturers choose to focus on tiny, gym-friendly MP3 players or larger, multifunctional tablets. Archos is attempting to revitalize its line of players by referring to them as “Internet Tablets” and (mostly) doing away with its old operating system in favor of tweaking Google’s Android OS. The upgrade to Android is a wise decision, and several other Archos models can truly be called tablets, but one look at this device and there is no mistaking: it’s a plain old portable media player (yes, those can have browsers, too).
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The Archos 28 comes in 4 and 8GB models, uses an ARM Cortex A8 800MHz processor, and has an accelerometer for switching between horizontal and vertical viewing modes. The OS is based on Android 2.2 (“FroYo”), but customized for Archos players. File support for the device is a definite strength. For audio, it plays MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG Vorbis, and FLAC; it supports MPEG-4, H.264, WMV, and M-JPEG video files and JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF photo files. The Archos 28 connects to the Web via 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.
Archos 28 Specifications
- Screen Size
- 2.8 inches
- Storage Capacity (as Tested)
- 4 GB
- Dimensions
- 3.9 x 2.1 x 0.4 inches
- Archos 28 Networking Options
- 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n
Even if you are familiar with the Android operating system on cell phones, prepare for a different experience with the Archos 28. Google made Android a completely open operating system, so Archos and others are free to use it on devices like this one, but since the tablet has no built-in phone capabilities, Google denies access to the Andriod Market and offers no support. This means that the implementation of Android on the Archos device feels a little clunky at times.
The browser experience is similar to what you’d get on other Android-based devices, but it tends to load only mobile versions of sites. This is due to the sites themselves seeing the browser as a mobile one, but if you choose to load the full site (usually an option at the bottom of the webpage), you can see the real thing—sort of. First off, you won’t get any Flash support. There’s also no pinch-and-zoom or reliable scrolling thanks to the lackluster touch-screen—navigating, or even just pressing buttons or links on pages, becomes virtually impossible. In other words, viewing watered-down mobile versions of websites is generally as good as it gets. On the bright side, the pop-up keyboard, which works in both vertical and horizontal arrays, is surprisingly easy to use despite the screen’s other sensitivity issues—and the fact that the buttons are smaller than corn kernels.
AppsLib is Archos’ stab at the Android Market, since Google denies access to its cherished collection of mobile apps. Archos does curate the apps and divide them into useful categories like “Tools” or “Entertainment”, but often, you click on an app to find the app lacking any description, and user comments are all in French. This makes sense since Archos is based in France, but it’s not exactly useful if you don’t speak the language. Beyond this annoyance, the apps just don’t seem up to snuff; they seem more often created by users than companies, and are more often widgets than useful or exciting programs.
The music player app is one of the better-looking aspects of the device. An album cover array reminiscent of Apple’s Cover Flow moves with your finger. Selecting an album with the touch screen’s weak sensitivity can be annoying, but the Now Playing screen displays album art, playback controls and a setting menu. In the main settings menu, you can access EQ, which has only preset adjustments and no user customizable options. I suggest leaving this setting at “flat”, and perhaps upgrading your earphones if things sound too weak; PCMag’s headphone buying guide is a good place to start that search.
Video and photo viewing default to horizontal mode. Both are fine for a quick reference or to show friends snapshots you’ve taken, but the screen’s low resolution makes it a challenge to enjoy long term video viewing. Yes, the device has commendable file support, but its playback does not, shall we say, feel like a high-definition experience.
It is also possible to sync an email account with the player. It was easy syncing a Hotmail account with the Archos 28, though new messages were not pushed to the main menu page. If your account does not sync, your only other option is to use the browser, which, given the screen issues, could be a bit of a hassle depending on which service you use.
One final, troubling issue I had with the Archos 28 occurred while recharging the device. When you connect to a computer for power (via the included USB cable) you’re prompted to choose between syncing the device or connecting in charge-only mode. I chose the latter, left the player connected to my work computer overnight, and arrived in the morning to find the screen frozen on the “Archos, Entertainment Your Way” start-up screen. Disconnecting the player did nothing to make this go away. The only thing that worked was holding the Power button for ten seconds, which turned the device off. Going through this process on even a semi-regular basis would get old quickly.
Archos claims the Archos 28 gets 16 hours of battery life for audio playback and 4 for video, reasonable numbers for a touch-screen device this size. Our own test results will be posted here soon.
It may sound like we’re being harsh, but the bottom line is: just because a device is affordable doesn’t make it a good value. The Archos 28 has a tiny screen that doesn’t respond well to touch. This means Web browsing, as well as simply navigating the device, offers more annoyance than entertainment or convenience. Whether you agree with Archos that this is a tablet or not, it is nonetheless a device with issues, and at this low price, my advice is to avoid the Internet-browsing “tablets” altogether. In 2010-11, $100 is too little to pay for a strong, Internet equipped device; they’re just not there yet. It’s just the right amount for a decent portable media player, like the Samsung YP-R0 ($99.99 list, 3.5 stars), which comes with better-than-average earphones, or the aforementioned Archos 3cam Vision. Ironically, the 3cam is set to be discontinued soon, which is too bad. For the same price, I felt it offered a better-executed set of features—most notably, a camera.
Archos 28
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Camera Review
Panasonic presents a hybrid digital camera with a 14.1 megapixel MOS optical sensor and the 25 millimeter wide-angle Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with 24x optical zoom, the Lumix DMC-FZ100 ($499.95 list). While it looks nearly identical to both the DMC-FZ35 ($399.95 list) and DMC-FZ40($399.95 list), this camera’s insides and capabilities are far different.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Design and Features
This hybrid shooter comes in the familiar black frame of the Lumix series with its extended, rubberized shutter area and pop-up flash. The back end includes its 3-inch LCD display, optical viewfinder and standard controls surrounded by a rubber grip. However, this camera’s screen is free angle, meaning it can both swivel and rotate to shoot video or images at multiple angles.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
The Leica lens within the Lumix DMC-FZ100 can zoom from 25 millimeter wide-angle to 600 millimeter telephoto. But using its Intelligent Resolution technology, its zoom can virtually extend to 32x. The lens can also record 1080i HD video and can perform burst shooting at 11 frames per second in maximum resolution. Bring it down to 3.5 megapixels and this camera can shoot 60 frames per second. Photos shot using burst mode are automatically organized for later playback. For different shooting situations, the DMC-FZ100 is compatible with several Panasonic lens attachments.This camera includes the Intelligent Auto (iA) system that automatically optimizes scene settings, face detection and image stabilization according to the contents of the frame before firing the shutter. Panasonic’s new Venus Engine image processor is packed within the DMC-FZ100, which powers the camera’s extended virtual zoom in addition to noise reduction, gradation and high-speed burst shooting. Finally, the Venus Engine also enables this hybrid camera to record HD video shoot images simultaneously.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 Specifications
- Megapixels
- 14.1 MP
- Optical Zoom
- 24 x
- LCD size
- 3 inches
- Video Resolution
- Yes
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100
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Tt eSports Meka G1 Keyboard Review
Tt eSports Meka G1 Thermaltake and Tt eSports Meka G1 gaming subdivision, Tt eSports, enjoy skirting extremes—even where usually unexciting keyboards are concerned. In December we looked at the company’s Challenger Gaming Keyboard Pro ($69.99 list, 3.5 stars), a traditional take on the kind of keyboard aimed at die-hard FPS lovers. Now we meet the Meka G1 ($139.99 list), loaded with hefty construction and serious mechanical key switches that address concerns of diminished functionality once game windows are closed. But its refreshed focus paradoxically results in the loss of the features one typically associates with gaming keyboards. Don’t mind the lack of lights, digital displays, or macro keys? Then the Tt eSports Meka G1 is for you. Otherwise, your search for the ideal blend of typing convenience and fragging efficiency does not end here.
Still, it’s unheard of to see so much attention paid to something other than the bling on a gaming keyboard. In stature and overall feel, the Meka G1 more closely resembles the Das Keyboard($129.99 direct, 4.5 stars) than the Challenger. Measuring about 1.6 by 16.9 by 6.3 inches (HWD) and weighing about three pounds, it’s highly sturdy, but doesn’t take up an obscene amount of space on your desk. (Attaching the included palm rest will increase the depth by a couple of inches.) The layout is essentially the standard 104-key configuration, with one difference we’ll get to presently. The Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock lights are a shockingly bright red, and a hub on the rear of the keyboard provides two USB 2.0 ports and headphone and microphone jacks. To use these, you’ll need to connect all the patch cables to the appropriate ports on your PC’s rear panel, in addition to either USB or PS/2 for sending typing data. (You’ll want to use the latter if you want full N-key rollover capabilities.)
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In our tests, the Meka G1 more than satisfied, proving accurate and comfortable during regular typing tasks and gaming (in titles as diverse as Call of Duty: Black Ops and Civilization V) alike. The balance between appropriateness for both uses is about as good as we’ve seen on any gaming keyboard. We have to admit, though, that for typing purposes, we prefer the Cherry MX Blue switches. The kind used on the Das Keyboard, they are both tactile and clicky, and feel crisp and natural in ways the Blacks can’t quite manage. But the presence of mechanical keys at all propels the Meka G1 far ahead of most keyboards, and even without the feedback it delivers an outstanding typing experience.
Tt eSports Meka G1
But improved typing doesn’t come without a cost—beyond even the already steep purchase price. First, you’ll have to sacrifice the left Windows key. Ostensibly removed to eliminate the problem of getting booted to windows from your full-screen game when you accidentally hit it instead of the Ctrl or Alt, this means you can’t use it in windows, either, and that’s when you may really want it. I rely so much on windows key combinations—all performed with the left one, of course—that its absence complicated my ability to perform everyday windows tasks. It’s nice that Thermaltake has made that key a function key that turns F1-F7 into multimedia controls (Reverse, Play/Pause, Stop, Forward, Increase Volume, Decrease Volume, and Mute), but whether those will benefit you more than the Windows key depends entirely on your personal usage style.Then there’s the issue of other special gaming features: The Meka G1 doesn’t have any. Though many gaming keyboards offer an array of programmable macro keys, digital displays, and other fun extras that can streamline the way you play your favorite game, the Meka G1 provides nothing of the sort. Its additional goodies are definitely more of the laid-back variety: a 1,000-Hz polling rate, a thick “military-grade” cable (which we found stiff and difficult to route), and a gold-plated USB connector. Laid out on your desk, this is not a keyboard that would stand out in a crowd, to say nothing of a LAN party.
The appropriateness of the Meka G1 to your computing life, then, is ultimately all about priorities. If gaming gizmos are your thing, something like the Microsoft SideWinder X4 ($39.95 list, 4 stars) or the Logitech G19 will suit you better. If pure typing precision matters more, a clicky Das Keyboard is the way to go. But if your gaming and productive lives are in near-perfect balance, and you’re looking for a keyboard to match, the Meka G1 could well be it.
Tt eSports Meka G1
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Rebit 5 (1TB) Hard Drive Review
The Rebit 5 (1TB) ($124.95 list) is more than a simple hard drive. Sure, you can copy your files to it, and carry the drive across the room or across the country. What sets the Rebit 5 apart is the simple, yet comprehensive software that comes with the drive. The software is easy to set up and install, easy to recover files with, and easy to restore your entire hard drive with. If you’re the type that hates rebuilding your PC’s hard drive after every time it craps out, you are likely to be the target audience for the Rebit 5. It’s the low-effort backup that can get you back up and running shortly after a major hard drive crash.
Design and Features
The looks of the Rebit 5 drive are pretty standard. It measures approximately 5 by 2 by 8.5 inches (HWD) when you perch the drive on its stand. The black metal rounded case for the Rebit drive should work with just about any décor on your workspace. The back has a USB 2.0 port, on/off switch, and power port, while the front has a really bright blue power/activity LED light. This desktop-class hard drive has a 1TB capacity, but Rebit also has a 2TB desktop-class drive ($179.95) and a 500GB portable drive ($109.95) available.
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Installing Rebit 5 software is easy. Just plug the drive in and run the installer. You’ll have to click OK a few times when prompted, but the install pretty much happens “hands off.” and the drive will start backing up everything on your C: drive automatically. There are options to back up other drives in your PC, including other internal or external drives, but the Rebit 5 software concentrates on the C: drive out of the box, since that’s where most people store their OS, apps, and data. Rebit 5 also has to option to back up your PC to network drives or any other external hard drive as well, so it’s really flexible. The Rebit 5 drive and software works with just about all versions of Windows: XP (32-bit), Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) and Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit). This is an improvement over the last version of the Rebit software, which was limited to 32-bit Windows. Just make sure your C: drive is formatted to NTFS, as the Rebit 5 software won’t work with FAT32 drives (Windows 7 defaults to NTFS).
Rebit 5 Specifications
- Type
- External, Mini
- System Type
- Notebook
- Storage Capacity (as Tested)
- 1000 GB
- Rotation Speed
- 7200 rpm
- Ports
- USB, USB 2.0, SATA
Your first backup will take a while. Our hard drive testbed took the better part of a full 24 hours to back up several hundred GB of data. The drive is USB 2.0, rather than the faster USB 3.0, and no doubt this slowed things down. While all current PCs ship with USB 2.0 ports, adding USB 3.0 would be good for future proofing and the added speed would be welcome for USB 3.0-equipped PCs.
That said, the drive itself is decently fast. It returned a score of 3,919 points on PCMark05′s hard drive test. To put this in perspective, the ioSafe SoloPRO ($249.99 list, 4.5 stars) got a score of 3,682 points on USB 2.0 and 8,120 points on USB 3.0. You could buy and download the Rebit 5 software separately ($34.95 for 1 PC, $79.95 for 3 PCs), and use it with a USB 3.0 drive or NAS that you purchase separately.
There are two ways you can recover your data: file search or complete recovery. If you find you’ve misplaced a file or accidentally deleted it, you can simply browse the Rebit 5 drive for that file and copy it back to your PC’s hard drive using drag and drop. You can also mount the drive on another PC to transfer files, but since you’ll have to install a Rebit backup browser app (to that other PC), that may be less convenient. The Rebit 5 can also recover the PC’s entire hard drive, including operating system, installed applications, and data left in the same folder structure you backed up earlier. In this way it’s like Apple’s Time Machine: Rebit supports snapshots so you can go back in time and restore the whole hard drive at a certain point in time, say the version of your PC and files from three days ago rather than the version two hours ago. The drive comes with a recovery boot CD, but you can create a boot USB stick or DVD in case that’s more convenient for you. You can password-protect your backups for added security, though Rebit 5 Time Machine defaults to backing up everything without a password.
Compared with the competition, the Rebit 5 combines ease of use and disaster recovery into a compelling combo pack. It’s easier to set up than drives like the HP Portable External Hard Drive (1TB) ($169.99 direct, 4 stars), which has a simple backup software package that takes a bit of doing to get set up. The IDrive Portable ($69.99 list, 3.5 stars) is easy to set up, but it only backs up document folders, not the entire hard drive. It’s the same for the Clickfree Wireless ($179.99 list, 4 stars): Easy to set up, but only backs up documents. If you find that you need to back up not just your important files, but the state of your PC, including all the apps, OS tweaks, and settings, then you really need something like the Rebit 5 (1TB). As long as you are using one of the latest versions of Windows (Windows XP SP3, Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1), you will get much more peace of mind using a product like the Rebit over a simple hard drive with a simple backup utility.
Rebit 5
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Vizio XVT3D554SV HDTV Review
Vizio XVT3D554SV Vizio presents the XVT3D554SV ($2,199.99 list), a 55-inch, web-enabled LED 3D HDTV with a 480Hz refresh rate, 10 million to one contrast ratio and four millisecond response time. While it is smaller and more afforable than the 60-inch XVT3D554SV, there are few differences between the two machines. In addition to housing a list of Vizio’s web apps, the XVT3D554SV includes a universal Bluetooth remote with QWERTY keyboard and is Energy STAR 4.1 compliant.
Vizio XVT3D554SV Design and Features
This LED-backlit 3D set is surrounded by an angular, glossy black bezel with a speaker bar underneath. It rests on a large, rounded stand that does not swivel, though this screen sports a 178-degree viewing angle. The XVT3D554SV houses five HDMI inputs (four in the back and one on its side), one of each standard video input and three USB ports. Also included is both an Ethernet port and built-in 802.11n WiFi to take advantage of Vizio’s suite of of web apps, VIA.
The contrast and color balance within the XVT3D554SV is powered by Vizio’s Smart Dimming LED display, which controls all 120 blocks of LEDs within the screen to turn them off in support of the screen’s 10 million to one contrast ratio. Its 480Hz refresh rate delivers 480 scenes per second by combining its refresh rate with a scanning backlight. Of course, this HDTV puts out full 1080p HD, but also supports 3D viewing with the appropriate glasses and compatible 3D Blu-ray, premium television or gaming device. However, a two-pack of rechargeable 3D glasses through Vizio costs $219.99.
Vizio XVT3D554SV Specifications
Vizio XVT3D554SV Screen Size
- 55 inches
- Vizio XVT3D554SV Type
- LCD TV, HDTV
- Aspect Ratio
- Vizio XVT3D554SV 16:9
- Vizio XVT3D554SVNetworking Options
- Wi-Fi
- Speakers Included
- Yes
Vizio XVT3D554SV
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Canon imageClass MF4450 Printer Review
If you think of the Canon imageClass MF4450 ($249 direct) mono laser MFP as a personal version of the Editors’ Choice Canon imageClass MF4570dn ($299 direct, 4 stars), you won’t be far off. There are some important differences, most notably the lack of network support and a duplexer (for two-sided printing). However, it otherwise offers similar capabilities at a lower price, while its ability to connect only by USB makes it a definitively personal printer.
Like the MF4570dn, the MF4450 can print, scan, and fax directly from a PC and work as a standalone copier and fax machine. It also offers a 35-page ADF to complement its flatbed for scanning and easily handle multipage documents and legal-size pages. As long as you don’t need to duplex—a duplexer isn’t even offered as an option—paper handling for printing is more than enough for most personal needs, with a 250-sheet main tray and a one-sheet manual feed.
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The MF4450 is a little bigger than you would probably want sitting on your desk, at 14.6 by 15.4 by 16.6 inches (HWD), but it’s small enough so you shouldn’t have trouble finding room for it nearby, even in a home office.
Setup on the Windows Vista system I tested with was standard fare. Canon rates the printer at 24 pages per minute (ppm), which is 2 ppm slower than the rating for the MF4570. The results on our tests, however, were essentially the same for both printers.
Canon imageClass MF4450 Specifications
- Printer Category
- Laser
- Type
- All-In-One
- Canon imageClass MF4450 Color or Monochrome
- Monochrome
- Technology (for laser category only)
- Laser
- Canon imageClass MF4450 Maximum Standard Paper Size
- Legal
- Direct Printing from Cameras
- No
- Canon imageClass MF4450 Rated speed at Default Resolution (Mono)
- 24 ppm
- Canon imageClass MF4450 Standalone Copier and Fax
- Copier, Fax
- Canon imageClass MF4450Print Duplexing
- No
Canon imageClass MF4450 Output Quality and Other Issues
The output quality doesn’t earn the same high marks as the print speed, but it’s easily good enough for most business needs. Text quality is a touch below par for a mono laser, which means you wouldn’t want to use it for high-quality desktop publishing or if you have an unusual need for small fonts. For anything short of that, however, you should find it more than acceptable.
Graphics quality is at the high end of a tight range where most mono laser MFPs fall, making it suitable for any internal business need. Photo output is a touch below par, but still suitable for printing Web pages with recognizable photos. Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are, you may or may not consider the photos good enough for client newsletters or the like.
Ultimately, the MF4450 is an attractive choice as a personal MFP. Both the MF4750dn and D550 offer better value—with the MF4750dn adding network support and a duplexer and the D550 adding both a print duplexer and a duplexing ADF for scanning—for just $50 more. But if you don’t need these additional features, there’s no reason why you should pay for them. And if that’s the case, choosing the MF4450 will give you what you need while leaving a little more money in your wallet.
Canon imageClass MF4450
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Apple Thunderbolt Display Moniter Review
Apple Thunderbolt You don’t have to be an Apple fanboy to appreciate the new Apple Thunderbolt Display ($999 direct), but you will need to have a Thunderbolt-ready Mac destkop or laptop to use it, and be willing to shell out close to a grand for the privilege. This 27-inch beauty is the first display to utilize Thunderbolt I/O technology, and its connectivity prowess makes it an ideal docking station for Thunderbolt-enabled MacBooks. It also delivers bright, accurate colors and excellent image detail. Its flaws—a relatively slow response time produces some motion artifacts, and a glossy screen coating that can be very reflective—is somewhat minor compared with what it has to offer. It earns our Editors’ Choice for high-end monitors.
A word about Thunderbolt technology; co-developed by Intel and Apple, Thunderbolt is a dual-channel I/O solution (based on PCI Express and DisplayPort technologies) that delivers twice the I/O performance (10Gbps) as USB 3.0 (5Gbps) using a single cable. According to Apple, Thunderbolt is up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and 12 times faster than FireWire 800. All of that bandwidth allows users to daisy chain multiple peripherals and still achieve good I/O throughput. (For more on Thunderbolt, check out our primer, “Intel’s Thunderbolt: 10 Things You Need to Know.”)
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Apple Thunderbolt Design and Features
Design-wise, the Thunderbolt Display looks exactly like the Apple Cinema Display. The 27-inch, 2,560-by-1,440 resolution IPS (in-plane switching) panel is housed in the same silver aluminum cabinet and is supported by the same angled stand which contains a smooth, easy to maneuver tilt mechanism. You can’t adjust the panel’s height or swivel it for a better angle, however. Edge-to-edge glass over piano black bezels and rounded corners provide plenty of style, but the glossy glass is very reflective. Apple logos can be found on the rear of the cabinet and on the lower front bezel, and a FaceTime HD camera is embedded in the upper bezel. The cabinet also holds a 2.1 audio system (two speakers and a subwoofer) that delivers 49 watts of rich, crystal clear sound with incredibly deep bass response. It is hands-down the best audio output I’ve heard from a desktop display and a good deal better than a number of HDTVs that I’ve reviewed.
You won’t find any function buttons on this monitor, as all settings are adjusted from within the System Preferences Display control panel. Here, you can change the resolution, rotate the screen image, adjust brightness, and select a color profile. There’s also a Calibration Assistant that helps you tweak gamma and white point settings. Chances are you won’t have to do much tweaking as Apple calibrates each panel before it leaves the factory. As with the Cinema Display, a light sensor automatically adjusts the panel’s brightness according to ambient light levels, but you can disable this function if you prefer.
Apple Thunderbolt Specifications
- Screen Size
- 27 inches
- Native Resolution
- 2560 x 1440
- Apple Thunderbolt Supported Video Formats
- 1080p
- Widescreen
- Yes
- Apple Thunderbolt Aspect Ratio
- 16:9
- Apple Thunderbolt PC Interfaces
- Thunderbolt
Two hard-wired cables protrude from the rear of the cabinet. One is a traditional three-pronged power cord and the other is a double header containing Apple’s awesome MagSafe power connector and a Thunderbolt connector. One of the many cool features of this display is that once you plug in the regular power cord you can power up and charge your laptop with the monitor’s MagSafe plug. Also around back are three USB (2.0) ports, a FireWire 800 port, a gigabit Ethernet port, and a Thunderbolt port. It’s not unusual to find an Ethernet port on an HDTV but you rarely see them on desktop monitors. I connected a labs Ethernet cable to the display, and thanks to Thunderbolt, received a wired network connection notification on my MacBook Air within seconds. You can use the display’s Thunderbolt port to connect up to six peripherals, such as external storage and video capture devices, as well as multiple monitors.
Apple Thunderbolt Performance
As with most IPS panels, the Thunderbolt Display delivers very accurate colors. Swatches from the DisplayMate Color Scales test scaled uniformly from dark to light and there was no evidence of tinting or over saturated reds, greens, or blues. The panel’s inky blacks gave the colors some pop as well. Grayscale performance was also quite good, particularly on the light end of the scale where every shade of gray was displayed correctly. Dark grays were well defined right up to the very darkest shade, which was slightly compressed and indistinguishable from black. Shadow detail was still very good, however; dark scenes from the HD movie trailer I Am Legend were strikingly detailed and skin tones were spot on. Only the NEC MultiSync PA301W($2,229 direct, 4.5 stars) did a better job with dark grays, but that’s a professional-grade monitor that costs $1,200 more than the Thunderbolt Display. If you work with large documents and prefer to arrange them side-by-side, the Thunderbolt Display is ideal for viewing small text; the font’s 5.3 points (the smallest available on the DisplayMate Scaled Fonts test) were completely legible and well defined.
IPS panels are known to deliver wide viewing angles, and the Thunderbolt Display is no exception. You can place this monitor just about anywhere without worrying about color shifting or experiencing that dark screen effect that you get with most TN+ panels. What you will get is some instances of motion blur, however, which comes by way of the Thunderbolt Display’s 12-millisecond pixel response. The artifacts aren’t overwhelming and certainly won’t have much of an impact while watching streaming video (which is usually susceptible to artifacts anyway), but if you decide to use this monitor for gaming you’ll notice some minor motion lag. That’s just one of the trade-offs that come with using an IPS panel rather than a TN+ panel, though.
There’s a lot to like about the Apple Thunderbolt Display. It’s the first monitor to offer Thunderbolt high-speed connectivity, it delivers excellent image quality, and its audio output is top shelf. Having the ability to connect multiple devices makes it an ideal base station for MacBook laptops, and like nearly every other product sporting an Apple logo, it’s a real head turner. It is certainly more expensive than most 27-inch monitors, but no other monitor can do what it does, at least not yet. All this is why this monitor earns the Editors’ Choice. If you own a Thunderbolt-enabled MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, or iMac, the Thunderbolt Display makes perfect sense.
Apple Thunderbolt
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TrustPort Total Protection 2012 Review
Antivirus and firewall protection are the core of a security suite. We also expect to find other features including antispam, parental control, and some form of privacy protection. TrustPort Total Protection 2012 ($89.95 for three licenses) includes these expected components as well as some unusual bonus features. It’s particularly effective at detecting and blocking malware, and its impact on system performance is among the lowest. Unfortunately, not all of the components work as well as they should.
Good Malware Blocking, Poor Cleanup
For the most part, the suite’s antivirus protection is identical to that of the standalone antivirus. I’ll briefly summarize the antivirus results here. Please read my review ofTrustPort Antivirus 2012 ($39.95 direct, 3.5 stars) for full details.
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TrustPort Total Security 2012 lab tests chartTrustPort Specifications
- Type
- Business, Personal, Professional
- OS Compatibility
- Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
- Tech Support
- Email support standard. Premium phone support available.
TrustPort detected 88 percent of the threats on my malware-infested test systems, but its alleged cleanup left many of them still running. It scored 5.4 points for malware cleanup overall, and 4.4 for rootkit cleanup. TrustPort did handle scareware well, scoring 9.5 for scareware removal. For details on how I derive these scores see How We Test Malware Removal.
TrustPort Total Security 2012 malware removal chartIn the malware blocking test, TrustPort set an impressive new record. It detected 97 percent of the threats, some immediately on sight and others when I attempted to launch them. I don’t like its default action, though. On detecting a dangerous file it simply blocks access, leaving the file in place like a time-bomb whose countdown clock is temporarily stuck. If TrustPort crashed, that file would become dangerous again.
TrustPort scored 8.6 points for malware blocking overall, 9.1 points for rootkit blocking, and 9.0 for scareware blocking. To understand how I come up with those scores, see How We Test Malware Blocking.
TrustPort Total Security 2012 malware blocking chartThe suite’s Web Protection feature, not found in the standalone antivirus, can block access to dangerous URLs. I also found that the suite detected more threats during download than the standalone antivirus. When I attempted to re-download my sample collection it blocked all but one of those still extant.
I did find that the new Application Inspector feature, which warns the user when it detects certain behaviors, was just as likely to warn about valid programs as malware. And if you accept the default action “block this operation,” it actually terminates the program and blocks it from running again. Fortunately, TrustPort includes a built-in option to let you rescue a program that was blocked in error.
TrustPort
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Nikon Coolpix P100 Camera Review
Nikon Coolpix P100 An upgrade to the Coolpix L110 ($279.95 list), Nikon’s Coolpix P100 ($399 list) sports a 26 millimeter wide-angle NIKKOR ED glass lens with 26x optical zoom and 10.3 megapixel CMOS optical sensor. While it certainly looks like its predecessor, the Coolpix P100 has plenty of features to differentiate itself.
Nikon Coolpix P100 Design and Features
Outside, this camera’s all-black frame looks almost identical to the L110. But perhaps the optical viewfinder sitting above its 3-inch LCD screen will give it away. Up top you’ll find a pop-up flash and a control wheel featuring most of the compact’s scene and shot settings. In addition to the optical viewfinder and standard controls, the Coolpix P100′s 3-inch LCD screen sits on a hinge that can angle the display either up or down.
Nikon Coolpix P100
Thanks to this camera’s CMOS optical sensor powered by Nikon Coolpix P100 EXPEED image processor, it can shoot 10 frames per second at full resolution and 120 frames per second at 1.1 megapixels. Its Advanced Night Landscape mode can combine a series of consecutive shots taken at night and combine them into one image. A similar feature is the Backlit Scene High Dynamic Range function, which merges different exposures of one scene to create one shot with a range of tones. The Coolpix P100 can also record 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second.In addition to automatic subject tracking and manual control of aperture, shutter and exposure, this compact camera features a scene auto selector that can adjust these settings based what’s within the frame. Its NIKKOR glass lens can zoom from 26 millimeter wide-angle to 678 millimeter telephoto range. This is supported by Nikon’s 5-way Image Stabilization system, which uses a combination of both optical and virtual image stabilization, motion detection and a maximum ISO setting of 3,200 to reduce image blur. Nikon’s Best Shot Selector returns, a feature that takes 10 shots upon holding the shutter and chooses the best-looking image to save. The list of features within the Coolpix P100 is rounded out by its Smart Portrait System that combines its scene auto selector with red-eye correction, blink detection and the ability to focus on up to 12 faces simultaneously.
Nikon Coolpix P100 Specifications
- Type
- Compact
- Megapixels
- 10.3 MP
- Optical Zoom
- 26 x
- LCD size
- 3 inches
- Video Resolution
- Yes
Nikon Coolpix P100
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Promise Pegasus R6 Hard Drive Review
The Promise Pegasus R6 ($1,999 list at the Apple store) is an extremely pricey, very large, crazy-fast external hard drive array with a Thunderbolt interface for the high-end graphics industry. If you’re a hardcore Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or Avid Media Composer user, your mouth will start salivating after you read this. For everyone else, standard hard drives will do you fine. The Promise Pegasus R6, in short, is professional-grade equipment.
Promise Pegasus R6 Design and Features
The Pegasus R6 looks like many other multi-drive external boxes. It’s a big metal block that will take up a lot of space on your desk (about 10 by 7.25 by 9.75 inches, HWD). The R6 needs to be that big to accommodate the six full-sized 3.5-inch spinning hard drives working in sync to give you loads of fast, secure storage. The drives are all mounted on trays that both lock and slide in/out easily. These trays will be familiar to any user who uses hot swappable hard drives in a server or workstation.
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The two Thunderbolt ports are versatile: they pass data through, so you can daisy chain up to six Pegasus R6 (or R4) drives together. Six Pegasus R6 arrays will give you about 60 TB of data storage, connected through one Thunderbolt port. You can also plug a mini-DisplayPort monitor into the Thunderbolt port on the back of the Pegasus R6, so you can use the drive and a monitor simultaneously with only one connection. This goes double for an iMac 27-inch with two Thunderbolt ports. Theoretically, you could have 12 Pegasus R6 drives and two 24- or 27-inch Cinema displays connected to your 27-inch iMac. That’s a total three screens and 121 TB of drive space for $28,273 before tax (including twelve $49 Thunderbolt cables and a 27-inch iMac). Unfortunately, the Apple Thunderbolt cable isn’t included with the Pegasus R6 or R4.
Promise Pegasus R6 Specifications
- Type
- External
- System Type
- Desktop
- Promise Pegasus R6 Storage Capacity (as Tested)
- 12000 GB
- Promise Pegasus R6 Rotation Speed
- 7200 rpm
- Promise Pegasus R6 Ports
- SATA, Thunderbolt
The Pegasus R6 comes with only one piece of software on board: a controller program that can monitor the health of the RAID array and reconfigure it based on your needs. As with all RAID devices, I’d recommend backing up your data elsewhere before changing RAID configs, as the process usually entails formatting the drive. The drive is formatted HFS+, the Mac OS X native format, and as such it can be used as a Time Machine backup drive out of the box, though that would make it a very expensive 12TB backup drive. Most users will likely use the drive as a project work drive for high-end tasks: using programs like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, or Final Cut Pro/ Pro X. You could theoretically house a massive database or Website on the drive as well, but there aren’t any servers or workstations with Thunderbolt, at least until Apple updates the Mac Pro with a Thunderbolt port. The drive is not Windows compatible at this time. There are no shipping Windows PCs with the mini-DisplayPort shaped Thunderbolt port, and there are no Windows drivers for the R6 on Windows, even in Boot Camp.
Promise Pegasus R6 Performance
Here’s the reason you’re considering this drive in the first place: performance. The Pegasus R6 using the Thunderbolt interface is fast. Unbelievably fast. It’s so fast that it beats the internal solid-state drive (SSD) in an Apple MacBook Pro in speed and throughput tests. We used our standard drag-and-drop test of a 1.2 GB folder, and the Pegasus R6 took six seconds! Compare that to the Editors’ Choice winning 1TB Iomega eGo Blackbelt ($199.99 list, 4 stars) which took at 35 seconds under USB 2.0 and 22 seconds with FireWire 800. The desktop-class Iomega eGo Desktop Hard Drive, Mac Edition (2TB) ($185 street, 3.5 stars) (16 seconds) and Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II ($429.99 list, 4.5 stars) (32 seconds) were both slower using FireWire 800. The Pegasus R6 is even faster than the Apricorn Mac Array ($1399 list, 3 stars), which is a four-SSD internal RAID 0 array meant to be installed in Mac Pro towers (10 seconds). Until this point, the Apricorn MacArray was the fastest “drive” that we’ve tested. That means that multi-Gigabyte file transfers will take seconds instead of minutes (or instead of hours under USB 2.0). That alone will make you more productive.
We also ran the drive through a couple other tests to show throughput numbers. The AJA System test shows throughput numbers in a quick read/write test to see how the drive would do in a video-editing situation. Using a setting for a 512MB 1080p (10-bit) HD video file, the drive was about to write at about 620 Megabytes per second and write at about 480 MBps. The internal SSD in the MacBook Pro was only capable of 185MBps write and 197 MBps read. Contrast this with a FireWire 800 drive at about 48 MBps write and 46MBps read. Using the Pegasus R6 will mean a lot less time waiting for HD video files to simply transfer from your camera to the drive to your Mac. USB 2.0 would be in the region of 21 MBps.
The Pegasus R6 is about 16 to 19 cents per GB (depending on RAID level), so it has a distinct price premium on a dollar per GB basis versus smaller drives like the Iomega eGo Desktop drive, Mac Edition (9 cents per GB). However, the speed and reliability difference is way worth it, especially if you’re using the drive on multi-million dollar projects that have to be done yesterday. You can get similar storage space by buying multiple drives like the Western Digital My Book Studio II (two 6TB drives at $550 each would do it), but the WD drives won’t get you the performance you crave. Essentially, if you can justify writing the Pegasus R6 off on a tax return, capital budget, or business expense sheet, it’s worth buying one.
Basically, you want to buy a Promise Pegasus R6 if your performance has been drive-limited in the past (just about all performance tasks, but especially high-end video and photo production). It’s the fastest drive and interface combo out there, and it has the benefit of being the first on the market. There will likely be faster and less expensive Thunderbolt drives in the future, but if you’re itching for a fast drive to go along with your new quad-core iMac or MacBook Pro, and don’t mind paying a steep premium, the Promise Pegasus R6 is worth serious consideration.
Promise Pegasus R6
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