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Most Popular Firefox Add-ons

[All levels] This article gives an overview of the top seven most downloaded Firefox Add-ons and what they can do to enhance your browsing experience.


A Guide to Understanding USB Technology

[All Levels] This article explains the difference between the older USB 1.1 standard and the current USB 2.0 standard, as well as how to add USB 2.0 ports to an older PC. USB 3.0 is also explored.


Mozilla Thunderbird: Free Email Client
[All Levels] Mozilla Thunderbird is a free open source email client that also features an RSS reader, easy gmail account setup and newsgroup feature. This piece is both an article about Thunderbird and a guide on how to configure its main features for use.
 
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The All New SPH-P9200
Thursday, September 20, 2007

Chippy Paine of solar UMPC fame commented on the updated SPH-P9000 that was presented in 2006. A few weeks ago, Samsung brought the SPH-P9200 UMPC to Dubai, sporting a much nicer keyboard than the original SPH-P9000. "Could this be the first device on Mobile-itx?" Chippy wonders. Check out the video for more on the new design.

    
Pico-ITX, the new EPIA-SN and 1 watt processor on show at Embedded Systems Conference
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Embedded Systems Conference is taking place in Boston, MA from 19-20 September 2007 and VIA will be there at booth 306, showing off their latest embedded solutions.

"At the silicon level, center stage is claimed by the new 500MHz VIA Eden ULV processor, with the world’s lowest power consumption of just 1 watt maximum and an average of 100mW (0.1W). This latest VIA processor opens new doors for x86 in the embedded space and makes a welcome addition to the fanless VIA Eden processor family designed for ultra compact, ultra low power or silent systems.

At Embedded Systems Conference, the spotlight is also on the Vista-certified VIA CN896 digital media IGP chipset, supporting DirectX 9.0 graphics and MPEG-2 decoding through its powerful VIA Chrome9 HC integrated graphics core plus extensive connectivity options, as well as complete embedded systems such as the VIA VMPC VESA-mounted embedded PC for flexible, media-rich panel PC applications such as digital signage.

VIA’s acclaimed EPIA mainboard family will be fully represented, from the smallest to the most powerful:

• VIA EPIA PX Pico-ITX mainboard – the world’s smallest x86 platform, at a tiny 10cm x 7.2cm, powered by the 1GHz VIA C7 processor

• VIA EPIA NX, NR mainboards – VIA C7-based Nano-ITX boards packing performance and extended connectivity, including native LVDS support, into 12cm x 12cm

• VIA EPIA SN Mini-ITX mainboard – the latest and greatest Vista-ready EPIA board, the first to be based on the VIA CN896 digital media IGP chipset, featuring PCI-Express, four S-ATA II, Gigabit LAN, as well as the fastest processor on an EPIA board yet, the 1.8GHz VIA C7 processor."

Read more of the official Press Release here.

    
Hardware News
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Overclockersclub.com takes a close look at the ASUS EN8600GTS Silent Graphics Card. Known as a high-end entry level card, it features SilentCool Technology, which is touted to allow a fan-less, noiseless, cooling solution for high performance graphics cards. As they say, "Silence is Golden." Find out if it's all it's cracked up to be here.

DDR3 appears to be hot news these days. Hothardware.com has snatched up five dual-channel 2GB kits from Corsair, Kingston, OCZ, and Super Talent with different speeds and timings. They take an in-depth look at "how performance is affected by different clock speeds and timings using Intel's P35 chipset with a processor that has a 1333MHz front side bus speed." Join them on the route to discovery here.

The ModXStream power supply from OCZ is a more advanced version of the GameXStream previously tested on bonafidereviews.com. "The ModXStream is the next generation of PSU from OCZ that comes equipped with modular cable capability, the latest trend in power supply units." Join the fun as they take it apart and put it through its paces here.

    
The Price of Success
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

CastleCops.com is under attack yet again. That's what you get for fighting crime. This all-volunteer cybercrime-fighting group has recently been subjected to three weeks of DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. The trap wasn't too successful though. Now they have a new evil to contend with. Phishing. The bad guys have switched tactics and started attacking regular people by sending them phishing emails to steal their PayPal information (see our article on how to avoid getting scammed by phishing mails posted earlier today). "Donations" were sent in varying amounts to what appeared to be a CastleCops address. "Clearly someone's got it in for us and has been paying someone to try and take us out, but we're bringing discredit on the botnet masters because they're not succeeding," said Paul Laudanski, co-founder of CastleCops. The group is currently working with the FBI to find the source of this malicious attempt to discredit the group. Find out more here.
    
Secrets of the Memory Cache Unveiled
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

If you're just starting to learn about computers and know about as much as how to turn it on and start up the Internet, a little deeper study into the guts of the PC may be useful to you. Hardwaresecrets.com recently posted a comprehensive and easy to follow guide for PC newbies to get a better understanding of the memory cache. "The memory cache is high-speed memory available inside the CPU in order to speed up access to data and instructions stored in RAM memory." Get started on the tutorial here.

    
Junk the Spam
Wednesday, September 19, 2007

We're all sick of the spam that junks up our inboxes and spam folders by now. That's the cost of advancement they say. But what do they know? For the security-conscious, instead of just relying on your spam filter to pick off the junk mail (which also seems to pick up a number of important mails for good measure), here's a guide that will help you spot a fake email before you respond to it. Phishing, as we know, is that nasty practice of sending out perfectly authentic-looking emails that spoof bank accounts, PayPal accounts, eBay accounts and such in a bid to steal your personal information. Take a look at some of their tactics and what you can do to avoid being scammed.
    
Hardware News
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

OCZ, known for its memory modules, became a preferred vendor with its Extended Voltage Protection features. They're now making the news with their OCZ DDR2 PC-2 8500 Reaper HPC Edition. According to their release, "The Reaper HPC is an innovative patent-pending cooling solution developed by OCZ to effectively minimize heat produced by high-speed memory. As heat rises into the thermo-conductive copper heat pipe conduit, it is dissipated through the strategically-placed compact aluminum fin array. By guiding performance-robbing heat away from key memory components, the unique Reaper HPC design helps facilitate improved overclocking performance, while improving longevity and stability of the modules." Find out if they're as good as they say they are, here.

Tweaktown has its way with the ATI Catalyst graphics driver, checking it against Windows XP (DX9) and Windows Vista (DX10). With a quick glance through the performance improvements, we get a close look at the benchmarks on a variety of games. Find out if it's a hit or a miss here.

Seasonic's power supplies has come to be known as one of the most trusted brands in the market to the point where companies like Antec rebrand it within their own high end solutions. One of the newer models, the Seasonic S12 II 500W PSU comes with a great range of features and a 3 year warranty. With its 80 plus efficiency rating, Seasonic aims to prove its mastery in the power supply industry. Check out the review here.

    
Camera Focus
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Xbitlabs has been busy at work testing and comparing six different webcams from Creative. Covering everything from focus and sensors to resolution and video stream compression formats, the review takes you through the price differences and explains why one can vary so dramatically from another. Prices range from $35 to $100. The most expensive one is the only one of the six that sports a built-in mic. Check out their detailed comments on each one here.
    
VIA Launches Another High Speed Winner
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Who doesn't love it when their computer works super fast? Via Technologies has once again raised the standard with its new motherboard the VIA EPIA SN, which was the first mini-ITX to be based on the VIA CN896 IGP chipset. The new mainboad gives us a 30% higher performance boost over previous VIA EPIA boards. "With the VIA EPIA SN-series we have listened to our customers and delivered a number of key technology firsts to the Mini-ITX form factor,” said Daniel Wu, Assistant Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. “I am proud to say that VIA has again raised the bar to develop a Vista-ready mainboard that meets the ever-increasing demands of the embedded industry.” Find out more about the new motherboard here.
    
PC to Fit the Software
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

It used to be that software was designed for a PC. Now we have PCs that are designed for software. Microsoft has teamed up with Carbon Design Group to bring you the Microsoft Vista PC. "Microsoft engaged Carbon’s design and engineering team to create a flagship concept PC to inspire as well as validate Microsoft’s Industrial Design Toolkit. The Vista Concept PC emphasizes the dual nature of the PC as both a productivity tool and an entertainment device and became the purest embodiment of the Vista design language. The work is helping industry design the wave of next generation PC’s," the Carbon Design Group stated. So will we have to buy a new PC each time the software needs to be upgraded? I sure hope not. Read all about it here.
    

 
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