Acer Aspire S7-392-6411

Pros Very thin and light. Strong build quality/sturdy materials. Dual friction hinge. Very good benchmark test performance. Speedy wake from sleep. 8GB of memory. 2.4 and 5GHz Wifi support. No Bloatware. Very good battery life. Full size HDMI port.

Cons Odd keyboard layout. Could use a larger SSD array. Thinness is expensive. Bottom Line If you're looking for a svelte laptop to show off, yet still be able to do real work in Windows 8, the Acer Aspire S7-392-6411 is the ultrabook you want at the top of the list. It's the current pinnacle of the ultrabook trend and shows the brilliance that the PC makers can return under Intel's increasingly stringent standards for ultrabooks.

By Joel Santo Domingo

The Acer Aspire S7-392-6411 ($1,449.99) is half an inch thick and worth every penny you pay for it. It is a premium high-end ultrabook that adds performance and battery life to one of the thinnest laptops we've ever reviewed at PCMag.com. It's got a bright, clear 1080p HD display, instant wake from sleep, 10-point touch screen, and looks nice from the moment you pull it out of your commute bag to the second you put it away for the day. It's got eight and a half hours of battery life along with high end performance thanks to a 4th generation Intel Core processor, plus durable and quick SSD storage. It's one of the best examples of what the corporate system builders can come up with when Intel pushes harder and more stringent standards for its ultrabook initiative, and therefore is our newest high-end ultrabook Editors' Choice.

Design and Features
The S7-392-6411 is essentially the same chassis as last year's introductory model, the Acer Aspire S7-391-9886 ($1,650). It's only about 0.51 by 12.75 by 9 inches (HWD), and it weighs in at 2.87 pounds, which makes it one of the thinnest and lightest touch screen laptops on the scene. It's imperceptibly lighter than the Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Mid 2013) ($1,099) (2.91 pounds) and unnoticeably heavier than the recently reviewed Sony Vaio Pro 13 ($1,250) (2.30 pounds). That said, the S7-392-6411 is measurably thinner than either of these two laptops. This is due to Acer's use of Gorilla Glass on both the inner and outer surface of the lid, which gives the screen rigid strength in a thinner package.

Speaking of the lid, the lid has a dual friction hinge. The dual friction hinge requires more force to move the lid beyond the 100-degree mark or so, which is just a little beyond vertical. This means that the S7-392-6411 has a rock solid screen during touch operations, without the bounce you'll see in some other touch ultrabooks like the Vizio 15.6-inch Thin + Light Touch (CT15T-B1) ($1,350). If you know you're going to be using the touch interface for Windows 8 apps often, then the Aspire S7-391-9886 should be on your short list. Though the system is thin, Acer managed to put in an efficient and silent cooling system. Its cooling fans are quieter than the one on the VAIO Pro 13, plus it channels the heat from the CPU away from the keyboard, palm rest, and the bottom of the laptop, which used to be common hot spots on older performance-oriented systems.

Otherwise, the system is a really well put together ultrabook. It comes with a 4th generation Intel Core i5-4200U processor with Intel HD Graphics 4400, 8GB of memory, and two 64GB SSDs linked together in a RAID 0 array to give the user a total of 128GB of space. While 128GB seems a little small compared to a high-end laptop with a hard drive, it's perfectly fine for an SSD powered ultrabook. You'll certainly want to use one of the two USB 3.0 ports for an external drive if you need space for videos, but 128GB is enough for thousands of photos, Office documents and music files. The S7-392-6411 also has a full size HDMI port, a vast improvement over last year's S7-391-9886, which needed an adapter for HDMI. There's also a headset jack, SD card reader, and what Acer calls an Acer Converter Port. It physically looks like a mini-DisplayPort, but it's designed for a future dongle that will give users Ethernet, VGA, and USB. Together with the built in display and HDMI port, this means that the S7-392-6411 supports up to three simultaneous displays. About the only nits we could find on the system are related to the keyboard. The Electroluminescent (EL) backlit keyboard is comfortable to use and has better key feel than the optional Type Cover on the Microsoft Surface Windows 8 Pro ($999). However the S7-392-6411 does have a slightly odd placement of the accent/tilde key, right next to the caps lock key instead of next to the Esc key. The system lacks a dedicated row of F1-F12 keys, so the multimedia and screen brightness controls are interspersed and shared with some of the keys around the rest of the keyboard. This means you'll have to learn a few important Fn-key combos, but this is simply a matter of learning a few keys' placement on the keyboard. It's more of an annoying nit that a serious drawback.

The 128GB SSD RAID array has plenty of space on it, since the system is devoid of bloatware. The S7-392-6411 has Microsoft's Signature prep on it, so it doesn't come with any additional software aside from Skype and an ad for Microsoft Office. The S7-392-6411 comes with an 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi adapter, so it works great with 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. The system's speakers are loud and clear, even at full volume. The screen doesn't flip all the way around, like the one on the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 ($999), but it does fold all the way over 180 degrees, so it can lie flat on your work surface for drawing on the touch screen or sharing the screen across the table. The system comes with a standard one-year warranty.

Performance
The system is well equipped, giving the user speedy boot times and app launches. The S7-392-6411 is one of the higher performers among systems with a Core i5 processor. Its PCMark 7 scores are top marks and the system only takes a minute to complete our Handbrake video test. The system's 3D scores are improved over systems with 3rd generation Intel HD Graphics, though for hardcore gaming you'll want a specialized gaming rig that trades everyday speed for gaming prowess. This system should last you the three to five years before you replace it with something newer.

Speaking of lasting, the S7-392-6411 has a battery rundown time of eight and half hours (8:27), which will get you through a transcontinental flight, with hours left over for when you get there. As long as you let the system sleep when you're not using it, the S7-392-6411 should last the entire day. This is hours longer than last years model (4:45). The S7-392-6411 also performs better overall than our last Editors' Choice for high-end ultrabooks, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T ($1,199), which got lower scores on the Handbrake, PCMark, 3D, and battery tests. The S7-392-6411 outlasts its closest rival in features and thinness, the Sony VAIO Pro 13 by two hours.

The Acer Aspire S7-392-6411's performance punctuates the system's excellent feature set, thinness, design, build quality, low weight, and general excellence. It is more than a worthy replacement of the Zenbook Prime Touch as our new Editors' Choice for high-end ultrabooks. Sure, you are paying a bit more for the thin chassis and sturdy build materials, but unlike the VAIO Pro 13, the Acer Aspire S7-392-6411 doesn't skimp on battery life in the quest to be the thinnest, lightest laptop around. The Acer Aspire S7-392-6411 therefore gains one of our highest overall scores and Editors' Choice award.

View the original article here

Amped Wireless High Power 500mW Dual Band AC USB Adapter (ACA1)

Pros Easy setup. Supports USB 3.0.

Cons Abysmal performance. Awkward design. Bottom Line Released to the market along with Amped Wireless' High Power 700mW Dual Band AC WIFi Router, the High Power 500mW Dual Band AC USB Adapter (ACA1) had too many issues in testing to recommend as a companion to the very good RTA15 router.

By Samara Lynn

Amped Wireless' High Power 500mW Dual Band AC USB Adapter (ACA1) is the adapter released with the company's 802.11ac router, the High Power 700mW Dual Band AC WiFi Router RTA15. Amped Wireless has released a number of decent routers, but this adapter is a miss for the company. It registered some of the worst throughput among USB 11ac wireless adapters we've tested, is an eyesore of design, finally, one of the adapters sent to us for testing died on the bench, mid-test. 

Specs
The ACA1 is a dual-band adapter, supporting up to 300 Mbps at the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbps at the 5 GHz band.

The adapter ships with two high-gain dual-band 5dBi antennas that screw onto both sides of the device. It supports USB 3.0 and ships with a USB 3.0 cable and a clip so that the adapter can attach to a laptop screen. It's a fairly large USB adapter, so when clipped to the laptop with two large antennas attached, it's quite awkward.

Setup and Install
Inside the package is a setup disc. The ACA1 adapter is supported on Windows XP and higher as well as Mac OS X. Setup is simple enough; just launch the Setup Wizard from the disc and follow the prompts. The wizard instructs you not to connect the adapter to a USB port until the software portion of the install is complete. As I've noted, a major strength of Amped Wireless is including clear and specific setup instructions.

I didn't have any problems with setup with the initial adapter I tested. After it died (the company stated that I had an early unit from a batch with a known issue) I installed the replacement, but noticed some odd behavior.  After installing the software and connecting to an Amped Wireless router's wireless network, the ACA1 disabled itself in the Windows Network settings. I re-enabled it and was able to connect, but it was an odd sort of quirk.

 Performance
The replacement adapter's performance was disappointing in any wireless mode. Testing with Amped Wireless's RTA15 router and the ACA1 hindered performance as compared with testing with the laptop's integrated adapter. I typically see triple-digit performance in 11ac mode with USB 802.11ac adapters, but in that mode the best I saw from the ACA1 was 78 Mbps. In 802.11n mode, performance was akin to 802.11b or 802.11g throughput, with the adapter turning in performance numbers such as 32 Mbps. Click on the image for comparisons with other 802.11ac USB wireless adapters.

Not a Wireless Win
The ACA1 is not a win for Amped Wireless. Besides the awkward design, the death of the initial adapter leaves me leery (although the company has taken action on the issue). The real problem, however, and main reason for the low score I'm giving the router is the abysmal performance I witnessed. The ACA1 is not a good companion for Amped Wireless' very good RTA15 router. It earned one and a half stars because it's easy to set up and it does work—at least the replacement unit did. The current Editors' Choice for 802.11ac USB adapters is the Edimax AC1200 Wireless Dual-Band USB Adapter.

View the original article here

Amped Wireless High Power 700mW Dual Band AC Wi-Fi Router (RTA15)

Amped Wireless' High Power 700mW Dual Band AC Wi-Fi Router (RTA15) features the latest-generation of Wi-Fi: 802.11ac. The router also has the clean (if somewhat dated) interface, ease of setup, and myriad features we've found in other Amped Wireless routers we've tested. It's an excellent performer with one unfortunate exception: 802.11ac mode. If you are just looking for a speedy dual-band 802.11n router, it's a good choice, but if you are looking specifically for good 802.11ac performance, there are better choices.

Specs
The RTA15 is dual-band, supporting up to a theoretical 300 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and 867 Mbps at 5 GHz. It's not as robust in specs as some premium dual-band 802.11ac routers that support 1750 Mbps.

Ten signal amplifiers help boost performance and range. The router also has three detachable high-gain antennas. There are nine LEDs on the front representing each wireless radio, each LAN port, power, Internet connection, and USB connection.
The rear panel is where the antennas connect. Also on the back are a WPS button, reset button, and the Gigabit Ethernet LAN and WAN ports. There's a USB port also, but it only is for connecting storage, not printers.

Overall the RTA15 is a sturdy, well-constructed router, despite the three long antennas sticking out from it. The router can operate flat on a desktop, on a stand that ships in the packaging, or can be wall-mounted.

Setup
Another plus with the RTA15 is how easy it is to set up. It ships with a setup guide that shows how to connect wirelessly using Windows 7/Vista/8, Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad, and Android tablet, or through WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). Amped Wireless offers some of the most clear and detailed setup and user guides in the business with its routers.

I set up the RTA15 with a Windows 7 laptop. It was very easy, since the router is already pre-configured with an SSID for each band. Of course, you will want to change the default password of the preconfigured SSID and admin accounts. The easy wireless setup is an improvement over the company's High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band Router (R20000G) which required a wired connection to set up from a client.

Once I connected to the router, I was able to access the management interface to tweak configurations. The IP address and router login information are printed on the bottom of the router. The interface opens to a dashboard which shows if the router is connected to the internet plus general settings such as WAN and LAN IP address information, connected clients and wireless LAN information such as SSID and security. There is a basic settings tab where any of these settings can be adjusted; however the meatier more advanced settings are found by clicking the Advanced tab.

Features
There hasn't been any significant change in the feature set since I last reviewed the R2000G which is good since the features are plentiful and the interface of Amped Wireless routers is well-constructed.

You can get more of drill-down on the features in the R2000G review, but to recap some highlights, you can control wireless coverage and also set up a schedule for turning the radio signal on and off. I do like Buffalo's interface for scheduling the radios in its latest AirStation Extreme AC 1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless  a bit better, though—its neater and more user-friendly. 

Like the R2000G, the RTA15 has Smart Feature such as QoS where you can enable automatic uplinkor downlink QoS  or can specify bandwidth amounts yourself.
Of course, the router has typical router functionality such as Guest Wireless Networks (supports up to 8 Additional), Wireless Multimedia (WMM) SPI and NAT firewall, Parental Controls (Website Blocking), User Access Control (MAC, IP Filtering) and  IPv6 Support

Performance
The RTA15's performance left me puzzled. The router is excellent at 802.11n mode, yet it has among the worst performance I've tested in 802.11ac mode—and that's testing with Amped Wireless's own ACA1 802.11ac adapter.

For instance, in 802.11n 5 GHz mode, the RTA15 registered a very decent 129 Mbps at a distance of 15 feet, beaten only by top premium routers such as the Linksys EA6400 which managed 150 Mbps at the same distance. I saw triple digit throughput from the RTA15 at 2.4 GHz mode as well.

However, in 82.11ac mode it's among the worst I've tested, managing only 78 Mbps at a distance of 15 feet. Here are performance comparisons with other 802.11ac routers:

Amped Wireless High Power 700mW Dual Band AC Wi-Fi Router (RTA15) Performance in 2.4 GHz Mixed Mode

Amped Wireless High Power 700mW Dual Band AC Wi-Fi Router (RTA15) Performance in 2.4 GHz N-only Mode

Amped Wireless High Power 700mW Dual Band AC Wi-Fi Router (RTA15) Performance in 5 GHz N and AC Mode

Good Router at Everything Except AC
If Amped Wireless re-branded this an 802.11n router and maybe dropped the price a bit, this would be an easy Editors' Choice router. Since it's touted as an 802.11ac router, we have to base a lot of the scoring on how it performs as an 802.11ac device. I think Amped Wireless's less-than-stellar ACA1 adapter, helped hamper the router's 802.11ac performance. When Amped Wireless releases a more robust, adapter that may  improve performance in 802.11ac mode.  As an 802.11n router however, it's impressive and rates 3.5 out of 5 stars. For now, the Editors' Choice for consumer wireless routers, and for 802.11ac routers, is Buffalo's AirStation Extreme AC 1750 Gigabit Dual Band Wireless Router.

View the original article here

Avira Rescue System

Pros Bootable rescue system scans and removes malware even when you can't boot Windows. To avoid causing problems, scanner doesn't meddle with essential Windows files. System includes browser, Registry editor, file manager, and Linux terminal.

Cons Full scan completely disabled one test system. Tech support not available to help recover disabled system. So-so cleanup scores. Bottom Line The bootable Avira Rescue System will scan and clean malware even when you can't boot Windows, though I expected a more thorough cleanup than I got. Beware; if its cleanup disables your computer, as it did one of my test computers, you'll have to fix the problem yourself.

By Neil J. Rubenking

When malware has taken over your computer and barred you from its resources, it's a little late to start thinking about installing an antivirus utility. Even in less extreme cases, entrenched malware may interfere with antivirus installation or scanning. The free, cleanup-only Avira Rescue System has no problem with Windows-centric malware, because it boots into a custom Ubuntu distro in order to perform its scan. The product does have some limitations, though, and its "repair" rendered one system unusable.

To get started, you download the ISO image and burn it to CD on a clean computer. Then simply boot the problem computer from the CD. The Rescue System loads quickly and its Welcome page immediately offers to scan for problems. Just pick which partitions to scan (typically you'll choose all of them) and set the scan running.

Success, or Not
The antivirus scan takes care of problems as it finds them, so, once it's finished, it's finished. I did note that on almost half of my test systems it reported "The wizard was not finished successfully," and advised checking the scan report. From the report I gathered that the scanner doesn't meddle with malware-infected Windows files, or with files in certain sensitive areas. That does makes some sense, as too-aggressive "fixing" can disable Windows altogether.

For testing purposes, I saved a copy of the scan report to the actual C: drive. I did need to do a little Linux research to figure out where I'd find access to the computer's actual file system. After noting which malware samples were found and saving the report, I rebooted each system back to normal Windows.

Permanent Collateral Damage
Despite the product's attempts to avoid damaging important files, the scan rendered one test system unbootable. Similar to what happened with Panda Cloud Cleaner, the test system went into an loop, logging on and logging off again endlessly.

I booted back into Avira Rescue System and checked my tech support options. There's a very nice built-in support system that includes a variety of access choices; I opted for live chat.

The support agent was very polite, but made it clear that only licensed users of Avira products are entitled to tech support. The agent suggested I install a trial of one of the products; that would get me into the system. Of course, with no ability to boot into Windows I couldn't install anything.

In the end the agent confirmed that even though Avira Rescue System trashed my test PC, the company wouldn't take responsibility for solving the problem. Perhaps I should have read the very first screen more closely; it did say "repairing a system might lead to data loss or damage."

Scanning and cleaning a computer with the Rescue System was wonderfully quick and easy. Under other circumstances, that would have been a five-star installation experience. However, when a product kills your PC in order to cure it, that's a really poor experience. Like Panda Cloud Cleaner, Avira Rescue System earns no stars at all in this category.

Not Directly Lab-Tested
My own tests offer real-world hands on experience, but the big independent testing labs perform a broader range of tests than I can manage. Note, though, that while most of the labs test Avira's technology, they're not testing the Rescue System product itself, so the results aren't directly applicable.

ICSA Labs certifies Avira's technology for virus detection and cleaning; Avira doesn't participate with West Coast Labs. In all of the recent tests by Virus Bulletin, Avira has received VB100 certification.

AV-Comparatives awarded Avira its highest rating, ADVANCED+, in both a simple on-demand scanning test and a retrospective test that attempts to measure detection of zero-day malware. In the company's real-world dynamic test, Avira rated ADVANCED. As for the threefold evaluation performed by AV-Test, Avira scored 12.5 of a possible 18 in the last two tests. That's a bit low. Bitdefender got 17 points both times, and Kaspersky averaged 15.8.

For a more in-depth description of the labs and the tests they perform, see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

Avira Rescue System lab tests chart

View the original article here

D-Link Day/Night Network Cloud Camera 1150 (DCS-933L)

D-Link knows networking, so the company almost gets it right with the Day/Night Network Cloud Camera 1150. Setup is straightforward, and if your network is built with the latest D-Link products, no setup is required—just plug the camera into an AC outlet and your router and it's ready. Compared with the $200 Y-Cam HomeMonitor Indoor or even the $150 Dropcam HD the $99.99 (list) Cloud Camera 1150 is a good deal. It's a bit under-equipped with a standard-definition sensor, weak night vision mode, and a lack of online DVR service. While there is an online service for viewing the video feed, it doesn't include any cloud-based storage, putting it on par with the $120 Compro Cloud Network Camera (TN50W).

Design and Setup
The plain, white Cloud Camera 1150 has a soap-bar size and shape at 3.6 by 2.3 by 1.2 inches (HWD) without the stand. That stand is one of the few I've seen that's entirely plastic, but it's still wall- or ceiling-mountable with the included screws. It doesn't feel as sturdy as the metal stands that come with the Zmodo 720P HD Wireless Network IP Camera or Dropcam, though.

The camera has far fewer infrared LEDs than other models we've tested, with just four, instead of a nice ring array to nearly invisibly illuminate the area for the camera's IR-sensitive mode when it's dark. D-Link only guarantees night vision to about 15 feet while Y-Cam promises 50 feet. On the other hand, the Compro TN50W we tested has no LEDs at all, so D-Link is ahead of that one.

According to the company, setup is "zero configuration" if you already have a relatively recent D-Link Cloud Router and a mydlink account. My D-Link router is officially ancient at four years old, so I went through the full setup. This involves installing software on a Mac or Windows PC, rather than just a quick scan of a QR code with a mobile app (like that found on the Zmodo) or going to a website to enter a code from the camera (like with the Y-Cam HomeMonitor).

The setup leads you through connecting the camera, via Ethernet, to a router (D-Link includes a ribbon-thin 10baseT cable for this purpose), plugging in the power, then waiting for an LED on the back to turn solid green. The wizard auto-detects the camera's MAC and IP addresses. You can assign a password to the camera at this point, which is highly recommended. Switch the camera to wireless mode using either the simple Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), or by finding an available Wi-Fi network SSID to connect to.

Finally, you have to sign up for the mydlink cloud service, if you don't have an account already. Download the mydlink Lite apps for your phone or tablet, and get ready for some surveiling.

Features and Performance
The D-Link Cloud Camera 1150 appears no-frills on the surface, but there's some power underneath if you bother to access it (more on that in a minute). Many won't, and will feel they've got their money's worth since that surface works just fine for the most part. I ran into some glitches, however.

To view the camera in a browser on mydlink.com, you need to install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). I was also told by the wizard to perform a firmware upgrade. It's not exactly a fast setup, but it worked despite the constant Java errors I had with my Chrome browser. Thankfully, Java worked in IE 10.

Once in the mydlink.com interface, you can activate and adjust the motion detection and audio detection under the settings tab. Motion detection has a nice screen that lets you define an area of the image for detection (so the ceiling fan or dogs don't set it off, for example). A slider bar lets you increase or decrease the motion sensitivity. You can also schedule motion detection for individual days of the week. No matter how I set the sensitivity, I got far too many email alerts and false positives.

The audio detection settings are unique among the surveillance cameras I've tested. Mydlink displays a decibel level graph of what the camera currently hears up to 90db, so you can make an educated guess on what setting to use. This model supports listening to live audio with the video, but there's no two-way audio—you can't talk to the camera's subjects from a mobile app or remote computer, for instance.

Whenever a motion or audio event is detected, you get a time-stamped email with a still 640-by-480-pixel (VGA) image attached. The camera doesn't just support SMTP email; you can easily input settings for Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail, as well. It automatically sends the alerts to the email address you signed up with, so using a different address here can mean double the alerts.

Utterly unique to the Cloud Camera 1150 is a wireless extender mode. This lets you extend the range of your home wireless network, and could come in especially handy if you get multiple D-Link Cloud Cameras. Don't set it too far away, though; that could actually hurt wireless network performance.

Many of the above settings can also be modified from the mydlink Lite app on a phone or tablet. Generally, however, the apps are just for accessing the live camera feed, and perhaps taking a still image here or there.

Where's all this under-the-hood power I mentioned? In the mydlink settings, click the "Advanced Settings" button. You'll need the special password you assigned the camera (it may not be the same as your mydlink account password). This gives you access, via your browser, to the internal settings of the camera itself, everything from changing the password, to changing video quality, setting up dynamic DNS, creating mail accounts for alerts, or altering the extender mode to have its own SSID.

In Advanced Settings, you can set up alerts to email a video clip rather than a still image, and there are also options for sending video or stills to an FTP site. That's as close as the Cloud Camera comes to an online "DVR" service for surveillance footage, though the company claims it will work seamlessly with D-Link network-attached storage devices to store video.

The camera uses the H.264 codec, so the video looks good, but it only records up to 640 by 480 resolution, which just doesn't cut it compared with the 720p images on cameras from Zmodo and Dropcam.

Conclusion
We've yet to see a Wi-Fi surveillance camera that has just the right mix of performance, setup, and features to match the Logitech Alert 750n Indoor Master System. The 750n remains our Editors' Choice even though it's more expensive and isn't wireless (using HomePlug instead). D-Link's home surveillance solution needs to improve quality, remove the Java requirement for browser access, and consider some functional online storage (and not just a live feed or email/FTP uploads) to measure up.

View the original article here

Droid Mini by Motorola (Verizon Wireless)

If 5-inch Mega-phones are just too big for your delicate hands, it's time to welcome the Motorola Droid Mini to your table. With the Droid Mini ($99.99 with contract), you save $100 over the very similar Moto X in exchange for suffering through some Verizon bloatware and slightly weaker signal strength. That could be a good deal.

Physical Features and Call Quality
Like the other new Droid phones, the Droid Mini is made of a very slick black Kevlar which looks and feels like plastic. It attracts some serious fingerprints on the back panel. The Droid Mini's slickness bothers me a lot less than the Motorola Droid Ultra's, because it's small enough to securely hold and operate with one hand.

At 4.77 by 2.41 by .35 inches (HWD) and 4.6 ounces, it's smaller and lighter than the Moto X and Verizon's other leading smartphones, but its 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen has the same 1280-by-720 resolution as the Moto X's 4.7-inch AMOLED panel does. That makes for a higher pixel density, at 341 pixels per inch. LCD screens also typically have cooler, less-saturated colors than AMOLED screens do, and the Droid Mini's screen is both a bit brighter and a bit better color-balanced than our Moto X.

Below the screen are always-visible back, home and multitasking buttons, which I prefer to Samsung's now-you-see-them-now-you-don't approach. On the back you find Droid, Verizon and Motorola logos, along with the camera and a sizeable speaker. Like all the other Droid phones, this phone has a sealed-in battery and lacks a memory card slot.

Tested side by side with the Motorola Droid Ultra and Moto X, I found that the Droid Mini had the weakest RF reception of the three phones; it also took the longest to trade from 3G up to LTE. The difference in recepton was only a few dBms, so you'll only see it at the very edges of Verizon's coverage.

The phone's earpiece is loud, even louder than the Droid Ultra's. It flirts with distortion at top volume, but fortunately doesn't quite get there. The speakerphone is louder and fuller, too, and quite useful outdoors. As with the other recent Motorola phones, though, the effective noise cancellation adds a robotic tinge to voices transmitted through the mic in noisy areas.

The Droid Mini paired just fine with my Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset . You can trigger Google's voice command system using the action button on your headset, although you can't just say "OK Google Now" into the headset to launch voice dialing, as you can with the phone itself.

The Droid Mini supports Verizon's CDMA network, the AT&T HSPA+ network (oddly enough), foreign HSPA+ networks on the 900 and 2100MHz (but not 1800MHz) bands at speeds up to HSPA+ 42, and Verizon's LTE network on 700MHz only—for now. A firmware update will bring support for Verizon's AWS LTE spectrum, which will improve LTE speeds where it's implemented. 

The Mini can hit Wi-Fi networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, including the new 802.11ac networks. All the usual other radios are here, too: Bluetooth 4.0 (which works very well for voice dialing and media playback), GPS, NFC and such. No, you can't have Google Wallet; Verizon blocks it.

I got 13 hours, 40 minutes of talk time with the Droid Mini, better than the Droid Ultra but not quite as good as the Moto X. The Mini has a 2000mAh battery, smaller than the other two phones, but its smaller screen size will help balance that out for comparable battery life.

Performance and Apps
The Droid Ultra, Droid Mini, Droid Maxx, and Moto X are all based on the same chipset, Motorola's X8. That's basically a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core Krait 300 processor running at 1.7GHz with an Adreno 320 GPU. On benchmarks, it holds its own with Snapdragon 600-based competitors, so banish all of those complaints about it being an "older part."

All of these phones have effectively the same performance, which is very good. The phone feels fast and responsive, with smooth scrolling and few delays. Like the Moto X, the Ultra is running Android 4.2.2; Motorola says an Android 4.3 update is coming.

The best way to think of the Droid Ultra's software is that it's the Moto X, with a bunch of Verizon preloads tacked on. Take a look at our Moto X review for a rundown of the thoughtful, useful things Motorola has added to Android: the twist-to-launch camera, the "touchless" Google Now voice controls, and Motorola Assist, for example.

Verizon had nothing useful to add here, but added things anyway. Droid Zap is yet another proprietary sharing protocol. Droid Command Center is a battery status widget. Then there's the undeletable niche-market content, like NFL Mobile and Ingress. Verizon should have saved its time and money here.

I'm also officially tired of Verizon's Eye of Sauron Droid graphics and sound set. It's grim and off-putting, in an era when HTC, Samsung, and even Motorola (with the Moto X) are paying more attention to the human factor in phone UI design. It's time to retire the killer robots.

Multimedia Storage and Playback
The Droid Mini comes with 11.03GB of available storage, down from the Moto X's 11.88GB because of the additional Verizon preloaded apps. There's no memory card slot. That's not a lot of free memory, but it's appropriate for the $100 price point.

Music and video playback do well on the powerful back-ported speaker. It's no HTC One Boomsound speaker, but it's higher quality than the Samsung Galaxy S4's.

The Droid Mini handled all of our music playback formats, but just like the Moto X, it struggled with WMV and Xvid video files; the WMV support topped out at VGA resolution, and one of my Xvid files lost lip sync when I scanned through it. Like on the Moto X, there's an equalizer buried in Settings, so you can adjust bass to your taste.

The 10-megapixel camera uses Motorola's new, very simple camera interface with few options. There's HDR, slow-motion video and a flash option, but not much else. Most annoyingly, you can't cut down on the photo or video resolution to save space. But I'm madly in love with Motorola's Quick Launch camera trick, which lets you wiggle the phone to launch the camera in about 2.7 seconds; after that, the shutter is instantaneous.

Accordingto Motorola, the Droid Mini has the same camera module as the Moto X and Droid Ultra, but I was startled by some differences between the three phones. The Droid Mini handled an outdoor HDR shot much better than the Ultra did, for instance, not leaving the foreground in shadow. The front camera really struggled with blur in dim lighting, whereas the Moto X's had a sharper but noisier picture. Overall, though, we continue with the good-but-not-great camera trend here, with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Apple iPhone 5 both generally turning in better images.

In my tests, both the front and rear cameras took 1080p videos at 30 frames per second indoors and out; as the lights went down, the color noise level went up.

The Droid Mini, like the rest of Motorola's recent phones, has no wired way to connect to a TV. Instead, you need to use a wireless Miracast adapter like the Netgear Push2TV ($59.99).

Conclusions
Are you shopping with your head, your heart, or your wallet here? The Droid Mini's greasy "Kevlar" body and Eye of Sauron graphics are much less emotionally appealing than the Moto X's soft curves and organic wallpapers. But if you're looking strictly at the numbers, you're getting a very similar phone here (minus a bit of RF reception, and a bit of storage) for $100 less. That's a good buy.

Smaller-phone aficionados should also take a close look at the Apple iPhone 5, of course, which provides excellent performance in an even smaller package. If you're willing to go larger, our Editor's Choice smartphone across all the major carriers remains the Samsung Galaxy S4, thanks to features like tuneable call audio, expandable memory, and a better camera.

View the original article here

Droid Ultra by Motorola (Verizon Wireless)

The Motorola Droid Ultra ($199.99 with contract) has little reason to exist. While it's completely functional, it's the weak sibling in a litter of new Motorola phones, outclassed by competitors on all sides. We're giving it a surprisingly high rating for a phone we wouldn't recommend given the current smartphone landscape, but there you have it: Just because something works, doesn't mean it's your best bet when you consider the competition, like Motorola's own excellent Moto X, which is the same price.

Physical Features and Call Quality
The Droid Ultra's hallmark is its thinness, at 5.4 by 2.8 by .28 inches (HWD) and 4.83 ounces. For all intents and purposes, it feels about the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S4. That makes it a little too wide for my hand, but it'll fit fine in bigger paws. It's made from a hideously slick, black material which slides around in your hands and attracts fingerprints. Motorola says it's Kevlar, but it feels like polycarbonate. The battery is sealed in, and there's no memory card slot.

Most of the front panel is occupied up by a 5-inch, 720p, typically oversaturated AMOLED screen; at 293 ppi, it's lower-density than other similar-size competitors. The shiny back sports Motorola, Droid, and Verizon logos. There's a stark contrast in materials between this and the Moto X, which uses a less slippery, more matte polycarbonate back that's much more pleasant to hold.

The Droid Ultra's larger body allows better RF reception than the smaller Droid Mini, but I found that the Moto X was even better at hanging on to Verizon 4G LTE signals. The earpiece and speakerphone are surprisingly loud for such a slim phone, going to a relatively high volume without distortion. Transmissions through the mic, on the other hand, aren't perfect. I found that Motorola's noise cancellation added a noticeably robotic edge to my voice, although it canceled surrounding noise.

The Droid Ultra paired just fine with my Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset . You can trigger Google's voice command system using the action button on your headset, although you can't just say "OK Google Now" into the headset to launch voice dialing, as you can with the phone itself.

The Droid Ultra supports Verizon's CDMA network, the AT&T HSPA+ network (oddly enough), foreign HSPA+ networks on the 900 and 2100MHz (but not 1800MHz) bands at speeds up to HSPA+ 42, and Verizon's LTE network on 700MHz only—for now. A firmware update will bring support for Verizon's AWS LTE spectrum, which will improve LTE speeds where it's implemented. 

The Ultra can hit Wi-Fi networks on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, including the new 802.11ac variety. All the usual other radios are here, too: Bluetooth 4.0 (which works very well for voice dialing and media playback), GPS, NFC and such. Verizon blocks Google Wallet.

I got 12 hours, 28 minutes of talk time with the Droid Ultra, a fine result but one that fell short of the Moto X, which clocked in at more than 14 hours. The difference is in the battery: The slender Ultra has a 2130mAh battery, while the Moto X has a larger 2300mAh cell.

Performance and Apps
The Droid Ultra, Droid Mini, Droid Maxx, and Moto X are all based on the same chipset, Motorola's X8. That's basically a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro dual-core Krait 300 processor running at 1.7GHz with an Adreno 320 GPU. On benchmarks, it holds its own with Snapdragon 600-based competitors.

All of these handsets effectively show the same performance, which is very good. The phone feels fast and responsive, with smooth scrolling and few delays. Like the Moto X, the Ultra is running Android 4.2.2; Motorola says an Android 4.3 update is coming.

The best way to think of the Droid Ultra's software is that it's the Moto X, with a bunch of useless Verizon preloads tacked on. Take a look at our Moto X review for a rundown of the thoughtful, useful things Motorola has added to Android: the twist-to-launch camera, the "touchless" Google Now voice controls, and Motorola Assist, for example.

Verizon had nothing useful to add here, but added things anyway. Droid Zap is yet another proprietary sharing protocol. Droid Command Center is a battery status widget. Then there's the undeletable niche-market content, like NFL Mobile and Ingress.

I'm also officially tired of Verizon's Eye of Sauron Droid graphics and sound set. It's grim and off-putting, in an era when HTC, Samsung and even Motorola (with the Moto X) are paying more attention to the human factor in phone UI design. It's time to retire the killer robots.

Multimedia Storage and Playback
The Droid Ultra comes with 11.03GB of available storage, down from the Moto X's 11.88GB because of the additional Verizon preloaded apps. There's no memory card slot. I prefer more free memory on a flagship smartphone: The Droid Maxx delivers with an additional 16GB for another $100, making it a better choice. 

Music and video playback do well on the big, almost bezel-free screen with the surprisingly powerful back-ported speaker. It's no HTC One Boomsound speaker, but it's higher quality than the Samsung Galaxy S4's.

The Droid Ultra handled all of our music playback formats, but just like the Moto X, it struggled with WMV and Xvid video files; the WMV support topped out at VGA resolution, and one of my Xvid files lost lip sync when I scanned through it. Like on the Moto X, there's an equalizer buried in Settings so you can adjust bass to your taste.

The 10-megapixel camera uses Motorola's new, very simple camera interface with few options. There's HDR, slow-motion video and a flash option, but not much else. Most annoyingly, you can't cut down on the photo or video resolution to save space. But I really like Motorola's Quick Launch camera trick, which lets you wiggle the phone to launch the camera in about 2.7 seconds; after that, the shutter is instantaneous.

The Droid Ultra has the same camera module as the Moto X, but I had trouble coaxing consistently good pictures out of the camera. This feels like something a firmware update would handle. Some HDR images had a very dim foreground, showing a bug in the HDR algorithm, and images taken with bright light looked a little soft, and a little washed out. The 2-megapixel front camera got very soft in low light.

Both the front and rear cameras took 1080p videos at 30 frames per second indoors and out; as the lights went down, the color noise level went up.

The Droid Ultra, like the rest of Motorola's recent phones, has no wired way to connect to a TV. Instead, you need to use a wireless Miracast adapter like the Netgear Push2TV ($59.99).

Conclusions
There is no reason to buy the Motorola Droid Ultra. Period. The Moto X offers all of this phone's advantages in a more pleasant form factor, without the Eye of Sauron graphics and with a little more available storage space.

Want a 5-inch screen for your aging eyes? Go for the even more powerful, Editor's Choice Samsung Galaxy S4, with its 1080p screen and higher-quality camera, or the Droid Maxx, with its larger battery.

The Droid Ultra could even hurt consumers: Because this is a Verizon-branded phone, Verizon will market the heck out of the Ultra rather than the superior Moto X. The carrier should know when enough is enough and let this one go.

View the original article here

Google Keep (for Android)

Pros Slick, clean interface. Good widget implementation. Voice memos with transcription. Numerous sharing options. Create Google Now notes. Location and time reminders.

Cons Few features. Android-only. No tags, folders, or sub-notebooks. Isolated from other services. Bottom Line Google Keep for Android is an easy-to-use, pleasant app for making quick notes on your mobile device, but it's held back by its isolated nature and limited features.

By Max Eddy

First things first: Google Keep (free) is not Evernote; it doesn't have the features, the organization, or the flexibility to touch that 800 pound note-taking gorilla. The addition of reminders and Google Now functionality could have been the chance to bring the isolated Google Keep into the fold, but the service still falls short. While the Keep Android app does what it's supposed to do, and does so stylishly, it has yet to prove its worth in an already crowded space.

Using Google Keep
Keep's spare main page has a search bar across the top, a prompt to write a note underneath, and several icons indicating the kind of notes you can make: text, lists, voice notes, and photos. These aren't hard and fast categories; you can turn a text note into a list and add pictures to anything.

Google recently added two more features to Keep: reminders based on location or time that can be added to any type of note. In my testing, a location based reminder on my Samsung Galaxy S III tripped when I was about 250 feet away from my destination (Eisenberg's Sandwiches on 5th Ave). The resulting notification also gave me the option to be reminded the next time I came by Eisenberg's, or switch to a timed reminders—which I really appreciated. If your location-based grocery reminder goes off on the way to a dinner out, you can quickly change the reminder to go off when you pass the store on the way home.

Reminders based on time can be set to specific times using large, touch-friendly calendars and clocks, but I was impressed with Keep's less precise option. You can quickly assign a note to today, tomorrow, or next week, at one of four different times using a menu of phrases like "tomorrow" "afternoon." It's a neat way to quickly get yourself organized, without scheduling down to the minute.

You can also create notes in Google Now with the phrases "note to self" and "take a note." The transcription in Google Now was dead on, but the resulting notes were weirdly truncated. "Buy cabbage tomorrow at 9AM" became "self buy cabbage." The note includes a recording of my command, but the titles Google creates are bewildering. Unfortunately, Google Now can't add reminders to your Keep notes.

Like all Google apps, Keep lets you quickly and easily jump between users.

Light on Organization
Google Keep makes good use of gestures letting you "archive" a note with a swipe, moving it out of sight but keeping it searchable. The clean app also pops with animations as you move notes around.

There are no tags or notebooks to file notes in Keep, which is a bit odd considering that Google's now defunct Notebook application once boasted these features. You can, however, color-code your note using a limited palette. Unsurprisingly for Google, search is the best way to find your notes, though the app lacks optical character recognition like Evernote, meaning you won't be able to search text within images. Oddly, there is no icon in the app for Google's voice search.

Wonderful Widgets
Widgets are rarely implemented well, but Google Keep does a good job. The app comes with three, one of which lets you scroll through all your notes, as well as create new ones from the lockscreen. Notably, you no longer need to unlock your device to create a new note. This is a great feature, letting you quickly and easily create notes.

Though Google is on the right track with the widgets, it would do well to expand their capabilities. It would have been useful, for example, to look at my grocery list and check off the items without opening the app.

No App is an Island—Except Google Keep
The other elements of Google Drive—word processing, spreadsheets, etc.—used to be separate products but were seamlessly rolled up with file storage into one neat service. Keep, on the other hand is an appendage. Your Keep notes and images exist only in Keep, though it is somehow connected to Google Drive.

Although you can share your notes from Keep for Android, the recipient cannot collaborate with you on that note. If I share a note via email or Dropbox, the recipient just sees the note's contents. This is especially disappointing because the promo for Google Keep shows a musician building the elements of a rock show with the app. Actually pulling this off is difficult because items in Keep only become collaborative once you move them out of Keep.

Is It a Keeper?
Evernote's strength is that it provided lots of options to be used however you like, but Google seems to be going in the opposite direction. Instead of  providing tons of flexible features for power users, Keep feels like it's more about offering baseline functionality to all Android users. But its simplicity, while aesthetically pleasing, limits what you can do. Really, Google Keep is to Google Drive what Microsoft OneNote is to SkyDrive.

If you just need a fast, simple way to make lists and add little tidbits to your digital hoard, then Keep can work for you, but that's about it. That said, Keep has a lot of unused potential. If Google brings it into the fold, tying it closer to all the other Google products, we could have a real winner on our hands.

View the original article here

HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT AIO

Pros Intel Core i3 processor provides solid mid-range performance. Boasts a 1080p display with 10-finger touch. Excellent audio quality.

Cons IR-based touch makes for clunky display design. Fairly basic feature set. Bottom Line The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT is a solid all-in-one desktop, with good day-to-day performance, but a ho-hum collection of features.

By Brian Westover

These days, mid-range desktop PCs come in all shapes and sizes, but the All-in-One form factor has definitely come to the forefront as the desktop of choice. The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT AIO illustrates why this is, combining a basic mid-range collection of components and features in an all-in-one design, providing a touch-based Windows 8 experience that won't clutter your desktop, and is just as usable in the family room or kitchen as it would be in the home office.

Design and Features
The HP TouchSmart uses what is now a tried and true design for HP, with an easel back stand and a single riser bar holding up the PC off the desk. There's not really a place to stow a keyboard when it's not in use, but the easel stand does allow you to adjust the angle of the all-in-one somewhat, while the riser bar provides a solid foundation for the display.

The TouchSmart features a 23-inch display with 1920 by 1080 resolution, offering support for 1080p HD content and providing plenty of room for multitasking with two or more tiled windows. Unlike capacitive touch displays, which feature edge to edge glass and narrow bezels, the TouchSmart's IR-based touch screen is actually recessed slightly, with a black plastic bezel surrounding the display. Yet another black border inside surrounds the display, letting you still use all of the side swiping, edge touching gestures of Windows 8, but it adds up for a total 1.8 inches of space between the edge of the display and the edge of the chassis.

The accompanying DTS Sound, however, was very good, with surprisingly strong bass and crystal clear treble, even at high volumes. This is one system that will actually fill a room with sound, and does it without any unwanted buzzing or distortion.

There is one compromise in the name of affordability, however. The TouchSmart comes bundled with an inexpensive wired keyboard and wired optical mouse. The keyboard feels lightweight and on the cheap side, but the chiclet keys are better than expected on a bundled accessory, and the keyboard has Windows 8 commands and media controls built-in. The mouse, on the other hand, is less impressive, with a glossy top surface that shows every fingerprint and smudge, and plastic construction that feels flimsy.

On the right-hand side of the system is a tray-loading optical drive (DVD+-RW DL). On the left, you'll find connections for headphones and a mic, an SD card slot, and two USB 3.0 ports. On the back are four more USB 2.0 ports, along with line-out for audio. Networking is also built-in, with an Ethernet connection and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The all-in-one also boasts a 1TB 7,200rpm hard drive, offering plenty of space for your programs, files, and media library. The system comes with Windows 8 preinstalled, along with a few extras, like a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security, a 30-day trial of Microsoft Office 365, and a handful of games from WildTangent. HP also offers tools for organizing and sharing your music and photos with HP Connected Music and HP Connected Photo. Included on our review unit were two extras from Adobe, Photoshop Elements 11 and Premiere Elements, for photo and video editing. What doesn't cost extra, however, is the included one-year warranty.

Performance
With an third-generation 2.8GHz Intel Core i3-3220T dual-core processor and 6GB of RAM, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is fairly basic for a mid-range system. You won't be editing hours of HD video on this PC, but it's just right for being the center of home organization. For a mid-range system, the Core i3 processor offers decent performance, especially compared to the lower-powered alternatives found in some competing systems. For example, while the TouchSmart 23-F260XT scored 3,145 points in PCMark 7 productivity tests, while the Acer Aspire A5600U-UB13 scored 2,377 points equipped with a low-voltage mobile Core i5, while the AMD-equipped Vizio 24-inch Touch All-in-One (CA24T-B0) scored 1,612 points.

Similar results were seen in Cinebench R11.5, where the TouchSmart 23 scored 2.75 points, putting it well ahead of the Acer Aspire A5600U-UB13 (2.09), Acer Aspire AZ3-605-UR23 (1.79), and the Vizio CA24T-B0 (2.05). This solid performance also extended to multimedia tasks, propelling the TouchSmart 23 through our Handbrake and Photoshop tests in 2 minutes 34 seconds (Handbrake) and 5 minutes 53 seconds (Photoshop CS6). For Handbrake, this performance is a tad slow—most competitors completed the test in less than 2 minutes—but the Photoshop performance is pretty good, ahead of all but the Editors' Choice Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Late 2012).

The one area where the TouchSmart 23 didn't lead its other entry-level competitors was in graphics performance. Utilizing Intel's integrated HD Graphics 2500, the TouchSmart 23 fell behind in 3DMark 11 and both of our gaming tests, Heaven and Aliens vs. Predator. None of the comparable systems offer playable results in either game, but the Vizio 24-inch CA24T-B0 did pull into the lead thanks to AMD's excellent graphics solution.

Conclusion
All things considered, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a good choice for the buyer who wants a PC for keeping the family organized, putting Internet access in the kitchen or living room, or just wants a touch-capable all-in-one for day-to-day use. However, if you don't particularly want Windows 8 or touch capability, we'd recommend the Editors' Choice for mid-range all-in-one desktops, the Apple iMac 21.5-Inch (Late 2012), which offers competitive performance and side-steps some of the perceived problems with Windows 8.

View the original article here

Logitech Webcam c930e

Pros Sharp video quality, with 1080p in supported business chat apps. Plug-and-play on both Macs and PCs; no drivers necessary.

Cons No optical zoom. More expensive than earlier models in this line. Bottom Line Logitech's c930e delivers sharp 1080p video chats and smooth recorded audio with effective noise cancellation, making it our top webcam choice.

By Jamie Lendino

Logitech has been making great webcams for years, but it's possible the Webcam c930e is its best one yet. Thanks to various built-in encoding technologies in the hardware, it enables 1080p over-the-Internet HD streaming at 30 frames per second, at least with business-class apps like Microsoft Lync and Cisco WebEx. And it's compatible with Skype, Google Hangouts, and several other Web video chat services. You also get a 90-degree view, so you can show off a conference table or whiteboard behind you as you speak. Thanks to its excellent video and audio quality and unusually flexible mount, the Logitech Webcam c930e is our new Editors' Choice for consumer-level webcams, replacing the HP Webcam HD 5210.

Design, Features, and Setup
The c930e is made mostly of black plastic. It measures 3.7 by 1.7 by 2.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.7 ounces with the clip and cable included. The Carl Zeiss glass lens is the dominant feature of the silver front panel. Stereo microphones sit on either side. The top edge is clean, while the bottom connects to the built-in mount with three hinges and padded rubber surfaces.

The mount is pretty ingenious; I got it to stay put on a laptop lid, several desktop monitors, and I was able to mount it on a high shelf above a desk. It also has an embedded thread on the bottom for a standard or desk tripod. Thanks to the third, smaller portion of the mount at the bottom, you can extend it a bit so that the webcam tilts down at you from atop a large desktop PC monitor.

An external, black plastic privacy shutter acts as a cover you can open and close to physically block the lens. With the shutter closed, you don't have to worry if the software you're using automatically enables a video feed, or if someone enabled the feed for more nefarious purposes without your knowledge. But it's loose and not permanently attached, so you have to be careful not to lose it.

Installing the c930e is as simple as can be, since it doesn't require a driver. You take a PC or Mac, plug it in, and tell whatever app you're using to find it and use it. All you need is a Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC, or a Mac running OS X 10.7 or higher; the USB port needs to be at least 2.0 compatible.

Performance and Conclusions
Logitech's earlier webcams like the c920 and the HD Pro Webcam c910 have been solid, and the c930e doesn't disappoint. For this review, we tested the webcam on a ThinkPad running Windows 7, and on a MacBook Pro 17-inch running Mac OS X. We tried a variety of tests, including with and without some professional lights on stands, and in darker settings. The c930e has an upgraded version of the company's RightLight system, which combines autofocus with light detection to improve low-light quality at multiple distances from the sensor. Video quality is sharp, clear, and well balanced in most situations. The c930e always compensated well and stayed in focus.

I also tested audio quality during Skype calls. My voice sounded clear and crisp on the other side of the call through the c930e's built-in microphones, and the noise cancellation circuitry did a nice job suppressing the sound of an office fan on my desk while preserving my own voice.

For controls, you get Pan, Tilt, and Zoom options within the 90-degree field of view. But it's all digital; there are no motors. Logitech claims the camera offers 4x digital zoom, but as with point-and-shoot cameras, it's pretty useless unless you don't mind a serious degradation in sharpness.

At $129.99, the c930e is a little expensive for a desktop webcam, but it's worth the money and a clear Editors' Choice. It's a shoo-in if your desktop PC doesn't have a built-in webcam, and it's also a pretty dramatic upgrade from whatever is built into your laptop lid or desktop monitor. As an alternative, if you're using Skype, Google Hangouts, or other home-based chats, you'll be almost as well off with the less expensive HP Webcam HD 5210, which delivers similar video quality, although it has less effective noise cancellation, its mount isn't as flexible, and it has a slightly narrower field of view. The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam, meanwhile, offers a more robust solution for multiple users in, say, a conference room, thanks to its motorized stem mount with remote control, and built-in speakerphone and microphones with a wider recording pattern.

View the original article here

Manfrotto 694CX Carbon Fiber 4-Section Monopod

Pros Lightweight. Sturdy. Carbon fiber construction. 65-inch maximum height.

Cons Expensive. Cannot change foot. Need to add a head to use a quick release plate. Bottom Line The Manfrotto 694CX Carbon Fiber 4-Section Monopod is a lightweight, sturdy monopod that will help you get sharper shots with telephoto lenses.

By Jim Fisher

A good monopod is a handy accessory for photographers who shoot at telephoto distances and want to be more mobile than a tripod allows. Using a monopod helps you to better steady your camera, so you can get a sharp shot at a longer shutter speed. It's also helpful when shooting with very heavy lenses, as you won't have to support your camera and lens via your arm muscles alone. The Manfrotto 694CX Carbon Fiber 4-Section Monopod ($212 direct) is one of the better ones that I've used, but it's also on the pricey side. Its carbon fiber construction keeps its weight down, but it's still sturdy enough to support 11 pounds. Cold weather shooters often prefer carbon fiber as it isn't as chilly to the touch as aluminum, and the material is less prone to transmitting vibration. 

The 694CX weighs about 1.3 pounds and collapses to 21.3 inches. There are four sections, each of which requires you to open a clip in order to adjust; closing the clip locks that section into place. When fully extended it reaches 65 inches in height; at 5'9", I was able to shoot comfortably at less than full extension when I added the 234RC head ($50) and a Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, but if you're significantly taller you'll be more comfortable with a monopod with a bit more extension. You can screw the monopod directly into a tripod socket, but a head with a quick release plate is a handy add-on. If you're on a tight budget, the closest aluminum Manfrotto equivalent, the 681B, is just $78. But it is a little bit heavier at 1.8 pounds, and isn't as comfortable to use in cold weather.

There's a hand strap attached to the top, and the bottom foot is rounded rubber. There's no way to change that out to a spike or add a support base, which may be limiting when shooting on uneven terrain. It is rated to support up to 11 pounds, although the 234RC head is only rated for 5.5 pounds. I used the monopod and head combination with a 7.5-pound lens and a 1.7-pound camera. There were a couple instances where the head's tilting method lurched forward under the weight, but it wasn't a frequent occurrence.

The Manfrotto 694CX Carbon Fiber 4-Section Monopod is expensive, but it's a solid accessory for sports shooters, nature photographers, and others who use telephoto lenses. I was able to get sharp shots with a heavy telezoom at 300mm at speeds as low as 1/60-second; even with optical stabilization. That's a feat. And I managed to shoot all day without killing my arms, which would not be the case if I was hand-holding 9-plus pounds of camera and lens for hours on end. You can find a comparable aluminum monopod for a lot less money, but a half-pound weight difference is noticeable if you're carrying heavy gear.

View the original article here

Mention (for iPhone)

Few people have been pleased with Google Alerts as of late. Google Alerts has long been one of the most popular search and notification services online. But recently, Google Alerts users have reported that the service is slow to find new instances of search terms online, if at all. In my hunt for an alternative to Google Alerts, I landed on Mention (free to $64.99 per user per month for the Enterprise edition), an impressive program and service that offers twice as much as Google ever has. Mention is available as a mobile app for iPhone (the focus of this review), as well as Android, and I have to say that I've been equally impressed with its performance and long list of features.

Mention actively searches the Web and social media sites for key terms you choose, with advanced search criteria available, and in multiple languages. When Mention finds a new mention of your key terms, it can alert you in the app, by email, or via push notification in the iPhone app. You can use Mention to follow up on the activity, or, if you're working in a collaborative environment, assign someone else for follow up. Mention is much richer than Google Alerts, and way better than the rudimentary SocialMention Web app.

There's a lot to uncover in this wonderful program, whether you use it locally on your desktop, in a mobile app, or elsewhere.

The big question, though: How well does it find mentions online? In my testing, Mention uncovered a handful of mentions of my own name that Google Alerts has yet to show me, particularly on blogs and in social media. I even found a "jilleduffy" imposter on Twitter who was using my image and name unjustly (I had the account shut down the same day). On the other hand, Mention missed one of my articles that published here on PCMag, although Google Alerts found it within about four hours of it going online. Mention has rich features and is worth using, but I wouldn't completely trade in Google Alerts just yet. For now, I'm going to use them in tandem.

Compatibility and Availability
Mention is available both online as a Web app at Mention.net, as well as locally on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android and as a plug-in for Chrome. This review looks at the iPhone app.

All the apps are free to download, but you'll need a Mention account to use them, which come in free and paid varieties (more on that below).

Features and Quality
Like Google Alerts, Mention lets you set up alerts for key terms, and then the program actively scours the Internet day and night until it finds new mentions of those terms. When it finds a new, Mention lets you know. You can get push notifications on your iPhone, or receive emails or daily summary emails.

I was surprised just how much of the functionality of the desktop app made its way into the iPhone app. For example, you can create new searches right from the app, as well as manage your social media accounts if you connect to them. And you can connect more than one account. For example, I connected my personal Twitter account as well as one that I occasionally manage for PCMag, giving me access to tweet from either account at the drop of a hat.

Tasks are a wonderful feature for business users working in a collaborative environment. Let's say I don't have time to respond to a new mention of my product online—I can assign another person in my group the task of replying to otherwise taking action regarding that mention.

The advanced search features are thorough. You can add operators (AND, OR, and the like), include different languages, and include or exclude various kinds of websites. For example, you could search only the Web and social media sites, but not video sites. You can also block URLs, which is handy if you're aware of a high volume of Web content being published on your own sites for which you don't require notifications.

The social media functions aren't as robust as, say, TweetDeck or HootSuite, which have scheduling tools for sending posts at different times of day, and other social media-specific features.

Different accounts have different limitations, but with any account, you can always see how close you are to hitting your limits with the click of a button on "manage my quota."

As you go through your new mentions, you can delete them, or mark them as spam so Mention can learn not to include similar mentions in the future. One problem, though: in noodling around with the app, I marked something as spam just to test out the feature and couldn't find any way to unmark it.

Price and Nomenclature
You can sign up for a free Mention trial account, but it does have some limitations. With the free account, you only get 250 mentions and two alerts. And here's where I hit a bit of trouble: I don't fully understand what qualifies as a "mention" and an "alert," and the program doesn't make it easy to find out either. Are "mentions" the search results or the open searches themselves? And what constitutes an "alert," exactly? Is that a result, or only the pop-up notifying you of the result?

When I looked at my quota this morning, it said I had 15 mentions used, but a summary of mentions in each of my searches showed a total of 97 mentions for one term and 11 new mentions for that same term; plus 3 mentions for another term with only one new mention there. No configuration of these numbers tallies up to 15.

Back to free versus paid: With a free account, you can only search in two languages. Your Web alerts will be updated daily, but social media alerts are in near real time. With the free account, Mention archives one month's worth of data.

Lite accounts cost $6.99 per month, and they come with a lot more. You get 2,000 mentions, 5 alerts, support for search in three languages, real-time updates for both Web and social media mentions, but still only one month's worth of data archived.

Pro accounts for got $19.99 per month. The Pro account comes with 10,000 mentions, 20 alerts, support for search in five languages, real-time updates for both Web and social media, unlimited data archive, sentiment analysis, as well as statistics and data export.

Enterprise level accounts, which cost a whopping $64.99 per user per month, have some neat features that support collaboration and teamwork. This level account gets 50,000 mentions, 50 alerts, support for search in ten languages, real-time Web and social media alerts, unlimited data archive, and sentiment analysis.

Better Than Google Alerts?
Anyone who needs to track instances of a name or keyword online in their career absolutely needs to try Mention and its iPhone app, and should consider paying for a Lite or Pro account. The Enterprise subscription is extremely expensive, though. It's at least triple what I would have expected. Mention does go above and beyond Google Alerts, making it an Editors' Choice among iPhone apps particularly suited to small businesses and brands. Still, I wouldn't completely turn off Google Alerts just yet…

View the original article here

Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection (PS3)

Pros Collects all eight major Metal Gear games. Games are all just as playable as the original releases. Graphics enhanced for HD displays. Brings games from several different systems together for PS3.

Cons Confusing game organization. Not all titles have aged well. Format changes lose bits of vital information. Bottom Line Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection gathers together the core games of the Metal Gear series, giving fans a Metal Gear fix like no other and preserving a slice of gaming history.

By Brian Westover

For more than 25 years, the Metal Gear series has been surprising gamers, redefining staid gaming clichés, and popularizing the stealth genre that now includes popular titles such as Assassin's Creed III (PS3) and Batman: Arkham City. Now, Konami has gathered up the core games of the series, releasing all eight games for the PlayStation 3 under one title, Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection. Whether you're a Metal Gear veteran or just coming to the series for the first time, this collection of critically acclaimed fan favorites is highly recommended.

Sneaking Through History
I first played Metal Gear when I was 6 or 7, playing on an NES at a friend's house. I still remember it as a frustrating experience—the NES version was a poorly ported version of the original MSX release, making a challenging game even harder—but it marked my first brush with the game. I gave up on the insanely hard game, but remembered it for years. When Metal Gear Solid debuted on the original PlayStation in 1998, I was hooked.

As I eagerly await the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain sometime in the next year or so, I jumped at the chance to revisit the gaming franchise that has captured my imagination and kept me sneaking, crawling, and shooting for more than two decades. So when Konami announced the release of Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection, I eagerly purchased it, even though I already own five of the eight included games.

For the sake of brevity, this review will only briefly summarize the storyline of each game, staying spoiler-free for any newcomers. Instead, the main focus will deal with the technical aspects of each game: the quality of the port from one system to another, the differences in control schemes and gameplay from one game to the next, and any notable changes or bugs encountered along the way.

Anyone wanting further details on any of the eight included titles will need to look elsewhere, but information shouldn't be too hard to find—these are all top-rated, best-selling games, and a lot of ink has been spilled dissecting the plots, characters, and twists of each.

Series Snapshot
The Metal Gear Solid series may be infamous for its convoluted plots, over the top characters, and unique blend of military action with sci-fi and fantasy elements, but at its heart, it's a simple series. Each game centers around a single special ops commando (Snake, though this name refers to more than one character), sent to infiltrate an enemy stronghold. Facing overwhelming numbers and starting out armed with only a pair of binoculars (and maybe a knife), Snake's only hope of completing his mission is to use stealth, skillfully and patiently sneaking past enemies, and procuring equipment as needed along the way. Most of the time (though not always) the ultimate goal of his mission is to stop the titular Metal Gear, any of a line of high-tech, nuclear-equipped walking tanks—along with whatever terrorist cell or rogue military unit happens to have captured it. Sneak in, find stuff along the way, stop the bad guys, destroy Metal Gear. It's a simple enough premise, but over the course of 25 years, the surrounding storylines have gotten very complex.

For example, Solid Snake, the protagonist in several of the Metal Gear games, is actually one of several clones of Big Boss, who is both his unit commander and ultimately his enemy. And Big Boss was originally also codenamed Snake. On top of all of the classified missions and top-secret technology, there is at least one shadowy conspiracy group manipulating events from behind the scenes, and one or more characters working for this group as a double (or triple) agent.

The cast of characters has also grown from a handful to dozens, each with detailed backstories, ulterior motives, and secret agendas. The end result is so labyrinthine in its plot turns and twists that prior to the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Konami actually created a wiki dedicated entirely to explaining the plots and characters of the previous stories.

View the original article here

Optoma W304M

Pros Highly portable. Bright, with a 3,100-lumen rating. Near-excellent data image quality. Long lamp life.

Cons Tendency to show rainbow artifacts makes video suitable for short clips only. Underpowered audio. Bottom Line Only a small step up from 500-lumen LED-based portable projectors in price and weight, the 3100-lumen Optoma W304M delivers a much brighter image.

By M. David Stone

Even more than the Optoma X304M that I recently reviewed, the Optoma W304M invites comparisons to sub-three-pound, WXGA (1,280 by 800), LED-projectors like the InFocus IN1144. Less than a pound heavier than the LED models, and not much more expensive, the W304M offers a far brighter image (with a 3100-lumen rating rather than 500 lumens), the same WXGA resolution, and only a small step up in weight and price. If you need a WXGA portable projector, that alone is enough to make it worth a look.

In addition to offering a brighter image than lighter, less expensive projectors, the W304M competes with more expensive WXGA projectors as well. Compared with the Editors' Choice NEC NP-M311W in particular, it weighs only half as much, at 3 pounds 5 ounces, while offering the same 3,100-lumen brightness rating.

The lower weight is an obvious advantage. Keep in mind, however that any brightness comparison is complicated by the fact that the NEC NP-M311W is LCD based while the W304M is DLP based. With DLP projectors, there's typically a difference between white brightness and color brightness, which makes simple comparisons of brightness ratings potentially misleading. (For a discussion of color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, and Why You Should Care.)

The Basics
Not surprisingly, the W304M offers a compact size, at 2.8 by 8.7 by 7.0 inches (HWD), to go along with the low weight. As with most portable projectors, it comes with a soft carrying case complete with a handle and a pouch for cables.

Setup is standard. Plug in the power cord and cables, turn the projector on, adjust the manual 1.15x zoom, and focus. As with the X304M, the connectors for image sources are limited to HDMI, VGA, and composite video ports. Somewhat surprisingly, there's no USB A port for reading files directly from a USB memory key, an option that can enhance portability by letting you carry just the projector and a USB key.

The HDMI port supports all of the HDMI 1.4a mandatory 3D formats. That means you can connect directly to a Blu-ray player, other video source, or computer by HDMI for 3D. If you're upgrading from another projector and already have 120Hz DLP-Link glasses, be forewarned that you need 144Hz glasses to work with Blu-ray 3D at 24 frames per second. For games, however, both 144Hz glasses and 120Hz glasses worked in my tests without problems.

One other basic that demands mention is the W304M's longer than typical lamp life, at 4,000 hours in Bright mode and 5,000 hours in Eco mode. The long life, combined with the lower than usual $230 (street) replacement cost, translates to a low running cost.

Image Quality and Other Issues
The W304M sailed through our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, with near-excellent data image quality. It delivered suitably neutral grays at all levels from black to white in every preset mode, and also delivered saturated, pleasing color, despite yellow being a little mustard colored in all modes, and red a little dark.

The projector also handled fine detail well, with both black text on white and white text on black readable even at 6.8 points, although white text on black was a little less crisp at that size. I saw a hint of pixel jitter on screens that tend to cause that problem. However, it was so slight that there was no obvious improvement when I switched from an analog to a digital connection.

Video image quality is better than you'll get with some data projectors, but it's not suitable for long sessions. The native resolution can accept 720p HD without scaling, which helps a little. Also on the plus side is that it handles shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas) better than many data projectors, and it shows only minimal noise. However, in scenes that tend to cause the problem, I saw more posterization (shading changing suddenly where it should change gradually) than with most data projectors.

The far more serious issue for video is that the W304M shows rainbow artifacts easily, with bright areas breaking up into flashes of red, green, and blue. With data images, I saw the artifacts only occasionally. With video, however, they were both frequent and obvious enough that anyone in your audience who sees them easily is likely to find them annoying. That makes this the wrong projector if you need to show much video, although it's useable for short clips.

As with most portable projectors, the audio system in the W304M is basically useless. Even at top volume, the one-watt speaker is hard to hear from two feet away. If you need audio, count on getting an external sound system.

Clearly, if you need to show much video, the Optoma W304M is a poor choice. You'll be much better off in that case with the NP-M311W. Not only does it offer good video quality by data projector standards, but as an LCD projector it's also guaranteed not to show rainbow artifacts. If you're primarily interested in showing data images at WXGA resolution, however, with video limited to short clips at most, and you also need a highly portable, bright projector, the Optoma W304M may be exactly the model you want.

View the original article here

Optoma X304M

Pros Highly portable. Bright, with a 3,000-lumen rating. Good to excellent data image quality. Long lamp life.

Cons Video is suitable for only short clips. Obvious rainbow artifacts in video. Bottom Line Only a little heavier than 500-lumen LED-based portable projectors but a lot brighter, the Optoma X304M delivers a bright image in a highly portable package.

By M. David Stone

Light enough to invite comparison to the plethora of WXGA (1,280 by 800) sub-three-pound LED-based projectors like the InFocus IN1144, the Optoma X304M delivers a lot more lumens per ounce, with a 3,000-lumen rating and a 3 pound 5 ounce weight. It also delivers an XGA (1,024 by 768) native resolution, rather than WXGA. If XGA is what you need, the X304M offers a lot to like.

Native resolution, of course, is one of the most important factors for choosing a projector, since the image quality will be best with that resolution. That makes the X304M less directly competitive with the crowd of WXGA LED projectors than with other XGA projectors, including, for example, the DLP-based ViewSonic PJD6235 and the LCD-based Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite 93+ ($549 direct, 4 stars).

The X304M has the advantage of being lighter than either of those choices—by more than a pound compared with the PJD6235 and more than three and a half pounds compared with the 93+—which largely justifies the higher price. It also offers a higher brightness rating than the 93+. However, any brightness comparison is complicated by the fact that both the X304M and PJD6235 are DLP based. That brings issues of color brightness into play, which means that a simple comparison of brightness ratings isn't very meaningful. (For a discussion of color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, and Why You Should Care.)

The Basics
Along with its light weight, the X304M offers an attractively small size for a portable, at 2.8 by 8.7 by 7.0 inches (HWD). It also helps that Optoma ships it with a soft carrying case complete with a handle and a pouch for cables.

Setup is standard. Simply plug in the power cord and cables, turn the projector on, and adjust the manual zoom and focus. The zoom is only 1.15x, which isn't a lot, but is enough to give you at least some flexibility in how far you can put the projector from the screen for a given size image.

Connectors for image sources are limited to the most common choices, with HDMI, VGA, and composite video ports. Notably missing from the list is a USB A port for reading files directly from a USB memory key.

Image Quality and Audio
The X304M earns points for its data image quality. It did a good job in my tests with our standard suite of DisplayMate screens, with excellent color balance in all modes, and good, though not great, color quality. Colors were generally well saturated and eye catching in all modes, but yellow was a little mustard colored and red was a little dark in terms of a hue-saturation-brightness color model, particularly in the brightest mode.

Much more important for data images is that the projector did a good job with fine detail. Black text on white was crisp and highly readable at sizes as small as 6.8 points, for example. White text on black was a little less crisp at that size, but still readable.

I saw some exceedingly minor pixel jitter and dynamic moire with an analog connection, but only on screens that are most likely to cause the problem. Unless you use images with patterned fills, you'll probably never see this issue at all. Even if it shows up, it's so minor that you may not notice it unless you're looking for it. You can also get rid of it completely by using a digital connection.

Video image quality isn't in nearly the same class as the data image quality. It's obviously limited by the native resolution, so the projector has to scale HD images to fit in the available pixels. Beyond that, I saw some moderate posterization (colors changing suddenly where they should change gradually) and loss of shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas), but only in test clips that tend to cause those problems.

The more important issue for video is rainbow artifacts. These are always a potential problem for DLP projectors, with light areas breaking up into little flashes of red, green, and blue. I saw almost none of these artifacts with data screens in my tests. With video, however, they showed up even in scenes where they rarely show with most projectors. Anyone who is sensitive to seeing them artifacts will likely find them annoying for long video sessions, which means the X304M is best limited to short video clips if you use video at all.

Also on the minus side is the essentially useless audio, with a one-watt speaker. Even at the highest volume, most spoken dialog in our test clips was barely audible from two feet away, and one quietly spoken monologue was impossible to hear at all. If you need audio, plan on getting an external sound system.

Other Issues
One other feature in the plus column is the X304M's support for all HDMI 1.4a mandatory 3D formats, which means you can connect directly to a Blu-ray player, other video source, or computer by HDMI for 3D. If you're upgrading from an older projector, note that you need 144Hz DLP-Link glasses to work with Blu-ray 3D at 24 frames per second. For games, however, both 144Hz glasses and 120Hz glasses worked in my tests without problems.

Also on the plus side is the X304M's longer than typical lamp life, at 4,000 hours in Bright mode and 5,000 hours in Eco mode. Even better, the replacement cost is $230 (street), which is a lower cost than with many projectors. Less frequent replacements at a lower cost obviously helps keep running costs down.

The Optoma X304M earns most of its points for portability and for data image quality, with a little extra thrown in for its 3D support and long lamp life. If you need an XGA projector and also need to show video, you'll be better off with the Epson PowerLite 93+, simply because LCD projectors can't show rainbow artifacts. If you don't need to show video, however, or don't need to show it much, and particularly if you want a highly portable XGA projector with a bright image, the Optoma X304M is a strong candidate and certainly worth considering.

View the original article here

Paragon Migrate OS to SSD

Pros Simple, wizard-based. Copies HDD data to a SSD.

Cons Inconvenient extra steps required when migrating from a dual-boot system. Bottom Line Paragon Migrate OS to SSD is the simplest tool for setting up a fast-booting SSD for a sluggish Windows system, but study the manual before using it on dual-boot and other advanced setups.

By Edward Mendelson

If you're tired of waiting for your computer to boot up or your programs to load, then you want a solid-state drive (SSD) in your machine. If you've used a laptop with an SSD, you know how quickly Windows can boot when it's not slowed down by disk access. Now that SSDs are more affordable than ever, you should consider getting one for your desktop machine—but you may not look forward to the task of transferring Windows from your current spinning-platter hard drive to an SSD. That's the problem that Paragon Migrate OS to SSD is designed to solve. It's not a perfect solution, but it's vastly better than anything else I've found, and it may be exactly what you need to get an SSD into your system.

Why a Windows SSD?
One barrier to switching to an SSD is that you've probably got more data on your current platter-based hard drive than can fit on an affordable SSD. I've a 1 TB hard drive in my desktop, more than two-thirds filled, and I don't want to spend more than $600 to get an SSD the same size. But I can afford an 80GB SSD, and it makes sense to switch my Windows system to an SSD while leaving the rest of my data on the old hard disk while I wait for prices of large SSDs to drop to the point where I can afford them.

Here's where Migrate OS to SSD comes in. It uses a wizard-style interface to copy a partition or some of a partition from your existing hard disk to a new SSD, with an option to copy just the operating system and user data so that you can boot from the new SSD and access your other files on your old existing drive. You'll need to know a bit about how Windows organizes data to make this work correctly, but you can't do any damage while trying, so if anything fails to work the first time, just try again, changing the settings until it does.

Migrating with Paragon
To make migration work, you're going to write down the model number of your new SSD so that you can be absolutely certain that you're copying to the right disk. Then turn off your machine, open its case, find a drive bay for your new SSD, and attach the drive to a SATA data cable and power cable. Almost any SSD that you might buy will come with the needed cables and mounting hardware. And make sure your machine has spare SATA connectors on the motherboard; some small-format desktop boxes don't have room to install an SSD in addition to the existing hard drive.

After you've closed up your machine, start it up, and run the Migrate OS to SSD app. The app first displays a list of Windows operating systems on your disk. Normally you'll have just one. Because of my reviewing work I have four different Windows versions on separate partitions, but the Migrate OS to SSD app wasn't fazed by this. You select the operating system you want to copy to an SSD, then proceed to a screen where you select the SSD you want to copy to. You probably won't get this wrong, but consult the model number you wrote down in order to be sure you've chosen the right one.

Files and Folders
If the app tells you that you're ready to copy files, go ahead, because you've got enough room on the SSD for all the files on your existing disk. More likely, the app will tell you that you don't have enough room for all your files, and that should copy only the OS itself. Click on a link that lets you select which files to copy, and uncheck everything that you can leave on the existing disk. You'll need to check at least the Windows folder and the Users folder (and the Documents and Settings folder if you see one), but you can uncheck folders like Pictures and Music that probably contain more data than can fit on the SSD. You should probably leave the Program Files folder checked (though you can uncheck subfolders that contain programs you don't want).

When you've whittled down the list of folders to the point where they'll fit on your SSD, the program will let you proceed to copy them. This process takes around twenty minutes or more, and when you're through, your existing disk is unchanged, but your SSD should be bootable. The last screen in the wizard tells how to change your BIOS settings so that the new disk will boot instead of the old one. If you're not experienced with BIOS settings, you'll need to write down the essentials because Paragon, annoyingly, doesn't let you print out the page.

Paragon's instructions for changing the BIOS may or may not match your system's actual BIOS, but they'll point you in the right direction. When you've made the change, Windows will boot from your SSD a lot more quickly than it did before. Your old disk will still be accessible, but with a different drive letter from the one it had before, so you may need to do some exploring in Windows Explorer to find the data you want.

Advanced Aggravations
For most users, Paragon's app gets the job done more quickly and cleanly than anything else. For advanced users, however, it may fall short. For example, if the OS that you want to migrate to an SSD is not on your boot partition—which is likely to be the case in a dual-boot system—then you'll need to perform some additional steps to make the SSD bootable, and those steps require you to create a bootable USB drive using a separate download from Paragon. This isn't a task for beginners, but beginners don't have dual-boot systems, so it's an annoyance, not a show-stopper. But there's no good reason why Paragon couldn't have built this ability into the main app itself.

Worth the Effort
Paragon Migrate OS to SSD isn't as polished or complete as it should be, but it's the only tool I know that makes it relatively easy for non-experts to migrate their operating system to an SSD while still using a traditional hard disk in the same system. The speed bonus that you get from an SSD is worth the effort, and this app reduces the effort to something close to the absolute minimum. It could be better, but it's the still the best tool of its kind.

View the original article here

Payday 2 (for PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

Pros Lots of variety in how missions play out. Loads of customizable weapons, masks, and skills. Has surprising strategic depth.

Cons Mediocre graphics and mindless AI kills the immersion. Needs to be played online to be enjoyed. Bottom Line Payday 2 is a satisfying and deep heist game that manages to overcome its disappointing graphics and stupid characters to offer endless missions where anything can happen if you can keep your wits about you.

By Will Greenwald

Heists are fun. They combine cutting cleverness with brute force in a way that makes it feel very good to be a bad guy. There's a reason heist films are their own genre; in fact,  one of the most memorable in recent years is The Dark Knight's opening Joker's bank heist. Put on a suit, put on a mask, get into the building and get out with a huge haul. Overkill Software's Payday tried to recapture that magic to some success, and Starbreeze Studios' (which bought Overkill last year) Payday 2 builds on that with loads more customization, depth, and tons of x-factors that can throw wooden shoes into your plan's carefully assembled gears. At $29.99 (direct) for PC and $39.99 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, this heist game packs a ton of value and quality into a budget price.

Heist Game
On the surface, Payday 2, like the first Payday, looks like Left 4 Dead with cops instead of zombies. You play one of four characters (Hoxton, Chains, Dallas, or Wolf) as you carefully maneuver through dangerous areas and into secure locations only to get out and away before you're overrun by the cops. The four-players-versus-tons-of-enemies dynamic makes the game seem a lot like Valve's zombie shooter on paper, but just like heist movies have more complicated plots than zombie movies, Payday 2 injects a lot more depth into the game than Left 4 Dead.

Each of the eleven missions can consist of one or several days, with each day representing a map with its own objective. A simple bank heist might have you running into a bank, stealing the money, and leaving, but a drug-running mob hit could have you stealing cocaine one day, transporting it to your contact and avoiding cops the next day, and shooting the leaders of the gang you stole from the next. In each case, you need to front-load your strategy to minimize conflict when possible and protect yourself and your goods if the bullets do start flying. Which they probably will. Every time. It's basically a question of when, not if. You could potentially pull off a heist without firing a shot, but that requires four people being extremely clever and extremely lucky without a single hiccup in the plan.

Increasingly Complicated
Depending on the nature of the day, you might start in casing mode, with your signature masks off and your guns hidden. This is your one and only chance to make your mission clean, and you're probably going to screw it up horribly. Sneak around the bank, or mall, or club, pick out the weaknesses, get the gear you need, and get through without getting caught. You can't actually do anything illegal when casing, so when you're ready to make your move you need to put on your mask and take out your gun. Properly casing your target can put your in just the right place to make your mission clean and simple, with a minimum of shooting and no alarms raised. Even if the alarms are raised, using the relative safety of casing your target can put you in just the right position to take hostages, fortify your location, and buy yourself as much time as you can for the getaway vehicle to show up or the drill to get through the safe.

Ah, the drill and the getaway vehicles. One of the biggest parts of Payday 2 is the waiting game and defending your position, and you're going to find yourself hating the drill and the drivers/pilots your handler gets you. It can take several minutes to get through a safe or wait for a van or helicopter, and unless you are both very skilled and very lucky, you're probably going to be spending those minutes fending off police assaults. Waves of increasingly well-armed police will come rushing in through every door, window, and stairway, and it won't take long until heavily armored white-helmeted SWAT teams are bashing their way in while snipers are tracking you from across the street. They come in waves, with a handful of police always on your tail even when they're not actively assaulting you, keeping the pressure on. You need to survive, grab the goods as soon as you get through the locks, and get out as soon as you have an escape plan.

Fortunately, if you're canny you can take hostages and use them to give the police pause, or trade them if one of your guys gets captured. You can also plank up windows to keep out police, and even set different traps depending on your level and skills. A few zip-tied hostages, a cell phone jammer, trip mines, sentry guns, and a carefully dropped ammo bag can make the difference of whether you get gunned down in the first wave of make it out alive with all the loot.

Then there's the chance your getaway vehicle will crash or your plans will change and you'll find yourself improvising ten seconds into the game. Each mission is riddled with variables from different security camera placements and guard paths to how different people react while you case your target. These changes can seriously complicate your plans even if you've played that particular day from that particular mission a dozen times before. Eventually, you'll find your carefully laid plans blown up with you running through cordoned off streets with SWAT teams after you, a gut shot wound and a heavy duffel bag full of cash slowing you down, and two of your partners in the cops' hands.

View the original article here