Review Laptops

Posted on Sunday, 1st January 2012 by LaptopReviewer

(Credit:
Kodak)

Planning to cram yourself into Times Square on New Year’s Eve with half a million of your closest funbuddies?

Kodak wants to help you kick the drunken revelry up a notch this year. Instead of just hanging out waiting for the energy-efficient ball to drop, you’ll be able to upload photos of the festivities to a shared album on Kodak Gallery, which will then be live-streamed–though hopefully moderated–to the JumboTron atop the Marriott Marquis.

Even better, anyone with the mobile Kodak Gallery app will be able to add comments to the shared gallery, in addition to uploading photos. Once again, hopefully moderated.

So if you’ve always wanted to see your face on Broadway, download the Kodak Gallery app, head to Times Square, and join the group album sometime between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. by going to http://pix.kg/party.

[Read more]

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Photography 101: Learning the ropes with your new camera

Posted in Gadgets and More, Laptop Reviews | Comments (0)

Posted on Sunday, 1st January 2012 by LaptopReviewer

Flea markets, farmers' markets, and other outdoor events are great places to practice your photography and get a feel for what you like to shoot. At least until an irritated vendor says "are you going to buy something?"

(Credit:
Lori Grunin/CNET)

You’ve opened the box, charged the battery, and oohed and aahed over your shiny new toy. Now what?

Scan your manual No, you don’t have to read the whole thing, just the important stuff. In the beginning somewhere there will be a diagram showing you the parts of the camera. That’s really important stuff. Then turn to the index, providing the manual has one (there are some utterly heinous examples of manualcraft that don’t include an index); if there isn’t, use the table of contents instead. Run down the index or TOC, and look at the page in the manual for every term you don’t understand.

Learn your camera’s quirksYou don’t want to discover that all your low-light photos look like Seurat or Monet paintings after you’ve photographed your kid’s first birthday. To do that, you need “test” the camera somewhat methodically. For instance, set up a little still life in typical living room light, and (presuming your camera supports it), try it in various automatic and manual modes, changing settings like white balance, exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity setting, and so on. Then download and compare the photos on your com… [Read more]

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Posted on Sunday, 1st January 2012 by LaptopReviewer

Here is the official Times Square ball drop app.

(Credit:
Amanda Kooser/CNET)

2012 is coming fast. It’s time to quit smoking, cut out the cola calories, and start backing up your data on a regular basis–for real this time.

I know CNET readers will have some technology-related resolutions on their lists. Maybe you’re planning to cut back on the 12 hours per day you spend on Skyrim. Maybe you’re going to pick up one of the bajillion fitness gadgets that have hit the market recently.

Clink champagne glasses, watch the LED ball drop in Times Square, and enjoy your last few care-free minutes before your New Year’s resolutions set in.

If you need help with keeping those resolutions, there are technology solutions that can give you a hand.

What are your tech-related New Year’s resolutions? Instead of our usual poll format, we’re throwing this one wide open to the comments. Tell us about what you’re changing in 2012.

I’ll get things started. Starting next year, I resolve to keep all my computer screens cl… [Read more]

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Posted on Sunday, 1st January 2012 by LaptopReviewer

Computer mouse, weapon, or torture device? Only Q knows for sure.

(Credit:

Screenshot of oreobject.com by Edward Moyer/CNET)

What do you get the James Bond villain who has everything?

Let’s see… He’s already got the $560,000 iPod dock. And the $2.1 million diamond-dipped iPad (which he had customized with bits of secret agent bone). Hmmm…

Ah: here’s something! How about a gold-plated spherical computer mouse that looks elegant and sinister at the same time? That might be just the thing!

At only $290, it’s a steal. And as if its appearance weren’t enough, the Sphere 2 boasts other features that would probably appeal to the sort of temperament possessed by a Blofeld or a No.

For instance, “its impenetrable surface eschews germs,” Sphere 2 maker OreObject informs us, “and is easily sanitized if necessary.” We wouldn’t want our beloved white feline coming down with something after batting about a spherical m… [Read more]

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Posted on Sunday, 1st January 2012 by LaptopReviewer

BlueStacks says it plans to come up with a Ms. Android in 2012.

(Credit:
BlueStacks)

The typical Android user apparently does not look kindly upon flip-flops, opting instead to pair his jeans and T-shirt with the far-more-practical sneakers.

We say “he,” because the typical Android user is male, according to the folks at BlueStacks, a startup that makes software for running Android apps on Windows PCs. Using data from Nielsen, as well as information culled this month from more than 145,000 of its Facebook followers, BlueStacks created a composite Android user dubbed Mr. Android 2011.

“Mr. Android is everything Android users are…all their dynamism, visualized as one person,” John Gargiulo, vice president of marketing and business development at BlueStacks, tells CNET.

So how would you spot Mr. A 2011 walking down the street?

Well, while there’s a 47 percent chance he has black hair, green-haired Android users are an extremely rare species, clocking in at only 3 percent of those polled. Subtle pompadours, however, appear to fit the Android aesthetic, a trend marketers of hair products may wish to keep in mind.

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• <a… [Read more]

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  Posted in Gadgets and More, Laptop Reviews | Comments (0)

Posted on Sunday, 1st January 2012 by LaptopReviewer

HP Netbooks.

(Credit:
Hewlett-Packard)

Netbooks will get a boost from faster Intel silicon. The question is, does anybody still care?

Intel’s new Cedar Trail silicon for Netbooks will endow new models with up to 18 percent better overall performance, including a two-fold increase in graphics speed while maintaining long battery life, according to Intel.

Windows 7-based Netbooks typically sport 10-inch screens, are under three pounds, boast up to ten hours of battery life, and priced below $400.

Netbooks are not designed for high-end productivity like photo editing or demanding games, as the Atom processor in the Windows environment is built for power efficiency, not speed.

Netbooks get faster with new Intel Atom processors but the compact laptops are not very important anymore for markets like the U.S.

(Credit:
Intel)

“We’re trying to show that netbooks have pockets of interest and momentum,” Mark Miller, a marketing executive for netbook processors at Intel, told CNET.

Though there is a decline in netbook sales in the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan, in emerging countries the netbook is gaining traction, Miller said. “There is a long-term sustainable business driven primarily by these emerging markets.”

U.S. demand for netbooks has fallen thanks to Apple’s iP… [Read more]

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Posted on Friday, 30th December 2011 by LaptopReviewer

(Credit:
HTC)

As promised by HTC CEO and president Peter Chou, all HTC Android devices launched after September 2011 can have their bootloaders unlocked.

The bootloader is a program that controls the startup process for a device. Unlocking the bootloader is a key step in customizing Android to make a phone do things its manufacturer (or carrier) never intended. That’s something most people don’t want to do, but according to HTC, its customers have been asking for it so much that it sounds like it couldn’t ignore them.

Note, this is not for unlocking your SIM lock. It is just for unlocking the bootloader. HTC is working on unlocking models released before September 2011; you can check this list of currently supported devices to see if yours is on it.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you’re free to brick your device without consequences. The HTCdev site detailing the procedure repeatedly warns of side effects and warranty concerns. Still, if you’ve been itching to customize HTC devices, this is a nice step forward.

Now it’s your turn, Motorola.

(Via … [Read more]