Archive for: May 2, 2009

Samsung Trance photos This week we added the Samsung Trance into the ranks of our top music phones , and there’s one good reason; it has great sound quality. With Bang & Olufsen’s ICEPower technology, the Trance also has 3D sound effects that provide wide, dynamic, and surround sound. All that and the …

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The Samsung Trance entrances

By pushing as much resource usage as possible into the clouds, Panda Security’s new Cloud Antivirus aims to free up the RAM hogging that plagues many security programs. However, testing the new beta revealed slower-than-anticipated scan speeds when doing an on-demand full hard drive scan. Panda’s got a solution that might help some users: turn off logging while running the scan. Cloud Antivirus splits the usual scanning process into three separate processes . The OnAccess Scan detects executing threats, the OnPrefetch Scan detects non-executing threats that are likely to run in the future, and the OnBackground Scan checks all local files when the computer is idle. Because of the way that the scans utilize idle CPU time, the background scan could still be logging when start an on-demand scan. The solution is to deactivate the logging feature when you’re running a heavy-duty, system-wide scan. This is risky if you forget to turn it back on after you’re done, and highlights the lack of advanced options available through the interface. “It’s something we’re aware of and still fine-tuning,” said Pedro Bustamante, senior research adviser at Panda Security, in an e-mail. Deactivating the advanced logging works, although users shouldn’t expect dramatic changes. Scan times increased from 45 percent completed in 30 minutes to 45 percent done in 25 minutes. To toggle the log, download the two Registry keys found at the top of this blog post . Double-click on LoggingOff.reg and reboot your computer to turn off the log, then when you’re finished double-click on LoggingOn.reg and reboot to re-activate it. I strongly recommend reading the entire post, though. Bustamante has included a lot of information on how Cloud Antivirus works. The known problems blog post is also worth looking at. If you do try this Registry tweak out, post your ...

The Food Network just launched a saucy new site, Food2, aimed at engaging a younger generation of cooks and foodies through blogs and video content. Scripps Network, which owns the Food Network, also recently launched a recipe aggregation site, which we reviewed here. Food2 is a flashier, more hip FoodNetwork.com (Food Network’s site) that features and outspoken, “eclectic slate of food bloggers” aimed at the twenty-something crowd who favor appetizers and cocktails. The video content on the site is short and sweet, making it easy for viewers to see a five minute visual snapshot of how to make a dish. The site features Food Network video content and a variety of new web video series from spunky, young cooks (think less Emeril, more Top Chef). Food TV chef Kelsey and Top Chef star Spike pair up on a show where each use similar ingredients to create dishes-kind of like a face-off of recipes. Kitchen Conspirators, from the Brooklyn, NY-based underground supper-club group Whisk & Ladle, features three young chefs who with the help of a guest chef, plan a meal for a dinner party. There’s $12 Challenge, which is a food meets love show, where two young chefs try to woo a bystander with an inexpensive meal. The site also features a how-to series with food blogger Adam Roberts, The Amateur Gourmet, , who leads viewers through how to make simple drinks and food items. The blogs, on the other hand, leave much to be desired. The content is not organized by type of recipe or subject, which makes it difficult to sift through. It looks like the site has good amount of blog content, from recipes to other news about food but there’s no useful breakdown of the content. The site also features a number of recipes and ...

Landscape mode may make typing faster, but you'll lose chatting real estate up front. (Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET) Less than a month after Yahoo released Yahoo Messenger for iPhone and iPod Touch ( download ), the Sunnyvale, Calif., company is back with a triple-tweaked version. Find a problem? Report it to Yahoo. (Credit: Yahoo Inc.) Support for chatting in landscape mode is the most noticeable new capability hammered into version 1.1. Turning the iPhone to the side slides up the virtual QWERTY, but it also shrinks the visible chat space to a line or two, the typical trade-off. In addition, Yahoo has also added a dialog box for reporting bugs, which you’ll find at the bottom of the Settings window. The third change is a fix for the rickety sign-in and connection issues that some users have been reporting. If you still notice problems down the road in this area, well, there’s no better time to make use of that new feedback tool.

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Yahoo’s new spin: Landscape IMs for iPhone

Samsung Smooth (Credit: Verizon Wireless) We missed this bit of news last weekend, but Samsung has recently started selling its new Smooth clamshell, available from Verizon Wireless. The Samsung Smooth may be smooth, but it’s definitely a low-end phone, with only a VGA camera offering, GPS, Bluetooth, speakerphone, voice …

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Samsung Smooth for Verizon Wireless

The Cobra BT 200 is a bit of a blunt instrument, but sometimes that's just what you need. (Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET) The Cobra BT 200 is a heavy-duty Bluetooth handset that features a fairly limited list of features. It connects to your phone to make calls, and … Originally posted at The Car Tech blog

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The Cobra BT 200 goes where <br />smartphones dare not tread

Earlier this week Facebook made the landmark (and long-awaited) announcement that it was going to enable the “ Open Stream “, granting developers far more access and flexibility to Facebook data than they had before. To commemorate the event, Facebook held a special Technology Tasting at its Palo Alto office, where it gave everyone an idea of exactly what developers could do with the new data. We saw some impressive demos, including an example from Plaxo of how social sites could symbiotically exchange data with Facebook, followed by a walkthrough of the upcoming version of the new Seesmic Desktop . But out of all of them, by far the most visually impressive was a pair of applications put together by Microsoft. Yes, that Microsoft. In less than 72 hours, two small teams managed to put together a pair of applications built on the new Facebook APIs that really show off just how robust a Facebook application can be. The first app was built in Microsoft’s Silverlight platform, while the other is based on .NET. I managed to get some footage of the demos during the event, but honestly it didn’t really do the apps justice (that’s what I get for trying to record with a video camera in each hand). So I got in touch with the team at Microsoft, which put together the high quality walkthrough video above. The video is narrated by Brian Goldfarb, Director of Microsoft’s Development Platform Group. Are the apps innovative? Not especially. But damn if they don’t look cool. For those of you itching to try these out for yourselves, I’ve got bad news: you can’t. At least, not yet. But Microsoft will be releasing an SDK and the source code for both of the apps in the near future. Crunch Network : ...

In an attempt to avoid the nonstop flu-related news, we focus our attention on gadgets that pack prettiness along with functionality. Listen now: Download today’s podcast EPISODE 134 70 percent of Kindle owners over 40? Samsung adds a touch of color to an already-unique camcorder Dual-screen Moonlight laptop concept is pretty stunning Seagate Replica: Simplest PC backup ever Peltor Noise Canceling Earmuffs Gender Gap: Sow’s Ear Edition Trispecs: Better than X-Ray specs any day … Originally posted at Gadgettes, the blog

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Gadgettes 134: The silk from a sow’s ear episode

There has been some doubt lurking in the trenches about whether Google has a solid, organized enterprise strategy. But there have been some recent developments that indicate that Google might have a viable game plan to become a player in the enterprise space. Yesterday, Google rolled out Google Apps Directory Sync, a tool that will let businesses sync the user account information in Google Apps with Microsoft Active Directory or Lotus Domino. Google says it’s using technology from Postini, security and compliance company Google acquired in 2007, to import information from users’ LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) systems, which includes mailing lists, groups, and user aliases, to a user’s Google Apps account. This utility will help many businesses, schools etc. who are currently using Google Apps save a lot of time and energy when it comes to importing information to their Google Apps system.

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Google’s Enterprise Strategy May Be Solid After All

Sony Ericsson W508a (Credit: Screenshot by Bonnie Cha/CNET) Earlier this week, we saw the FCC give up the details on the Motorola A5400 , a QWERTY Windows Mobile smartphone headed for Verizon Wireless . However, there was plenty more action at the FCC, including the approval of the Sony Ericsson W508a …

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FCC approves Sony Ericsson W508a for AT&T

Rock Band's ever-widening stable of songs is welcoming a 10-track grab bag of rock next week, including tracks from Southern rock staple The Allman Brothers Band, as well as Franz Ferdinand, the Scottish rockers. The eclectic set list also has tunes from Prong, The Distillers, Alien Ant Farm, and Luscious Jackson.

It's got some twang, pop, metal, and even a Michael Jackson cover, as any proper rock collection ought. Tentatively to be released on Tuesday (Xbox LIVE Marketplace) and Thursday (Playstation Store), the mix includes:

"Take Me Out," Franz Ferdinand
"Do You Want To," Franz Ferdinand
"Lucid Dreams," Franz Ferdinand
"Smooth Criminal," Alien Ant Farm
"Blue Sky," The Allman Brothers Band
"Midnight Rider," The Allman Brothers Band
"Drain the Blood," The Distillers
"Naked Eye," Luscious Jackson
"Idealistic Types," Prong
"The Banishment," Prong

The tracks, which are all original master recordings, go for $1.99 apiece (160 Microsoft Points per track). You can also buy the Franz Ferdinand songs as a three-pack for $5.49 (440 Microsoft Points). Rock on.

Post by Matt Reichman

As Kyle Monson and I recently found out with our ill-fated PCMag show, Smashd, making a Web video show isn't exactly a walk in the park. If you have any doubts exactly how difficult the process can be (or if you're thinking of launching one yourself), do yourself a favor and check out this post at Techvi.com. The show's host, Randall Bennett, lays out the down-and-dirty process of bringing such a show to life.

Bennett is one of the folks behind CNET's show Loaded and The 404. He's since been freelancing and working on Tech Vi in his spare time. Of course, we here at PCMag are a bit partial to the show, seeing as how he's invited several of us to be guests on the bite-size tech news show. I've been on a couple of times, as have Kyle, Lance Ulanoff, and Jeremy Kaplan.