Techworld.com Reviews

Microsoft Office 2010 beta

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:17:00 GMT

The revised productivity suite brings interface tweaks, useful desktop innovations, and integration with minimalist Web apps

With the release of the Office 2010 beta, the general public finally gets to check out how Microsoft plans to deliver on its promises for the next edition of its flagship productivity suite, namely close integration with lightweight web versions of core apps (Excel and PowerPoint Web are the first to debut for consumers via Windows Live, with Word and OneNote available only in the business oriented SharePoint 2010 server beta), better multimedia support, a subtle interface refresh, and a slew of features designed to make document creation and sharing easier. But there's some news too, most notably support within Outlook for tracking feeds from social networks.

Fujitsu Lifebook T5010

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:36:00 GMT

An efficient portable workstation for the mobile professional

The Fujitsu LifeBook T5010 runs Windows Vista Business Edition on a 2.4GHz P8600 Core 2 Duo CPU. Also inside are 2GB of RAM and a 5400rpm, 160GB hard drive, plus an Intel 4500 MHD graphics controller to power the display.

HP Touchsmart TX2

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:24:00 GMT

Touchscreen for the people?

This hybrid notebook lifts HP's desktop experience from its TouchSmart IQ506 and drops it into a smallish package - small in that the HP Touchsmart TX2 has a 12.1in screen; but it's a little on the big boned side, and too heavy to be truly portable, as most laptops with this size screen would be. Size and slow performance are the only drawbacks to HP's otherwise reasonably smart design.

Olive Opus No.4

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:28:00 GMT

The Olive Opus No.4 media streamer is impressively designed, simple to operate and gratifying to listen to

The Olive Opus No.4 media streamer is impressively designed, simple to operate and gratifying to listen to. It's painfully expensive, but we'd happily pay a premium for the build quality and design as well as the impressive specifications.

Sony Alpha A330

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:23:00 GMT

This camera is clearly intended for the new to digital SLR crowd

The Sony Alpha a330 is small and lightweight. The a330 is not an upgrade for owners of the Sony Alpha DSLR-A300. This camera is aimed squarely at the smaller is better crowd. Its light weight is quite convenient, but its grip is consequently smaller and may feel less comfortable and secure in larger (or even average-size) hands. With no LCD on top, the a330 instead has incorporated more functions into its buttons and control dial.

Microsoft Zune HD

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:17:00 GMT

The Zune HD is a huge step forward for Microsoft's Zune line

The Microsoft Zune HD is the Zune that I wish Microsoft had released last year. I found a lot to like about the Zune HD and the Zune 4.0 software. The device marks a huge improvement from last year's model in speed, usability, video quality, and design, while the Zune 4.0 software delivers some fun music-discovery features and splashy visuals. But while the Zune HD is priced competitively, you'll have to shell out a lot more money above and beyond the price of entry to take advantage of all of its features.

HP DreamScreen 100

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:11:00 GMT

The HP DreamScreen 100 offers more than your average digital photo frame

With its new DreamScreen, HP reaches out beyond the familiar digital photo frame concept to include applications normally associated with stand-alone tablets. This 10 inch model incorporates wireless support for popular applications such as Facebook, Snapfish, Pandora, and HP's own packaging of Net radio stations, among other built-in audio and visual functions.

Dell Vostro 320 all in one PC review

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:11:00 GMT

The Dell Vostro 320 is Dell's contender for a business all-in-one PC

Similar in concept to the Studio One 19, Dell's mainstream consumer all-in-one, the Dell Vostro 320 fuses together a traditional desktop's monitor and CPU cabinet into one single entity. This not only helps save space on or below the work desk, but it also makes for an appealing, good-looking computer to work with.

Dell Studio XPS 8000 desktop PC

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:59:00 GMT

Designed for home users who want a powerful PC that can be used for almost any type of task

he Dell Studio XPS 8000 case has been designed so that you can place the PC on the floor and still access its USB ports and memory card slots comfortably. They are easy to access because they are angled slightly upward.

Akvis ArtSuite 5.0 review

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:49:00 GMT

Simple photo effects program Akvis ArtSuite offers a generally attractive selection of frames and effects

Akvis ArtSuite's tools are divided into Frames and Effects. Frames has a library of hundreds of edge effects, including Classic, Pattern, Strokes, Scratches, Page Curl and numerous other categories.

Lenovo ThinkPad SL510

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:40:00 GMT

An excellent laptop that's oriented entirely toward no-nonsense use

The matte black housing, the iconic nub in the middle of the keyboard, and the deep set keypad are all comfortingly familiar, as are the Lenovo ThinkPad SL510's black, boxy looks, with the familiar "ThinkPad" logo on the top of the case's corner. The machine's lightweight feel is surprising but welcome. It's the return of an efficient, gifted friend - a friend who is now marginally less awkward at social events. And it'll set you back from around £499.

Sony Ericsson C903 phone review

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:37:00 GMT

An easy to use and breezy interface, GPS and a good pricetag

The Sony Ericsson C903 model we got was made up of black plastic and has a metal band set around its sides. Although small in size, the phone is bulky. A silver keypad slides out from beneath the screen.

Western Digital WD TV Live media player

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:28:00 GMT

Western Digital's WD TV Live is a tiny and inexpensive high definition media player

It is extremely easy to use, but the WD TV Live lacks wireless connectivity, so it may not suit all home theatre setups.

Gizmo Drive

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:25:00 GMT

Gizmo Drive is free software that mounts and burns image files

We expected Gizmo Drive to be something like WinCDEmu, which sits quietly in the background and allows you to mount images as virtual CD/DVD drives. In the end, that's part of what Gizmo Drive turned out to be - but before that we were taken for a ride to a little world which we're going to call Gizmo Land.

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 review

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:28:00 GMT

A significant improvement over SharePoint 07

Microsoft's SharePoint Server 2010 is a significant improvement over SharePoint 07, providing IT execs with multiple ways to streamline their infrastructure and cut costs.

nVidia GeForce 3D Vision glasses review

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:31:00 GMT

The nVidia GeForce 3D Vision is a gadget that is designed to bring 3D gaming to your desktop

Since 3D entertainment seems to be the way to go, we were looking forward to see how this new technology aids immersion, especially in interactive entertainment such as games. Here's our review of the nVidia GeForce 3D Vision.

Sony Ericsson Aino phone

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:26:00 GMT

The Aino mobile phone features a 3in touchscreen, Wi-Fi and an 8-megapixel camera

Aesthetically, Sony Ericsson has certainly broken the norm when designing the Sony Ericsson Aino. We've long criticised the company for producing the same, dull looking handsets when most competitors are innovating, and they've clearly listened to customer feedback - when closed the Aino looks sleek and stylish, and its long curved design is a hit with us. The large 3in touchscreen takes up most of the front real estate, and a handy unlock button at the top of the phone unlocks the screen.

Apple Mac Mini 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:11:00 GMT

The Apple Mac Mini has been gently revised with faster processors and more memory and storage

Apple's entry level Mac was in the doldrums for almost two years... and now sees two updates just six months apart.

PeerBlock review

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:30:00 GMT

PeerBlock is free software that helps you surf the web in secret

They're lurking out there - sleazy spyware companies, unscrupulous advertisers, and just people you don't want looking at what your computer is doing. PeerBlock (free), an open source program, offers part of a solution - low level blocking of packets coming from, or going to, a long list of hosts.

Lumension application control review

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:08:00 GMT

Lumension Application Control is a competitive product with a number of standout features and one significant omission

Lumension Application Control is a strong whitelisting solution with broad file coverage, excellent reporting, and a complete set of Windows file definitions that can be used to spot potentially troublesome changes to system files. Its one noteworthy shortcoming is the inability to create whitelisting rules based on the digital signatures of application publishers.

SignaCert Enterprise Trust Services application control

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:06:00 GMT

SignaCert is great for monitoring compliance with application and configuration policies, but it lacks built-in blocking

SignaCert was one of the first whitelisting products available, and it now boasts more than 1 billion predefined file signatures as part of its Global Trust Repository service. It also offers file authenticity ratings, wide platform support, extensibility through XML, and excellent documentation. SignaCert's significant weakness is that it does not natively block file executions, the only product in our review that does not include this ability as a standard feature.

McAfee Application Control review

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:59:00 GMT

McAfee's whitelisting protection for Windows, Linux, and Solaris is short on shortcomings

McAfee Application Control 5.0 is the result of McAfee's acquisition of Solidcore and the integration of Solidcore S3 Control with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO). McAfee Application Control rivals SignaCert for the broadest client support among all the products in our review. It also boasts write protection and ownership protection of whitelisted files, good reporting and alerting, and no significant cons.

Bit9 Parity Suite

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:30:00 GMT

Bit9 Parity 5.0 shines brightest among whitelisting competitors with strong protection and useful risk metrics

As many product vendors can readily tell you, this reviewer is the ultimate computer security cynic and a tough writer to please. I'm unsparingly critical of overhyped products. Although I've evaluated a number of excellent products over the years, I've never given a perfect 10 in any scorecard category, until now. Bit9 Parity is one of the few computer security products that, if deployed in your Windows environment, will radically and immediately reduce your enterprise's level of security risk. It's not perfect, and it did not score a perfect 10 in every field, but it earned the highest score this reviewer has ever given.

CoreTrace Bouncer application control review

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:29:00 GMT

CoreTrace Bouncer 5 provides first-rate application control with a few unique features

CoreTrace's Bouncer 5 is application control and more. Bouncer is the only product in our review that successfully protected against buffer overflows. It also offers unique write protection of whitelisted files and does a nice job of handling updates to controlled applications.

Jolicloud OS

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:51:00 GMT

Even in alpha testing, this looks like a great netbook OS

Jolicloud is built upon Ubuntu Netbook Remix and features the same quick launch menu interface as UNR.