Those ‘wireless’ charging pads that you have to lay your device on to charge…. so what is that PAD connected to??? Wouldn’t this be like having to set your wireless laptop on top of the wireless router?!?!?!? Ludicrous.
cFos Speed is a unique utility that I stumbled upon while looking for a way to optimize my Internet connection. I was getting frustrated at just simply browsing the Internet while downloading a large file or watching a Internet based video while talking to my wife on Skype.
Basically what this utility does is something called “‘Traffic Shaping”. Traffic Shaping is the process of looking at the data that is flowing in and out of your computer to the Internet and regulating that flow to optimize your experience. So for example, in my first scenario of downloading a large file while trying to browse the Internet, the process of downloading that large file ties up the computer not because the computer can’t handle it, but because the large string of data coming down is so long that the computer cannot send something back out (for instance a browser request to go to google.com) in a timely manner. It may take several seconds for the browser to get a break in the long stream of downloading data to send out the request. What you end up seeing is a very sluggish or even non-responding browser. With cFos speed installed, when the browser requests something, cFos Speed will temporarily stop the download stream, send the request out from the browser, and then resume the download. This all happens very quickly and the end result is that the download doesn’t appear to stop and the browser is very responsive. cFos Speed does this by assigning priorities for programs and protocols giving high priorities to the programs that deal with short sporadic data requests and low priorities for programs that handle large data strings. cFos Speed is easy to install and for basic needs configures itself over the course of a day or so of your normal activity. You will see no loss in download speeds and you will see dramatically decreased ping times and crisp browsing while downloading large files or watching bandwidth-hogging video. For gamers, this utility will reduce or even eliminate lagging in your Internet based games.
cFos Speed is highly configurable and is compatible with all versions of Windows including the new Windows 7 and has native versions for both 32 and 64 bit Windows.
This is probably THE most useful utility I have ever installed and is now my number one install after building a new system, even before I install an anti-virus! (Although I do install the anti-virus RIGHT after cFos Speed) ;o)
cFos Speed: For $23, don’t surf without it!
I have an Alienware Area 51 m17x laptop. I both love and hate this laptop… it is so much like an exotic sports car! When it is running it is the most awesome machine to use but when it is down, service for it is the pits! So I guess my complaint is that the service center leaves much to be desired.
My story starts out several months ago when the back-light on the screen partially went out… I had two bars of blackness and at first I thought I was having eye problems. A call to the customer support line resulted in my having to take a picture of the screen to prove to them that there was a backlight problem. I was then assigned an RMA number and I shipped the machine to the Houston facility for repair. A few weeks later I received the laptop back and when turning it on noticed a slight screen flicker which went away after a few minutes. It was very minor and I had to leave on a trip so I took the laptop with me. All was fine on the trip, but the week I returned the backlight completely died. This time the entire backlight was gone. Another call to customer service, another RMA and off I shipped it back to Houston. A few more weeks later, I received it back and turned it on. The screen was very nice and bright and also THE WRONG SCREEN. There are two screens for the m17x. One is the higher resolution screen that I had ordered with my m17x: a 1920×1200 ‘glossy’ screen. The service center had put in the lower resolution screen in my laptop and returned it. Another call, another RMA, another shippment to Houston. I complained to both Alienware and Dell management asking for a replacement. They could only assure me that it would be fixed… I was beginning to wonder if it ever would. There is obviously a QA problem in Houston.
I am happy to report now that the final repair (now a few months old) is good and I’ve had no further problems with the LCD or backlight. I makes me think very hard though about buying anything else from Alienware.
Dedicated readers like Kindle or Sony Book will never become ‘big’… They are missing two key features: COLOR and versatility. Why do you need color? This was the same question asked when computer monitors only came in monochrome. This was the same question asked when printers only printed black & white. The answer is the same: HUMANS LIKE COLOR. I’ll stick with my iPhone, arguably the best gadget ever designed. I get a small, yet readable size, COLOR (dark red on parchment is EASY on the eyes), I can read in the dark (it IS very helpful such as on dimly lit subways), AND I can get books from almost anywhere such as eReader.com. Of course, the iPhone is also a phone, browser, media player, scheduling center, entertainment center, database, etc. etc. etc.
Entertainment, Life, Music, Photography, Productivity, Tech, WEB, iPhone
One of the first orders of business for my new iPhone was to protect the case and screen from scratches. Zagg has two products for the iPhone; a screen shield and a full body ‘armor’ both using a specially formulated film that resists scratching and rub marks. The fully body armor includes the screen shield. I purchased both kits and attempted installing just the screen shield first. The process uses a special spray on fluid and a squeege. The fluid allows you to adjust the film until it is precisely positioned. Unfortunately, I did not use enough fluid, although the instructions state ‘lightly spray’, and the screen stuck in several places and getting it unstuck resulted in ruining the film. So if you decide to use this product, spray HEAVY not lightly. I contacted Zagg about getting another screen film, but they never responded. Only ONE film is included in the kits so the money paid for this kit was wasted. I then took the full body armor kit and, learning my mistake from the first kit, used a lot of fluid to position the screen film. This worked quite well and I was able to very accurately position the film. Using the same technique with the fluid, I positioned the body armor film and squeeged it down. Getting the corners to stick was another matter, but a quick look into Zagg tech support revealed that letting the fluid semi-dry first then press the corners on would work, and it did. My iPhone is now covered in the new Zagg shield. One of the side benefits of the body film is the ‘grippiness’… the iPhone is much less slippery and I feel more confident in holding it.
In summary: use lots of fluid for this product and view the install videos on line at Zagg.com… they were a great help. I’ll report again on this product in several weeks to tell how this product performed.
I finally took the big ‘dive’ and upgraded my old Motorola Razr to an iPhone 3G. This was a big move/decision for me because I have great expectations from this device to replace several other devices I’m carrying around (namely: Palm T|X, older iPod, Motorola Razr, camera, and an Air Card). In addition, I was hoping to also replace my alarm clock, and, in some instances, my laptop.
Having used it for a few weeks now, I can say that it has been able to replace all of those devices and more. There has been some issues which I’ll outline, but the experience has been very, very rewarding. I have to give credit to Apple… this one device is, perhaps, the best designed gadget I have ever worked with.
Over the next several months, I’ll be posting my experiences with this device and with AT&T service which is exclusively tied to it. I won’t explore the jail-break side of the iPhone since most people will not jail-break their phone and void their warrenties.
eBay to go now includes widgets for displaying by sellers and stores in addition to the previous single item, multiple item, and search.
Hooray! Check out the new widget in My eBay Auctions page…
SINGLE ITEM
MULTIPLE ITEMS
SEARCH
SELLER
STORE