So You Just Bought a New Computer

Perhaps you spent hours combing through specs and reviews of various computers and finally ordered, or you walked in to your local PC store and bought that new computer off the shelf.  Now after driving to the store or waiting for the delivery guy to show up at your house, you finally cut the packing tape and open the box of your new laptop/desktop computer.  You shove the plastic bags and paper back into the cardboard box, plug it all in, and press the power button.  Now you wait as the software routine created by the manufacturer progressing across the screen loading all that extra software on to your new computer.  Some people will tell you forget the pre-loaded operating system, grab an installation CD of your favorite Windows version or Linux distro and load a fresh, clean install of the operation system. For some this is an option.  But why? You just spent a decent amount of cash for a new computer.  Let me show you some simple tools to de-clutter that pre-loaded software and make that new computer fresh & clean.  I will also suggest the best tools and utilities every computer should have installed from day 1.

PC Decrapifier

This is a great tool for the newly unboxed computer.  It will remove most of the common pre-loaded software that 99% of users do not need or want.  Sometimes it just too much hassle going into add/remove programs and rebooting 20 times just to remove junk. Warning: PC Decrapifier is designed to be run on a computer before you start to use the machine, aka just out of the box.  Basically the designers of PC Decrapifier have provided an easy step-by-step tool that will detect and remove common bloatware quickly and without hundreds of mouse clicks and restarts.  It will remove programs such as AOL, BigFix, Wild Tangent, and browser toolbars with very little effort by you. For a complete list of software that this tool will remove, click here.  To download PC Decrapifier visit this site.

The Quest for Anonymity:

Between Google Analytics, your ISP, and the government; everything you do on the internet is being tracked.Call it market research, call it national security, call it Orwellian big brother, there are many reasons you may have to hide your surfing habits.  I’m going to give you a couple of simple tools to keep your anonymous posts anonymous.

Let me preface this article by warning any people that might feel empowered to use their new found anonymity to wreak havoc across the internet, if someone wants to find out who you are, they will, it is all a question of how much effort (and/or money) they are willing to put into the hunt. The methods described below are simply a deterrent.  There are literally thousands of versions and variations of the tools I am going to recommend. By all means please test these yourself, find out what works best for you.

For starters your internet history is tracked locally (on your PC), if you don’t believe me, websites target you with by searching your cookies when you visit. (This is one example of what they can do.) Don’t worry; these are the easiest tracks to clear up.  You can adjust your browser settings to clean this manually, or some browsers offer a “private browsing session”, personally I’m lazy, and don’t want to go through all the trouble. A simple program like cc cleaner will remove some or all history, cookies etc… from any standard browser.  If you are particularly paranoid you can flush the dns.

Have you ever noticed how when you type in a wrong address your ISP redirects you to their search recommendations?

Your internet service provider (or ISP), uses multiple methods of tracking your web surfing. The most prevalent and easy to take care of is DNS. DNS is the way the internet directs traffic, when you type in techwarelabs.com your computer asks a DNS server where that is before it directs you. The problem is your ISP knows who you are so they know where you go. You can easily lookup any DNS server to use which will route all of your requests to their server instead of your ISP’s.

Your IP address is your digital signature, it identifies who your ISP is, where you are located, and where you have been. Websites can use tools such as Google Analytics to determine where their clients are geographically located, what hours they visit their website, and how often. The easiest way to mask your IP is to use a proxy. Proxies are usually free and available anywhere you have internet access. They don’t always work though to check a proxy visit a site like IP Chicken or WHATISMYIP before and after to make sure it doesn’t show your IP address.

!!!CAUTION some proxy’s are scams to steal information so be careful about banking and secure websites!!!

More reliable and trustworthy than proxy’s is a free app called HOTSPOT SHIELD this application installs on your computer and creates an anonymous VPN which also secures your traffic from prying eyes at Wi-Fi hotspots (hence the name). This particular application is also quite useful for circumventing pesky work firewalls. For the more technically savvy there is of course the Tor Network, which while it can be slow at times but is a very effective security tool for anonymizing web traffic.

Now that your ISP has no idea where you’re surfing, the web at large can’t find your IP address, and your computer will be clean, it’s time to post your anonymous ranting to the world. Unfortunately the website requires registration. FEAR NOT!! We have a solution, firstly you should try BUG ME NOT they have a growing database of usernames and passwords to bypass irritating registration, plus its user supported so it is literally growing daily. If however they don’t there are several web apps which will come in handy firstly there is mail eliminator this creates a temporary disposable email address to submit in that web form NO MORE SPAM! Let’s say you’re not feeling very creative with the rest of the information head over to fake name generator, and they will take care of the rest.

At this point If you are being tracked online, you are either already on a watch list or your just plain lazy. I hope article was helpful in you anonymous endeavors.

MegaCon is short for mega convention and while it is not as large as the name implies it does draw a respectable crowd and not just any crowd. MegaCon is a dream come true for the trekkies, anime followers, star wars fans, star wars troopers, comic book lovers, sci-fi film aficionados, and much more. You never can tell what you will run into around the next corner at MegaCon, could be a full size Wookie, the Terminator, or even one of the nurses from Silent Hill.

Each year thousands descend upon the city of Orlando in Florida for the annual MegaCon convention. Within the Orlando Convention Center walls you can find working full scale models of R2D2, a legion of Storm Troopers, replicas or nearly every weapon ever shown on the silver screen, and hundreds of fans dressed as their favorite character.  Much more on that note later.

This year MegaCon drew celebrities from many different films and venues including James Hong, Brent Spiner, Billy Dee Williams, and John De Lancie. I have a great deal of respect for all three actors and their accomplishments but they seemed to be kept under thumb by the MegaCon officials which is a real shame for the show fans. It was absolutely great to get to talk to these actors and we want to extend a warm thanks for them visiting Orlando and taking them time to greet their fans.

James Hong (You were not put on this Earth "To Get it")

John De Lancie (Most notably Q from Star Trek, and a really nice guy)

Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek and an awesome actor that doesnt get enough screen time IMHO)

For a full listing of the stars at this years MegaCon check the following page.

MegaCon is not just for the celebrities as comic book fans will think they have reached heaven. There are row after rows of vendors selling limited editions and first runs of nearly every comic book ever made. We ran across a $100,000 comic book that was just recently sold at the show. Whatever you could be looking for as a fan you will find at MegaCon.

Events

Over If being also to walk around with eyes wide open in amazement is not enough for you then MegaCon has even more. Only at Megacon do you have the opportunity to learn to fight with a sword, take part in a huge variety of board and RPG games, as well as entering into a costume contest that is worth the price of admission by itself. Professional tattoo artists are on site to assist you in getting that special Lego Han Solo and Chewbacca put on your side. The kids are thought of with events ranging from a Kids Costume Content to a Storytime and for the adults this year there was a 5th Annual Megacon Attendees After Hours Party where the MegaCon officials worked their magic and transformed the backstage of a local nightclub into Bartertown (wonder if I can dress up as Mad Max and get free entrance).  For a fulllisting of the events at MegaCon 2010 and a taste of what you can expect in future MegaCon events check out the following link.

Presentations

Learn about the actors in your favorite films, find out a bit more about the paranormal, (funny enough they didn’t talk about the convention even though it’s no where near normal) or select your favorite topic from the list of over 70 presentations over the the three days of the event. Check out the listing here.

Summary

From costumes and celebrities to  models, magic and more the MegaCon show has it all. We walked down the hall of the Orlando Convention Center and through the doors and might as well have stepped into another galaxy. Our journey through MegaCon lasted a short four hours and we only managed to see a small part of the events and happenings going on. The walls were lined with memorabilia and every gizmo and gadget from your favorite show, comic, and film. In short . . . we loved it and highly recommend you don’t pass the opportunity to attend next year’s MegaCon in 2011 as we will be there too.

Check out Our Amazing Gallery from MegaCon 2010

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

1234567►

Introduction

Just a couple of years ago, 1080p TVs were a thing of miracles and if you were to mention that you had a Blu-Ray drive, you would be considered a sort of miniature deity. Well, maybe not that extreme, but the fact still remains that in order to get your hands on a BD player you either had to get a PS3 or wait and spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get it from other manufacturers. Today however, the both 1080p TV and Blu-Rays are becoming more and more popular as well as more affordable. If you are looking for an inexpensive drive to stick into your home theater PC and are aren’t really looking to burn Blu-Ray titles , which keep in mind still cost a lot to buy, then the LITE-ON iHOS104 might be for you.

Features

• SATA interface, 5 ¼” Half-Height internal BD ROM drive.
  Max. 4X BD-ROM/BD-RE SL and 4X BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE DL CAV reading
  Max. 8X DVD-ROM/+R/+RW/+RDL/-R/-RW/-RWDL CAV reading
  Max. 32X CD-ROM/R/RW CAV reading

• Fast access time and high data transfer rate, could be vertical mounted (optional)

• SMART-X(*) function smartly adjusts CD-DA / VCD / DVD data extraction to a fastest allowable speed according to both data request rate from host and disk quality

• Supporting DOS 6.xx, Windows XP/ 2003/ Vista and Linux Operating System

• BD read compliant: BD data, BD video of 12 cm diameter

• CD read compliant: CD-DA,CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA , Photo-CD, Multi-session Video-CD, CD-I FMV, CD Extra, CD Plus, CD-R , and CD-RW discs of 8 or 12 cm diameter

• DVD read compliant: DVD single/dual layer (PTP, OTP), DVD-R(4.7G), DVD-R multi-borders DVD-R Double Layer, DVD+R, DVD+R multi-sessions, DVD+R Double Layer, DVD-RW and DVD+RW disc

• Flash ROM support on line programming capability

• Serial ATA Revision 2.6, ATA-8, MMC-6 and SFF-8090 V7 compliant

• MPC level 3, PC2001 System Design Guide, MultiRead/UDF compliant

• Support Ultra DMA mode 5

Specifications

It is important to remember that the iHOS104 is a BD ROM, this means that this particular model is unable to write Blu-Ray disks but just read them. Another thing that caught my eye are the read and write speeds of the older standards – DVD and CD. While most new drives offer CD read speeds of 48X some 52X, and DVD read speeds of 16X, this particular mode only offers 8X on the DVDs and 32X on the CDs. This should not impact sequential playback, but might have an effect on asynchronous data retrieval from the disks in question (user selecting different scenes).

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/lite-on-ihos104/feed/ 7 http://www.techwarelabs.com/lite-on-ihos104/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/CcHQI-sVemc/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/enhancing-your-dual-boot-system/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:20:39 +0000 Cory Blomenkamp http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6330

Enhancing Your Dual Boot System

In my last article I showed you how to create a dual boot system of both Windows 7 and Ubuntu. It was a step by step guide to get allow you to run both Operating Systems on one machine. Even though both are on the same drive more can be done to increase the unison between them. Some of the things I will go over in this article are:

• Windows 7

  • Moving the default save locations for your profile to the “Data” partition which you created in while working through the previous article.
    

• Ubuntu

  • Mounting your “Data” partition
  • Moving the default save locations for your profile to the “Data” partition.

• Both OS

  • Applications usable in both Windows 7 and Ubuntu
    • Firefox (shared bookmarks)
    • Thunderbird (shared profile)
    • Open Office
    • Gimp
    • VLC Media Player
      

So when you’re finished going through this guide you will be able to swap between both Windows 7 and Ubuntu and never have to worry about moving files around before swapping. This will make life twice as easy and will also help you when adding other software into the OS and make them interchangeable as well.

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/enhancing-your-dual-boot-system/feed/ 7 http://www.techwarelabs.com/enhancing-your-dual-boot-system/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/7GCjm_gh2YE/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/razer-imperator-gaming-mouse/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:03:56 +0000 dwarf http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6320 Introduction

While the hardware doesn’t make the gamer, the hardware definitely helps. When their mouse just isn’t cutting it anymore, many gamers turn to Razer for cutting edge gaming mice in hopes of increasing their frag rate. While no mouse has this amazing ability, there are mice that can definitely help. Check out the new Razer Imperator. This little guy offers Razer’s awesome 5600DPI and is easy on the wallet.

Razer and the Imperator

“The Razer Imperator is not just a mere mouse, it is an extension of your hands. Its right-handed ergonomic form factor with a contoured thumb grip delivers comfort and a better fit for gaming, whether you use a palm or fingertip grip. Be empowered to take on foes and fatigue alike – for longer gaming sessions without strain.

When every aspect of your game matters, customize your game play with the unique adjustable side buttons, giving you optimum reach for easier access to mission critical keys and macros.”

Features and Specifications

• Ergonomic right-handed form factor with contoured thumb grip
  The Razer Imperator’s right-handed ergonomic form factor maximizes comfort during intense and extended gameplay so you can outlast and outfrag the competition. The contoured thumb grip cradles your hand delivering increased control to low sensitivity gamers who often lift and swipe their mouse.
• Adjustable side buttons for optimum reach
  2 adjustable side buttons delivers optimum reach regardless of palm size or grip style; and for gamers who often lift their mouse or make rapid movements during gaming, the customizable buttons makes mission critical keys and macros accessible at all times.
• 5600dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G laser sensor
  The 5600dpi Razer Precision 3.5G laser sensor arms you with gaming grade precision and reliable tracking that will keep up with your every movement. Be it a small twitch of your wrist or a long range swipe to take out your foe, the Razer imperator delivers your every instruction with pinpoint accuracy.

Technical Specifications

• Ergonomic right-handed design
• Adjustable side buttons
• 5600dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G Laser sensor
• Razer Synapse™ On-board Memory
• Up to 200 inches per second/ 50g acceleration
• Seven independently programmable Hyperesponse™ buttons
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling™ / 1ms response rate
• On-The-Fly Sensitivity™ adjustment
• Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ Teflon® feet

Approx. size in mm: 123(L) x 71(W) x 42(H)

Hardware requirement

• PC/Mac with USB port
• Windows® 7 / Windows Vista® / Windows® XP or Mac OS X (v10.4 and above)
• Internet connection (for driver installation)
• At least 35MB of hard disk space

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/razer-imperator-gaming-mouse/feed/ 11 http://www.techwarelabs.com/razer-imperator-gaming-mouse/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/2itnNv3GsXw/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/inwin-diva-mitx-case/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:34:09 +0000 Artiom http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6313

Introduction

The field of computing in general is generally dominated by males and so the cases are generally made with the male gender in mind. In Win, however, decided to take into account the minority and create a case that will be marketed towards the female side of the market. The Diva is the case that was designed with mostly women in mind. In fact, the female concept is woven event into the name of the case. The word Diva, means a distinguished female singer, a prima donna.

Specifications

There are a couple of important things to note here. First of is the power supply. This case, despite being a Mini-ITX does provided a 160 W power supply. One of the important things to know about the power supply, though is that provides limited number of connections for the peripherals that the user might be interested in such as SATA power ports (a total of 2) and a MOLEX plug (1).

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/inwin-diva-mitx-case/feed/ 8 http://www.techwarelabs.com/inwin-diva-mitx-case/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/YjivGtIisyY/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/everki-beacon-backpack/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:34:33 +0000 Will http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6296

Introduction

Everki has a fair range of cases, all of them designed around protecting a notebook or camera. Today we’ll be looking at one of their largest offerings, the Beacon backpack. Designed to hold the largest of laptops and a whole raft of accessories besides, the Beacon is clearly meant to be the last word in storage for the traveling professional.

Everki’s Take

Before we dive into things, let’s take a look at what Everki have to say about this product:

• Dedicated ultra-soft padded laptop compartment accommodates up to 18” laptops
• Gaming console sleeve included (suitable for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, etc)
• Spacious storage compartment for gaming console, accessories, and documents
• Clever buckle system allows for both partial or full 180 degree opening of the main compartment for easy loading
• High contrast lining makes items easy to find
• Hip pockets for quick access to items like keys, media players, and mobile phone without taking the bag off your back
• Dual hand-carry handles for easy lifting
• Aero-flow padded back and shoulder straps
• 5-point balance strap system evenly distributes weight for comfortable carrying
• Water-resistant weather cover protects against dust, rain, or snow
• Integrated shoulder strap and hip-pocket headphone cable management
• Outer pockets for additional storage
• Ruggedized water-resistant bottom cover
• Self-healing zippers
• Backed by Everki’s Limited Lifetime Warranty and world-class customer service

For those who hate reading bullet point lists, here’s a video describing the Beacon in detail:

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/everki-beacon-backpack/feed/ 10 http://www.techwarelabs.com/everki-beacon-backpack/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/wV27HqXw2ZQ/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/eos-wireless-loudspeaker-system/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:27:27 +0000 Androski Matthew http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6224

Introduction

No matter where you go you will always find someone who loves good music, more and more popular are internet radio stations such as Pandora and Slacker Radio. With more and more music being distributed through online sources its tough to find a good sound system able to provide a solid listening experience throughout a house or party without breaking the bank. Fortunately IntelliTouch has come up with their EOS wireless system a dead simple music system which is able to stream music from just about any source to anywhere within a 150 foot radius. This massive coverage can provide full coverage for  house, apartment  or even a small hall. Join me while I show you the EOS multi-room wireless system from IntelliTouch.

IntelliTouch’s take:

The new Eos Converge multi-room wireless audio system and the Eos Wireless Audio iPod Speaker System give you the freedom to put your music wherever you are.  With the new Converge wireless audio system or the Eos Wireless Audio iPod Speakers you can broadcast your music up to 150 feet away, inside or out. All digital means no static, no interference.  With an Eos whole-home audio system you can put your music in absolutely any room you want — the bedroom, the backyard, the kitchen, the bathroom…wherever you are. Best of all you can use the Eos multi-room wireless audio system with all the audio equipment you already have… your home audio system, home theater system, iPod, satellite radio and more.

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/eos-wireless-loudspeaker-system/feed/ 8 http://www.techwarelabs.com/eos-wireless-loudspeaker-system/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/-mPMXVZZu-4/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/everki-camber/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:26:09 +0000 Matthew Homan http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6255

Looking for a carrying case for your netbook or notebook? Take a close look at what Everki has to offer with their Camber 7” – 13” case. Sure, there are endless companies on the market today to choose from, but not too many have carrying bags for netbooks and even fewer create theirs with style. The Camber from Everki is one that really stood out among others while attending CES 2010. Let’s take a closer look at the Camber to see why were excited to bring it to your attention.

The design behind the Camber is the unique angle which will hold your netbook.

The Camber is shaped like a wedge to give you an elevated surface to place your netbook on for better comfort while typing. Also this gives you a place to put your netbook bag rather than hanging off the back of your chair or on the floor where it could be stepped on or stolen.

Simple to the point packaging.	The back of the package lists EVERKI’s Lifetime Warranty and a few sketches of the features of the Camber.

Take a look at how Everki describes their case:

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/everki-camber/feed/ 5 http://www.techwarelabs.com/everki-camber/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/0a9FF2kvuRg/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/wikireader/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:40:06 +0000 dwarf http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6068

Wikipedia in the Palm of Your Hand

Looking for a dedicated Wikipedia reader? Look no further than the WikiReader. This little guy stores all of Wikipedia on a micro-SD card for immediate access when you need to prove a point. Read on for more info.

Introducing WikiReader

Meet WikiReader. In a world with constant interruptions comes a device specifically designed to facilitate your focus. With 3 simple buttons and 3 million topics, WikiReader brings the iconic Wikipedia to all generations.

Touch Screen for Simple Navigation.

The high-quality touchscreen puts everything from typing to scrolling under the control of your fingertips.

Search for anything.

With over 3 million topics, WikiReader has answers for nearly every question. Be prepared when curiosity strikes.

Practical design.

With your active life in mind, WikiReader’s screen is fantastic under bright sunlight as well as indoors. Hold WikiReader in your hand and you’ll instantly feel why people love its organic design.

Low power usage.

Forget daily charging, two standard  AAA batteries (included) will power WikiReader for about 12 months of normal usage. Or put in those unused rechargeable batteries lying around in the house. Those will work, too.

Only 3 buttons.

We kept it simple – now have fun. Search, view your browsing history, or go random and let WikiReader surprise you.

High quality.

From the scratch resistant tempered glass screen to the high-quality plastic case, WikiReader was designed and engineered for added durability.

How it works

The WikiReader is a very simple device. You simply download Wikipedia from WikiReader’s website and copy it over to the micro-SD card located behind the battery. The WikiReader does come with Wikipedia installed on it already so it’s good to go out of the box!

How it feels

The WikiReader is somewhat small and can easily fit into your bag, or men’s pants pockets (I don’t know how you ladies get around with such tiny pockets), though it’s square shape is a little awkward in regular fit jeans like my Levi’s 514s. The screen is made of class and is easily cleaned. The tree buttons along the bottom are responsive and of good quality. The on button is a little sensitive though, so it can easily be turn on in your pocket. The white plastic body is designed in a subtly irregular shape which could prove obnoxious to to those with OCD.

Using it

This device works just as advertised. Turn it on, press search and type up what you are looking for on it’s touch screen. Want to find something that you looked for yesterday? Press the dedicated history button and scroll through the list. Bored? Press random, and behold the many articles on Wikipedia.

It’s always great to see products that work as advertised, but there are a few caveats. For one, the screen is not E-paper the way it looks. It’s just a monochrome LCD screen like calculators and the old Game Boy. It’s also not back-lit, so don’t expect to use this in dim light. While you may have seen these coming, there is one issue that I can’t let slide. The screen is unreadable when scrolling due to a poor refresh rate, making scanning articles very difficult. However, the touch screen works very well, and searching is almost instant.

Yes, that is it scrolling!

Another thing I’m not to fond of is how it renders Wikipedia. There is no table of contents, and no pictures. While I can easily understand the lack of pictures on a monochrome screen, the lack of table of contents, and a poor refresh rate, makes searching for specific information very difficult

Conclusion

Overall, the WikiReader is a nice device, it does as advertised and is very quick. This could easily be a great present for you kid, or for someone that doesn’t want to pay for a data plan. If you are interested in the WikiReader you can pick it up at the their website for a staggering $99.

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/wikireader/feed/ 6 http://www.techwarelabs.com/wikireader/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/Qupuer3s3sk/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/nzxt-hades-crafted-series/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:52:21 +0000 Matthew Homan http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=5856

NZXT continues to expand the fleet of computer cases in 2010 with the new Hades Crafted Series 9 Bay Black mid-tower case. NZXT has designed one more mid-tower case with as many as possible places to mount large chassis fans without overdoing it. The unique look is unlike most on the market today with a unique front panel to assist with hiding your ROM drive, but keep a sinister look. Features such as ports on the back panel for water cooling should get the attention of those who are or are planning on water cooling their rig. Also the Hades series includes two brackets to assist with mounting two SSD drives. Listing just a few key things about the case, let’s take a closer look at what the case has to offer you.

Specifications:

MODEL	Hades Series
CASE TYPE	Mid Tower Steel
FRONT PANEL MATERIAL	PLASTIC
DIMENSIONS (W x H x D)	200 X 430 X 501 mm / 7.87″ x 16.9″ x 19.7″
COOLING SYSTEM	FRONT, 1 X 200mm red LED (included) REAR, 1 X 120mm (included)SIDE, 1 x 200mm (included)TOP, 2 X 120/140mm (1 include 140mm)
DRIVE BAYS	9 DRIVE BAYS 9 EXTERNAL 5.25″ DRIVE BAYS 4 INTERNAL 3.5″ DRIVE MOUNTS Screwless Rail Design
MATERIAL(S)	Steel with black finish
EXPANSION SLOTS	7
POWER SUPPLY	500 WATT PS2 ATX 12V 2.0 ( OPTIONAL )
WEIGHT	6.95 KGS (W/O Power)
MOTHERBOARD SUPPORT	MOTHERBOARDS: ATX, MICRO-ATX, BABY AT

Features:

• Expansion galore: Nine 5.25″ bay setup or Five 5.25″ and Four 3.5″
• Latest Hardware Support: VGA clearance room for 300mm cards like the ATI 5970
• Dual 200mm intake Large air system: 200mm front fan, dual top 140mm fan, Side 200mm fan, rear 120mm exhaust. NZXT includes the chassis with all fans except for one top 140mm fan
• Control the flow: Gaming, overclocking, or office work the dual 8W per channel fan control allows control over the dual 200mm fans that spin up to 150 CFM each
• Monitor your system: A three C/F temperature display at front panel allows the user to see temperatures inside the chassis even with the door closed. A slant on the door allows for easier viewing from above.
• Punched side panel: Besides aesthetics, the side mesh and extrusion allows for even greater and ease of wire management on the right side panel
• Meshed front: 5.25″ meshed bays, meshed door, and meshed bottom panel allows for air to flow into the system with ease.
• Wire Routing: Motherboard punched holes allows for quick CPU bracket removable and optimal wire routing.
• NZXT Solid State bracket allows for two SSD drives to be installed
• Pre-drilled water cooling holes on the backplate
• Front mounted 2 USB, Audio, and E-SATA ports
• Mounting holes for dual radiator at the top
• Removable filter at the bottom PSU

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/nzxt-hades-crafted-series/feed/ 5 http://www.techwarelabs.com/nzxt-hades-crafted-series/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/uB_ITrx_-aA/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/gigabyte-890gpa-ud3h-motherboard/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:59:52 +0000 dwarf http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6081

Introduction

AMD and Intel have been going back and forth for sometime now. Intel produces the fastest, most energy efficient and most expensive systems;  AMD has taken the “band for your buck” approach with their very inexpensive high end and versatile systems. Now, it seems, AMD is getting more aggressive with what they have in store for us: a new chipset.

Today, AMD has announced their new chipset, the 890GX chipset. This chipset offers a lot of new functionality and brings forth unprecedented speed in I/O. We are talking increased SATA 3 and even more USB ports. Not to mention a great board for home theater, making it a very versatile board. Today we are looking at the Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H, Gigabyte’s first board to offer AMD’s new chipset. SATA 3 is fully involved and USB is even more prevalent in both 2.0 and 3.0 form. Check out the Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H and their new 890GX after the break.

Gigabyte and the 890GPA-UD3H

“Taipei, Taiwan, March 3, 2010 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions today proudly launched their latest AMD AM3 Socket GA-890GPA-UD3H motherboard, delivering loads of performance enhancing bandwidth for applications such as high end gaming and high speed data transfer on systems featuring new AMD 6 core CPUs.

The first motherboard featuring the AMD 890GX chipset paired with the all new SB850 South Bridge, the GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H offers the industry’s first native support for Serial ATA 6Gbps for up to 6 devices. The AMD SB850 also offers the industry’s first Serial ATA 6 Gbps RAID support, allowing users to configure RAID 0,1,5 and 10 for maximum data performance or enhanced data backup. Also equipped with GIGABYTE 3x USB Power Boost and USB 3.0 support by utilizing the industry-leading NEC® controller, the GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H ensures users are ready to take advantage the next wave of high speed data transfer and storage technologies.

“Giving users power over their high definition content is really at the heart of what the GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H is all about,” commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. “Not only does the GA-890GPA-UD3H deliver the industry’s highest performing integrated graphics solution with flawless HD video playback, but enabling SATA 6 Gbps with RAID functionality, USB 3.0 support and GIGABYTE 3x Power Boost means that users are able to spend less time waiting for their content to transfer, and more time to actually enjoy it.”

The GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H also features the integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 4290 IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) with DirectX 10.1 support and 128M DDR3 sideport memory, allowing for easy overclock of the default 700MHz GPU clock up to 1150MHz for a 3DMark06 score of 3300 or above, which is 18% higher than the previous generation AMD 790GX chipset and higher than any other IGP platform. The graphics potential of the board is further extended with the addition of two PCI-E 2.0 x16 graphics slots, allowing users to run ATI CrossFireX™ (running at x8,x8), or a single card at x16 including the next generation DirectX 11 graphics cards for some ATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ action, providing an enhanced level of gaming performance, productivity and platform power efficiency.”

Specificaitons

• AMD 890GX + SB850 Chipset
• Ultra Durable 3 Classic Technology with copper cooled quality for lower working temperature
• Revolution energy saving design with Easy Energy Saver technology
• Supports newest NEC SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with superfast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps
• 3X USB power delivery for greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices
• AMD SB850 provides native SATA3 storage interface with superfast 6Gbps link speed
• Supports AMD AM3 Phenom II/ Athlon II processors
• Dual Channel DDR3 1866+ for remarkable system performance
• Built-in a 128MB DDR3 Sideport Memory for accelerating graphics performance
• Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4290 graphics (DirectX10.1)
• 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface with ATI CrossFireX/ Hybrid CrossFireX technology support
• Supports Dolby Home Theater audio to enjoy a rich surround sound experience
• Integrated HDMI/ DVI interface for Full HD 1080 Blu-ray playback with HDCP
• Compatible with Window 7 to deliver the best operation experience
• Meet European Union EuP(Energy-using Products) requirement

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/gigabyte-890gpa-ud3h-motherboard/feed/ 6 http://www.techwarelabs.com/gigabyte-890gpa-ud3h-motherboard/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/QECLu-zbRMk/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/jetway-nc94-510-lf/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:14:42 +0000 Androski Matthew http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=5865

Introduction:

In today’s economy everybody is trying to get by with the cheapest and most versatile components they can. Toward this drive for lower cost there has been a rise in the desire for small low power multi-function machines to serve as home servers and media centers. Jetway a Taiwanese company has recently paired one of Intel’s powerful and energy efficient Atom D510 chip with their Mini-ITX board in an attempt to provide a versatile machine which can be used as a media center or home server it could also pull off a very light gaming rig with its included PCI-e X16 slot. The question is will the NC94-510LF be the perfect marriage of functionality and efficiency or will it be a disappointment.

System Setup

• JetWay NC94-510-LF motherboard.
• Chenbro ES30086 Case
• 4GBram Corsair XMS2 ram
• 2x 250GB Seagate SATA drives
• Microsoft Windows Home Server ( a derivative of Server 2003 )

]]> http://www.techwarelabs.com/jetway-nc94-510-lf/feed/ 5 http://www.techwarelabs.com/jetway-nc94-510-lf/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techwarelabs/~3/MWEkKRP9hUA/ http://www.techwarelabs.com/dual-boot-windows7-ubuntu/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:17:46 +0000 Cory Blomenkamp http://www.techwarelabs.com/?p=6054

What is Dual Booting?

The ability to dual boot systems is nothing new but very rarely done anymore. You more than likely will never find a good enough reason or use for an average PC user to run two Operating Systems (OS). So then you might ask yourself, “Why am I showing you how to?” The answer is easy, to quote Sir Francis Bacon’s much used aphorism “knowledge is power “.  I personally wasn’t very familiar with Ubuntu as an OS so I wanted to learn more. The cost of a second PC wasn’t justifiable, just to put a second OS on so that I could learn it for my own gain. So I went and researched how to install both of them on the same machine.

To be able to do this you will need

• PC with Windows 7 minimum requirements
  • 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86)
  • 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit)
  • DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• Hard drive with minimum of 120 GB space. The drive will be divided into 3 partitions in a 20%/20%/60%.
• Ubuntu Install Disk, download and burn ISO to a CD (Download).
• Windows 7 Install Disk. Genuine coapy.
• Average Project time was 2 hours 30 minutes with updating.

Insert OS screen shot here.

Introduction:

With laptops going mainstream and everyone looking for the smallest and lightest possible mobile computer companies have to make sacrifices in the name of battery life and unit size. Usually the sacrifice is screen real estate and hard drive size, fortunately Sans Digital as a fix for this reduction in hard drive size and speed and it comes in a beautiful redundant flavor. While not actually an editable product it is none the less one of 12 other options in the Towerraid series each featuring different connection options or drive arrangements. Join me while I review the TR5UT(-B) which is in the middle of the Sans Digital Towerraid product line of external raid storage.

Features:

• Hardware RAID, supporting RAID 0, 1, 10, 3, 5, JBOD, Clone and hot spare disk.

• Over 200MB/s read and 170MB/s write performance.

• eSATA and USB 2.0 interface.

• Bundled SATA 6.0Gbps PCIe 2.0 x1 controller card, supports PCIe 2.0 with over 200MB/s performance. (Highpoint R622)

• Backward compatible with PCIe 1.0 slot is supported.

• True hardware RAID design within the enclosure, no driver and no additional RAID controller needed.

• New Clone mode (N-way Mirror) – all the hard drives connected will be mirrored. Clone mode is especially useful when users would like to copy data form a hard drive to several hard drives at the same time.

• Supports SATA I (1.5Gb/s) and SATA II (3Gb/s) hard drives.

• Over 2TB per volume via eSATA and USB on OS that support 2TB and above.

• Automatic insertion / removal detection and rebuild.

• Hardware RAID with standard Interface. No extra drivers required.

• Included five hot-swappable hard drive trays for easy trouble shooting.

• Compact, stylish 5 bay tower design with protective ventilating cover.

Challenges:

As a network administrator, content filtering is one of the most difficult challenges I face. Whether you’re keeping your employees off time-consuming social networks, or protecting your family from the dangers of the web you need a strong solution to combat the threats the open internet contains. It’s a fact; there are over 35,000 websites categorized as adult being tracked by Alexa right now.  Between banner ads, pop-ups, and redirects there is no telling what your kids might accidentally (or intentionally) come across when surfing the internet.  I have spent a great deal of time searching for the most effective solution and my results may surprise you.

I have tried installing software on every computer, it quickly becomes too much of a hassle to maintain. And I have tried some of the out of the box solutions, but when looking at the shockingly high price tag, I quickly found an open source alternative. Open Source software is rapidly coming to the forefront in mainstream networking. ClearOS is an easy to install live-cd software, and it’s remarkably scalable.

For starters, you are going to need an old computer. AMD or Intel will do, the beefier the specifications the more you can do with this all in one box.

Minimum requirements:

Once you have the system you can download the ISO directly from the web site here, and use your favorite windows based software to burn the ISO into a usable disk. The resulting disk will wipe the contents of the hard drive and walk you through the easy installation.  There is even a video on the website here to walk you through it.

Once you have it installed, ClearOS you will want you to take some time to configure it. You will see that you can either do this directly on the computer or you can access it from you internet browser on another computer.  Under the gateway tab, you will see Protocol Control and Content Filter; these are the two most important features and the reason I love ClearOS.

ClearOS

Starting with content Filter, there is a huge continuously updated database of blacklisted websites all categorized for your convenience you can get as strict as you please, blanket blocking everything, or simply specific categories. You can even set up Specific internet access times. The real Gem is protocol control though; this allows you to block specific types of traffic. This is particularly useful in blocking specific chat programs, games, and peer 2 peer networks.

Once you have the system configured to your liking, you will want to install it in between your modem and router. You can go into the router configuration and disable DHCP so that the ClearOS box is now the control device on your network.  After everything is up and running you should take the opportunity to look at some of the other features this FREE software has.

I am particularly excited about some of the features under development

The way the content Filter works is that when the local computer requests a web page, ClearOS references the name of the site against the blacklist and if it gets a match, it denies the request. The second level of defense is the Protocol Control; it helps prevent some of the applications that subvert this DNS look-up method. Depending on how much you trust the users on your network, you can even go so far as to block specific download extensions such as executable programs to prevent them from installing proxy software, or the like. In four years there is one thing I can assure you, nothing short of removing the internet connection is fool proof. Given enough time and determination, firewall subversion is inevitable. The only thing you can do is make it as difficult as possible. On the bright side if your child gets particularly good at usurping your network, they will have a good head start on a network security career!

Introduction

Malware and Spyware are not new and have in fact been around for several years. These kinds of software are starting to be seriously addressed by anti-virus companies but they cannot keep up.  Most users are infected by Malware and Spyware through one of five methods of transmission:

• Website visits (just by visiting some sites you can become infected without realizing it)
• USB and External Hard Drive Sharing (plug an infected storage device into another PC and the potential exists for transmission)
• Bundled Software (often aimed at providing a service these open the door for other infections)
• Pop Up ads (advertisements spawned by websites and bundled software designed to trick you into installing a program)
• P2P File Sharing (e-mule, bittorrent, utorrent, etc.)

The Effects:

You hate it because it slows your computer down, it often costs you money to fix, and sometimes you lose your pictures, files, and data. Your computer is a very personal and you feel violated. The problem is you are not really sure how or when this occurred and you feel powerless to prevent it. It’s often embarrassing to admit that the violation occurred at all. I mean after all spyware, malware, and viruses all come from browsing the internet web sites or opening e-mails you shouldn’t right?

Now let’s talk about the facts and the power you have over your PC without spending your hard earned cash on needless software. Isn’t it time to slam the door in the face of this unwanted stuff?

TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)

The price tag on your PC does not account for all of the costs involved in owning that computer over its lifetime in your possession. Spyware, viruses, and Malware account for a major portion of total cost of ownership of a computer weather it’s an Apple or a PC. Losses by small, medium, and large businesses account for billions of dollars each year in the US alone. Among the most targeted environments are educational facilites which tend to have much more lax policies on computer use.

Over its lifetime a computer may need to be re-installed many times usually due to one of the above malady’s. Combating the threats of Spyware, Malware, and Viruses is big business and has led to a market full of professionals and software all dedicated to the removal and prevention of these problems. As we mentioned though, It is big business, and big business usually means big money. The cost for encountering one of these problems can often be more than the original purchase price of your computer, not to mention the loss of time and your data. One of the most often asked questions that an IT professional will receive in the line of work is: “What can I do to prevent a (Virus, Spyware, Malware) infection?  The answer: Nothing. That’s right, nothing. It is a matter of time before you will likely run into one of these bugs. Now all hope is not lost . . While there is nothing that you can do to totally PREVENT such a problem, there are several simple things you can do to radically reduce the threat these bugs pose and to squash them when and if they do pop up.  This short tutorial will give you all the information and basic tools you need to arm yourself against such problems. Spending 30 minutes with this guide can save your company thousands of dollars or put that cash back into your pocket instead of your local computer tech.

Porn and e-mail are not the root of all evil, although it probably comes in a close second.  In fact viruses, malware, and spyware have actually given porn a bad name. These infections occur most often through porn related websites due to the poor administration by the webmaster of the website server. The fact of the matter is that a well updated and patched website despite the content can be as safe as MSN and Google. So why do porn websites get infected so often? The answer, they are a target due to the large traffic they receive.

A hacker wants to infect as many PC’s as possible in the shortest period of time because he/she know that their infection will be tracked down and eliminated eventually. Since the larger sites usually have well maintained servers and are continually patched and monitored they are thus much more difficult to penetrate and infect. They still need to infect website servers that receive a lot of traffic so the next best target has been porn related servers for years. Typically the administration and maintenance has been less than optimal on such servers and thus they are easy targets.

In the end the potential for infection is equal on all servers that are not well maintained and monitored. Ultimately porn websites continue to be a high risk as do many United States, Russian, Brazilian, and Chinese websites due to the large numbers of infected servers and websites in each. Much of the malware and spyware in circulation today stems from Chinese, Taiwanese, Brazilian, and Russian creators. The fact that the US comes in second place in most infected PC’s is due to the large number of online PC’s in the US and the relatively low technical level of expertise of the standard US user. Coming in first place in most infected computers is as expected China with over 1,095,000 confirmed infected PC’s. Remember, these are confirmed infections. Experts argue that the actual infected number could be 2 to 3 times as great  if that gives you any idea of the number of actual infected computers that exists.

Facts and Figures:

So we told you that most of the malware and spyware comes from porn as well as US, European,Chinese and Russian websites but is it true? You bet it is… and these country domains are on the rise for spam in addition to all of the other unwanted digital nastiness out there.

Here is a quote from a recent INC. Magazine article on the subject:

In the last three months of 2009, about 1,095,000 computers in China were hacked, and 1,057,000 in the United States – this on top of the 10 million or so machines already infected in each country. An estimated $1 trillion in intellectual property was stolen worldwide in 2008 through hacking, McAfee estimated.

Additional Facts:

• Panda Internet Security places 19.62% of all PC’s in China/Taiwan as infected with viruses and other malicious software.
• Panda Internet Security places 10.65% of all PC’s in Brazil infected with the majority of those infections being Trojans and Adware.
• The Collaborative Malware Collection and Sensing Organization shows a huge number of attacks emanating from Europe and Taiwan
• Trend Micro Global Malware Map shows Europe, China, Brazil, and Taiwan as hotbeds of Malware Activity.

Globally:

Malware and Spyware origins by country:

Introduction

For several years now, SilverStone has been one of the top names in computer cases, standing alongside companies like Lian Li and Antec. From the introduction of the Temjin series, it’s been clear that SilverStone’s main target has been the PC enthusiast who wants a solid, refined chassis. Their Fortress series, begun last year with the Fortress FT-01, took several of the lessons learnt with the Temjin series and applied it to a new mid-tower form factor. Today we’ll be taking a look at the Fortress FT-02, a case that combines the unibody construction of the Temjin and Fortress series chassis with several cooling tricks first developed with the Raven series.

SilverStone’s Take

First, let’s see what SilverStone has to say about this case:

Combining two of SilverStone’s most distinctive computer chassis breakthroughs – the unibody construction of the Temjin TJ07, introduced in 2005, and the 90-degrees rotated motherboard mount of the RAVEN RV01 from 2008 – the Fortress FT02 advances both chassis construction and thermodynamics in a dynamic, streamlined design. With the Fortress FT02, SilverStone engineers have combined the rigidity of unibody construction with the unparalleled cooling layout of the RAVEN chassis, adding a hot-swappable hard drive cage and an acoustically padded interior for maximum versatility. The result is increased structural strength, increased storage capacity, and whisper-quiet operation. Available in black and silver colors, its elegant outer shell is perfectly accentuated by the U-shaped unibody aluminum frame that not only provides unique styling, but also functional purpose. The bottom gap from the frame to the main body actually serves as the main air intake area for its three massive 180mm fans, making it even suitable for use on carpeted surfaces. For professionals and enthusiasts looking to build a silent workstation or gaming machine with maximum performance, there is no better than the SilverStone Fortress FT02.

Clearly, this case is meant for enthusiast users who put heavy demands on their hardware. We’ll see if it holds up.

Ableplanet has sent TechwareLabs their PS500MM award winning True Fidelity Multimedia Stereo Headphones w/ Patented LINX AUDIO to review.  The PS5500MM headset is an on-ear set which is new to this reviewer. In the past I have used in-ear, over-ear headphones which have produced phenomenal bass and true clarity of sound at all volumes. The on-ear style in my opinion couldn’t deliver enough bass since the headphone wasn’t sealed around the ear or ear canal. Well, the PS500MM change my opinion in no time at all.

The headphone market at present is swamped with all kinds of options and only a few are worth their listed price. After using the ableplanet PS500MM initially for an hour, this reviewer was sold! The sound quality from the ear phones was spectacular and the sound quality from the microphone was also very impressive.