| AOC e2243Fw Review Posted: 25 Aug 2011 01:06 PM PDT This super-thin display also has a super-thin price AOC's e2243Fw made a strong first impression on us: A glossy, piano-black frame houses this remarkably thin, 21.5-inch LCD monitor. In addition to being only 1/2-inch from front to back, it's also extremely lightweight and flexible—and has a budget price, too. The entry-level price of $150 gets you TN technology and a WLED-backlit screen with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio and 1920x1080 resolution. It doesn't, however, get you HDMI or DisplayPort. The six‑pound display has a round base holding sensors that, when touched, activate an onscreen display—a neat trick if it weren't so clunky. Attempting to navigate the menu was an unwieldy experience, as the buttons on the base are unintuitive and lack the ability to move up and down through the menu. Even worse, the OSD menu consists of large, confusing icons, and it's frustratingly easy to press the wrong button or to accidentally take a step back to the previous submenu. 
Only 1/2-inch thin, the e2243Fw weighs a mere six pounds.
One of the notable things about the display is its ability to tilt back to a 90-degree angle for easy wall mounting via VESA mounts. However, the e2243Fw requires a power brick—something that's unlikely to look good dangling down your wall. Also, despite the 90-degree tilt, there is no ability to move the display from left to right, which comes in handy for desktop use. And frankly, we'd be much more likely to use a 21.5-inch panel on our desktop than our wall. When moving the display on its base, not only did we find ourselves accidentally pressing the base (and therefore the menu buttons), we also noticed that the neck of the stand put pressure on the display, causing strange pressure-point patterns to warble across the screen. Moving the display also often caused it to flicker off for a moment before springing back to life. Chassis attributes aside, the display produced clear details and colors that were comparable to our zero-point display, a Dell U2410, albeit a shade darker. Adjusting the brightness and settings in the menu helped some, but the reds and greens didn't quite pop like we wanted: The e2243Fw was still a few shades cooler than our zero-point. During our DisplayMate testing, the e2243Fw suffered in the Pixel Tracking screens, where it produced some digital noise in images, as well as in the White-Level Saturation tests, where it produced some compression artifacts. It also struggled to produce accurate colors, and to render those colors smoothly and consistently—as well as to produce the full spectrum of grays seamlessly. It also experienced difficulty with the Video Bandwidth Index and Gamma Correction tests, where there was evidence of over-peaking and inaccuracy in the gray-scale and color mixtures, respectively. However, during our Blu-ray watching/gameplay testing, the e2243Fw did a solid job. In our viewing of V for Vendetta, it matched the zero-point monitor nicely. The only discrepancy was the level of detail in shaded or dark backgrounds, where the e2243Fw was a little weak, although adjusting the brightness did alleviate the issue some. Similarly, while playing Arkham Asylum, the e2243Fw consistently displayed clear images and solid colors. We didn't experience any lags, artifacts, or ghosting and were pleased overall with the display's real-world performance. Despite its awful menu and budget feel, the e2243Fw does a decent job where it really counts. $150, us.aoc.com |
| Future Interfaces: 15 Peripherals Straight Out of Science Fiction Posted: 25 Aug 2011 12:28 PM PDT Futurists, computer scientists, and trendsetting analysts all agree – the personal computer, particularly in its current configuration, probably won't be with us too much longer. And we understand the reasoning. The PC is a space hog in a world where space is increasingly at a premium, it's an energy hog at a time when energy is both costly and precious, and it's no longer the driver of the technology industry it once was. That honor now goes to all those nifty little pads and pods and tabs we suddenly can't seem to live without. The long-in-the-tooth desktop, meanwhile, has already been relegated by some to dinosaur status. Yet as much as it's been beaten down, as much as its fate seems sealed by a world that now craves mobility and a technological revolution that's now revolving in other directions, the PC isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It remains the workhorse of the workforce, the finest tool in the arsenal for visual arts, and the panacea for non-console gamers everywhere. Having said that, the PC is clearly entering a state of flux. And as it does, we thought we'd take a look at what might (and in some cases, will) happen to those devices that surround the granddaddy of high tech. For as much as the familiar PC "box" will shape-shift over the coming years and decades, so too will the peripherals that allow us to interact with it. Here then is a rundown of fifteen peripheral devices and concepts we feel are notable for their evolutionary stance, even if they may be flawed in current form. We've loosely arranged them in order of when they have – or when they might – be available in the consumer marketplace. |
| Browser Extension of the Week: The Weather Channel for Chrome Posted: 25 Aug 2011 11:24 AM PDT  As the world stands upon the cusp of the month of September, the first of the autumn leaves have already started to fall for many of us. It's a special time of year when Mother Nature makes the transition from trying to kill us with months and months of unbearable heat, tornadoes and floods to doing her best to do us all in with two season's worth of hurricanes, a few more tornadoes and bone-chilling cold. While we can't stop her soulless onslaught, it is possible to leave the house in the morning feeling just a little more prepared for the weather that's being dumped on us, thanks to The Weather Channel for Chrome, our Browser Extension of the Week.
The Weather Channel for Chrome is a slick little extension that resides in your browser's navigation bar. Designed to provide at-a-glance information on the current weather conditions for up to nine different areas around the world, The Weather Channel for Chrome makes it easy to keep track of what's going on outside, no matter where you are. By clicking on the extension's icon, users can receive a detailed 36-hour forecast including information such as UV Index, temperature, Wind Direction, and barometric pressure. 
Oh, and for all of you masochists out there, the extension also provides access to the Weather Network's television programming guide. Who could ask for more? Be sure to check back with us every Thursday for another edition of Maximum PC's Browser Extension of the Week. |
| GameStop Stops Selling Deus Ex: Human Revolution After Being Caught Removing Coupons From New Copies Posted: 25 Aug 2011 10:24 AM PDT If you're in the market for a copy of the awesome-looking Deus Ex: Human Revolution, you might want to pick it up pretty much anywhere but GameStop. Square Enix, the publisher of the game, decided to include a coupon in the retail packaging of the PC version that allows you to play DXHR for free on Square's OnLive gaming service. The problem is, GameStop plans on offering its own streaming gaming service soon and already doesn't take kindly to competitors. The bigger problem is, GameStop began ripping open all the new copies of the game and yanking out the OnLive coupons. 
Ars Technica reported the crappy practice yesterday and even included screenshots of an email from Josh Ivanoff, a Field Operations Manager with GameStop. In the email (shown above), Ivanoff says "Please immediately remove and discard the On Live coupon from all regular PC versions of Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Our desire is to not have this coupon go to any customers after this announcement." When questioned by Ars, GameStop's spokeswoman confirmed the coupon removal. The backlash across the Internet was intense and immediate. GameStop's response? They've now pulled all copies of the regular PC edition of Human Revolution from the store shelves. That's right – you can't buy the PC version of DXHR at GameStop now. Every single copy will be sent back to Square Enix and replaced with a new, coupon-less version, freebies to customers be damned. If you want to score a boxed copy that still includes the code for the free OnLive version – or just want to tell GameStop with your dollars that nobody likes a jerk – be sure to pick up Deus Ex: Human Revolution somewhere else. |
| Anonymous Reveals Nude Pics Of BART Spokesman Linton Johnson Posted: 25 Aug 2011 10:15 AM PDT The human language is a funny thing. In most circumstances, the words "Anonymous nude photos online" could land you in some pretty hot water with your significant other. Not today, though. On August 25th, "Anonymous nude photos online" translates into "Anonymous posts nude photos of BART spokesman Linton Johnson online in an escalation of its war with the San Francisco transit system." Anonymous has been beating on BART and calling for Johnson's resignation ever since the transit system disabled cellular service during an August 11th protest about the shooting of a homeless man by a BART officer. Graham Cluley at Sophos reports that at the time, Linton Johnson claimed that the transit authority "didn't try to shut down the protest. They simply turned off the cell service so it couldn't become viral. It really is just a cost-benefit analysis of where your freedom of speech begins to threaten the public safety." Anonymous took offense and opened virtual fire with #OpBart. 
Obviously, either Johnson or someone close to him hasn't been very careful with his pictures; Anon recently created a blog that put Johnson's johnson on display for the world to see. The BART spokesman appears in a shirt that says STIFF, no less. The website has already been taken down, but Cluley managed to grab the pic above before it was lost to the aether. Linton's johnson (and his face) is obscured here, but it was in full un-pixelated glory on the Anonymous website. You can see pics with Johnson's face displayed on Gawker, if you want. Out of respect, we decided not to post them here. The man in the pictures hasn't been officially confirmed as Johnson, but it sure looks like him. We are certain about two things: you shouldn't put nude pictures of yourself on any computer connected to the Internet if you don't want them on the Internet, and, checking out the photos, that looked like one hell of a party. |
| Digital Storm Debuts Cryo-TEC Cooling System with Sub-Zero Temperatures (Photos Inside) Posted: 25 Aug 2011 09:45 AM PDT  Boutique outfit Digital Storm is once again dipping its system building fingers into sub-zero territory with the launch of its Cryo-TEC Cooling System. This chilly cooler is essentially a redesigned version of Digital Storm's Sub-Zero Liquid Chilled system and is now smaller and more powerful than before by way of direct contact heat dissipation technology.
Digital Storm describes the new model as a "radical leap forward in cooling technology," a claim made possible by placing the processor in direct contact with the thermo-electric cold plate. The Cryo-TEC Cooling System also includes a custom control board that automatically optimizes cooling power and efficiency, Digital Storm says. The Cry-TEC is also $500 less expensive than the previous Sub-Zero cooling apparatus. It's offered in four different gaming computers, or "Levels," as Digital Storm dubs them. The Level 1 setup starts at $3,968 and includes: - Intel Core i7 2600K processor
- Asus Sabertooth P67 motherboard
- 8GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Dominator DHX memory
- Nvidia GTX 580 videocard
- Western Digital 1TB Black Edition hard drive (7200RPM, 64MB cache)
- 24X DVD burner
- Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX power supply (1050W)
The above system setup also includes a "Stage 3" overclock with Digital Storm goosing the processor to somewhere between 4.9GHz and 5.2GHz. Starting at $6,931, the Level 4 machine is built around an Intel Core i7 990X processor, 12GB of memory, and three GTX 580 videocards for tri-SLI bragging rights. All four machines can be custom configured. Product Pages: Level 1; Level 2; Level 3; Level 4 Image Credit: Digital Storm |
| Lenovo COO Rory Read Sees Greener Grass at AMD, Accepts CEO Position Posted: 25 Aug 2011 09:09 AM PDT  Forget about the East coast earthquakes, all the moving and shaking of late is taking place in Silicon Valley and other technology hotspots. This past week alone has seen HP's TouchPad emerge as the most sought after tablet, Steve Jobs resign as CEO of Apple, Acer post a quarterly loss for the first time in company history, and AMD finally pick a new captain.
AMD today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Rory P. Read as the company's new skipper, or more officially, President and Chief Executive Officer. The chip maker plucked Mr. Read from U.S.S. Lenovo, where he served as President and COO. "Rory is a proven leader with an impressive record of driving profitable growth," said Bruce Claflin, Chairman of AMD's Board of Directors. "He is ideally suited to accelerate AMD's evolution into the world's leading semiconductor design company. As President and COO of Lenovo he helped take the company into dynamic new markets while growing market share and expanding profitability. His sound strategic thinking and natural customer orientation will help amplify the voice of the customer inside AMD." AMD credits Mr. Read with driving double-digit growth at Lenovo, as well as reversing operating losses and maintaining consistent profitability. Lenovo wasn't as specific in its praise of Mr. Read, but did offer up a few kind words that would indicate he didn't burn any bridges by leaving. "Rory Read has made a significant contribution to our success during his time as president and COO at Lenovo. His selection as CEO of AMD is a great reflection of the way the industry views Lenovo's talent and our performance," Yang Yuanqing, CEO of Lenovo, said in a statement. Lenovo said it has no immediate plans to name a new President and/or COO. Over at AMD, interim CEO Thomas Siefert will return to his role as Senior Vice President after filling in for former CEO Dirk Meyer since January 2011. Image Credit: Lenovo |
| New Version of Ad-Aware Internet Security (Version 9.5) Now Available for Download Posted: 25 Aug 2011 08:45 AM PDT  The folks over at Lavasoft, not to be confused with Lavalys, makers of the defunct Everest utility that was picked up by FinalWire and rebadged as AIDA64, just released Ad-Aware 9.5 Free Internet Security and Ad-Aware 9.5 Pro Internet Security. Lavasoft's software mechanics stripped the core program of its bloat and tweaked the scan engine.
Launched exclusively with CNet's Download.com, the new suites weigh just 12MB, down significantly from 130MB, at least initially. Once executed, the installer fetches 80MB of additional data online, which is still an overall reduction compared to the previous builds. CNet claims the programs should be anywhere from four to eight times faster than version 9.0.5, though noted the Smart Scan was actually slower in real-world tests. The free version of Ad-Aware 9.5 Internet Security includes malware protection, basic real-time protection, genocode detection technology, behavior-based heuristics, rootkit removal, a malware removal tool, a scheduler, and automatic updates. Included in the Pro ($30) version are a few upgrades, including "expert" real-time protection, advanced rootkit removal, tweaks to speed up PC start time, a Do-Not-Disturb mode, and technical support. Ad-Aware 9.5 Free Internet Security
Ad-Aware 9.5 Pro Internet Security Question for Maximum PC readers: As we gear up for our next annual antivirus roundup, is this one of the programs you would like to see make the cut? Sound off in the comments section below. Image Credit: Download.com |
| Iomega Announces 12-bay NAS for Enterprise Posted: 25 Aug 2011 07:56 AM PDT  Iomega's new StorCenter px12-350r is a rackmount network storage array (NAS) for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and distributed enterprises. The px12-350r replaces the ix12-300r as Iomega's flagship rackmount NAS and comes loaded with 12 bays with support for up to 36TB, though SMBs can also opt to slap high performance solid state drives (SSDs) in there as well.
The 2U form factor rackmount NAS comes in two base configurations, one with four 2TB drives and another with four 3TB drives. Both of these sport an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor clocked at 3GHz, 4GB of DDR2 memory, four GbE LAN ports, RAID 0/1/10/5/6 support, iSCSI, three USB 2.0 ports (one front, two rear), full Hyper-V Live migration support, embedded AXIX Video Hosting System (AVHS), and according to Iomega, the px12-350r is also the only NAS in the world to support Avamar deduplicating backups. Pricing starts at $6,000 for the 8TB model and $7,000 for the 12TB model. An 8TB expansion pack is available for $1,400, 12TB for $1,700, and 128GB SSDs for $400 each. Product Page Image Credit: Iomega |
| Apple Investors Cautious Going into Post Jobs Era Posted: 25 Aug 2011 07:29 AM PDT  The collective cry from Wall Street this morning is, "They took our Jobs!" Wait, that might have been what was beaming from a repeat episode of South Park. In any event, Apple investors are trying to figure out what life will be like in the Cupertino camp after Steve Jobs dropped a bombshell late yesterday announcing his resignation, effective immediately, with former COO Tim Cook stepping in as his replacement.
Apple shares initially dropped by more than 5 percent last night in after-hours trading, but after sleeping on the news, investors woke up less panicked and opened th trading day at $365, down $11.18 from before the surprise announcement, or 3 percent, according to Mercury News. It's now trading at $317, down less than one-and-a-half percent. Analysts aren't terribly worried about life after Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January and will stick around as chairman. In the short term, analysts believe Apple will rake in $120 billion in sales by the end of the year, and there's already a roadmap for the next several years. "There's no downside in the short term," said Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner. "We'll have to see if there's a downside in the long term." Depending on how his health holds up, Peter Misek with Jefferies & Co. says "Jobs will be able to continue to offer his insights and visions for the future of Apple," according to USA Today. In other words, his resignation as overlord isn't nearly as damaging as when Luke Skywalker fired a pair of proton torpedoes into a thermal exhaust port on the Death Star. |
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