Round-up We love hardware, and if you ask us how to make an old computer go faster, we’ll recommend a hardware upgrade. But 34 million people opt for a software tune-up in the US alone, estimates Iolo, a company that makes tune-up software.
Iolo’s System Mechanic 9 does a good job of finding services you don’t use
Click for full-size screen grab
Can such a large number of people be wrong? We thought we’d take a look at some popular tune-up apps that explicitly claim they will speed up your computer or, when more carefully worded, are “designed” to speed up your computer.
We didn’t set out to see if these applications really could fix registry problems and related crashes because it’s difficult to objectively measure such abilities, especially as every program claimed to be able to fix more than 1000 registry problems, most of which were simply dead links and things like having Windows updates disabled. Handy, perhaps, but not as interesting to us as the performance promises. Read the rest of this entry »
Review First a confession: we have always been troubled by the concept of black-and-white multifunctional devices (MFDs). Being able to scan in colour but print only in mono seems rather like being given a punnet of strawberries that you are only allowed to smell. However, Oki clearly feels there continues to be demand for this level of product and, given the company’s long history in the MFD market, we were willing to be won over by its new MB290.
Oki’s MB290: mono Printing keeps it compact compared to colour equivalents
It is, after all, a proper MFD that provides extensive multi-user fax features in addition to scanning, 20ppm LED Printing and copying. It also has a network port for workgroup use, a built-in web-based management utility and an automatic document feeder (ADF) as standard. Even without the luxury of colour Printing, that’s not bad for £210. Despite the large overall dimensions of 412×447x386mm, the MB290 is a compact device with a relatively small footprint and weighing just 13kg.
A single 250-sheet paper cassette is loaded into the front at the base of the unit. Although the front of the cassette sits flush with the front of the machine, the rear end of the cassette sticks out a few centimetres at the back – uncovered and steadily collecting dust. There is no paper level indicator. Above the paper cassette is a single-sheet manual feeder slot with smooth-sliding width guides. Envelopes pass through unfettered and without wrinkling. Read the rest of this entry »
Review If you caught our review of the Samsung R522, the R720 will look more than a little similar. As the name implies, though, it has a larger 17.3in display, with a glossy coating and native resolution of 1600 x 900. Naturally, this makes the chassis a fair bit bigger at 441mm wide, 273mm deep and, at its thickest point, 40mm tall. Nevertheless, it’s one of the lighter 17in laptops on the market, weighing in at 2.9kg.
Samsung R720: the R522’s bigger brother
The keyboard houses exactly the same style of keys as the R522 but, thanks to the larger chassis, Samsung has also found room for a numeric keypad. The trackpad, with its fancy blue-lit rim, has also been stretched to match the widescreen display. Unlike on the R522, though, Samsung has shrunk the arrow keys to half-height, which makes them a little fiddly.
One area of concern is the keys. When we first received our review sample they all had a very slight, but noticeable texture. However, it didn’t take long for the more frequently used keys (such as E, S and A) to lose their texture and develop shiny spots. This isn’t exactly uncommon when it comes to laptop keyboards, but the rate at which certain keys started showing bald patches was worrying. We’re also left wondering what state they would be in after a year, or even just a few months of heavy typing. Read the rest of this entry »
Android App Review With the launch of HTC’s Hero, and with other Android phones from the likes of Samsung looming on the horizon, it seems the perfect time to take a gander at ALK’s CoPilot Live 8 satnav software, which is now available for Android and the iPhone.
Despite costing just over £25, CoPilot has all the features that you’d expect from a modern satnav. Mode of travel can be set to either car, bike, motorbike, RV – which presumably will take you across someone’s lawn in case of a traffic jam – or foot, while the maps can be viewed in either 3D or 2D. You also get a feature called ClearTurn which displays “realistic” 3D representations of motorway junctions.
ALK’s CoPilot for Android: good feature set, good UI
Finding a location is straightforward and can be done be keying in an address, a post code, co-ordinates, points of interest, geotagged photographs or by manually selecting a point on the map. The postcode finder is particularly easy to use and comprehensive.
The bundled maps include the position of all know speed cameras and you can alter the distance at which you’re warned about them. The extent to which you can exceed the speed limit before being warned is also adjustable – or you can just the turn the function off. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The Nokia E55 is actually one of a pair of very similar handsets simultaneously released by Nokia. Its brother is the E52, which is pretty much the same, except that it has a standard numeric keypad rather than the E55’s SureType-style Qwerty keypad with two letters assigned to each key. That aside, both phones come with Wi-Fi, HSDPA 3G, a 3.2Mp Camera, aGPS, FM radio and an outsize battery.
Slim pickings: Nokia’s E55 Symbian smartphone
Nokia is claiming that the E55 is the world’s thinnest smart phone, which, much like world-class sprinting, is a contest that is increasingly based on very small margins. For the record, Nokia is quoting it as 9.9mm thin, which cuts a mighty 0.1mm off the 10mm E71. No, we couldn’t tell the difference when we held them next to each other, but do let us know if you think it’s significant.
It’s a neat looking device, with chrome-look trim around its plastic frontage and a metallic backplate. Incidentally, this feels a little flimsy, and even came off in our pocket once. The 2.4in screen offers 320×240 resolution and 16 million colours. It’s bright and sharp, as you might expect, and not bad in sunlight either. Read the rest of this entry »
