GScreen Spacebook Offers Dual-Screen

 

For when portability is absolutely, positively, is not a concern, will soon have a new option in the "mobile" computer. GScreen Spacebook The package is a bit rugged notebook dual sliding 17-inch LCD screens. After much construction, the team finally a deadline in November.

Book a difficult space weighs 10 pounds, but you get a lot of treatment could be at this price. The device comes with the Core i5 and i7, up to 8 GB of RAM. 500 GB hard drive, and GeForce GTX 250 1 GB of video memory. Prune as much as possible the weight of the Earth, Paper Space is a magnesium chassis.

Slide the two screens symmetrically, with an increase in the back of another. 17-inch panels are 1920x1080, which is a solid density of the pixels of resolution. If you really need this type of mobile workstation, the Sapcebook be sold at a price equal to its weight. The range of entry-level versions of $ 1,899 and can be specced to $ 2099

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What Was The Great Secret Of Razer? A Gaming Laptop

When Razer launched its teaser site pcgamingisnotdead.com last weekend, I assumed it would be about some new high-end devices - that sort of thing the famous company. When they went further and took out a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal, I started thinking it must be something more. You do not usually see this type of promotion just another mouse or keyboard, and also as a reviewer Maximum PC devices, I probably would have heard about something in advance.

So on Tuesday I had the chance to see new products Razer. And while I'm not sure it will be the only savior of PC gaming, it's something totally unexpected. Meet Blade, the gaming laptop first of Razer. It is not just another gaming notebook, but - read on to find out why.

Razer Blade (get it?) Is gaming notebook, to be sure, but at first glance you can tell it's a breed apart the desktop replacement type behemeth you expect from brands like Alienware . The blade still packs a 17-inch screen, making it large enough, but the whole is remarkably thin (for a gaming laptop) and light. At 0.88 inches in height and 6.9 kg in weight, thinner leaves and a little heavier than the MacBook Pro 17-inch model, which it resembles the opposite. The skull-piece style keyboard recessed, it is clear that Razer has taken some inspiration from Apple's flagship laptop.

The other unique feature of the blade design can be found at the right of the keyboard, a monitor-slash-in touchpad and 8 extra buttons can be customized linkable to display the icons of the game you are playing. These elements seem taken directly from the concept of Switchblade Razer unveiled at CES this year. They look like they could be cool, but we will see how the software support for their pots before we can jump to conclusions.

Internally, Blade is powered by i7-2640m dual-core CPU 2.8GHz, 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA discrete GPU 555m. In other words, less energy than you want to get a good price, less portable gaming laptops of different brand. I watched Blade to play current games, like Call of Duty: Black Ops at high settings for a good framerate, and the Razer says that Battlefield 3 will be ready to play, but I can not help but wonder how the future of this equipment is.

Finally, there is the price: you can buy a knife by the end of this year to $ 2,800. At that price, Blade is interesting. Players pay top-dollar laptop in the form of big factor, but not the inside of the top speed? Would you like to?

Hit comments and let us know.

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Lenovo Debuts Its New Windows 7 Tablet

Lenovo’s new IdeaPad Tablet P1 is a productivity machine and entertainment device rolled into one. After all, it’s the first tablet we’ve seen that has Microsoft Office 2010 and Angry Birds for PC preinstalled. The P1 has a 1.5GHz Intel processor, integrated Intel HD graphics, and up to 2GB of DDR2 memory. You can choose between a 32GB and 64GB SSD, and the microSD slot provides additional storage capabilities. The tablet features a 10.1-inch HD multitouch display, USB port, 2MP Web cam, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, and up to six hours of battery life.

The P1’s impressive software suite also includes OneKey Rescue System, Lenovo Energy Management, eBook reader, App Manager, and Arcsoft TotalMedia Center. Pricing for the P1 was not available at press time, but Lenovo reports the tablet is due out later this year.

AsRock Vision 3D 137B Home-Theater PC

Home-theater PCs don’t generate much interest among mainstream consumers. That’s a bit mind-boggling, considering how many features these machines off er and the fact that most people are already familiar with the Windows interface. But luckily for us enthusiasts, companies like AsRock keep working diligently to improve HTPC design. The Vision 3D delivers nearly every digital entertainment feature you could want, including Blu-ray 3D, Internet TV, video on demand, online music services, and access to all the digital media stored on your own network.

The machine’s $850 street price renders it very expensive compared to, say, a mediastreamer like the Boxee Box, especially since it doesn’t come with everything you’ll need to get started (more on that in a moment). On the plus side, however, TV networks and service providers such as Hulu can’t block an HTPC from accessing their content online.

You’ll fi nd no operating system, keyboard, or mouse bundled with the Vision 3D—and this isn’t necessarily bad, because you won’t be paying for items you don’t need or want. The machine does come with an infrared Windows Media Center–style remote control, however, as well as the OEM version of Cyberlink’s PowerDVD 10. When pricing the machine, don’t forget to factor in the cost of whatever OS and controllers you decide to use. And if you want to watch Bluray 3D movies, you’ll want Nvidia’s 3D Vision kit ($200, with extra glasses costing $150 each). The review unit we received had Windows 7 Ultimate installed. We used a generic wired keyboard and mouse to run benchmarks, and Nvidia’s shutter glasses for 3D movies.

AsRock opted to use components more typically found in notebook PCs. This helped it build an HTPC that will fi t just about anywhere. More importantly, the Vision 3D doesn’t require a lot of noisy fans for cooling. There’s an Intel 2.4GHz Core i3-370M mobile CPU, and a 500GB Western Digital Scorpio Black hard drive. If that’s not enough storage for you, you can add external drives using the machine’s eSATA, USB 2.0, or USB 3.0 ports.

Nvidia’s GeForce GT 425M graphics processor, coupled with 1GB of DDR3 memory, enables the machine to decode Blu-ray 3D movies and stream both video and high-defi nition soundtracks (Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio) over a single HDMI 1.4a cable to your A/V receiver. That feature alone makes the Vision 3D unique among prefab home-theater PCs. With its Core i3 and discrete GeForce card, the Vision 3D is easily the most powerful mini HTPC we’ve tested and far outstrips those based on Atom processors.

The only feature missing from this machine is a TV tuner. You could add a USB device to grab over-the-air programming, but this HTPC will never replace your cable company’s set-top box or DVR. That’s about the only criticism we can level at this rig. It delivered excellent image quality in Blu-ray movies, it’s capable of streaming HD audio over HDMI, and it supports HDMI 1.4a for Blu-ray 3D. It’s better than any Blu-ray player or media streamer on the market. Heck, it’s the best home-theater PC we’ve tested 

Our zero-point is a Dell Inspiron Zino HD equipped with a dual-core 1.5GHz Athlon X2 3250e, 2GB of DDR2/667, an AMD 780G with integrated Radeon HD 3200, a 250GB 7,200rpm Western Digital hard drive, and 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium.

What features and capabilities to look for in today’s graphics contenders

If you’re looking for a graphics card today, the decision is more diffi cult than ever. The two primary suppliers of graphics processors, AMD and Nvidia, have taken decidedly diff erent paths, even as they add more robust support for new graphics and GPU-compute programming interfaces.

DIRECTX 11 

Both AMD and Nvidia support Microsoft’s latest DirectX 11 graphics standard. So far, all DirectX 11 games have run well on both, though some run faster on Nvidia and others faster on AMD. So, you can feel comfortable that either AMD or Nvidia should be fine if you’re looking to run the latest games.

DISPLAY SUPPORT 

On the AMD side, the Radeon HD 6000 line of graphics chips continues to support a minimum of three displays with a single card, just as the older HD 5000 series did. However, all HD 6000 cards have DisplayPort 1.2 built in. What that means is that monitors with DisplayPort 1.2 support can be daisy-chained, so that one card can drive up to six LCD panels. Nvidia’s support for DisplayPort has been lukewarm on consumer graphics cards, but individual card manufacturers have occasionally added DisplayPort connectors. Almost all monitors still ship with DVI connectors, though, so if you’re running one or two monitors, you’re in good shape with a single Nvidia card.

STEREOSCOPIC 3D 

AMD has just begun adding stereoscopic 3D capability; the new Radeon HD 6000 series cards support stereoscopic 3D. In both games and Bluray movies, though, glasses must be obtained from third parties. Nvidia’s 3DVision off ers robust stereoscopic 3D support, provided you’ve also got a PC monitor capable of running at the required 120Hz refresh rate. In addition, if you’re running an SLI setup, you can use 3DVision across three monitors, and the effect can be pretty startling. A system with an Nvidia card can connect to an HDTV and allow that TV’s native stereoscopic capability to work with the PC.

GPU COMPUTE 

If you’re into GPU-compute applications, Nvidia still has the edge here. While newer applications are moving toward multi-vendor standards like DirectCompute and OpenCL, a large library of applications exists for Nvidia’s proprietary CUDA GPU-compute architecture, including the recently released Adobe Premiere Pro CS5’s Mercury Playback Engine.

PHYSICS

Nvidia has worked mightily to get game programmers to incorporate its PhysX technology, but only a few games really support it well. We’re starting to see more open APIs that support OpenCL, like Bullet Physics, arrive on the scene. Already, 3DMark 2011 is shipping with Bullet Physics support, and it’s likely we’ll see a variety of new games ship with Bullet Physics.

POWER CONSUMPTION 

Nvidia’s made some substantial strides in improving power efficiency, but cards using AMD GPUs still tend to consume less power. If you can save $50 a year in electricity, that could mean an additional game you can buy.

HD VIDEO ENCODING 

While both cards support HD video decoding, AMD’s thirdgeneration Unified Video Decoder (UVD3) offers hardware decoding of key HD codecs, including VC-1 and H.264. It also handles MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 2, including DivX and xVid in hardware. AMD also supports hardware-accelerated transcoding in its fixed-function UVD3, with the ability to convert H.264 and MPEG-2 1080p streams to a different H.264 or MPEG-2 target bitrate and resolution.

HP Business PC Spin-off Would Benefit Consumers

HP has just announced it will stop selling WebOS devices (phones and TouchPad), and may spin off the rest of the PSG (Personal Systems Group), a separate company. Or sell to some other company. Or ... Well, it seems that HP is not really a firm idea of ​​what to do with PSG - the division responsible for desktops and laptops - unless it wants to keep him around anymore.

His exact words were: "HP is considering a wide range of options, which may include, among other things, a complete or partial separation of the HP PSG, through a spinoff or other transaction." This significant change could actually be a very good thing, as well as HP and consumers. If HP could be clarified, it would be a great PC.

Because HP wants to get rid of the PSG group, when it's so many products that the public shareholders, under the HP brand? In a nutshell, do not have enough money. Enterprise servers and services will provide a healthy profit margin. The printing business brings a lot of money, too. Not a lot of ink sold thousands of dollars profit per gallon, after all. HP's PC business, however, is falling. Part of the problem is on the market, with sales of laptops and desktops is a soft, because the weak economy and tough competition from the dollar tablets and smartphones. Yet, most of HP's PC sales are low-margin products. In a nutshell, HP wants to pull the same move he made when IBM sold its Thinkpad business to Lenovo for more than 6 years ago.

This is not necessarily a bad deal for consumers, however. After all, Lenovo continued to produce excellent notebook for business and earn good money in this area. The situation is slightly different from HP which sells many consumer computers, while IBM has focused on volume sales to companies. HP spun off a division-PC could be just what the doctor ordered, as it undertakes to make some serious changes. It comes down to three things: pushing the envelope, to focus on the design and dump junk food at low cost.

I recently wrote about the inability of manufacturers of laptops running Windows Apple doubled the capacity to innovate significantly. A new company building with bricks of HP's PC division has to be willing to be agile and discerning. He has to take risks in implementing the future of computing on the market today. In fact, this could be a possibility. A new company would have no paperwork and multiple layers of risk adverse environment management worried about their future in a society that is much bigger than just the PC. Innovation tends to concentrate base, autonomous groups that are not burdened with an excess of MBA armed with spreadsheets.

The new home of HP's PC business, whether a new business or an existing product must focus on design instead of the teams that are "something for everyone." Should be less concerned with how to adapt the pieces mix and match of Chinese suppliers in design of new cases and computer engineering in place, with a focus on the future. Of course, not have the time and work to do if she insists on doing a lot of cheap computers, leading to the third point ...

The new company should not be PC these crummy, cheap. HP has no fewer than six lines of notebooks: Mini, Club, envy, EliteBook, EliteBook and essential. Everyone has a lot of models, usually denoted by a string of seemingly random letters and numbers. Desktop computers are so bad, with pavilion, Omni, TouchSmart, essential, and Pro This is not even in the Compaq! Many are caught in a "race to the bottom," trying to collect the sales price range of $ 300-600. Most of these products are not very large. And are not great for either HP: They have very thin margins and consume the design and manufacture of valuable resources.

I want to see the company ends up with half HP business PCs drop these lines and focus on premium products for the future starting as much as $ 799. HP should not bother with cheap materials, bulky boxes and keyboards and mice ugly. Instead of a business PC that the balance of "high cheap," the aim should be to start "big" and trying to expand from there. The other guys compete range from $ 20 to $ 400 a desk all-in-one.

HP to spin off its PC business? We do not know for sure, but it seems the company wants. Frankly, with few exceptions, the PC produced by HP have been somewhat lackluster in recent years. If the company acquires new relevant patents held by HP in its Personal Systems Group division is the separation of HP could be a blessing. A company more flexible and aggressive approach in the quality of volume, could do wonders for the settlement of HP Business PCs, and offer new products to consumers, too.

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software tips; Google Voice

In our minds, Google Voice is rapidly becoming an essential web app for any power user. Why? Because it connects all of our phone numbers together, making our lives easier… and more awesome.

ESTABLISH CALLING GROUPS

This is one of the most helpful resources of all time. Under the Settings window, click forward to the Manage Groups page, which allows you to add an unlimited number of people either to one of the fi ve default groups listed in Google Voice or to a custom group of your own making. In doing so, you can isolate individuals in a bunch of different useful ways. For example, you can specify that anyone in your “Coworkers” group who calls your Google number is automatically routed to your work phone, delivered a specific greeting if they bounce to voicemail, and allowed to dial through to you unscreened.

LOCKDOWN YOUR PHONE

Google Voice can be downright handy in its ability to dial up all the different phones you control wheneveranyone calls. But do you really want your apartment or office breaking out in a cacophony of sound
every time someone calls? Google’s solution is buried in the Phones > Edit > Show Advanced Settings window off of the main settings page. Nestled within this link is a series of options that you can customize for each phone you’ve added to Google Voice, including scheduling times for when you want Google Voice to forward a call to a specific phone. Or not.

INTEGRATE VOICE INTO YOUR DIGITAL LIFE

There are a number of ways to integrate Google Voice into your daily habits without having to fire up the site itself. Firefox users will want to check out either Google Shortcuts or the aptly named Google Voice Add-On for Firefox if you want to place calls directly via a browser button. Google Chrome users have it a bit easier (go figure), as Google itself has written a Chrome extension to build quick-call access directly into the browser. If neither of these add-ons piques your interest, you can always opt for a lesser approach and integrate Google Voice into your Gmail window.

MASH ‘EM UP
Voxox (www.voxox.com) is great because it allows you to manage Google Voice interactions, IM chats, and socialnetwork connections in one central location. When you install the program and sign up for this free service, you get a single phone number, which you want to link to Google Voice. The caveat is that only incoming calls and texts are free—attempting to use the service to make outgoing calls or, worse, send outgoing texts will incur a separate fee.

GET RID OF YOUR LANDLINE, FOREVER!
Gizmodo’s Casey Chan recently authored an excellent how-to guide for using a device called the Telo to make and receive free VoIP calls. But instead of doing this across your PC à la Skype, Ooma’s $250 Telo bridges a real, physical handset with Google Voice. You can find the how-to at http://gizmo.do/ep0Dot.

TURN GOOGLE VOICE INTO SKYPE
If you want to use an oldfashioned headset and mic to dial up your friends via Google Voice, Sipgate (www.sipgate.com) can help. The free version of the program/service gives you one free phone number (which you’ll tie into Google Voice) and an app that lets you access service via a typical headset/mic combination. Here’s the trick: Since Sipgate only gives you a certain block of time for free calls, you’ll want to dial friends using Google Voice (which, in turn, rings your Sipgate number) and answer common phone calls via Sipgate’s app.

SET UP RINGING BY LOCATION, NOT TIME
What if you don’t want to block calls to your phone based on the time of day, but your location? This isn’t a trick that applies to all mobile devices, as we’ve only managed to locate instructions for Android-based phones thus far. That said, blogger Chad Smith has written up a pretty extensive guide for setting up Google Voice so that calls are forwarded based on your location. To do so, you’ll need an Android phone, the Locale geo-location app (www.twofortyfouram.com), and this Lifehacker howto: http://lifehac.kr/gvfASt.

HP TouchPad In The Opposite Direction Reveals PSG Spin-Off Plan In Wild Q3 Profits

Hewlett-Packard reported fiscal third-quarter results on Thursday, and would not be an exaggeration to call it a seismic event in Palo Alto, California, that the history of the seller.

A central theme of the call is the CEO Leo Apotheker efforts to HP in the new version of a provider of lean, worst of IT services, software and hardware. As part of this transformation, HP is exploring a possible spinoff or sale of its Personal Systems Group, although Apotheker said a decision would probably take 12 to 18 months - there is everything.

"HP Board and management to look at all strategic opportunities," Apotheker said in a Q & A after the call. "Over time, our decision will crystallize on what to do with PSG in the future, and that's all I can say right now."

In a decision that shocked many HP channel partners, the company decided to kill the HP TouchPad just over six weeks after its launch. HP is abandoning its other products WebOS hardware, Veer pre3 and smartphones.

There was a lot of other surprises in Q3 call, including $ 10.3 billion HP acquisition of autonomy, a developer of information management and infrastructure software, and HP has appointed the European bison, John, who previously Enterprise Services HP has brought to the Americas, as Vice President of Enterprise Services at HP.

"It is indeed great news," said HP CEO Leo Apotheker.

Q3 ended July 31, HP reported a profit of $ 1.93 billion, or 93 cents per share, up 9 percent from $ 1.77 billion, or 75 cents per share, a year before the season. Turnover of the company sent $ 31.2 billion, compared to 75 cents per share and $ 30.7 billion last year in Q3. Wall Street analysts were expecting $ 1.09 per share and net sales of $ 34 billion.

PSG division revenue was $ 9.6 billion in the third quarter, down 3 percent year on year. Although HP commercial PC sales rose 9 percent, sales of PC consumption fell by 17 percent, compared with a decline of 23 percent in the second quarter.

Sales of equipment WebOS totaled $ 266 million, but the unit posted an operating loss of $ 332 million and HP took a 5 percent drop from this result. HP CFO Cathie Lesjak said the deficit would have been even greater in the fourth quarter, if HP had not made the decision to stop making equipment.

While HP executives have spoken in terms of opportunities for fatty WebOS, HP obviously realized that taking the sleeping pill market Apple might be hard to beat. "Our intention was to strengthen WebOS as a clear number two in the market, we could not achieve our goal," said Lesjak.

HP plans to release its hardware WebOS activities before the fourth quarter begins in October. "The fact is that the touchpad does not get enough grip on the market," said Apotheker.

However, HP still seems to think there may be opportunities for your WebOS license to third parties.

"WebOS is received very well - the developers consider it, and users like it," said Apotheker. "We are looking for all the strategic options of the software."

HP Enterprise Servers, storage and business networks (ESSN), which has soared in recent quarters, saw revenue grow 7 percent year on year but fell nearly 3 percent last quarter. ESSN profits fell percent year on year and 8.75 percent in the previous quarter.

Inside ESSN, business-critical systems, sales increased 9 percent year-over-year and 16 percent sequentially, while sales of switching and routing products jumped 18 percent. However, Apotheker said HP is still grappling with fallout Oracle decision in March to abandon the development of Itanium.

"Our ability to close deals to be affected by the decision of Oracle, and orders were canceled," said Apotheker the call.

In the third quarter increased the benefit of HP Services by 3.6 percent, but profit fell 11 percent. HP is about to transform its business services with a view to the higher-margin deals, and Leo Apotheker described as "a four to six quarts trip."

HP Application Services revenues increased 2 percent year over year and modernization Apotheker highlighted application, security and private cloud services are specific areas of strength. "We continue to gain momentum with our strong cloud [Discovery] Workshops," he said.

HP's Imaging and Printing Group, the face of revenue and margin challenges as a result an earthquake in Japan in March, which is still contributing to the shortage of supply chain Toner. IPG Q3 net sales were EUR 6.1 billion, down one percent year over year and operating margin was 14.7 percent.

HP reduced its forecast for the third consecutive quarter, a move that Apotheker was calculated based on the faces of the challenges of HP. "We do not take this action lightly, and we know that investors do not like being put in this position," said Apotheker.

For the fourth quarter, HP forecast revenue of $ 32.1 billion to 32.5 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $ 1.12 to 1.16. For its fiscal 2011, HP expects revenue of $ 127.2 billion $ 127.6 billion and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $ 4.82 to $ 4.86

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Origin EON17-S Notebook Review

When the big, wooden box branded "Origin" has arrived in our lab, we had our crowbar and a gun-one to open the dang thing and the other just in case of an alien predator was lurking inside. Once we blasted the field apart, we were just relieved that we were a little disappointed to find a mean looking inside a laptop of 17 inches. After some tests, but we talk about cleaning shell fragments was worth it.

There is nothing extraordinary in the CPU used in this system. The Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition-2920XM is no different than you can find in any high-performance laptop. What is different is that the origin of the process of overclocking Sandy Bridge of 2.5GHz to 4.7GHz stock. This is a huge boost, and it showed in our benchmarks for CPU, like Photoshop and Premiere. In these tests, which beat Maingear is much heavier and more expensive Titan 17, even with its six-core Gulftown.

The graphics card is overclocked, however, only the core standard 605MHz 575MHz. Not just of great importance, and 2GB of GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 485m out quite as planned, we need a lot of graphic parameters. Maingear SLI configuration does not match, when it comes to games, graphics and graphics can not compare the two.

Origin is relatively new on the market. It was founded by refugees from the acquisition of Alienware Dell, and the high price of the system can not be justified by the promise of enterprise service and support. Not only will you buy a set of overclocking, you buy a system overclocked by the manufacturer tested and backed by a guarantee. Semiconductor manufacturing and labor, each individual CPU has a different potential for overclocking, and home runs a series of tests to collect procs more potential for overclocking. This may take some of the fun of overclocking Weird Science, but should also reduce the risk. The company offers new customization options, including laser etched at the top of the notebook.

On the other hand, the system is a gaming notebook very high level. There is a 17.3-inch LED-backlit display with a resolution of 1920x1080. On our side by side tests, we found the screen to get a little richer and more colorful than his great rival Maingear. 6x BD-R discs lets you record your own Blu-ray, which can be useful. Also included are two storage units: a 128 GB SSD and 750 GB, 7200 rpm drive.

If you dream of improving the performance, you can just get on with the overclocking, but are afraid to approach DIY notebook Origin is an excellent solution.

$3,600, www.originpc.com

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Analyst Predicts Intel Makes Micro Play

Google's surprise $ 12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola's ranks as a major acquisition, and perhaps the tone of heavyweights in the industry to spend a great consolidation. One of the analysts predict Intel is the first to make a big move and a NAND flash memory maker Micron Technology radar.

"We would not be surprised at INTC (Intel) makes a bold statement to acquire MU (Micron Technology) to bring the DRAM and NAND technology in-house and selling platform solutions," Think Equity analyst Krishna Shankar wrote in a note to clients, according to International Business Times.

Demand for NAND flash memory is the highest of all time with smart phones and tablets are marching into the mainstream, and by itself the sale of Intel, Micron said Shankar would stand for a Line much more by being part of a platform company. Intel will be the result of a wider range of technologies to instill in its mobile platforms.

"Intel could processor design platform / memory solutions at low power, superior performance, small form factor, etc.," said Shankar.

Micron is not cheap. According to IBT, capital market, Micron is sitting on $ 6.51 billion, with enterprise value of $ 5.7 billion.

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software tips; Google Chrome

Google’s most recent browser release is rapidly becoming our all-time favorite because it’s so customizable. Here’s how to make the most of it.

CONFIGURE MULTIPLE HOMEPAGES
Consider yourself a power user, do you? Then why rock but a single homepage? You can confi gure Chrome to load multiple sites every time you open your browser. Click the Wrench icon and navigate to Tools > Options and start adding sites. Don’t overdo it, though—you’ll bog down your initial load time.

CHEAT AT MATH
The Google Suggests feature in Chrome is your key to impressing coworkers with your unlimited knowledge of numbers. Just type your math query into the Omnibar and the answer will appear without ever having to punch the Enter key. Goodbye, Windows Calculator!

DIG YOURSELF OUT OF A LINK HOLE
Once you’ve burrowed deep within a website, navigating back several pages (or to the beginning) involves rapidfiring the backspace key. Hello, carpal tunnel. There’s a better way—click and hold Chrome’s back button to see a list of links you’ve been to. This works with the forward button, too.

TEST DRIVE MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF CHROME
If you want access to new features before everyone else, you have to subscribe to Chrome’s Beta or Dev channel, both of which replace your stable build. Not keen with that? Try Chrome’s Canary build (http://tinyurl.com/2b2jof9). It’s the most frequently updated version of Chrome, and it installs alongside whatever other version you’re running.

CONVERT WEB PAGES INTO APP SHORTCUTS
App shortcuts open in a dedicated window devoid of browser buttons and are handy for frequently accessed sites like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and, well, you get the idea. To create one, navigate to Wrench > Tools > Create application shortcuts… and punch the Create button.

LEARN WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS "ABOUT"
You’re probably already familiar with Firefox’s About:Confi g page, and while this doesn’t work in Chrome, several other About pages do exist. Try these on for size:

• About:DNS
• About:Cache
• About:Plugins
• About:Memory
• About:Crash

EDIT ANY SITE’S CODE (LEGALLY)
We don’t condone hacking into someone else’s website, but you can muck with any web page locally so that the changes are only visible on your PC. Right-click any part of a page you want to alter and select Inspect Element. Any changes you make to the Elements tab will appear in real time.

BENCHMARK YOUR WEBSITE’S LOAD TIME
The Inspect Element option is also your gateway to seeing how fast certain parts of your site (or anyone else’s site) load. Access the Inspect Element option the same as before, but this time head over to the Resources tab. Use this info to code a super-lean web page.

SHRINK TABS INTO FAVICONS
One of the headaches that comes with being a power surfer is that our browser window quickly gets cluttered with tabs. Luckily for us, Google made it easy to wrangle tabs into manageable favicons that take up much less space. Just rightclick and select Pin Tab.

8 High Performance Keyboard

What’s the most important part of your PC? Is it the processor? The videocard? The motherboard? How about the keyboard? 

Don’t scoff—your keyboard is the part of your computer that you get up close and personal with. It’s the conduit between you and the PC, and having the right one can make you faster, more comfortable, and give you an edge in games.
Because of that, we want to help you pick the plank that’s just right for you. There are a lot of contenders out there, but we’ve narrowed the fi eld to eight boards that we think offer a solid cross-section of the options available in high-end keyboards, whether they focus on gaming, comfort, or speed. There are some boards that we’ve reviewed before in this list (and they’ll keep their original verdict—it’s only fair) and some that are a year or two old, but that’s what it takes to give you a look at the best of what’s available to you today. 

We know that everyone is looking for something different in their keyboard, so don’t think of this roundup as a winner-takes-all contest—we’re judging every keyboard on its individual merits, including comfort, build quality, and the unique features that it brings to the table, er, desktop. So keep reading—you owe it to your hands.

Razer BlackWidow Ultimate
Two great tastes in one
Gaming keyboards typically fall into one of two categories. You have those that cram in as many gaming-specifi c features as possible, including extra buttons, remappable keys, on-the-fl y macro recording, and backlit keys. And then there are the mechanical keyboards that tout hyperresponsive key action above all else. These latter boards tend to feel great, but generally share a very similar, very austere design, with almost no features that you wouldn’t fi nd on an IBM model M.

The BlackWidow is the fi rst keyboard we’ve reviewed that gives you the best of both worlds—a whole bevy of gaming features coupled with a top-notch mechanical keyboard. It isn’t perfect (it’s made offingerprint-exhibiting glossy-black plastic, and is very loud) but it’s definitely the best we’ve tested. We hope more companies will follow Razer’s lead and get more creative with their mechanical boards.

For the budget gamer, Razer off ers a non-Ultimate version of the BlackWidow that’s $50 cheaper and only missing the USB passthroughs and light-up keys.

Razer Anansi
MMO misfire
The Anansi is Razer’s MMO keyboard, a companion to the company’s Naga MMO gaming mouse. Functionally, it’s very similar to the BlackWidow Ultimate—both have fully rebindable keys, with fi ve additional macro keys along the left , backlighting, and on-the-fl y macro recording. Unlike the BlackWidow, the Anansi does not have mechanical keys, instead opting for more traditional dome-style keys. They’re not as responsive as mechanical keys, but are defi nitely at the high end of the dome-spectrum, with a satisfying amount of resistance and travel.

The main selling point of the Anansi (and what makes it an MMO keyboard) is the broad panel of fl at buttons right below the space bar. These seven keys act as modifiers, septupling your total number of avail-available key combinations. Makes sense in theory, but hitting the top five (smaller) modifi ers along with a number key, single-handedly, while playing a game is very challenging. More over, for an MMO, we really would have preferred a larger selection of dedicated macro keys, such as the 12 keys found on the Logitech G11 or G19. The Anansi has a thin profile but is long enough (including two seemingly unnecessary wings) that it could accommodate a few more keys.

Thermaltake Challenger
Too gimmicky for its own good
K E Y B O A R D S The Challenger (ThermalTake’s entry into the gaming keyboard market) is the kind of keyboard that’s looking to set itself apart. It does this most noticeably with a tiny fan that can be plugged in on either side of the keyboard to blow cool air across your hard-working hands and a set of custom, red keycaps that can be swapped in for the WASD and arrow keys. Do either of those features sound like something you can’t live without?

Gimmicks aside, the challenger has a decent-but-not-fabulous set of features, including custom profi les, macro keys (but no on-thefly recording), and some pretty slick red backlighting. Unfortunately, the one place the Challenger really falls fl at is in the quality of its keyboard. Low-profi le keys make it feel like a laptop keyboard, and the dome switches provide very little travel. As the cheapest gaming keyboard in this roundup by far (it’s available online for $60), the Challenger is a good value proposition, but we wouldn’t recommend it for power gamers.

SteelSeries 7G
Light on features, but heavy-duty 

The 7G was the first of the current crop of heavy-duty, mechanical keyboards to hit the market, and in our opinion is still one of the best. With clickless Cherry MX Black switches that combine responsiveness and a long, satisfying travel and construction quality that’s absolutely second to none, the 7G is still very easy to recommend more than two and a half years after its release.

Our only problem with the 7G has always been that it has very few gaming-specific features (especially for a keyboard that can run $150, if you’re able to fi nd one). There’s no customizable keys, no profi les, no nothin'. It does have two USB pass-throughs, and a headphone and microphone jack. The keyboard uses a PS/2 connector, though it does come with a USB adaptor. The ancient connector is quaint, but it does allow for N-key rollover (see sidebar on page 44), making the 7G one of two keyboards in this roundup with no limit to the number of keys that can be pressed at once.

Logitech G19
Retains the feature crown
The G19 is the oldest keyboard in this roundup, but it didn’t seem right to leave Logitech’s ludicrously feature-packed board out of contention. And it's still available. In brief, here’s what makes the G19 awesome: 12 macro keys, on-the-fl y programmability, custom backlighting, USB pass-throughs, media controls, and—of course—a built-in 320x240 color display. (You can read our full review, which originally ran in the September 2009 issue, online at http://bit.ly/hVYZgM).

Suffice to say, it’s an amazing feature set, and one we especially like for MMOs (those 12 extra keys are a godsend!), but the keyboard’s keys feel decidedly mushy compared to some of the more recent models. It's worth considering that since the original release the selection of games with support for the G19’s auxiliary screen has increased dramatically, and you can now fi nd this luxury board for closer to $150 (though the MSRP is still $200), making it a tempting buy.

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000
The king of ergo keyboards

The Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000 is like a Cadillac—huge, bulky, and unhip, but it’s the smoothest ride around.

Ergonomic keyboards aren’t as popular as they once were, and Microsoft is the only company still making a real play for the market. As a result, there hasn’t been much in the way of innovation lately—the keyboard in the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000 is essentially the same as that in the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, which was released in 2005.

Still, if you type a lot and you’re looking for something comfortable to rest your hands on, you’re not going to do any better than the Ergonomic Desktop 7000. It’s got a great ergo split-keyboard shape, big, cushioned wrist-rests, and a stand that lets you adjust the keyboard’s angle forward or backward to your liking. It’s wireless, and it comes with a wireless, ergonomic laser mouse that is, unfortunately, no good for gaming.

The crappy tie-in mouse dragged our original verdict down to a 7 (http://bit.ly/f8ATJO), but the keyboard itself is as comfortable as they come.

Das Keyboard Ultimate S
Puts your touch-typing to the test
The Das Keyboard has two things going for it. One, it’s awesome. It has no labels on the keys. When you type on it, you look like a ninja. That’s awesome.

The other thing is that it feels great to use. It’s a mechanical keyboard, and even though ituses the same switches as the SteelSeries 7G, we prefer the feel of the Das Keyboard. If you want the smooth typing experience without the no-label keys, there’s a model called the Das Keyboard Professional, which is just that.

For people just looking for an awesome typing experience, the Das Keyboard Ultimate S (or Professional) is an excellent choice, provided you don’t mind spending $130. For gamers, this one’s a toss-up—it’s essentially identical to the SteelSeries 7G, but a little better-looking, and without the headphone jacks and insanely heavy-duty construction. If you like the Das Keyboard’s aesthetics, buy with confidence—you won’t be disappointed by the way this one performs.

SteelSeries Shift
Takes customization to a new level

Lots of gaming keyboards have the ability to set up diff erent profi les, which let you change what key does what, depending on what game you’re playing. The SteelSeries Shift is the only keyboard (not counting the original ZBoard, which the Shift is based on) that allows you to go one step further and not only swap your profile, but your entire keyset to match the game you’re playing.

In addition to custom faceplates, the Shift has a respectable lineup of gaming features, including on-the-fly macro recording, a headset set pass-through, and a top-notch software suite with profile setup and statistics tracking.

In our experience, the swappable keyplates don’t off er a whole lot of individual value, and the key quality suffers to accommodate them, but if it’s something that appeals to you, the build quality and feature set of the Shift won’t leave you wanting.

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