18

Google goes fiber and Samsung doubles up on Apple:

Google has launched a Fiber TV and Internet service in Kansas City, Mo., as part of a beta test. The service provides customers with 1Gbps broadband speed and fiber television that uses an interactive interface. Now while it may not get you all of your favorite channels, Google is trying to show the cable providers of the world that this is how content should be delivered. Google hopes that the technology will spark the interest of other companies who are using older communication mediums. Those who sign up for the service … Read more

There are innumerable audio players out there, with features and interfaces made to meet the taste of just about every user. Hanso Player is yet another entry into this crowded field, and we can't say we were impressed. Not only does the program not bring anything particularly new or interesting to the table, functional problems prevent it from effectively doing the one thing it's really meant to do: play music.

Hanso Player's interface is similar to that of many other audio players, replicating the look of a car stereo face. We have personally never been fans of … Read more

Tweeki for Pokki is free software for accessing Twitter on your desktop. Sporting a clean, professional-looking design and easy-to-use features, Twitter fans should love the quick access it provides for sending and viewing tweets. The one downside is that this is similar to an add-on for Firefox: you'll need to have the Pokki client installed to add and use it.

The app presents a nicely designed interface that should be very easy to understand for anyone who's used the popular social media site. All the regular Twitter options are present so you can send tweets and view the … Read more

Dell is rolling out a series of updates to the Alienware M14x, m17x, m18x laptops, including the latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD. This timing is odd, to say the least, as Intel's third-generation Core i-series CPUs (also known as Ivy Bridge) aren't included.

Instead, these new Alienware models have the current second-gen chips (aka Sandy Bridge). As the high-end quad-core versions of Ivy Bridge are expected to be available from PC makers starting around April 29, the message is clear -- anyone who orders one of these new Alienware laptops before that is a sucker. … Read more

Those looking to buy the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T E 24mm F1.8 ZA lens may have a hard time finding it for sale anytime soon.

In an announcement today, the Japanese company informed consumers that it cannot keep up with demand for the popular E-mount lens, which starts at around $999. The shortage situation is on the path to a resolution, as the Sony notice says that "we are working diligently in order to meet the needs of customers as much as possible."

Why is this lens so popular? "It's fast (wide aperture), sharp, and bright with nice bokeh, plus it has a good feel and comfortable manual focusing," says CNET Senior Editor Lori Grunin. Read her review of the most current cameras that use the lens, the Sony NEX-7 or NEX-5N, at CNET Reviews. … Read more

Windows has never really offered much of a disk utility. My Computer doesn't offer many options, and the Disk Management Tool isn't meant for simple, everyday tasks. Alex Nolan's Drive Manager is a free, portable disk management tool that displays available space and a lot of other information about your hard drives, optical drives, removable drives, and even your card readers. It can hide and unhide or lock and unlock drives, access tools like Check Disk, create substitute drive letters for files and folders, search drives, show disk speed, eject USB drives, and more.

As portable freeware, … Read more

If you're looking for a remote control, most people will tell you to get a Logitech Harmony. But there are a number of high-quality alternatives.

For the past two years, the Acoustic Research ARRX18G ($200) has been one of these. Unfortunately, it's just been discontinued, but if you're looking for a good remote at rock bottom prices--around $60--take a look online. … Read more

Once upon a time, creating a bootable floppy was high on the list of "things to do when installing Windows." Bootable floppies made system recovery much easier. WinUSB Maker creates a bootable startup disk on any removable USB drive or similar location. It does much more, too, such as creating bootable ISO image, GRLDR, and DOS disks as well as full drive backups. And it's extremely easy to use. You'll need your Windows installation disk or an existing setup disk, ISO image, or folder to use the program, and be sure to use a USB drive … Read more

Although all you really need for Bible study is a copy of the Bible, having some extra tools can help you get the most out of the scriptures. ActionBible is an easy-to-use program that can help you quickly locate desired passages, keep track of what you've done, and record your ideas and questions. We think this would be a great tool for clergy, laypeople, and anyone else with a desire to delve into the Bible.

ActionBible has a plain and intuitive layout, and it's quite easy to get started with it. A pane on the left side contains … Read more