test

CNET Labs finished their panel of battery drain tests for the fifth-generation Apple iPod Nano, and the results are better than expected. Testing for continuous playback of audio and video, the Nano reached an average of 33.6 hours of audio or 5.3 hours of video.

Given Apple's own modest battery rating of 24 hours of audio or 5 hours of video, we expect Nano owners will be happy to know they have a little extra time to squeeze from their iPods.

Wow. I write a piece a couple days ago about the 2010 and upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Camaro, and next thing I know a representative from Chevrolet communications is posting a comment to my blog. Yeah, it was regarding a discrepancy in the information relayed in the video blog, but to me that's still pretty cool. As this gentleman pointed out, there are custom car builders out there who are co-opting the Chevy Camaro make and putting out non-GM versions of the Camaro for the consumer who wants one done their way. Apparently, Hennessey Performance Engineering does just that, and … Read more

QuizMaker Pro 2009 allows users to create interactive tests in a variety of formats. Although it's not the most intuitive program we've ever used, we liked it quite a bit once we got used to how it works.

The program's interface is clean, but it wasn't immediately obvious to us how we should get started. Fortunately, the program comes with both a built-in Help file and a Word document Quick Start Guide, so it wasn't too difficult for us to figure things out. The program allows users to easily create quizzes with a variety of … Read more

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, I'm sure you're probably familiar with the little golf-cart looking car called the Smart ForTwo. These trendy little things are gas efficient, eco-friendly, and easy to drive, but are they safe? Today's video demonstrates just how potentially dangerous these things are in an accident, so pay attention.

It's been noted that this video has an affiliation with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, although this claim has been disputed by some Web viewers. Regardless, this video is neat as it shows the testers setting up the crash … Read more

About 50 years ago, a nonprofit organization called the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was founded to conduct research on consumer automotive safety and preventive measures to reduce vehicular crashes and personal injuries that occur in car crashes. Recently the IIHS made news by crash testing a car from the era of its inception, the 1959 Chevy Bel Air, against a 2009 Chevy Malibu. The video for the Chevy crash test is readily available, but to sum it up, automobile safety features have come a long way, baby.

Today's video clip is also part of the IIHS crash experiment … Read more

Random Intelligence Test will seem like a joke to most users since it is an intelligence test that didn't tell us how intelligent we are. Its frustrating design and lack of direction ensures this game is a flop.

This program was one unintelligent headache after another, starting with its lack of a Help file and any direction as to how the game should be played. We tried moving the multicolored balls around the gridlike game board for several minutes without understanding why our scores kept changing. Eventually, we realized that linking up same-colored balls earned points. However, we never … Read more

Microsoft 's new Security Essentials software has passed at least one exam so far--a review by security testing firm AV-Test.org.

Using the latest version and definition updates of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSSE) downloaded from the Web, AV-Test ran the product through a series of tests on Sept. 29 and 30 to judge its effectiveness at fighting malware.

To check static known malware, AV-Test pitted Security Essentials against the most recent WildList, a sampling of 3,732 viruses and other threats compiled by the WildList Organization. Microsoft's product successfully detected and blocked all of the samples in both manual … Read more

With Jasmine out on vacation, Donald brings CNET Labs' Eric Franklin into the studio for an epic nerd session on audio quality measurements, including recent test data from the Zune HD and iPod Touch. We've got charts, folks!

Subscribe in iTunes audio |  Subscribe in iTunes video | Subscribe in RSS audio |  Subscribe in RSS video… Read more