testing

TERRA, Utah--It seems like Road Trip 2009 has still just started, but the odometer hit 2,000 miles as I was driving through this tiny hamlet.

Terra is near the entrance to the Dugway Proving Grounds, where I was on my way to visit the Air Force's 388th Range Squadron and its Utah Test & Training Center--the largest bombing range in the country,

Since I hit 1,000 miles just a few days ago, I've done quite a few things and, obviously, covered a lot of ground in the Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel SUV I'm road-testing. … Read more

The Palm Pre that CNET shipped to me is actually my second Pre. This post explains my decision to buy it and make the switch to Sprint. The second Pre is currently in the possession of my less tech-obsessed partner, and I'll write about her experiences in a future post.

Why I left T-Mobile and signed up with Sprint.

Before I got the Palm Pre I had the T-Mobile Dash for a little over three years. The Dash was a fine first smartphone: good size, excellent keyboard, and fairly good screen considering the size. It came with Windows Mobile 5, an expansion slot, and, with a little hackery you could easily find instructions for on the internet, internet access for six dollars. There was also a fairly healthy developer community so I bought a few cheap applications that made life easier: calendar, tasks, password manager, and sms threading to name a few. … Read more

The Pre arrived on the afternoon of Friday, June 26, and as Murphy's law dictates, I was not home to sign for it. So after a short drive to the FedEx distribution center, I was in my home office, tearing through the box with my camera at my side.

I'm a little disappointed with the accessories that come with the Pre. The folding prongs on the charger is a nice touch for travel, but I'd like to see an actual case in the box. The chamois bag does a nice job of polishing the phone, and you'… Read more

MB Astro Compatability Test Software allows users to look at the potential ability to pair up with another individual. While entering some of the details can be a chore, the results are quick and mostly easy to read for novices.

This program's interface is an interesting mixture of simplicity and astrological jargon, which makes it slightly confusing for newcomers. However, the program is easily navigated from its input screen and its results screen, which makes it manageable. The Help file showcases program details, but nothing about astrology. Inputting birthdays and places of birth was a simple matter of filling … Read more

MB Psychic Test Software is a fun way for users to see if they have psychic abilities. While it takes a little time to understand, users will soon master this testing software.

The program's interface is initially a confusing collection of radio buttons and a single sharp image of an astrological card. Since the program gives you no direction and the Help file is fairly unhelpful, users need to experiment to get a taste for the program. Luckily, the Psychic Test Software soon proves to be a simple way to try your hand at predicting the future and should … Read more

MB Brain Test is a simple program that answers users' questions about which side of their brain is more dominant. With a primitive display and simple questions, this program proves to be more fun than informative.

This download's interface is not going to win any beauty contests, but it proves to be functional. With primitive graphics leading users through a series of questions answered by clicking a radio button, there should be no confusion for users of any experience level, though there is an online Help file available. The program functions simply, which makes the test rather fun. After … Read more

Netbooks are an incredibly exciting new product category, and one that's undergoing constant evolution. Designed to handle e-mail, Web browsing, and some basic software apps, they are somewhat limited when compared with most full-size laptops, but how limited? I wanted to find out.

I've dug into a few dozen popular sites that I use, and made note of basic performance through extended use. Did they work? Did they not work? These were things I wanted to test.

The verdict: overwhelmingly positive. Besides a few issues with Adobe Flash performance (which we get into later), it handles most things with speed and agility. Before delving any deeper though, let's go over the test machine and browsers we used:

The machine: Dell Mini Inspiron 10 (a loaner review unit) OS: Windows XP Home Processor: Intel Atom Z530 dual-core 1.6ghz (533MHz FSB/512K L2Cache) Memory: 1GB Display: 10.1" widescreen (1366x768) Graphics: Intel GMA 500 Retail cost as configured (before magic Dell coupons): $474

The browsers: Internet Explorer 8 (v8.0), Google Chrome (v2.0.172.31), Firefox (v3.0.10). I would have loved to do additional testing in Safari and Opera, but for the sake of simplicity I stuck with the big three.

The browsers, and the OS were as lean as possible. None of the browsers was running any add-ons, or special plug-ins besides Java and the latest version of Adobe Flash. There were also no other programs running besides the Windows activity monitor.

For the sake of simplicity, I've divided up the sites I tested into two categories: work and play. Assuming you're buying a Netbook for either purpose, you're likely to dabble in both realms at some point.

These are Web apps that let you get things done, be it business, homework, or personal scheduling.

Google Docs and Zoho--Both of these online office suites performed great. Zoho clearly has far more tools in one place than Google Docs does, so for the sake of this test I just used the ones that both shared which include word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. The Netbook handled all of them without any slowdown, however… Read more

Apple recently sent out an e-mail to developers testing the latest iPhone OS 3.0 software. Apple wants to put the Push Notification system through one last stress test before releasing OS 3.0 to consumers on June 17. The app picked for this second test was the AOL AIM $2.99 instant messaging application. (Previously, Apple tested the Associated Press application, AP Mobile Free.) We assume that Apple chose news and instant messaging apps because these applications will be using Push Notification the most.

Push Notification is a system Apple developed to work around the fact that Apple does … Read more

Many of my favorite freeware tools have more-than-adequate competitors out there, but you can never have too much of a good thing. Here are four utilities that you may not have heard of to help you back up your files, take screen captures, uninstall programs, and test your download speeds.

MyUninstaller replaces the default Windows Add/Remove Programs utility, and is a strong alternative to Revo Uninstaller. They both uninstall programs, and that's just about where their similarities end.

MyUninstaller feels extremely lightweight compared to Revo and contains none of the system tools extras like Autorun Manager that Revo … Read more