benchmarking

Nextdoor: First private social network for neighborhoods

Writer Walter Kirn tweeted something mid-summer that rang so poignant and true, I immediately "favorited" and re-tweeted: "The brilliant dark governing insight of social media is that most people prefer socializing alone."

Sure, all of this newfound sharing and real-time communication is awesome indeed. But the very same digital tools that heighten our reach and accessibility are somehow alienating us from each other more so than ever before. Human-to-human connection and communication, it seems, tends to get too intermediated by gadgets and gizmos.

Today, there's a new social network rolling out nationwide to help bridge … Read more

CNET Labscast 4: Meet the ultrabooks; plus Xbox wheel and iPad split keyboard tests

See what's happening in the CNET Labs this week, as we test Microsoft's Wireless Racing Wheel for Xbox and the iPad's new split keyboard, and take a look at the latest superslim ultrabook laptops.

Grockit gets $7M to keep boosting SAT scores

Social learning startup Grockit has raised an additional $7 million in venture funding to expand its online test-preparation services.

Although not related to the funding, Grockit also recently launched a new service called Grockit Answers that can turn any YouTube video into a Q&A session. (Here's a company-supplied example on the credit crisis.)

Grockit's tools draw on social networking and online gaming to personalize learning outside of the classroom--ideally, to help students conquer their academic weaknesses and ace test preparation. The company's tag line is "Test Prep Made Fun." Grockit claims one million … Read more

CNET Labscast 3: Hot new laptops and rescuing game saves from a PS3

This week, we take a look at what life will be like after Siri for iPhone 4S, check out the latest laptops, and learn how we rescued some game saves from an overheating PS3.

Bonus: Watch the full "Life with Siri" video here.

Apple iPhone 4S gets benchmarked; slower than iPad 2

Apple's iPhone 4S smartphone isn't even on store shelves yet, but benchmarks have leaked out on the Web, suggesting the device holds up quite well against most products, except the iPad 2.

According to benchmark data obtained by Anandtech from a host of sources, Apple's iPhone 4S beats out all devices, except for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 in a JavaScript benchmark, but easily bests that tablet (and all other Android-based devices) in a Rightware BrowserMark benchmark. However, when the smartphone is pitted against the iPad 2, it falls short in processor integer performance and in … Read more

CNET Labscast 2: New laptops and desktops, plus an iPad arcade stick shootout

Get another inside look at the action in the CNET Labs, as we demo a new Samsung touch-screen all-in-one, check out HP's new ultraportable, and pit two iPad arcade sticks against each other in a hands-on shootout.

CNET Labscast 1: 2D vs. 3D laptop performance, iPad speed-typing tests, and more

In our very first episode (or 143rd, depending on how you're counting), we host a quick tour of the CNET Labs, take an iPad speed-typing test, and perform some live 2D vs. 3D laptop benchmarks.

Troubleshooting-utility news and updates

Our utilities update report is a column on updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though a utility can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is on bringing you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems. This week there were updates for a couple of maintenance tools, and a great option for managing launch daemon and launch agent files, as well as a couple of hardware monitoring tools.

Maintenance The popular maintenance tool Cocktail has been updated … Read more

5 apps for benchmarking your Android device

Benchmarking apps are useful for measuring the performance of your device and comparing the scores with similar devices. They test the performance of processors, graphics systems, Web browsing, and more. Here are five benchmarking apps for Android devices that you can use to see how your device measures up:

Quadrant Standard Edition Quadrant Standard Edition tests CPU, I/O, and 3D graphics. After running through the tests, you're required to submit the score to the company's servers in order to see the results. The bar chart shows your overall score and compares it with other devices.

Linpack Linpack … Read more

Benchmark battle: Chrome vs. IE vs. Firefox

There's no doubt the latest crop of stable browsers from Google, Microsoft, and Mozilla are the best the companies have ever produced. But how do they perform when tested under identical conditions?

CNET put the latest stable versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer through a gauntlet of benchmarks that considered JavaScript and HTML5 performance, as well as boot times and memory usage. (Opera and Safari were not tested because they have not been updated recently, and neither has yet implemented hardware acceleration close to the level that the other three browsers have.) Note that these charts are at … Read more