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Time for an SSD? Intel drops 120GB to $249

On Friday, Intel introduced its most competitively priced solid-state drive yet and will be selling the drive to consumers through major retail outlets. Are SSDs finally becoming a worthy upgrade?

The Intel X25-M 120GB Solid-State Drive is set to be offered at Best Buy and Fry's Electronics for a suggested retail price of $249. Newegg is already selling the drive. Competitive SSDs would include a 128GB drive for $269 from Crucial.

Though still pricey by traditional spinning hard disk drive standards (1 terabyte desktop HDDs can be had for less than $100), it's a dramatic change from two … Read more

Download multiplier

Aktiv Download Manager from Goforsharing is a free tool that enhances Windows' downloading capabilities. It can schedule and manage up to 99 simultaneous downloads, pause and resume downloads in a variety of connection types, accelerate downloads, segment files, and automatically search for additional and faster downloads.

Aktiv Download Manager's businesslike interface is divided into two panes, Current Downloads and Finished Files. A suite of control icons lets users add and delete URLs for download sites, reset the list, pause and resume downloads, and quit the program. An Options button initiates a properties dialog for setting general preferences such as … Read more

A closer look at Chrome 7

Now into its second year, Google Chrome has begun to mature from a lightweight and fast browsing alternative into an innovative browser on the precipice of a potential revolution with the pending ChromeOS. The software saw another minor rev recently, so we decided to give it an even closer look for a review update. The browser that people can use today, Chrome 7, offers highly competitive features, including synchronization, autofill, and maintains Google's reputation for building one of the fastest browsers available.

We also got up close and personal with Trend Micro's Maximum Security 2011, which brings users … Read more

Panasonic plasma does 2D well, 3D not so much

Panasonic's first 3D TV, the TC-PVT25 series, earned our Editors' Choice award for its 2D picture quality, and in our opinion is currently the best overall TV you can buy. It's expensive, however, so the company decided to release a slightly cheaper 3D-compatible TV later in 2010, the two-size TC-PGT25 series reviewed here.

It can't quite match the picture delivered by its big brother in 2D mode, and in 3D it also has issues, but it's still an excellent performer. That said, it's still significantly more expensive than Panasonic's G20/25 models--which are … Read more

WD breaks capacity limit with 3TB hard drive

A few months back, Seagate released the world's first 3TB hard drive in the form of the FreeAgent GoFlex Desk. The release wasn't so exciting, though, because the drive wasn't intended to be available in the standalone internal form.

Today, Western Digital announced the availability its own 3TB and 2.5TB internal hard drives--the latest in the WD Caviar Green family--that you can bring home and install in your computer. This is great news for those who want a second and large hard drive for their computer that runs Windows 7 or Vista.

The reason that Seagate … Read more

Japan's big players plan a jolt of electrics

Japan's three largest automakers are making a push to extend their alternative-fuel power train offerings in the next two years.

Toyota Motor will bring two electric and six hybrid-electric models to market in the next 24 months, including a plug-in Toyota Prius. Lexus will move into entry-luxury with the CT 200h hybrid hatchback in 2011.

Nissan Motor will launch the all-electric Nissan Leaf sedan in five markets in December. Infiniti will introduce the M35h hybrid next spring and an all-electric four-seater in late 2012 or early 2013.

Honda Motor engineers are working on a hybrid platform for such large … Read more

Dialed In: 140: Bumpy road to 4G coverage

If you're eagerly awaiting 4G coverage like we are in San Francisco, prepare to either apply some patience or settle into frustration. We discuss why the road to 4G speeds is long and riddled with potholes.

There's also talk of Virgin Mobile and Verizon's experiments with unlimited data plans, which is interesting in light of continuing talks among carriers about potential data caps. Finally, the crew chimes in on suspected hardware leaks of Windows 7 phones, and wonders if Microsoft can learn from RIM's mistakes with the BlackBerry Torch.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) … Read more

Transcend SSDs get radical speed and capacity boosts

Transcend's solid-state drives got a radical upgrade Tuesday, as the company announced a new breed of SSDs that offer speeds of up to 260MBps and come in capacities of up to 512GB, which the company claims is the highest in the industry.

According to Transcend, to boost overall performance, the 2.5-inch SATA SSDs feature an upgraded controller chip that supports a maximum sequential transfer speed of 260MBps read and 200 MBps write. The company claims that this will significantly improve the system bootup and application launch speed and at the same time will offer lag-free responsiveness. The new … Read more

The $599 question: Is the Toshiba Satellite T235D-S1345 enough computer for the money?

Back when thin-and-light laptops were all the rage in 2009, a surprise contender for the most affordable thin 13-inch laptop came from Toshiba. The Satellite T135, an optical drive-free laptop with an Intel Pentium or AMD Neo dual-core CPU, managed to provide exactly the sort of computing power that most Netbooks lack. For everything from video streaming to general office work, it was more than adequate. It wasn't as cheap as a Netbook, but it wasn't as expensive as many thin laptops, either.

Toshiba's update, the Satellite T235, is much like its predecessor in many ways--perhaps in … Read more