performance

There is just no substitute for bandwidth when it comes to Internet speed. Whether it's water or data, the principle is the same: the bigger the pipe, the bigger (and faster) the flow. But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do on your end to improve your online experience, especially if you're one of the many users still running dial-up connections. If you're trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of your Internet connection, you may want to have a look at Throttle. Throttle offers to maximize your PC's network settings, whether … Read more

PassMark's PerformanceTest makes it easy to test your computer and compare its performance against baseline statistics and other users' PCs. Benchmarking your PC is important for tweaking its performance, and it's critical for overclocking. PerformanceTest runs a battery of sophisticated benchmarking tests and returns some expert-level data. With six suites comprising 28 unique tests, it benchmarks the performance of your CPU, RAM, 2D and 3D graphics, disk speed, and more. Recent updates include improved 32-bit performance in Windows 7 and compatibility with Windows 8. PerformanceTest is free to try for 30 days and costs $26. We tried it … Read more

If your computer can't keep up with your games, it may be time to give it a boost. For a small fee, this program wants to change a few settings on your computer to make things run faster. Sadly, the GameGain trial version doesn't make good on its promises; you won't notice any performance upgrade in any of your favorite games.

The program offers a free trial that lasts for 29 days, while the full version costs $12.99. You can't unlock GameGain's "fastest" setting" without paying up, though. The program occasionally … Read more

Is your older computer struggling to keep up with the latest and greatest games? GameBoost claims to save you from having to boost your hardware by giving you more performance through software tweaks. However, any changes the trial version makes aren't noticeable at all. In fact, the program doesn't boost your computer's power or speed one bit.

The trial version of the program offers most of the performance tweaks for 29 days. The "fastest" performance upgrade isn't available unless you buy, though. GameBoost requires some administrator access to work, which makes you think it … Read more

We've seen plenty of tools that promise to boost your PC's speed, but like the proverbial bear in the woods, some do and some don't. PCBoost promises to boost your PC's speed, too, and it has some options and displays that can help you do that, up to a point. It's shareware, though you can try it for free for 30 days. It's affordable, but it doesn't do more than many free system optimizers, and actually does less than others. It claims to exert control over how your PC prioritizes processor resources, "… Read more

A dancer takes the stage, melts to the ground, and then rises as a silhouette bathed in a downpour of digital light. This isn't a hallucination, but rather Apparition, an interactive light show by Austrian media artist Klaus Obermaier.

Built in collaboration with the Ars Electronica Futurelab, the Apparition project turns a dancer and his or her stage into a kinetic dance experience that overloads the senses. As the dancer flourishes, a camera-based motion tracking system monitors the subject's speed, direction, and intensity of movement.… Read more

Doctors have already replaced a patient's jaw with a 3D-printed titanium implant, so why not part of a skull? Earlier this week, 75 percent of an American patient's skull was surgically replaced with a custom-made implant produced by a 3D printer from Oxford Performance Materials.

The full name of the implant is the OsteoFab Patient Specific Cranial Device. The implant is made from PEKK biomedical polymer and printed using CAD files developed to fit each person. The world of skulls is not one-size-fits-all. Much like an expensive pair of bespoke shoes, these skull implants are unique to the individual.… Read more

It's no secret that the standard hand-eye coordination tests doctors use to monitor neuromuscular deficits -- typically when a patient is injured or as a patient ages -- can be subjective, relying on, say, descriptions of reflexes and cognitive status such as "mild," "moderate," and "severe."

So researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard, the Beth Israel Medical Center, and Hebrew SeniorLife have been developing what they call a rapid neuroassessment device, nicknamed NeuroAssess, to measure neuromuscular performance quantitatively instead of qualitatively.

They've recently tested it on 150 … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The last time we caught up with Valencell, the company was hoping its PerformTek fitness-monitoring sensor technology would be available to consumers last fall. It's taken a little longer than expected, but the tech has been licensed to Iriver and will be available in March in the form of the $199 Iriver On earbuds.

As we've seen at CES this year, everybody and their grandmother has developed some sort of wearable fitness technology. What sets the Iriver On apart is that it's integrated with a device you already wear while exercising: earbuds. There's no bracelet to wear or dongle to clip on; you just monitor your heart rate, distance, cadence, speed, and calories burned while you rock out.… Read more