At or near the top of the list of aggravations for new PC owners is the trial version of a program that came preinstalled on the system refusing to uninstall once the trial period expires. The irritation really peaks when the product in question is from Microsoft.
Before I could install a bought-and-paid-for copy of Outlook 2007 on my laptop, I had to uninstall the trial version of Office Enterprise 2007 that was preinstalled on the machine's hard drive when I bought it several months ago. Very early in the uninstall process, an alert popped up reporting Error 1310 and instructing me to verify that I had access to a certain directory.
An attempt to uninstall the trial version of Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 generated an error message.
(Credit: Microsoft)I decided to try the uninstall again using the free Revo Uninstaller utility. In addition to cleaning up the Registry entries, files, folders, and other refuse that the program's own uninstaller misses, Revo Uninstaller finds and deletes junk files on your PC and performs other cleanup duties.
... Read MoreIf you followed the steps in my post from August on merging your Outlook and Gmail contacts, you may have ended up with duplicates in your contact lists. Microsoft's advice for deleting duplicate contacts is to sort them by the date modified, Ctrl-select the ones you want to remove, and press delete.
The problem is, the duplicate entries probably aren't identical, so you're almost certain to delete some data along with the dupe. What you need is a way to merge the information in the duplicate contacts. There's no such feature in Outlook, but if you're willing to spend $30, you can make short work of your extraneous Outlook entries by running 4Team's Duplicate Killer for Outlook.
The program deletes or merges duplicate e-mail messages, calendar entries, tasks, and notes in addition to contacts. I tested the program with Outlook 2007 but, according to the vendor, it works with Outlook 2000, XP, and 2003 as well. The new version, 3, is said to work with "Microsoft Exchange type folders including public folders," according to the vendor's Web site, but I ran it on a standalone Outlook installation.
... Read More
(Credit:
CBS Interactive)
I have a question: is having a 16:9 aspect ratio monitor (as opposed to 16:10) really all that beneficial? The answer is, "It depends."
If we're talking strictly about resolution benefits, the specific size of the screen matters greatly. For example, a 16:9, 21.5-inch monitor has a native resolution of 1920x1080, whereas a 16:10, 22-incher tops out at 1680x1050. That's an extra 309,600 pixels you'd have at your disposal on the 21.5-incher. Gaming, movies, Photoshop--virtually all apps would benefit from more pixels. Yes, even porn. Or so I hear...ahem.
On the flip side, a 16:9, 24-incher's max resolution is 1920x1080; however, a 16:10, 24-inch monitor has a higher native resolution of 1920x1200. To complicate matters a bit, Dell's smaller, 16:9 SP2309W is a 23-inch display with a 2048x1152 resolution.
So, clearly, for certain screen sizes there are resolution benefits to 16:9. Also, with a monitor capable of 1080p (1920x1080) resolution, you'll get to watch 1080p, high-definition content without it getting stretched or shrunk to fit the screen.
So that long-winded setup brings me to the HP 2009m: a 20-inch, 16:9 monitor with a maximum resolution of 1600x900. As a rule, 16:10 monitors at 20 inches have a max resolution of 1680x1050. So with a monitor this small, what's the real benefit in going to 16:9? Sure, high-def content (1080 and 720p) will fit better, but will there really be a huge difference in quality and in the experience you have?
Now, I just got the HP 2009m in this week and, while it's definitely pleasing to the eye, it doesn't boast many improvements over the HP w2007 we reviewed a couple years back--unless you consider 16:9 on a 20-inch monitor an improvement, since the w2007 had a 16:10 aspect ratio and 1680x1050 resolution. On HP's site, the newer 2009m costs $20 more. Are we really expected to pay $20 more (yes, a small difference, but still) for a lower-resolution monitor?
OK. Now, to be fair, I haven't tested the monitor yet. There could be many hidden benefits I'm not yet privy to--performance and power consumption being chief among the possibilities. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for any of those boons when I review the monitor in a couple of weeks. For now, check out the slideshow.
With the CompUSA liquidation in full swing, some of the deals at closing stores have started to get quite interesting.
A cage full of Vista and Office copies--all 40 percent off.
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)The hardware was not necessarily much of a bargain. During a recent stroll through the downtown San Francisco store, I found desktops and notebooks discounted 20 percent, and in many cases there was only a well-used demo model for sale. There were also printers (some new in boxes and some demo machines), but I suspect one can get a PC or printer for a better price just by shopping the weekend circulars.
The real bargains were in the software area. While PCs and printers get used, scuffed, and outdated sitting on store shelves, software stays pretty much the same inside its nearly empty box.
Included among the Vista copies were several of the Bill Gates-signed limited edition Ultimate version.
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)There were many varieties of Office 2007 as well as many flavors of Windows Vista--all for 40 percent off. There was even a stack of the special Bill Gates-signed limited edition version of Vista Ultimate. On the Office front, there was everything from Office Ultimate for the Home and Student to copies of individual programs such as Word and OneNote.
On the Mac side, there were only a couple of demo Macs--and those were just 15 percent off. However, there were copies of .Mac for 40 percent off the standard $99 price as well as the chance to get AppleCare extended warranties for half the usual price. For those who happen to need a MagSafe power adapter, there was a basket of those located several paces from the now-abandoned Apple Shop.
There wasn't a ton of pro software on either the Mac or PC side, though I did notice several copies of Final Cut Studio 2 in one of the cages.
There weren't many Apple accessories, but they did have a bunch of MagSafe power adapters.
(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)Speaking of cables, there was also a section that seemed like the dregs from the repair shop featuring a ton of power bricks, cords, and remote controls. It's not for everyone, but if you've been missing a cord and don't mind rummaging, there might be something up your alley.
It's worth noting that not all of the CompUSA stores are closing for good. Systemax acquired the CompUSA name and plans to keep open up to 16 of the stores, also rebranding some of its TigerDirect retail stores with the CompUSA name.
If the business of liquidating stores is a science, with its practitioners knowing just when to drop the discounts a little further, buying from such sales is an art. I'm sure there are plenty of artists out there. What was your best find?
Richard Hawley
It's a winner.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)
It's not.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)Time may choose its person of the year, but here at CNET we take our time compiling lists that really matter. So recently I joined with my fellow cell phone reviewers to pick the best and worst handsets of 2007. Out of the 123 cell phones we reviewed this year (that number doesn't include all the smart phones we examined), we had some definite winners, and some definite losers.
I'm not going to reveal them all here; instead you'll have to click through to see my picks for the best cell phones of 2007, Bonnie Cha's choices for the best smartphones of 2007, and Nicole Lee's selections for the best Bluetooth headsets of 2007. And just to show you that we don't love everything, we also chose our worst cell phone of the year.
To give you a little hint, I can tell you that the LG Voyager VX10000 was our only handset to receive an Editors' Choice award, and the Samsung SGH-A127 didn't fare quite as well. Happy holidays, and we'll see you in 2008 for more cell phone fun.
Daft Punk
(Credit: Stephane Queme aka DJ Falcon Virgin Records )With three stellar albums under its shiny metallic belts, Homework (1997), Discovery (2001), and Human After All (2005), the helmet-wearing heroes known as Daft Punk continue to win new fans across the globe with the group's bangin' blend of acid-house, funk, electro, hip-hop, and love of a good sample as heard in hits including "Da Funk," "Around The World," and "Harder Better Faster Stronger," among others. Speaking of which, I couldn't believe it took someone like Kanye to discover the talent behind the duo which in turn went on and sampled "Harder Better Faster Stronger" for his hit single "Stronger." Since then, Daft Punk received more publicity in '07 than any other year with sold out shows to prove it.
If you weren't lucky enough to catch Daft Punk on its inexplicably rockin' live arena tour this past summer, check out the next best thing: an official live recording of the duo's June 2007 show in Paris (as if you needed more proof of Daft Punk's subhuman awesomeness).
Listen to the new album "Alive 2007" here!
Watch the video shot by fans during the "Alive 2007" tour in Brooklyn on August 9 here!
Free music download of "Human After All" remixed by Justice here!
ZMP's e-nuvo series walk robot, Version 3.
(Credit: ZMP)Where do all the coolest robots hang out? Japan, of course.
The 2007 International Robot Exhibition sponsored by the Japan Robot Association claims to be the largest robotics trade show in the world. The show, which runs November 28 to December 1, serves as a venue for everything from tiny robot toys and educational tools to giant industrial robots that manufacture cars.
This headless-looking robot is actually fully intact. The E-nuvo walk robot from Japan-based ZMP could be thought of as the Japanese version of a Lego Mindstorms robot. Only this line of learning robots, which is offered in basic, arm, wheel, or walk versions, runs on Microsoft Robotics Studio.
For more, check out this week's CNET News.com photo gallery on robots.
Historians, take note: Honda's FCX is the first hydrogen-fuel-cell car in production. Get a first look from the floor at the 2007 LA Auto Show.
Lincoln reaches back to make its first car in ages that we can really call gorgeous. Get a first look from the floor at the 2007 LA Auto Show.
