Microsoft has made no attempt to hide which trendy little MP3 player lay in the sights of the recently released Zune HD: Apple’s iPod Touch. Apple turned the market upside down when it released the Touch back in 2007, and while Microsoft let its own Zune line languish for two years before responding, the silver bullet Microsoft has finally offered up has clearly been engineered to drop Apple. But will it succeed? With both players in hand, we ran down the key advantages of each to determine which truly makes the ultimate portable video device.
Category: Guides
Listen to Music Anywhere
Taking your music with you used to be as easy as popping the cassette out of your home tape player and into your car, boombox, or Walkman. Not so any more. Though the rise of the MP3 has made it possible to download albums in seconds, share them with your friends, and fit millions of songs in a single box, the actual process of getting it from off a desktop hard drive and playing it somewhere else has taken a step backward in simplicity. But that’s quickly changing, as a plethora of services and gadgets have sprung up to fill the void. Leave Bon Jovi at home no more. Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can get your music off your desktop.
Consoles Compared: Sony PlayStation 3 vs. PS3 Slim
So you’re ready to take the plunge and buy a PlayStation 3 Slim. Congratulations, at $300, there’s never been a better time to buy. But the skeptical consumer can’t help but wonder: What’s the catch? Is it missing something? In short, the answer is “not much,” but Sony has made a handful of very slight changes to the new machine that are worth reviewing before you buy. Here’s what’s new.
Refreshed Design
Best Free Alternatives to Commercial Software
Sometimes, you just have to cheap out. Whether it’s picking up six-pack of Shasta at the grocery store rather than Coke, a packet of generic acetaminophen at the drug store rather than Tylenol, or a Kia Amanti instead of a Mercedes E-Class, the option to go with “close enough” is everywhere. Do it right, and you’ll save a bundle while never noticing the difference. Do it wrong, and you’ll curse the purchase every day for the next 10 years as you cling to your pleather steering wheel wondering how a seductive pair of headlights tricked you into thinking you were buying a German luxury sedan.
The Best Web Browsers Reviewed: Internet Explorer (IE) 8 vs. Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera and Chrome
Serving as a window to your online world, the web browser has become one of — if not — the most important pieces of computer software used on a daily basis.
Not only are browsers used to access websites for information and e-commerce, but for many, it’s a conduit to entertainment (such as streaming videos or online games), communication (including web mail sites) and social networking with friends (be it Facebook, MySpace and Twitter).
Printing Green: How to Recycle Your Ink Cartridges
You may not give much thought to what happens to your ink-encrusted old print cartridges after the new ones come out of the foil wrapper, but tossing them away should be about the last thing you consider. Like paper, plastic, glass and all the other materials you load into your recycling bin every week, there’s a whole other life for print cartridges out the landfill. And even better, like soda cans or old cars, you might even be able to score some money for your good deed in the process. Here are three environmentally friendly options for your used print cartridges when their printing days are (seemingly) over.
Best BlackBerry Applications (Apps) and Free Downloads
Why should iPhone users have all the fun? Though Apple likes to trot out stats about its ballooning app store every month or so (50,000 at latest count), BlackBerry App World has its own growing library of third-party apps, and it’s not clogged up with quite as many fart machines and virtual lighters, either. We dug out 10 of our personal favorites to highlight the very best BlackBerry developers have to offer.
5 Simple Steps To A Quieter PC
Quote from the article:
“No one wants their computer to be loud, but in order to keep components running at safe temperatures, cooling fans can wind up making the system sound like a blow dryer. In a busy office environment some noise may go unnoticed, but as computers find their way into more rooms of the home, near silence is essential. A computer sitting in the living room for use with a home theater system has to be quiet so that it doesn’t interfere with the enjoyment of music or movies, for example.









