Destroy one's website

Type in the address of any website: your site, a friend's site, a famous site, any site you know.
Choose a site that you'd like to punish, or whose destruction would bring you bliss and delight, or just fun.

http://www.netdisaster.com/index.html

What is the Value of Your Website?

What is the Value of Your Website?
Enter your full website address like this: http://it-survival-guide.blogspot.com/
We'll check your backlinks and make our valuation estimate

http://directory.sootle.com/website-worth/

Be Your own PC Mechanic

(From Maximum PC Nov-2006)

CCleaner.com

Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800

Hail the new king of desktop CPUs

THE ATHLON 64 FX has worn the desktop-CPU crown for over a year, but AMD’s pride and joy has finally met its match: Intel’s 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800. This new CPU surpasses the AMD chip on all of our benchmark tests.

The $999 X6800 sits at the top of Intel’s new Core 2 Duo family. In addition to the broad improvements delivered by the Core 2 architecture, the Core 2 Extreme has 4MB of unified L2 cache.

In our tests, the X6800 didn’t so much as wince. Its nearest competitor, AMD’s 2.6GHz Athlon 64 FX-62, came within 5 percent of the X6800 on our iTunes,multitasking, and Microsoft Office tests. On our Half-Life 2 and Adobe Photoshop CS2 tests, however, the AMD chip fell behind by as much as 28 percent.

The X6800 features more than just groundbreaking performance. The CPU has a thermal design power (TDP) rating of 65 watts, which allows for its use in smaller-profile PCs. (By comparison, Intel’s Pentium D 900 was rated between 95 and 130 watts). Plus, Intel made upgrading easy: Core 2 Duo chips can use the Socket LGA775 interface found on many
current Intel motherboards. And the X6800 is the only Core 2 chip whose clock multiplier comes unlocked—this means you can overclock it right out of the box. If you want to run the new CPU and a dual-graphics-card configuration, you’ll need to choose between two options. Intel’s 975 chipsets support ATI’s CrossFire dual-card technology; if you want to run a Scalable Link Interface (SLI) configuration, however, you’ll need a motherboard from nVidia’s nForce 500 Series for Intel.

Command Window

If you’re tired of the plain DOS-like look and feel of the
Command window, then customize it. Click Start and Run,
type cmd in the Open field, and click OK. Now click the C:\
prompt icon in the upper-left corner of the window and
Defaults to bring up the Console Windows Properties window.
Here you can change most of the Command window’s
look and feel, from the cursor size to the default
font, text, and background colors. Use the tabs to rifle
through the options and click OK when you’re finished.

Pile On The Writely Files

Writely (www.writely.com) is a recently relaunched Web-based word processor from Google that rivals Word in its functionality.

Ordinarily, Writely only lets you upload one Word or image file from your PC at a time into the service, but there’s a way around this. After signing into Writely, click the E-mail In button. Here you’ll get a unique email address for your Writely account.

You can send single or multiple documents (up to 500KB) or images (up to 2MB) to this address and Writely will convert them to separate HTML documents. These uploaded files will retain their original file names. Also, any text you include in the email will become a new document that uses the email subject as its file name. All of these attachments will show up in your All Documents folder.

As of this writing, Writely had limited ability to download files to your PC in batches. You can download batches of files, however, if you don’t mind Writely converting them to HTML. Go to the All Documents tab, check the files you want to download, click the Actions dropdown menu and Save As HTML, and your files should download to your PC as a compressed Zip folder.

Customize file views

Customize file views to show some useful extra information.


WINDOWS’ FOLDER VIEWS DEFAULT to big, annoying icons. To get down to serious business, you need to view items in a list with detailed information. To do this, open a folder by clicking on My Computer\C: drive, then on one of the folders, or click on Start, then My Documents. Under the View menu select Details, which reveals columns for name, creation date, size, and more. Hone your view with the directional triangles in each column to change the way items are sorted.

When you have set up the view you want as the default, don’t sail away just yet; as soon as you navigate to another folder, you’ll lose those settings. If you want to keep your sort settings when moving in and out of different folders, follow along here. Pull down the Tools menu and select Folder Options. Click the View tab at the top, then press the Apply to All Folders button. This applies the view to all the folders you ever navigate to.

Speed your start-up

Speed your start-up by skipping a few boot items.


YOU MAY THINK A CERTAIN PROGRAM is slowing your system down or actually hanging it for a few moments as soon as it boots. If so, try starting Win dows in “lite” mode. Click Start
Run, then type msconfi g and press Enter. When the System Confi guration Utility loads, click the Startup tab; you’ll be surprised to see all the programs you’re loading at start-up. For info, Google the ones that are questionable or other wise annoying before unchecking them, and reboot.

You will have a few more system resources when you restart, but whether or not those programs will attach themselves to the start-up process again is another question. Check back
inside for the answer to that. Some programs like to keep their hooks in the Windows start-up
process and will actually reattach themselves.

You can also experiment with removing services under the Services tab, such as the iPod service if you use the iTunes software but don’t own an iPod. Be careful not to make changes all at once here; doing changes in stages will enable you to troubleshoot an adverse effect on the system that might appear once you’ve rebooted. If your system becomes unstable or programs hang, you may need to enable some of the services again.
If your system won’t let you boot up to even enter this mode, when you power-on your PC hit
the F8 key a few times as soon as the computer manufacturer’s name pops up, before Windows
begins to load. This will take you to a hidden menu that will allow you to start Windows in a
safe mode, with or without networking. There’s more than one way to start XP!

The most Amazing sites of 2006 (part 2)

TVGASM www.tvgasm.com
When it takes longer to read the episode synopsis than actually watching the episode would take, you know you’ve found a good TV blog. TVgasm is detailed enough in its coverage of favorite TV shows that you no longer need to fret if you’ve missed an episode. We’re split on whether it’s better than Television Without Pity, but it certainly holds its own.


tourfilter www.tourfilter.com
Tourfi lter tracks concerts and shows in 16 major U.S. cities (plus Dublin, London, Melbourne, Toronto, and Vancouver) to ensure that you never miss your favorite band’s gig. The site enlists trackers to keep tabs on artist lineups at scores of venues, whether small clubs or enormous stadiums. Check out the city pages for a list of upcoming shows in your area, or input your favorite bands’ names to get an e-mail when they announce a nearby show.


The Morning News www.themorningnews.org
The site’s name is actually a bit of a misnomer; it’s updated every weekday morning, but not always with news (though you will find the latest news headlines in the right column). The Morning News features short works of both fiction and nonfiction that range from the satirical to the serious. Highlights include the “advice” column “The Non-Expert” and numerous “How-To” guides.


10x10 www.tenbyten.org
10x10 offers an hourly updated snapshot of the world, with the 100 pictures that matter most on a global scale. 10x10 scans a handful of reputable news sites to come up with the top 100 words and images. Clicking on the images lets you dig deeper and find the stories behind them.


Regret the Error www.regrettheerror.com
Regret the Error is the site that takes the mainstream media to task, reprinting corrections and
errors from newspapers, magazines, and other news sources. Funny headlines + media apologies = a great afternoon read.


Goggles www.isoma.net/games/goggles.html
It’s nothing too fancy, but this fun little flight simulator is a mash-up of Google Maps and a cartoony plane. Fly around various towns or even the Moon and Mars, and don’t worry about strafi ng the terrain below—your weapons have no effect.


Guess-the-google
grant.robinson.name/projects/guess-the-google
In this fun and frustrating game, you’re presented with a grid of 16 images that are the results of a Google search for images. Your goal is to guess the search term within 20 seconds.


FlightAware www.flightaware.com
Especially in these days of long airport delays and flight cancellations, FlightAware is a great tool for tracking your loved one’s journey home. The site gives real-time locations for flights in the air, letting you quickly know when friends and family will actually be arriving at the gate. Or just browse to check out what today’s skies look like.


Google Maps Mania
googlemapsmania.blogspot.com
Lots of developers use Google Maps as the basis for creating new online tools. And as more and
more sites publish these tools, one blogger is keeping track of it all. On Google Maps Mania, you’ll find recent sites highlighted, and classics listed. So if you’re looking for, say, a place to share favorite cycling routes, a mash-up using the New York City subway map, or an interactive BBC news map, you’re in luck.


CAREERS
Dice www.dice.com
Dice makes looking for technology jobs a bit easier, especially for tech newbies.

Monster www.monster.com
Job-listing veteran Monster has an impressive number of listings, and referrals for job fairs and training events.

Yahoo! HotJobs hotjobs.yahoo.com
Search hundreds of thousands of job listings. Useful Career Tools section.


DevX www.devx.com
A developer’s paradise
of tools, tips, and tutorials.


DistroWatch.com
Stay up to date on all the latest Linux releases. You’ll also find helpful reviews, articles, and interviews here.


www.w3schools.com
This extensive online Web-building resource covers everything from basic HTML to advanced XML, and it’s all free.


CONSUMER ELECTRONICS & PHOTOGRAPHY
Digital Photography Review www.dpreview.com
Breaking news from the digicam universe, plus exhaustive reviews of the latest models.

Engadget www.engadget.com
Consumer-electronicsblog behemoth with the latest gadget news and rumors.

PopPhoto.com
The Web site for Popular Photography is a veritable What’s What and Who’s Who in photography, with news, reviews, and how-to articles.


Shutterfly www.shutterfly.com
This beautifully designed photocentric site is remarkably easy to use, and, in large part, free.

The most Amazing sites of 2006

ajaxWrite www.ajaxwrite.com
It’s a Web-based word processor that’s free and that works (but only in Firefox).

Download Squad www.downloadsquad.com
Download Squad keeps you up to date on the latest happenings in the world of software and Web applications. The site is informative, witty, and graphical, and the bloggers post quite a bit.

GmailTips www.gmailtips.com
This exhaustive Gmail tips site has all sorts of hints and tricks to help you get the most out of the free mail service. The site is run by Jim of Jim’s Tips, and if it doesn’t quench your thirst for shortcuts, go to his main page (www.jimstips.com) for more mobile- and Web-application tricks.

StopBadware.org
StopBadWare.org is like an online neighborhood watch, keeping an eye out for malicious Web sites and cataloging the sites and applications that have been reported. StopBadWare has also joined with Google to warn users about blacklisted sites before it’s too late. Stop by to find out why they recently fingered AOL 9.0.

Techdirt www.techdirt.com
The regularly updated Techdirt brings you important news, analysis, and “dirt” about the tech industry, laid out in concise nuggets. Users can submit content—in fact, the site counts on it—from hard news to amusing tidbits. The site also offers targeted research services as well as a daily newsletter.


TweakGuides.com
If your system needs a tune-up, TweakGuides.com is the place to go. The site has guides to optimizing individual games, browsers, and drivers, as well as a TweakingCompanion for getting the best performance out of Windows XP.


SLR Gear www.slrgear.com
It can be tough to keep on top of the latest digital camera news and releases, and that’s without even worrying about lenses, flashes, and all the other accessories. That’s what SLR Gear specializes in—going beyond the camera body to test and review all the other stuff a photographer needs. Whether you’re looking for a new lens for your Canon Rebel
XT or a camera bag for your Nikon D200, SLR Gear can give you expert recommendations.


Charity Navigator www.charitynavigator.org
So you have some extra cash and you’d like to give it to a good cause, but you’re not sure which you can trust? Before you open your wallet, check out Charity Navigator, a nonprofit organization that evaluates and rates charities for you. Searching on the site is simple, and the top-ten lists, including “celebrity-related charities” and “inefficient fundraisers,” are a great feature.


The Memory Hole www.thememoryhole.org
The Memory Hole exists to bring hidden, lost, or forgotten info to light by way of posting documents on its home page. Check out reports such as the one detailing Pfi zer’s efforts to create chemical and biological weapons for the U.S. government in the 1960s, or another from the 1950s on evidence of ESP in animals. There’s plenty of content on the site that’s likely to pique your curiosity.


QuoteDB www.quotedb.com
“Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved,” said author D.H. Lawrence. So make sure you spend your time at QuoteDB. You’ll find a database of over 4,000 famous quotations in 60 categories, from Dave Barry and Hunter S. Thompson to Emily Dickinson and Leonardo da Vinci. Get your daily fix with the Quote of the Day, peruse recently added quotes, or add quotes to your Web site with the Quote Generator.


Webmath.com
Remember those annoying word problems in math class when you had to fi gure out if one painter can paint a house in 12 hours and another painter takes 8 hours how long it will take both painters to paint a house together? Now there’s help if you’re lost. At Webmath.com, you’ll fi nd solutions and tips for alge bra, geometry, calculus, and more.


Core77 Design Blog www.core77.com/blog
Core77 has been around for more than ten years, catering mainly to industrial-design students and pros. But as design has gotten hotter and gone all mainstream, a Web site devoted to slick-looking things doesn’t seem so niche anymore. Our favorite section is the blog, which keeps tabs on the coolest products and ideas coming out of the design world.


Make: Blog! www.makezine.com/blog
All you DIYers out there might want to add this blog to your favorites list. Make’s blog is chock-full of products and ideas you can tackle with your own two hands. These aren’t just simple handcrafts, but high-tech projects and modifi cations, such as making a touch-screen bar-code scanner or converting your tracker to electric power.


My Wonderful World
www.mywonderfulworld.org
Led by National Geographic, My Wonderful World is dedicated to teaching parents, educators, and kids about geography. Test your global IQ , participate in family activities, print a wall map of the world, and more. You can even write to lawmakers urging them to support education and help educate students about the world.


PaperToys www.papertoys.com
Make a paper model of everything from a Mercedes 320 SL to a Jimi Hendrix guitar to the
Neuschwanstein Castle. PaperToys.com features cutout templates of those and a slew of other paper models you can download, print out, cut out, and fold on your own.

BIG TRANSFER? NO SWEAT

AllPeers (beta)

Free

PROS A quick and easy way to send large files

from machine to machine.
SSL-protected transfers.

CONS Works only with Firefox.

Sender or intermediary

must be online for receiver to get a file.

ALLPEERS HOPES TO EASE THE PAIN OF sending large files over the Internet by leveraging the power of peer-to-peer networking. Simply drag a file to your browser window and this new service copies the contents to another AllPeers user’s system—for free.
The app works only with Firefox, however, and performance was spotty when I tested it. Still, this beta shows promise. I had set-up problems, and the service went down several times during testing, but when AllPeers worked, the speed was acceptable.
A customized version of BitTorrent drives the utility, so if you send a file to several people, others can help send it once they receive parts of the file. Using the app is easy. After keying in e-mail addresses or AllPeer usernames to create a contact list, you can choose a name and send files via drag-and-drop or dialog boxes.
You can send off-line recipients a notice that the file is on offer. Once online with the app open, your intended recipient can download the file—provided that you or others you’ve sent the same file to are online. SSL encryption protects transfers.
AllPeers plans to make the software browseragnostic, and I expect performance to improve. But even now, the service does what it promises with little fuss.

Read the AllPeers (beta) full review here.

Allpears home

PC Magazine (Oct 2006)

Cool advertisement

Optimize Your Security Apps

SECURITY-SOFTWARE maker Symantec announced earlier this year that it has documented 10,992 32-bit Windows virus and worm variants, with new ones appearing almost daily. Keeping your computer secure against these endless—and endlessly changing—attacks requires the help of today’s sophisticated antivirus and antispyware tools. But just installing the software isn’t enough.We’ve put together some tips that should help you tweak these tools and keep your computer well ahead of viruses and spyware in the security struggle.


1. Do full-system scans regularly
What’s a full-system (or “deep”) scan? It’s one that looks at your Windows Registry, at running processes, and inside of nonexecutable files, archive files, and files of all sizes. So-called “smart” scans ignore archives, extremely large files, and sometimes nonexecutables. It follows that deep scans take much longer (some archives contain more than 500 files), but they’re much more thorough.Where viruses are concerned, missing just one you’re infected with is as good as missing them all. So we recommend running deep scans regularly.

How you define “regularly” depends on how much traffic you see on your computer. If you process a lot of incoming/outgoing files and e-mail daily, it’s a good idea to use your antivirus and antispyware scheduling function, setting up a deep scan every night while your computer is
otherwise idle. Because a deep scan can take hours and really tax your system, you don’t want to perform one while you’re trying to use your PC.


2. Do deep scans with antispyware apps, too
Spyware isn’t as damaging as viruses can be, but it’s more insidious. What if somebody was busily taking notes of every Web site you visited, then selling the info to a survey company for analysis? That’s what spyware does, so don’t neglect antispyware programs. Whether it’s an excellent little app such as Ad-Aware (www.lavasoftusa.com) or a more full-featured product such as Steganos AntiSpyware (www.steganos.com), deep scans can find and either quarantine
or remove those infiltrators on your computer. Scanning once a week is probably enough, but if you install, remove, and test a lot of software, consider more-frequent scans.


3. Check daily for antivirus updates
Running the best virus scanner money can buy won’t buy you anything if its virus definitions
aren’t up to date. While some antivirus apps offer automated downloads as a configuration default, not all do. Check your program to see whether that’s the case. If it isn’t, we recommend
performing a daily manual check for updates. If you don’t get an update for as long as two weeks, check whether your antivirus app is working properly. If it is, and the manufacturer says it has had nothing new to provide, consider switching to a different app. Many viruses show up only rarely, but that shouldn’t matter to antivirus software. It’s meant to know and find them all.

4. Turn Windows Firewall off only when offline
You’re continuously vulnerable to Web-based attacks if you’re connected to the Internet, and attacks are more frequent than we’d like to acknowledge. As often as every few minutes, somebody, somewhere, is doing a broad-beamed port scan to find insecure backdoors in computers. It’s not a question of whether you’ll be scanned, but how many times you are in a given hour.Your best defense is your firewall, so never turn it off unless you’re literally disconnected from the Web. Some software offers more-elaborate firewall protection than Windows does, often with extra features. If you’re installing and configuring a third-party firewall, disconnect your PC from the Web first, and then turn off your old firewall.You
don’t want two firewalls running at once, because they’ll interfere with each other’s operation.


5. Get acquainted with your firewall’s network-control settings
Whether you’re connected to a local-area network (LAN) or not, you and your computer are part of the largest wide-area network (WAN) in existence: the Internet.Your firewall’s network settings are a valuable tool for dealing with the Web on a daily basis. Choosing to filter your traffic allows you to “teach” the firewall what contacts from outside your computer are allowed to access it. It’s almost equally important that a firewall prevents apps on your PC from trying to reach the Web on their own. While some programs do this periodically to check for updates, others may represent spyware or virus activity.

Tip: Some firewalls must be configured to start up automatically every time you turn on your computer. Ignoring this control could lead to you being open to the Internet without any protection.


6. Surf the Web without Microsoft
That’s right: Consider a non-Microsoft browser, such as Opera (www.opera.com) or Firefox
(www.mozilla.com/firefox), and an alternative e-mail reader such as PocoMail (www.pocomail.
com). No, we’re not opposed to the good folks that brought us Windows, but several security exploits have been documented in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. Some of them, such as the malware Download.Ject, can be extremely damaging. Hackers typically direct their efforts at this pair of Microsoft programs because they’re by far the most common browser and mail reader. You stand a far better chance of being “invisible” to their efforts if you use alternatives.


7. Use common sense when downloading or opening anything
Your antivirus and antispyware utilities are highly sophisticated tools, but they can’t prevent
you from stepping off a cliff. If you receive an e-mail stating that you’ve won a prize and must go to a site to collect it, kill the e-mail. If you get a note from a friend saying “Hi there! Look at what I found!” with an attachment, again, delete it. Genius isn’t required to determine that both of these situations are ruses—but you’d be surprised how many people regularly fall for them.

Microsoft(R) Firefox 2007 Professional: Is it a con?

Microsoft(R) Firefox 2007 Professional

The new award-winning browser from Microsoft is now faster, securer and quicker anything else on the market. Why use anything else?


Enjoy a Better Web Experience
MS Firefox 2007 delivers a dramatic boost in the download speeds of online pornography. By utilising a proprietary dynamic algorithm - anything that remotely resembles a tit or a boob will download up to 10 times faster. Fun at the speed of light!


Stay Secure on the Web
Firefox 2007's new TakeOver(TM) technology protects the Windows Kernel by automatically recognizing all McAfee and Symantec programs as viruses. Downloading has never been safer.

Interactive Multimedia
Microsoft's AKobe Phlash(TM) Plugin delivers awesome online interactive content; anything from music, videos to games. (Lawsuit from Adobe pending)


Personalize Your Browser
Choose from three excellent browsing styles! Minimized, Maximized and Fullscreen!


System Requirements
The following bare minimums are essential for the optimum operation of MS Firefox 2007


A Credit Card
Microsoft(R) Windows(TM)/Vista Operating System
Microsoft(R) Mouse & Keyboard (Hyperlinks will NOT work without these)
Live(TM) Messenger (Required API to maintain dangerous CPU temperatures)
Microsoft(R) Office 2007 (Provides the ability to scroll webpages)
Quad Core Processor (For loading Hotmail.com)
Any SLI Configured Graphics Card > 512mb (TO Display High Definition GIF Images)
1024 MB of RAM (Compensation for Frequent Memory Leaks)
483MB Disk Space


Warning
Visiting the following sites using MS Firefox 2007 will cause your computer to shut down unexpectedly

www.google.com
www.gmail.com
www.apple.com
www.itunes.com
www.yahoo.com
Any sites with the phrase: microsoft/windows/explorer/vista/bill sucks


Judge by yourselves!
Website

The Best In Tech 2006 (part3)

BEST SEARCH
ENGINE
Google
Google still serves up the mostrelevant
search results on the
Web, but this mini-empire also
incorporates an excellent mapping
service, slick 3D world
views, video- and image-search
capabilities, push search technology,
a shopping bot, and
much more.

BEST ONLINE
PHOTOFINISHER
Snapfish
Shooting a huge number of digital
photos is easy, but finding a
practical way to print them and
show them to friends and family
can be a hassle. Snapfish offers
free online photo storage
for current customers, plus an
excellent utility for uploading
and managing photos. Print
quality is among the best we’ve
seen from online photofinishers
(and at 12 cents for a 4x6,
the price is among the cheapest).
Snapfish also offers a huge
array of photo-themed gifts.

BEST IM
SOFTWARE/SERVICE
Gaim 1.5
If you’re addicted to instant
messaging (IM), you’re probably
already using Gaim 1.5. This
multiprotocol IM client for Windows,
Mac OS X, Linux, and BSD
is compatible with AOL Instant
Messenger, Gadu-Gadu, ICQ, IRC,
Jabber, MSN Messenger,Yahoo
Messenger, and Zephyr. Gaim
users can log on to multiple accounts
on multiple IM networks
simultaneously, and the service
supports many features of the
various networks, including file
transfer, away messages, and
notifications that your chat
partner is keying in text.

BEST FREE
DOWNLOAD
Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition
1.06
The Web is awash in freeware,
but we suggest you start with
Ad-Aware, which will keep your
PC clean of spyware and malware
regardless of what you
download next. The app does an
excellent job of finding and removing
malicious components,
and all at no cost.

BEST WEBMAIL
SERVICE
Gmail
While we can think of quite a
few reasons to use Gmail—less
spam, integrated IM (Gtalk), and
its nice mobile version—none
tops the way the service automatically
groups an e-mail and
subsequent replies into a single
conversation.

BEST BLOGGING
SERVICE
WordPress
We like a good underdog, and
WordPress certainly fits that description.
While the scrappy
open-source blogging platform
was late to the game, it continues
to add new features, plugins,
and services that are driven
largely by user requests and
feedback. Even if you’re just using
your blog to keep in touch
with family and friends, the
WordPress Web site should be
your first stop.

The Best In Tech 2006 (part2)

BEST LCD HDTV
Sharp LC-37D90U

At 37 inches, the LC-37D90U may not be the biggest LCD television on the market, but it’s large enough to natively display 1080p high-definition (HD) signals. It features dual High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) ports and a detachable speaker, and it provides some of the deepest black levels available from an LCD. If you don’t want to pay the premium for
1080p, however, Sharp’s $2,999 LC-37D40U is a fine same-size alternative.

BEST PLASMA HDTV
Pioneer PDP-5060HD
(replaced by the PDP-5070HD)

We were impressed with the 50-inch PDP-5060HD’s excellent picture quality, great style, and
superior features. Connectivity includes two HDMI inputs and three component-video inputs.
You also get a pair of detachable speakers. Black levels are deep, inky, and blissfully free of most
false-contouring artifacts and low-level noise. Since we reviewed the PDP-5060HD, however,
the set has been succeeded by the PDP-5070HD, which features a redesigned panel with integrated speakers below the screen.



BEST PORTABLE HARD DRIVE
Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition



The Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition isn’t the smallest portable hard drive we’ve seen, but it’s definitely tiny enough to slip into your bag. The USB 2.0 drive features fast performance
and a large capacity (60GB or 100GB). Maxtor bundles backup and encryption software.


BEST DIGITAL PHOTO ORGANIZER
Picasa 2.2

Considering it’s a free application, Picasa provides a ton of utilities for digital-photo fanatics. A gorgeous interface makes it simple to find, tag, organize, rate, and even password-protect images. Add to that fast and direct ways to print, share, back up, and edit your collection, and,well, you get the picture.


BEST ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
Trend Micro - PC-cillin Internet Security 2006

On the whole, PC-cillin is an excellent suite of security apps, but its antivirus protection is what really hooked us, offering solid protection at an affordable price. Plus, unlike other antivirus apps we’ve tested, it didn’t cramp our PC’s performance, even with every security tool activated.


BEST INTERNET SECURITY SOFTWARE
ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6.5

Zone Labs upped the ante on Internet security suites this year by adding offline identity-theft
protection to its already strong lineup of utilities. While apps like the legendary ZoneAlarm firewall protect you online, Zone Labs’ partnership with identityprotection specialist Intersections handles offline tasks such as stopping preapproved creditcard offers from reaching your physical mailbox.

BEST MEDIA PLAYER
Windows Media Player 11

The latest version of Windows Media Player has a redesigned look that you’ll like immediately. You’ll find better, faster access to settings, easy access to MTV Networks’ Urge music service, highly adjustable CDburning and -ripping features, and some nice organizational tools, making it easy to access all your digital entertainment with just a few clicks.


BEST DISC-BURNING SOFTWARE
Easy Media Creator 9 Suite

This Swiss-Army-knife digital-media app supports all the latest formats, including Blu-ray DVD. (HD DVD support is on the way.) From one tidy interface, you can edit, organize, and back up your media; create ringtones; convert audio and video to different formats; capture streaming audio; and even create studio-quality DVDs.

BEST CONSUMER IMAGE-EDITING SOFTWARE
Adobe Photoshop Elements 4

Version 4 of this popular app adds even more functionality to an already first-rate image editor and organizer. The clean, attractive interface makes for simple navigation, and its automatic image-enhancements and smart selection tools give it an edge over the competition. You even get a generous amount of sharing and project options.


BEST BROWSER
FireFox 1.5

FireFox continues to leap past Internet Explorer, and version 1.5 puts it further ahead of Microsoft’s browser. Features such as drag-and-drop tab reordering and the ability to wipe out your surf history with the press of a hotkey add to the already great options that make this responsive, efficient browser the clear leader.

BEST RSS READER
FeedDemon 2.0

This well-crafted stand-alone newsreader is an ideal choice for novices who have never heard of an RSS feed. A setup wizard allows you to subscribe to an unlimited number of popular feeds by simply checking boxes. The program also provides links to several other RSS directories.


BEST GAME
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Oblivion is an incredible roleplaying game based on the familiar swords/dragons/magic/ dungeons formula. But what makes the game transcend the genre is that it’s playable in a never-ending array of ways. Oblivion challenges you with a central goal, but it also provides
an open-ended world to explore, letting you lose yourself in a character of your own creation.

The Best In Tech 2006

BEST MAINSTREAM LCD

Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP

Excellent image quality, a host of features, and an attractive price add up to a winning combination for the Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP. This 20-inch widescreen display (1,680x1,050 native resolution) includes composite-video and S-Video inputs,is compatible with high-definition television (HDTV), and can pivot between portrait and landscape modes. It also provides impressive gray-scale performance, vivid colors, and good screen uniformity.

BEST PERFORMANCE LCD

Samsung SyncMaster 970P

Samsung channeled Apple when it designed the 19-inch SyncMaster 970P—its plastic body, white-and silver color scheme, and rounded edges bring to mind the original iPod. Still, the LCD’s fine image quality and acrobatic adjustability make it worthy of consideration. In our tests, the 970P turned in excellent performance. Text looked sharp, and it produced crisp backgrounds and vibrant colors during gameplay.

BEST SOUND CARD
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro

Thanks to its next-generation Xtreme Fidelity (X-Fi) audio chip, the 7.1-channel X-Fi Elite Pro delivers better-sounding audio than any other consumer sound card. In addition to the PCI card itself, you get an external I/O box (housing hardware controls and a large assortment of jacks), a remote, and software that lets you choose settings for gaming, entertainment, or audio creation.

BEST COLOR LASER PRINTER
HP Color LaserJet 2840

More than just a printer, the HP Color LaserJet 2840’s exhaustive array of features should satisfy most busy offices.You can use the 2840 to print, copy, and scan documents in gray scale or color. It features memory-card slots, a 50-page document feeder, and a built-in fax machine. The 2840 delivered great-looking text pages at a rate of 12ppm in our tests.

BEST 2.1 SPEAKER SYSTEM
Logitech Z-10

Logitech’s piano-black Z-10 promises to simplify your listening experience without dulling it down. The two-speaker combo features an integrated LCD that displays track and artist info
directly on the right-channel speaker.Touch-sensitive controls let you skip, fast-forward, and pause music.You also get an auxiliary input for hooking up your MP3 player. Both speakers
have a 1-inch domed tweeter and 3-inch woofers for a large range of tonality.

BEST DIGITAL SLR CAMERA
Olympus Evolt E-330

Most dSLRs let you review shots on their LCDs
only after you click the shutter. The E-330 is the
first to allow you to compose shots on its 2.5-inch
display, which tilts to let you shoot from unusual
angles. The 7.5-megapixel model delivers very
sharp, detailed images that can produce excellent
prints as large as 13x19 inches, making this a fine
choice if you’re looking to upgrade from an older
digital camera.

BEST HARD DRIVE MP3 PLAYER
Creative Zen Vision:M

The Creative Zen Vision:M wooed us with its colorful, compact design, along with a bevy of fun features you would never find standard in an iPod, including a built-in voice recorder, an FM tuner/recorder, and the ability to synchronize with Microsoft Outlook. Like its white-suited rival, the 30GB Vision:M can display photos and video on its sharp 2.5-inch color screen, and Creative one-ups Apple in battery life—we managed an impressive 4 hours of video playback.