There are a few shell and desktop enhancements for Windows Vista. These third-party shells run in place of Explorer, which sometimes require registry edits or other tweaks to get working. Did you know what you can kill Explorer and test a new shell without rebooting Vista?

Many people just to go Task Manager and kill explorer.exe, but if you do this then Explorer may start up automatically again. There is also a quick and dirty way of exiting Explorer, allowing you to test a few shells before deciding which one to install.

This tip can also be handy if your system is just acting “wonky”. If a file copy is hung, or your network is slow, then a reset of Explorer may be just what the doctor ordered.

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1092

I4U NEWS reviews the Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000.

Quote from the review:
“Today we are looking at the latest wireless mouse and keyboard desktop set from Microsoft. The set is called the Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 and features an Aero-esq design.

Setting up the Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000 is dead easy. All you need to do is plug the transceiver in and you are ready to work in a few minutes. The proprietary 2.4GHz technology used by Microsoft claims to frequency hop when it encounters interference and seems to work well. It seems to work well since I had no issues with interference in my testing despite a variety of Bluetooth devices and other wireless items in my home.”

Full Review:
http://www.i4u.com/full-review-415.html

Title: AeroCool HorsePower 1020 watt Power Supply Review

Quote: AeroCool may not be the first name you think of when you are
talking about power supplies but, AeroCool would like to change that
and if this power supply is any reflection on their new line-up a
large number of people will be talking about it.

Link:
http://www.hi-techreviews.com/reviews/current-reviews/aerocool-horsepower-1020-watt-power-supply.html

TechwareLabs has published a Wireless Security Guide. Here’s a clip from the guide:

Quote: Almost anyone can purchase and use a wireless gateway or router in their home or office. The setup of these devices often come with a wizard to step you through and get the device working. The problem is that most of these wizards disregard common security holes and leave you open to hackers and even your neighbors accessing your data. How do you plug these holes and how does wireless work? We answer these questions in our simple guide to wireless security.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/articles/other/wireless_security/

Title: Wireless Security Guide @ TechwareLabs

We’re writing to let you all know that we have just posted a new article at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features and performance of Lenovo’s sleek ThinkPad X300 ultra portable notebook.  According to Lenovo, the ThinkPad X300 was designed to be the most efficient notebook the company has ever offered, with claims of a 25% reduction in power consumption in comparison to previous X-Series models.  To achieve this, Lenovo attempted a balancing act of sorts, equipping the X300 with a low power Core 2 Duo CPU, a Solid-State Drive and an LED backlit monitor.  The question is, has the focus on low power consumption come at too big a price, both in terms of dollars and overall performance?  Head on over to the site and find out…

Article URL: http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Lenovo_ThinkPad_X300_Ultraportable_Notebook

Site: http://www.hothardware.com/

OCZ Technology Announces Ultra-Fast, Enhanced Latency DDR3-2000 Featuring the Latest Flex II Water-Cooling Technology

Sunnyvale, CA—April 17, 2008—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today unveiled a blazing fast DDR3 addition to the new Flex II memory series. These premium modules run at incredibly fast 2000MHz speeds at CL8-8-8 timings for added performance to high-end systems with integrated water-cooling. Designed to the very core to offer enthusiasts the thermal management innovation of hybrid water and passive cooling, the new PC3-16000 Flex II Series offers rock-solid stability and performance for your high-end gaming or overclocking system.

The OCZ Flex II heat management solution enables high-frequency memory to operate within an optimal balance of extreme speeds and low latencies without the high temperatures that inhibit or damage the module. Each PC3-16000 Flex II memory module features this breakthrough thermal management technology from OCZ that combines an effective new heatspreader design with integrated liquid injection system and dedicated channels directly over the module’s ICs to effectively dissipate heat produced by high-speed memory. This sophisticated series was engineered with a unique “flexible” design to give enthusiasts the option to run the modules passively or water cooled via the thick array of aluminum fins, and the concurrent use of both options promotes maximum heat dissipation.

 “A data rate of 2GHz was unthinkable only a year ago,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “Power consumption and heat generation directly follow the operating frequency; therefore, the thermal dissipation of these modules exceeds any specifications of the original design and requires the most advanced thermal solution that will reliably work under any conditions. Whether in a water-cooling environment or else under air-cooling conditions, the legacy of the Flex series continues with the Flex II design as the most advanced memory cooling solution for the fastest modules out there.”

PRESS RELASE

PRODUCT PAGE

TechwareLabs has published an editorial on Creative Alchemy Drivers and Vista Support. Here’s a clip from the editorial:

Quote: Today, Michael Bosse and Ben Brindle take a look at Creative drivers for Vista. Some people report problems with their sound cards, and TechwareLabs decides to investigate.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/articles/events/alchemy_drivers

Title: Creative Alchemy Drivers and Vista Support @ TechwareLabs

BHFO.org Press Release

Summary:

XtracPads - Fat Mat:

“ BHFO is reviewing the Fat Mat from PCXmods today. The American company has a line of input surfaces called XtracPads and has been successful through word of mouth for several years. The Fat Mat model is one of their newest editions specifically designed for the professional gamer. The pad has the large surface and padding asked for most by gaming consumers. Whether or not the pad deserves its 25-30 USD price tag is the question we set out to answer.“

Part of the article:

“Besides the large surface area, the accuracy of the pad lends to desktop efficiency and productivity. Switching between a normal pad and the Fat Mat noticeably decreases unintentional mouse clicks. Hence, the user spends less time backing up and clicking the intended location. Confidence also increases in the desktop environment, which makes click paths take less time as menu operations are committed to muscle memory.

The consistent Nanofiber allows us to select the exact pixel we want while editing images, even at higher sensitivities where input “jitter” from a typical surface makes this all but impossible. Audio and video editing is convenient as well because of the same ability to...”~Chris Hunter

News Article Link:

http://www.bhfo.org/reviews/input-devices/xtracpads-fat-mat-v3.html

6 pages of text, ~33 images, links

Website Link:

http://www.bhfo.org

We have just taken a look at the slick and handy 2.5in VIZO Shuttle ST Hard Drive Enclosure.  This little unit supports SATA drives and connects to virtually any PC though USB2.0.  VIZO even includes a “Y” USB adapter to ensure that you can power the drive in this enclosure.  We had no issues with a single USB connecot and the performance is equal to that of a “Big Box” product from Western Digital or Seagate.  Take a look at the full review for all the details.

Title: VIZO Shuttle ST 2.5in SATA Enclosure
URL: http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=5522&Itemid=40


Quote:

Installation is pretty simple and if you’ve ever assembled a piece of furniture from IKEA, this will be a cakewalk.  In fact if you’ve ever opened a box of cereal you shouldn’t have any trouble.  The end with the USB connector simply slides out and you are left with a fancy piece of hardware that will easily plug into a 2.5″ SATA HDD and then you’ll be ready to slide it into the aluminum housing.

Title: How to Use the SPDIF Output from Sound Blaster X-Fi Sound Cards
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/546
Category: Tutorials

Summary:
A list of all Sound Blaster X-Fi models released to date and how to add SPDIF connectors to them.

Here is a snippet:
“Creative Labs has always been one of the most popular manufacturers of sound cards and Sound Blaster X-Fi is their current series of add-on sound cards. Due to the massive amount of readers asking us how to use the digital audio (SPDIF) output from their Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards in order to connect them to their home theater receivers or digital speakers, we decided to compile this short tutorial listing all Sound Blaster X-Fi models released to date and the available options for SPDIF connection.”

I4U NEWS reviews the XFX 8800 GS XXX Alpha Dog Video Card.

Quote from the review:
“XFX introduced a new video card recently with a low price and impressive performance called the XFX 8800 GS XXX Alpha Dog. This card sells for only $119 and includes a full copy of Call of Duty 4.
The performance of the XFX 8800 GS XXX Alpha Dog is within a few FPS of the stock 9600 GT that costs more. For gamers on a budget of under $150 the XFX 8800 GS XXX Alpha Dog at $119 is a great bargain. You even get a full copy of Call of Duty 4 which is still selling for around $40.”

Full Review:
http://www.i4u.com/full-review-414.html

NEW CONTENT (Visual) - ASUS EN8800GT 1GB Graphics Card

QUOTE: “You did your research and you’ve discovered that the 8800GT continues to be one of the best value for money cards when it comes to good mid-range performance. The thing is, you wouldn’t mind kicking it up a notch in the memory department if you had the choice.

Well, we might have found the card for you here today. ASUS has recently released an 8800GT that is packing 1GB of GDDR3 memory. However, it’s not uncommon for a bump in memory to do nothing more than make you feel a bit better about your system. Really, there’s only one way to find out if the extra memory does anything for your gaming experience, and that is to run it through a multitude of tests.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1393/asus_en8800gt_1gb_graphics_card/index.html

Best Regards,

The TweakTown Team
http://www.tweaktown.com

Title: PowerColor AX3650 512MD2 at Overclockers Online
Link: http://www.overclockersonline.net/?page=articles&num=1692
Quote: It has been quite some time since I have taken an entry level
gaming card for a spin and PowerColor’s AX3650 512MD2 has really
surprised me. While you can’t expect outrageous performance from a $70
card, you get pretty good gaming performance and a load of features to
go with it. Overall great value.

Title: Corsair TX650W (CMPSU-650TX) PSU Review on Technic3D

Link:  http://www.technic3d.com/article-655,1-corsair-tx650w-cmpsu-650tx-im-test.htm

Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.technic3d.com%2Farticle-655%2C1-corsair-tx650w-cmpsu-650tx-im-test.htm&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=de&ie=UTF-8

Quote: “The Corsair TX650W PSU arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the next PSU Review with a high efficiency and a good price. Make the Ultra-quiet 120mm double ball-bearing fan, 8 Serial ATA connectors, 2x PCI-e 8-Pin and extra long cables support this PSU better than the 550W PSU?”

Title: Phoronix Test Suite 0.3.0 Released @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=12237
Summary: “Less than two weeks ago Phoronix Test Suite 0.2.0 was released, which featured a number of profile updates, improved Linux hardware detection, and incorporating other feedback voiced by the initial users of this Linux benchmarking suite. Last Saturday version 0.2.1 was then released with initial support for PTS External Dependencies, a GLMark profile, GtkPerf profile, FRAC Benchmark profile, and other fixes. Continuing in an expedited development process, Phoronix Test Suite 0.3.0 has been released this morning with a number of major changes, including new test profiles and architectural improvements.”

Title:
NVIDIA 9600 GT Voltmodding Article

Brief:
NVIDIA’s Geforce 9600 GT is quite an exceptional midrange card that offers excellent overclocking potential. Since the cards run at a relatively low voltage there is some extra overclocking waiting to be unleashed by raising the card’s voltages. The GPU voltage mod we present in this article uses a new method which will not be affected by the card’s overvoltage protection. Also we describe an easy to do modification to increase the memory voltage.

Link:
http://www.techpowerup.com/articles//overclocking/vidcard/150

The cellphone I have for review today goes by a few names, be it the HTC Kaiser, HTC TyTn II, or the AT&T Tilt, but no matter what name you give it there’s no denying it’s a great phone. The Tilt is arguably the best phone out there today and for good reason, just look around it has gotten rave reviews from everyone who has reviewed it.

So I’ve got the Tilt for review today, but then I really don’t have the Tilt for review today. When I first got the Tilt I quickly realized that it wasn’t quite what I expected and it was a bit plain honestly, after doing quite a bit of research I found that AT&T pretty much stripped all of the great features out of the phone when they got their hands on it, and of course like any good company, added all sorts of bloatware onto it. So I took matters into my own hands and wiped it clean, added quite a few things back to it and now I’ve got the phone that I wanted in the first place. So that’s what I’m taking a look at today…

I can’t quite figure out why ATT stripped the Tilt of all the great features that HTC had in it in the first place, but I’m going to show you the basics of the phone itself, and share quite a few useful links that I’ve come across to help you make the Tilt into the phone it was supposed to be…

Read Full Review HERE