In our very first episode (or 143rd, depending on how you're counting), we host a quick tour of the CNET Labs, take an iPad speed-typing test, and perform some live 2D vs. 3D laptop benchmarks.
Microsoft released a freely available developer preview of its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system last week. Our own Seth Rosenblatt has a video below offering an overview of the new OS. What we haven't seen yet is an overview of Windows 8's impact on general computing performance.
Microsoft has promised improved efficiency in Windows 8, due at least in part to the new OS relying on fewer background operations sucking up memory and processing power. A look at the process tab in Windows 8's new task manager bears this out. With Windows 8, we see 21 operating … Read more
Two browser experts have pared back Acid3, a test that browser standards fans held up to spotlight Internet Explorer's shortcomings, so the test won't hold back development of those standards.
Ian Hickson, editor of the HTML specification, and Håkon Wium Lie, chief technology officer of browser maker Opera, decided to make the change, and Hickson announced it on Google+ on Saturday.
"Håkon Wium Lie and I are announcing that we have updated the Acid3 test by commenting out the parts of the test that might get changed in the specs," Hickson said. &… Read more
As CNET reported yesterday, a second unreleased Apple iPhone has gone astray. The secret device was lost at a San Francisco bar in late July, CNET reporters Declan McCullagh and Greg Sandoval wrote, and Apple quickly conducted an aggressive campaign to find it.
If it sounds familiar, that's because it is. Remember that last year, an Apple computer engineer accidentally left a prototype iPhone 4 in a German beer garden in Redwood City, Calif. And just today, the two men who allegedly sold the device to tech blog Gizmodo pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges at an arraignment.
If … Read more
Update January 19, 2012: See the latest test results here.
After a year in the lifespans of five 2011 plasma TVs that I've subjected to new long-term tests, all have shown some fluctuation in black level, light output, and color, and in some cases those changes are significant.
A few changes have been for the better, others can be fixed in calibration, and overall none is a "deal breaker" that radically changes my initial opinions of these TVs--all of which scored an 8 (Excellent) or 9 (Outstanding) in the Performance section of the reviews.
Before you read on, know that I aged these TVs in a controlled albeit accelerated process, leaving them on for basically six days a week for up to four months, so far. The charts below encompass a bit more than a year of normal use, assuming the average daily "on" time rate of 5.2 hours. When reading the charts, keep in mind that not all of the TVs have been aged for the same amount of time. See below for more details.… Read more
As the rumor mill surrounding the impending release of Apple's iPhone 5 continues to churn, wireless carriers find themselves in the mix, reportedly testing the latest version of the iPhone for network compatibility and stability.
The Guardian (U.K.) has filed a report saying that its sources claim that carriers have received the highly secure boxes that contain the iPhone 5 testing units from Apple.
"The next iPhones go for their testing inside locked and sealed boxes so that the carriers can carry out checks on their network compatibility in their labs."The boxes are rarely opened … Read more
When carriers announce exciting new phones, rarely do they also reveal exactly when that new handset will go on sale. We usually hear promises like "summer" or "second half of the year" and then we wait for the actual release date to drop. More often than not, it can take a while and cell phone fans and tech journalists begin to get impatient. "Just what's taking so long?" we wonder. Or even worse, "Could there be something wrong with the phone?"
Of course, you can't really blame us for always wanting the next best thing. Yet, this week I learned that perhaps I could be just a bit more patient. And I owe that realization to a two-day visit to Sprint's headquarters and testing labs in Overland Park, Kans. Though I had been to Sprint's "campus" near Kansas City, Mo. before--and trust me that it really looks like a college--this was the first time I saw something outside of a conference room. I joined CNET News Senior Writer Roger Cheng and a small group of reporters for briefings with company executives, including CEO Dan Hesse, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the painstakingly thorough process that Sprint uses to evaluate new devices and ready them for its network. … Read more
I live in New York, N.Y., a place that's never quiet. It's not just traffic noise, people noise, music in the streets, or the cumulative effect of all the buildings' air conditioning exhaust fans. There's a low, deep hum that always throbs to the beat of a city of 8 million people.
Judging by the number of folks wearing headphones on the subway, I'm not the only one using music to mask the noise. The subway may be one of the loudest places you can be in this town, but restaurants can get painfully loud, … Read more
The Moron Test is a smart and snarky game that taunts you with trick questions, memory tests, Simon Says-type instructions, and other brain teasers. The Moron Test doesn't require any specialized knowledge--just patience, attention to detail, and a little bit of creative thinking. A timer tracks your progress through successive levels (from "Bonehead" and "Average Mammal" on up to "Genius"), and any incorrect answer triggers a hearty "FAIL!" and sends you either back to the beginning or to the game's halfway checkpoint.
Overall, this is a fun (if somewhat limited) … Read more
According to sources who talked to 9to5Mac, Apple is currently in the advanced testing stages for an iPhone compatible with Sprint's network.
Sprint was in the rumor mill a few weeks ago when an Apple job post appeared for a cellular engineering team based in Kansas City, Mo., where Sprint is headquartered.
With so much attention going to the AT&T and T-Mobile merger and rumors of whether the next iPhone will have 4G capabilities, the news that Sprint may be carrying the iPhone very soon has gone largely unnoticed.
The interesting thing to note in all of … Read more
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