ware

CNET reviewed the Boston Acoustics SoundWare speakers as part of the SoundWare XS 5.1 speaker system. While we didn't directly compare the SoundWare speakers to other speakers sold individually, the full 5.1 system sounded better than we expected, given their minuscule size. Also note that these speakers can be purchased individually to expand the SoundWare SX 5.1 system to a 7.1 system.

For more information on the Boston Acoustics SoundWare speakers, read CNET's full review of the Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 5.1.

How much room-shaking home theater power can you expect five minispeakers and a pipsqueak subwoofer to deliver? Technological advances have certainly changed my thinking on this matter, but my listening tests proved speaker size still matters when I compared the Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS 5.1, Energy Take Classic 5.1, and Pioneer SP-PK21BS subwoofer-satellite packages.

The Boston SoundWare XS cube satellites are incredibly tiny, just 4.43 inches wide, 4.25 inches high, and 4.43 deep. Each one weighs just 1 pound. The speaker's rear is faceted, so instead of being a six-sided cube, the SoundWare XS … Read more

If you like to flaunt your home audio system, you're probably not going to buy the Boston SoundWare XS 5.1 speaker system. That's OK; it's not made for you. But lots of people who don't make home theater their hobby still appreciate a true surround-sound experience, and Boston's system delivers that at an incredible size and price. The SoundWare XS 5.1 sounds surprisingly good, and we say surprising because its five satellite speakers feel only a little larger than a baseball in your hand. Combined with its compact 100-watt subwoofer, it's one … Read more

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware 9 Pro's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review for Ad-Aware 9 Free.

Ad-Aware 9 Pro continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first … Read more

One of the holiday season's heavy hitters has bowed out of its expected fourth-quarter release. Today, via Facebook, BioWare announced that Mass Effect 3 will now arrive on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 during the first three months of 2012. The new date puts it in the similar launch window of Mass Effect 2, which launched in January 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PC and January 2011 for the PS3.

Mass Effect 3 needs to cook for a bit longer, says BioWare.

"The development team is laser focused on making sure Mass Effect 3 is the biggest, boldest, and best game in the series, ensuring that it exceeds everyone's expectations," Mass Effect series executive producer Casey Hudson said in a statement.

Read more of "Mass Effect 3 delayed to Q1 2012" on GameSpot. … Read more

Two years after the first Dragon Age: Origins game, developer BioWare is back with a new story to tell. Assuming the role of a character named Hawke (the sex and class of which you can customize), players will battle enemies, take on quests, and make various decisions in-game that ultimately alter the narrative. Gamers can even import their original Dragon Age choices if they choose to do so.

Does Dragon Age II trump its predecessor? Or is it filled with unwanted changes?

Jeff: Got a month to kill? That's the kind of time one can spend with BioWare's latest epic, Dragon Age II. Interestingly enough, the sequel plays more like a Mass Effect game than it does its predecessor. While hard-core RPG fans may view this as somewhat of a disservice, it certainly makes Dragon Age II a more accessible title at the end of the day.

For those who enjoyed the original Dragon Age: Origins on a console, the good news is that Dragon Age II plays even better on an Xbox 360 or PS3 this time around as the combat has been tweaked to resemble more of an action-RPG experience. This update is immediately noticeable--something we're not sure how we lived without during our Origins playthrough two years ago.

Choice is a main star of Dragon Age II, giving players a healthy amount of power with the decisions they make. While we really enjoyed this aspect of the game, it's definitely worth mentioning that we didn't always find the story as engaging as we would have hoped. At times it's confusing, others it's just uninteresting. Regardless, we still admire the fact that it's structured backward, in a way where players are told the ending just as things in the game are beginning to unfold.… Read more

Novell will soon cease to exist as its own company.

Shareholders of the former network-software giant voted in favor of Attachment's intent to acquire the company to the tune of $2.2 billion.

At a special investor meeting held yesterday, almost 99 percent of the shares voting approved the takeover, representing a majority of about 66 percent of all of Novell's outstanding stock. Once the merger is completed, Novell shareholders will be able to receive $6.10 in cash for each share of Novell common stock owned.

But the deal is not quite done. Novell said the merger … Read more

The bottom line: One of the first applications built to find and remove malware and spyware, Ad-Aware's reputation is well-justified. The latest version continues the publisher's tradition of adroitly addressing user concerns, yet some annoyances remain.

Review:

Ad-Aware 9 continues the development progress that publisher Lavasoft began in the previous version. No longer content with offering only malware protection, Ad-Aware now includes antivirus protections licensed from Sunbelt, the makers of Vipre, as well as interesting in-house improvements.

Lavasoft first started changing Ad-Aware's protection engine more than a year ago in version 8.1, when it introduced Genotype. … Read more

Novell, a software company that rose to power along with Intel-based computers but failed to keep up with rivals such as Microsoft and Red Hat, announced today an end to its independence with a Microsoft-boosted $2.2 billion acquisition by Attachmate.

Under the agreement, privately held Attachmate will pay $6.10 per share for Novell, a 9 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $5.59 and a 28 percent premium over the last public trading day before Elliott Associates made an offer of $5.75 per share in March. Novell rejected that offer.

Microsoft's interest, though, apparently helped make a deal happen this time around. Novell is selling "certain intellectual property assets to CPTN Holdings LLC, a consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft," for $450 million in cash that's part of the payment through Attachmate.

According to a regulatory filing, CPTN will get 882 Novell patents: "Also on November 21, 2010, Novell entered into a Patent Purchase Agreement...with CPTN Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft Corporation. The Patent Purchase Agreement provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Patent Purchase Agreement, Novell will sell to CPTN all of Novell's right, title and interest in 882 patents...for $450 million in cash."

Attachmate, which is run by an investment group led by Francisco Partners, Golden Gate Capital, and Thoma Bravo, describes itself as a company that "enables IT organizations to extend mission-critical services and assures they are managed, secure, and compliant."

"We believe this transaction is great news for our customers. Novell has a long history of innovation and market leadership, and this tradition will be preserved and built upon through this transaction," Novell Chief Executive Ron Hovsepian told customers in an e-mail about the deal.

Novell rose to success through sales of its NetWare operating system, widely used in the 1990s on Intel servers to run services used by PCs running Microsoft's DOS and Windows operating systems. It also sold higher-level server software for functions such as e-mail and, for a time, the commercial rights to AT&T's Unix and the WordPerfect suite of software that competed with Microsoft Office. … Read more