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Gaming wrap-up

Another CES in the books means it's time to take a look at the past few days and highlight what we thought were the most exciting moments of the show. To the right are some video First Looks in gaming from CES 2011.

Unlike last year, gaming was able to earn a few moments of glory this year as we were treated to some impressive products, mind-blowing prototypes, and the latest in state-of-the-art surround-sound headsets.

From iPad joysticks to mouse and keyboard control for the Xbox 360, it's safe to say that CES 2011 solidified gaming as a … Read more

CES: New Dell XPS 17 adds 3D

LAS VEGAS--As 3D continues to infiltrate all things at CES 2011, should we really be surprised that the Dell XPS followed suit? Not really, but it is a nice new option on the top end of the XPS lineup. With its high-end GeForce graphics, the XPS 17 should certainly be able to handle the load. We assume, based on the photos we've seen, that the XPS uses Nvidia 3D Vision with active shutter glasses.

There are a few more tweaks to last year's model as well: new Sandy Bridge Intel processors, of course, but also new Nvidia graphics … Read more

CES: Dell goes high-end with the new Alienware M17x R3 gaming laptop

LAS VEGAS--If there's one name everyone knows for high-end gaming PCs, it's Alienware. The Dell sub-brand offers the latest components, imaginative designs, and often prices to match.

For CES 2011, Alienware has a new version of its 17-inch M17x laptop. It's called the M17x R3 (we assume it's the third revision of the M17x), and it has several GPU options, such as the 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M, the 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6870M, and the 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6970M.

Besides HDMI-out, it also supports HDMI-in, which means you can hook … Read more

Keeper calendar

Calendars and computers go together like bread and butter. Calendar Magic from EuroSoft is the best program we've seen for applying computing power to datekeeping. It can display virtually any calendar system known to science or history. How many calendar programs offer the French Revolutionary calendar; four Hindu calendars; two Balinese calendars; and Julian, Coptic, Hebrew, Yoruba, Ethiopian, Chinese, Baha'i, Bangla, and many other systems? Or can display Christian, Islamic, Jewish, and other holidays, feast days, and significant dates for any year in any calendar system? And save notes, post reminders, and offer 26 extra utilities that do … Read more

Note-able database

Library .NET (Free Note Edition) from Fish's DotNet is a free notekeeping database and personal information management package. You can store, organize, and edit personal notes containing a wide range of data; create relations; search for items quickly using Google-like methods and a Paging Search results display; and open an unlimited number of databases and dependent nodes. It has a download manager, a full-featured editor, drag-and-drop compatibility, full import and export capabilities, Unicode support, backup options, and more.

The Library .NET user interface has a familiar Windows-style feel, with a left-hand navigation pane that offers a tree view of … Read more

Keyboard keeper

This program is called Kid-Key-Lock, but it could just as easily be called Cat-Key-Lock. It was just a few days ago that we came back to our computer to find that our cat had added several letters and numbers and 15 pages of carriage returns to a document that we had been working on. Whether you have a curious toddler or an oblivious feline, Kid-Key-Lock can keep your computer safe from unwanted keyboard and mouse input.

The program appears as an icon in the system tray, and you can access the setup menu by right-clicking on it. From there, there … Read more

3D editing comes to Magix Movie Edit Pro

Anyone who starts feeling creative enough to toy around with digital media would be well-advised to do a little research into the multitude of multimedia tools floating around the Interwebs. At some point, you'll no doubt stumble across something by Magix, an entertainment software maker that has put out a shocking array of audio, photo, and video editing programs, including the lovely and simple FunPix Maker and the GarageBand-like Music Maker.

Today, the company released its latest offering in the form of Magix Movie Edit Pro 17 Plus. In addition to providing all of the video-editing features from version … Read more

The new Apple LED Cinema display: Same as the old? (photos)

We received the Apple Cinema display yesterday and noticed it looks a lot like the iMac 27-inch, but you know, without all that disk drive, keyboard, and silver lower bezel stuff.

Actually, it looks more like a larger version of the Apple LED Cinema Display 24-inch, released in 2008. You know, this thing looks so much like the 24-inch version that I probably could have just used the pics I shot from that monitor two years ago. Maybe then I could have actually done something other than that yesterday. Oh well. All in the name of timely and relevant.

Look … Read more