The Toshiba Satellite T235-S1370RD ($1099.00 direct) brings several high-end features to the mainstream laptop category. From a dual-core Intel second-generation Core i5-2410M processor to a Blu-ray player and premium Harman/Kardon speakers, there’s a lot to like here. But if pure performance is your focus, you might want to opt for the Editors’ Choice Asus U41JF-A1 ($867 street, 4.5 stars) for its lower price and longer battery life.

Design
The T235-S1370RD has a plastic chassis with Toshiba’s Fusion finish—a textured pattern that prevents fingerprints and smudges. It’s a familiar look for Toshiba, as it’s the same look shared across the entire Toshiba Satellite line-up. Given that nearly identical Toshiba laptops have been coming through PC Labs for over a year, it would be nice to see Toshiba update this design. In terms of dimensions, the Satellite T235-S1370RD was fairly ordinary, measuring 1.4 by 13.3 by 9 inches (HWD). It weighs 4.9 pounds, which is average for the 14-inch category, but considerably lighter than the 5.5-pound HP Envy 14-1210NR ($999.99 list, 4 stars).
The 14-inch screen offers 1,366 by 768 resolution, playing back 720p video with ease. Higher-definition video is also available through the HDMI connection, which has output of up to 1080p. Just below the screen are two Harman/Kardon speakers. Paired with Dolby Advanced Audio software, these speakers provide crisp, clear sound even at higher volume, but the lack of bass response may lead some users to look for an external speaker system that includes a subwoofer.

Just above the keyboard is a collection of touch-based controls that let you adjust volume, start and stop media playback and turn the Wi-Fi on and off. Below the keyboard is a touchpad, clearly designated by a glowing white stripe along the top edge. The lightly textured surface is comfortable and responsive, and the touchpad supports multitouch that worked smoothly the entire time I used the laptop.

Specifications
Type
General Purpose
Processor Name
Intel Core i5-2410M
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Processor Speed
2.3 GHz
RAM
6 GB
Weight
4.9 lb
Screen Size
14 inches
Screen Size Type
widescreen
Graphics Card
Intel HD Graphics
2nd Graphics Card
nVidia GeForce GT 525M
Storage Capacity (as Tested)
640 GB
Networking Options
802.11n
Primary Optical Drive
DVD+/-RW DL with Blu-Ray
More
Like other models in the Satellite line, the T235-S1370RD has a full-sized chiclet-style keyboard. The isolated tile-shaped keys have a glossy finish that matches the plastic finish of the chassis. While the keyboard gave me nothing to complain about, the real treat was the backlight, which is easily toggled on and off with a single keystroke.

Features
In addition to more common features that are also found on budget laptops, such as two USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI outputs, 802.11n Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet, the Toshiba Satellite T235-S1370RD also includes some higher-end features. Sleep-and-Charge allows you to charge USB powered devices through the speedy USB 3.0 port, even when the rest of the laptop is powered down. Since it doesn’t need to be plugged in to do this, you can charge your devices on the go. Sleep-and-Music lets you put the laptop to sleep while continuing to listen to your tunes. The built-in Blu-ray player will play Blu-ray discs as well as reading and burning DVDs and CDs. It also includes video up-converting software that improves DVD playback. When paired with the HDMI video and audio output, these features alone make the M645-S4118X a potent addition to a home entertainment setup.

The T235-S1370RD also comes equipped with a spacious 640GB 5,400rpm hard drive. This speed is fairly common for 14-inch systems, but a faster hard drive can occasionally be found. I wouldn’t fret about the speed of the drive, it’s larger than the 500GB drive found in the Gateway ID49C13u ($680 street, 4 stars), but not as large as the 750GB drive found in the HP Envy 14-1210NR. If more storage space is needed, you can take advantage of the speedy USB 3.0 connection found on the side of the laptop. Your own photos and videos can be uploaded quickly thanks to a built-in multiple format card reader (SD, MMC, MS/Pro/Duo). A wireless Bluetooth 3.0 connection will also let you connect everything from your smartphone to headphones with a speedy cordless connection.

The desktop of the Satellite T235-S1370RD is wonderfully uncluttered, without all the extraneous icons that usually fill a new laptop’s screen. But if you dig deeper into the system, you’ll find that Toshiba has its own bloatware to serve up. You’ll find several regular offenders, like a dedicated Amazon link, a handful of sample games, and a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security.

Photokina 2010: Adobe has released version 9 of its Photoshop Elements image-editing software. Both the Windows and Mac versions feature an updated Spot Healing Brush (adapted from Photoshop CS5′s Content Aware Fill tool), improved Photomerge options and direct upload tools. The ‘Organizer’ which was previously only available with the Windows version is now included for Mac OS. The software is available now at a retail price of $99.99, and US users can also install the Photoshop Elements 9 ‘Plus’ at an additional fee of $49.99 per year, which adds 20GB of online storage and backup facilities. The company has also released version 9 of its Premiere video-editing software for Windows, which is now for the first time for Mac users.

Press Release:

New Windows and Mac Release Harnesses Intelligence and Technology to Create Amazing Photos

SAN JOSE, Calif., — Sept. 21, 2010 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 9 software for Windows® and Mac, offering a complete photo solution to anyone who wants to organize, edit, create and share extraordinary photos. With the newest version of the No. 1 selling consumer photo-editing software,* Adobe delivers powerful new technology to equip every consumer with the ability to achieve professional results easily and quickly.

“The Photoshop brand has been creating groundbreaking imaging magic for 20 years, and Photoshop Elements has been making that magic accessible to mere mortals for nearly a decade,” said Kevin Connor, vice president of product management for Digital Imaging, Adobe. “The Content Aware Fill technology introduced with Photoshop CS5 is one of our most exciting innovations ever, so we’re thrilled to be able to make it accessible to photo and video enthusiasts in this latest Elements release.”

Image Intelligence for Easy Editing
Photoshop Elements 9 uses powerful technology to make even the most complex results achievable for anyone. Adapted from Photoshop CS5’s celebrated Content Aware Fill feature, the content intelligence in the Spot Healing Brush analyzes what’s in the image and quickly de-clutters or repairs photos (like removing tourists from a crowded scene or an obstruction, such as a telephone pole) with a swipe of a brush, magically filling in the background. The same content intelligence synthesizes missing pixel information to create a stunning panorama from multiple photos, without leaving any gaps or blank spaces.

In addition, the new Photomerge Style Match turns drab photos dramatic by analyzing characteristics of any photo, such as contrast or color tone, and automatically applies those qualities to another photo, allowing users to easily replicate any photo style. Several new Guided Edit options walk users step-by-step through the process of achieving cool editing effects such as Out of Bounds, making an element of a photo appear to leap off the page in 3D, creating pop art masterpieces, or retouching made easy via the perfect portraits feature. In addition, users now have access to Layer Masks for compositing richly layered photos.

Organization Made Easy
For the first time, the popular Photoshop Elements Organizer is available on both the Windows and Mac platform, to help users quickly organize, find and display photo and video clips from one convenient location. The Auto-Analyzer takes the work out of finding the best shots by automatically searching a user’s collection of photos and assigning a tag based on quality, such as lighting, focus or contrast. People Recognition also automatically creates People tags, so you can find your favorite people fast and it becomes more intelligent over time as it learns to associate specific faces with names.

Sharing Photos Virtually Anywhere
After users make their photos look better than ever, they have various sharing options, including posting photos directly to Facebook or creating one-of-a-kind interactive Online Albums with animated templates. In addition, users can share their memories with personalized photo creations like scrapbook pages, photo books, calendars and cards that can easily be printed from home or via online print service providers. The flexible photo creation workspace allows users complete control over how they design their photo books, by automatically placing photos within a template or providing access to any Photoshop Elements editing feature from directly within the layout mode.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Plus
For added convenience, now Photoshop Elements 9 Windows and Mac users have the option to purchase Plus, which offers 20GB of storage for automatic online backup and sharing (up to 15,000 photos or four hours of DVD-quality video), as well as ongoing deliveries of new tutorials, artwork and interactive online templates sent directly to the desktop software. A benefit to all Photoshop Elements users is virtually anywhere access to photos and videos online or via select mobile devices at Photoshop.com.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 for Windows and Mac is available now at www.adobe.com, and will also be available soon at retail outlets such as Amazon.com, Apple (Mac only), Best Buy, Costco, Fry’s, New Egg, Office Depot, Office Max and Walmart. Photoshop Elements 9 Windows and Mac is available for a suggested retail price of US$99.99, and users can purchase Plus from within the product for US$49.99/year. Plus is available in the U.S. only.

Information about other language versions, as well as pricing, upgrade and support policies for other countries is available at www.adobe.com/go/photoshopelements. For free training videos on Photoshop Elements, visit Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com.

The bad: The Linksys EZXS88W lacks advanced features such as dual-band, Gigabit Ethernet, and support for USB devices. Its Guest Networking feature only supports a maximum of 10 clients at a time.

The bottom line: Relatively fast and very easy to use, the Linksys EZXS88W Wireless-N Router with SpeedBoost is a good fit for home users, especially those with little networking know-how.

The Cisco Linksys EZXS88W shares its design with the top-of-the-line Linksys E4200. On the inside, however, it’s a simple router designed for basic home networking.

Advanced users might be vexed by the fact that the router’s Cisco Connect software doesn’t offer complete control of its features and will not work with the Web interface. The lack of an USB port and Gigabit Ethernet also means that it’s not an ideal router for network storage and media streaming.

At the retail price of just around $80 (expect street prices to be even lower), the EZXS88W would still be a good buy for many homes. For about the same price, we’d also recommend the Cisco Linksys E2000. For a more complete router that’s similarly easy to use but at a slightly higher price, check out the Asus RT-N56U.

Design and ease of use
Like the Linksys E4200, the Linksys EZXS88W router looks more like an expensive jewelry gift box than a router. With its flat shape and internal-antenna design, the router is even more compact than the already compact EZXS88W. It’s not wall-mountable, but it is a type of networking device that you are likely to show off in the open rather than hiding it underneath a desk or tucking it in a corner of the house.

On the back, the EZXS88W has four LAN ports for wired network devices and one WAN port for connecting to an Internet source, such as a cable modem. Unfortunately none of these ports is Gigabit Ethernet, which would offer throughput of 1,000Mbps. There’s no USB port, either, so there’s no built-in network storage or print-serving capability.

Unlike other routers, the EZXS88W doesn’t come with an array of status lights. Instead, it has only one white light on top in the shape of the Cisco logo. This light is on solidly when everything is in order and blinks when the router boots up or something is not going right. On the back, near the ports, it has a Wi-Fi Protected Setup button that initiates the 2-minute time window for hooking up the WPS-enabled wireless device to a wireless network.

 

 

Cisco Connect now includes a handy speed test tool.

 

Like the rest of the E series, it’s very easy to set up the EZXS88W with the Cisco Connect software included on a CD. The software walks you through the steps of how to unpack the router and connect it to the modem with the cable. After that, it takes about 5 minutes to configure the system. This includes establishing the connection to the Internet, creating a wireless network name (SSID), encrypting the wireless connection, and picking a password (or the encryption key). The network’s name is picked at random, but it’s always something short and catchy like “BlueSky” or “BusyBee.” You can change this as well as the random encryption key to meet your preference. When you want to add another computer, be it a PC or a Mac, to the wireless network, just insert the CD and again the software will take care of the rest. Devices that can’t use the CD, such as a printer, can be added manually or via WPS.

Unlike with the previous router in the E series, the Cisco Connect software now offers a new Speed Test function that shows how fast the connection to the Internet is. This tool would come in handy if you wanted to find out if your Internet speed is what you pay for.

The Linksys EZXS88W insists on using the Cisco Connect software for the setup process. For example, if you skip the software and use a browser after you have connected the router for the first time, a Web page will appear to tell you to run the CD first. This is rather annoying if you just want to use the Web interface. To bypass this, you can manually point the browser to the router’s default IP address, which is 192.168.1.1, and use its default log-in credentials (“admin” for both username and password). If you have used the Cisco Connect software, the log-in password for the Web interface is the same as the encryption key.

Features
The EZXS88Wis a rather basic Wireless-N router with Cisco’s SpeedBoost feature, which is designed to provide a long-range connection. The router doesn’t have dual-band or Gigabit Ethernet. It does, however, offer Guest Networking, so you can set up a separate wireless network that is isolated from your main network. Clients connected to the guest network have access to the Internet but not your local resources such as files or a printer.

Read more: http://reviews.cnet.com/routers/linksys-EZXS88W-wireless-n/4505-3319_7-34565180.html#ixzz1U04E6rdu

The 10-megapixel Kodak EasyShare Mini M200 ($99.99 direct) is one of the smallest, lightest, and simplest digital cameras you’ll find. Designed for a generation of users who take photos of their friends and upload them to Facebook without a second thought about image quality, it’s a fine camera for the price. Be forewarned, though: there’s no image stabilization, so unless you’ve got a tripod, or perfect lighting conditions, you’ll either need the flash or you’ll end up with seriously blurry photos. Much can be forgiven on a sub-$100 camera, but between that, and the Mini’s lack of HD-video recording, it’s tough to recommend unless you’re on a strict budget. If image quality is at all important, you should save up for a low-end, but more-full-featured camera, like the Canon PowerShot A3000 IS ($149.99, 4 stars) or the Editors’ Choice EasyShare M580 (4 stars), which Kodak sells for just $120 these days.

Design
When I first grabbed EasyShare Mini, a co-worker turned around and said, “It looks like you have giant hands!” Hence the name, the Mini is that small. Measuring 2.0 by 3.4 by 0.7 inches (HWD), and weighing 3.5 ounces, it will fit easily in pretty much any pocket. If you’ve got larger-than-tiny hands, though, its size might be a problem—my thumb frequently wandered over top of the screen, and the camera was even a bit difficult to hold at times.

The Mini comes in red, blue, and purple models—mine was red. The camera’s front is very glossy, filled with the lens, flash, and a small mirror for self-portraits. There are buttons on the top and back of the camera, dedicated to adjusting the most obvious modes—switching from video to still photos, toggling the flash, and the like. That’s a smart move from Kodak, as most people buying the Mini will probably shoot in automatic mode and only toggle the flash.

The lens offers 3x zoom, starting at 29mm and extending to 87mm (35mm equivalent), with corresponding aperture of f/3.5-f/5.9. Not all that impressive, but it’ll work fine in most situations. The LCD on the back of the Mini is a 2.5-inch display that’s filled with 230,000 dots, which is typical point-and-shoot-camera resolution, but since the screen is smaller, it looks sharper than normal. The half-inch size decrease (from most compact cameras’ 3-inch display) does make a difference, though, and will cause a lot of scrolling through menus and a fair amount of squinting at photos.

All on-screen menus fall into two sections—Capture, which controls everything involved in picture taking, and Setup for functions like changing the date and time. Other than the button for shooting mode toggling, there are only a few controls on the camera: a zoom rocker, two Menu buttons, dedicated Playback and Delete buttons, and a Share button. Kodak’s sharing functionality is one of the camera’s flagship features, allowing you to earmark photos and videos for upload to services like Flickr, Facebook, YouTube and more—and when you connect your camera, they’re automatically sent to their respective destinations.

Performance
Calling the EasyShare Mini “fast” is a bit of a stretch, but its shooting performance isn’t bad for a sub-$100 camera. It can boot up and shoot a picture in 3.2 seconds, and you’ll wait an average of 2.8 seconds between shots, with 0.5 seconds of shutter lag. There are certainly faster compact cameras, but the Mini doesn’t feel particularly slow. Other activities are pokier, though: Some of the UI elements lag when you’re scrolling or pressing a button, and playback of images and videos was very slow in my tests—I often saw a red “processing” bar.

At PCMag we use the Imatest testing suite to collect objective information about image quality. Imatest’s first test is image sharpness, measured in lines per picture height. The EasyShare Mini scored a center-weighted average of 1,664 lines, which is a solid sharpness score, especially for such an inexpensive camera. The Canon PowerShot A3000 IS scored a super-sharp 2,173 lines per picture height, and the Kodak M580 scored 2,127. Regardless, the Mini’s score is good enough for most casual use.

Imatest also measures noise at various ISO sensitivities, calculating the camera’s low-light shooting abilities. If there is more than 1.5 percent noise within an image, that image will likely be visibly noisy or grainy. The EasyShare Mini’s settings only goes up to ISO 1000—a giant red flag meaning this might not be a camera you’ll want to use indoors, without a flash. However, it stayed under the 1.5 percent threshold with every photo I snapped—even at ISO 1000.

There’s a caveat to this surprisingly good performance, though: despite its good numbers, you’ll likely have trouble taking usable pictures in anything other than perfect light. That’s because the camera lacks image stabilization, which corrects for motion from both the photographer and subject. Unless you’re shooting in excellent light (and can use lightning-fast shutter speeds), or using a tripod and shooting still subjects, even the slightest motion can render your photos unrecognizably blurry. Using a flash helps mitigate this problem, and with the EasyShare Mini, it’s really your only option for anything but brightly lit shooting situations.

Video recording is unimpressive on the EasyShare Mini, which is frustrating for a camera that connects so easily to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, but not surprising for a $100 model. The camera records only at VGA (640-by-480)resolution, so HD video is out. It does have autofocus available during video recording, as well as digital zoom. (Don’t use the digital zoom, though—it will decimate the already-low quality footage.) Video is recorded as MPEG files, which can be natively uploaded to most video sites.

The EasyShare Mini reads SDXC cards, which are backwards compatible with SD. There’s also a micro-USB port for syncing the camera with your computer, and for charging the battery—a nice feature, so you don’t have to lug around a separate charger. There’s no HDMI port for playing photos and video back on your HDTV, but that’s not surprising given the camera’s price or its video-recording capabilities.

Like I said earlier, much can be forgiven in an under-$100 pocket camera. If you’re happy using the flash, and only want Facebook-sized images and videos, the Kodak EasyShare Mini M200 will serve you well. For $50 more, though, you can take a giant leap forward in image and video quality with the Canon PowerShot A3000 IS and the Kodak EasyShare M580.

Epson Stylus NX420 Review, by Jon L. Jacobi and Melissa Riofrio November 4, 2010

When the iPad first came out, there was a lot of speculation as to whether it could replace a full-fledged notebook. However, many came to realize that, without a keyboard, it was difficult to type longer documents. Enter the Kensington KeyFolio, a Bluetooth keyboard built into an iPadcase. Will this $99 accessory let you leave your laptop behind?

Design

From the outside, the KeyFolio looks like an elegant iPad case–which in fact, it is. It’s made of black faux leather with white stitching. Flip over the cover, and you reveal its second function as a wireless keyboard.

The keyboard is covered in a rubber membrane that protects it from spills and prevents the screen from getting scratched. A few ridges above the keyboard let you adjust the angle of the iPad, but in doing so, it covers the Pairing button. There’s no way to secure the iPad to the keyboard, so the KeyFolio has to be used on a flat surface such as a desk; putting it on our lap caused the iPad to fall backwards.

The case weighs just over one pound, which is light in the grand scheme of things, but, when coupled with the 1.5-pound iPad, this combo weighs almost as much as the Asus Eee PC 1015PEM.

Performance

Pairing the KeyFolio with the iPad was easy. Simply turn the keyboard on (there’s a small switch on the right side above the keys), and press the large Connect button on the top. A message will appear on the screen asking you to type in a code on the keyboard to complete the pairing.

The keyboard on the KeyFolio is about the same size as one you’d find on a netbook. However, it’s not nearly as good as, say, the Toshiba Mini NB305. The rubber membrane was soft to the touch, and in general, we found the keys responsive. In fact, they were a bit too responsive; we found that we would often accidentally type the same letter twice in a row until we figured out just how much pressure to apply.

We found the KeyFolio, like early netbook keyboards, to be slightly irregular. For example, in order to make room for arrow keys, there’s no right Shift key. (For touch typists, that’s a dealbreaker right there.) Also, the quote button is not in its usual place between L and Enter–only the Colon key is there. Until we realized this, we found ourselves writing things such as “I;m” instead if “I’m.”

However, we like that Kensington reversed the function keys; that is, media controls and volume can be accessed without having to press the Fn key first. Also, the F5 key can be used to bring up the on-screen keyboard, which is nice when you don’t want to use Kensington’s.

The KeyFolio’s battery is rated to last 90 hours; that’s a lot of typing. When–or if–it runs low, you can recharge it using the microUSB port on the side.

Verdict

The idea that you can take just a tabletwith you on business trips is an intoxicating one, as it would free up weight and room in your carry-on. The $99 Kensington KeyFolio makes this dream a reality. However, the keyboard’s misplaced keys (and missing right Shift key), the inability to use it securely in one’s lap, and oversensitivity are real turn-offs. The KeyFolio is certainly better than nothing, but you may want to wait until something better comes along.

SERENGETI MAESTRALE 7360 SUNGLASSES SATIN BLACK POLARIZED SHADES FEATURE

• Lens: BROWN POLARIZED Phd DRIVERS
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There is no one better than Serengeti Eyewear for your indoor and outdoor activities! Life has you on the road or in the air often? Well Serengeti Eyewear’s lense technologies have all you need for the best vision in the harshest conditions. With lenses that adjust to light as well as allowing for optimal vision no matter what life throws at you, Serengeti is there for you all the way. Choose from a huge variety of frames along with Serengeti’s glass lenses which provide unsurpassed visual clarity which is why their lenses are the number one choice for driver’s and pilots! And since the advanced technology is molecularly engineered into the glass itself, it does not wear out or wear off! Innovative, functional and fashionable all at the same time, welcome to the world of Serengeti Eyewear.