FAR CRY 3 REVIEW

iya, Far Cry 3. game yang menjadi the best game pc 2012 versi gamespot.com ini memang patut diacungi jempol. dengan fitur yang sangat memanjakan pemain terutama yang suka game FPS adventure. di sisi grafis Far Cry 3 sudah tidak diragukan lagi, game garapan ubisoft ini juga memberikan pengalaman gaming yang sangat memanjakan pemain.

Far Cry 3 menyajikan map yang begitu luas menjadikan explorasi map semakin seru. game ini juga memberikan fitur baru yang diantara yaitu memberikan pengalaman berburu, para pemain juga dapat menemui hewan-hewan buas dalam pulau ini, mencari tanaman sebagai sarana pengobatan diri serta kendaraan yang mendukung pemain untuk mengexplorasi Map. pemandangan yang indah juga disajikan dalam game ini karena terdapat pegunungan untuk view yang menyegarkan mata, kita juga bisa mengambil foto dengan kamera game.
dalam game ini pemain juga dapat mengupgrade kemampuannya, dan juga menemukan senjata-senjata baru untuk menyelamatkan kawan-kawan kita dalam perlawanan bajak laut yang sangat kejam, kadang kita temui kawan kita dalam keadaan ketakutan sebab mengetahui kejamnya para bajak laut tersebut. kita dapat pula mengumpulkan equipment yang mendukung, misalnya kulit hewan, dengan berburu kita bisa mendapatkan beberapa penghargaan. kita juga bisamengumpulkan uang dengan berbagai cara, misalnya dengan bermain poker, dan juga shotgun Challange.

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows Vista/7
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 Ghz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
Memory: 4 Gb
Video Memory: 512 Mb
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 / ATI Radeon HD 2900
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 10

Recommended System Requirements
OS: Windows Vista/7/8
Processor: Intel Core i3 @ 2.9 GHz / AMD Phenom II X2 @ 3.4 GHz
Memory: 6 Gb
Video Memory: 1 Gb
Video Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 560 / ATI Radeon HD 5870
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 11

memang game ini cukup berat, namun pemain tidak akan rugi jika memainkan game ini. jangan lupa mendapatkan XP yang banyak agar kita dapat meningkatkan Skill yang kita butuhkan. ikuti terus jalan ceritanya, dan anda akan temukan hal-hal yang sangat mengesankan didalamnya

Ini adalah beberapa screnshoot (setting high)

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Supreme Commander Forged Alliance

Its hard to come up with a real-time strategy game thats as large and ambitious as Supreme Commander, which came out at the beginning of this year. The spiritual successor to 1997s famed Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander is a sci-fi strategy game that occurs on a scale far larger than regular RTS games. With battlefields that are as large as 40-by-40 square kilometers (or even 81-by-81 in skirmish and multiplayer), the game offers a lot of flexibility and room. When you flash forward to the end of the year, we get Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance. Whats impressive is the amount of stuff that developer Gas Powered Games has managed to squeeze into the standalone expansion in relatively little time.

Forged Alliance delivers six massive new single-player missions, as well as a slew of welcome improvements and enhancements. These include a new user interface, a graphical upgrade, and a fourth playable faction. The game continues the story of the 1,000-year old Infinite War, where three warring factions of humanity have slugged it out against one another. There are the regular humans in the United Earth Federation, the cybernetic humans in the Cybran Nation, and the alien-influenced humans in the Aeon Illuminate. The end of Supreme Commander showed the "end" of the Infinite War. Depending on which faction you played as, you seized control of the Black Sun superweapon, fired it, and won the war for your side. But if you stayed and watched the end of the credits, Supreme Commander hinted at something else. A rift opened, unleashing an alien horde known as the Seraphim. Forged Alliance picks up a couple of years later, with the surviving human factions trying to fend off extinction. You can play as any of the human factions in the six-mission campaign, and your choice will affect the dialogue that you hear, as well as some of the secondary missions, but the core objectives remain the same in all cases.

If the three single-player campaigns in Supreme Commander have a weakness, its that each one ramps up slowly. The first mission gives you access to the most basic of units and buildings, then each successive mission unlocks new toys with which you can play. But it isnt until the final mission that the game unlocks all of your units and buildings. By that point, there isnt a lot of opportunity to play with the really cool stuff, like mighty experimental units, which are gigantic war machines that can turn the tide of battle. Sure, you can always play a skirmish or multiplayer game and get access to everything, but the single-player story always feels a bit lacking in that regard.

That problem is solved with Forged Alliance, which assumes that youve played through Supreme Commander and are ready to remove the training wheels. Each of Forged Alliances six missions gives you access to almost everything from the get-go, with a handful of new units introduced during the course of the campaign. Theres no ramp-up here because each battle is far bigger than anything seen in the original game. The warfare is much more epic and the battles are that much fiercer. Youll finally be able to unleash navies, air forces, and armies on huge maps. Opponents will throw masses of advanced and experimental units at you, which youll need to respond to in kind. The average mission will take at least an hour and a half or so, although some will take longer. Theres a nice variety of missions, including a large, naval battle set amid frigid seas; a desperate last stand against overwhelming odds; and a struggle among three sizeable foes.

You cant play as the alien Seraphim in the campaign; theyre only available in skirmish or multiplayer. Skirmish mode introduces a nice new adaptive artificial intelligence personality that alternates between offense and defense. There are also a slew of new maps to beef up the overall number considerably. Multiplayer over Gas Powered Games excellent GPGNet service is excellent because it makes matchmaking a breeze. You can also check statistics, watch replays, and track the geographical location of your opponents.

On top of the epic campaign, Gas Powered found time to completely redo the user interface, making it slightly more informative and a lot more attractive. Supreme Commanders interface always seemed bland and dated, but this new UI is sharper and more colorful. The interface improvements are nothing compared to the graphical upgrade. For example, polygon counts on units, textures, and shaders have been improved; thus, the difference between Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance is almost startling. However, this comes at a slight price because performance seems to bog down a bit more on midrange machines, but you can tweak the settings down to what they were before. On high-end rigs, the graphics are a very nice improvement.

Forged Alliance does feature some balance tweaks that arent quite as welcome. One of the most notable is how nuclear weapons have basically been taken out of the picture. Nukes now take a ridiculously long time to construct. In fact, they take so long that theyre almost useless because almost any game can be resolved before a nuke is even constructed. For instance, the UEFs mighty and superexpensive Mavor artillery gun, which can launch an unending barrage of shells anywhere on the biggest maps, is a lot faster to build than a single nuke, as well as a lot more valuable. As it is right now, nukes seem like a red herring.

Aside from the nuke quibble, theres a lot to like in Forged Alliance because it makes an already gargantuan game bigger and better. Supreme Commander fans will finally get to experience campaign missions that let them unleash the full weight of their arsenals, while the size and scope of the game remains far beyond almost anything else on the market. When we look back at 2007 in terms of strategy gaming, it may very well be remembered as the year of Supreme Commander.

By Jason Ocampo, GameSpot

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ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4 Review

by Charles P. Jefferies

The Internet affects our lifestyle in more ways than most of us care to admit, and the innumerable threats lingering on it can do likewise. A PC connected to the Internet should have a software security capable of actively defending the end-user from these threats. Today we look at one companys solution: ESETs NOD32 Antivirus 4 package. This comprehensive solution is advertised to protect from known and unknown threats while maintaining a low profile. Read on to see how it held up in our testing.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW
NOD32 Antivirus 4 is first and foremost exactly what it implies; a security suite aimed at protecting computers from viruses. NOD32 takes a proactive stance on antivirus and anti-spyware protection, actively scanning all forms of Internet traffic, including email and encrypted channels, and the hard drive. ESETs ThreatSense technology even allows the software to protect against unknown threats. The programs database is updated frequently, so the user will be protected against the latest threats. Other features of NOD32 include a removable media scanner; it automatically checks anything connected to the computer (such as a flash drive) for malicious threats. NOD32 has technology that helps it defend itself, so it will not be disabled or corrupted.

The Business Version of NOD32 Antivirus 4 includes additional features, including a Remote Administrator feature that allows gives administrators the ability to control a network from a single screen. Additionally, the business edition includes a Host-based Intrusion Prevention System, which defends against threats on the network that may have bypassed external network security.

ESET prides its NOD32 Antivirus 4 on resource efficiency; the company claims the software uses less than 44MB of memory and is "so fast you wont even notice its there."

INSTALLATION AND ACTIVATION

NOD32 Antivirus 4 has a standard wizard-based installer, making installation painless.

After accepting the license agreements, users can choose to perform a typical or custom install; we did a typical install, since that is what most users will want to do.

Activation can be done during or after the install. To activate the software, all users have to do is enter the username and password provided to them when they purchase the software.

Following the activation step in the install, users can choose to be a part of ESETs ThreatSense network, which allows computers connected to it to submit information about new threats to the company. We chose to enable this option.

The last step before the install is completed is choosing whether to enable an option that allows for the detection of potentially unwanted applications. This feature is not necessarily for security reasons, but more for system resource management: if NOD32 detects a program that is installed or being installed that could alter the computers behavior, it will let the user know. We also chose to enable this option.
Overall, the installation and activation procedure is simple and painless; it took less than six minutes to get through.

PROGRAM INTERFACE
NOD32s main program interface window can be accessed by double-clicking the programs icon in the system tray. There is no wait time for the window to open, which is a clue to how well optimized NOD32 is.

The program interface is clean and simple without looking boring. A navigation bar is located on the left, and whatever category is selected is highlighted in the navigation bar and displayed on the right. Items in the navigation bar are easy to identify thanks to large icons and clear text. All descriptions are given in plain English and friendly enough for the average Joe to understand.

Updating is done automatically and does not require user intervention. I performed the process manually once to see it in action. A manual update is as simple as clicking "Update."

There are two interface modes: Standard and Advanced. The Standard interface, shown at the top of this section, is what most will use; Advanced mode, shown above, uncovers a few options and categories that are otherwise hidden, including a Tools category and a few other screens, as shown below.

Under the Protection Status category, for example, users can get statistics and real-time activity graphs.

The Tools category shows log files and other information that most people would not care about. There is one significant feature in the Tools category: the Create rescue CD option.

This option allows users to create a CD/DVD that assist repairing an infected computer.

Overall, the program interface is clean, simple, and easy to navigate.

IN USE AND EFFECTIVENESS
NOD32 Antivirus 4 did not cause any interruptions during normal use. The only indicator it is even running is the occasional information system tray pop-up that the virus database was updated.

A nice feature of NOD32 is that these pop-ups are disabled while running full-screen applications, such as video games or presentations.

I tested the effectiveness of NOD32 Antivirus 4 by using several virus files from Eicar.org, an IT security website. The four files provided for download, which have different extensions including .com, .zip, and .txt, contain viruses. Please see the test description for extensive information on the tests. Good antivirus software should detect the files as threats.

NOD32 did better than detect the files as viruses – it would not even let me download them over the standard HTTP protocol. Using the SSL-encrypted protocol, NOD32 still detected the files and deleted them immediately upon download. The quarantine window shows the details of what happened:

NOD32 performs as advertised – it identifies threats at their source.

PERFORMANCE IMPACT
We evaluate the performance impact and system resource usage of using antivirus software in three ways:

1. Overall system performance measured before and after installation using PCMark05, a system benchmark suite
2. Memory footprint
3. Time it took to perform a full system scan

Our test system is an Acer Aspire 5735-4744; it has the following specifications:

• Intel Pentium Dual-Core T3200 (2.0GHz/1MB L2/667MHz FSB)
• 2GB DDR2-667 RAM
• 160GB 5400RPM Fujitsu hard drive
• Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, stock install with all updates and Search disabled
• Atheros 802.11 Draft-N wireless

Overall System Performance Impact measured with PCMark05
Prior to installing NOD32 Antivirus 4, the notebook had the following performance numbers:

After installing NOD32 Antivirus 4, I ran the benchmark again:

Extremely impressive – NOD32 hardly touched system performance, with less than a two percent difference between the scores.

Memory Footprint

Antivirus 4 is claimed to use less than 44MB of system memory; we found it did even better than that. The Task Manager shows 21MB of usage. This means the software is using about one percent of the 2,048MB of available memory in our test computer – essentially nothing.

Time it took to perform a full system scan

A full scan of our test system’s hard drive containing 37GB of data took 19 minutes and 4 seconds. This is slower than Kapersky Anti-Virus 2009, which took 15 minutes and 40 seconds, but not significantly so.

CONCLUSION
NOD32 Antivirus 4 passed our tests with flying colors. We found it to perform exactly as advertised, which is not exactly a common thing in today’s world. This security solution is effective at combating viruses and detecting Internet threats, all while barely consuming any system resources. Antivirus 4 is a "set it and forget it" application; updates are performed automatically and the system is continuously monitored, all with essentially no user interaction. From its simple plain English interface to its pro-active defenses, NOD32 Antivirus 4 is a polished and user-friendly software security solution. NOD32 Antivirus 4 gets our recommendation for an excellent antivirus solution.

Pros:

• Effective at combating Internet threats
• Minimal resource usage
• Easy install
• Simple interface
• Non-intrusive
• Automatic updates

Cons:

• System scans not quite as fast as competing products

Source

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ASUS Eee PC 1005HA Review

by Jerry Jackson

Its easy to get confused by all the variety of netbooks on the market today. These low-cost ultraportable laptops generally have very similar features and many even look virtually identical. That said, its never easy to overlook the latest Eee PC from ASUS. The Eee PC 1005HA Seashell is the newest netbook from ASUS that promises to deliver the perfect balance between lightweight style and functionality. Lets take a closer look.

Our ASUS Eee PC 1005HA Seashell features the following specifications:

• Operating System: Genuine Windows XP
• Processor: Intel Atom N280 Processor 1.66GHz (667MHz FSB)
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (667MHz)
• Internal Storage: 160GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD plus 10GB Eee Online Storage
• Display: 10.1-inch diagonal WSVGA+ (1024x600)
• Graphics: Intel GMA 950
• Wireless: Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Expansion: 4-in-1 media card slot
• Ports and connectors: (3) USB 2.0 ports, VGA OUT, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet (Gigabit), stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 0.89-1.40 x 10.2 x 6.9 inches (including feet)
• Weight: 2.8 lbs (not including weight of AC adapter).
• Power: 6-cell Lithium-Ion battery (5600mAh, 63Wh)
• Warranty: One-year standard warranty
• MSRP: $389.99

Build and Design
The Eee PC 1005HA is a lower-cost version of the 1008HA Seashell and features a similar clamshell chassis design but is a little thicker and comes with a removable battery. Unlike the 1008HA, which had plastic covers over every port, all of the ports on the 1005HA are easily accessible so you wont have to struggle to plug in a USB flash drive. The 1005HA also isnt as thin as the 1008HA Seashell, but the 1005HA makes up for extra bulk with a high-capacity removable battery.

If you look at the top of the 1005HA its easy to see the "Seashell" heritage, and thankfully it manages to retain some solid build quality for a budget netbook. The glossy black plastics arent prone to flex and the keyboard is very firm ... two things you usually dont see on budget notebooks. The various parts of the chassis come together with tight build tolerances like a higher-priced laptop. This isnt the most rugged netbook weve ever seen, but ASUS gave the 1005HA a pretty solid build for less than $400.

One nice improvement on this netbook compared to the last Seashell is the return of an easy-access RAM cover. If you want to upgrade the RAM in your 1005HA all you have to do is remove one screw on the access panel on the bottom of the netbook. I would have also liked to see an easy-access panel for the hard drive, but most netbook buyers arent going to mess with the hard drive.

Screen
The new Eee PC 1005HA Seashell uses a fairly standard LED-backlit display panel with a 1024x600 native resolution. The glossy screen looks identical to what we saw in the 1008HA: the glossy screen offers good color and contrast, but glare and reflections indoors under strong lights or outdoors under direct sunlight can be a problem. Again, although the 1024x600 resolution is pretty standard for a netbook these days, Id much rather see a 1366x768 screen in the next Eee PC. Vertical viewing angles are average, with minimal color distortion when viewing from below and some over-exposed colors when viewed from above. Horizontal viewing angles are better with colors staying accurate at extremely wide viewing angles with just a little bit of color wash out.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The 1005HA Seashell uses the same 92% of full size keyboard first seen on the 1008HA Seashell. The keys are slightly smaller than the keys on an average notebook but the spacing between the keys is quite limited. If you prefer the shape and feel of traditional keys then youll probably like the new keyboard. That said, I personally prefer the "chicklet" style keyboard used on the ASUS Eee PC 1000HE since there is more space between the keys to prevent me from accidentally hitting the wrong key. Still, the keyboard on this netbook is quite usable and should be perfectly fine for typing quick emails or editing documents while traveling.

The Synaptics touchpad used on the 1005HA is likewise identical to the gesture-enabled model on the 1008HA. This allows you to use multi-figure gestures such as "pinching" your fingers together or "pulling" your fingers apart to zoom in or out. You can also use a "three-finger tap" as an alternative to a right click on a mouse. The Synaptics control panel in Windows also allows you to customize these gestures as well. The touchpad surface is covered in dots that provide a clear indication of the edges of the touchpad, but this also makes the touchpad surface too rough for quick finger movement. The left and right touchpad buttons are located beneath a single rocker-style button, but with no separation between the left and right side its easy to accidentally press the middle of the touchpad button when youre trying to press the left or right side. The touchpad buttons have extremely shallow feedback, so it isnt always easy to feel when you have or have not pressed a button.

The 1005HA lacks a dedicated wireless on/off switch, but ASUS did include a dedicated touchpad on/off button as well as FN keyboard shortcuts for wireless, screen brightness, video output, volume, and Windows task manager.

Input and Output Ports
The 1005HA provides a few more ports than the 1008HA. Namely, you get three USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 media card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, Ethernet port, and the return of a standard VGA out port. The 1005HA lacks the protective port covers seen on the 1008HA, but I personally dont like protective covers since I have to move them to use the ports.

Here is a quick tour around the Eee PC 1005HA:

Front view: No ports here, just clean lines and indicator lights.

Rear view: No ports here either, just the hinges and battery.

Left side view: Power jack, VGA out, USB 2.0 port, security lock slot, and heat vent.

Right side view: 4-in-1 card reader, headphone jack, microphone jack, two USB 2.0 ports, and Ethernet.

The 1005HA is also the first Eee PC to offer a software "dock" on the desktop that ASUS calls "Eee Docking software." In much the same way that the Apple OS X dock or ObjectDock from Stardock software allow you to use quick shortcuts to utilities and applicatiosn, the Eee Docking software provides an easy way to locate utilities, software and digital content. It consists of the following: Eee Vibe (music/media application and Eee download website), Sharing (Data sync, messenger, and Eee Storage), Xperience (Voice Command) and Tools (Parental Control, Font resizer, and Settings), and all of these suites are easily accessed as the software “docks” to the top of the screen and is semi-hidden when not in use.

Performance and Benchmarks
Ive said it before and Ill say it again. Its difficult to get excited about the benchmarking a netbook since most netbook have virtually identical specs. If youve read our reviews of other netbooks that use the Intel Atom processors then you know that all Atom-based netbooks have nearly identical performance in terms of actual real-world use. Overall performance with the Intel Atom platform is very reasonable for daily activities like Web browsing, email, using Microsoft Office, listening to music, and even watching movies. If youre in a bind you can even use photo editing software like Photoshop or GIMP for basic image editing.

On a positive note, ASUS includes a proprietary overclocking application on the 1005HA called the "Super Hybrid Engine" that allows you to cycle through pre-set power profiles to maximize battery life by underclocking the processor, keep the processor at stock speed or slightly overclock the processor (from 1.66GHz to 1.70GHz).

Unfortunately, theres only so much anyone can do with Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics. This integrated graphics processor (IGP) is powerful enough to handle displaying a PowerPoint presentation on a projector or watching DVD quality movies, but if 720p and 1080p video playback is your primary concern then youll want to look elsewhere. That said, ASUS managed to squeeze some pretty solid benchmark numbers out of the Intel graphics in the 1005HA.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
Sony VAIO TZ (Core 2 Duo U7600 @ 1.20GHz)	76.240 seconds
HP Pavilion dv2 (AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 @ 1.60GHz)	103.521 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (Intel Atom N280 @ 1.66GHz)	114.749 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA (Intel Atom N280 @ 1.66GHz)	116.030 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (Intel Atom N280 @ 1.66GHz)	116.421 seconds
HP Mini 2140 with HD screen (Intel Atom N270 @ 1.60GHz)	123.281 seconds
Acer Aspire One (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	125.812 seconds
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (2009) (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	126.406 seconds
Samsung NC20 (VIA Nano ULV U2250 @ 1.30GHz)	173.968 seconds

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Sony VAIO TZ (1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950)	2,446 PCMarks
HP Pavilion dv2 (1.60GHz AMD Athlon Neo, ATI Radeon HD 3410 512MB)	2,191 PCMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	1,851 PCMarks
Toshiba Portege R500 (1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950)	1,839 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	1,637 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	1,564 PCMarks
Acer Aspire One (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	1,555 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	1,535 PCMarks
Samsung NC20 (1.30GHz VIA Nano ULV U2250, VIA Chrome9 HC3)	1,441 PCMarks
HP Mini 2140 with HD screen (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GM1 950)	1,437 PCMarks

3DMark06 comparison results against netbooks @ 1024 x 768 resolution:

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
HP Pavilion dv2 (1.60GHz AMD Athlon Neo, ATI Radeon HD 3410 512MB)	1,520 3DMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	1,417 3DMarks
Samsung NC20 (1.30GHz VIA Nano ULV U2250, VIA Chrome9 HC3)	151 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	127 3DMarks
Acer Aspire One (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	122 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	116 3DMarks
HP Mini 2140 with HD screen (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GM1 950)	112 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	92 3DMarks
Sony VAIO P (1.33GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 500, Windows Vista)	88 3DMarks

HDTune for the built-in hard drive:

Audio
The built-in speaker performance on the Eee PC 1005HA is pretty good for a 10-inch netbook. Im not a fan of the location of the built-in speakers since theyre located on the bottom front edge of the 1005HA, but the audio quality is better than what we typically hear from netbook speakers. The speakers produce good volume (enough to fill a small room) and there is minimal distortion even at higher volume levels. The speakers lack much bass, but the range of highs and midtones are fine. Still, the audio output from the headphone jack is free of any obvious distortion and is a better solutiuon when paired with earphones or a good set of external speakers.

Heat and Noise
Temperatures on the new Eee PC Seashell are in line with what weve come to expect from netbooks with Intel Atom processors. Temperature readings taken from the outside of the plastic chassis remained "lap friendly" during normal use. The only time that temperature readings spiked was when I connected the netbook to an external display.

Below are images indicating the temperature readings (listed in degrees Fahrenheit) taken inside our office where the ambient temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery
ASUS claims that the 1005HA provides "all-day computing" with up to 10.5 hours of battery life on a single charge. As difficult as that might be to believe, its not completely out of the question. In our test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and XP set to the laptop/portable power profile the system stayed on for 9 hours and 37 minutes of constant use. If we turned down the screen brightness even more, disabled Wi-Fi, and allowed the netbook to occasionally go into sleep mode then Im quite certain the 1005HA could have exceeded 11 hours of battery life!

Conclusion
The new ASUS Eee PC 1005HA Seashell might seem like "just another Eee PC" at first glance, but upon closer examination its clear that ASUS has refined their popular line of netbooks with every variation. The Eee PC 1005A is one of the best eveolutions of the Eee PC line so far.

Yes, on paper theres not much to get excited about with the latest Eee PC since it features the same processor, integrated graphics, and standard 10-inch display seen in almost every netbook, but in this case the whole may indeed be greater than the sum of its parts.

Id still like to see a higher resolution screen, different graphics solution, and better touchpad buttons in this netbook, but overall there are plenty of reasons to like the latest Eee PC. If youre in the market for a $400 netbook then this is worth your consideration.

Pros:

• Nice build quality
• Excellent battery life
• Good port layout ... for a netbook

Cons:

• Thick for a modern netbook
• Still uses weak integrated graphics
• Bad touchpad buttons

Related links :

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Software List

List of Great FREE Software

AVI2DVD - Burn a DVD to play in your DVD player from an AVI movie file on your hard drive.

CD Burner XP - Burn music CDs, computer files, and more with this free CD burning application

CutePDF Writer - create PDFs from Microsoft Word, Exel, Powerpoint, and any program that can print. Create PDFs for free!

Daemon Tools - creates a virutal CD/DVD Drive so that you can load Game files/discs that are disc images or ISO files, it also lets you watch DVD ISO files on your hard drive. Definitely a Gamers Choice program! (You dont have to have the disc in your drive, or hear it spinning!)

DVD Decrypter - Remove most DVD copy protections, and copy DVD movie files to your hard drive, or create an ISO file to burn/ watch on your computer without the DVD disc.

DVDFab Decrypter - rips DVD video files to a hard drive and removes all the newest copy protections

DVD Shrink - this DVD burning program will shrink DVD video files, discs, or ISO files to fit on a 4.7GB disc. Its compression technology creates/burns files that will fit on a standard 4.7GB disc and still look great like the original. It also allows you to remove DVD video clips/extras that you dont need/want.

Irfanview - view images quickly, resize images, automatically resize, rotate, or rename many images.

MPlayer - simple, easy to use video player that includes many popular video codecs pre-installed. Simply drag your video file to the shortcut and watch it. Mplayer is great for watching stubborn video files or files that wont open with Quicktime or Windows Media player.

Printfolders (alt. Download link)- print a list of files/folders (saves to a text file)

Quintessential Player - clean, fast, and free music/video player, and CD Ripper

Source Edit - edit HTML, PHP, and other source code, and FTP server uploads can be set to run every time you save the file.

Videora iPod Converter - converts DVD video files to the iPod video format (requires DVD Decrypter)

WASTE - create a private P2P network on your College Campus to share music, movies, and software, users can only see the network when connected by a friend already on WASTE.

Wink - record flash video demos of computer tasks (can record audio)

Yamipod - copy files from your iPod to your friends computer, or copy files from his iPod to yours. Yamipod allows you to manage the files on your iPod without using iTunes!

ZipFree 2000 - create ZIP files for FREE! Uses a right click send-to menu in explorer

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Samsung N110

by Kevin OBrien

The Samsung N110 is a 10-inch netbook offering an Intel Atom N270 processor and long-lasting six-cell battery with claims of up to 8.5 hours of battery life. The glossy black lid, red trim, and small profile design works for students or business professionals ... something that cant be said about all computers. In this review we try to duplicate Samsungs lofty 8.5 hour battery claim, and see how well it performs compared to other netbooks.

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League of Legends Review

Last summer, whilst talking to some friends about a new game to play, someone (who previously dabbled in a spot of DOTA) brought up the idea of having a go at League of Legends, one of the newer MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games to hit the free-to-play market. Im not usually one for PVP-orientated games but this one became a small addiction over a few months and can really suck up time (as one game can last anywhere between 20 minutes and an hour and half.)

After having a few months at this game I feel like I could write quite a bit about this game as it has many, many amazing features and qualities but there are just a few things that let it down.

GRAPHICS

The graphics in this game, I believe, are superb. While selecting characters (known as Champions) to play, the champion portraits are extremely well drawn and seem to have an amazing attention to detail (for example, here we have Xerath and also here we have Master Yi) and do make excellent wallpapers! Then while in game, the character models and map seems to have a certain cartoon-y feel to them, with the vibrant colours and even adding in small things such as bugs running around on the floor and snakes slithering in and out of the bushes which all just add to the games charm.

The character abilities also have some really nice effects as well, for instance we have the character Ezreal, The Prodigal Explorer, and he has an ability named Trueshot Barrage (see here: click). This is where he slowly ascends into the air and a holographic bow appears from his wrist which he proceeds to fire this across the map (literally, it can reach any area on the map, meaning he can hit opponents from the other side if he aims carefully!) And the way this is executed is brilliant, the pixel effects and colours used really go well with the overall cartoon-y feel of the game as a total.

SOUND

Sound, as a whole, in this game is average. The music is nice at first but after a while the drums that bang before every game get a bit repetitive, so I tend to mute the music and listen to my own, or my friends over Skype. The only thing that stands out in this area is the character interactions you can have while playing the game, such as if you open the chat (by pressing Enter) you can type out a few different things and the character will perform certain moves or actions - such as /joke. This makes the character say a comedic sentence or perform a funny action, such as the champion Vladimir (a vampire!) having a joke saying "Go ahead, be negative, youll be just my type..." connoting that the player has a B- blood type and he is happy to drink his blood!

Other than these character interactions, this game doesnt have much to offer in the way of sound.

GAMEPLAY

This section is not something that can simply be explained in the confines of a blog, you have to play the game and watch live streams of professionals (yes, this is a competitive game, with which professional players can earn a LOT of money) playing the game to really understand how to execute moves and strategies correctly. But because this is a review I will try to explain the simple underlying gameplay qualities.

Essentially the goal of the game is to eliminate the other players Nexus which is a large crystal in the middle of their base, surrounded by powerful Turrets which attack enemies on sight. This is done by progressively getting stronger and levelling up (you always start at level 1 and aim to reach the level cap in the game which is 18) and also a technique called Last-Hitting which is where you get the last hit on a little creature called Minions. These are team based creatures (a number of them are spawned at both Nexus every 30 seconds) that automatically attack the enemy on sight and give the killer a certain amount of money when they are eliminated, allowing them to purchase better items in the Shop back at base and gaining an edge over the other team.

There are many, many different ways to build your champion (building is where you purchase different items to achieve different results, such as focusing defensive items to become a damage-absorbing tank, or offensive items to become a hard-hitting damage dealer.) and I dont even fully understand this and neither will anyone unless they get down to the nitty-gritty details of number-crunching, which to me, is very boring.

So truthfully, I dont think I can fully describe all aspects of this games playing styles without making a 20,000+ word dissertation! However if you have played DOTA, or have been playing DOTA 2, then this game should be right up your street.

STORYLINE

Unfortunately, I havent delved into the Lore of League of Legends, but I do believe there is a very extensive storyline behind all of it with all the information on the main LoL website. All I really know is that there is (or was) a war between two factions, Noxus and Demacia, and most of the champions belong to one of those, with a few stranglers here and there.

If you would want to learn all about the lore and history of League of Legends, just click here.

LASTING APPEAL

The lasting appeal of this game is huge as the roster of champions to play is constantly expanding (with the free champions being rotated every week, as to consistently use a champion you must purchase it) and recently Riot (the company behind LoL) have released a new game-type named Dominion which I havent played much of as I do enjoy the classic gameplay style! Also, every game is different because you are against 5 different champions every time, meaning you have to change your tactics to adapt to your environment.

The only problem with this game in terms of lasting appeal (and gameplay) is the community. If you are a bit of a lone-ranger and dont have a lot of game-playing friends (or friends who just dont enjoy MOBAs) then the community may get to you. Unfortunately a large portion of the players just resort to trolling if you make a simple mistake or your team ends up losing the game - which really can get to you. Sometimes I have been playing a game and made a really simple mistake (accidentally not killing an enemy due to a bad decision on my part) and my team will just lay into me with insults and telling me to uninstall the game. Unfortunately this can make you not want to play the game often with randomers, as they all tend to be *ahem* dicks.

Of course that comment shouldnt completely put you off of the game if you were looking to try it because sometimes, you can have REALLY fun games, the ones that are literally hanging on a thread and you really have to give it your all to win, these are the games the real players look forward to.

TOTAL SCORE

86 out of 100

This game is very fun, and has a huge fan base (which can sometimes let you down...) and should be tried by everyone who is looking to get into a new game which has unlimited potential! This can literally suck hours away from your day so if you have nothing else to do, give this a try!

NEXT TIME: CALL OF DUTY MODERN WARFARE 3

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Home Song Stories

This collaboration between Singapore - Australia is a true life story of writer Tony Ayres.

It shows his growing up years with his beautiful yet dramatic mother, Rose (Joan Chen) and sister May (Irene Chen). It shows her mothers life from her nightclub days in Hong Kong before they migrated to stay with Uncle Bill (Steven Vidler) in Melbourne, Australia for better hopes of a brighter future.

However, his mums behaviour simply spoils whatever bright future they have, as she kept on with her flirtatious and opportunist lifestyle. On at Melbourne, she befriends an apprentice chef, Joe (Qi YuWu), who although helped her in certain times, but made more damage in the end, falling for her daughter May.

The stories ping pong back & forth of dismay to hope and seems never to end til when Bill came back (again) to save them. However, that didnt seemed enough.

The story first seemed to come more from the mothers point of view, before shifting focus to Toms perspective. The focus wasnt in depth on the boys part, and was rather shallow with most times just touching the surface of his feelings, hence not being able to dwell into his thoughts fully. Though viewers can sympathise with the boy at times, but are not able to read & feel for the boy fully. However there is more attachement to his mum instead.

That is where the confusion is - is this movie about the mother or the boy?

And more confusing is the poster in Singapore whereby Joe & Rose were featured instead of the little boy, Tom.

The star of the movie no doubt is superb acting from all casts, especially Joel Lok who played the charming & cute character with wide eyes & full expressions of his faces.

Overall, a good start for a Singapore - Australian production, though with backing from Raintree, I expected this to be a Bigger movie.

Finally, one last note, this movie also goes to show how the Asians or Chinese are able to blend in well in Australia (or any Western country for that matter), speaking their language with their accent. And this showcase by the English movie makes it more thumbs up for Asia, a rare opportunity for Asians showcase.

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Epson C92 and Photo R220 R230 Adjustment Program

Here is the link for the adjustment program for Epson C92 and Epson Photo R220/R230 with indoreset.bat.

Epson C92 Adjustment Program
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Epson Photo R220/R230 Adjustment Program with indoreset.bat
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Good luck to those who need these reseters!

Happy reseting to everyone.


from,

the moderators---

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Top 10 Windows 8 tips and tricks

Customize your tiles

Make the most of your Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located, and what is listed.

• Move any tile by clicking and dragging the tile. While moving a tile, if you need a larger view of the Start screen move the tile towards the top or bottom of the screen to zoom out.
• Use your mouse wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
• Any Desktop shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the icon and choosing Pin to Start.
• In the bottom right-hand corner of the start screen is a magnifying glass with tiles, click this icon to get a zoomed out view of your Start screen. In this view, if you right-click on a group of tiles youll be given the option to name group, which can be useful if you have a group of related tiles (e.g. games). In this view, you can also click and drag a group to organize your tile groups.
• Create a new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile to a speed bump.
• Resize any User tile or Live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
• If there is a tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
• Show admin applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
• In Internet Explorer 10, you can also pin any of your favorite web pages to your Start Screen.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

Knowing at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts will make your Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these top Windows 8 shortcut keys.

• Press the Windows key to open the Start screen or switch to the Desktop (if open).
• Press the Windows key + D will open the Windows Desktop.
• Press the Windows key + . to pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the screen.
• Press the Windows key + X to open the power user menu, which gives you access to many of the features most power users would want (e.g. Device Manager and Command Prompt).
• Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
• Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found in Charms.
• Press and hold the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
• Press the Windows key + Print screen to create a screen shot, which is automatically saved into your My Pictures folder.

See our Windows shortcuts page for a full listing of all Windows shortcuts.

Know your hot corners

The corners on your screen are hot corners and give you access to different Windows features. Below, is a brief explanation of each of these corners.

Bottom Left-hand corner

The bottom left-hand hot corner of the screen will allow you to access the Start screen, if youre in the Start screen and have the Desktop open, this corner will open the Desktop from the Start screen.

Tip: Right-clicking in the left hand corner will open the power user menu.

Top-left corner of the screen

Moving the mouse to the top-left corner and then down will display all the apps running on the computer. Clicking and dragging any of these apps to the left or right-hand side of the screen will snap that app to that side of the screen. Each of these open app icons can also be right-clicked to close or snap.

Right-hand side of the screen

On the full right-hand side of the screen will be given access to the Windows Charms.

Taking advantage of search

The Search in Windows 8 has been significantly improved when compared to all previous versions of Windows. To search for a file or run a program in Windows 8 from the Start screen just start typing what youre trying to find or want to run.

As you begin typing, the results will start appearing on the left-hand side. In addition to being able to search for files and run programs, the Search also supports limiting the search to apps such as Finance, People, Maps, Photos, Mail, Music, Videos, Weather, and much more. If what you are searching for is not a file or program, click on the app you wish to use as the search. For example, if you were searching for "New York" and selected the Weather App you would be shown the weather in New York, NY.

By default, Search organizes the available Apps by how frequently they are used and then in alphabetical order. If you want to keep your favorite app at the top of the Search list, right-click the app and choose Pin. Pinning the app will lock it in place regardless of how often it is used. If there is an app you dont want (e.g. Finance) you can turn on and off any of the search apps through the PC settings, which is found under the Settings in the Charms.

Bonus tip: The Search is also found through Charms and can also be opened by pressingWindows key + F.

Running two apps side by side

Any app can be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. For example, open the People app and then press the Windows Key + . (period) to move that app to the right-hand side of the screen, pressing the same keys again will move it to the left-hand side, and pressing the same keys again will make it full screen. While an app is pinned, any other app or program can be opened and loaded into the available space on the screen. For example, in the below picture, weve opened a browser window and have the People app running to monitor our social networks.

Any open app can also be pinned using your mouse by clicking at the top of the tile and dragging it to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Bonus tip: The Desktop can also be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Note: In order for snap to work properly your resolution must be at least 1,366 x 768.

Windows 8 Task Manager

The Windows 8 Task Manager has been significantly improved over previous versions of Windows. Some of the new changes include showing a total percent usage at the top of your Processes, which makes it easier to determine total memory and CPU usage, improved Performance graphs, a Startup tab to see startup processes and their impact to system performance, and the App history tab (as shown below) that gives you the total resources an app has used over a period of time. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start exploring the new Task Manager.

Use a picture password to log into your computer

Windows 8 includes a new feature called Picture password, which allows you to authenticate with the computer using a series of gestures that include circles, straight lines, and taps. Enable this feature if you want a new way to access your computer or have a hard time with passwords.

1. Open the Windows Charms.
2. Click Settings and then More PC settings
3. In the PC settings window click Users and then select Create a picture password

Bonus tip: A four digit pin password can also be created and used to access your computer.

Take advantage of Windows 8 apps

Windows 8 comes included with several apps to help you get the most from your computer. Below are just a few of the included apps.

People

Microsoft touts the People feature in Windows 8 because they understand how many people are using social networks today. In the People feature youll be able to connect your Windows computer to all the major social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Once connected, you can pin the people app and monitor your social network (as shown below), use People in Search to find people, and get an overview of what is happening in all your social networks.

Reader

The Reader app will give you PDF support right out of the box.

SkyDrive

The SkyDrive app will give you access to the Microsoft cloud service SkyDrive, which allows you to store your photos, documents, and other files in the cloud and access or share those files with any computer with Internet access.

Store

Take advantage of the Windows Store and install one or more of the thousands of available apps designed for Windows 8. The Store is found in the Start screen, or use Search to search the Store app for any apps that you are trying to find.

Know the answers to common questions

Windows 8 is the biggest change to Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, which was released all the way back in 1995. Since so many people have grown up with Windows, it can be difficult to transition to a new way of doing things. Below, is a short list of the most common questions previous Windows users will have.

• How can I close an app in Windows 8?
• How do I sleep, restart, or shut down Windows 8?
• How do I get the start button back in Windows 8? 

Know the Jargon

Knowing all the new jargon introduced with Windows 8 will help improve your familiarity with Windows 8 and make it a more enjoyable experience. Below, are just a few links to the most commonly used Windows 8 terms.

• Charms
• Lock screen
• Picture password
• Pin
• Power User Task Menu
• Snapped app
• Speed bump
• Start screen
• Tile, User Tile, and Live Tile
• Windows Store

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