Innehållsförteckning för Nov-12 från PCWorld

INTEL’S LATEST CPU walks a power and features tightrope to give PCs longer battery life and better performance. For PC users on the go, machines with a long battery life are essential, but so is performance. Balancing these contradictory requirements lies at the heart of Intel’s latest CPU architecture, bearing the code name Haswell, which is expected to appear in shipping tablets, Ultrabooks, and other computers in 2013. Intel intends to produce Haswell-based processors across a range from dual-core chips that run at less than 10 watts (suitable for tablets) to quad-core desktop CPUs that can outperform the fastest Ivy Bridge processors. How did Intel hit its aggressive target of a 20-fold improvement in power efficiency? For the answer, we need to look at Haswell’s power management technology. Sleepily Active…

NATIVE UNION CURVE BT IDOCK Native Union’s $100 combination handset/iPhone dock is a sleek, multitasking device that connects to two Bluetooth units at once. You can simultaneously charge your phone, sync with iTunes, and talk on the wireless handset. The iDock is compatible with Skype, Google Talk, and VOIP. go.pcworld.com/idock HI-FUN HI-CALL Want to look cool? Slip on Hi-Fun’s €50 Hi-Call gloves and make the universal “call me” gesture. You’ll actually be making a phone call with the Bluetooth-equipped mittens—plus you won’t be one of those people talking into a hands-free headset who look like they’re muttering to themselves. go.pcworld.com/hi-call CARBON AUDIO ZOOKA WIRELESS BLUETOOTH SPEAKER FOR IPAD Place Carbon Audio’s Zooka (it’s the orange bar in the image above) within 30 feet of your iPad, and enjoy the music.…

THE MARCH OF tiny, sub-$100 Linux PCs arriving on the market shows no sign of ending, and recently two more contenders have debuted. The $49 Cubieboard features a 1GHz ARM processor, Mali 400 graphics, and 1GB of DDR3 RAM, plus HDMI 1080p output, 100M ethernet, 4GB NAND flash, two USB hosts, one MMC slot, an IR sensor, and a SATA port. The device can run Android, Ubuntu, or other Linux distributions. Combine the Cubieboard with a USB keyboard and mouse, output to a monitor via HDMI, and you have a miniature PC. The device can also act as a network-attached storage system. The $89 UG802 is a diminutive PC-on-a-stick powered by a dual-core ARM processor, according to one report. Also featuring Mali 400 graphics, the device reportedly offers 1GB of…

MORE PEOPLE ARE buying Wi-Fi-only tablets than tablets that rely on 3G or 4G LTE. It makes sense: Wi-Fi-only tablets are less expensive, and people don’t need an extra data plan. Don’t believe me? Check out these ten tips for Wi-Fi-only tablets. Tether: One way to tether (turn your smartphone into an Internet hotspot) is to use your phone’s built-in tethering ability—and likely pay the carrier an extra fee for doing so. The other way is to download a third-party app such as PdaNet (nonrooted Android phones), Wireless Tether for Root Users (rooted Android phones), or PdaNet for iPhone (jailbroken phones). Get a mobile hotspot: Instead of tethering your tablet to your phone’s data plan, you can pick up a dedicated mobile hotspot from your local wireless carrier. Such hotspots…

MANAGING YOUR company’s social media presence is becoming an increasingly complex task. Luckily, tools let you manage various social media accounts from a single dashboard. We’ve selected the top five geared toward small business. All are affordable and scalable, and help you schedule posts in advance. HootSuite You’ve probably used HootSuite (hootsuite.com), the tool of choice for many social media pros and small businesses. But the free version’s limitations (it supports only one user and five social profiles, for instance) mean that most businesses will grow out of it. You can move to HootSuite Pro ($10 per month) for unlimited profiles and more features, but look at alternatives once your business starts demanding too much of HootSuite. (Larger businesses should check out HootSuite Enterprise.) The free version suits microbusinesses with…

WHEN WIRED NEWS reporter Mat Honan had his digital life hacked—and virtually wiped out—in August, his significant data loss wasn’t the scariest part. More terrifying was how easy it was for the hackers to access his accounts, using publicly available information. If a hacker wanted to ruin your life, how easy would it be? Sadly, a lot easier than you may realize. You may not think you’re sharing too much data on any one site—just a snippet here and there—but to a hacker, you’re building an easily harvested online profile. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to safeguard your security. Protect Yourself the Easy Way If you use email, upload photos, frequent social networks, and shop on the Web, your online profile is likely already out there. Even…

IF YOU’RE LIKE me, you probably haven’t changed the passwords you use in six months or more. Your digital privacy is a critical part of your personal privacy, so making a few easy changes to the way you create passwords will pay off in peace of mind. First, make sure that the password for your primary email account is strong and unique, yet easy to remember, and that you change it at least every six months. This means that alma maters and relatives’ names are poor choices, because someone could guess such a password based on your username, Facebook profile, or other publicly available data. To create a unique password, think of it not as a single word but as a “passphrase” that you generate using the same method each…

LENOVO’S THINKPAD X1 Carbon ultraportable laptop measures just 0.7 inch at its thickest point and weighs slightly less than 3 pounds, thanks to a carbon-fiber chassis. The Ultrabook ships with a 1600-by-900-pixel LCD screen. Lenovo’s pursuit of ultrathinness did result in some compromises. Instead of a built-in ethernet port, the X1 Carbon has a USB-to-ethernet dongle. The laptop’s LCD panel flexes noticeably, though that may improve its resilience when dropped. Instead of a dedicated wired ethernet port, the system offers integrated 3G cellular broadband, which you can use as a mobile hotspot. Our test model came with a 2.0GHz/3.2GHz Intel Core i7-3667U CPU, an Intel HD 4000 integrated GPU, 4GB of DDR3-1333 RAM, and a 256GB SanDisk solid-state drive. In our performance testing, the X1 Carbon earned a WorldBench 7…

WHETHER YOU BUILD your own system or buy one off the shelf, several considerations are key to choosing the right mix of components for a photographer’s PC. Regardless of your specific preferences, you’ll want robust storage, a balance between CPU and graphics performance, and a great display. Now let’s look at how to put it together. CPU and Memory My production PC’s CPU is a Core i7-3930K—a six-core processor built on Intel’s 32nm manufacturing process. It costs about $560, and requires a motherboard that supports an LGA 2011 socket. I run the 3930K at its default settings, and it lives in a Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 motherboard (available for a bit less than $240). My PC has 16GB of RAM, in the form of four Kingston HyperX LoVo DDR3-1600 modules that can…

I keep my friends’ phone numbers and snail-mail addresses in Gmail. How can I access this information when I’m offline? —Robert Conner The trick is to sync Gmail’s contacts with a contact manager that stores its information locally. Not surprisingly, such syncing is a no-brainer on an Android device: You just give the phone or tablet your Gmail account name and password, and it syncs. It’s also reasonably easy on to do an iOS device, if you know the trick (see go.pcworld.com/iossyncmail). To sync to a Windows PC, you have two options. First, if you have Microsoft Outlook, download and install the free GO Contact Sync (go.pcworld.com/gocontactsync). You can set when it syncs automatically. The other option is to manually export contacts from Gmail and import them into your contact…

It’s Smaller in Texas? SAMSUNG’S GALAXY TAB 2 7.0—a 7-inch tablet that competes with the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, and others—has been garnering attention for its compactness, low price, and support for Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Someone at Fry’s Electronics, though, apparently decided that the “2 7.0” meant 2.7 inches. That left Guy Millet of Irving, Texas, wondering if Samsung would be willing to include a “magnifier and toothpick for the keyboard on this tablet.” Lock In Your Savings Now IT’S NOT UNCOMMON to find deals at TigerDirect.com. But reader Gennady Kupershteyn was unswayed by a recent one-day-only opportunity to save a whopping 0 percent on a USB microphone. Maybe he was waiting for the price cutters at Tiger Deal Slashers to do even better and double the advertised $0.00…

On the Surface I think the one thing that might kill this tablet [“Surface Tablet: Your Next Windows PC?” September]—or make it unable to compete effectively against iPads—would be if Microsoft decided to price the thing right out of competitiveness in order to appease hardware manufacturers that might feel a bit burned by Microsoft’s beating them to the punch on Windows 8 tablet hardware. Gosh, I sure hope the company doesn’t do that. I’d willingly pay $500 for a Surface Pro with 32GB or a Micro SD slot. For $600, I’d think about it. If it’s $650 or more, however, forget it. Toulinwoek, PCWorld.com forums I’m impressed and interested, but one thing I really miss in these small, thin devices—including Ultrabook-style laptops, as well as tablets—is the hardware upgradability found…

HP Tries to Trump iMac With SpectreOne With a refresh of Apple’s iMac line expected soon, Hewlett-Packard appears to be trying to steal some of the i-maker’s thunder with a new, sleek all-in-one PC, the SpectreOne, running Windows 8. Expected to reach retailers on November 14, the AIO has a 23.6-inch, flush glass screen and a 1080p display, is just 0.44 inch thick, and includes a wireless trackpad to take advantage of Windows 8 gesture support. The SpectreOne is expected to be priced at $1299. Toys ‘R’ Us $150 Android Tablet for Kids to Battle Kindle Fire Toys ‘R’ Us has announced a $150, 7-inch Android tablet called Tabeo that is specially designed for kids. The Tabeo runs Android 4.0, and comes with 50 apps preinstalled—including Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja,…

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER, Amazon unveiled four new tablets, all called the Kindle Fire. The regular Kindle Fire is a slightly upgraded version of the previous tablet also named the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire HD 7" ups the screen resolution, improves the audio, and boosts the Wi-Fi performance; the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" is obviously just about 2 inches larger diagonally; and then the Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE Wireless, also 8.9 inches, includes access to all ten bands of 4G service in the United States. That last model requires a $50 per year data plan, which gets you 250MB per month of data and 20GB of cloud storage. It’s likely that the new Kindle Fires will shake up the tablet market at least a bit. The other big competitors,…

3D PRINTING COULD be at the start of something huge. The technology has been available to consumers for only a few years, but it has already led to some interesting creations and made the manufacturing process easier in terms of sourcing parts and reducing costs. However, a few key limitations and legal controversies (what can you copy using 3D printing without infringing patents?) could restrain innovation. 3D Printing: A Quick Overview The concept behind 3D printing isn’t all that different from your typical inkjet printer. Instead of printing onto paper using ink, a 3D printer moves back and forth, printing layers to build up an object. It also uses a variety of materials. Contrary to popular belief, 3D printing isn’t new: It has been around in some form since the…

I BOUGHT FIVE domain names from 1and1. About a month ago, 1and1 called to inform me about a promotion for a website building service. It mentioned a 30-day free trial, but I did not accept the offer. One month later I received a charge for $59.97 on my credit card from 1and1, which I learned was a quarterly charge for the service “that I agreed to.” I insisted that I had not accepted the offer and politely requested a refund. The rep told me that 1and1 would review the recording of the original phone solicitation and get back to me within 48 hours. I did not hear from 1and1 as promised, so I called back and found that the company had determined that I was liable for the minimum first-year…

SUPPOSE CORPORATE NEEDS your bank’s routing and account numbers to set you up for direct deposit. Or the IT department needs your password to upgrade or modify your account. Typically that isn’t the kind of information you want to share via email. Or instant message. Or even fax. Ideally it’s the kind of thing you’d write on a sticky note and hand directly to the person who needs it. Of course, that isn’t always an option, meaning you need some kind of safe, electronic way to transmit sensitive information. Enter OneShar.es, which lets you create a secure, self-destructing message for one recipient. It works like this: You point your browser to oneshar.es, click the blue Create One Now button, and then type or paste the information you want to share.…

AMONG THIS MONTH’S batch of fixes are patches from Adobe for multiple overflow and memory-corruption vulnerabilities, including a critical bug that’s being exploited in the wild. Google also updated Chrome to fix multiple memory corruption vulnerabilities. Adobe: Adobe recently released four security bulletins for Adobe Flash Player, Shockwave, Reader, and Acrobat. The bulletins include fixes for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Security updates for Flash Player fix vulnerabilities that could cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of your system. The fix resolves four memory-corruption issues, along with a vulnerability that could allow a hacker to run malicious code on your PC. Adobe patched an additional vulnerability in Flash Player (go.pcworld.com/bfnovadobe1) that is reportedly being exploited in the wild. This attack is being…

WATERPROOFING may not be the first thing people look for in a smartphone, but if you’re accident-prone or you work around water, a ruggedized phone might be worth checking out. The $130 Kyocera Hydro on Boost Mobile won’t turn heads with its performance or its display, but its waterproofing is impressive, and that it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is a nice bonus. The Hydro weighs just 4.16 ounces and feels noticeably lighter than many rival units thanks to its plastic body. Still, the phone is a bit bulky, and the design by no means qualifies as sleek. Apart from a MicroSD card slot, the only ports provided are a Micro-USB and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The face of the phone features a 3.5-inch display that is adequate at…

WITH SERIF’S $100 WebPlus X6 you can incorporate blogging and social media access with an easy WYSIWYG website development tool, and manage it all from Serif’s site. WebPlus X6 can import HTML files from a local source or URL. It comes loaded with about 30 theme layouts, a handful of X6 Pro templates, and a link to free content packs on Serif’s Website. Each template and layout includes a few different color themes—colors selected to complement the layout style—but you can use any of the color themes for any layout. Each layout also comes in two general sizes: one for a regular website, and one for mobile devices. You have to cut and paste the content, but WebPlus X6 does offer some options to help the Internet-to-mobile transition go smoothly.…

UPGRADING TO A new operating system is always exciting. But if you don’t take the proper precautions, you risk losing your documents, photos, and other important data. So whether you are upgrading your computer from an existing copy of Windows or starting fresh with Windows 8, protect yourself from needless aggravation by following the steps outlined in our handy upgrade guide. Make Sure Windows 8 Is Right for You First, verify that Windows 8 is compatible with your current hardware. Microsoft identifies the following minimum requirements for the OS: a 1GHz CPU, a graphics chipset (integrated or discrete) capable of running DirectX 9, and a monitor with a screen resolution of 1024 by 768. Also, the 32-bit version of Windows 8 requires at least 1GB of RAM and 16GB of…

MANUALLY ADDING an RSS feed’s URL to Google Reader is an unavoidable annoyance when you’re following sites that don’t support automatic discovery of their RSS feeds. But it can also be a helpful tool in certain situations. For instance, both Craigslist and eBay have RSS-feed features that allow you to get real-time updates on auctions or offers. Recently, I was searching for a new apartment. Instead of repeatedly running a website search for apartments in my chosen neighborhoods and price range, I grabbed the Craigslist RSS feed for my preferred search parameters and subscribed to it through Google Reader. Afterward, I could see new apartment listings as soon as they popped up on Craigslist, simply by checking for news on Google Reader. Similarly, if you want to dig up a…

Follow us on Twitter @PCWPluggedIn. → Advocacy groups tell FTC that companies are violating children’s online privacy. Well, that’s one way to prepare kids for adulthood. → Facebook Timeline lets users announce pregnancies with “Life Event” description. Actual impregnation must still occur elsewhere. → FDA approves edible digital pills encoded to track your health. It’s a first: a bag of chips that’s good for you. → Critics call Microsoft’s new logo uninspired. Maybe if Microsoft had designed the four-color windowpane with a bite out of it... → Tech companies must disclose use of minerals sourced from conflict zones. Oh, you mean like planet Earth?…

AMAZON’S NEW TABLETS come with features like fast data-transfer rates and high-def displays, plus pretty good pricing. Here’s a look at four things that come to mind. 1 Ad Supported The devices will come with advertising on the lock screen; and, unlike with Amazon’s e-readers, you won’t be able to pay extra to have the special offers removed. 2 Android 4.0 The Fire tablets are reportedly built on Android, but Amazon tries to hide its device’s Android underpinnings with the company’s own user interface. 3 Pretty Good Data Price The AT&T LTE data package for Amazon’s $500 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD is $50 for a year with a 250MB monthly cap—$0.016 cents per MB. 4 Whispering Voices Amazon is bringing Whispersync—a technology that lets you to read a Kindle book…

BUSINESS IS ABOUT relationships. Customers choose to do business with companies that seem knowledgeable of their unique industry, and that are invested in their success. When you’re competing for business, you might consider using LexisNexis Smart Meeting, a new service that can give your company an advantage. An IDC survey from 2011 (IDC is the research arm of PCWorld’s parent company, IDG) discovered that sales and business professionals are often unprepared for initial customer meetings. In order to demonstrate knowledge and provide value, it’s important that you are armed with information about the prospective customer, and that you are aware of current events and breaking news that might affect the customer or your relationship. Timely Report Delivery LexisNexis Smart Meeting (lexisnexis.com/smart-meeting) pulls relevant information from LexisNexis—a comprehensive source of company…

CYBERCRIMINALS TRYING TO capitalize on Adobe’s decision to stop distributing Android Flash Player to new users via Google Play are creating malware and adware apps that masquerade as Flash Player installers. As of August 15, Android users who didn’t already have Flash Player installed on their devices could no longer obtain it from Google Play. Some users who missed that deadline have turned to alternative download sites, which is where the bad actors are aiming their attacks. Adobe phased out Android Flash Player in favor of Adobe AIR, a cross-platform runtime environment that enables developers to package native apps for different mobile platforms and devices. Security researchers have already identified multiple SMS Trojan apps packaged as Flash Player for Android. Another scam tries to pass off an adware app as…

AKITIO’S VERSATILE Cloud Hybrid single-bay drive box ($105) can function either as network-attached storage via the unit’s ethernet jack or as direct-attached storage on a PC or a Mac via the box’s USB 3.0 port. You can access the Cloud Hybrid across the Web using FTP, WebDav, or Akitio’s Web portal (www.myakitio.com), using the device’s ID or the MAC address from the bottom of the drive. Yet another option is to use the iOS app. To open the Cloud Hybrid’s drive bay so you can install a hard drive, you must remove three screws from the bottom of the unit. The front has power, status, and connection status lights, plus four lights to show the approximate percentage of storage that’s filled. The box has no ports for connecting external devices.…

ONE OF THE big reasons for the creation of Windows 8’s new Start screen is the emergence of tablets. Microsoft has tried and failed on several occasions to create a market for tablet PCs, but the models released during those attempts have always been clunky and difficult to use. The gargantuan success of Apple’s iPad—with its streamlined interface and its relentless focus on encouraging content consumption instead of serving as a general-purpose tool—seems to have clarified Microsoft’s goals. Even so, Microsoft is planning to support two types of tablets. The first type, which resembles the company’s original Tablet PC concept, consists of convertible laptops running Windows 8. Even Microsoft’s Surface Pro is just a thinly disguised laptop that emphasizes touch interaction over keyboard input. The second type will carry a…

AS MORE PEOPLE leave their digital SLR camera—and even their point-and-shoot—at home, it’s worthwhile to learn how to capture better photos with a smartphone. Adjust exposure: You probably already know that you can focus the camera on many smartphones by tapping the screen on the portion of the scene where you want it to focus. But you may not know that the camera sets the photo’s exposure that way as well. Point your phone at a high-contrast scene, such as a dark room with a lamp. On the phone’s screen, tap the lamp, and then tap a dark part of the room—the phone should adjust the exposure. Turn off the flash, turn on HDR mode: If your phone has a High Dynamic Range mode, as the iPhone does, disable the…

MOST SMARTPHONES, DIGITAL cameras, MP3 players, and other small gadgets can charge via a standard USB port, so many users top off their devices’ batteries by plugging them into laptops, desktops, or mobile USB chargers. That’s a handy option—but a slow one as well. A typical USB 2.0 port (such as the ones on most PCs) delivers up to 500 milliamps of juice. But a typical AC wall charger for, say, a smartphone supplies 900mA to 1000mA. Translation: If you want faster charging, use a wall charger. Car chargers outperform a PC’s USB port, too, and can deliver 1000mA to 2100mA of power. Note that large tablets have bigger batteries. Apple’s iPad wall charger gives 2100mA of power; although you can use a “smaller” charger, it’ll take a lot longer…