New Technology Reviews!.: blue

CyanogenMod will continue as always, Everyone can relax

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;">
<div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="80" mce_src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7919/cmlogo.png" src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7919/cmlogo.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="CM logo" width="372" />Recently the entire Android community and especially the fans and developers were hit with huge news, that Steve Kondik (aka Cyanogen) was hired by Samsung Mobile. While this is amazing news and everyone is most likely happy for Steve I’ve seen plenty of comments as of late that some are worried this might affect CyanogenMod as a whole.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"></span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Right off the bat I saw Twitter comments from tons of worried fans that don’t want to see the project wither away and die. After the news broke we quickly reminded everyone that they have a huge team and nothing will change. Today the team behind CyanogenMod themselves have confirmed this exact thing with the “State of CyanogenMod” blog post. Basically confirming everything we already said and linked to above. They all have day jobs, families, friends, and other responsibilities and in the end this is a hobby — something they love and will continue to do.</div>
<div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-48656 aligncenter" height="247" mce_src="http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/6492/cyanogenmod7installs540.jpg" src="http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/6492/cyanogenmod7installs540.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="CyanogenMod7 installs" width="324" /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
With key members of CyanogenMod busy with life things have been a little slow, but in no way is anything changing. They have a huge community of supporters and developers alike that will continue to churn out amazing updates and fixes for all of our favorite devices (just like my image above). We’ve seen recent video of CM7 on the Sensation 4G, progress on the Motorola Atrix now the bootloader has been unlocked, and even the LG Optimus 3D is set to receive CyanogenMod.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Everything over in cyan land should continue just as it always has. Users don’t need to worry that their devices will stop being supported out of the blue or that Samsung will effect the project, because they wont from what we are hearing. This has all been mentioned over on the CyanogenMod Blog today and I just wanted to share the news and help spread the good word.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Bring on CM7 for my Sensation, I can’t wait!</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
)</div>
</div>
</div>

CyanogenMod will continue as always, Everyone can relax

Recently the entire Android community and especially the fans and developers were hit with huge news, that Steve Kondik (aka Cyanogen) w...

Review: MSI U270

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;">
<div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/What%20Laptop/WLT%20153/WLT153.rev1.MSI01_1-200-200.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/What%20Laptop/WLT%20153/WLT153.rev1.MSI01_1-200-200.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="200" /></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
The MSI U270 looks and feels like a netbook, but its sharp screen and graphically capable processor push it more into the realm of an ultraportable laptop. It's best suited to regular travellers who need a basic machine for running simple office applications.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
An AMD processor runs the show, and it's the same model as found in the HP Pavilion DM1-3100sa. First impressions were bad as it scored a similarly low score in our benchmarking tests, and was thoroughly beaten by the Intel-powered machines. While you can comfortably browse the web and run basic office applications, the U270 does drag when you try to do things in parallel.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
We were pleasantly surprised when we ran the graphical tests. In a massive turnaround, the U270 scored well, narrowly edging out the HP, and we found that photo-editing software ran acceptably. However, some of our high-definition (HD) films actually stuttered quite badly during play.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Tech Labs</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Battery Eater '05: 162<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Cinebench: 2206<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />3DMark 2006: 5805</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Also bear in mind that, like the HP, there is no built-in DVD drive. If you want to install software from discs or watch DVD movies, you'll need an external drive that connects up via USB.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
While the 11.6-inch screen may be a little small for fully enjoying movies, it's still a colourful and well-designed panel. Along with the HP, it has a sharp, while the lack of a glossy Super-TFT finish means you can see perfectly outside, with no reflections to hamper your view.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
The tinny speakers are rubbish though, so you'll need some headphones to enjoy music.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Highly portable</span></div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Although performance falls short, the MSI makes up for it with portability. This is a light machine at just 1.5kg, so you'll barely notice it when stashed inside your bag, although the 42mm chassis is surprisingly thick.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
The battery will put up a good fight, giving almost three hours of video playback before finally running out. You'll get over four hours when performing lighter tasks such as checking your email, so you won't need to pack the charger if you use it on your daily commute.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Despite the compact frame, we still enjoyed using the isolation-style keyboard. It stretches the width of the interior and all of the keys are a good size for touch-typing, except for the tiny right Shift key. The touchpad is a little cramped, but the increased sensitivity makes up for this. You can always attach a mouse using one of the three USB ports.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
One of these ports is the latest USB 3.0, indicated by the blue colouration. This is the latest and fastest version which allows data to be swapped with compatible devices, such as external hard drives, at twice the rate of the old USB 2.0.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Most users will be satisfied by the 320GB of storage. This gives you enough space to hold a sizeable media collection, including thousands of holiday snaps and music albums.</div>
<div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;">
Both VGA and HDMI ports are available for connecting external monitors. If you want an affordable laptop for working on basic office software, and need a mobile machine so you can stay productive on the go, the U270 is worth considering. However, those after a bit more power should look elsewhere.</div>
</div>
</span></div>

Review: MSI U270

The MSI U270 looks and feels like a netbook, but its sharp screen and graphically capable processor push it more into the realm of an u...