The Tetrad brings something different to the PC experience.

The Cyro Tetrad is a member of the High Performance Designs family where it is simply the best when discussing value for money. The high performance power PC is aimed at power users and game addicts.

When unboxing the Tetrad monster, it is all so boring since you have to unravel your way through huge levels of packaging and then coming to a huge dull, black Lian-Li case. However, from then on it all becomes exciting because when you have finished attaching all the wires and press the power button, its quite invigorating.

If you look inside the computer, you will envisage that all the wires are elegantly put together, perhaps to help have clean airflows. The dominant computer lights up, the Cryo logo turns neon blue and the mesh underneath does so also, what a sight!

In addition to the lighting effect, when connected all it up, there is a small LCD screen standing on top of the PC which shows the systems information i.e. the date and time of start up.

Booting Vista up is really quite rapid for this leading gaming PC unit, but you must customize your package from the website before purchasing because you could be let down by the less developed graphics card, which could ruin your pricy experience.

Product Features

• Revolutionary Intel Core i7 920
  with Cryo Boost @ 3.8GHz
  (4 cores + Hyperthreading)

• Intel X58 chipset
  QPI 4.8GT/s (Boost 6.4GT/s)

• Fast and powerful graphics with Cryo NVidia GTX 260+ Core216 – Cryo Boost OC

• High Memory Performance  with 3GB 1600MHz DDR3 and latency Cryo Boost overclocked.

• Flexible 1TB (1000GB) SATA-II RAID0

• Enhanced Performance Air Cooled added efficiency.

• Lian-Li P60 case in Black

• Realistic HD Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer sound

• 650W Power Supply Unit

Get the full specifications here.

For more of Cryo products visit here.

Our Opinion

Pros

• Unique small gadgets such as fan speed controller.
• Huge processing speed with 8 cores each 2.67GHz.
• New Core i7 processor technology.
• Built-in SAS RAID for high speeds.

Cons

• Less RAM than other cheaper models.
• GeForce GTX260 Graphics card could be much higher since it is the ultimate gaming pc
• £1595 bit too much for something a normal consumer will use for perhaps less than 4 hours daily.

Verdict

Overall, I feel this is a great gaming PC but it does have a large price tag which, during these difficult economic times, will put off consumers. Nevertheless, other consumers such as gamers will most probably be enticed into this deal since the specs are mouthwatering. However, Cryo could have included further components for example a Blu-ray drive would have gone nicely, since we are paying a huge sum. Thus, the Cryo Tetrad is definitely aimed at the top end of the market and to those who don’t fear spending £1000′s on one single PC.

Though very few new features have been added, those that have been integrated make all the difference!

As you all know, Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google with extremely fast loading time. Google have now unveiled a much more improved edition of their highly thought of web browser. The issue many of us had with Version 1 was that it seemed to lack some vital tools, such as a “full screen mode” in order to make the internet surfing  experience as best it can possibly be. However, with the introduction of Chrome 2.0, Google have integrated a few more features into the otherwise minimalistic browser.

New Features

Well, here are a handful of new features introduced:

• From the “new tabs” start page you are now able to delete individual thumbnails to your liking, by deciding on the thumbnails to have, and then clicking “done.” Previously you were not given a choice in removing thumbnails, as Chrome automatically chose the “most visited” sites as your thumbnail. Below, is an example of a customized thumbnail page displaying the “thumbnail page” format.

The disadvantage of this feature is that you are unable to arrange the thumbnails in your preferred order and if you delete one thumbnail, when only having four open, this will be deleted by default.

• Full-screen mode via F11 shortcut- Your screen turns completely into one window excluding all the tabs and bookmarks. Perfect for when watching or streaming videos off somewhere like BBC iplayer or Hulu. Then again, you hardly ever used to notice that Chrome was there anyway, because of the fact that vast majority of the screen space was devoted to the site you were visiting, Chrome has such a simple and streamlined design.

• Last but not least, Google have used their initiative and finally integrated an auto-fill feature requiring you not to remember passwords, for those who are forgetful among us! Thank god! Chrome needed this attribute, especially to get back in the hunt for #1 browser!

• In addition to the fresh features, Chrome has got even faster! Which definitely makes the web browser more useful and likeable. Google says that Chrome 2.0 loads JavaScript-heavy web pages 30% faster than older versions of the browser. This improvement is speed, makes it miles ahead of its competetitors, like Safari.

Our Opinion

Pros

• Many bugs have been fixed as well as the whole perfomance of Chrome.
• Super fast and stable, because of the multiprocess foundation- one slow site won’t drag down the rest of your browsing.
• Easy to use interface.

Cons

• No ad-blocking program making you unprotected straight away.
• Lack of add-ons and extentions, which Firefox seem to have every one.
• Potential for high memory usage given that each tab is its own process

Conclusion

If you are looking to simply surf the internet, then Chrome might be for you. It has a simple, minimilastic interface and very fast loading times. However, if you use your internet for alternate purposes such as gaming, you will quickly spot the problems with Chrome, most notably the lack of extensions and add-ons. If Google were to make a few distinct changes to some of the current features, the browser would attract a more sophisticated audience, and so will be widely used as the No.1 Browser which Firefox currently holds the title for.

Please feel free to comment on the Chrome 2.0 below.

Wolfram's "answer-engine" still has much to do to outdo giants Google!

Wolfram Alpha- student’s antidote for homework!

The newly-launched “knowledge engine” was created and developed by Wolfram Research. The service is named after Stephen Wolfram, a British physicist who played a major part in the building of the engine and in announcing it publically.

The service itself is a student’s dream. Unlike Google, which lists web pages that could provide an answer, Wolfram Alpha users insert their question, for example if a GCSE student has forgotten how to work out momentum for his Physics homework, Wolfram Alpha will give these solutions:

As you can see, the "knowledge engine" gives accurate data including the general equation and the ability to change around the input values to their satisfaction

In addition to helping students complete difficult questions, Wolfram also targets online business personnel as, with the help of Alexa statistics, has the ability to distribute accurate data concerning a website suppling users with info like the number of daily page views . Taking TechCombo as an example, the “answer-engine” develops data including domain information and site rank, as you can see below.

What else can you search successfully on Wolfram|Alpha?

Well, apart from answering the hardest Maths/Science questions and site info, you are able to see other structured data including:

- Interesting points in time like birth dates.

- Up-to-date stats and figures considering famous countries and landmarks.

- Stock comparison of companies such as IBM and Dell.

- Appealing little statistics that may make you giggle.

- Intriguing scientific data such as, how many calories you can burn whilst mowing the lawn.

There are a number of other features concerning the hyped up answer-engine. So, please feel free to add to the list by commenting below.

You can use the Wolfram|Alpha service here.

Our Opinion

Pros

• Huge database displaying a wide range of information in a sophisticated and easy-to-use way.
• Trustworthy professionals adding to the large database daily. Taking into account the queries that had been rejected for you and others.
• Beneficial tool for scientists, students, teachers, researchers and the general public.
• Mathematical calculations are by far Wolfram’s most advanced tool giving just about the correct method and answer to every question.

Cons

• Very slow when processing data that you have processed.
• Many of your initial searches will give you this irritating message saying, “WolframAlpha isn’t sure what to do with your input” showing the database may be accurate but other questions are not accounted for. Thus, showing up with nothing.
• In Firefox especially, the engine regularly crashes your browser.

Conclusion

We all know this will never live up to the high expectations of Google but I anticipate this will take many of Wikipedia’s visitors as it is effectively a more accurate and detailed edition of the online encyclopedia.

I feel that this shall be a huge success as the service is such a great idea, giving the public a reliable yet sophisticated engine. Though, the fact that the servers are frequently slow, and taking masses of time to respond will drive users away. However, this could be solved by bringing in more servers allowing for more bandwidth usage.

In time we will see how the service will develop, especially as it has been so hyped up over the last couple of months. I anticipate that Wolfram Research will perhaps release an “iPhone app” as they have an app for just about anything! But, overall I see Wolfram|Alpha becoming a great achievement, a site which will attract much traffic and will commercially gain lots of wealth.

Thank you for reading. Do you have any advantages or disadvantages to add? Or perhaps a query? Feel free to comment below.

Ubuntu 9.04 includes the latest 2.6.28.8 kernel as well as many other features

Ubuntu sponsors, Canonical , announced the release of Ubuntu 9.04 destop version that can be downloaded for free now!

Ubuntu is an open source operating system with the intention of supplying an up-to-date, stable operating system for the normal computer user. In addition to stablility Ubuntu try to target ease of use and installation. Ubuntu can be used on almost anything including Desktops, Business PC’s, Notebooks and many others that are able to support x86 CPU or ARM CPUs, this has only been adapted in the 9.04 version.

One standard, but remarkable (because it outdoes Vista) feature of Ubuntu is the Compiz Fusion 3D desktop, which has enables some really cool effects. Of course, for this feature to function you need a 3D accelerated graphics card.

In terms of ease of use, Ubuntu outshines Vista without a doubt. But it is arguably limited when it comes to software. Most applications written for Windows have not been ported with Linux, and therefore you may not be able to get your favourite programs running on Ubuntu. However, I don’t think this is much of a problem, as there is a whole world of open source out there, which sometimes provide even better functionality.

An ideal alternative is VMware. They have created a server version of their software which is free. It essentially allows you to run multiple operating systems at the same time, by creating a virtual machine. So, you could have Vista and Ubuntu running at the same time, which can improve efficiency greatly, if you have to use both OS’.

Canonical Jane Silber who is chief operating officer quoted,

“With every release, we see Ubuntu Desktop Edition make significant steps forward in appealing to mainstream computer users. With access to the latest office productivity suite, support for Skype and Adobe Flash, and faster boot times, we’re confident that Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition will see more people join millions of others and make the switch to an open platform.”

Product Features- Ubuntu 9.04 includes the latest 2.6.28.8 kernel, and a multitude of features. Here is a taste:

• OpenOffice 3.0
• Latest Skype
• Latest Adobe Flash
• Faster boot times
• Gnome 2.26
• Brasero 2.26 (all-in-one CD burning application)
• More intuitive multi-monitor support
• X.Org server 1.6
• More uniform notifications and system messages
• Ext4 file system support
• A Netbook Remix version, which offers:
  • Even faster boot speeds
  • Enhanced power management
  • Easier network switching
• A Server Edition

Get the full technical overview here

Read Canonical’s press release on Ubuntu 9.04 here

You can download Ubuntu here.

Our Opinion

Pros

- Includes OpenOffice 3.0, which has been vastly improved

 - Can read/write to all Windows hard drive formats

- Easy to use and install

- Vastly improved boot times

- Evolution PIM and mail client now features even better Microsoft compatibility

- Variety of Versions

- Trouble free operations

- Ubuntu’s notorious ‘wiry fonts’ have been changed- now the font makes for more solid glyphs

- Significant server platform developments

Cons

- Not enough new features

- Lack of Game support

- Program on the System –> Preferences menu which was supposed to allow control over the notifications is not included in the final release for unknown reasons

Conclusion

To be honest, this is probably the least ground-breaking release of Ubuntu so far. There just aren’t enough new features. The netbook remix of Ubuntu 9.04, however, offers significant improvements over previous releases, and is worth a try if you use a netbook. Having said all this, Ubuntu is still miles ahead of any other desktop version of Linux, and this release does have some significant server platform developments. Personally, I think Ubuntu is on the same level as Windows and OS X. We’ll just have to wait and see where Ubuntu goes from now on.

Ubuntu 9.04 Screenshots

Better colour scheme, font and overall interface for the desktop

So much cleaner and more efficient than Vista...

Installation page finally allowed to go full screen!

Actinic Express is an extremely useful tool for young entrepreneurs who have passed the first stage in planning out what is going to be sold on the site and have a domain name already set up, all paid for in advance. Now, all online entrepreneurs want to have a solid, well designed site in their hands. However, I personally think that as much as the design matters, the payment refinement system so that the customer can feel safe when ordering the specified product, which is just one of the features that the Actinic Express package contains.

Surprisingly enough,  Actinic Express authorizes you to use the package through a normal web browser, via the online portal that is provided meaning  you can manage all the product payments and be in contact with clients from anywhere in the world.

Easy to use start up menu with many useful features to be found.

Actinic Express supplies a website address but the down side is that it includes “actinicexpress.com” so it would be a good idea to have a domain name set up already with another company such as Hostgator.

There are many options that you can customzide inside in the package, though Actinic Express have made them smaller. An example of some of the options included are the site design ( there are many themes available so it is just a matter of choosing the right one for your specified product) , product info and buisness details like terms and conditions, payment options.

One clear drawback is the stock/inventory control meaning you have to make each product on your own and so if you do not have one product in stock you will have to delete it manually.

Payments

Actinic Express costs £49.99 initially and then £19.99 per month from then. For the ease of use, it is not a bad price as you are receiving many new and improved features in comparison to other packages. However, the £19.99 subscription does not include the payment processing. Actinic Payments is usually is used to cover the £20 start fee and £100 yearly but this does cover 800 transactions which is worth it to be honest.

When customers come to pay for a product, Actinic Express allows a lot of widely known/used payment methods. Actinic can use Paypal, Google Checkout, Secpay, Protx as well as its own Actinic Payments.

Upgrades

If this makes your business a success almost straight away, there are two more packages that you can upgrade that will offer more advanced features. These are Actinic Catalogue (£399) and Actinic Business (£799.)

Advantages

-Lots of payment options i.e not just one payment method.

-Easy to use.

-Can manage in just a web browser.

-Flexible online Catalogue.

Disadvantages

-Expensive especially over long term payments.

-No free domain.

-HTML difficulties.

-Range of templates poor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think if you are willing to pay money up front and monthly, in order to make your online store a success, this is the product for you which contains many easy to use features which will contribute in making a brilliant site. However, if you are quite weary of the payments, there are other packages out there you can use but most of them do not offer as many features as this does. In addition, Actinic Express is a great piece of software which allows you to make an online shop successfully with minimal fuss.