PC Magazine September 2010

I’ve been cheating on my Windows 7 PC. You see, when I need to edit and upload videos to YouTube, I use a Mac. My indiscretion began casually, but it’s evolved into a bit of an obsession: This is an affair that I do not intend to end. The simple, painful truth is that video editing and YouTube uploading is much smoother when I use iMovie on a MacBook Pro. I’ve been shooting a lot of video lately and, if you’ve seen any of my YouTube uploads, you know I’ve met with varying degrees of success. I’ve posted pixelated videos, videos that look a tad blurry, and even videos that are too small for the now-standard 16:9 YouTube playback window. Each and every one of these clips was edited and uploaded…

In the physical world, most Americans are used to increased security in a post–9-11 world. But there may be a new law that could affect the security of the online world. Senate bill 3480, also known as the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010, is being debated on the Senate floor. The bill is an over-arching cyber-security initiative, which would, among other things, create an office of cyberspace policy within the White House, which would be led by a Senate-appointed director. It would also create a new center within the Homeland Security Department, which would implement cyber-security policies. A provision that is getting the most attention, however, is one that gives the president the power to “authorize emergency measures to protect the nation’s most critical infrastructure if a cyber…

Thanks to the success of the Apple iPad, tablets are, for the first time in their long history, well on the way to becoming mainstream. With prices starting at $499, however, Apple’s device is still too expensive for many. A new prototype from the Indian government, however, may slice the price of tablets down to a fraction of that. The government has announced plans to create an educational tablet priced at $35. The device, which will offer a number of basic computing features, such as a Web browser and video conferencing, is set to roll out to Indian students in 2011. The device was first demoed on an Indian TV show called “Gadget Guru” by India’s Human Resource Development Minister, Kapil Sibal. According to Sibal, the device has a virtual keyboard, Wi-Fi…

KAPITALL Kapitall is a free service that educates consumers in investing in an interactive, graphically pleasing way, including companies color-coded by sector and comprehensive watch lists. GPANION Gpanion syncs with your Google account and allows you to launch any of your Google apps right from the page into fresh tabs. Default apps on the dashboard include Gmail, Calendar, and Docs. ANIMATED EXPLANATIONS This video site is full of professionally animated videos that answer commonly asked questions in diverse subject areas, such as health, technology, and the workplace.…

GEARLOG NetDock Has What Your Netbook Lacks Wooden iPhone Skins Denver-based Karvt announced that its wooden skins for the iPhone 3G and 4 are now available for pre-order. The skins are made of sustainable material and come in bamboo (two finishes), cherry (two finishes), maple (one finish), pine (two finishes), and walnut (two finishes). iPhone 3 skins go for only $15 each, while iPhone 4 skins are $25. The only downside is that the skins come with front and rear pieces, so they don’t cover the sides and won’t prevent the iPhone 4’s antenna problem.—Troy Dreier SECURITY WATCH Unpatched Vulnerability in Windows Several sites, including VUPEN Security, are reporting a vulnerability in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 that could lead to full kernel-level access to the system. The bug is a…

Times are still tough out there, but our needs and desires don’t always flag just because the economy does. If an accident or an equipment failure has punched an unexpected hole in your computing life, you may be in need of a system—any system—to fill it. You may be tempted to drop $500 or more on a budget desktop at Costco or Wal-Mart. But even if you need a computer right away, there are plenty of good reasons to build one rather than buy one. But what can you build quickly and cheaply? To answer this question, we spent hours researching possibilities, making swaps, compromises, and last-minute changes until we had all the parts for our system that, amazingly, came in under our drastically low $200 budget. With our budget and ground…