Ring RAC600 Automatic Digital Air Compressor Review
Friday, May 30, 2008
From time to time we bring you alternative reviews, and whilst this one is far out wide to the left, it is worth covering. Over the next month, we will also bring you reviews of two other great products from the same company, that cross over nicely into the tech world, so stay tuned.The Ring Automotive RAC600 is a automatic digital air compressor. You can use it to pump up all your inflatable toys (footballs, swimming pools etc), guest beds and much more. Where it really excels is the units accuracy when used for car tyres. Plug it into a 12V accessory socket in your vehicle, predial the psi/bar setting, press the big yellow button and the RAC600 springs into action. Whilst it is doing its inflation the noise is a bit of an eye opener, but it it no noisier than other units on the market. Once inflated, the unit stops, and upon checking the results the RAC600 was spot on in ten out of the ten tests I performed. So top marks there.
The 12V (cigarette lighter) plug is fitted with a 3.3m cable, plus the air hose length is pretty good. This means that even on larger vehicles you should have no problem in reaching the four corners. There is also a white directional torch light and a red light that could be used if you find yourself stranded at the roadside. When your finished, the power cable and air house wind up and pack neatly inside the main unit. The whole thing then packs nicely into the supplied zip case.
For around £25 the RAC600 is very good value, and will certainly save you a lot of time and effort. Great for motorists and equally as useful for those holiday beach trips with the rubber dingy.
Product: Ring Automotive RAC600 Digital Air Compressor
Price: £25 average
Supplied by: Ring Automotive
Contact: +44 (0)113 213 7389
Labels: Reviews
Apple release Mac OS X 10.5.3 Update
Thursday, May 29, 2008
It seems like I have been been waiting ages for the 10.5.3 update. For a long time I have been having wifi problems on my MacBook Pro, along with a few smaller problems. Well, that day is finally here and I am hoping that it solves some, if not all of them.Apple today released the OS X 10.5.3 update, which is recommended for Mac OS X 10.5, 10.5.1, and 10.5.2 Leopard. It includes general operating system improvements that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac.
General improvements include the following;
- Fixes a font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica.
- Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices.
- Resolves stability issues with Word of the Day, iTunes Artwork, and Slideshow screen savers.
- Fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up in the Finder.
- Addresses an issue with .Mac syncing of Dashboard widgets over multiple Macs that use different screen resolutions.
- Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
- Improves the accuracy of the Software Update progress bar indicator.
- Addresses an issue in which Finder may not be available if the computer name is blank in Sharing preferences.
- Improves Active Directory binding and login.
- Eliminates a delay when logging in as an Active Directory user in a .local domain.
- Improves Spotlight searches on a AFP file server volumes.
- Clients can now change their password at the login window when bound to a Mac OS X 10.4 Open Directory server.
- Improves Safari reliability when connecting to the Internet through a Microsoft ISA proxy.
Labels: Apple News, Mac Software
Quark announce QuarkXpress 8
DUSSELDORF, Germany - May 29, 2008 - Today Quark announced QuarkXPress® 8, the next major release of the industry standard page-layout and design software that revolutionised publishing more than 20 years ago. QuarkXPress 8 delivers superior design power through a new, intuitive interface developed purposefully for the creation of high-end page layout; print, Web and Flash® authoring tools; design-driven typography; and global publishing capabilities - all of which enable designers to push creativity to its limits with confidence and control.Enhanced Design Experience
QuarkXPress 8 offers users an enhanced design experience so they can work faster and smarter by quickly and easily accessing the tools they need. The new, intuitive interface delivers updates that allow for more design with fewer clicks. For example:
- Picture Content Tool: Allows users to grab, rotate, and scale images in real-time without typing in numbers or switching from tool to tool.
- Item Tool and Text Content Tool: Smart behaviour within these tools allows for less switching between tools, even for rotation and managing multiple items.
- New Bézier Pen Tools: Draw illustrations directly in QuarkXPress 8 with the redefined Bézier Pen tool.
- Workspace Enhancements: Include new buttons for instant access to master pages and exporting to PDF, EPS, SWF, and HTML - plus new split-view buttons, enhanced contextual menus, and customisable active pasteboards.
- Measurements Palette: Further enhanced to make even more functions easily accessible, including with new clickable controls for on-the-fly drop-shadow modification.
- Drag-and-Drop: Drag text and pictures from the desktop, Adobe® Bridge, iPhoto®, or any other application that supports drag and drop. Alternatively, drag content from QuarkXPress to Photoshop®, Illustrator®, Microsoft® Word, and other applications for direct editing.
The new interface and design experience QuarkXPress 8 brings is already receiving positive reviews from industry experts. Analyst and consultant Andreas Pfeiffer is the authour of many productivity reports for the design and publishing industry and specialises in benchmarking creative software. He notes, "QuarkXPress 8 manages one of the most difficult tasks in software development: to rethink the user interface to make it more efficient, more productive, and more enjoyable, without alienating the experienced user. The potential productivity gains of the new release should be considerable."
David Carson, world-renowned designer who's first book, The End of Print, is the top-selling graphic design book of all time, said, "In QuarkXPress 8 you can see Quark has really paid attention to how designers work. The new user interface is fluid and uncluttered, which is exactly the environment I like to design in. I love the new picture box features that enable mouse-driven manipulation of the images to scale, rotate and especially the live cropping previews. It means I no longer have to spend time switching tools or typing in numbers and the new drag and drop capabilities should make working between applications and my desktop even easier."
Designer-driven Typography
QuarkXPress has always had a reputation for precise typographic control, and QuarkXPress 8 delivers powerful and advanced text features in a way that puts even more control in the hands of the designer. It is the first page-layout application to offer hanging characters with paragraph-by-paragraph control, multiple and easy-to-use presets, and the freedom for users to create and share their own hanging character settings. QuarkXPress 8 also offers unprecedented control over baseline grid settings, the ability to apply unique grid settings to individual boxes, and a Grid Styles feature that can keep even complex documents consistent.
Design Across Media
QuarkXPress 8 allows for synchronised and simultaneous design across print, Web, and Flash. Users can incorporate sound, video, animation, and interactivity into their layouts through a built-in, designer-friendly interactive layout tool that was previously available as Quark Interactive Designer. Without any programming skills, designers and creative professionals can share print content on the Web and in Flash format without purchasing multiple applications or learning code. This functionality enables QuarkXPress users to create fully integrated print, Web, and Flash campaigns with shared images, text, styles, and more.
Global Publishing
With QuarkXPress 8, one global file format supports advanced eastern and western typography for more than 30 languages. All editions of QuarkXPress 8 share the same dictionaries, include hyphenation functionality, and support the import, formatting, and output of East Asian text. American and European users can switch the language of their user interface to fit their needs and all users can open and print a file created in any edition of QuarkXPress 8 without experiencing reflow.
The QuarkXPress 8 Plus Edition is built for users who require in-depth features for the formatting of East Asian text. The Plus Edition includes access to dozens of enhanced East Asian features, such as more than 20 additional OpenType® font features, a user-friendly character spacing feature, a true ideographic grid with character count, and the ability to apply grid styles that can be applied at the page and box level.
Work Faster and Smarter
QuarkXPress 8 users will work faster and smarter with a range of updates to commonly-used features. This includes native Illustrator file import to complement the existing native Photoshop® support, WYSIWYG font rendering, advanced guide management with Guide Manager Pro, Item Styles to enable simultaneous control of formatting for multiple items, support for importing PDF version 1.7 and earlier, and Ghent PDF Workgroup (GWG) based Output Styles and GWG-based Job Jackets® support.
"QuarkXPress 8 demonstrates our understanding of the way designers work today, and underscores Quark's commitment to continually providing innovative software that pushes the design experience forward," said Tim Banister, General Manager of Desktop Technology for Quark. "We have combined highly intuitive software with the design control elements that are critical in the creative process, and as a result believe QuarkXPress 8 will not only be a seamless upgrade for existing QuarkXPress users, but the most accessible professional page-layout software for new users to learn as well."
Availability and Further Information
QuarkXPress 8 will be available to purchase directly from Quark and through Quark resellers worldwide within the next 60 days. For further information on QuarkXPress 8 and the latest information on availability, please visit 8.quark.com/en/promos.
Purchase QuarkXPress 7 and Get QuarkXPress 8 Free
Users who purchase or upgrade to QuarkXPress 7 at regular price between May 29, 2008, and August 1, 2008, are eligible to upgrade to QuarkXPress 8 for free.* Additionally, any users who purchased upgrades to or full products of QuarkXPress 7 between May 1, 2008, and May 29, 2008, are also be eligible for a free* upgrade to QuarkXPress 8.
* Terms and conditions apply. See 8.quark.com/en/promos for further information.
Labels: Mac Software
Proporta Alu-Leather Edge case Review
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A nice case for the iPod touch anyone? Well, yes says Proporta, why not give our Alu-Leather Edge case a try. Check out the review to see if your money will go this way.
Product: Alu-Leather Edge case (iPod touch)
Price: $60, £30 (approx.)
Supplied by: Proporta UK
Contact: +44 (0) 845 123 2848
Labels: iPod Touch, Reviews
UK businesses lose £4 billion a year due to office ‘e-break’ ban
Banning personal internet use in the workplace could actually cost British businesses up to £4 billion every year* due to a resulting decline in staff productivity. That’s according to a new report, published today by PopCap Games, that unveils all-new research that indicates taking a 10-minute online break during the course of the working day serves to reduce stress while sharpening and refocusing the mind.With seven out of ten companies - including Credit Suisse and British Gas - banning access to social networking sites** and many considering banning personal internet access altogether, The PopCap Break Report 2008 highlights the negative impact this could have on the UK economy. The research shows that far from distracting employees from their work, e-breaks actually serve to increase staff efficiency and morale, benefitting UK businesses.
The findings are based on psychometric trials carried out on a cross section of UK businesses under the supervision of Goldsmiths University psychologist, Dr Chamorro-Premuzic. The comparative effect of different types of online breaks on employees’ performances*** were tested and the results revealed that if bosses actively encouraged employees to take one ten minute e-break in the working day their overall productivity levels would increase.
The report looks at different types of office e-breaks and ranks them according to their positive impact on productivity levels. Dr Chamorro-Premuzic rated the top five types of e-breaks according to their benefits to staff productivity:
1. Puzzles and casual computer games
2. Social networking & personal emails
3. Online shopping
4. General browsing
5. Life admin
1) Puzzle and ‘casual’ computer games
The report reveals that ten minutes playing online games had the most positive benefits for employees (and therefore, employers!) They were particularly beneficial for stressed out, nervous and anxious workers. This finding supports recent research which shows that ‘casual’ videogames and online puzzles like the ones found on PopCap.com, can have calming effects on individuals. Following the ‘use it or lose it’ brain-training methodology, these type of games help to improve mental agility and boost confidence – creating a calmer, happier workforce.
2) Social Networking & personal emails
Research suggests that ‘interpersonal e-breaks’ have the most positive impact on workers who are self-assured and content in their role. Self-assured individuals tend to enjoy stronger interpersonal relationships and have “more to lose” if they are prevented from interacting with friends online. Consequently, permitting staff to communicate with friends during an allocated time slot helps to increase motivation and confidence levels in the office.
3) Online shopping
A slot of online retail therapy is an effective ‘quick fix’ strategy to boost happiness levels in the workplace.
4) General browsing
Although this form of relaxed internet surfing may appear to have no specific goals, the research shows that it fulfils individuals need for cognition, caters to their intellectual curiosity and stimulates their thirst for knowledge - ultimately bolstering general knowledge acquisition – of benefit to bosses. General browsing, such as visiting gossip blogs and news sites is a way of keeping in touch with the outside world, maintaining socially-adequate levels of current-affairs knowledge, and feeling present in the real world even while immersed in the daily routine of work.
5) Life Admin (e.g. online banking, booking doctor’s appointments etc)
This break is better suited to female employees, with the research tracking a greater improvement in their productivity levels than their male counterparts. Life admin is extrinsically linked to work performance in that it frees up the mind from administrative concerns as well as freeing up time after work.
Dr Chamorro-Premuzic commented “With work days becoming increasingly longer and workloads more demanding, UK bosses are introducing internet bans to help combat alleged productivity loss and inappropriate use of workplace resources. Yet bosses are missing a trick by introducing e-bans. The PopCap Break Report has revealed that allowing workers more freedom at the PC, can benefit the worker’s morale levels, effectively boosting companies’ profits. In addition to allowing their mind to switch off from their work worries, employers can foster a more trusting and enjoyable environment for workers.”
In light of these findings PopCap is campaigning employers to introduce a ten minute e-break into their employees’ working days. Employees who wish to anonymously lobby their bosses to instate an e-break into their office should visit www.popcapbreak.com
Labels: General News
Which hard drive is the best solution?
With so many different interface types on external hard drives it must be hard for the average consumer to decide which is best. Heck, for a techie like me I even find myself puzzled sometimes. There is USB 2, Firewire 400 and 800, eSATA and ethernet. I suppose the easy option is to get a drive with all the interfaces on one unit, but that often costs a price premium. For a long time now, I have owned a 10/100 ethernet hard drive, a separate USB 2 drive and a triple interface (Western Digital My Book Studio). Having a new iMac on the way, I needed yet another drive for the daily clone of the new computer, so what should I choose?To make things easier for everyone, here is a simple guide to what might be the best solution;
USB 2 - for simple file storage or a daily backup, where speed is not the highest priority.
Firewire 400/800 - if you are doing video work, or moving large amounts of data. If your end of day backup is very large, say 100GB+ this is also worth considering.
eSATA - in the Mac world this is only accessible if you have an adapter card in a PowerMac, Mac Pro, or perhaps a MacBook Pro. Useful again where speed is essential.
Ethernet - I would not recommend these for general backup use. However, if you own more than one Mac they are great for putting all your digital media (photos, movies, music) in one place.
I hope this helps... in case you are wondering, for my current needs I chose a triple interface MyBook again.
Labels: Opinion
Spam Sieve updates to 2.7
Thursday, May 22, 2008
If you are fed up of getting spam emails, then SpamSieve is a very good option. It has just been updated to version 2.7.
The new version includes the following changes;
* Now requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
* Made a variety of accuracy improvements, focused on dealing with obfuscations, image attachments, URLs, and HTML.
* Improved corpus speed and memory use.
* Made various improvements to the column widths and alignment in the rules and corpus windows, and added alternating row colors.
* Fixed a rare problem where Apple Mail on Mac OS X 10.5 might hang if you trained a message as spam while Mail was downloading messages.
* Improved sorting of sound names in the pop-up menu.
* Updated the Dutch localization.
All this plus much more.
Labels: Mac Software
U-Charge - charge your battery directly - no Magsafe
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Ever since Apple introduced the new Magsafe connector to their portable line-up, there has been a big lack of accessories. This is because they will not license the Magsafe technology to third parties. This is a shame, because I think it is a fantastic feature.FastMac have just introduced a new charger called U-Charge that does away with the problem. Instead of plugging directly into the laptop, you plug straight into the battery. It is very portable, and available for the PowerBook G3 Pismo, 12-inch iBook G3/G4, PowerBook G4 Alu, and the latest MacBook and MacBook Pro. Costing $69.95 it is well worth checking out.
Labels: Mac Accessories
PhoneView for iPhone and iPod touch
Ecamm have gone through many naming conventions for this neat little application. Previously MegaPhone, the newly named PhoneView adds some great functionality to your iPhone or iPod touch. You can finally access disk mode, so no need to carry around a separate USB stick anymore. Adding, editing and creating notes is also a real boon, and accessing your music, movies and synced photos. All this plus so much more, with a demo available and the full app costing just under $20. Head on over and check it out.Labels: Apple iPhone, iPod Touch
alertme - Wireless Intelligent Intruder Alarm
Thursday, May 15, 2008
I had my first experience of the 'alertme' intruder alarm today, when my review unit landed on my desk. The unpacking is very 'Mac-like' with neat little packages, all numbered and packed into a larger box. Set-up was also very easy and you are walked through the process step-by-step. I just wanted to share with you how easy this system was to get up and running. Now the fun starts in testing how flexible it is, and whether or not it will offer the amount of protection a householder requires for that all important peace of mind. The full review of the 'alertme' system will appear on Geekanoids in about two weeks time.
Labels: General News
Roxio Toast 9 Titanium Review
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The DADDY of CD & DVD writing software has released version 9 of their Toast Titanium. I have used Toast for as long as I can remember, so it brings me great pleasure to bring you an overview of this latest release in the video review below.
Product: Roxio Toast 9 Titanium
Price: £69.99
Supplied by: Roxio UK
Contact: click here
Labels: Mac Software, Reviews
The Authors
Dave
Dave has been in the graphic design industry for 14 years. Long time reviewer of technology related products, he is Owner/Editor of Geekanoids.
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