Bring the 3D Content into the Comfort of Your TV Room

In the cold January weather every year, more than a hundred thousand people flock to Las Vegas for a colossal event called Consumer Electronic Show, or CES. What was one of the loudest buzzes during this year's CES? Yes, it was 3D TV! It is the capability to display video and television content in three dimensions.

In the past, no matter how sophisticated your TV display was, it could only show programs in two dimensions. In the meantime, home entertainment buffs have been demanding three-dimension experience since the 1990s. Only today has the 3D TV finally arrived, making movies and television images appear in real instead of simulated 3D. You will have visual depth like what you get in the 3D movie theater. It will make you feel as if you are participating  in  the  actions  instead of just a bystander. Now, imagine a reawakened giant reptile from an ancient time leaps at you. In 3D, you may instinctively duck to avoid being snapped by its sharp teeth.

Today, while most major electronics makers are still talking about their upcoming products, Samsung, the world's leader in High Definition, super-jumbo and super-thin LED, LCD and Plasma TVs, have already launched their stereoscopic 3D TVs in Indonesia. Depending on how much you want to invest, you can opt for a High Definition 7000, 8000 or 9000 Series 3D LED TV, 750 Series 3D LCD TV or 8000 Series 3D Plasma TV.

All of these 3D TVs come with a slew of exclusive technologies, picture enhancing HyperReal Engine for a true-to-life range of color and contrast and filters to create true black regardless of the ambient light. All have Ethernet, DLNA wireless connection and Samsung Apps in addition to Samsung's Internet@TV that allows you to download content. The premium 3D LED TVs also come with Clear Motion Rate to ensure that movements will remain clear and smooth no matter how fast the actions are. All of them also exceed current eco-friendly requirements of EnergyStar 4.0. On top of these all, the 3D TVs share the attractive design for which Samsung is renowned for.

Samsung has also forged a strategic alliance with DreamWorks Animation. One of the products of the alliance is DreamWorks Animation's Shrek film series, which will be released in Blu-ray for the buyers of Samsung's 3D home entertainment solution.

At any rate, now you can emulate the 3D, immersive experience from the 3D movie theater in the comfort of your home. Or you can watch soccer matches in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in 3D, to be broadcast by ESPN. Or you can join those who have seen James Cameron's science fiction Avatar at its best.  

To complement the wide range of its 3D TVs, Samsung also offers their BD-C69003D Blu-Ray player. You can also have Samsung's Home Theater System that will make you shiver as the bullet train thunderously rushes toward you.

You do not have a collection of 3D movies yet? No problem. The 3D TVs are all powered by a built-in processor that will automatically convert 2D to 3D. It is also compatible with main 3D format standards, including the half and full HD resolution format and the Blu-ray 3D that has been approved by the Blu-ray Disc Association. And, to round off their offerings, Samsung provides the emitter and lightweight active shutter glasses that will give you the ultimate experience when watching the latest Hollywood 3D movies.

So, what are you still waiting for? 

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A clever concept for Wi-Fi hot spots

There are dozens of Wi-Fi routers out there. I have a couple of different models like the LinkSys and a 3Com on my shelves. Recently, a friend lent me another wireless router called Fonera 2.0n.
At first glance, it seems like any old-fashion router — a box with four RJ-45 ports for wired connection, with one RJ-45 for a broadband connection at the back and aerials.
The only thing that sets the Fonera apart is the USB port on the front panel.
It turns out this product features many technological advances. We need to spend a bit of time flicking through the manual before understanding how this technology works.
Before we continue, let me backtrack a bit and describe how companies like AT&T now serve their mobile customers worldwide.
If you are a globe-trotting professional and you need an Internet connection in your hotel room, you need to first access the hotel’s welcome page, find the Wi-Fi service page, specify the length of Internet connection and then enter your credit card number. If you stay in a budget hotel, you may even have to go to the front desk and buy a voucher.
Service providers are clever. They have created a pricing scheme that almost always tries to lead us to buy a voucher for 24 hours when in reality we will only use the internet a couple of hours each night. To help traveling employees stay connected without the hassle of having to look for a hot spot and pull out their credit card, AT&T has built 25,000 hot spots in countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, UK, China and more, available in coffee shops, bookstores, hotels, airports, restaurants and convention centers — all paid for by their headquarters.
Enter a company from Spain called Fon (www.fon.com). Fon also wants to make available a network of hots pots around the world. The main difference is that Fon does not need to build and maintain Wi-Fi networks.
It works like this. If you are an owner of a Fonera router, you are a member of the Fon Community and can access the Internet through a growing number of Fon hot spots, around the world.
The community reportedly has two million members and one-and-a-half million live hots pots globally. Fon community members can share their hot spots. They can even sell the service to non-members and earn some money — provided their ISP permits it.
A Fonero — a Fon user — can use the Fon Spot service for free to browse the Internet, make calls using Skype, send and receive emails or communicate with instant messaging.
So, the basic principle is “I let you use my Fon Spot, in return I can also use your or someone else’s hot spot.”
How does Fon generate additional revenue besides the sale of routers? Here is the scheme: A Fonero can register as a Linus (the pioneer of the Open Source movement) or a Bill (the founder of Microsoft). All Linuses can use Fon Spots for free, as described above. All Bills, on the other hand, will be charged a small amount that will be split 50-50 between the owner of the hot spot and Fon. Does it sound complicated? It’s not.
Even if you do not want to share your Fon Spot with Linuses or Bills — they are password secured — you still can enjoy several powerful features of the Fonera 2.0n router.
First, the router allows owners to up or download torrents and files from the Internet without having to turn on your PC or notebook. The data can be stored in any USB 2.0 storage device such as an external hard disk or a thumb drive.
You can also directly upload photos, videos and other materials directly to web 2.0 services such as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, bypassing the computer. If you need to download a large file from RapidShare, all you have to do is create a RapidShare account.
You can also connect a USB webcam and a printer to the Fonera 2.0n using the USB hub, and it will host them all. What is also amazing is that, if you do not have fixed broadband in your home, you can use your 3G connection and convert it into Wi-Fi. Just plug your 3G modem dongle into the router’s USB port.
How do we know if someone is using our Fon Spot or that our file download is complete without turning on the computer? Owners can set up their account to receive updates over Twitter.
Fonera 2.0n costs Rp 899,000 (US$100), which quite reasonable given the benefits of being a Fonero. In comparison, LinkSys WRT120N-SG costs $55, but does not come with the functionality of the Fonera 2.0n.
If you frequently travel abroad, I would highly recommend this product so you can make the most of other Fonera’s Fon Spots in the global Fon Community.

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GPNC Korea announces the first me-too Android HDTV

Anyone opposed to another Android packing TV announced by a foreign manufacturer of questionable validity? We figured you weren't, so say hello to GPNC Korea's television running Android 1.5 on a 833 Mhz ARM Cortex A8 chip. While it's claiming NTSC and ATSC support among other broadcast standards, the USA doesn't appear to have made the cut for availability, with 10 different countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Poland, Australia and Dubai. Practically identical to People of Lava's effort, it is slated for 42-, 47- and 55-inch LED-backlit versions with on real price or date, and even this promo pic looks very familiar. GPNC managed to keep the screen clear of error messages this time, but its website is flagged by Google as "dangerous" so we'd probably wait for something more official before making any attempts to preorder. At this rate, these TVs will be as ubiquitous as Android/ARM tablets before long -- let's hope Sony and Intel spill the details on those Google TV plans sooner rather than later.

[Via Android Community]

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MacBook Pro Core i7 review

While the MacBook Pro is just another Intel-based computer with standard internals, slightly inflated price tags, and a familiar (if legendary) design sense, Apple having the absolute corner on the market for building machines that legitimately run OS X can be a little rough on the upgrade obsessed. Waiting 10 months for a new computer, without an industry full of hungry competitors with wild alternatives to quench your thirst, can be difficult, and the January launch of Intel's new Core i5 and Core i7 chips for laptops further fueled the saliva. Still, Apple would like you to believe these new MacBook Pros with their 2010-ready internals and same-as-last-year good looks have been worth the wait. Find out for yourself in our full review after the break.

MacBook Pro Core i7 unboxing

Look and feel

It's almost silly to talk about the look and feel of the MacBook Pro, because outside of the ExpressCard for SD card swap (grrr) and the sealed in battery (conflicted grrr), both of which happened in last year's refresh, the laptop has remained virtually unchanged externally for almost two years. Of course, that's not at all a bad thing. Despite many pretenders to the throne, Apple is still the class leader in looks, with an understated aluminum and glass design that isn't close to going out of style.

Still, we have a few gripes about the design in actual use that we wouldn't have minded Apple addressing in this round. First off, the sharp aluminum edges scream classy, but they also cut into the wrist when we're at an ergonomic disadvantage. We don't need pillows, but some mild concession to our human flesh would be nice. There's also the frustration of the too-close-together and too-few-in-number USB ports of the left side. It's one thing to have only two USB plugs, but when putting a thumb drive in one obscures the other you have a real problem. A standard HDMI port would also be nice, but we know Apple has its principles.

The other major problem we've had with previous generations of the unibody MacBook Pros is the use of the bottom plate as a secondary heat sink of sorts -- which turns our lap into a tertiary heat sink in the process. Happily we can say the situation has been much improved in the new version, at least in average use, though it's still possible to get the machine to uncomfortable temperatures with a little bit of effort. Sure, it's nice that there's hardly any fan noise ever, but at some point the laptop becomes hot on top as well, causing our left palm and wrist to sweat -- we'd say that's as good a time as any for the fan to kick into gear.

Keyboard, touchpad and screen

No big surprise, but we couldn't feel a single difference between the new keyboard and the last generation. We love the island keyboard aesthetically, but part of us still pines for those old, indented Apple laptop keys.

One of the biggest changes to the new models, as silly as it sounds, is the "inertial scrolling" Apple has added to the touchpad. This is very much like the motion on the iPhone (though of course you still use two fingers to scroll), or the motion available with some free-spinning scroll wheel mice, allowing the page to coast a little before slowing to a stop. It's completely intuitive, comfortable, and helpful, but if you loathe it for some reason you can turn it off in system preferences. According to Apple it's only a software change, but as far as this showing up on existing systems with glass trackpads, Apple's lips are sealed.

Sadly the review model we were provided doesn't have the new high resolution display option -- 1680 x 1050 instead of the standard 1440 x 900, which seems like a no brainer upgrade at $100 -- so we can't speak to that panel's quality. Still, our boring old pixel-poor display is still a pleasure, with 100 percent brightness often a bit much indoors, great color, and great viewing angle. Up next to our 6 month old previous-gen MacBook Pro, we'd say the colors are just a tad warmer and blacks just a tad deeper, but Apple claims the LCDs are at least specced exactly the same.

Performance, graphics and battery life

This is really where everything is at for these new machines. Apple's finally upgraded to the Core 2010 processors, which bring with them cores galore, along with Turbo Boost tech for automatic overclocking of the chip based on demand. Software utilization of multiple cores has come a long way, but it's still not perfect, so Turbo Boost switches off a couple of the extra cores when they're not needed to make room for overclocking of the remaining cores -- to pretty dramatic effect at times. We're testing out the top-of-the-line 2.66GHz Core i7 machine with NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512MB graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 500GB HDD, which retails for $2,199.

We aren't what you would call power users in a rendering-Pixar-movies sort of way, but we can still tax a machine just fine. We're usually running a couple browsers at once, frequently batch process piles of photos, edit videos the quick and dirty way in iMovie or QuickTime, and dabble with GarageBand from time to time. Slowdowns and hiccups are the norm on even the best machine with what we've got going on. Unsurprisingly, Core i7 hasn't made this all go away. Instead, it's just made it happen less. It's obvious that the machine can juggle just a bit more at once, launch apps a bit faster, pop open dialogues just a bit quicker, and so forth. Of course, this is all hard to quantify and is rather subjective, but we feel it.

To really bust on the processor more specifically we fired up some Flash video, pitting our new Core i7 Pro against an "old" MacBook Pro with a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 4GB of RAM. Both machines are actually pretty strong when running a single bit of Flash at a time, but it's when a couple dozen tabs are open all slamming the processor at once that things get difficult. We fired up Hulu in 480p (the new Glee episode) and a 1080p Avatar trailer on YouTube with both machines managing to keep both videos playing smoothly. Once we added a second 1080p YouTube trailer on each machine, however, the Core 2 Duo machine began to choke, while the Core i7 juggled all three videos successfully.

On a more empirical front we ran some HTML and Flash tests using GUIMark. With Firefox 3.6.3 and Flash 10.0.45.2, we managed 21.31 FPS on HTML and 21.04 FPS on Flash on the new machine, while the old MBP only managed 15.99 FPS and 16.1 FPS, respectively.

We also tried out a 720p video export in iMovie. Of course the GPU gets called in for previewing live effects and whatnot, and we found the entire UI very responsive, but video exports are still a CPU affair, and the new machine thrashed the old one with a 5 minute export vs. 9 minutes.

Here are some more standard benchmarks:

	GeekBench	XBench OpenGL	XBench CPU	XBench Thread
MacBook Pro 15 - 2010 (2.66GHz Core i7, NVIDIA GT 330M)	5395	228.22	218.96	486.60
MacBook Pro 15 - 2009 (2.66GHz Core 2 Duo, NVIDIA 9600M)	3700	163.44	188.62	319.58

Now to the issue of GPU switching. We had a long talk with Apple where they explained to us how this technology is different than Optimus (at least in the software implementation, it's obviously the same card underneath), and we're pretty impressed with what Apple has pulled off. Basically, Optimus turns on the GPU if its needed, and then runs both the Intel graphics and the discrete card simultaneously, pushing the GPU-produced imagery through the Intel chip before it hits your screen. Apple's solution actually switches fully between the cards seamlessly, with the Intel graphics on only in a power sipping mode but not in use at all for rendering when the NVIDIA GPU is in play. The other big difference is that Optimus detects its necessity based on a cloud-stored whitelist of apps that NVIDIA has, which could potentially become out of date or at least have difficulty in keeping up with app releases (though users get the flexibility of manually enabling apps). Meanwhile, Apple's solution is based on deeper OS-level stuff, with OS X figuring out what sort of technologies an app is going to call on (like OpenGL, for instance) and turning on the GPU accordingly.

Still, there are drawbacks to even Apple's approach. For instance, a heavy hitter like Photoshop will turn on the GPU, even if you just leave it on in the background while you're working with some text. If you really want to sip power you'll have to quit any applications that use the GPU when they're not needed. The problem with that is that Apple isn't providing any way for people to know if an application is activating the GPU or not. We're sure there will be a 3rd party utility soon enough (Apple even agreed with our assumption), and we even understand why Apple might want to hide this info from Joe User, but we know plenty of power users who wouldn't mind having this info surfaced.

On a similar front, Apple has really outdone itself in restricting your GPU flexibility. There are only two options for automatic graphics switching: on and off. If it's on, it'll act as we've described, if switching is off then the GPU will run at all times. Apple says this only knocks the battery life down from 9 hours to 8, but since in real life we're not getting anywhere close to 9 hours of use, we're pretty sure we'd rather hang on to that "bonus" hour of juice at times and run integrated only. Part of Apple's reasoning is the fact that Intel integrated graphics are no match for the GeForce 9400M chip of last generation, but when you need to squeeze every last minute out of your battery, flexibility is key.

Luckily, most regular computing operations like browsing, writing, playing video (iTunes works fine with Intel's integrated graphics), and just hanging out work fine without discrete. In fact, one of the biggest GPU utilizers hasn't even hit the market as of this writing: Adobe's CS5 will make great use of the GPU, as do Apple's Aperture and Final Cut Pro. Games of course are the most reliant on a GPU, but unfortunately the state of gaming on the Macintosh is pretty abysmal. Your best bet is Boot Camp, and we haven't had a chance to give it a shot on this machine. As GPGPU computing (like Apple's OpenCL) takes off, the GPU will be increasingly important to the average user, but for now automatic graphics switching is hardly an excuse for a regular Mac user to upgrade if they've already gone unibody.

So, how does all this added number crunching play out in battery life? Well, it's confusing, that's for sure. Since we don't have a reliable way yet of knowing when we're tapping into the GPU or not, it's hard to know exactly if what we're doing is helping or hindering battery life. Still, in regular use we're certainly not bumping past that magical 6 hour mark, and we'd have to really work for Apple's quoted 8-9 hours of battery. Through a day of "regular use," which involved some benchmarking and some iMovie, but mostly just web browsing and typing, with screen brightness hovering around 60-75 percent, WiFi on and an hour of Bluetooth we managed four hours and 34 minutes of juice. The video rundown test actually fared better, with five hours and 18 minutes of SD video with the screen at 65 percent brightness, WiFi and Bluetooth on. Obviously what we assumed was "casual" use isn't so casual, and we'll be tweaking our usage of the laptop accordingly to figure out how much juice we can get -- until someone comes up with a hack to switch to integrated only, of course.

	Battery Life*
MacBook Pro 15 - 2010 (2.66GHz Core i7, NVIDIA GT 330M)	5:18
Sony VAIO Z (2.53GHz Core i5, NVIDIA GT 330M)	4:25
HP Envy 15 (1.6GHz Core i7-720QM, ATI HD 4830)	2:00

* Standard definition video rundown test, brightness 65 percent

It must be said, Apple's battery life is really industry leading when it comes to a Core i5 or Core i7 machine with discrete graphics, but compared to their already high benchmark from last generation, it seems less impressive.

Wrap-up

Basically, it's exactly what it says on the tin: a faster MacBook Pro. In fact, the biggest news here might be how little Apple is changing, or maybe the fact that the base model 15-incher is now $1,799 (instead of $1,699) due to the loss of an integrated-only option. It seems as if the tweaks Apple has made to the battery are more or less a wash, and while the added CPU power is certainly felt, there just isn't the necessary gaming contingent on the Mac to make the new GPU useful to most folks -- though the pro users that've been eyeing those pro mobile graphics cards available to their PC counterparts will certainly feel otherwise. Apple has carved an amazingly large niche out for itself by building incredibly expensive laptops incredibly well, and this generation is no exception, but we're not convinced there's enough here to warrant an upgrade for people who bit last year.

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Apple Rolls Out the New MacBook Pro

Finally, an Apple story that is not about the iPad.
The popular computer company introduces its new line of MacBook Pro laptops, over 300 days after the previous line was introduced, featuring faster processors, the latest graphics chips, and longer battery life. The MacBook models consist of 13-inch, 15-inch, and 17-inch versions.
This comes after a long clamor for Apple to update its MacBook to include Intel’s Core i5 and i7 processors, a piece of hardware many contemporary laptops have. These processors give laptops up to 50 percent boost in performance and are now featured in the 15- and 17-inch models.
The new batch of MacBook Pros also include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 33M, along with a choice of graphics memory options. These laptops can now automatically switch between low power and high performance modes without having to reboot or log out.
The 15-inch MacBook also has the option of a higher resolution screen at 1680 x 1050 compared to the standard 1440 x 990. This model becomes an ideal tool with online gaming and watching HD-quality videos.
As with the battery life, all models can now operate for up to 10 hours, although expect these claims to be shorter in real life.
All three models are now available at the Apple Store and authorized resellers. Prices range from US$1,199 to $2,299. Built-to-order options are also available.
Source: Wired and CNN

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OtterBox Defender Series Case for Your iPhone 3G

If you value your iPhone 3G or 3GS more than your life, then protect your gadget by encasing it within this OtterBox Defender Series case. This is not just your ordinary phone pocket, as the OtterBox Defender is the toughest case available for your iPhone. Its three-layer design protect the device from bumps, drops, scratches, and dust, keeping the iPhone like brand new. However, it does not protect the phone against water.
The OtterBox Defender does not interfere with your usage of the iPhone as you have complete interaction of the device’s functions without having to take off the case. A ratcheting belt clip is also included in your purchase.
The OtterBox Defender Series case for iPhone 3G and 3GS is now available for only US$49.95. It comes in black, pink, and white.
Source: OtterBox

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Flip Slide HD Now Available

Cisco’s latest baby, the Flip Slide HD, now lands on retail shelves. A member of the popular Flip line of portable video cameras, this one features a pop-up three-inch screen. It folds down and the display becomes a resistive touchscreen, but you can pop it open when playing the video back for easy viewing. Opening the gadget also features a capacitive touch slider control below the screen.
The Flip Slide HD comes with stereo speakers, HDMI out, and a headphone jack for those who opt not to disturb the peace during playback. The camera is similar to the Flip Mino HD, a 720p video-capable camera with no image stabilization. The storage, however, is upped to 16GB for four hours of record time and 12 hours of compressed video storage.
It is now available in Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and on Flip’s online store, starting at US$279.99.

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HTC Incredible Specs Leaked

Although we only have to wait until April 29 before the formal launch of the HTC Incredible on Verizon Wireless, some people apparently do not have the patience as a full spec sheet was thrown out in the open fields of the Internet.
The incredible features include Android 2.1 with HTC Sense UI, a Snapdragon processor, 8-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash, 8GB internal storage, 802.11b/g/n compatible WiFi, and a 3.7-inch WVGA AMOLED screen with 800 x 480 resolution.
Users can also expect the best that Android can offer like support for Flash Lite 4.0, Google Maps with navigation, and other Google services like Voice Commands, YouTube, Gmail, and Calendar.
No final price reveal, though, but it’s only takes a few days of waiting to know about it.
Source: MobileCrunch

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Lenovo Skylight Delayed

DigiTimes claims that its sources say that the Lenovo would be delaying the release of its Linux-based Skylight smartbook from April to July, saying that “control is not able to act as smoothy as the iPad.” It comes to the heels of another similar delays made by HP on its Slate tablet as it adjusts features and pricing. We will see whether the delays would be worth the wait.
Source: DigiTimes, via Engadget

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Scandyna Megapod Speakers

Most speakers are made for their performance and not usually for how they look. This results in speakers not becoming known for how well they are designed. Most of them are better off being listened to and left somewhere out of sight most of the time.
One thing that the Scandyna Megapod Speaker truly doesn’t lack is in the looks department. Just one look and you will immediately know that it is a speaker of a different level. Its visual design takes a on higher level in terms of its appeal. It is something that owners would surely place somewhere visible in the home.
The Scandyna Megapod Speaker is far from ordinary and is available at Amazon for US$2149.

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Sony Walkman W250 Water Resistant MP3 Player

If you thought listening to your favorite tunes is better off while in dry land, then think again. You can now have the opportunity listening to your favorite mp3 tunes when you go to the beach or swimming pool while being in the water. It is all thanks to the new Sony Walkman W250 water resistant mp3 player.
Sony has just recently announced its new line of mp3 players. This time it is water resistant and is safe enough to use while in the water as long as it is not immersed.  There’s no mention yet on how much it would cost.

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Personal Technology: ‘Hotel Infections’

I am still amazed at how poor the service industry is concerning technology. Cavalier, even.

They may take care trying not to poison you, and put those annoying notes about helping the environment by not cleaning your towels unless you drop them on the floor (what kind of person doesn’t hang up their towels on the rail provided?) and those silly bits of paper across a toilet bowel designed to inform you that someone has a) cleaned the toilet, b) gone to the trouble of putting a piece of paper across your toilet bowl without necessarily having cleaned the toilet or c) declared the toilet bowel a crime scene.

But they do not care about infecting you with other kinds of virus.

Case in point. I was in the Philippines recently to look at preparations for an automated e-voting election in May.

My first interaction with technology was to visit the Manila Pavilion Hotel’s business center.
And it wasn’t a good omen: no antivirus software on their computers.

Windows is smart enough these days to tell you this, but it is just a little flashing icon along thousands of others, but I had little choice than to insert my USB drive into the available slot and hold my breath.

I tried not to read too much into the absence of protection for the hotel’s hardware and its guests’ data. It might not, I decided, tell us much about the potential for disaster in an election that is supposed to be largely electronic, but the staff’s attitude might.

When I told the only person on duty in the pokey little three-computer room that her PCs were not running antivirus, she nodded.

“Yes,” she said flatly, as if to say that was a luxury this US$120 a night hotel couldn’t afford.

I decided to at least try and be helpful by pointing out the obvious.

“It might be worth installing some, you know. Nowadays they’re free,” I said, adding, given that she showed no sign of having moved from her seat since the Marcos Administration:
“And they don’t take much maintenance.”

For my trouble she let fly, still seated, with one of those dismissive smiles that made it clear that wasn’t about to happen and, more importantly, my input wasn’t welcome.

I left and headed back to my room to see what damage had been wrought on my little thumb drive.

Unsurprisingly, it was infected with the Slogod.F worm that is described as “dangerous and self-propagates over a network connection”. A nasty little thing that is not exactly new: it’s been around since at least 2007. In other words, it doesn’t look like this particular computer had antivirus running on it for a while.

Not the end of the world for me: if you’ve got antivirus running on your computer you can easily check any external drive you plug in and run a scan on it before you let it do anything (this should be the first thing you do unless you know exactly where it’s been.)

But  a hotel should not allow this kind of thing. Or indeed, any self-respecting establishment that provides computers for customer use.

If you want me to get started, I find this kind of thing reflective of a deeper problem with the hotel industry: lots of money is spent on the fittings flashy things — this one had a lobby upgrade, but the rooms were rooted in the 1970s, complete with carpets you would not want to walk barefoot on — but not on the things that matter.

Guests spend their time in their rooms, not in the lobby, so why not spend money there first?

The same is increasingly true of technology. Everyone now travels with their cellphone and probably a netbook or laptop.

But Wi-Fi is usually atrocious, or expensive (or both) and heaven help anyone trying to buy a local SIM card in the hotel to avoid ruinous roaming fees. Atop that, printing documents in the business center are something like $1 a page — meaning that printing a 20-page document costs the equivalent of a hardback book.

And then to get infected with a virus as well?

Not quite the holiday experience I was looking for, frankly.

So, hotels and other establishments, get your IT acts together and make part of our stay a lot more pleasant, or we won’t come back.

Oh, and the automated election? I’m sure that’ll go swimmingly. But my USB drive stays in my pocket.

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Sneak preview of new WOT website

The WOT team has been busy for the past few months working on a new, improved WOT website. Our goal is to have the new pages ready to launch in May. We hope you like our sophisticated look. Here's a sneak preview.
Homepage
Download page
Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

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WOT recommended by PCWorld

We can't help getting excited when someone recommends WOT. Whether it be a  part-time blogger, a fan on  Facebook, a  German TV reporter or a  radio host, we notice it and keep it in our scrapbook. The word-of-mouth phenomenon has been the engine that drives the growth of our community. In a way, we feel that all of us are members of a grass roots movement to restore trust to the Web.

This month, WOT scored a mention in the print version of one of the world's most respected PC magazines, PCWorld. The April 2010 issue's cover story is Best Free Stuff, and WOT shows up on page 76 under Security: PC SAFETY BOOSTERS.

"Clicking any link that you find on the Web - even one that appears at the top of a Google search results page - can lead to a spyware infestation. Try the free browser plug-in Web of Trust, which vets the links you click. Green means good, red means bad. Simple."

Thanks to Frank, an eagle-eyed member of  Web of Trust LinkedIn group for informing us.

Click here to see the other  tools and services that PCWorld recommends. While you're there, please leave a review.

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