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I am always down for free antivirus. Want to know why? Because when I used to do home computer repair back in the day, one of the number one problems I was dealing with was viruses at home. Users would get a new computer with a trial antivirus, then when the trial lapsed they were left vulnerable.

Being average users, they just didn’t know any better. They didn’t realize that if the Antivirus wasn’t updating, they weren’t being protected. Free antivirus keeps them protected without the need to worry about renewing licensing every few years.

I have written in the past about Avast, AVG, Comodo, and most recently Panda Cloud. Well Microsoft has gotten into the game recently too with Microsoft Security Essentials. Here are some key features from their site:

• Comprehensive malware protection
• Simple, free download
• Automatic updates
• Easy to use

All the above are probably the best arguments ever to switch my mom over. If she doesn’t have to think about “the wizard behind the curtain” the easier my life is.

This is free for home use only like most free antivirus products. If you are a business user, Microsoft offers Microsoft Frontline. Of course, you probably already have antivirus for your company, and since you have to pay for this you probably will want to keep what you have.

Have you tried Microsoft Security Essentials? Like it? Dislike it? Does it have a good detection rate? I want to hear about your experience in the comments.

Here is another brief look at the Snapdragon-powered C-Motech Mangrove Windows Mobile 6.5.1 MID with its 7 inch WVGA screen. 

The device is set to reach the market on the next few months and will likely be subsidized by carriers.

It was a homecoming of sorts Sunday night for the men’s soccer team at UC-Irvine’s Anteater Stadium. Six of Stanford’s 11 starters—juniors Dominique Yahyavi, Garrett Gunther, Cameron Lamming, Ryan Thomas, Shaun Culver and senior goalkeeper John Moore—plied their trade on the soccer complex surrounding the stadium in the club leagues of Southern California before heading to the Farm.

With so many players familiar with the area, it was no surprise that plenty of Stanford fans made their way out to the second round NCAA tournament contest. Parents, relatives and curious spectators packed the north end of the stadium, as chants of “Go Stanford” overpowered any noise from UCI fans.

Despite the comforts of “home,” however, it took the individual brilliance of a player with ties closer to the Bay Area to settle the game. In the 35th minute, junior Daniel Leon received the ball, and after a few adept touches, rifled the ball into the top corner to take Stanford (11-5-2, 4-4-2 Pac-10, 1-0 NCAA) to the third round of the tournament.

For 16th seed UCI (15-6-0-, 6-4- Big West, 1-1 NCAA), the result will be a bitter loss to swallow after piling a great deal of pressure on the Cardinal defense in a particularly tense second half. Despite this, the away team proved particularly resilient holding on to preserve Moore’s second shutout of the tournament.

On a cold night in Orange County, the game was nervy from the start. With both teams employing a five-man midfield, the middle of the park was especially congested. UCI found some early joy with senior Irving Garcia pulling the strings to carve out two clear-cut chances on the left hand side for the Anteaters.

As Stanford struggled to keep the ball, UCI continued to run at the Cardinal defense from the left flank, forcing senior Michael Strickland to perform a particularly warm-blooded challenge, earning the midfielder the game’s first and only yellow in the 10th minute. The card, to the contrary, seemed to settle Cardinal nerves, and soon fans began to witness some of the slick passing that they had been accustomed to.

The first real chance for the away team came through forward Adam Jahn, as a cross skipped into his path after some quick exchange on the left wing. However, the freshman disappointingly screwed his shot over the bar as the chance went begging.

The introduction of Leon as well as freshman forward and Irvine native Dersu Abolfathi halfway through the first period seemed to breathe some much-needed creativity to the Stanford offense. Coach Bret Simon’s move paid dividends 10 minutes later, as Leon scored perhaps the most important goal of his career, which later proved to be the match winner. And despite a late scare off a long throw, the Cardinal went into the break with the one-goal advantage.

Following half-time, UCI came out with clear attacking intent immediately throwing on a second forward and pressing into Stanford’s half. Clearly on defensive orders, the away team were content to absorb pressure and hit on the counter, as centerbacks junior Bobby Warshaw and Culver marshaled the defense. As each Anteater attack was broken, the ball was hoofed up to Jahn, with one effort proving particularly fruitful as he was able to break free of his marker and force a save out of the UCI goalkeeper.

As the minutes ticked down, the home team threw everything at the Stanford goal. Opposing forward Amani Walker proved particularly menacing as he produced a series of towering headers toward goal and had a goal-bound volley saved by a full-stretch Moore. This proved to be UCI’s best chance, with the Cardinal sniffing out every threat to preserve the team’s ninth shutout of the year.

With cheers erupting from the boisterous away crowd as the referee’s watch hit 0:00, the players embraced and will not look forward to next Sunday’s date with number-one seed University of Akron, who are currently enjoying a perfect 21-0-0 season.

If the Cardinal is able to prove the spoilers to Akron’s undefeated season, they will face the winner of Tulsa and Northwestern in the tournament quarterfinals.

Celiac’s disease runs in my family, so we try to limit our gluten intake, even though no one has yet to show gluten sensitivity. Many of Nature’s Paths Envirokidz line of organic cereals has always been gluten-free. Some of our favorites include:

• EnviroKidz Amazon Frosted Flakes Cereal: This cereal reminds me of my old childhood favorite, only in a healthier, organic variety. You can make a delicious gluten-free Cran-Apple Gorilla Munch Crisp with this cereal!
• EnviroKidz Organic Gorilla Munch Cereal: This was one of my favorite cereals before I ever had children. The little balls stay crunchy in milk, and it has the right amount of sweetness.
• Envirokidz Organic Leapin’ Lemurs Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cereal: This would by my least favorite Envirokidz cereal, as I believe peanut butter and chocolate do not belong in breakfast, but my kids love it, and who said cereal was just for breakfast anyway?

All of these products are gluten-free, organic, vegetarian, low in sodium, and contain no preservatives or additives.

Disclosure: I was sent the above described products to try out in order to write an authentic review. Assurances were not given as to whether the review would be positive or negative.

Hey you!! That’s right, you! The nonprofit Executive Director lurking in the back. Confused about how to write foundation proposals? I shouldn’t really do this, but, just between me and you, and if you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll let you in on some of the secrets of writing foundation proposals.

Many nonprofit folks, and particularly the “True Believers” I wrote about in True Believers and Grant Writing: Two Cautionary Tales, are hopelessly confused about getting foundation funds and writing foundation proposals. There are basically two ways to get access to foundation funds: the fairy tale way and the hard work way. In the fairy tale world, the nonprofit person (e.g., Executive Director, President, Founder, what have you) cozies up to the foundation representative (ideally, Bill Gates) and breathlessly describes how their new organization will bring instant water to thirsty parts of the world (just add liquid!) or a similar idea. Mr. Gates will be so impressed that he will reach into his Tom Bihn Manpurse**, pull out a checkbook, wad of cash or debit card (depending on the age of the dreamer), and the funding is accomplished.

We call this kind of approach to getting foundation grants “relationship funding” because it depends on the nonprofit developing a relationship with the funder. While this can work, it takes a lot of time and luck. Also, very few folks actually know foundation reps. Any of you nonprofit folks out there play Bunco with Oprah? I didn’t think so. Being serious, most foundations either hide behind an accountant/lawyer/flak catcher type, who you can’t develop a relationship with because there is no one to develop it with, or have a staff, whose job is partially to make potential applicants feel like they’re special (similar to the role of the field deputy in your congressperson’s district office) without actually making any commitments.

People ask us all the time if we have “special relationships” with funders, which always makes me laugh. Let’s say I regularly play bridge with Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Why would I use my influence on your project, as opposed to the dozens of other projects we work on in a given year or for a project dear to my stone-like heart? In other words, even if we had influence, which we don’t, why would we rent it? So, if any would-be grant writer tells you they have special influence, walk away quickly, as they are likely an amateur. Putting it in Entourage terms, if you want to get into the hottest club in LA, it helps to know Vince, not Drama. When callers ask about developing relationships with funders, I always suggest that they criss-cross the US flying first class in hopes of sitting next to Bill or Oprah. They probably actually probably fly in private jets, but you get the idea.

If developing relationships with foundations is pretty much a fairy tale exercise, how do nonprofits get foundation grants? Here’s the really bad news: through hard work. The task starts with deciding what you’re trying to fund. In the foundation world, there are essentially the following four funding types:

• Start-Up Grant: This one is for new organizations. The challenge is that you have to convince the foundation that your organization can actually do something, because presumably nothing has yet been done so far other than to identify a problem. But all organizations have to start somewhere, so if you need start-up funds, go for it.
• Capital Grant: Favored by Boys & Girls Clubs, religious organizations, etc., this means you want to build a building, buy a van fleet or the like. Lots of foundations love capital grants because they can put their name on the project, and they’re easy to evaluate. Either the building is built or it isn’t. In the case of the largest foundation in the world, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, they decided to give themselves an enormous capital grant to build a 12-acre “campus”—or maybe Taj Mahal is more appropriate—in downtown Seattle. Personally, I think it would be better if they simply bought a couple of the hundreds of vacant and abandoned office buildings in Detroit or Flint, but where’s the fun in that?
• Operating Funds: This means you’re seeking funds for everything done by the nonprofit—the organization is already doing lots of great things but needs more money to do them. From the foundation’s perspective, this is a bit like feeding a stray cat, as they know you will be back for more. But many foundations like operations projects because they recognize that established organizations have to have enough money to keep the lights on.
• Special Project/Program Development: Let’s say your organization provides supportive services to Cyclopes. A special project could be to conduct outreach to work with left-handed Cyclopes. Foundations often like funding the development of special projects, particularly if you can link the project to some emerging crisis. If you were going to fund Project NUTRIA, as we described it in an earlier post, you would pitch it as a special project.

Keep in mind that not every foundation will fund all of these four project types—a foundation that funds capital grants may love your charitable purpose but not be interested in supporting operations. While we think it is best to settle on a project type before doing research to find funders, it can be done the other way around by finding the funders first and bending your concept to meet the type of projects they will fund.

Once you’ve crystallized your concept, it’s time to do the research into what foundations might fund you. More or less, foundations use the following filters—the details of which are usually specified somewhere in their guidelines—to funnel applications:

• Geography: While some foundations fund nationally, most foundations fund in a specific place or region (e.g., Owatonna, MN, Southern California, etc.), or my personal favorite, “areas of company operations.” Let’s see, where does Wal-Mart not operate? Chicago, Boston, and one or two other places. Keep in mind that a foundation that funds in Poughkeepsie is unlikely to fund a project in Ashtabula, no matter how much they care about your cause.
• Charitable Purpose: Some foundations want to help at-risk youth, some are interested in health issues and a very few just want to do something good, whatever that means. It is critical that you find funders who care about what you care about. True Believers often stumble on this filter because they cannot believe that anybody fails to share their passion. Also, try to avoid embarrassing mistakes: if your organization approaches at-risk youth services from an evangelical Christian perspective, a foundation that talks about Jewish philanthropic giving on their website is not likely to fund you, so save the postage.
• How The Grant Will be Used: See the project concept discussion above. If you’ve managed to find a foundation that wants to fund Cyclops services in Owatonna and you want to build transitional housing for homeless Cyclops, make sure the foundation will fund a capital campaign before you send in the proposal.

Now, it’s time for letting you in on the really big foundation grant writing secret, or as is said in the TV biz The Reveal: How to organize an initial foundation proposal. Unless directed otherwise by the guidelines, we format them as five-page, single spaced letters. Why five pages? Because foundations almost never want a longer proposal and often want a one to three page letter of inquiry. We call the initial submission narratives “foundation letter proposals” and here’s how to organize them:

• Date, address block and salutation.
• Introduction paragraph, that includes the ever popular “five w’s and the h.”
• Goal and objectives. See this post for help in writing these: The Goal of Writing Objectives is to Achieve Positive Outcomes (Say What?).
• Background on the problem or a needs assessment. Don’t use too many citations, since, unlike government proposals, in foundation proposals you’re aiming for the heart, not the head.
• Program description. Make this count, because this is where you tell the funder what you plan to do and how the money will be spent.
• Timeline. We usually do these as a simple double column table.
• Evaluation plan (a paragraph will do).
• Staffing plan and budget request. A few sentences, along with a simple attached line item budget/budget justification in Excel will get the job done.
• Background on the organization. Who are you, and why are you qualified?
• Acknowledgment. A short paragraph on how you will acknowledge the grant: press releases, name on the building, larger than life statues of Bill and Melinda astride white chargers in front of the building, etc.
• Summary paragraph.

I know this is pretty much the same as learning how to write a five-paragraph theme, as Miss Cruikshank taught me in eighth grade English at Sandburg Junior High, now Middle School when dinosaurs walked the earth, but writing foundation proposals is really not that complicated—like golf, all you have to do is hit that little ball 400 yards into the tin cup 18 times in less than five strokes a hole. No problem. Of course, it helps to be Tiger Woods, and in writing foundation proposals, it’s a lot easier to simply hire Seliger + Associates. But now you know the secrets, so get busy and write.

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* This is a steal from the lyrics of charming, but somewhat forgotten Beatles tune, Do You Want To Know a Secret that I liked about the time I was in Miss Cruikshank’s class.

** This reference is designed to poke fun at Jake, who carries his Tom Bihn Messenger Bag everywhere, stuffed with a laptop, books, tupperware containers with fried tofu remains and assorted other items he can’t be without. While I am way too old for a manpurse, Jake did get me to buy this Tom Bihn Laptop Bag in a particularly annoying shade of avocado green.

We get offered so many products for review, here at The Kitchn, and honestly we turn most of those opportunities down, especially when they are prepared foods. But every now and then one comes along that blows us away, and this spiced honey crème from Honey Ridge Farms is one of them. This stuff is tasty.

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“The Cost of Getting Sick” [ge.com] is a a new data visualization tool developed in collaboration with Ben Fry, Director of Seed Visualization. It enables the exploration of some the 6 million patient records currently stored in GE’s proprietary electronic medical records database.

The online interactive tool allows users to slide a bar to select one’s age and then select parts of the pie chart in order to investigate a more complete picture of the actual costs associated with a wide range of chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, depression, and hypertension.

A short, slick interview with Ben Fry regarding GE’s two recent data visualizations can be watched below.

See also Visualizing the Major Health Issues Facing Americans Today and On the Origin of Species.

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Cadillac, Luxury

Today the wraps were officially removed from the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe. The coupe is the latest model to join the burgeoning CTS lineup, which also includes the sedan that started it all, the 556-hp CTS-V super sedan and the more recent CTS Sport Wagon. The coupe, however, is by far the most visually distinct CTS, sharing only its instrument panel, console, headlamps, front fenders and grille with the sedan. Though its wheelbase is the same as the four-door’s, the coupe sits two inches lower and stretches two inches less from tip to tail. The best touches are the hidden B-pillar, flush door handles, center-mounted dual exhaust, and a windshield and back glass that are raked at impossibly steep angles.

While the exterior screams excitement, the coupe’s mechanicals are what we’ve come to expect from the CTS, which ain’t a bad thing. The standard engine at launch will be General Motors’ direct inject 3.6-liter V6 producing 304 hp and 273 pound-feet of torque. Expect 17 mpg city/26 mpg highway when paired with GM’s optional Hydra-Matic 6L50 six-speed automatic and 17/25 with the standard Aisin six-speed manual. Both rear- and all-wheel-drive are available, as are two handling packages: a Performance package with 18-inch wheels and a Summer Tire Performance package with 19-inch wheels, summer tires and larger brakes. Cadillac also confirmed that a V-Series variant will be sold sometime 2010.

The 2010 CTS Coupe is being referred to by GM as the focal point of Cadillac going forward, and it certainly anchors an incredibly strong and varied CTS lineup. There are plenty of competitors out there, however, just waiting for the CTS Coupe to throw its first punch, including the incredibly competent BMW 3-Series coupe and Audi A5. From this first look at things, they should brace themselves.

[Source: Cadillac]

Continue reading Officially Official: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe debuts

Officially Official: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe debuts originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: SUV, Lexus, Luxury, Off-Road

Two steps forward and one step back seems to be the rally cry of the new 2010 Lexus GX460. This second-generation, three-row, mid-size, body-on-frame SUV from Lexus replaces the GX470, which, as its name implies, had a slightly larger engine. That 4.7-liter V8 engine, however, couldn’t touch the combination of power and efficiency found in this new 4.6-liter V8. The new engine manages to pump out 301 hp and 329 lb.ft. of torque while returning 13 percent better fuel economy, now ringing in at 15/20 mpg. It also uses a second-generation frame and an all-new body with some class-leading features.

There’s a lengthy press release after the jump with all the specifications and features of this new GX, but here are some of the highlights (take a deep breath): New standard power-folding third row, flip-forward second row slider for better third row access, rear swing gate with new pop-up glass for quick access, optional Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Driver Attention Monitor and Lane Departure Alert (LDA), full-time four-wheel drive, off- and on-road balancing Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS) with available Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS), 6,500-pound towing capacity, 18-inch alloy wheels, Crawl Control and Downhill Assist Control (DAC), ten standard airbags, Bluetooth, nine-speaker audio system with integrated iPod control and XM Radio receiver, rear back-up camera, optional Lexus Enform with Safety Connect, XM NavTraffic, XM NavWeather and XM Sports and Stocks by subscription. Got all that?

The 2010 Lexus GX460 will come in two different trim levels, base and Premium, identifiable by chrome strips surrounding the greenhouse and along the lower door contours. In addition to the features listed above, GX buyers can opt for a Convenience Package and a Comfort Plus Package. The Convenience Package adds power-retracting outside mirrors and Intuitive Parking Assist. The Comfort Plus Package includes semi-aniline leather, heated second-row outer seats, wood-trimmed steering wheel and shift knob, and a three-zone automatic climate control system. Major standalone options include the next-gen hard disc drive (HDD) nav system, a Mark Levinson Premium Audio system, a Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE) system with two LCD screens, a three-zone automatic climate control system, and the Wide-view Front and Side Monitor, which debuted on the 2009 LX 570.

We recently had a chance to sample this new GX460 and we’ll have a lot more to say about it in our upcoming First Drive, but for now, here are the full details and a massive gallery of pics for you to enjoy.

[Source: Lexus]

Continue reading Lexus introduces second-generation 2010 GX460

Lexus introduces second-generation 2010 GX460 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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	Aptera Update: Backstory uglier than we knew? Unanswered questions run deep, by the looks of it.		POLL: Is the Tesla IPO for you? Money maker or bad idea?
	Long-Term Thinking: “Cost to Own” mindset grabs hold More ways to think about cost now that we have options to gasoline.	Other news: STUDY: Air cars not worth it Toyota starts discussions on who will get PHEV Priuses Journo experiences Volt’s electric-to-hybrid transition, says it needs improvement

AutoblogGreen for 11.23.09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TOMORROW I WILL BE MAKING A RE-DO OF MY DIET/SUPPLEMENTATION VIDEO I POSTED PRIOR. I WILL INCLUDE THE SUPPLEMENTS I TAKE, ALONG WITH THE FOOD. SOME TIPS AND A LIST OF UPCOMING VIDEOS. THESE VIDEOS WILL ALSO INCLUDE A GOOD FRIEND AND TRAINING PARTNER ERIC CHARPENTIER – CHARPENTIER83 ON MY BODYSPACE – LOOK HIM UP.

I HAVE BEEN GETTING ALOT OF SAMPLES FROM COMPANIES WITH NEW PRODUCTS WHICH ILL ALSO BE PLACING NOTES ON!

MORE PROGRESS PICS COMING AS WELL. KEEP IN MIND THIS IS BULKING TIME!! POSSIBLE TEAM BUILD AS WELL. MANY THINGS TO COME! WILL KEEP YOU ALL UPDATED! 

ALONG WITH MAINTAINING MY BLOGS AS WELL!! ANYTHING YOU WANT ME TO WRITE ON LEAVE HERE!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE LEAVE ME A MESSAGE OR COMMENT

This post is the second part of the two part-serie of the Top 25 Photoshop Tips. If you came straight to this article, no worries, you can find The Top 25 Photoshop Tips Part 1 here.
Enjoy Part 2!

13. Switching Channels

The Ctrl hotkey modifier, combined with the numbers from 0 to 4, will reveal the RGB – Red, Green, Blue – components of an image in an isolated fashion. The current selection is displayed beside the name of the document. The Ctrl + 0 hotkey activates the default rendering method, revealing all color channels of the image.

14. Transform Copy

The hotkey combination Ctrl + t grants access to the Free Transform command, yet, its more complicated sibling, Ctrl + Alt + t will automatically make a copy of the currently transformed selection and will amend the changes on the replica. This is an efficient method of keeping the original variant of a certain element, still being able to see how the Free Transformation would affect it.

15. Repeating Transformations

Ctrl + Shift + t will repeat the last transformation. Ctrl + Shift + Alt + t will yield the same result, but, on a copy of the transformed element.

16. Opacity Tests

The opacity of the current Layer can be adjusted by relying on the number keys 0 to 9, where 0 is full opacity. To gain precise control of the opacity, press the number keys quickly and the decimals will behave accordingly.

17. Merge All Visible

The hotkey combination Ctrl + Shift + Alt + e merges all visible Layers and renders them unto a fresh Layer. This gives you the opportunity to test out- or amend global changes on this Layer without modifying the original elements.

18. Hide All Palettes

The TAB key hides all the palettes and the toolbox, while the hotkey combination TAB + Shift hides all palettes but keeps the toolbox around.

19. The Full Screen Hotkeys

It is the hotkey f that grants access to the various full screen workspaces, with default layouts configurable to contain no interface elements at all. Using the f hotkey and the TAB + f hotkey combination, you can find the right amount of interface elements – including none of those.

20. Selecting Blend Modes

To cycle through the available Blend Modes of the active Layer, rely on the – and + keys, combined with the Shift modifier key. The Blend modes are accessible by their respective letter codes, as well. To invoke a Blend mode using a keyboard shortcut, use the hotkey combination Alt + Shift + the letter code for the Blend mode.

21. Fade

The Ctrl + Shift + f hotkey combination invokes the Fade dialog. This slider lets you control the opacity of the last edit you made.

22.  Eliminating Unwanted Matte

In case the color difference between the selection and its background is severe, it is common to end up with a slight black/white halo around the selection. Getting rid of these unwanted pixels manually can be troublesome, but it is worth knowing that there is a command in Photoshop to automate this process. To eliminate black or white matte, go to Layer – > Matting – > Remove Black/White Matte.

23. Filters Unleashed

In case you have applied a Filter on a Layer or on a selection, you can repeat that Filter using the Ctrl + f hotkey combination. If you want to change the settings of the Filter, use Alt + Ctrl + f whenever you want to dial in fresh values for the modification.

24. Invert Selections

Inverting a selection is an efficient method of selecting scattered elements of an image with a distinctive color difference to them, when compared to their surrounding. For example, if you have black text on a white background, it is easier to select the white portion of the image than it is to select the black letters consecutively. To select all the letters with minimal effort, first select the black portion of the image with the Magic Wand tool. Now everything is selected, except the letters. To invert this selection, so everything is selected except the current selection, use the hotkey combination Ctrl + Shift + i.

25. Placing Pixel Data into a Selection

If you have pixel data stored in your computer’s memory, you can paste that information into a selection region, using the Ctrl + Shift + v hotkey combination. To store the pixel data itself, you need to define the pixel region you want to store by relying on the Ctrl + c hotkey combination.

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Since Sony brought a new and improved VAIO X, I have been wondering about how it compared to VAIO X505 in its dimensions as well as to some other slimmer small factor VAIOs I own. Current VAIO X is definitely another engineering breakthrough and its lightness impresses a lot of people who have asked me to check it out. I was at a meeting with it and my colleague picked it up and was so surprised because her paper pad weighed more than my VAIO X.

So far my initial impressions are positive. Keyboard is very responsive and there is a slight learning curve to it. VAIO X505 keyboard is very similar however it still has a different feel to it. As for the touchpad, I am still trying to figure out the touch pad with its multi touch functionality. The LED LCD is crisp and beautiful color reproduction compliments it a lot. I could definitely tell that the older VAIO X505 LCD screen is not as vibrant as this one, and again back in 2003 there was no XBrite LCD or LED backlit screens either. Thanks to 128 GB SSD VAIO X is speedy and applications respond quickly, I will be upgrading VAIO X505 soon to an SSD glory and it  will definitely bring a new breath of life to this aging piece of history.

One thing I have to mention that I did not like about the current VAIO X is its…. power cord! In my soon to be posted unboxing video I discussed how small the AC Adapter was, it is actually the smallest I have seen so far (VAIO W has also a similar one), however when I saw the ungodly thick power cord, I almost could not believe my eyes at first and thought I was supplied with a wrong cord.  Not really sure who thought of it and how it really contradicts the whole slimness concept and overall aesthetics.

Check out the video below and a number of pictures as well and see for yourself the evolution of VAIO X series. To be continued…

Here are a few more shots of VAIO TZ and VAIO W in the mix with VAIO X:

One of the pioneers of the memory based flashcarts for the Nintendo DS, the Superacard team has officially announced that they are now developing t…

If somehow you missed the opportunity to join the last  MAG beta and was still hoping to try out the highly anticipated online shooter of the g…

Just like last week, gold is rocking out of the gate, breaking $1160/oz for the first time. Astounding.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• With Gold Completely Out Of Whack, Silver Looks Better By The Day
• CHART OF THE DAY: How The Old Gold Bugs Lost Control Of Gold (GLD)
• Gold Spikes Again, Now Nearing $1150 (GLD)