speed

How important is PC processor speed, really?

In the old days, choosing a computer was easy: you bought the one with the fastest processor you could afford. And you knew which processor was fastest (more or less) by its numerical clock-speed rating.

These days it's a lot trickier. Only hard-core techies (and those with the patience to search in Google) know the difference between, say, an AMD A4-3305M and an Intel Core i3-2350M.

And even then, does it really matter? There's a strong argument to be made that processor performance, even in low-cost, entry-level PCs, has reached a level that's good enough for most … Read more

How to boost your Steam download speed

Steam defines itself as "the ultimate entertainment platform." Its software, available for PC, Mac, and mobile devices, allows people to "play, connect, [and] create." Its gaming library has more than 2,000 titles and it has approximately 40 million users. If you're one of those 40 million, you know what a pain it can be to wait for a game to update or for a new one to download -- it's not the speediest process.

Here's how to make the wait time a little less painful:

Open the Steam settings page. This can … Read more

Download and convert with SpeedBit Video Downloader

Downloading videos from sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, and other Flash video providers should be easy, but we've encountered all too many downloaders that make this task needlessly complicated. SpeedBit Video Downloader delighted us with its ease of use; there was no trial and error, no need to consult the Help file, no guessing about how to proceed. We simply clicked a few buttons to download and convert our desired content. If you use Firefox or Internet Explorer, downloading Flash videos doesn't get much easier than this.

Once installed, SpeedBit Video Downloader appeared as a toolbar at the top … Read more

Apple's A6 processor appears faster than previously thought

The silicon powering the new iPhone 5 appears to be more powerful than previously thought.

The A6 processor found in Apple's next-generation smartphone has been clocked at 1.3GHz by a new version of iOS benchmarking software Geekbench, faster than the 1.02 GHz previously reported .

The new version of Geekbench, which landed today at the App Store, "features a dramatically improved processor frequency detection algorithm, which consistently reports the A6's frequency as 1.3GHz," Primate Labs John Poole told Engadget.

Earlier results posted by Geekbench suggested the A6 was roughly twice as fast as any chip … Read more

Life beyond JavaScript: Google's abuzz over RoboHornet test

Google last night unveiled an early version of RoboHornet, a general-purpose browser speed test that company engineers hope will shed light on something besides just JavaScript.

But Microsoft, maker of Internet Explorer, has derided the tests as not useful.

There are plenty of JavaScript speed tests, Google's new Octane among them, and for good reason: the programming language is used to turn static Web pages into interactive Web apps. But there's more to fast browsing, and Google hopes others will get involved to flesh out RoboHornet with a full suite of tests.

"It's a living, dynamic … Read more

Play high-quality videos on YouTube and other sites with SpeedBit Video Accelerator

Web browsers and bandwidth feel the pinch as online video formats get better and better (and bigger and bigger, too). SpeedBit's Free Video Accelerator for YouTube is designed to work with your Web browser to improve how it downloads and plays online video, especially high-quality formats streamed over broadband connections. It buffers and smooths audio and video playback and reduces or eliminates freezing, crashing, dropouts, and distortion. It's freeware, though a premium upgrade adds HD playback, iTunes acceleration, and automatic setup.

SpeedBit's setup wizard lets you choose between installing the freeware and the shareware version, which includes … Read more

U.K. aims for the fastest broadband in Europe by 2015

The U.K.'s culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, wants Britain to have the fastest broadband in Europe by 2015.

Hunt reaffirmed the government's ambition for the U.K. to top the broadband league tables in a matter of years at an event yesterday in Google's London offices, the Guardian reports. The offices are close to Silicon Roundabout -- an area of the city home to a number of technology startups.

The culture secretary told attendees at the event:

"To really be the best you need to be the fastest. I am today announcing an ambition to be … Read more

Program hot-key combos with Speed Keys

Hot keys can make your life easier, at least while you're at your computer. For instance, they can enter strings of text like your e-mail or street address, saving you time and reducing your typing effort. Moose-Tech's Speed Keys is a simple tool for automating typing tasks via hot keys. You can create Groups to manage your hot key combos, which can be log-in credentials, passwords, credit card data, phone numbers, or even instant-message phrases. Speed Keys is freeware, but the free version is limited to five items and 25 characters. However, the full version costs about what … Read more

South Korea hits 100% mark in wireless broadband

South Korea tops the charts for wireless broadband subscribers, according to figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The country is the first to pass 100 percent penetration for wireless broadband, according to data from the organization.

Worldwide wireless broadband subscriptions in OECD countries have shown healthy growth of over 13 percent in the last six months, and now total 667 million, up from 590 million in June 2011.

South Korea has 100.6 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, the OECD said. The agency's data -- based on the rate of high-speed Internet access versus population in South … Read more