quality

Epson printer narrowly escapes death by baseball bat

I have a love/hate relationship with the Epson Artisan 800 multifunctional printer. Let's start on the positive end: after doing a thorough test of the features, I have no problem saying that the Artisan 800 produces some of the highest-quality photo and graphic prints I've ever seen, even on regular 20-pound white paper. Our standard sheet of colored text also looked very pleasing. On top of that, I have to applaud Epson for the 800's chart-topping print speed. The printer delivered a 4-inch-by-6-inch color photo in 18 seconds, almost double the speed of our comparison printers.… Read more

Will Beijing's sustained driving restrictions maintain clear skies?

Much has been made of Beijing's decision to keep a lighter version of its Olympics traffic restrictions, not least because whatever the city did to clean the air seemed to have worked in August. But the renewed measures are weaker and the probable effect is unclear.

Alex Pasternack at Treehugger points out that the sustained restrictions, which took effect October 1, will be weaker than during the Games. Only one fifth of cars will be pulled from the road on weekdays, versus half under the Olympics rules.

According to The Beijinger (also via Alex), the city's other restrictions … Read more

Audio Nation, it's a state of mind

It's a small island, populated by audiophiles, but please don't look down on us for our devotion to good sound.

Yes, it might seem a little strange to outsiders, but we like to hear music the way the producers and musicians did when they recorded it. If they put a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears into creating it, it might be worth listening to. Sure, you can play and enjoy music over freebie headphones or $20 computer speakers, just don't kid yourself that you're hearing everything, or more important, the emotion that went into … Read more

Google's ad quality changes imminent

Attention advertisers: a promised change to Google's AdWords quality-judging method will take effect in coming days.

The change adjusts Google's calculation of advertiser's quality score--a key factor in determining how much the advertiser must bid to ensure ads are placed next to search results. With the new system, quality is calculated at the time a Google user performs a search, though historical data such as an advertiser's click-through rate still factor into the equation, Google's Trevor Claiborne said on its AdWords blog on Monday.

Given the size of the industry that's grown up around … Read more

Revving up greener, cleaner lawn mowers

If you've ever choked on a lung-full of exhaust from a lawn mower or motor boat, you might appreciate this product idea: a catalytic converter for small motors.

Filter company MemPro Ceramics has developed what it calls the NoxFox, a "catalytic filter" designed to neutralize air pollutants from lawn mower engines.

The company plans to produce the small devices--sized a few inches by a few inches--next year and is seeking to partner with small engine manufacturers, according to John M. Finley, CEO of MemPro Ceramics.

Lawn-care products and boats contribute significantly to air pollution. An hour of … Read more

Why is software so poor? Is open source just as bad?

CIO.com's Ken Harris unleashes a torrent of abuse on the state of software quality in a recent article. While he doesn't bring it up, the problem is compounded by software licenses that disclaim all responsibility for the problems caused by

We call them "bugs" as if somehow they are separate, evil creatures. But they're not. They are problems with the intrinsic quality of our product and the way it is brought to market. With automobiles, we learned that it's not always the driver, or how they drive. Sometimes it's the vehicle, and … Read more

Google gives priority to fast ads

Google on Wednesday added a new factor, Web page loading speed, to the criteria by which it judges which text ads to place next to search results.

The search company, which makes almost all its revenue from the text ads, gives a boost to advertisers with better ad quality. Google announced Wednesday that quality now includes a measurement of the loading speed of the Web page users see when they click on an ad.

"Starting today, this load time factor will be incorporated into your keywords' quality scores," Google said on its Inside AdWords blog. "Keywords with … Read more

Google's search challenge: Making computers think like humans

Update 2 p.m. PDT: I added more detail and examples of searches that stumped Google.

SAN FRANCISCO--Udi Manber sums up Google's core challenge with this description of people's expectations: "Here's what I say, now give me what I need."

In other words, the company must use computers to comprehend humans, said Manber, the vice president of engineering in charge of Google search, in a speech at the Gilbane Conference here Wednesday.

"Ideally, we would understand your question, we would understand all knowledge, and match the two," Manber said.

That's not possible … Read more

Audiophile MP3 players, by the numbers

When Jasmine and I evaluate MP3 players for CNET reviews, we always try to spend a few sentences describing any noticeable audio performance characteristics we detect during our subjective testing. We'll play around with all of the gadget's different EQ and sound enhancement options, listen back on our reference headphones, and run through a playlist of familiar music. We're only human, however, and hearing loss, ear wax, head congestion, and hangovers can skew our perceptions of audio quality from day to day. Thankfully, we have Eric Franklin.… Read more