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NEC monitor tracks your carbon emissions

A couple months back, I talked about Dell's new Eco-friendly monitors, the G2210 and G2410, which feature on-screen displays (OSDs) that allow you to see, in real time, how much energy your monitor is using depending on its current brightness level. In the original blog, I commented that I hoped more developers would follow Dell's lead, and it looks like NEC will be the first to try--perhaps even topping Dell.

On Tuesday, NEC announced the MultiSync E222W, a 22-inch LCD monitor with a host of ergonomic and Eco-conscious options.

The monitor includes 110 millimeter height adjustment, pivoting, swivel, and tilt. It also includes an Eco Mode that purportedly reduces power consumption and heat generation.

Also, according to NEC, its Intelligent Power Management and off timer will help conserve energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by switching to a low-power state or automatically powering down when the monitor is on but is not in use. This feature apparently circumvents OS-based power options.

Taking a page out of Dell's aforementioned unique OSD options, the MultiSync E222W will allow users to track their carbon footprint savings, with what NEC calls the display's carbon footprint meter.

According to NEC, the tool takes the concept used in the Dells one step further by actually calculating the reduction of green gas emissions, unlike Dell's tool, which only shows energy readings relative to the monitor's brightness.

Queue the spec list!… Read more

Lacks focus

Daily Planner Plus aims to be the organizational tool to end all organizational tools. However, rather than being a jack of all trades, the program ends up being a master of none thanks to an over-abundance of useless features.

This program has a look unlike any other planning software we've tested. Users first see a large open screen with small command icons running along the top and settings running along the left side of the screen. Initially, this looked more like a design program than a planner. The commands along the top range from creating a daily journal, calendar, … Read more

Multi-threading reviewed

I've been getting a fair number of questions about multi-threading the past couple of weeks. The reason is that Intel has been previewing its "Nehalem EX" Xeon processor in advance of Advanced Micro Device's six-core "Istanbul" CPU launch. Intel's Nehalem generation has simultaneous multi-threading (SMT)--which Intel calls Hyper-Threading (HT)--while Istanbul does not.

I wrote about this topic in depth a couple of years back in "Gradations of Threading," but it's worth reviewing in the context of these new server processors.

First, a little terminology.

A thread is a … Read more

Pervasive takes on multicore programming

Writing software that can simultaneously make use of multiple processors can be hard. Yet the advent of multicore processors--four cores per chip is now common--means that more and more software needs to do just that.

With processor performance increases now increasingly coming through the ability to handle more execution threads, rather than handling individual ones faster, multithreaded programming, in one form or another, is pretty much the only path to writing faster software, going forward.

Researchers and developers are tackling this issue from a lot of different angles, including new languages and a greater focus on multithreaded programming in computer … Read more

Software toy or useful desktop alternative?

BumpTop replaces your desktop with a visual environment unlike any you've used. It's a bit like a futuristic gesture-based interface, but it's tied to your mouse. Were it capable of simultaneous Web browsing, its utility would be much more apparent.

BumpTop makes the items on your computer's desktop more like their real-world counterparts. Icons and folders are assigned a virtual weight based on the amount of memory they take up and their importance to you. You can move them by click-and-drag, or fling them across the BumpTop space. The program determines their importance based on how … Read more

Needs browser integration

You can use this simple tool for free to look up information using several search engines, but its approach only saves you a few steps. We would have preferred that MultiSeach integrated with our browser.

MultiSearch is easily installed, but it adds a desktop shortcut without asking. The colorful interface has easily recognizable command buttons at the top, a list of search engines on the left-hand sidebar, and a viewing pane. A single field is labeled simply Search, so it's pretty clear what you need to do first. We made a few missteps after that, trying to hit Enter … Read more

In case you missed it: Apple's updated 17-inch MacBook Pro reviewed

When the latest 13- and 15-inch MacBooks were announced in October 2008, a similar revamp of the larger 17-inch version of the MacBook Prowas conspicuously missing from the lineup.

In January of 2009, Apple announced the 17-inch model would be getting the same "unibody" aluminum chassis, buttonless (or more accurately, all-button) trackpad, and edge-to-edge glass on the LED backlit display. It's actually taken until late February for the systems to start shipping, but finally big-screen fans can get all the latest and greatest Apple improvements in a desktop replacement design, starting at $2,799.

The MacBook Pro, … Read more

How to use your AV receiver's speaker calibration

Most new AV receivers come with an "auto setup" or "automatic calibration" feature, but despite the word automatic, these features can stump AV novices. If you're setting up an AV receiver for the first time, this guide will put you on the right track.

First, let's describe what auto setup systems do.

They send test tones to all the speakers and subwoofer, and use a microphone to pick up the sound of the speakers in your room. Auto setup systems determine speaker sizes and volume levels, set the subwoofer-to-satellite crossover frequency, measure distances from each of the speakers to the listener, and confirm that all of the speaker cables are correctly hooked up. Some receivers also use equalization to balance the frequency response of all the speakers.

Auto setup systems go by different names, but they all do approximately the same thing. Denon and Onkyo feature Audyssey; Sony has Digital Cinema Auto Calibration, Pioneer Multi Channel Acoustic Calibration, and Yamaha uses a Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer.

The exact positioning of the auto calibration microphone is crucial for achieving accurate results. Some auto setup systems work from just one mic position, which would be the primary spot where you sit when watching movies by yourself. Ideally the mic should be placed at the same height as your ears when you're sitting watching a movie.

If you have a camera tripod, use it to place the mic at ear height; perfectionists should move the couch entirely out of the way. Lacking a tripod place the mic on the back of the couch, atop the highest pillow.… Read more