Stress Test Your Hardware to Troubleshoot Problems and Keep Your Computer Stable [Hardware]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5619743/stress-test-your-hardware-to-identify-problems-and-keep-your-computer-stable

Gadget blog Tested explains how to stress test your computer's most important hardware—and likely pain points in a buggy system—in order to diagnose and fix hardware problems that can commonly crop up in software errors and system crashes.

Photo by kennymatic.

There's no worse time for your PC to hit the fritz than when you're in the middle of some sort of heavy-duty computer task, but for some reason you computer doesn't seem to care. Tested's guide walks through the tools to stress and monitor your system to hunt down and diagnose possible hardware problems with your CPU, RAM, and graphics card. On the monitoring side of things, they're using HWMonitor to keep an eye on temperatures (it's the same app we suggested when we explained how to prevent your computer from overheating) and previously mentioned SpeedFan. On the hardware stressing side of the coin, they're using Prime95 (the app Whitson used in his primer for overclocking your Intel processor) for your CPU, previously mentioned Memtest86+ for RAM, and FurMark for GPU testing.

Hit up the guide at Tested for a full walkthrough, and if you're a serious stress tester or you consider yourself a skilled hardware bug-hunter, let's hear about your favorite methods and tools for the job in the comments.

How To Stress Test Your Hardware and Keep Your PC Stable [Tested]

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Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/kodaks-playtouch-1080p-pocket-camcorder-and-easyshare-m590-anno/

Kodak just kicked out a pair of devices with its Playtouch pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 point and shoot. Kodak's $229.95 Playtouch is capable of shooting image stabilized 1080p video with stereo audio to SDHC cards. A 3-inch capacitive touchscreen gives you plenty of room to edit your video (or extract a still) on camera before flipping out the USB arm for a quick PC transfer. Otherwise, an HDMI jack lets you pump that digital keepsake right to the living room television without the PC assist. Rounding things out are an external microphone jack and Share button that makes it easy to push those memories to YouTube or FaceBook, or send via email if that's your preference. Kodak's rather mundane $199.99 EasyShare M590 is being billed as the world's slimmest digital camera with 5x optical zoom. Otherwise, things simmer down with a 2.7-inch LCD, some kind of image stabilization, face recognition, unspecified HD video capture, and microSD card support. And as you'd expect, the M590 also features a Share button that makes tagging and uploading photos and video to social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube a snap. M590 image and press releases after the break. Expect both cameras to ship sometime in the fall.

Continue reading Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced

Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/toshiba-smart-pad-imagery-emerges-claims-to-be-the-real-deal/

Technically speaking, we already know what Toshiba's Smart Pad will look like. It was waved around in Australia briefly, and these shots seem to match it perfectly, but corroboration for their validity is otherwise light on the ground. Should you opt to trust them, after the break you'll find visual confirmation for the HDMI and USB ports already promised by Toshiba, along with a memory card reader and a pleasingly slender profile. The four touch buttons on its right side just scream Android as the operating system, and the whole thing again reminds us of the Compal tablet we saw back at CES and subsequently accused of being a Toshiba-in-waiting. Notebook Italia expects this bad boy to step out of the shadows properly at IFA this year, and we already know Toshiba is cranking hard on bringing us a tablet of some description by the end of October. Fun times ahead, eh?

Continue reading Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal

Toshiba Smart Pad imagery emerges, claims to be the real deal originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/nokia-n900-does-real-time-face-tracking-for-verification-video/

In a world where smartphone unlock patterns and PINs can be easily gleaned from display muck, and computer passwords can be deciphered from the telltale audible clicks of the keyboard, it's any wonder that research is funded for alternative identity verification schemes. One promising technology is face verification -- technology we've already seen implemented in webcams, laptops, and more recently, Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360. Where we haven't seen it broadly deployed is in the easy-to-lose smartphone, at least not with the level of sophistication achieved by the University of Manchester (UK). Using an N900, the research team developed a prototype that quickly locks and tracks 22 facial features in real time (even when upside down) using the Nokia's front-facing camera. The Active Appearance modeling technique was developed for the EU-funded Mobile Biometrics (MoBio) project as a means of using face verification to authenticate smartphone access to social media sites. Unfortunately, there's no mention of how long Manchester's face-verified login actually takes. Nevertheless, the video, apparently shot in a steam room full of hot man smudge, is worth a peep after the break.

Continue reading Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video)

Nokia N900 does real-time face tracking for verification (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate's 3TB GoFlex Desk hard drive reviewed: hot, in more ways than one

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/23/seagates-3tb-goflex-desk-hard-drive-reviewed-hot-in-more-ways/

Just under two months ago, Seagate pushed the capacity envelope once more by introducing a $250 3TB hard drive meant to be used by archivists the world over. It all sounds peachy on paper, but AnandTech managed to uncover a dirty little secret about the drive that serious power users should know about. For starters, the crew cracked open the case to find a 3.5-inch, five platter Barracuda XT -- that's a drive that Seagate doesn't intend to sell for internal use until the end of the year, but it's available now if you're willing to spring for its enclosure. Reviewers actually fell for the overall design, but they noticed right away just how little ventilation options there were. Needless to say, that point came back to bite the drive once data had been transferring over for a few hours, as temperatures soared beyond the 140 degree Fahrenheit mark and transfer rates plummeted. Seagate affirmed that those high temperatures were within spec, but critics felt that running it as such for extended periods may harm the longevity; it's obviously a gamble you'll be taking if you need this much space within a single drive, but we'd recommend hitting that source link before making a decision that could burn you down the road.

Seagate's 3TB GoFlex Desk hard drive reviewed: hot, in more ways than one originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feed! s.

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