Part 5: Disk Tools: Cloned Clusters

When the Paragon tool is started, an assistant appears, which guides the user by copying and creating images. So you can work with the program under Windows, without having looked into the extensive manual. Drive Backup leaves Windows only with a reboot when it comes to creating an image of the active partition. The cloning happens then, just before XP boots. The reason for this precautions is that during the copying, no other program is allowed to access the partition to be duplicated. Otherwise, the data will be changed during cloning, which could compromise data integrity.


If a Windows system is not active on a computer, such as a new installation, a DOS version of DriveBackup can be started via a Windows 98 / ME boot diskette. The DOS tool is available in two versions, the master version being for network access. We found a surprise when compressing the images with Drive Backup. Whether the compression was on or off, the image files always had the same size.


It is expected that Paragon will fix this bug by an update. Well, in the test, the hard disk was copied. All operating systems including Linux could be used without errors after the copy. At the speed the program could keep up well. If you want to extract files from the created images, use the Image Mounter from Drive Backup. In Windows XP, he creates a virtual hard disk drive with all the data contained in the image. So you can access the image as if it were a separate partition.


DriveBackup lost all the necessary burning and partitioning features. If you do not want to do without it, you can access Paragon's Paragon Disk Manager (59.95 Euro), which contains a disk partitioning tool. Otherwise the user will get an easy-to-use program with DriveBackup with good support for the important file systems.


Http://www.paragon-gmbh.com


Notebooks up to 550 euros with AMD Llano and Intel Sandy Bridge

In the price range between 500 and 550 euros are offered both notebooks with 15.6-inch display, as well as those with 17-inch panel. Our test field is therefore also made up of four 15.6-inch cabinets and two 17-inch cabinets. The former are more compact, but can only have a display resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.


The test candidates


The panels of the two larger devices, on the other hand, represent 1600 x 900 pixels, which provides a better overview for spreadsheets, video editing or image processing. 17.3-inch displays with FullHD resolution are not available at the chosen price limit.


APU instead of CPU


In general, the 17-inch notebooks are more suitable as desktop replacements. On the road they are restricted to a weight of more than three kilograms and a width of up to 420 millimeters. Even with the recharge time, they can not reach the compact 15.6-incher with a maximum of four hours at the Acer, which can sometimes withstand more than six hours away from the socket and bring a kilogram less on the scale.

Picture gallery


Test: Notebooks with 3D display


Conclusion


Four gigabytes of main memory, a DVD burner as an optical drive, a cardreader and a webcam belong to the basic equipment of all devices. All six notebooks are also tested by means of an HDMI socket as an additional display output. USB 3.0 and Gigabit LAN, however, do not necessarily belong to the basic equipment.


As with the two previous fusion processors, the CPU cores and a Radeon GPU were also combined on a processor die at Llano. As the GPU is more and more often used not only for graphics, but also for computer programs, especially in programs from the multimedia world, AMD speaks here of an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) Code>

In the CPU part, a further development of the proven K10 core is used. The new AMD processor does not have a level 3 cache, in contrast to the Intel core processors of the Sandy Bridge family. DDR3-1600, Intel DDR3-1333 is the memory type supported for the DDR3-1600.


Buying advice: Notebooks from 13 inches


To save energy, the new processor now also powers power gating for individual cores, the GPU and the UVD. Intel processors can do this for quite some time. Further developed AMD also the dynamic overclocking function Turbo Core, which now also includes the GPU. AMD's Llano does not support a short-term exceedance of the TDP as for Intel's Core i5 and Core i7.


The Acer Aspire 7750G with Intel Core i3 processor occupies the first place in the competition between AMD and Intel notebooks. However, the AMD graphics chip was also involved. However, the 17-inch desktop is a desktop replacement and only conditionally suitable for on the road.


The lightweight Samsung 300E5A with Intel CPU and the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E525 with AMD A8 are recommended. Both offer a very good battery life and matte displays. With a tight budget, the Asus K53TA with AMD A4 is the best choice.


Review: The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E525 review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review,

DVD Burner: The Multitalent

A true multitalent is the new DVD burner from LG. No matter what format, the GSA-4040B burns them all: DVD-R, DVD + R and DVD-RAM. The DVD burner according to the manufacturer with DVD-R and DVD + R 4-fold, with DVD-RAM to reach 3 times speed. In the test, however, no DVD-R with more than twice the burning speed could be described. There were also some difficulties with rewritable DVDs. While DVDRAM and DVD-RW media could be automatically overwritten, DVD + RWs burned the burning software on a regular basis. Very good is however the reading speed with DVD: in the test it reached a peak value of more than 12 times speed, on average more than 9x. For CDs, the specified burning speed was also not quite achieved in the test: almost five and a half minutes needed the burner to burn a CD – much too slow for a 24x drive. On the other hand, the performance with CD-RWs, which are described with 16 times speed. For this, the drive was slow to read, and with a lot of reading errors.


Link to the manufacturer


Panasonic TX-P50GT50E review

Externally, the Panasonic TX-P50GT50E hardly differ from an LCD TV. It has a very thin screen in “Chrome Frame” design, which weighs just under 23 kilograms a bit heavier than a comparable LCD TV.


Panasonic TX-P50GT50E: Apps and Recording


But the plasma has not only a lot to offer. About a Bluetooth receiver. The viewer can connect keyboards or headphones by radio: with the size of the panel and the resulting seat spacing a sensible triangle. It is also possible to use a smartphone.


Picture gallery


The VIERA remote app is available for iPad, iPhone and Android platforms. Data sources are stored on an SD card slot, other manufacturers often use SD cards to buffer video streams. So if you want to watch photos or 3D camcorder movies, simply insert the SD card. Alternatively, you can use one of the three USB ports or the network.


Panasonic TX-P50GT50E: Network


Thanks to the USB triplet, other everyday features are possible. Its recording function can cut in three different recording modes: The recordings are either high-quality and large or on VHS level and small. Due to the data reduction, the hard disk is not so fast, especially with serial recording. The latest litter: The recordings are even streamed from the record to the network.


Panasonic TX-P50GT50E: Sound and Image Quality


Especially in terms of network, Panasonic has done a lot. Dual Core Pro 4 allows simultaneous running of several Internet applications in parallel. Unfortunately the multitasking does not work everywhere. In the EPG, for example, one does not come when a recording is running. Apart from that the fast menu navigation of the 50-inch is a force.


The new browser has also succeeded the technicians. He even plays embedded Flash videos without grumbling. In the social networks, Panasonic has grown a lot. Twitter and Facebook can be shown next to the TV picture.


The VIERA Connect portal has otherwise the usual information pages to offer: Tagesschau, YouTube or also the online video store Maxdome. Skype is synonymous, but requires an additional camera for 110 euros.


Amazingly neat was the sound of the test pattern. With rich basses he offered high TV-level.


In the image test, the Panasonic synonymous. Through his deep black, he could even create gloomy stripes effectively. The new 2.500 Hz Focused Field control system was designed for crisp contours on moving subjects. The electronics of the plasma also worked largely cleanly at film sources. Artifacts can be corrected by the corresponding adjustments in the image menu.


Four TV sets with 46 to 60 inches in test


In the case of 3D reproduction, he occasionally showed delicate ghost contours with particularly close objects, which impressed his exact fine-tuning with natural-looking images at the same time. In principle, he did not achieve the beam power of a LCD candidate in principle, but he did so in the darkened ambience. This is where the eco-mode and the light sensor ensured that his current starter was within acceptable limits.


Smartwatch: simvalley PW-315.touch in the test

While the big manufacturers still work on smartphones that are so small that they can be worn on the wrist, you can buy the PW-315.touch from simvalley at Pearl already long. At the CeBIT, we were able to take a look at the mobile phone clock, a few weeks later it is a test in the editorial office. We are amazed not bad that in this small box a smartphone with touch screen, battery, normal SIM card (no micro-SIM) and MicroSD card (not included) place. Commissioning is quite quick and easy. The battery is charged via the micro-USB connector. A charging and data cable is included, a USB power supply is not included.


Conclusion


News about the iWatch


In the first attempts to make calls, we notice how fiddly the small display is to use. It requires a good deal of skill and slender fingers to type a phone number without mistake. The voice quality is really not very good, but we can nevertheless understand our conversation partner, which is however only limited the case. Only when we speak very loudly (and preferably directly into the clock) are we understood, though not well, but still understood.


It is better with the included headset, which is connected to the micro-USB port. We can hear it very well and if you hold the micro directly in front of your mouth, we are well understood. The fact that the headset is hardly to be connected because of a wrongly applied rubber cover, is owed to the pre-production.


The PW-315.touch is more a gimmick than a serious phone. But at the price of just under 80 euros it is affordable for everyone and is good for jogging or cycling. But it will also be a pleasure to see the secret of the clock.


BurnAware Free: Free Download Download

The fact that the focus of the software mainly focuses on the burning, is clear at first glance at the tidy surface. Nevertheless, the free burning software does not miss important and often required functions.


BurnAware creates and burns image files, writes multisession, and verifies burned media on demand. Another feature of BurnAware Free Edition is the ability to create boot CDs and DVDs. This allows, for example, operating system and recovery media to be used to start the computer.


Guide: Software basic for every PC


Burn-free music files can be read in the formats MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, M4A, AAC, and FLAC songs (Free Lossless Audio Codec) - a special feature of burning programs. When writing audio CDs, the user can opt for a track-at-once or a break-away (disc-at-once) variant. For image files, BurnAware Free Edition supports the ISO standard and CUE / BIN files.


Paint.net - The best tips for image processing - Tip 1 - Workspace and tools in Paint.net

When you first open Paint.net, you will see four windows: tools, color, gradient, and layers. You can close the “Colors” and “Layers” windows directly, by clicking on the symbols in the upper right corner. If you have selected a tool, the options are displayed at the top of the toolbar. The History window is a useful help, it shows you step by step what you have changed in your image, you can click at any time to undo your changes.


Tip 1 - Workspace and tools in Paint.net