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The Benefits Of Google Apps
If you own a business, then there is a chance that you will be looking for a way in which you can share your files so that people can work remotely. This type of working is becoming more and more popular in the modern world, with companies realizing that they don't really have any need to pay to run an office when their employees could do exactly the same work from the comfort of their own home. This would save money for the company, and would also mean that the employee could cut down on the amount of time that they spent travelling to and from the office, as well as removing travel expenses. Here, we will explore more about just some of the benefits of Google Apps.
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Case Mod Friday: Smokey Green Giant
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Derrick Ubbink’s Smokey Green Giant build. Here is what he had to say about it: The inspiration for this build comes from the frustration of dealing with small cases while water cooling. I set out to find a case that was simply huge and didn't have terrible outer aesthetics. I found the Fulmo GT met these requirements so quickly ordered one and set to work gutting it and making it to my liking. In the end I went with a dual loop water cooled setup, one for CPU the other GPU, each cooled by a single 420mm Alphacool radiator. And what started out as a TRI-SLI 3GB GTX 580 rig quickly became QUAD-SLI 580s and finally I went for a pair of GTX Titans. I'm super happy with the results and will just be enjoying it for awhile!
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Noctua Fans Review
So you’re putting together your all out custom build. You’ve got the best processor, motherboard, memory, GPU, and case you can buy. Now is the time you’re going to have to start thinking about fans and cooling. Whether it be air or water, you will need fans. This is often forgotten till the end, and this item is crucial to bringing all those bits together and helping them to perform to their fullest. While there are many options when it comes to choosing fans, it is very important to be selective in order to get the right fan for your configuration as well as a good quality fan. Today we are going to be taking a look at a broad selection of 9 fans from one of the most lauded fan manufacturers, Noctua.
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What You Need To Know about the Xbox One
Microsoft’s Xbox Reveal event was held today at Microsoft’s Redmond campus. If you missed it we have all of the information on the next generation Xbox console. After months of speculation the official name of the console will be Xbox One. The Xbox One is made to be an “all-in-one” box that interacts with all the devices in your home theater. Microsoft’s Don Mattrick said the core strategy is “simple, instant and complete.” The Xbox One will be available “later this year” and will ship with a new Kinect motion camera and controller. Read on as we go over some of the new features.
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Rosewill T600N Wireless Router Review
In this modern area of wireless networking, the market is flooded with devices with advanced feature sets, sometimes not performing as well as others. This trade-off can be frustrating. Sometimes, the basic features are all one really needs in a WiFi router, and the Rosewill T600N fills that gap. It’s an 802.11a/b/g/n router that can do 300 Mbps per frequency and even features standard replaceable antennas for its 2.4 GHz radio. ThinkComputers takes a look at this sub $60 unit that frequently can be found online for under $50!
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SilverStone DS322 Dual Bay USB 3.0 Enclosure Review
Sometimes it can be hard to find an easy, affordable and reliable solution for external PC backups in one product. I have used several HDD enclosures and NAS products from several different makers and never really fell in love with any of them. Most of them have extremely complicated menus that you have to sift through to try and figure out how to change the RAID setup of the device. Then you have to wait several hours just for it to format a few hundred Gigs of space. In the past, when deciding on a RAID capable enclosure you really need to prioritize what is important to you and ask yourself a few questions. How much does it cost? How reliable it is? How easy is it to use? Keep all of those questions in mind as you read this review and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with this enclosure.
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What To Expect From The Next iPhone
If Apple follows their typical release schedule, the new iPhone will be available sometime this summer, and the rumors are already flying about what that's going to contain. With rival phones from Android stepping up their game, will Apple feel the pressure to do something completely new and spectacular? Maybe it'll be like the 4S, which made small improvements to the iPhone 4 but didn't break out of the mold too much. Nobody really knows, as Apple hasn't provided us with any official information yet, but there are some of the speculated changes.
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Case Mod Friday: Amethyst
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Anthony Hick's Amethyst build. He has actually sent us shots of his entire setup! Here is what he has to say about his build: My first build, designed for gaming. Essentially started out as a budget build, but I've been adding upgrades as I am able to afford them.
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AZZA Silentium 920 Case Review
When it comes to building a quiet PC system it ultimately comes down to the case. You want a case with sound-dampening properties and quiet fans. There are quite a few out there but today we are going to be checking out AZZA’s take on a quiet case. The AZZA Silentium 920 which is available in both white and black versions features thick sound dampening material on both side panels, two 120mm included fans and a sleek elegant design. Is this case the next one for your quiet system build? Read on as we take a look...
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Top Features of the Samsung Galaxy S4
The Samsung Galaxy S4 is one of the hottest gadgets today. This article will discuss the top features of this phone to help you determine what features you like in order to make a choice of the best device in the market. The Samsung S4 is definitely one of the biggest smartphone releases this year. It is very popular and there is no doubt about it since it is packed with tons of wonderful features putting it on the list of the best smartphones up to date. This phone is worth having since it is the product of great innovation only from the giant phone manufacturer Samsung.

LaCie Rikiki 500GB Portable USB Hard Drive Review

Testing
Since this drive is made to be used mainly with notebooks I decided to test it out on Dell XPS M1210. Interestingly enough LaCie provides what they call “USB Boost”, which is a proprietary driver that LaCie says will optimize the data transfer rate between your computer and your LaCie hard drive.

LaCie Rikiki 500GB Portable USB Hard Drive

So the first test I did was with HD Tune 3.5 without USB Boost installed…

An average of 29.2 MB/s isn’t bad for a USB connected hard drive. Now let’s install the USB Boost driver and run the test again.

As you can see that driver sure makes a difference. With it installed we had an average read speed of 37.4 MB/s that’s a 8.2 MB/s difference!

Final Thoughts
There are quite a few options when it comes to a large capacity portable hard drives so what is going to make you choose the Rikiki drive from LaCie? First the drive is extremely small and remember it only requires a USB connection to power it, not an external power adapter. Also the drive is made of all aluminum, which not only looks good but keeps the drive cool and protects it.

Transfer speeds on the drive were good and when we installed the USB Boost driver from LaCie the speeds increased even more. The backup software that comes with the drive is extremely easy to use and works great. You also get a 10GB 1-year membership to Wuala online storage.

The only real problem I had with this drive is that the USB cable is extremely short. If you have USB connections on the front of your case and you want to use this drive they probably will not reach with the included cable. Even the USB connections on your motherboard most likely will not reach. Getting another USB cable is an easy fix, but I wish LaCie would have provided a short and long cable with the Rikiki.

Right now you can get the Rikiki in 250GB, 500GB and 640GB capacities. The 500GB version, which we reviewed, can be found online for around $100. Overall ThinkComputers gives the LaCie Rikiki 500GB Portable USB Hard Drive a 9 out of 10 score.

Pros:
- Small
- Made of aluminum
- Included backup software
- 10GB 1-year membership to Wuala online storage

Cons:
- VERY short USB cable

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  • eNdEmiOn
    So which HD is actually inside?
  • http://askbargains.com/ Mary Claire
    This is great! Fitted for the my work since I need huge space to transfer files at home. And USB port type of HD is really helpful. Hassle free and very portable. Though wondering if it also a plug and play device? Thanks.