this week on the cnet tech review gaming
comes to the new roku to get the skinny
on the acer revo 100 make your own lion
recovery disk for free and the fastest
hard drive we've ever tested comes with
a hefty price tag it's all coming up
right now
hi everyone I'm Hollywood and welcome to
the scene that tech review where we
collect our hottest videos of the week
and tell you what's good and what's bad
in the world of tech plus offer our own
unique tech wisdom in the form of the
bottom line let's start with the good if
you love Angry Birds and you love Roku
frankly I don't know very many people
who don't love those two things then
imagine them together with an all new
gaming remote and even more streaming
content options me talk about the good
hi I'm David Carr know I and I'm here
with the roku 2 XS which makes a strong
case for being the best media streamer
out there for less than a hundred
dollars first thing you should know
about this little guy is that while it's
got the number 2 in its name this is
actually the fourth iteration of the
device we started its life out as the
netflix player like Apple TV this still
is a netflix video streamer at its core
and a very good one but along the way
Roku is shrunk the box down added a lot
more content options and bulked up
feature wise upping the ante this
go-around with a new Bluetooth motion
remote that allows you to play games
that's right games you heard right
however don't think you're getting a
mini we even if the remote is a little
like of the wiimote Roku is included
angry birds for free at launch and later
this year will offer up more casual
games that you can purchase through the
system don't care about gaming well fear
not you don't have to pay for the fancy
remote if you don't want it only the top
and excess model you see here comes with
the remote the to step down models in
the line the $80 XD and the $60 HD offer
nearly all the same features but come
with a standard ir remote it's worth
noting that all the models do offer the
gaming feature but you need the remote
to play and you can buy one later if you
want for thirty dollars well the
entry-level model maxes out at 720p HD
video instead of 1080p all three models
look almost identical and have fast 802
11 and Wi-Fi as well as a microSD
expansion slot which will have to use
for
wearing additional game purchases on an
optional memory card it's also worth
mentioning that the excess here is the
only model that offers a built-in
ethernet connection for those who want
to go the wire drought and yes there is
a USB port which means you can connect a
thumb drive full of images and select
video files but the truth is this just
doesn't support a lot of file types so
don't buy it for that if you have an
HDTV you'll be connecting this via HDMI
however an included breakout composite
AV cable does allow you to hook this up
to nearly any TV of course you'll only
be getting standard definition video but
at least there's an option for people
who own older sets over the years Roku
has done a good job of finding the
interface on its media streaming boxes
and while the Roku tues interface may
not be quite as slick as the one you'll
find on Apple TV it is elegant and user
friendly ultimately however the real
strength of Roku 2 and the thing that
differentiates it from apple TV is the
range of content offerings that are
included Roku calls those offerings
channels and there are dozens to choose
from including netflix amazon instant
video and pandora and Rdio on the audio
side as well as subscription services
like hulu plus and MLB TV to get a more
complete list check out our written
review as you can see from this quick
scroll through the offerings it's pretty
extensive the one potential big downside
for owners of Apple devices is this
doesn't offer the iTunes integration and
wireless airplay features of the Apple
TV however on the plus side it has the
widest array of streaming content to
date and one of the best Netflix
experiences out there combine that with
a smaller design the new remote and
gaming feature and for the moment anyway
we can comfortably recommend the Roku 2
XS as the go-to choice for buyers
looking for a sub hundred dollar
solution for accessing the increasingly
attractive panoply of online streaming
media services i'm david carr knowing
that's the roku to excess media streamer
thanks for watching
I feel like I'm drooling all over Roku
all the time but seriously if you've
been wanting to cut the cord that time
is now well mostly I mean while you're
waiting for all the studios to make all
their content available for streaming at
least you'll be able to play Angry Birds
of course the roku box isn't your only
option if you do cut the cord last week
we featured one of acer's aspire desktop
models in the bad section of the show
but it appears they have redeemed
themselves with a quirky little home
theater PC that holds a few surprises hi
I'm rich brown senior editor for
cnet.com today we're going to take a
look at the acer revo 100 this is a 499
home theater PC it's got a really unique
slim design and actually have some
pretty good features for its price it's
a low-powered AMD cpu inside so it's not
really meant for productivity but it has
a blu-ray drive a 750 gigabyte hard
drive and pretty much all the features
we expect to find in a pc meant for the
living room you'll notice of course its
size it's a pretty slim system and it's
actually kind of reminiscent of the old
ps2 slim game console like that console
you can actually set the system on its
end or you can lay down flat this stand
here at the bottom slides out from the
bottom of the unit and it's simple
enough just to lay it down one of the
most unique features about this PC is
the included input device you can pop
out this little tab on the top of the
system and you get this little touchpad
device now the touchpad has two modes it
works like a standard touchpad like you
might find on the laptop and we found
that it tracks your finger pretty well
but it actually is not as responsive as
we'd like in terms of clicking sometimes
it takes a couple presses but it does
have a pretty good range so it's useful
for say one click applications but we
wouldn't use it for multi-step processes
it can be a little bit annoying probably
more effective feature is its keypad
that's built in pushes button at the top
and you get a full qwerty keyboard a
couple extra function buttons up at the
top here and we found the keyboard
actually performs a little bit better
than the touchpad you don't have to
worry about double tapping letters
system recognizes your press is well
enough and it's useful for say searching
for content or entering in a web page or
a login this dial on the side here also
acts as a volume control
so let's touch that actually there's a
fairly good job of solving a problem
that has plagued living room pcs and
that's how do you actually control that
system from your couch this is a pretty
good solution and it's certainly a lot
neater than a dedicated mouse and
keyboard so for the rest of the system
that's actually fairly basic you've got
a blu-ray drive up here is a USB port
here and an SD card reader down on the
front on the back of the case you get a
couple USB ports analog audio outs an
optical audio output hdmi ethernet and
down here you get the power input so
there's no TV tuner on the system which
we don't think is that big a deal it
also has a budget graphics card so this
really isn't meant for gaming that said
it can play pretty high bitrate blu-ray
discs so in terms of the things it tries
to do playing stream content playing
blu-rays it actually works fairly well
now of course there are other devices
that can do a lot of what this system
does for Less playstation 3 for example
has a blu-ray drive built-in supports
all kinds of media streaming software
and only coughs about 299 but the
benefit of a windows-based system of
course is that it gives you access to
the full internet multiple formats any
content you can find so it actually has
a certain amount of versatility even
though it costs a little bit more so if
you are looking for a low cost window
system to provide that flexibility in
the living room we would definitely
recommend checking out the acer revo 100
so i'm rich brown this is the acer revo
100
I can totally see that computer in my
media center set up right where my DVD
player used to be and I have to say that
is the coolest touchpad / keyboard /
coaster that I have ever seen it's
hardly a sleek or stylish as that acer
but this new laptop for masseuse is a
solid performer and a sensible
back-to-school purchase Scott Stein has
all the details hi I'm Scott Stein
senior editor at cnet com and this is
the asus you 30 1 sda1 now if you're
doing any back-to-school shopping you're
probably looking for some budget laptop
that's portable that is a good solid
all-around set of features and
performance well this will slot into
that area it's maybe not that exciting
but it is a laptop that fits the bill
it's 13 inches it's 4.2 pounds now it's
nowhere near as thin and light as a
macbook air but at seven ninety-nine
it's more affordable than one and it
comes with a core i3 processor that
second gen and also has some decent
graphics in video geforce 520m it's not
going to blow the doors off anything but
it is capable playing some basic games
plus s laptops got really good battery
life we got it at almost six hours
running our video playback battery drain
test so that's really an all-day battery
life which is great in this little form
but it's not that exciting looking i
mean it's it's kind of an old fashioned
almost for a couple years ago but you're
not necessarily buying a laptop to draw
attention if your budget shopping this
has got a 640 gigabyte hard drive for
gigs of ram and enough oomph to get you
through a day which qualifies for us is
a really good bye but just be aware that
eight-hundred dollars you can get a lot
of laptops now with a lot of different
features some of which are better than
this and some of which are a little more
lacking so it's not quite the bargain
that you think it is just before worn
this does not have an optical drive no
there is no DVD drive in here whatsoever
now that you expect on a 13-inch macbook
air but I'm saying this thick you could
have sought an optical drive in there
but you're not going to get one but if
you're looking for a 13 incher back to
school that's not too thick but not that
thin take a look at the asus you 30 1 SD
a one obviously if you have a teenager
heading off to college they will
probably assume you don't love them if
you buy them one of these instead of a
mac but if you want to teach them a
lesson about having your dreams crushed
as they approach adulthood by all means
go with the ax sous I know moving on to
this week's installment of tap that up
brian Tong is here with an iOS app that
will help you improve the appearance of
your device's display all right it's
time to pimp your screen hey guys
welcome to tap that app i'm brian Tong
and this is the show we cover the
hottest apt in the mobile space now
everyone talks about how customization
is king on android phones with their
widgets and skins but iOS users you
don't have to be left out and you don't
have to jailbreak your phone either
thanks to a 99-cent app called pimp your
screen now it's compatible with every
single iOS device that has existed
that's right I'm talking to you first
gen iphone guy so pay attention now pimp
your screen includes a variety of home
screens with something for everyone lots
of colors and lots of fun there's themed
app shelves that can be used in portrait
or landscape mode and some really trippy
neon combos for the raver in you plus
they're constantly adding new styles a
killer feature allows you to preview
what the theme looks like with the app
icons on top of it to get a real good
idea for how you want to pimp yo pad but
the best feature is the lockscreen maker
and the homescreen maker the LOX cream
maker allows you to pick a background
but also customize the frame that will
wow your friends wow the homescreen
maker let you go to town by picking a
background and then mixing and matching
a shelf type or a skin to go on top I
prefer skin now once you're done with
everything press save and it will add
your creation to your camera roll go
into your photo app and find the picture
select the sharing options and you'll be
able to set your masterpiece as a
wallpaper and make it your lock screen
or home screen and just like that you'll
be pimping in no time now if you have
any other apps you like to show us send
the tap that app at cnet com i'm brian
Tong thanks for watching keep pippin for
the record my producer and i would
prefer to see the word pimp banned from
any of our videos at least when used as
verb but since my producer actually
downloaded and started using the app
after watching this video he decided he
allow it for this week anyway so pimp
away people just this once okay the time
has come to take a break but stick
around we still have a lot more tech
review right after this
welcome back to the cnet tech review our
weekly video digest of all things good
and bad we've seen here at cnet TV let's
go ahead and see what has landed in the
bed this week we saw a handful of new
mini camcorders come through the labs
and though you might not guess it from
Josh Goldman's review this is actually
the best one of the bunch which isn't
saying much hey I'm Josh Goldman senior
editor we've seen it and this is a look
at the toshiba camileo BW 10 it's a
waterproof mini camcorder that can shoot
at resolutions up to 1080p full HD and
can survive being underwater down to six
and a half feet for up to 60 minutes
it's easy to use too all you do is turn
it on wait several seconds and then
press record or you can also take 5
megapixel photos that's really where the
excitement ends though with the BW 10
it's not a bad mini camcorder it's video
and photo quality is decent for sharing
online at small sizes if nothing else
but it's missing a lot of the stuff I've
come to expect from these devices such
as embedded editing sharing software and
a flip-out USB connector instead you get
a basic youtube uploader and some trial
software on a disk and a micro USB cable
there's no shooting options beyond
changing resolutions and capturing
photos while shooting video there is
face detection to the upside to self few
features though is that there's nothing
to get in the way of capturing video so
if all you're really after is a basic
inexpensive mini camcorder for poolside
or other damp environments it's an
option I'm Josh Goldman and
toshiba me w 10
it's an option not quite the ringing
endorsement toshiba was looking for I'm
sure here's an example of how something
good came out of a bad situation hey
guys Brian song here with cnet.com and
Mac OS 10 line users might be happy with
how easy it is to download the lion
through the app store but there's no
need to purchase an installer disk from
Apple for sixty nine bucks and there's
been no way to create a physical
recovery disk until now Apple's made
their own line recovery disk assistant
that's available to download for free at
the link you see here you'll be able to
create your own physical recovery disk
it's just over a meg and it requires you
have lion running with a recovery hard
drive partition which is set up by
default now first up insert a USB thumb
stick or external disk drive with at
least one gig of storage to your
computer running lion run the line
recovery assistant and it will create
the recovery disk for you in a few
minutes on that drive so from now on
you'll have a line recovery disk and if
you need to restore your computer in the
future first plug in your disk drive
then power up your Mac on startup hold
the option key and a screen will appear
that allows you to select which Drive
you want to boot up from so there you
have it i'm brian Tong for cnet com with
your recovery disk out to that will save
you from potential headaches and more
importantly save you some money use it
wisely
that is so generous of Apple to let you
create a recovery disk for the operating
system you bought just like every
operating system has let you do since
the beginning of operating systems but
yes at least you don't have to pay the
69 bucks like we all thought at first
all right with that let's finish things
up with this week's bottom line Apple is
definitely known for taking a new
standard and making it the hot new thing
like when they co-opted it Intel's light
peak data transfer interface called it
thunderbolt and put it in all their
newest machines you will be amazed by
the speed the price and the romantic
possibilities of this Thunderbolt
accessory hey guys don't know is here
and I'm really cool have you here the
macbook pro 2011 and here the very first
thunderball hard drive that offer up to
12 terabyte of storage space now that's
going to impress a lady big deal my
boyfriend had a 15 terabyte nast server
alright in that case I have two of these
what now you're going to see my second
my quick bro I had that one too anyway
move on these are the Pegasus are sick
drive from progress the first storage
device on the market that used the new
Thunderbolt connection and has sick
drive base as a matter of fact the only
other Thunder bone device on the market
is the Pegasus are for that has only
four base but why settle for four when
it can have a six right on the back here
the drive has two Thunderbolt ports one
of them is to connect to a computer
while the other can be used with a min
DisplayPort device such as the apple
display LCD or another Thunderball
storage device after sick devices can be
daisy-chained together like that without
affecting performance of one another
meaning each of them enjoy up to 10 gb
per second bandwidth on the front you
defy the drive bay each can be pulled
out easily to reveal the hard drive
inside the device here has sick to
attend by SATA 3 drives that can be
combined in red configuration to offer
up to 12
by up storage the device come with a
promise utility that helps managing is
read and Mario to the internal hard
drives condition the hard drives can be
changed from one red to another very
fast in our testing the Pegasus offer
the fastest ever among all storage
devices for consumers as a matter of
fact is even faster than the internal
dry of this macbook pro which is a SATA
3 solid-state drive with great
performance come great cost the Pegasus
are sick is not cheap costing around
$1,500 for the sick to drive version and
this 12 to buy version here cost around
two thousand dollars this means only
super cool people able to afford one
never my to once again my name is domo
and this has been the first look at the
Pegasus are sick thunderball drive from
promised the bottom line this week no
hurry on the old Thunderbolt thing
they're super expensive super tiny
market you don't need to be that cool
right now oh and don't comment on the
skit but i blame brian Tong for that all
right folks that's our show come back
next week for an all-new cnet tech
review until then there are tons of
great videos available every day at cnet
TV com see you next time and thank you
for watching
you
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