Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 : The Big Daddy of Internet Security Suites

Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0Kaspersky is another one of the many antivirus makers that’s gone the complete Internet Security system way – not a bad thing. It’s known to be a resources hog, so we checked if anything had improved with this edition.
The suite takes care of all your security worries.. files, mail, system network security etc. All the basic controls for the components can be accessed from the main two-pane layout window. Modifying settings means you to go to another window which houses all the settings for the components, and there are plenty of them.
The core antivirus feature is standard and allows you to scan files and folders along with boot sectors, Registry, Memory, startup programs, etc. The Anti-Spam has a nifty training feature that learns by looking at mails in your mailbox through a wizard to provide more accurate spam protection. The firewall monitors for incoming and outgoing threats and notifies you immediately. Any attacks targeted at your computer can be set to have the attacker’s machine blocked for a set period of time.
The firewall also takes care of the blocking of ad banners and pop-ups from websites as well. The parental control is useful is not only stopping access to inappropriate sites, but also in setting limitations on time spent at the computer and on the internet. User accounts on Windows can be set to parent, teenager, Child and by default, all user are set to Child.
Strictness of all the features can be adjusted using a slider. At the same manual changes can be made. This is especially useful for spam filtering, parental control and the firewall. Heuristic scanning is available in most of the modules, but not enabled in all of them by default.
The help file doesn’t carry any screenshots, but the explanation is adequate and easy to understand.
Kaspersky’s Internet Security Suite is a pretty good choice for anyone looking for a complete security solution, its right up there with the best security suite money can buy at the price of $79.95/Year of license. There are no missing features, and everything is implemented well. New users might be a little confused by all the terms and huge list of options, though.

Popularity: 14% [?]

LG Black Label Series KE970 “Shine” : if only looks could matter

LG Black Label Series KE970 ShineNot all manufacturers are innovators of style. Ever since it launched the Chocolate a year ago, LG has been on to something is its new classy mobile line-up, of which the Black Label Series KE970 (a.k.a. shine) is what we got to lay our hands on. Encased in a full-metallic body with with a rich brush finish, the K970 is as rugged as a tank. It is wider than most mobiles. The highlight here is its 2.2-inch LCD, which not only looks good while it is on, but doubles up as a mirror when not lit up!
The keys offer good tactile feedback. LG has introduced the scroll button for the first time, but we found it rather inconvenient: it is very frustrating to keep scrolling through long lists and Web pages. Probably because of the scroller, the UI is vertical menu-based rather then icon-based-rather unintuitive. The Shine has an excellent 2.0 MP camera with auto focus. It is certified by Schneidr Kreuznach, the German company that certifies photo-optics. The camera does live up to its hype, and is one of the best we have seen thus far. You can choose from a host of different resolutions and there are five white balance settings, along with a few artistic effects. The camera is a bit sluggish, though. The media player is decent. Bluetooth 1.2 with A2DP support lets you listen to your music in full stereo on a supported buletooth handset.
There is support to view most common office formats, but there’s just 50 MB of internal memory, and you’ll need to use the microSD slot to add more-irritatingly, it’s not hot-swappable. lost Mobile Track (LMT) function is inbuilt to allow you to trace the phone in case you lost it.

Available Memory Cards for LG KE970:
Micro-SD card
Micro SD memory
Memory Stick Micro
M2 memory
M2 card

Popularity: 36% [?]

SpeechVibe : Total vioce control

SpeechVibe allows complete control over one’s PC using voice commands. You first create a voice profile, which doesn’t take too long-and you can start using SpeechVibe.
SpeechVibe scans the Start Menu, and launching an installed application is straightforward-just say, “Launch (application name)”. There’s something called the Mouse Grid, pictured below. It allows even mouse movements to be controlled by voice. This translucent grid takes up the whole screen and highlights point coordinates. You use the name of the coordinate-such as 3-29, 3-30, and so on-to tell SpeechVibe which action you want performed. So, for example, if your outlook icon is under coordinate 2-23, you say “2-23″ and Outlook will be launched. You can click, move, double-click, right-click, and perform drag and drop operations using the mouse grid. It is so precise, you can even create objects in MS Paint, as we’ve done here. Not that you’d want to paint this way, but it demonstrates the power SpeechVibe brings with it.
Browser and mail client support computers inbuilt; when you say “Go to {Web site}”, SpeechVibe launches the default browser. A window filled with sorted, numbered, and continuously scrolling favorite URLs is superimposed.You then open a Web page by saying “Pick {number}”. SpeechVibe also supports speech-to-text by superposing a “dictate environment.”This allows you to correct mistakes on-the -fly. An example of this is shown below: a speaker said “Tech Freek”, and the word was recognized-and there are several alternatives that you can choose from by saying the appropriate number.
SpeechVibe is not as accurate as expensive voice recognition software, but the features are innovative. These will take some getting used to of course.At just Rs 675, you might want to consider this one if you are in the market for speech recognition software.

Popularity: 11% [?]