1.4

Do you remember when you bought stereo receivers based on their power and connectivity? The entry-level models were low in power and had just a few inputs. As you moved up in the line, they got more power, more ports, and an extra feature or two. The top models looked cooler than the entry-level ones, with a more high-end design flair and they hid their lesser-used controls under a flip-down panel. If someone bought a more expensive model, it's because they wanted better sound quality.

Home-theater receivers followed the same course, except the higher end models had more speaker … Read more

Proving size doesn't matter, VW won overall "Best Engine of the Year" for its 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger engine. Again.

It's the second year in a row that the "little engine that could" won this award at the International Engine of the Year Awards 2010. This fun-size engine combines a turbocharger and supercharger in one compact unit and, using direct fuel injection, manages to squeeze out 178 hp with astonishingly little displacement.

Powering the European Union versions of the Eos, Golf, and Tiguan, the 1.4-liter engine delivers impressive fuel economy gains over its … Read more

While it's not hard to find a free chat app that lets you IM and call friends on multiple networks, getting one to elegantly inform you of incoming chats and let you easily switch among open conversations is slimmer pickings. It may not be the most visually exciting app we've seen, but Nimbuzz IM does a fine job delivering features and alerting you to chats when you talk with friends on Skype, Facebook, Windows Live Messenger (MSN), Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MySpace, ICQ, or Gadu-Gadu.

The app will buzz by default when a new … Read more

Your Android phone may have some measure of voice commands baked in, but Vlingo's premium offering adds the capability to launch apps, update your Twitter status, and send e-mail and text messages when you bark orders at it. (We'd love to see voice commands for playing music and taking photo and video, too.) On top of that, Vlingo will also dial your contacts, plumb Google Maps, and search Google or Yahoo. We should mention that there is a short learning curve in picking up the right voice triggers to get Vlingo to search and perform tasks.

Like other … Read more

Jooleem Portable is a basic puzzle game that's designed to travel with you on a portable device, although it works fine on a PC as well. It's not the most thrilling game we've ever played, but it is surprisingly addictive.

Getting started with Jooleem Portable isn't necessarily easy. Users must manually specify where they want the program installed, which makes sense given that it's designed for portable use, but this step might flummox novice computer users. There's no desktop icon or Start menu entry, which means that you'd better remember where you installed … Read more

Virtually everyone who's ever used a computer has played Minesweeper, the classic Windows game in which users must strategically locate and mark mines hidden on the board. Mines-Perfect Portable is nearly identical to the original Windows game, but it's made to be portable and has a few cool extra features.

Mines-Perfect Portable is indeed meant to be installed on mobile devices, and the installation process reflects this; users have to specify the installation location, and there are no desktop icons or Start menu items. The game's interface looks almost exactly like that of the Windows version, and … Read more

People buy home theater-in-a-box systems for a lot of reasons, but sound quality isn't one of them.

The problem with HTIBs, even the very best ones, is they don't come with great speakers or subwoofers. Denon has a solution at hand: the S-5DB. Think of it as a HTIB that doesn't come with speakers or a subwoofer. No HTIB ever made has speakers as good as the better ones I've reviewed from Aperion Audio, Atlantic Technology, Definitive Technology, Energy Speakers, Klipsch, Mirage, or Polk. You want great sound? You gotta have great speakers.

The S-5BD combo … Read more

Google Translation Bar is a handy add-on for the Chrome Web browser that lets users translate Web pages between a variety of languages. It doesn't have as many features as other translators we've seen, but it's still a quick and easy way to get translations of fairly high quality.

The add-on integrates well with Chrome, appearing as a small icon within the address bar. When the icon is clicked, a banner appears across the top of the Web page offering translation options. Translating couldn't be easier; users simply select the desired output language--there are 53 to … Read more

We love tabbed browsing, but we often find ourselves with tons of tabs open. Sometimes they're simply things we forgot to close when we were done with them, but other times they contain pages that we want to return to. TooManyTabs for Chrome is a clever browser extension that helps you hang on to the tabs you're not done with without all the clutter.

TooManyTabs isn't the most intuitive application we've ever used, but after a bit of experimentation, it was pretty easy to figure out. It appears as an icon to the right of Chrome'… Read more