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Who wouldn't want a 'Star Wars'-themed burger?

On February 10, "Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace" will come back to theaters, this time in 3D. That means we can expect to see Star Wars tie-ins squeezed out worldwide.

With that in mind, if you're in Europe and you're near a Quick restaurant, you might want to swing by and try one of the trio of Star Wars-themed burgers. There's the Jedi Burger, which looks relatively benevolent; the Dark Burger, the bun of which has poppy seeds, a sure sign of evil if I ever saw one; and the Dark Vador Burger. Dark Vador is what Darth Vader is called in French (man, they have a word for everything, don't they?), but that's probably not what draws your attention so much as the OMG WHAT IS--

--the black bun.… Read more

Quick Take: Samsung LN32D403

Although CNET didn't review the Samsung LN32D403, we did review two similar Samsung LCD TVs, the LN32C350 from 2010 and this year's LND550 series.

Comparing between the three on Samsung's web site, the LN32D403 has the worst specs. It offers a worse dynamic contrast ratio than the C350 and especially the D550. We suspect its overall picture quality to be the same or very slightly worse than the C350.

The other major specs difference is the D403's 720p resolution compared to 1080p for the the D550, but unless you're using it to display computer signals, … Read more

Quick Take: Samsung LN32D450

Although CNET didn't review the Samsung LN32D450, we did review two similar Samsung LCD TVs, the LN32C350 from 2010 and this year's LND550 series.

Comparing between the three on Samsung's Web site, the LN32D450 sits about in the middle specs-wise. It offers a better dynamic contrast ratio than the C350 but one that's not as good as the D550, and we suspect its overall picture quality will be closer to that of the C350.

The other major specs difference is the D450's 720p resolution compared with 1080p for the the D550, but unless you're … Read more

Quick Take: Sharp LC-60LE6300U

Although CNET did not review the Sharp LC-60LE6300U, we did review the LC-832U series.

Comparing the two on Sharp's Web site, the main picture-related differences include a better contrast ratio and the presence of a 10-bit panel on the more-expensive LC-823U series. The contrast ratio difference may result in slightly better black-level performance, while the 10-bit panel could slightly reduce some artifacts that might show up on the 6300U. For those reasons, we expect that the 6300U will have the similar or slightly worse picture quality than the 832U, but we can't say more than that.

The 832U … Read more

How young is too young for a cellphone or smartphone?

More than 90 percent of Americans own a cellphone today, and a growing number of those cellphone users are children. But how young is too young for a cellphone?

Cellphone or smartphone for kids?

Dear Maggie, This is a two-part question. I'm considering getting a cellphone for my 11-year old daughter for Christmas. A lot of girls in her class already have phones. She's been begging me for one. But I'm not sure if this is too young. What do you think?

Also, at what age do you think it's appropriate for a child to switch … Read more

Quick Take: Samsung UN55D6003

Although CNET did not review the Samsung UN55D6003, we did review the UND6400.

Comparing the two on Samsung's Web site, the main differences include 3D compatibility and styling. The less-expensive UN55D6003 is 2D-only and can't display 3D images (more info) and also has a thicker bezel around the edge of the screen. Comparing the two televisions' dimensions implies that the UN55D6003's bezel is 0.5 inch thicker than that of the UND6400.

The UN55D6003 also has a "clear motion rate" of 240, as opposed to 480 for UND6400. These numbers are derived from the TVs' … Read more

Quick Take: Samsung UND6050 series

Although CNET did not review the Samsung UND6050 series, we did review the UND6400.

Comparing the two on Samsung's Web site, the main differences include 3D compatibility and styling. The less-expensive UND6050 is 2D-only and can't display 3D images (more info) and also has a thicker bezel around the edge of the screen. Comparing the two televisions' dimensions implies that the UN6050's bezel is 0.6 inch thicker than that of the UND6400.

The UND6050 also has a "clear motion rate" of 240, as opposed to 480 for UND6400. These numbers are derived from the … Read more

Quick Take: Samsung UN40D5003

Although CNET did not review the Samsung UN40D5003, we can provide some basic information about it.

According to Samsung's Web site, this is a 40-inch LED-based LCD TV that measures 2 inches thick. The site mentions a "Clear Motion Rate of 120," which is Samsung's term for a 120Hz refresh rate (although Best Buy's Web site lists the refresh rate as 60Hz, which appears to be an error). In our experience there's no picture quality benefit to either feature.

That said, at $500 as of press time, the UN40D5003 has a very aggressive price … Read more

QuickZIP is fast and free

Once upon a time, Windows lacked a built-in zip tool, and developers responded with some classic file-compression utilities that are still around, still free, and still a better choice than the built-in zip utility Windows has offered for some time now. We've tried them all at some point, including Securenet's QuickZIP, which boasts a higher compression ratio than some other tools, as much as 10 percent. It also offers 256-bit AES encryption and widespread compatibility with other zip utilities like 7Zip as well as most compressed file types.

QuickZIP integrates with shell context menus in Windows and lets … Read more