root

Root Wireless, a company that offers a performance-mapping service of cell phone carriers, took the opportunity to test the wireless data performance of all four nationwide carriers at Sun Life Stadium during Sunday's big game. The results, according to Root Wireless, seem to show that T-Mobile came out on top, while Verizon came out at the bottom of the pack.

T-Mobile saw the fewest connection failures (3 percent), while Sprint came in close behind (9 percent). Both carriers had data speeds on par with their everyday service levels--T-Mobile's was 237Kbps down/126Kbps up, while Sprint's was 231Kbps … Read more

When they're not asking about the best cell phone for their needs, CNET readers are inquiring about which carrier has the best coverage in their area. It's a great question, and a very relevant one, but answering it always has been tricky. Because CNET doesn't have the resources to accurately test wireless coverage across the United States, I've suggested that readers ask their neighbors to share their carrier experiences. While that is good advice--personal stories can be very helpful in making a decision--we couldn't offer hard data. That is, until now.

Over the past year CNET has been hard at work creating a better solution. In doing so, we've teamed with Root Wireless to create a powerful tool for determining the best carrier for your neighborhood, commute, or workplace. Next time when you're shopping for a new mobile phone or considering switching to a new carrier, we hope we can help.… Read more

Maurice Tuff, an electrical engineer from Newfoundland, is the brainpower behind a technology that will deter teenagers from reckless driving. Root Four Imagination, Inc. will be showcasing the Safe Driving Monitor, a device that monitors a driver's speed, distance traveled, and braking habits.

The company recently received $25,000 from the Provincial Government of Canada to better their marketing through an e-commerce enabled website, promotional materials, and possibly attending CES 2010.

Safe Driving monitor consists of two simple parts: a sensor that plugs into the car's diagnostic port (easily accessed underneath the steering wheel), and a keychain sensor … Read more

If your iPhone was recently "Rickrolled" by a worm that targets jailbroken iPhones, the following six steps will show you how to change the root password--used to connect to your device via a Unix software secure shell--to protect yourself in the future.

Before starting, you will need to have MobileTerminal installed from the Cydia store. Then:

1. Tap the MobileTerminal icon to open a terminal window.

2. Enter su and press return.

3. Enter the current default root user password alpine and press return.

4. Type passwd and press return.

5. Enter a new password and press return.… Read more

Thanks to the hard work of Kent German, Bonnie Cha, and Nicole Lee, CNET's reviews of mobile handsets are unparalleled: we are the place on the Web to get in-depth evaluations of nearly every handset offered by the major carriers.

But we're not satisfied because we know you're not.

Judging a phone by its features, design, and quality is just half the story when determining whether it is worth purchasing. The other half of the equation is the quality of service provided by the carrier--and that's a factor we have not yet provided. After failing to … Read more

RootsMagic provides a set of tools for designing a family tree. With simple directions and an excellent layout, family roots can be monitored from their earliest origins.

The program's interface had us hooked from the get-go. Its simple family tree display and easily entered info meant we never needed to consult the program's instructional Help file. While we were expected to do the research ourselves, the program provided a simple bracket system for mapping out our family's history. We were prompted to enter birth and death dates, photos, hometowns and other important information, which formed a web … Read more

By default, the root user is not enabled in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Enabling it takes a simple procedure by way of the Directory Utility application or via Terminal. In Mac OS X 10.5, Directory Utility was located in the Applications > Utilities folder. In Snow Leopard, this is no longer the case. You can now find Directory Utility in System > Library > CoreServices.… Read more

Home schoolers, high school tutors, and students needing additional mathematics study will find this many-featured app a handy addition to their toolbox. It provides assistance for grasping two-dimensional function graphs with animation, analyzing functions, understanding analytic geometry, solid geometry, and more.

Math Studio launches a three-paned interface similar to the familiar e-mail client design: the upper-left vertical pane is a graph manager, the lower-left pane is a result editor, and the large pane on the right is a plotting area for displaying graphs. However, the cluster of icons in the three toolbars aligned along the interface's top may intimidate … Read more

Wilson is "out sick" today, but we're lucky to have Ms. Natali Del Conte nearby to replace him on the show. She was working out of the office last week, so we take this opportunity to update ourselves on all things NDC and you'll be surprised to hear of the changes coming to Loaded. We're so proud of her. Congrats, Natali!

We officially kick off this Monday episode by defining the Web's trendiest new buzzphrase, "augmented reality." We're not sure who came up with it, but it's all the rage in the world of iPhone apps. For example, Yelp built an Easter egg into its app that uses the smartphone's GPS to superimpose digital data onto the world through the camera, making it easy to view restaurants, taxis, bathrooms, and subway information around you. We think it's pretty cool, but Gawker has its own application ideas, like an app called ClubLech, which uses facial recognition and user-inputted data to identify all the singles in a room. Sounds creepy and, like a lot of technology, it takes the fun out of getting to know someone in person. Plus, who wants a digital sign superimposed over their head pointing out their depressingly single relationship status?

Are you having a hard time saying goodbye to "Reading Rainbow?" We are, too. The show has been on the air for 26 years and just recently celebrated its final episode on August 28. We're sad to see a relic of our childhood go the way of the dodo, but it makes perfect sense, since we're pretty sure kids are just illiterate now, so why have a show to promote books? But don't take our word for it; just ask a kid to define the word "Scholastic."

If you want to get your voice mail heard on the air, just give us a call at 1-855-404-CNET and tell us what's on your mind! Could be something about one of our shows, maybe one of the hosts, or just something random that popped into your head. We'll take them all!