aspect

Computer components can sometimes be mysterious things, and getting a comprehensive look at a computer's characteristics can be a time-consuming task. WinAudit simplifies this process by creating thorough reports that outline everything about your machine: hardware, software, memory, processors, and much, much more.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive. Simply click the Audit button and wait a few minutes, and WinAudit produces a lengthy report that can be e-mailed, printed, or saved in a variety of different formats. You can customize the contents of the report before running the audit as well; simply select what you want … Read more

I have a question: is having a 16:9 aspect ratio monitor (as opposed to 16:10) really all that beneficial? The answer is, "It depends."

If we're talking strictly about resolution benefits, the specific size of the screen matters greatly. For example, a 16:9, 21.5-inch monitor has a native resolution of 1920x1080, whereas a 16:10, 22-incher tops out at 1680x1050. That's an extra 309,600 pixels you'd have at your disposal on the 21.5-incher. Gaming, movies, Photoshop--virtually all apps would benefit from more pixels. Yes, even porn. Or so I … Read more

Many people may just now be getting used to the idea of the 16:9 aspect ratio HDTVs have. The whole black bars at the top and bottom just kinda throw people off I guess.

Personally, I've never had a problem with this. I just never understood how someone could prefer pan scan movies over letterbox once the difference was explained to them. I mean, you're getting the whole movie with Letterbox and a cheap knockoff with "Fullscreen" that has its edges cut off. Not to mention really awkward pans. Yeah, I'm a movie snob, … Read more

The move from traditional 16:10 laptop displays to 16:9 ones that mirror HDTV screens is shift that's here to stay, judging by the mini-flood of new 18-inch and 16-inch systems that have crossed our desk. What's a little odder is that we've also run into a couple of systems that have 15-inch 16:9 displays (making them 15.6-inches, diagonally, to be precise).

This is a good illustration of how to be a smart laptop comparison shopper, because one of these two 15-inch 16:9 laptops is a much better deal than the other (and … Read more

You may (or may not) have heard some buzz lately about new laptop sizes, as models with 16- and 18-inch screens join the traditional 12-, 13-, 14-, 15-, and 17-inch party (plus all those 7- and 9-inch mininotebooks).

That may seem a little like overkill, but there is at least some method to the madness when it comes to the new 18-inch screen size (and these new sizes may eventually replace more traditional 15- and 17-inch displays). Take, for example, the very first 18-inch laptop we've gotten our hands on, the 18.4-inch Acer Aspire 8920.

The new screen … Read more

If you want to know staphylococcal enterotoxin from streptococcal exotoxin, consider adding the Borden Institute's latest edition of Medical Aspects of Biological Warfare to your nightstand.

This scholarly tome is an authoritative update on the weaponization of biological agents. A distinguished group of authors take us from familiar standbys (anthrax, plague, smallpox) through the potential horrors of inadvertent or deliberate release of "oranimal"--bioengineed plant organisms--and onto the "arbitrary use of human embryonic tissue in research."

An update from the 1997 edition was required because of the increased threat posed by biological warfare and terrorism, … Read more

As part of its push into business telephony, Microsoft said Tuesday it is investing in Aspect Software, whose technology is used to run large call centers. Aspect, in turn, will make sure its software works with Microsoft's unified communications products.

"A key pillar of Microsoft's unified communications vision is improving access to the people and information you need to do your job better and more quickly, and with Aspect, we are making this vision a reality for contact centers," said Gurdeep Singh Pall, corporate vice president at Microsoft, in a statement.

Later this year, Aspect plans … Read more

Add one more reason to doubt the iPhone hype: It appears that Apple's uberdevice utilizes a totally proprietary 1.5:1 aspect ratio. While that's wider than the standard square-ish 1.33:1 (4x3) aspect ratio found on older TVs, PC monitors, and iPods, it's 15 percent narrower than the 1.78:1 (16x9) screen dimensions found on most HDTV and DVD programming.

The specs of the iPhone list a pixel count of 480x320. In and of itself, that doesn't prove anything: some displays utilize rectangular pixels, which allows them to deliver a true 16:9 … Read more