testing

Typing Trainer 8.0 Review

Learning to type is one thing, but typing well is another. Typing Trainer by TypingMaster helps you brush up on your typing skills with quick exercises and games, but it also studies your typing techniques to make specific recommendations to help you improve them. With games, tests, and reviews, Typing Trainer has plenty of features to offer even as your speed and skills improve. You can configure Typing Trainer for a huge range of languages and different keyboard styles, too. Typing Trainer 8.0 is freeware that is ready for Windows 8.

Typing Trainer opens with a full-screen user interface. … Read more

Always On torture test giveaway: iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle

Over the years, it seems the iPhone has made the use of iPods a tad redundant. However, iPods keep stealing the spotlight at Always On because they're just so darn tough! Every time we put an iPod through the usual measures, it comes through with flying colors. After our children, Cheeto, and fruit-punch induced torture test for the iPod Touch last season, we had extremely high expectations for these two at Mt. Shasta Ski Park. Those expectations were greatly exceeded, to say the least.

But now it's your turn to put an iPod through its paces. Maybe you'… Read more

Always On: Best of Season 3

Well, folks, it's about that time again. That time when we head out into the world to get our hands on today's hottest gadgets and to explore the promising technologies of the future. And, of course, we'll keep an eye out for some clever ways to destroy those hottest gadgets, too. But, in the meantime, we've mustered up our favorite segments of Season 3 to make the wait for Season 4 less grueling.

First up, we head back to Mount Shasta Ski Park to watch Molly rev a snowmobile over the poor Kindle Fire, Nokia Lumia 920, … Read more

Bing serves up more malicious sites than Google, report says

Although most search engines have measures in place to protect users against trojans, malicious sites still manage to crop up from time to time -- even in the top search results. An independent testing lab in Germany by the name of AV-Test has just completed an 18-month survey to find out which search engines are the worst offenders.

The lab tested 40 million Web sites (PDF) across seven search engines -- Google and Bing, the world's two most popular search engines; Yandex, Russia's biggest search engine; Blekko; peer-to-peer search engine Faroo; Teoma, better known as Ask.com; and … Read more

Always On torture test giveaway: MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display

We're happy to announce the return of our Always On tortured gadget sweepstakes! This time 'round, our severely beaten (but not entirely broken!) MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display is up for grabs.

While it's not exactly "usable" as it stands now, the thing is a champion. After trying our absolute hardest to destroy it (i.e. dropping it out of a bulldozer, giving it a nice fountain shower, and smothering it with a 1,400-pound boulder), the fact that it even turns on makes it deserving of a new home. Preferably somewhere that's nowhere … Read more

PerformanceTest 8.0.Build 1018 Review

PassMark's PerformanceTest makes it easy to test your computer and compare its performance against baseline statistics and other users' PCs. Benchmarking your PC is important for tweaking its performance, and it's critical for overclocking. PerformanceTest runs a battery of sophisticated benchmarking tests and returns some expert-level data. With six suites comprising 28 unique tests, it benchmarks the performance of your CPU, RAM, 2D and 3D graphics, disk speed, and more. Recent updates include improved 32-bit performance in Windows 7 and compatibility with Windows 8. PerformanceTest is free to try for 30 days and costs $26. We tried it … Read more

Episode 34: The MacBook Pro rocks and rolls!

It's safe to say that upon our arrival at American Soil and Stone, we thought the MacBook Pro 13-inch with Retina Display's fate was pretty much sealed. With so much equipment capable of tearing down a house around, the MacBook's chances of survival were slim to none. However, after an epic onslaught of perhaps the heaviest artillery we've ever thrown at a gadget, we were shocked at the computer's toughness.

While it's currently in the ICU, you guys will have the chance to give it some TLC, and hopefully nurse it back to health. … Read more

Windows 8's rising security tide raises all antivirus boats

In one of the first independent tests of third-party security suites on Windows 8, nearly all antivirus and anti-malware software tested well. What may surprise you is that even without a third-party suite, Windows 8 is relatively resistant to modern threats like zero-day attacks, according to the report.

Independent German security suite evaluators AV-Test.org publish bimonthly tests that rate the effectiveness of the biggest Windows security suites out there and rated all 26 of the suites they tested on Windows 8 in January and February as "certified," including Windows 8 itself. This is because Windows 8 comes … Read more

The Moron Test 2 Review

The Moron Test 2 is not the first app on the App Store to use the types of tests included here, but it is one of the most complete and rewarding, with a unique design, multiple tests to try your hand at, and few, if any, cheap answers that will create losing rounds. If you enjoy apps that force you to pay attention and simultaneously push your brain to really think hard, this is a must download.

The Moron Test 2 essentially runs a series of short yet rarely easy mini-games in each of the three game modes. You must … Read more