It is based on the advanced controller design and software architecture that delivers dramatic I/O performance and reliability improvements over existing technology and exponentially higher performance and lower energy consumption than traditional high performance hard drives found in enterprise computing environments.

These deliver greater than 100 times the performance of any I/O performance. It performs multiple read or write operations transferring data via dual ports.

Designing a storage solution with EFDs for performance (low $/ IOP) and SATA/SAS HDDs for bulk storage capacity is the most cost efficient solution greatly reduce the overall storage system costs and power consumption while providing greater reliability.

Utilizing advance data integrity techniques, Lighting EFDs offer increased data reliability. Higher MTBF and reduced failures over enterprise HDDs.

Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 is Adobe’s latest addition to its suite of industry leading software for graphic artists.

Compared to Photoshop, Lightroom brings a focus on the productivity and workflow needs for working photographers, adding database tools to manage photo libraries, and a responsive new interface specialized to the needs of digital photographers. Work in Lightroom is organized in an elegant new user interface that adapts to the various stages in a photography workflow. The interface shows center area for working with images, with panels on the left, right, and below which adapt to the particular tasks at hand. When working with a library of images, for example, the panels show tools for importing and managing large collections of images. You can label, rank, keyword, and search for images. The development module brings up different panels with tools for adjusting and editing the images. Additional modules help you prepare images for printing or other purposes. Lightroom works with images in all of the standard formats, such as jpeg and tiff. The latest generation of digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) and high end compact cameras offer their best results working with so-called RAW images. These are the files of unprocessed data straight from the camera’s digital sensor. Photoshop Lightroom seamlessly handles RAW images from virtually manufacturer’s current model cameras, of course including Adobe’s own digital negative format (DNG). Moreover, edits for DNG or RAW files are stored non-destructively, thus preserving the original image. Compared to Photoshop, the $299 Photoshop Lightroom more focuses more specifically on the needs of photographers. Gone are many of the pixel manipulation tools used by graphic artists. New are a newly designed user interface, an integrated database for managing photo libraries, sophisticated tools for accurately adjusting exposure, color balance, and sharpening. For many photographers, whether amateur or professional, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom may become the principle tool of their trade.

What is Guitar Hero? A game? No it’s more then that. Is it an addiction, or is it a way of life? From the moment I picked up the guitar shaped peripheral I was hooked. From the track list to the characters to the guitars, almost every detail of this game is flawlessly executed. So much so that it’s hard for me to imagine what Red Octane and Harmonix have in store for the next incarnation. I have played this game almost every day since I came upon it (late last year) and I am still not bored of it. This is one of the only games I have played that put me in a different mind set. While the price point is more then I was used to paying you can not have more fun than can be had with this game.

Here’s a useful graphics tool that allows direct measurement of image dimensions on a computer screen. It works just like a pair of calipers that you can move across the screen to any position and then open and close to measure the length of any portion of an image. I find it much easier to use than the on screen ruler that most graphics applications provide. It works with any graphics program. There is a free version that omits some more advanced features but is very useful anyway. The tool can be downloaded at: http://www.iconico.com/caliper/

Avast Free Antivirus from Avast Software is a free and comprehensive security solution for the home user.

The fact that it is absolutely free doesn’t take a shine from it’s armor. Avast Free Antivirus has consistently maintained it’s position at the top, alongside paid and expensive AV software, in security and AV tests conducted regularly by reputed organizations like ICSA Labs, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, Virus Bulletin and West Coast Labs, among others. The long arms of avast provides efficient protection in the wide and wild landscape of viruses, rootkits, spyware and other malware. Added to that, the admirable scanning speeds coupled with low memory and CPU overhead makes it a hassle free and fairly lightweight solution.

The program is built around the concept of highly customizable modules, with each module protecting against a different attack vector. The ‘File System Shield’ is the real-time scanner. The ‘Mail Shield’ monitors activities of email clients like Outlook Express, Thunderbird etc. while the ‘Web Shield’ monitors web browsing. Then there is the ‘P2P Shield’ and the ‘IM Shield’ scrutinizing the activities of file sharing applications and messenger / instant messaging applications respectively. The ‘Network Shield’ protects against malware attempting to infiltrate your computer through the network and the internet. The ‘Script Shield’, as the name suggests defends against malicious local and remote scripts. Rounding up the formidable array is the ‘Behavior Shield’, which is sort of a commonsense or intelligent module that tries to predict and shield against new and unknown malware.

An advantage with this module based approach is that you can safely turn off an unwanted module thereby further reducing the already low memory footprint. For example, if you do not have or are not using any P2P applications like Kazaa or Bit Torrent, then you don’t need the services of the P2P Shield. Likewise with the Mail Shield and the IM Shield.

Other gunnery includes the ‘AutoSandbox’ that isolates suspicious or new programs (for eg. a downloaded game) exhibiting suspicious behavior, away from the operating system workings. In the event the program later turns out to be a malware, your PC remains unscathed because the program was run in a sandbox and the sandbox along with the contents are vaporized once the program or sandbox is closed or when you normally shut down the PC. Another component, called the ‘WebRep’ acts like a guardian angel that guides you on your wild wild web voyages. And yes, like a guardian angel, it only guides you; it doesn’t forcibly stop you from hara-kiri. It appears as a small beacon on your browser toolbar. And finally, the ‘Site Blocking’ feature enables you to manually block websites. These three components can be individually enabled / disabled and configured like the others.

Avast also has self-protection built in, enabling it to defeat common attempts of malware to deactivate it or change it’s security settings.

The identification and elimination of potentially unwanted programs (PUP) like adware, etc. complements the antivirus and antispyware capabilities. Another feature worth noting is the boot-time scan, especially useful for an already infected PC. Avast also has support for many types of packers and packed executables as well as archive / compressed files.

The initial installation is valid and active for 30 days within which you have to register the product. Registration with your email address is a quick, simple process either through the program interface or online, and is valid for an year, after which you can re-register again for another year and so on.

When it comes to converting your files, always think about how you want the file converted.

While file conversion software has been one of the most important computer programs today, online file conversion is starting to become a new concept. Some online file converter websites have become the place to convert any type of document. Whether it’s an audio file or word processing file, online file conversion is ideal for any task.

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? To me, online file conversions are easy to do. Take, for example, Zamzar. Zamzar is a website that not only converts files, you can even download videos from various websites including YouTube. The best part about Zamzar is that you can even send files to your friends and family.

Here are four steps on how to use Zamzar. First, you must select a file to convert. Click on the “Browse” button to see which file you would like to convert. Once you find it, click on the “Open” button. Second, you can choose the format to convert the file to. For example, if you have a video in .WMV format, you can convert it to any format. Third, you must enter your email address. The reason you must enter your email address is because you’ll have to check your email to receive the URL for the converted file. And finally, click “Convert” and you’re good to go.