Hardware Review: Microsoft Xbox 360 Chatpad

Are you tired of typing on your Xbox 360 by going up, up, left, left, up, enter just to type one letter? Well then maybe you should consider investing a mere $20. This chatpad doesnt have many features but it does its job with a full Qwerty keyboard and mic inputs so you can still talk through it on Xbox Live. It works with any Xbox 360 Controller wired or wireless and runs using the controller's power no batteries required. another plus is that it does not get in your way when playing games. This was a pretty short review but this is a awesome acessory that should be on every 360 Controller. Overall, Tech.daily gives the Microsoft Xbox 360 Chatpad a 9.5/10 for its great funcionality but not so good mic jack that wears down over time.

Game Review: Gears of War 2

In the sequal to Gears of War you continue the fight as Marcus Fenix with a few new squad members trying to finally eradicate the locust from your planet. With new weapons, levels, intense single & multiplayer; this game has got what every shooter wishes of having.

("**SPOILER ALERT**") In the beginning of the game, you run around the city and train your new squadmate Carmine's brother. as you show him the ropes you get attacked and have to clear out buildings. Later on, you move into a forest and man a machine gun to defend the drills that will launch you into the locust caves. after you get launched down with Dom you weave your way through the twists and turns of this dark canyon till you can find the locust stronghold and destroy the locust once and for all. you and your squad come across many battles and ambushes while searching for off course drill pods and slowly moving towards the stronghold. Finnally you make you way to the entrance of the fortress, but while their Dom cannot resist looking for his long lost wife ever since E-day. You spend a while searching around till you find her; whe nyou do she falls into Doms' arms but strangeley ages really fast then turns to dust! after Dom finishes grieving the loss of his wife you move on trying to get to the center to plant a probe for more C.O.G. to drill down to help. Finally you get to the center and plant the probe and escape back to the surface on a locust reaver. when you get to the surface you are ordered to defend the C.O.G. command center. at the end of the game, you get on a helicopter as the hold city sinks to flood the locust caves.

All in all, this game has a very rich story and awesome multiplayer, along with the new party mode on Xbox Live. in addition the multiplayer mode is outstanding with games like horde where you fight wave and wave of locust. The final score for this game from Tech.Daily is a 9/10 for its rich story and awesome multiplayer games.

Software Review: Avast Antivirus

So if you've just got your PC infected your wondering "what are my options?" well Avast is your best option, and its free! Alwil a Czech based company had created an amazing product with features like On-access protection to scan in the background while you work and also stops downloads of malicious software before it reaches your computer. Avast antivirus finds and kills or quarantines all kinds of viruses including Trojans, root kits, worms, and much more. Avast also updates its virus database every week or so with the latest virus signatures. Avast Av is very good at scanning too if it finds a virus early on it will ask to reboot and run avast outside of windows, kind of like a safe mode so the virus cannot interfere or hide from the scanner. now your are probably wondering "is this just a trial or is it free no strings attached?" the answer... its perfectly free for the home edition to get it you have to register with them to get a key but that is all free also. If you want a better Antivirus from Avast you can get the professional edition with a lot more features but the home edition is still fine with its exceptional virus removal and scanning features. to conclude Tech.daily gives Alwil's Avast Antivirus a Golden 10/10! for its ease of use, power, removal skills, and its big virus database. to download avast home edition av click the title.

LCD Monitor Review Roundup

If you're in the market for a new LCD monitor for your computer you are in the right place we will sum up the best for price and the top of the line and mid range monitors. so lets get going. The best monitor for value is the Westinghouse 19" Widescreen Flat-panel LCD screen. This Monitor is $179.99 on BestBuy but you could probably find it for $150.00 if you researched. This monitor has built in speakers, 3000:1 contrast ratio, 1650 x 1050 Resolution, Ultra fast 2ms Brightness response time, Wide 170° horizontal and 160° vertical viewing angles, and alot more!




The next monitor i want to cover is the mid range (somewhat pricey and high quality) monitor. It is the Acer 22" Widescreen Flat Panel LCD HD Monitor. This is a feature rich monitor with its wide 22 inch screen and 1680 x 1050 this screen is great for viewing movies or tv shows. also it has DVI-D and VGA inputs you can use it practically on any PC, its Energy star qualified too. Overall this monitor is a little bit bigger and its price tag is just under $300 definetly a good buy.



Lastly, the best of the best the Hannspree 27.5" Windescreen HD LCD Monitor. It has a MASSIVE 1920x1080 HD resolution and its 2 HDMI and 1 VGA inputs also it has a 2400:1 dynamic contrast ratio. With the 2 HDMI you can go full HD and do awesome high res gaming only if you are willing to pay the $480 price tag. All in all these monitors are the best of the best whatever one you pick you will be happy with it, Enjoy!

Game Review: Mirrors Edge

EA's Much anticipated release of Mirrors Edge brings a whole new genre of gameplay to the table. With the city controlled with a tight grip on information a group of people called Runners are trying to bring freedom and information to the city. by stealing information and free running and jumping building to building evading guards and the police alike you bring your boss the information he needs.

Besides the information you run to help your sister who is a cop being accused of killing a runner up for the election of Mayor of the city. You often have to escape quickly avoiding police and hiding in shadows trying not to be seen. this game packs alot of fun and puzzle solving by finding the quickest or fastest way out of a building or away from police.

their are some cons also such as no online play (a cops and robbers scenario would be nice) except for the time trial game mode which is very fun. also another con is, well it gets a little boring fast after about the 3rd chapter i found the whole jumping building to building and jumping up and over fences repetitive.

although we have seen a genre close to this before (Splinter Cell series) this is a game worth renting and maybe buying if you really like it. Tech.daily gives EA's Mirrors Edge a 7/10 for its fast paced gameplay and action but lack of new material.

Software Review: Norton Ghost

You may like or not like norton (I personally do not like their firewall) but you have to give them respect for Norton Ghost their backup software. Here are some of the biggest features:

• Capable of Backup to FTP or NAS



• Symantec ThreatCon integration— triggers incremental backups whenever ThreatCon reaches a specified threat level. Great for computers without virus protection



• Simple User Interface



• Restores your system with an on-disk software recovery environment



• Advanced compression and encryption—Minimizes storage space and helps keep sensitive documents safe



• Incremental and differential backup—Backs up only files that have changed


• Full System Backup or Documents backup

These are just some of the features, there are alot more at Nortons Site (http://www.symantec.com/norton/ghost). This is an awesome piece of software with very easy to use controls. Overall Tech.daily gives Norton Ghost 14 a 9/10 for all its awesome features but not bein gavaliable for Mac users(although there is Time Capsule on OS X).

Intel Core i7 Vs. Intel Quad Core

With Intel's' release of the new intel i7 praising it as the "best desktop processors on the planet." We go in depth to see how much faster it is than its predecessors. Intels new i7 has Intel HT (Hyper Threading) Technology and The two i7's range in Clock speed from 2.66 GHz to 2.93 GHz. They both have 8 Processing thread, WOW! barely any games or programs are multi threaded; but apparently Intel knows the future. so far it looks like the i7 has a lot of power and with its specs seems that their technology is ahead of its time. here are the rest of the specs:

2.93 GHz and 2.66 GHz core speed
8 processing threads with Intel® HT technology
8 MB of Intel® Smart Cache
3 Channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory

also the i7 requires a new motherboard with its new 1366 pin count and 3 channels of DDR3 memory.

Now for the Core 2 Quad. The Core 2 Quad works with the LGA 775 Pin count (you just need a good FSB). The clock speeds range from 2.00 GHz to 3.00 GHz. The Quad also uses DDR3 or DDR2. They both use 45-Nanometer technology. Overall they are relatively the same it all depends on if you are buying a new system or upgrading your own, also money you are willing to throw down. If you are planning to upgrade your current system and you have an LGA 775 Motherboard i would personally go with the Core 2 Quad processor if i was buying new and had the money most likely the i7 to stay ahead of the game. When it comes down to the end they are both outstanding processors based on the specs.

Hardware Review: Thermaltake Tribe CPU Liquid Cooler

Looking for an Entry Level easy to set up liquid cooling kit? The Thermaltake Tribe is a outstanding kit.

Features: Adjustable radiator fan speed, UV tubing, universal mounting brackets, all in one kit, supplied coolant, easy set up guide.

This liquid cooling kit is one of the finest kits Ive seen and I'm currently running it on my own PC. It took about an hour and a half to set up on my PC. besides its power it also looks pretty sweet its got a big fan on the radiator with a blue LED and a Blue LED on the copper water block, this kit can only cool your CPU. The mounting brackets work for Intel LGA 775, Socket 478, AMD K8, and K7. Before i had the Thermaltake tribe my CPU was running at a scorching 47.00 Celsius (Approx. 110 Fahrenheit) now with my Tribe setup its running at a cool 25.00 to 27.00 Celsius. Here are the results of a test I Performed:

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (running at 1.8GHz) 400MHz FSB, Liquid Cooled (Thermaltake Tribe)

Tribe External Radiator Fan Low Speed 5 Minutes, CPU Temp = 27.00 Celsius TD, Room Temp = 22.00 Celsius, Core Power = 45.55 Watts.

Radiator Fan Medium Speed 5 Minutes, CPU Temp = 26.00 Celsius TD, Room Temp = 22.00 Celsius, Core Power = 45.55 Watts.

Radiator Fan High Speed 5 Minutes, CPU Temp = 25.86 Celsius TD, Room Temp = 22.00 Celsius, Core Power = 45.55 Watts.

Overall: The Tribe is an awesome CPU Cooler for the beginner, You can buy it for around $50 to $70 on some tech sites if you spend the time looking, The place i got mine was a site called 3btech.com here is a link www.tinyurl.com/cpucool .

Game Review: Call of Duty World at War

You probably have heard of Activisions' new game (Call of Duty World at War) and wondering "should i get it? is it going to be another bad WWII game?" well we have got the answers.

Summary: Call of Duty World at War takes place near the end of WWII. You switch off between playing as a U.S. Marine and a Russian Soldier named Pvt. Petrenko. When you fight in the pacific as a Marine against the Japanese the game play is very exciting ; going through caves and tunnels and watching out for Japanese hiding in the brush ready to strike. When you battle in Germany you run through buildings with your squad clearing each one, watching out for tanks and Nazis with bazookas or machine guns on Rooftops.

Pros: Realistic game play, good story, wide selection of weapons, about 3-4 hours of campaign on normal difficulty, high replay value, addicting multi player, Nazi zombies mode!

Cons: a weird screen alignment when playing co-op, no game save in co-op, weird lag occasionally when shooting, no guest on Xbox Live and only one console and one player for system link (IE: you need 18 xboxs and 18 T.V.s for 18 player system link, and a hell of a router!).

Overall: Tech.Daily gives CoD: WaW a 7/10 for their exceptional job on this WWII game but apparently the game isnt all about Multiplayer.

Tech Daily First Post

Today is the first post of the Tech.Daily blog, every day i will post multiple posts of news, reviews, cool sites/software/hardware. Enjoy! and if you have any ideas for an article or a cool tech product you have come across email us at Tech.Daily@live.com