PC Magazine - 2009 04.pdf - Libertad Zero - Blog

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Editor-in-ChiEf, pC magazinE nEtwork Lance Ulanoff Editor Stephanie Chang dirECtor of onLinE ContEnt, EXECUtiVE prodUCEr Vicki B. Jacobson EXECUtiVE EditorS Dan Costa (reviews), Jeremy A. Kaplan (features) art dirECtor Richard J. Demler EditoriaL prodUCtion dirECtor Nicholas Cosmo pC LabS dirECtor, SEnior Editor (hardwarE) Laarni Almendrala Ragaza SEnior EditorS Sean Carroll (software, Internet, networking), Wendy Sheehan Donnell (consumer electronics), Carol Mangis (blogs), Kyle Monson, Sarah Pike (Solutions), Erik Rhey (Digital Edition) SEnior writEr Eric Griffith rEViEwS EditorS Gary Berline (software, Internet, networking), Tony Hoffman (hardware), Matthew Murray (consumer electronics) Copy ChiEf Elizabeth A. Parry Copy EditorS Margaret McVeigh, Ann Ovodow pC LabS LEad anaLyStS Cisco Cheng (laptops), Tim Gideon (audio and video), Robert Heron (HDTV and home theater), Mario Morejon (networking and small business), Michael Muchmore (software), Neil J. Rubenking (security), Joel Santo Domingo (desktops), Sascha Segan (mobile devices), M. David Stone (printers and scanners) anaLySt Dan Evans (DIY, gaming) jUnior anaLySt PJ Jacobowitz (digital cameras and camcorders) prodUCt rEViEwS Coordinator Zachary Honig inVEntory ControL Coordinator Nicole Graham Staff photographEr Scott Schedivy pCmag.Com managEr, onLinE prodUCtion Yun-San Tsai prodUCErS Gregg Binder, Mark Lamorgese, Whitney A. Reynolds nEwS Editor Mark Hachman nEwS rEportEr Chloe Albanesius aSSoCiatE EditorS Jennifer L. DeLeo, Brian Heater (blogs) Staff EditorS Corinne Iozzio (reviews), Nicole Price Fasig (reviews) aSSiStant Editor Sean Ludwig rEViEwS prodUCEr Errol Pierre-Louis CommErCE prodUCErS Iman Edwards, Arielle Rochette UtiLity program managEr Tim Smith CommUnity managEr Jim Lynch CrEatiVE dirECtor Chris Phillips prodUCtion artiSt Guyang Chen VidEo EditoriaL dirECtor, VidEo and digitaL EVEntS Sebastian Rupley ContribUting EditorS Helen Bradley, John R. Delaney, Richard V. Dragan, John C. Dvorak, Craig Ellison, Galen Fott, Bill Howard, Don Labriola, Jamie Lendino, Jim Louderback, Bill Machrone, Edward Mendelson, Jan Ozer, Neil Randall, Matthew D. Sarrel, Larry Seltzer EXtrEmEtECh.Com Editor Loyd Case SEnior tEChnoLogy anaLyStS Jason Cross, Joel Durham prodUCEr Jeremy Atkinson jUnior prodUCEr Mike Nguyen ChiEf EXECUtiVE offiCEr Jason Young ViCE prESidEnt, digitaL SaLES Kenneth J. Detlet ViCE prESidEnt, markEting James Selden 212-503-4689 rESEarCh dirECtor Fred Doscher rEgionaL SaLES managEr Amy Loria 352-873-4288 aCCoUnt EXECUtiVES Susan Narta 949-459-2931; Kathy Pavlak 212-503-4847 SaLES aSSiStantS Angelique Soto (East Coast) 212-503-5255; Meggen Thorp (West Coast) 415-547-8131 aCCoUnt CoordinatorS Christine Blake (East Coast) 212-503-5241; Jamiel Hibbert (East Coast) 212-503-5491; Alycia Eakin (Central, Northwest, and West Coast) 415-547-8036; Angelica Ferrer (West Coast) 415-547-8045 adVErtiSing offiCE 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10016-7940; phone, 800-336-2423, 212-503-3500; fax, 212-503-5000 For advertising information go to www.pcmagmedia.com ziff daViS mEdia inC. ChiEf EXECUtiVE offiCEr Jason Young ChiEf finanCiaL offiCEr and SEnior ViCE prESidEnt Neil Glass EXECUtiVE ViCE prESidEnt Steve Sutton (General Manager, Interactive) SEnior ViCE prESidEnt Lance Ulanoff (Content, PC Magazine Network) gEnEraL CoUnSEL Stephen Hicks ViCE prESidEntS Simon Cox (Content, Game Group), Beth Repeta (Human Resources), James Selden (Marketing and Sales Development, Consumer/Small-Business Group) EXECUtiVE dirECtorS Larry Chevres (Internet Technology), Olga Gonopolsky (Worldwide Licensing, Rights and Permissions) thE indEpEndEnt gUidE PC Magazine is the Independent Guide to Technology. Our mission is to test and review computer- and Internet-related products and services and report fairly and objectively on the results. Our editors do not invest in firms whose products or services we review, nor do we accept travel tickets or other gifts of value from such firms. Except where noted, PC Magazine reviews are of products and services that are currently available. Our reviews are written without regard to advertising or business relationships with any vendor. how to ContaCt thE EditorS We welcome comments from readers. Send your comments to Internet address pcmag@pcmag.com or to PC Magazine, 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10016-7940. Please include a daytime telephone number. PC Magazine’s general number is 212-503-3500. The West Coast Operations number is 415-547-8000. We cannot look up stories from past issues, recommend products, or diagnose problems with your PC by phone. An index of past issues is at www.pcmag.com/previous_issues. For a list of upcoming stories, browse www.pcmag.com. For a full description of who on staff covers what, go to www.pcmag.com/whocoverswhat. If you are dissatisfied with a product advertised in PC Magazine and cannot resolve the problem with the vendor, write (do not call) Anne King, Advertising Department, at the above address. Please include copies of your correspondence with the vendor. pErmiSSionS, rEprintS For permission to reuse material in this publication or to use our logo, contact Ziff Davis Media’s Executive Director of Rights and Permissions, Olga Gonopolsky, at permissions@pcmag.com, or by phone at 212-503-5438 or by fax at 212-503-5420. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without written permission. For reprints, please contact the YGS Group: telephone, 800-290-5460; fax, 717-399-8900; e-mail, pcmag@theygsgroup.com. The following are registered trademarks of Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.: i-Bench, NetBench, PC DIRECT, PC Labs, PC MAGAZINE, PC MAGAZINE AWARD FOR TECHNICAL ® www.pcmag.com EXCELLENCE, PC MAGAZINE EDITORS’ CHOICE, PC MagNet, ServerBench, WinBench, Winstone, Ziff Davis Media’s corporate logo, and PCMAG.com. The following are trademarks of Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.: After Hours, CPUmark, EasyComputing, ExtremeTech, First Looks, First Looks Plus, i-Bench, Lab Notes, Lab Tales, PC Bench, PC Labs Scorecard, PC Magazine At Home, PC Magazine CD, Front Side, PC Magazine Extra, PC Magazine Marketlink, PC Solutions, PC Tech, Power Programming, Quick Clips, ScreenDemos, SMB Boot Camp, Tech Notes, and WinDrain. Other trademarks and trade names used throughout the publication are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2008 Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. SUbSCription information For subscription service questions, for address changes, or to order, please contact us: intErnEt: service.pcmag.com (for customer service) or subscribe.pcmag.com (to order). tELEphonE: 800-289-0429 or 386-597-4372 in the U.S. and Canada, 386-597-4370 elsewhere. maiL: PC Magazine, PO Box 54070, Boulder, CO 80322-4070 (please include your postal address and e-mail address with any correspondence, as it will expedite processing). faX: 386-447-2321 in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere. E-maiL: subhelp@pcmag.com (please type your full name, your postal address, and the e-mail address at which you subscribe). SUbSCriptionS: The one-year subscription rate is $24.97. PC Magazine is published monthly. If your e-mail address is undeliverable, we will have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected e-mail address within two years. baCk iSSUES: Print back issues, January 2009 and prior, are $8 each in the U.S., $10 each elsewhere. Prepayment is required. 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Over the years, I’ve made jokes about using old technology and living without technology, but I’ve really never done either. Then, a few weeks ago, I took a vacation. No, not a staycation or a working vacation, but a real, leave-the-country, exit-the-electronsphere kind of sojourn—one in which phones don’t work and there is no Internet connectivity. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I could have turned on my phone and even accessed the Internet on this cruise, but both acts would have emptied my bank accounts within a few days. So, I turned my Treo off and pulled out the battery. I also left my laptop sequestered snugly in my cabin. It soon became apparent to me that previously I had been using technology, especially my Treo, to shield myself from inactivity and boredom. Typically, when I’m in a line or waiting, say, for people to join me at a dinner table (or rejoin me when they’ve perhaps taken a bathroom break), I’ll pull out the phone and check Google News, attack my steady stream of e-mail or, more recently, check Twitter and add an update or two. At home, my laptop is ever present. I usually pop it open when I get home at night and later leave it on an end table so I can pick it up at any moment and engage in all the aforementioned activities. Of course, there’s also ad hoc work. I’ll jot down some column notes in a Word file, go on TweetDeck, work on a budget spreadsheet, or maybe just noodle around on the Internet. My family often makes fun of me and tells me I should have the thing attached to my lap. That might be kind of nifty, especially if the lid is spring-loaded to pop open every time I sit down. During my vacation, however, I had no digital diversions. I’d be standing in the salad-bar line and my hand would reflexively reach for my pocket—searching fruitlessly for the phone that wasn’t there. I felt unmoored. On a typical day I’m in contact with two dozen or so people in FIRST WORD lance ulanOFF A Tech-Free Vacation my office and hundreds more around the world (via e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook). On this vacation it was me, my family, and my fellow cruisers. Despite all the hundreds of people, I was often alone with my thoughts. In that first day or two, I suffered mini panic attacks. I felt as if I was living in a bubble. I had no idea what was happening at the office and received scant information about world events. There were local and national news programs on TV, but since I rarely use those sources for local, national, and international information on all the topics I track, I felt as if I was try- ing to suck a potato through a straw. There was no way I’d ever get the same information blast from that narrow pipe. It wasn’t until the anxiety attacks and cold sweats stopped that I understood I was going through digital detox. I honestly didn’t know how to function without instant access to a world of information (personal and public). People around me likely noticed my pallid, sweaty appearance and darting eyes—surely that’s why they cut a wide berth around me. However, by the third day, I had stopped looking down at my empty hands and wondering if I could take out a small loan to pay for one full day’s Internet access. I started to take in my surroundings. My family looked upon me as a welcome acquaintance whom they hadn’t seen in a very long time. I’ll admit that the anxiety would still creep up every once in a while, and I’d have to shake my head and stare at the bril- liant blue ocean until the feeling subsided. It always did, and I can remember long stretches of time where I didn’t once think about my phone, my computer, Twitter, Facebook, or the Internet. In those times, I read, drew, engaged with my family, and lived a blissfully tech-free, 20th-century lifestyle. When the vacation ended and we arrived back onto U.S. shores, I did what I knew I would do and turned on my phone. Within minutes it began gagging on a flood of 500 or more e-mails. I stared down at the screen in wonder. My thumbs fluttered over the keys but did nothing. I just let the On a typical day I’d be in contact with two dozen or so people in my office and hundreds more around the world (via e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook). On this vacation, it was me, my family, and my fellow cruisers. mail arrive while I savored the final few moments of my digital-free vacation. Seventy-two hours later, my phone was in my pocket, my computer was on my lap, and I could hardly remember those precious hours when I lived without 24/7 connectivity and interaction with a vast population of technology elite, enthusiasts, followers, and friends. I don’t know when I’ll do that again, but I’m certainly glad for the memory. Digital Edition Update In an effort to continue improving PC Mag Digital Edition, we’ve taken your comments and suggestions to heart. We’re in the process of redesigning PC Mag Digital to make it even easier to read and navigate. Follow mE on TwiTTEr! Catch the chief’s comments on the latest tech developments at twitter.com/LanceUlanoff. APRIL 2009 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION
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