Greg Adler, the PCW CES Team

Most Recent Posts by Greg Adler, the PCW CES Team

Hangman Pro for Windows

Greg Adler

Hangman has taken a far leap from the chalkboards in my elementary school classroom to a digital version on your PC. The program is very colorful with sound to enhance the graphics. There are many categories of words to choose from, and thousands of words in total. Some words have additional information associated with it. For example, if the word is from the States or Countries category, you will be given information such as the capital of the State or Country.

The program is very easy to use. Users can customize the game content changing the amount of guesses, the category of the word, and even the colors within the program. Towards the top of the screen, the program keeps track of the total number of games played, total wins and losses, and your current streak. Hangman Pro supports many languages, including Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.

This program is shareware, however, if you want to create your own categories and words to add to the game, you need to purchase the full version for $25. Also, in the demo version, randomly, you will get an annoying box that encourages you to register the game. That box goes away once you register.

--Greg Adler

Hiking 2.0: Five Favorite Sites

Greg Adler

I've always been an outdoors guy, and my passion for cool technology has been with me since childhood. In this 2008 environment of all things becoming Webby, it thrills me that both my passions are merging. I spend far too much time browsing the Web in search of the best trails, gear, photos and the next great outdoor adventure. Here are some of my favorite sites:

LG Electronics 42LG60 (Scarlet) 42-inch LCD HDTV

Greg Adler

Lots of thought has gone into LG Electronics' chic 42-inch "Scarlet" 42LG60 HDTV, as evidenced by everything from the faux-leather remote control to the useful and brilliantly navigable on-screen display menu. But the niceties come at a price: At $1800 (as of November 4, 2008), the 42LG60 costs $700 more than one of its two younger 42-inch siblings, the 42PG25, but $200 less than the other, the 42LGX.

The entire back of the LCD panel is red, which produces red accents when you look at the TV from an angle; the color serves little purpose, though, because people rarely spend much time gazing at the back of their big-screen TVs. The bezel is thin on the top and sides, but about three times thicker at the bottom, where LG hides the unit's superior-sounding, down-firing speakers. As nice as it is not to see speaker grilles, the extra-large bottom bezel was distracting and unattractive, especially since everything else about the display looks stunning.

AOC Envision L42H761 42-inch LCD HDTV

Greg Adler

If AOC's Envision L32W761 had an older, wiser, and better-looking cousin, the L42H761 would be it. In fact, the only physical difference between these identical-looking HDTVs is the screen size.

The 42-inch L42H761 HDTV forms its own identity quickly with the help of more inputs and a far superior OSD (on-screen display) menu. The text of the menu is much larger, making it easier to use. The preset picture options are much easier to find and adjust, too. Despite its improved features, however, the TV still lacks high-end functions such as individual color controls for advanced calibration.

Westinghouse TX-42F430S 42-inch LCD HDTV

Greg Adler

Westinghouse has established a niche for itself by producing inexpensive HDTVs that produce good-quality images but omit the advanced features and sophisticated style common to high-end models. The company's TX-42F430S ($1200 as of November 4, 2008) is no exception.

In our PC World Test Center lab tests, the set displayed very nice images, earning a score of Good. In fact, this Westinghouse garnered the same performance score as the LG 42LG60. We did notice, however, that the TX-42F430S tends to skew toward red in flesh tones.

Top 5 40- and 42-inch HDTVs

Greg Adler

Game-Eyez Glasses

Greg Adler

If you work on a computer constantly, you're familiar with eyestrain--the awful, tense feeling you get after staring at your monitor all day. A pair of Game-Eyez glasses can help solve the problem.

The shades work by blocking wavelengths of light shorter than 460 nanometers (nm), also known as blue light. The product's creators say research has shown that blue light causes most of the eyestrain; since the wavelengths are very short, your eyes have a much harder time focusing on them.

HP w2207h 22-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor

Greg Adler

The 22-inch w2207h has all the features you could want in a good monitor. It comes through with great image quality, particularly with text, and it provides tilt, pivot, swivel, and height adjustments.

HP incorporated its Brightview glare panel in the w2207h, instead of using the chemically treated antiglare coating that appears on some of the company's other monitors, such as the the HP LP3065 and the the HP LP1965. This makes for a cleaner-looking image, but introduces more reflectivity as well.

LG W2452T 24-Inch Wide-Screen LCD Monitor

Greg Adler

LG's $500 (as of May 19, 2008) W2452T takes a minimalist approach to features--which would be fine if it were priced to match. Unfortunately, the LG costs just as much as Samsung's SyncMaster 2493HM, which packs considerably more connection and adjustability options.

The W2452T has a native resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels, and it can connect to a PC via DVI or VGA input. Though it can swivel and tilt, it lacks pivot and height adjustment. The display forgoes amenities like USB 2.0 ports (fairly common on LCD monitors), an HDMI input, and an integrated Webcam. Nor does it have built-in speakers or an option for attachable speakers.

My Wine Collection

Greg Adler

This easy-to-use program lets you keep a written, detailed inventory of you wine collection. It could also be used to keep track of wines you have tried and what you thought of them.

To add a wine to the database, select the new record button. At this point, you can enter ever important detail of the wine from the winery name, to the vintage, to the location it is stored in your wine cellar. Further details can be inputted that include the wine's nose(smell), noteable foods that compliment the wine, a handy drink by date, and a separate tab allows you to upload an image of the label on the wine.

The software will allow you to run many types of reports for a variety of circumstances. For example, say there's a natural disaster and you lose your entire collection. Fortunately, you can run a report specific for insurance companies. Some other report options include a wine cellar summary list, a customizable wine list, and wine party tasting forms.

Though I've found this program easy to use and full of detailed information, I can't imagine actually spending the hours nesecary to input an entire wine collection and keep it updated as wine is added and removed. This software might be best used for very large wine collections in which the owner can not recall all the wines they own. I can not see an average or even above average wine drinker using this software.

The demo version is available at no charge; the full version of the software costs a one-time fee of $50. The demo version's only limitation compare to the $50 full version, is that it's save disabled.

--Greg Adler

My Brew Collection

Greg Adler

I've been a home brewer for about 4 years, and I can tell you that brewing your own beer can be great fun. One of the most difficult parts of brewing is coming up with a recipe and being able to recreate that recipe.

In the past, I kept a folder with many papers containing hand written recipes and lots of chicken scratch I call notes as I kept perfecting my perfect brew. Over time, my recipes became unreadable due to water, beer, and various ingredients being spilled on the paper. My Brew Collection is a great piece of software that is the perfect solution for this problem.

The program allows the user to manage a handy database of your home brew beer recipes. In the demo, you get one preloaded recipe and a tutorial on how to become a brewer if you're new. Adding your own recipes is very easy and the database allows for a limitless amount of storage. Within your database, each recipe can be sorted by, the color of the beer, name or style of beer, and a user rating.

When you expand a recipe to look at the details, you get all the information you need to recreate your concoction including the details of the recipe with the quantity of each ingredient, notes on specific brewing instructions, original and final gravity, alcohol percentage and a description of the beers unique qualities. The program also allows you to create labels for each brew.

Taking the extra steps to convert your paper recipes to digitized form can be tedious, but for any brewer, it will be worth the extra time to ensure the integrity and consistency of each beer you make.

My Art Collection

Greg Adler

Whether you are a rookie or a veteran, whether you collect paintings or sculptures or quilts, this program from Elms Publishing is a great way to have an ongoing detailed inventory of all your art.

I found the software to be very easy to use and remarkably user friendly. To add a new piece of art to the database, the user selects the new record button. At this point, you can enter every important detail of the specific piece of art such as the type of art, medium that is used, subject of the piece, date created, dimensions, framed or not, and condition of the art.

Further details can be inputted that include the artists information, sale history of the item, and a separate tab allows you to input appraisal and authentication information including an image of the certification of authenticity.

This software will allow you run many types of reports for a variety of circumstances. For example, say there's a natural disaster and you lose your entire collection, fortunately, you can run a report specific for insurance companies.