Can't stand the heat? Get the right desktops
Today's dual-core desktop processors are designed to be energy-efficient. It's a claim the GCN Lab has often wondered about.
GCN Lab Review | For better security, touch your printer
Security is more than just passwords on your desktop. Every agency knows physical security is just as important. However, within a department there is normally not much to protect documents from users already in the building. And that can cause trouble.
GCN Lab Review | A scanner for all reasons
When we first received the tiny, 17-ounce DocketPort DS485-90 scanner from Ambir Technology, we were skeptical. We've seen small-scale scanners before,and the performance level claimed by this device'six pages per minute induplex mode at 600 dots per inch'seemed a bit much.
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No question is too big or too small for the GCN Lab.
Test Drive: Vista makes new strides
Last month, Microsoft Corp. officially released the second beta version of its much-anticipated Windows Vista operating system. It's built to be a more polished preview of the OS that will ship for enterprises late this year, and for consumers early next year. Based on reviews in the GCN Lab, Vista is a compelling product that agencies will want to start evaluating sooner rather than later.
GCN Lab Review | IronPort C100 Email Security Appliance
We had an interesting problem setting up the IronPort C100, although it was more our fault than anything else.
GCN Lab Review | Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway P600
Proofpoint had one of the Reviewer's Choice products in last year's roundup, but that was before we started judging ease of setup and maintenance.
GCN Lab Review | BlueCat Meridius 1000 Email Gateway Appliance
We had a fair amount of trouble setting up the Meridius 1000. The configuration interface forces you to use a set of little blue buttons on the front of the device to enter its new IP address. But we found these buttons very unresponsive.
GCN Lab Review | Tumbleweed MailGate Appliance 3.0
The Tumbleweed MailGate Appliance 3.0 shows off some of the best and worst features of an e-mail security appliance.
GCN Lab Review | E-mail appliances: How we evaluated them
The GCN Lab partnered with Spirent Communications of Calabasas, Calif. to test anti-spam and antivirus network appliances.
GCN Lab Review | Symantec Mail Security 8240
Considering Symantec has been in the antivirus business for many years, it was no surprise the Mail Security 8240 did well at keeping viruses out of our lab network.<br><b><font color="CC0000">|GCN Lab</font> Reviewer's Choice|</b>
GCN Lab Review | Barracuda Spam Firewall 400
The Barracuda Spam Firewall 400 represents the right way to build an appliance-based e-mail firewall. It was the only unit in this review that was truly plug-and-play and was up and running with a live mail stream in less than five minutes.<br><b><font color="CC0000">|GCN Lab</font> Reviewer's Choice|</b>
Wait a minute Mr. Postman!
Neither snow, nor rain nor gloom of night will keep the e-mail from making its appointed rounds. Unfortunately, over 90 percent of that e-mail is complete junk, so perhaps if it were just a little bit afraid of the dark, we wouldn't be drowning in so much spam.
GCN Lab Review | Virus killer in the palm of your hand
We were intrigued by a product called the VaccineDrive, a USB key drive with embedded virus protection. The drives are difficult to find, though a few online merchants are selling the 128MB version for around. We received one to try out.
Defrag while you don't wait
Recently, an older client PC on the GCN Lab test network was running extremely slow. The problem, it turned out, was that we'd forgotten to install our usual disk defragmentation software when we'd added the system to the network'several years ago. What a mess. But it gave us an opportunity to test Diskeeper 10.0.<br><b><font color="CC0000">|GCN Lab</font> Reviewer's Choice|</b>
Ask the GCN Lab
The GCN Lab tests hundreds of products each year. The staff has scoured more help files, user manuals and FAQs than many users will read in a lifetime. And they're happy to answer almost any technical question that's thrown their way. A recent look at their in-box provided these samples.
A desktop in laptop clothing
The Alienware MJ-12 m7700a is the latest and greatest power notebook from a company better known for creating gaming rigs. (So well known, in fact, that Dell Inc. bought them.)
Take Notes
With IBM's Lotus Notes client on the front end and a Domino server on the back, agencies can have a robust enterprise collaboration platform that handles most office tasks'despite what Microsoft says.<br><font color="CC0000"><b>|GCN Lab</font color> Reviewer's Choice|</b>
GCN Lab Review | HP Color LaserJet 4700n
The HP Color LaserJet 4700n would be just as comfortable in a small- to medium-sized workgroup as it would be with a more active, large set of users.
GCN Lab Review | Kyocera Mita FS-C5030N
The FS-C5030N is ideally suited to offices where almost all the printing is in color and details matter a lot.
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