The 16″ AOC e1649Fwu Portable USB Monitor isn’t a groundbreaking technology or even the best quality external monitor you can buy for your laptop, but the mixture of value, simplicity and weight make it a decent option for anyone who wants dual displays on the road, as long as you’re very careful with it and you can overlook some significant problems.

I tote around a 13.3″ MacBook Air and occasionally a 14″ Samsung Series 3 notebook. Both computers offer decent screen real estate for simple tasks, but I miss my larger display attached to my computer at home. You can use your iPad with something like AirDisplay, but I also like to have my iPad free for other tasks while using two monitors for a total of three.

With two displays I open two or three windows research for writing, which takes about 75% of my computing time. Adding this light 16″ USB powered monitor to my computer bag makes me more productive as I’m out and about while only adding a couple of pounds.

The AOC monitor has some flaws, which I hope they will address with a refresh, like display image quality and a couple of strange hardware choices.

Display Quality

The 16″ e1649Fwu AOC Portable USB Monitor display quality won’t wow anyone. Images seem soft and text looks slightly dull. Before I updated the driver text looked washed out. Compared to my laptop displays I noticed a big drop in quality. Like nearly every other laptop and even desktop monitor the AOC uses a glossy screen. The AOC screen almost looks like a mirror in bright settings when you’re viewing dark images or interfaces. It’s more glossy than most.

You’re not going to use the monitor for Netflix or other DRM protected video because it’s not HDCP compliant. That means you’ll get the following error after you press play.

I don’t often watch DRM video on a second monitor while I’m using my laptop, so that wasn’t a problem for me. I see the AOC as a business tool. If you planned to watch video on an external display then don’t get this one.

Build Quality & Design

The AOC Portable USB Monitor is light and feels flimsy. When you carry around a product you hope it will hold up to the rigors of a mobile life. If you don’t drop it, you should be alright so long as you protect it in a padded computer bag. That’s what I did and had no problems, until my bag unexpectedly opened and it fell out display side down. The display died leaving a mess when you turn it on (see below).

I dropped the screen when my laptop bag opened unexpectedly and this was the result

I don’t fault AOC entirely for this. They didn’t drop my monitor. However, if it had some protection on the screen maybe it would have held up better. A plastic cover over it or a case around it, like a screen I’ve seen from Toshiba might have helped.

Before I dropped it, putting the screen in my bag uncovered made me nervous. I had no problems since I put it in my bag so that the screen side of the AOC faced my laptop giving it some protection. I’m careful not to put anything with sharp points in that pocket. I still wish it had a cover to protect the screen.

AOC curved the back of the display to give it a sturdy form factor so it won’t bend easily. Its thicker than my laptops. I feels like it’s probably hollow inside the curved back, which give it strength and holds the leg that props the display.

The leg flips out on the back of the display and recesses into the back so that it won’t snag as you pull it out of your bag. It flips out to prop the monitor and the leg rotates so it can hold the display in either portrait or landscape mode. The leg connects to a round disc recessed into the back of the display. It doesn’t rotate easily, a good thing while you use the display but a pain when you’re trying to turn it to move between portrait and landscape mode. You have to use some force to turn it.

AOC provided a USB cable with a mini connector on one side, which you plug in to the display unit. The other end offers full-sized dual USB connectors so you can plug it into a computer. I only need to plug in one USB connector since my MacBook provides enough juice to power the display. The secondary connector plugs into machines that don’t have enough power using one connector. If you’re laptop can’t power it using one connector and only offers one USB port per side, you’ll need an extension cable to make it work.

I hate where the mini-USB connector plugs into the back of the AOC. You flip out the leg and it plugs into the back where the leg would be when it’s not flipped out to support the monitor. I struggled to connect it in this awkward place because of the lack of space in that recessed location. I wish it connected along one of the edges that not resting on the table in either portrait or landscape mode.

To get the e1649Fwu to work in portrait mode on a Mac running Lion you need an updated driver

One thing to remember. Since your computer powers the monitor it drains the battery faster. This morning my MacBook Air drained from 100% to 40% in half the time it normally takes.

Setup

You will need driver software to run the display on most machines. Be sure to download the latest driver from DisplayLink, which makes the software. The drivers that came with the monitor don’t work properly on the latest build of Mac OS X 10.7.3 Lion or Windows 8.

In OS X 10.7, the display won’t rotate into portrait mode properly with the included drivers. For users of Windows 7 the included drivers work fine, but I’m running Windows 8 now so I had to get the update.

Once you install the alpha drivers from DisplayLink, you can plug the display into your computer and it should immediately connect in any environment. Windows handles screen rotation well. Just open the display properties in the computer’s Device Manager. To access the rotation setting in OS X Lion, hold down the COMMAND+OPTION key. Click on System Preferences and Displays while still holding the keys down. You’ll see the Rotation drop down box. Rotate 270 degrees to make it work.

Without the updated drivers, you’re Mac will show a Blue screen and the e1649Fwu display will be black. You get higher quality text with the updated drivers too.

Value and Recommendation

Despite the weaknesses, its nice to have a second display connected on the road. At only $150 you can’t expect too much. I really like the added screen space, so I willingly compromised on the display quality issues and the awkward USB connector. It’s good enough to keep your Twitter client and a chat client live as you work. You can watch a video podcast or keep your music player open and viewable. The wide-screen format makes it great for keeping a couple small windows open. I put my Bible software on it as I write my sermons.

The lack of screen protection worries me. I’m really interested to compare this portable USB monitor to the one I saw from Toshiba with 14-inch USB Mobile LCD Monitor with Matte Finish. It costs a little more but seems to solve a couple of the problems that I discovered with the AOC. It has a matte finish, which won’t reflect as much in bright light. It places the USB connector along the side and comes with a case to protect it. It’s also thinner.

If you can get one for close to the $100 price (Amazon has it for $114) and don’t mind the weaknesses, then I recommend you give it a try if your retailer has a good return policy. Otherwise take a look at the Toshiba mentioned previously. I hope to get one of those in for testing soon.

16″ AOC e1649Fwu Portable USB Monitor Review: Light and Cheap 2nd Screen is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

I installed Windows 8 Consumer Preview today and tested it out on my MacBook Pro via Parallels. If you own Parallels you can easily do the same by creating a new machine in the Parallels wizard. It includes the Windows 8 Consumer Preview as one of the optional operating systems.

After using the consumer preview of Microsoft’s new operating system, I decided that it really needs some work before I’d willingly upgrade. Based on how things went last time around with the public betas of Windows 7, I’m not going to hold my breath. We likely won’t see much change in the final version coming later this year.

With hope, I offer 8 things that Microsoft needs to fix in Windows 8.

Scrolling Vertically on a Mouse Wheel Moves the UI Horizontally

The new Metro UI scrolls horizontally. The more apps you load the longer it takes to get from the first to the last tile. If you use a trackpad on a notebook, then swipe horizontally and your screen moves to show apps to the right.

I hate trackpads so I plug in a mouse with a scroll wheel. It scrolls vertically. The Metro UI will scroll horizontally while I scroll my wheel vertically, but it feels wrong.

Accessing the Corner Popups

8 Things I Hate About Windows 8 is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The moshi iGlaze hardshell MacBook Air cover is my new favorite MacBook Air case.

While moshi isn’t a household name, the iGlaze is a great case and the company makes many cases for Apple and other notebooks.

The moshi iGlaze hardshell MacBook Air cover looks really nice, adds almost no weight or thickness and protects the soft aluminum that Apple uses to encase their computers. You’re less likely to get dings and scratches with one of these elegant cases covering your MacBook Air.

While you’re using your MacBook Air you’ll hardly notice the moshi iGlaze. That’s likely the biggest compliment I’ll ever give a case that stays on your computer while you use it. You want it to disappear so you can enjoy computing on the Air.

I use a similar style of case on my MacBook Pro. I liked the Speck SeeThru shell case, but I now wish moshi made one for my MacBook Pro also.  I’d gladly switch. The moshi case looks and feels better than Speck’s case because it elegantly disappears for the user.

I experienced one issue with Speck’s case. The sharp front edge irritated my wrists as I typed on my MacBook Pro. I don’t experience this on the moshi iGlaze case.

There’s good news for those who buy the latest MacBook Pro when Apple launches it, most likely sometime soon. That won’t help those of us with older MacBooks if Apple changes the case design like we expect them to.

The case fits snugly and covers all the corners, the top and the bottom. The cutouts give you access to all the ports and the back includes an opening so your computer’s vent stays unobstructed.

The cover allows the Apple logo to shine through while your computer’s powered on thanks to the translucent material. You can also get a clear, white or black case all three of which lets the Apple logo shine through.

The bottom covers the rubber feet on your Air with rubber disks so you still get the non-skid feet.

I really like the moshi iGlaze. It’s not intended as a rugged protective case so don’t drop your MacBook Air assuming its protected. It keeps your computer safe from scratches and light dings. If you carry your computer around the office or throw it in a bag for transport most of the time, then you don’t need much more protection that the iGlaze offers.

They offer the three colors mentioned above for both the 11 and 13 inch MacBook Air. The 11″ iGlaze case costs $55 and the 13″ costs $60 directly from Moshi.

moshi iGlaze MacBook Air Hardshell Case Review: My New Favorite is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Beginning May 20, students going back to school can get a steal on an Xbox 360 when they buy a qualifying Windows PC for $699 or more. I say a steal because, you’ll feel like your stealing since the 4GB Xbox 360 is free.

That’s right! Get a free Xbox 360 with a band new PC for back-to-school.

Microsoft offered his promotion last year and it they will repeat the offer this year. In the United States you must buy a $699 PC, while in Canada you’ll get a free Xbox with a $599 Windows PC.

Outlets offering the deal in the United States include the following:

• Best Buy
• Dell
• Fry’s Electronics
• HP
• Microsoft Stores
• NewEgg

Canadian buyers can shop at:

• Best Buy
• Dell
• Future Shop
• Staples
• The Source

Many students will either start or return to college this summer and fall. A new notebook and an Xbox 360 will come in handy.

Use the computer for all those papers and projects. Get on the Xbox to play some games or use one of the many video apps, like Netflix or Hulu to watch TV and movies over the campus network. You can hook them up and play movies, videos, music and slide shows streamed from your computer. Maybe your dorm room will serve as the hub of fun and entertainment on your floor.

You’ll have to wait tilt he 20th to see which computers qualify for the deal at the various sites. The HP Envy Sleekbook 4t-1000 might offer a great option at $699.99 from HP directly. Its one of those new and thin 14″ models that offers some decent specs in a smaller form factor. Since you have the Xbox for gaming, you don’t necessarily need a powerhouse machine to carry to class and work on the papers you’ll write in the library.

The Toshiba Portege Ultrabook also might quality at $799.99 over at Best Buy. It offers a 13.3 display along with a 128GB SSD. it should provide enough battery life to get through your day and enough power for your basic student activities.

If you’re not satisfied with just Xbox gaming, then Dell’s Alienware M14x Gaming Laptop might show up on the list at nearly $1100. They build these for power with Core i5 or i7 processors at least 6GB of RAM. You also get at least 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with Optimus graphics powering a 14″ display. If you’re wiling to pay extra you can get 1600×900 resolution display. Dell recently refreshed the processor on these to offer the latest greatest.

You’ll find plenty of options at the above retailers, so check with them Sunday to see what you can get. For further details see the Windows Team Blog.

Students Get a Free Xbox 360 with $699 Notebook Purchase is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The OS X System Preferences app shows all of your useful tools to configure your Mac the way you want, but it also has some that I will never use. That’s why I got excited when I learned your can hide the unused preference apps quite easily. Let me show you how.

Open System Preferences using either your Dock icon or from the Apple Menu in the upper left corner.

Once it’s open, click on the View menu and then on Customize.

All your preferences will now show a check mark next to it.

Uncheck the ones you want to hide.

Why would anyone hide any of these System Preferences?

I got rid of the MobileMe icon because I already migrated to iCloud. I don’t need it any longer. I also removed the Startup Disk icon because I don’t plan to change my startup disk on my MacBook. Since my kids don’t use my Mac I got rid of the Parental Controls icons. You might want to remove the Trackpad icon if you use a desktop without one or the Mouse icon if you only use a Trackpad on your MacBook. Maybe you don’t need the Universal Access tool or never change Spotlight settings.

When you’re finished nuking the unneeded icons, click Done at the top of the window and close it.

Let’s say you discover that you need to get one of these hidden icons back. You can either turn them all back on by clicking on the View menu and choosing Customize again and recheck the hidden icons. This makes them come back.

What if you only need that System Preference app once but don’t want to restore it all the time. You can click on Show All and hold down your mouse or trackpad button until the list of System Preferences Apps shows up listing even the hidden apps. Find the one you need and open it from that menu.

How to Hide Unused System Preferences in OS X is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

WaterField Designs came out with a new Apple MacBook Air case called CitySlicker. This urban MacBook Air case offers a nice custom distressed leather flap in one of four colors that covers the top of their signature ballistic nylon fabric.

The case doesn’t just look nice, with that old-world frontier look, it protects the MacBook Air with three layers. High-grade neoprene and padded inner linings combine with an added impact-resistant plastic covered by the nylon outer layer to keep the MacBook Air’s soft aluminum safe in transport.

The flap covers a four accessory pockets. The pockets house things like pens, an iPhone or Android smartphone, your magic mouse or cables. They’re made of a stretchy mesh material. A back pocket with the same stretchy mess has a locking zipper that lets you store thin items or objects like papers thin books or a magazine or two.

Like most of WaterField Designs cases, you can get just the case and carry it around under your arm. You can also add the rings and include your own shoulder strap or pick from their two different straps. You can also add a handle to the mix to carry it like a briefcase.

The bag comes in one of four colors – black, chocolate, grizzly or camel. The cost of the cases and options are as follows:

• 11″ MacBook Air Case alone $129 and with handle $139
• 13″ MacBook Air Case alone $139 and with handle $149
• Add D-Rings for straps for $5
• With D-Rings and the simple strap add $12
• For the D-Rings and the padded Suspension Should Strap add $22

If you order now, you will get one starting May 28, 2012. This company makes great cases, so the CitySlicker likely won’t disappoint you.

WaterField Designs CitySlicker Case for Protects MacBook Air With Distressed Leather is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

If you’ve waited for a new MacBook Pro refresh to ship, then the wait could get shorter if a pair of benchmarks and a rumor about thinner machines prove legitimate.

According to “trusted sources in Apple’s supply chain” the refreshed MacBook Pro models will include a thinner chassis and higher resolution displays, not to mention more powerful graphics and processors and USB 3.0. 9to5Mac reported that their sources told them Apple is testing the new 15″ machines and it will ship later this summer. That might explain a pair of benchmarks that showed up on Geekbench.

9to5Mac posted this interesting mock up of what a thinner MacBook could look like

Geekbench provides benchmarking for Macs and shows those results online in their Geekbench Browser for all to see. A pair of Macs showed up on the site with some awesome results.

The first Mac identified itself as a “MacBookPro9,1″. The computer boasted an Ivy Bridge Core i7-3820QM processor with a 2.7GHz clock speed. It grabbed a score of 12252 or 17 percent faster than the present 15 or 17 inch MacBook Pro running an Intel Core i7 processor.

The second called itself an “iMac 13,2″ and ran an Intel Core i7-3770 desktop CPU and included 3.4GHz clock speed. It included only 4GB of RAM which lowered its Geekbench score to 12183. The scores for the CPU alone grabbed a 9% gain over present generation desktops.

As Engadget noted, these scores don’t necessarily show that someone tested a pair of new Macs. They could show fake scores or something else. However, since we’re waiting on a refresh of the MacBook Pro line, this could indicate that one is immanent. Added to the evidence reported at 9to5Mac of new models referenced deep inside Mountain Lion code, we’ve got a good sign that Apple will refresh the MacBook Pro line soon.

The code in Mountain Lion shows a new MacBook Pro with Ivy Bridge processors, USB 3.0 and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics chip.

Most recent rumors said the new MacBook Pro would look more like recent MacBook Air models. If the 9to5Mac “trusted sources” are right, it will look more like present MacBooks on a diet with the a new high res display, possibly matching the retina displays in the new iPad and iPhone 4/4S.

To summarize the new specs will include the following:

• High resolution retina display
• Ivy Bridge Intel processors
• Faster NVIDIA GPU
• USB 3.0 ports
• No more optical disk which allows for thinner design
• Power button on the keyboard like the MacBook Air
• A pair of Thunderbolt ports

Since the new Ivy Bridge chip includes USB 3.0 support, it won’t surprise too many if Apple includes it.  When Thunderbolt first shipped, some of us thought Apple would forgo USB 3.0 and push for Thunderbolt. The slow adoption rate of Thunderbolt and inclusion in Ivy Bridge make adding USB 3.0 a no-brainer for Apple.

Hopefully we’ll know more about this at this year’s WWDC coming in early June. The amazing specs mentioned above might call for a keynote address including an announcement about the new MacBook Pro in lieu of an iPhone announcement, which seems likely to occur in the fall again this year instead of at WWDC as it was before last year’s change. Whenever the announcement comes we will learn whether they will refresh the 17 and 13 inch models. These reports only mention the 15-inch model.

MacBook Pro Ivy Bridge Benchmarks Leak, Point to Coming Refresh is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

DragonDrop helps Mac users move their files around in finder with a creative tool that sits in your Menu Bar and activates when you need it. It acts like a temporary shelf to store your files so you can find the new folder to drop them. Let me show you how it works.

Open a Finder folder and select the file or files your want to move. Now either drag them to the icon in the Menu bar or shake your mouse until the DragonDrop box opens. It has a flared pattern that rotates.

Watch DragonDrop in action in the video below.

Drop the files on the box and then find the new spot where you plan to place the file or files. Drag the file or files from the DragonDrop box to the new folder and the box disappears. DragonDrop copies the files to the new place.

It works with any kind of file you can store on your hard drive and it works with websites. Just drag the website’s address bar icon to the DragonDrop box just as you would a file. Then, open a new browser and drag the site to that browser window’s address bar. You might need to test a site in more than one browser. This offers an easier way to do that than typing a long site’s URL each time.

I love this utility. It costs $4.99 in the Mac App Store, which seems a bit steep. It feels more like a $2 app. I wish the feature would show up in a future release of OS X.

If you want a free taste, go to the app’s website and get the free trial version. If you like it buy it in the App store.

I had one difficulty, which you can see in the above video. If you drag the files, shake the mouse cursor and them move the cursor too far after the DragonDrop box appears, then it goes away. If you’re dragging a bunch of files, the files icons can mask the box making it hard to see that the box appeared. Aside from the cost, that’s my only complaint. I recommend it to OS X users who do a lot of dragging and dropping of files. I installed it on all of my systems.

You can set DragonDrop to start at login, which you’ll want to do. You can turn off the shake feature and only use the Menu Bar if you want. Or you can turn off the Menu Bar icon and only use the shake feature.

DragonDrop Review: Simplify Moving Files in OS X is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Adobe released the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4, its popular and newly updated photo editing and organizing tool, in the Mac App Store.

They released their consumer focused Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements at a nice $20 discount over the retail box price of those two apps, but this time around the Mac App Store version actually costs the same price you would pay if you bought it directly from Adobe. You can get the full version from Adobe for $99.99, a $5o discount, if you buy it along with Photoshop or for $149.99 by itself. That’s the price you pay for the program from the Mac App Store.

You benefit getting it from the App Store because users can install it on more than two machines, the limit enforced if you buy it from Adobe. Lightroom will also soon come as part of the new Adobe Creative Cloud subscription service which gives access to all the Adobe tools.

Lightroom provides powerful organization and post processing features. It’s useful for serious photographers whether you’re an enthusiast or a professional. I used the first three versions before I moved to Apple Aperture which costs half the price of Lightroom in the App store and allows you to install it on more than two machines.

The new features available in this update include the following:

• Highlight and Shadow Recovery improvements
• Photo Book creation from Blurb
• Location base organization so you can search for photos take on your vacation
• White balance brush lets you fix white balance of small parts of a photo
• More editing brushes
• Better video support
• Video publishing in HD on Facebook, Flickr and smartphones, tablets or various TV formats
• Soft-proofing so you can see what a printed image will look like when you use color management to match your printer and monitor
• Better online sharing through Facebook and Flickr
• See online comments from photo sites within Lightroom

Having used both, I recommend you check out Aperture before paying double for Lightroom. They’re both great tools and most photographers today prefer Lightroom, but Aperture handles my needs perfectly at $70 less. If you’re a serious creative professional or enthusiast, check out the new Creative Cloud service which will also includes Lightroom for $50/month or $30/month if you already own a registered copy of one of Adobe’s professional tools.

New Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Available on Mac App Store is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

Apple introduced a security flaw in OS X 10.7.3, but a new software update being pushed out over Software Update fixes this flaw. The new OS X 10.7.4 update is available as a free update to all OS X Lion users.

Apple also shipped a new version of their web browser Safari that now checks your version of Flash and disables it if it isn’t running the latest version. They hope this will alleviate security holes that come from outdated Flash.

OX X 10.7.4 Update for FileVault Vulnerability

The flaw in OS X exposed a user’s password if you upgraded to Lion 10.7.3 but left the legacy version of FileVault turned on for compatibility reasons. FileVault encrypts your hard drive to keep prying eyes from seeing your sensitive data. Many users use FileFault to hide files they don’t want anyone to see when they access the system.

The current version of FileVault doesn’t suffer from this flaw, so the problem likely only affects a limited number of people who kept the old version active for compatibility with older software. FileVault 2 in Lion fixed this and added other creatures like full hard drive encryption, support for external drives, and performance enhancements.

The bug left a gaping hole in systems of the very few people who used the legacy version. Even if that’s not you, I suggest you get the update because you never know what else Apple includes in their security updates. They keep the full details secret to not tip-off would-be hackers.

You can either update via Software Update from the Apple menu on your system or you can download it from Apple directly. Read the full details quoted from the previous link below:

The OS X Lion v10.7.4 Update includes fixes that:

• Resolve an issue in which the “Reopen windows when logging back in” setting is always enabled.
• Improve compatibility with certain British third-party USB keyboards.
• Addresses permission issues that may be caused if you use the Get Info inspector function “Apply to enclosed items…” on your home directory. For more information, see this article.
• Improve Internet sharing of PPPoE connections.
• Improve using a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file.
• Address an issue that may prevent files from being saved to an SMB server.
• Improve printing to an SMB print queue.
• Improve performance when connecting to a WebDAV server.
• Enable automatic login for NIS accounts.
• Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras.
• Improve the reliability of binding and logging into Active Directory accounts.
• The OS X Lion v10.7.4 Update includes Safari 5.1.6, which contains stability improvements.

For information about the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

Safari 5.1.7 Flash Security Fix

The Safari 5.1.7 update will check to see if you installed the latest version of Adobe Flash. If you’re running version 10.1.102.64 or older, then your system does not update itself properly, a feature added to the latest version of Flash for OS X. Out of date Flash often causes security problems on systems allowing nefarious people to access to your system. Thus, Safari will turn flash off so you don’t get infected with malware.

You might have to install the OS X 10.7.4 update mentioned above before you’ll see the new version of Safari in OS X Software Update. Update using Software Update from the Apple menu, restart your system and then run Software Update again. It should show up and you can download it. You can also get it directly from Apple. For future updates bookmark their download page, which always lists the new updates available for all of Apple’s software.

Apple Beefs Up Security in OS X and Safari with Updates is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.