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Only the Best Earn the
PET Seal of Approval from
The 15 Minutes Products
Evaluation Team (PET) |
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Symantec Engineer Saves
Desktop From Digital Death
YMANTEC
is blessed with a remarkable customer support department
which is populated with the most helpful and sensitive
problem solvers I have encountered in the tech world.
You’d be ecstatic too if you had
issues with your computer to the extent that you were ready,
in utter frustration, to heave it onto the garbage heap—and
Symantec came along and preserved your sanity.
 Here’s what happened. After
installing
Norton 360,
Version 4, my
desktop slowed to a crawl; my emails failed to go out. Life
was a mess.
One frantic call to Maegan
Tremarche, of Symantec’s consumer relations team, and my
computer was put on the road to redemption. She recognized
the issue and was sympathetic to my plight. She quickly
arranged for one of Symantec’s highly skilled engineers,
Leonard Jayakumar, to come to my aid.
Leonard, a NortonLive Spyware &
Virus Removal Specialist, spent nine hours on the phone to
repair my computer. He ran the VRQTOOL5.0 tool, deleted the
temp/prefetch, reset the IE web settings, ran Windows
Update, reinstalled software, ran Live Update and a complete
scan. (Now why didn’t I think of that? Well, Len’s an
engineer and I’m not.)
He cleaned up my computer and made
it run like the day I bought it from Dell.
Now I’m quite happy with Norton
360. It operates in the background, scanning for viruses,
protecting my computer from all the malware roaming the
cyberworld. It offers automatic backup and restore. It
identifies fraudulent sites and phishing efforts, keeps spam
out of my mailbox, and protects my identity when I browse
online. There is so much more that Norton 360 does to keep
my computer in top form. Most important, it provides
download protection to safeguard me from any digital danger
henceforth.
So how satisfied am I with
Symantec? What do you think? See for yourself when you
install Norton 360 4.0, for $79.99 at
www.symantec.com.
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 Small Camera With Big Ambitions
IGMA DP2
packs 14 mega pixels of a DSLR into the body of a compact
camera. This is an upgrade to the DP1 that came out in 2008
and welcomed by everyone who wanted the essence of a full
DSLR but not in a big heavy body.
This full-spec compact camera has
delighted amateurs and professionals alike. The highly
portable compactness of the DP2 allows you to carry a
professional lightweight camera anywhere you go, and always
be prepared for any unique photographic moment you may
chance upon.
The DP2 image sensor is 7-12 times
larger than the sensor of ordinary compact cameras. It has a
24.2mm standard lens that’s equivalent to 41mm on a 35mm SLR
camera. Its standard range focal length of F2.8 make it
perfect for portraits, making your subject stand out in
stunning ways.
It has three metering modes:
Evaluative Metering, Center Weighted Average Metering, and
Spot Metering. It has RAW and Jpeg recording modes. It takes
an SD memory card. Package includes Sigma Photo Pro
software, a RAW image developer that converts all RAW data
quickly.
If you’re heaving a heavy Nikon,
like the D300 in my bag, then the Sigma D2 makes a lot of
sense as a second camera for backup. It can be yours for
around $620.
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 Prepare For The Road
EADY
to plan your vacation? Top of your to-do list should be
obtaining Magellan’s catalog of essential travel supplies.
Visit
www.magellans.com
or call 1.800.962.4943.
Following are some of the products
we found essential for any trip.
Men’s Sun Escape Shirt
has hidden mesh underarm and side seam panels, a collar with
Velcro closure, and a button-down breast pocket. Made of
nylon which dries three times as fast as cotton. $65.95.
Daytripper Backpack
is a lightweight bag that can easily hold a camera, journal
and a rain jacket with room to spare. It tucks into its own
pouch to put into a suitcase. $29.85.
Hovercraft Wheeled Upright
is a stylish luggage from Eagle Creek. I found the wheels
much easier to navigate than most other suitcases. It
expands for 15 percent more packing space when needed. The
main compartment is spacious, and front pockets give you
additional space to store items. As the catalog says, it’s
light as a feather (until you fill it up). 22-inch $249,
25-inch $274, 28-inch, $299, Underseat Tote $194.
 Lucia In-Flight Tote
is a fashionable carrying bag made of sturdy nylon. The
zippered main compartment can hold all your personal needs,
while two side pockets, with magnetic closures, has space
for a phone, pen slots, detachable credit card wallet.
Pockets on both ends are handy for your tickets, maps, water
bottle or umbrella. Carry it cross-body or over your
shoulder. $79.50.
Monaco Shoes,
for women, will massage your feet as walk in their patented
"egg crate" footbed. The soft leather uppers are made to the
shape of your feet. The Velcro strap makes it easy to slip
them off and on at the airport. $109.50.
 Skooba Super-Bungee Shoulder Strap
is great. I use it instead of the strap that came with my
camera bag. It makes the bag feel lighter and more secure on
my shoulder. Magellan’s says that’s because the built-in
bungee cord stretches with the weight of your bag, absorbing
shock and reducing nack, neck and shoulder strain. It works!
$25.85.
Non-Iron Shirt
is a two-ply cotton shirt that looks smart, fresh and crisp
even after a day of travel. Perfect for warm climates.
$59.50.
 Travel Tee
is a pima cotton women’s shirt that’s lightweight and
wrinkle resistant. It stays soft and silky to the touch,
wash after wash. ¾ sleeve $32.50, short sleeve $29.50, and
tank $24.50.
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 Latest Must-Haves
AVEME
is absolutely a must-have if you want to backup your PC. Of
course you do. SaveMe works the minute it’s installed to
protect from crashes, viruses or accidental file deletions.
It backs up a maximum of six computers.
With no buttons to press, no
schedules to set, it’s a no-brainer to utilize this
dedicated backup and recovery solution. Just plug it in and
forget it…until the inevitable crash. Then use SaveMe to
restore everything like it was.
Prices for SaveMe vary. For a
portable hard drive, it’s $149.95 for 500GB, $199.95 for
1TB, $349.95 for 2TB.
 For a desktop hard drive, it’s $119.95
for 250 GB, $139.95 for 320GB, and $169.95 for 500GB.
Available at Amazon.com and
www.rebit.com.
OTTERBOX
cases are dedicated to
all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals
who have broken a device or two due to their active
lifestyle. "Like our customers, we've been there too," says
founder Curt Richardson. He offers three types of protection
for your BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone. We looked at a
BlackBerry
Curve 8900 Series Defender Case.
The Defender, for those with an extreme and active
lifestyle, offers more rugged protection with its
self-adhering clear protective screen cover, high impact
polycarbonate shell, and silicone skin to absorb bump and
shock. It includes a holster style swivel belt clip for easy
carrying. $49.95.
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 Best Of Toy Fair
IRST TODDLE
is more than a playpen. It is a terrific play and
development environment for your toddler, ages 3 months to 3
years (and beyond). As your little one crawls, stands and
begins to take first steps, you rearrange the playpen in
five different configurations to accommodate his needs. As
your infant grows, First Toddle’s accessories expand and
change as well. With First Toddle, you can do away with a
clutter of other toddler toys. It’s all in one package.
$149.95. See
www.firsttoddle.com.
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 KIDSCRAFT
PLAYHOUSES
are just cardboard boxes, yet they capture the imagination
of children ages 3 to 7 (and some adults). These huge boxes
are designed with windows and doors, ready to welcome the
kids inside for play and fun. The Creation Cottage, $59.95,
is perfect playroom. The sturdy box inspires kids to draw
their own designs on the exterior, and make this house
distinctively their own. Another box, Shuttle Imagination,
$69.95, is shaped like a space shuttle, with double bay
doors and two portholes from which to survey the universe
beyond earth (or beyond the den).
BANANAGRAMS
is a fast and enjoyable anagram game that drives players
bananas! Requiring no pencil, paper or board, Bananagrams
comes in a small portable banana-shaped pouch, perfect fun
for kids from 7 to 97 years old, at home or on the go.
Created by a word game-obsessed family of three generations,
Bananagrams is a labor of love that that has quickly become
an international phenomenon.
 Bananagrams
is available online as a free Facebook application and on
the iPhone and iTouch. In fact you can be a top banana in
Spanish, French, Norwegian and German. $14.95.
 ANIMAL
TRACKS
is a package of three games: Concentration, Bingo and Guess
the Tracks. There are 40 illustrated animal cards and 40
track cards. Junior PET Johnathan spent an evening playing
with the animal cards, especially enjoying Bingo. Animal
Tracks, for two or more players, ages 5 and up, is a fun
game of memory and matching. $14.99.
 PIRATES
DUNGEON
is one in a series of Playmobil Take Along Sets that also
includes Knights Take Along Tower and Unicorn Take Along
Castle. These sets are designed to keep kids, 4 and older,
calmly occupied traveling on the road or outside the home on
play dates. The pirates package includes two figures, a
working cannon, a skeleton (what’s a dungeon without
bones?), and other accessories suitable for a pirate’s
occupation, including a monkey. You can pack away the
contents in the cardboard carrying box with a handle. See
more at
www.playmobilusa.com.
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