I shan’t name any names to protect the ignorant, but I frequent this particular site which has message boards. This week, they “updated”. Mind you, they “updated” two years ago and there are still things that were broken then that have yet to be fixed by their IT team. The site is run by a corporation most of you have heard of…they have several websites as well as cable TV channels. Their IT department is probably the most incompetent I’ve yet run across, which is saying something. Anyway, they “updated”. Now, the only way to view the site is to log in. Every time you navigate away from the site you are automatically logged out. A login lasts approximately six clicks, and then you have to log in again. The only way to “fix” the problem is to log out, delete all cookies, clear the cache, then go back to log in, but instead of doing so, click on the “forgot your password” link so it is reset via email. Then you can stay logged in for sometimes as many as a dozen clicks without having to go through the whole process again. Ah…improvements. If only they were….

Futurelooks starts us off with the Intel Core i7-980XE Gulftown 6-Core 32nm Processor

Let’s see who else has reviewed the newest Intel creation:
Guru3D
Benchmark Reviews
Hardware Canucks
HardwareHeaven
hardCOREware
HotHardware
MBReview
TweakTown
Motherboards.org (via YouTube)
Motherboards.org (via its own site)
Hi Tech Legion
Hardware Secrets
Au-Ja
TweakNews
Bjorn3D
bit-tech
Legit Reviews

Whew! Now on to some other stuff…
bit-tech checks out the ASRock H55M Pro LGA1156 Motherboard

TechRadar pans the Chumby Classic

ThinkComputers weighs in on the Kingston SSDNow V-Series 30GB Solid State Boot Drive

TweakTown goes inside the Raidmax Skyline Windowed Mid-Tower Chassis

TweakPC examines some G.Skill PI 2200 CL7 F3-17600CL7D-4GBPIS Memory (please note the little flag on the site for an automatic translation)

Pro-Clockers gets into the NZXT Hades Crafted Series Tower

Top Review Shop tries on a pair of Arctic Sound E361 Earphones

Hardware Secrets chills out with the Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler

PureOverclock takes a look at the PowerColor Radeon PCS+ 5830 1GB

And to close out this selection, TrustedReviews sits down with the Acer Aspire One 532h-2Dr – 10.1in Netbook

I’ve just spent the entire morning training on the new ribbon board at our arena. It uses the same program as our regular matrix board…technically…but it’s several versions newer. Which means it’s kinda like knowing how to work Windows 3.1 and suddenly being given Vista. I know the language, but I feel like a kindergartener rather than a college professor. I think I’ll get the hang of it, but the games this weekend are going to be entertaining in more than one way. Always an adventure!

TechwareLabs gets us started with the NZXT – Hades Crafted Series Computer Case

TweakTown gives us An Insight to NVIDIAs Next-Gen ION Platform

Bjorn3D gets into the Corsair Obsidian 800D

TechRadar has something for music lovers: Hanss Acoustics T-30 Turntable

TrustedReviews takes a look at the BenQ G2222HDL – 21.5in Monitor

HardwareHeaven presents its CeBIT 2010 (Day One Coverage)

bit-tech is Overclocking Intel’s Core i3 530

ASE Labs gets its hands on the Verbatim Nano Wireless Notebook Mouse

Au-Ja sits down with the ASUS Eee PC 1201N: 12.1 inch, Intel Atom 330 and NVIDIA ION

XSReviews chills out with the Coolermaster Hyper 101

Hardware Secrets checks out the Amacrox Free Earth 85PLUS 650 W Power Supply

PureOverclock hooks up with the NZXT IU01 USB Expansion Module

Benchmark Reviews examines the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SSD Controller

Guru3D reports The Auzen X-Fi Bravura 7.1 Gets Tested

Finally, ThinkComputers goes on the road with the Speck CorePack Fly Laptop Messenger Bag

But in my considered opinion, after spending 3 1/2 hours on it (including 1 1/2 hours on the phone with their support agent), TurboTax is crap. Oh, I’m sure it’s fine if you only have to fill out the EZ form, but if you have any complication whatsoever you’re up the proverbial creek without the proverbial paddle. And if all you have to fill out is the EZ form, why on earth would you pay for software when you can pick up the forms for free at the post office? I won’t go into it, but let it suffice to say if a GPS was as easy to follow as their software, I would end up in Saskatchewan when I was trying to go to Brazil.

Futurelooks kicks it off with the OCZ Technology 60GB Agility Series SATAII SSD

TweakTown counters with OCZ Technologys Vertex 2 Pro 100GB Solid State Disk

Pro-Clockers goes inside the Thermaltake V3 Black Budget Case

TrustedReviews tries on a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b Headphones

HotHardware presents its NVIDIA ION 2 Preview, Optimus Enabled

FrostyTech stays chilly with the Scythe Grand Kama Cross SCKC-2000 Heatsink

TechRadar points and shoots the Canon PowerShot A490

RBMods examines the Verbatim InSight Portable HDD 500GB

BCC Hardware shares its CeBIT Coverage – Day 1 Gallery

OverClock Intelligence Agency gives a listen to some Arctic Cooling Arctic Sound E352 Earphones

Benchmark Reviews hooks up with the CyberPower AVRLCD UPS Battery Backup for PCs

ThinkComputers sits down with the Cooler Master NotePal ErgoStand

techPowerUp checks out some G.Skill ECO Kit 4 GB PC3-12800U CL7-8-7

I think I’ll end this one with a motherboard extravaganza:
TechwareLabs – Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H AMD 890GX
bit-tech – Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB Motherboard
Legit Reviews – Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H – AMD 890GX Chipset
Bjorn3D – AMD 890GX
Hardware Secrets – ECS A890GXM-A
Hi Tech Legion – Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H USB and SATA 3.0
PureOverclock – ASUS P6X58D Premium
Legion Hardware – Asrock P55 Deluxe3
InsideHW – ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
PCSTATS – ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AMD 890GX
Au-Ja – ECS A890GXM-A (AMD 890GX, socket AM3)
Motherboards.org – ASUS P6X58D Premium
Hardware Canucks – ASUS RoG Maximus III Extreme LGA 1156

First, let me say congratulations to Finland! Also to Slovakia…you played your hearts out, and no one can ask any more from you. That was a fabulous game! And now, we are a little less than three hours from the gold medal game. Will Canada win and increase their count? Or will the USA win and upset their gracious hosts to the north? I’m looking forward to another amazing game.

Au-Ja starts off with the MSI R5770-PM2D1G – AMD ATi Radeon HD 5770 revistited

If you don’t mind, I’ll turn that into a video card roundup:
bit-tech – ATI Radeon HD 5830 1GB
Technic3D – Asus EAH5870
iXBT Labs – ATI Radeon HD 5750/5770
Au-Ja – AMD ATi Radeon HD 5830
InsideHW – Radeon HD 5830

Hardware Secrets checks out the JVC Picsio GC-FM1 Camcorder

TrustedReviews points and shoots the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ10

Bjorn3D chills out with the Noctua NH-D14

Phoronix goes inside the SilverStone Fortress FT02

TechRadar takes music on the road with the Altec Lansing inMotion Classic

TweakNews examines the Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W Modular Power Supply

Legit Reviews weighs in on the Toshiba HG2 43nm 256GB Solid State Drive

techPowerUp gets into the Soundgraph FingerVU 706

RBMods gets its hands on the Roccat Arvo Gaming Keyboard

DragonSteelMods tries on a pair of Mionix Keid 20 Gaming Headphones

And to finish us off, TestFreaks finds its way with the Motorola T805 Bluetooth GPS Receiver

It got a little tense there toward the end, but y’all held on for the win. So we’ll be seeing you Sunday, and may the best team win. Tonight, of course, will be Slovakia vs. Finland, and I’m having my usual dilemma about it. Neither team is my country, of course, but both teams contain players I watched grow up through the AHL and who either did play or do play for my NHL team. I’m leaning more toward Finland for various reasons, but I can’t say I’ll be disappointed no matter who walks away with the bronze.

Au-Ja starts us off with the MSI N220GT-MD1GZ – GeForce GT 220 noiseless

Hardware Secrets goes inside the Antec ISK300-150 Case

Legit Reviews spends some time with the QNAP TS-459 Pro Turbo NAS with Intel Atom D510

FrostyTech chills out with the XtremeGear HP-1216B Heatsink

TrustedReviews takes a look at the NEC MultiSync EA231WMi – 23in Monitor

TweakTown gets its hands on the GIGABYTE M8000 Xtreme Gaming Mouse

TechRadar hooks up with the Virgin 7.2Mbps Dongle

GamingHeaven takes on Napoleon: Total War (PC)

Pro-Clockers touches down on the Kingwin Dock Master 3.0 Hard Drive Dock

PureOverclock beats the heat with the XSPC 5870 Razor GPU Water Block

ThinkComputers weighs in on the Corsair Flash Padlock 2 8GB USB Flash Drive

TechwareLabs asks What OS, Windows 7 or Ubuntu? Why not use both!

Bona Fide Reviews gets the picture with the Polaroid Pogo Instant Mobile Printer

Top Review Shop checks out the ineo I-NA301Ue HD Enclosure

And to close out this selection, Motherboards.org examines the ASRock H55DE3 Motherboard