Logitech’s Squeezebox Boom is an all-in-one music player that can stream music to any room in your house over an 802.11g wireless network. It delivers impressive, distortion-free sound over its integrated 30-watt amplifier via two ¾” tweeters and two 3″ woofers.

The compact box measures 5(H)x13(W)x4(D)”. On the front between the speakers are a large fluorescent display and a clearly labeled control panel with a large rubberized navigation wheel for scrolling through the menus. On the top is a snooze bar. The magnetized remote can snap onto a refrigerator or in the well on the Boom’s top. On the back are jacks for connecting an MP3 player, headphones, external subwoofer, and Ethernet in lieu of Wi-Fi. Setup is straightforward: plug in the power cord and follow the setup wizard on the display. Once online, the Boom downloads the latest firmware.

Logitech provides two comprehensive, easy-to-use music sources. The first is Logitech’s SqueezeCenter application, which allows you to stream from your personal music library stored on your computer. SqueezeCenter accessed all my songs from iTunes except for DRM-encrypted music. The second is SqueezeNetwork, which is Logitech’s free Internet-based music service. SqueezeNetwork’s thorough list of radio stations is broken down into music genres, podcasts, and free services. Your favorite stations can quickly be assigned to one of the six preset buttons on the Boom’s control panel. You can also store your own music collection in an online MP3 music locker.

The Squeezebox Boom supports nearly every audio format including AAC, WMA, MP3, AIFF, WAV, etc. Squeezebox Boom generally performed very well, but was sometimes sluggish connecting to a station. The sound is remarkable.—Steve Baczewski

Company: Logitech
Price: $299.99
Web: www.logitech.com
Rating: 4.5

Hot: Crystal-clear sound anywhere
Not: Nonintuitive menus; no battery option; no handle for transporting

The new 12.3-megapixel Nikon D5000 is targeted at people stepping up to a digital SLR from a point-and-shoot. It includes an articulated 2.7″ LCD, a first for a Nikon digital SLR, so it will look familiar to users making the transition. The D5000 shares some features with the higher-end D90, including the image sensor, Live View, and the ability to record 720p HD movies. The articulated LCD makes using Live View and recording movies from multiple angles much more practical.

The D5000 incorporates an effective Airflow Control System to remove dust from the sensor; has a shutter life of more than 100,000 shots; can shoot continuously at a respectable four frames per second (fps); uses SD and SDHC memory cards; and records RAW and JPEG formats alone or in combination. The EXPEED processor features practical, in-camera, postcapture effects, such as Soft Filter and Color Outline, Perspective Control, active D-Lighting to optimize shadow and highlight detail, and correction of lateral JPEG chromatic aberrations. The image quality is very good; however, I have a plea to all camera manufacturers: If you create yet another proprietary RAW format for your cameras, please don’t release the camera until the RAW format is supported and ready to go. Buying a new camera and then waiting until the proprietary format is supported is not practical for users. This was the case with the D5000. I shot and printed only high-quality JPEGS. Thankfully, the sensor has a relatively wide dynamic range and image quality was very good.

The test unit included a very good, inexpensive NIKKOR 18–55mm, f/3.5–5.6 VR kit lens. Unfortunately, the D5000 doesn’t have an internal autofocus motor to support older NIKKOR lenses. The lightweight D5000 has a pop-up flash and hot shoe for the optional flash and GPS units. The shutter is quiet, the grip is comfortable, and the mode dial and controls are in convenient reach. The mode dial has the standard Program, Shutter, Aperture, and Manual modes, plus 19 auto preset scene modes. The movie and Live View mode share a dedicated button. An information button accesses an onscreen manager for adjusting frequently used features, allowing you to avoid unnecessary menu scrolling. The ISO range is from 200 to a 3200, with a Lo-1 setting of 100 and a Hi-1 setting of 6400. It produces files capable of making quality 13×19″ prints.

You can capture AVI-format video at 1280×720p HD, 640×424, or 320×216, all at 24 fps. Sound is monaural. While recording video, continuous autofocus isn’t available, so you’re left adjusting the focal length and focus of your zoom manually, which I found clumsy. You can shoot a still frame while recording a movie but that ends the recording—an implementation that seems to defeat the purpose. Although video capture is a big advance and the HD quality is good, it’s limited to 2 GB or five minute sequences, making it more a fresh novelty than a profession tool. HDMI output connectivity is included.

The 230,000-dot, low-resolution LCD is unconventionally hinged at the bottom, limiting its movements when mounted on a tripod. Otherwise, it swings down 180° and rotates 270° for composing high- or low-angle shots. You can even take a self-portrait using Live View. I hope Nikon’s next iteration of Live View will include a live histogram for making precision exposures. The low-resolution LCD makes it difficult to judge detail and focus in open sunlight. Live View uses contrast detection for focusing and is slow compared to the responsive 11-point AF sensors in the optical viewfinder. The D5000 performs very well, produces quality files, and is a giant leap from a point-and-shoot.—Steve Baczewski

Company: Nikon USA
Price: $729.95 (Body only); $849 (w/18–55mm VR kit lens)
Web: www.nikonusa.com
Rating: 4

Hot: Articulated LCD; excellent image quality
Not: No autofocus with video; low-res LCD

The first thing I noticed about this HP printer was its overall sleek design, making it appear as if it had been designed by Apple rather than in a former Soviet Bloc tank factory. Looks aside, the HP Photosmart B8550 offers features such as dual paper trays and a built-in card reader with a 2.4″ LCD that’s designed to allow printing without a computer (though I don’t see a pro using that feature).

The B8550 uses a dye-based, five-ink printing system to produce archive-quality images with an expected 100-year lifetime, which is a lot longer than the life span of any client. I had some doubts about how prints would stack up against printers offering more inks, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the B8550 prints appeared. The colors were vivid and the detail was sharp.

The B8550 uses a dedicated black cartridge for nonphoto work, which means I can use the same printer to print invoices from the main paper tray and photos from the upper photo tray (max size 5×7″) without swapping paper—a very thoughtful feature. (The lower tray can also be used to print photos.) The B8550 can print images up to 13×19″ (super tabloid). When printing standard photo sizes, the speed of the printer and cost per copy appear competitive with others in its class.

Overall, I like the look and feel of the printer. I was able to achieve excellent color accuracy and quality. Its price ($249.99) and feature set make it appear to be positioned as a high-end consumer printer but it would also serve the professional for a majority of the prints used in wedding and portrait work.—Dave Huss

Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price: $249.99
Web: www.hp.com
Rating: 5

Hot: Dual paper trays; low price
Not:

The Epson Perfection V300 Photo flatbed scanner comes with impressive stats, easy-to-use software, quick scan times, and for less than $100 it’s quite a bargain. It scans documents and 35mm transparencies at up to 48 bits at an optical resolution up to 4,800 dpi (dots per inch). It uses an LED light source that consumes less power, diminishes warmup times, and enables fast scan speeds.

The USB 2 scanner measures 16.9(L)x11(W)x2.2(H)” with a scanning bed that measures 8.5×11.7″. The front control panel has several one-touch buttons with specific tasks, such as scanning documents to email or converting documents to PDF files. The lid houses a built-in light unit for scanning 35mm negatives and slides. The included 35mm plastic film holder can hold a six-frame filmstrip and four slides. The lid also lifts to accommodate scanning books or 3D objects.

The Epson Scan software covers the bases. It has a fully automatic option for beginners and a professional mode with a plethora of controls. A new office mode optimizes scanning text. The software does a good job restoring color to old faded photographs, removing dust, and correcting for back lighting. Results of both reflective copy and film scans were impressive—accurate colors, good shadow and highlight detail, and smooth gradients. Text was very clean and crisp. It took a snappy 25 seconds to scan a 35mm transparency at 1,200 dpi at 48 bits.

The Epson Scan software can work as a standalone application or as a plug-in for third-party imaging programs. There’s an issue using the V300 with Adobe CS4 on Intel-based Macs. In CS4 there’s no TWAIN plug-in for accessing scanners such as the Perfection V300. Adobe is aware of this and has posted several workarounds to resolve the issue.—Steve Baczewski

Company: Epson America, Inc.
Price: $99.99
Web: www.epson.com
Rating: 4.5

Hot: Impressive scans; inexpensive
Not: No option for scanning larger than 35mm film format

Did you invest in a new camera and now you tremble each time you take a shot, fearing you’ll lose more hard drive space? Do you find yourself with less and less room for Photoshop to use as a scratch disk? Do you just need a dependable backup solution? Have we found the drive for you.

After one full year of testing Other World Computing’s (OWC) Mercury Elite-AL Pro 1-TB external hard drive, we relay our report with the utmost confidence: It’s a rock-solid unit that accesses, reads, and transfers data consistently and quickly (because of its 7200-RPM drive speed, 32-MB data-transfer cache, and robust Oxford chipset). Moreover, it operates with plug-it-in-and-forget-it ease.

The high quality of this unit ensures the safety of whatever you wish to store on it through its two FireWire 400 ports and one USB 2 port. You can use that extra FireWire port to daisy-chain your drives to create a massive storage depot. (Note: There’s a FireWire 800/400+eSATA+USB 2 combination available from the OWC website for a few bucks more—reviewed in Photoshop User, November 2005, p. 85.)

We tested this unit when it first arrived, and once again a year later; the results were spot on, nary losing a millisecond in transfer speeds after running all that time (and even after a couple of spills when we thought it was disconnected from the laptop). Using the USB 2 connector port on a MacBook Pro, we were able to transfer about 15-GB of data in just under 9 minutes. The same information, using the FireWire 400 cable and an iMac, transferred in 7 minutes 20 seconds.

Reliable storage that’s affordable to boot, the Mercury Elite-AL Pro comes highly recommended for all your digital-professional needs.
—Issac Stolzenbach

Company: Other World Computing
Price: $179.99 (1000 GB tested)
Web: www.macsales.com
Rating: 5
Phone: 800-275-4576
Platform: Mac and Windows

Visit www.dell.com for more information about this product.

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Hewlett-Packard’s new Z-series Workstations consist of three computers: the base Z400, the midrange Z600, and the top-of-the-line Z800. We recently had the opportunity to test the Z800 and Z600 Workstations and put them through a series of tests. (For more information on Z Workstations and the HP press event, click here.)

The Z800 arrived first and our initial impression was that it’s a substantial machine. The case features brushed aluminum sides and integrated carrying handles. (HP claims that even with the addition of the handles, they were able to keep the chassis the same size as previous workstations to make it easier for customers who rackmount their workstations.) Lift the hinge on the left side of the computer and the entire side panel comes off to reveal the nuts and bolts of the machine. Actually, at first glance there’s a conspicuous lack of nuts, bolts, and wiring in the Z800 because the components are modular, so you can easily remove and reconnect them, and everything else is neatly tucked away behind access panels. (We often found ourselves pulling off the side panel to show off the slick inside design of the Z800.)

The Z600 is noticeably smaller than the Z800, though it’s still not a small computer. Lift the hinge on the side, remove the stainless panel, and you’ll see plenty of modular components, but the Z600 lacks the panels of the Z800. Everything inside is neatly laid out and easy to access. (Optional liquid cooling will be available later this year for the Z400 and the Z800, but not the Z600. HP states that due to the small footprint of the Z600 and the fact that airflow has been completely optimized that liquid cooling would have no effect on the noise output.)

Both models come with the same keyboard, which everyone seemed to be impressed with. It has a very solid feel and the keys have a nice tactile touch. We had both computers running into an HP LP3065 monitor provided for testing. This 30″ widescreen display is very bright (we had to turn down the Brightness) and shows incredible detail.

The workstations are easy to set up and we had both the Z600 and Z800 running in a matter of minutes. (When we first turned on the Z800, we thought an airplane was taking off, but it soon quieted to a very acceptable level. Our first order of business was to install the Adobe Master Collection on both computers. The complete install (all four discs using disk images to take the optical drives out of the equation) took about 23 minutes on the Z800. That’s fast. What totally took us by surprise was that the same install took just a little more than 16 minutes on the Z600. Additional NovaBench testing confirmed that both computers performed similarly, with the Z600 just a touch faster in this test as configured. And that’s the key—as configured. The Z600 we tested represents a nearly maxed version of that model, the Z800 still has plenty of room to grow. (See table below for specifications.)

First Z800 Score

Z800 with Hyperthreading Enabled

Z600

Dell Score Used as Reference

The Z800 is all about expandability. While no slouch at more than $10,000, there are plenty more boxes to check when ordering a Z800, and more will be available by the end of the year. HP’s plans for the Z800 include available (read optional) solid state drives, water cooling, up to 7.5 TB of storage, and up to an unbelievable 192 GB of RAM. The great thing is you don’t have to wait to order; these options can be added to any Z800 at any time.

So how do these two computers perform in the real world? To answer this question, we did a sequence rendering of the same 1280×720 animation using Adobe Premiere Pro on both machines. (The full animation specs are 1280×720, square pixel, progressive scan, 29.97 fps, 16-bit stereo, 4:58 length, 457-MB file.) The Z800 handled the task in 1:13, while the Z600 took 1:37. We then tested the same file on our Dell with dual Intel Core 2 Extreme X9650 3.0 GHz processors, 1 TB drive, 4 GB of RAM, running Windows Vista-32 Ultimate. This file rendered in 2:32.

Bench tests are one thing, but when it comes to working in the real world, the Z800 is significantly faster. We performed several other rendering tasks and achieved similar results. It soon became obvious that the larger the file, the greater the separation in performance.

We plan to update this review with more benchmark and real-world speed tests, so check back for new information. If there are any tests you’d like us to perform on these machines, or if you have any questions, just drop us a comment below and we’ll do our best to accommodate your requests.—Chris Main and Mike Mackenzie

Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price: Z800: Starting at $1,999 ($10,787 as tested); Z600: Starting at $1,679 ($9,071 as tested)
Web: www.hp.com
Rating: 5
Hot: Modular design; easy to service and upgrade
Not: -

UPDATE—3/31/09

As we mentioned in the article covering the press event announcing Z Workstations, the Z600 that we reviewed here was maxed out to compete with workstations from other manufacturers. Thus, the prices noted above for the Z600 configuration is most probably beyond the price range of the average consumer. HP was kind enough to provide us with info on a more modest configuration. Though we didn’t test this unit, the configuration is still impressive, and we can only imagine that real-world performance would boost anyone’s productivity.

Midrange Z600 pricing: $3,900

• HP Z600 650W 85% Efficient Chassis
• Intel Xeon E5520 2.26 8 MB/1066 QC
• Intel Xeon E5520 2.26 8 MB/1066 QC
• NVIDIA Quadro FX1800
• HP 6 GB (6×1 GB) DDR3-1333 ECC RAM
• 160 GB SATA 7200 rpm
• 500 GB SATA 7200 rpm (Data volume)
• 16x DVD+/-RW SuperMulti SATA
• Microsoft Windows Vista Business 64-bit
• 1394a card