Joel Santo Domingo

About

Joel Santo Domingo is the Lead Analyst for the Desktops team at PC Magazine Labs. He joined PC Magazine in 2000, after 7 years of IT work for companies large and small. His background includes managing mobile, desktop and network infrastructure on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. He is responsible for overseeing PC Labs testing, as well as formulating new test methodologies for the Desktops team.

Phoenix HyperSpace: Quick-Boot Your Laptop

On Nov. 5, Phoenix Technologies introduced a firmware product called HyperSpace, which allows PCs to run a number of applications separate from the operating system. What that means is that if you use a PC equipped with HyperSpace, you will be able to quick-boot your notebook into a secure Linux environment, where you can use […]

Dell XPS 410 with ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner

ZIFFPAGE TITLEAt A Glance > ZIFFPAGE TITLEFull Review The Dell XPS 410 with ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner is the culmination of the things weve been promised for years: the ability to use Media Center Edition (MCE) with digital cable TV. With this latest iteration of the XPS 410, users can now time-shift (and […]

Iomega UltraMax Hard Drive Courts Mac Pros

Its clear at a glance that Iomega designed its UltraMax 640GB hard drive ($340 direct) with the Mac professional market in mind. The UltraMaxs distinctive silver case and “cheese grater” front panel are compatible in appearance with professional-model Macs. (These include the Apple Mac Pro, the MacBook Pro, the Power Mac G5, and the PowerBook […]

High-Capacity External Hard Drives

Internal hard drives are getting larger, with capacities of 160-320GB standard even in PCs under $800. For “high-end” PCs or workstations, 400-500GB or even larger capacities are now common. Thats lots of room to keep all of your work, music, or digital memories like such as photos and videos. External hard drives are the safety […]

HPs Touch-Screen All-in-One PC to Debut at CES

This year may well herald the rise of the touch-screen. Weve seen previous attempts at integrating a touch-screen in an all-in-one PC, notably from Pelham Sloane and MPC, but those systems were more suited to dedicated duties like home automation, store kiosks or receptionist terminals. Now Hewlett-Packard brings the touch-screen concept back to all-in-one desktops […]

Dells First AMD System: Good Performance at a Good Price

Apple made news earlier this year by switching entirely to an Intel-based platform. Now Dell is making news by (finally) adding AMD processors to its stable of multimedia-oriented PCs. The Round Rock, Texas, companys first AMD effort, the Dell Dimension C521 ($1,024 direct; $1,214 with a 17-inch LCD monitor), carries an AMD Athlon 64 X2 […]

eMachines T6536

The eMachines T6536 continues the value proposition introduced in the earlier T6532 system. Its eMachines top-of-the-line PC, and includes such high-end components as 1GB of system memory, a 250GB hard drive, a dual-layer DVD burner, and Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Its what I like to call a “plussed” version of eMachines value […]

Gear Up with High-End Vista-Ready Desktops

For those currently on the hunt for a new desktop PC, heres one more thing to consider when shopping: the 800-pound gorilla that is Microsoft Windows Vista. For the consumer with a high-end desktop PC in mind, that means looking for a system with the kind of features and performance that can handle the best […]

AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 Reigns King

From time to time, I get asked, “What computer should I get?” And, while its rare, I do get the question, “…if I want the best-performing desktop for gaming and multimedia encoding?” Since the emergence of the Athlon 64 FX series with the FX-51 in late 2003, the Athlon 64 FX has reigned over the […]

Selecting a Small Business Startup Desktop

While June is traditionally the time that grads think about what to do next, summer days also bring out the “what if” questions in dads minds across the country: “What if I went into business for myself?” To that end Ive picked out a few desktops, and a handy backup tool, perfect for the person […]