Category: Featured
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Why I Won’t be Buying a New MacBook Pro
I’ve never denied being a bit of an Apple fanboy, and I waited eagerly for the announcement of the new MacBook Pro range. When the announcement came yesterday and I read about my much-hoped-for retina display, it was all I could do not to reach immediately for my credit card. I’m glad I didn’t. I’ve…
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Windows 8 ‘Release Preview’ Brings New Apps and Updates the Old Ones
As we assumed when various apps in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview were marked with an “App Preview” tag, the core Metro apps have been updated in the Windows 8 Release Preview. The updated applications feature some improvements to the user interface (there were some apps that really needed it), a unified app settings bar,…
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The year of the Angry Bird, and what’s next for Rovio
Rovio, developer of the immensely popular Angry Birds series, announced that their earnings for 2011 topped $100 million resulting in over $65 million in net profit, up from approximately $10 million in revenue from 2010. Merchandise sales alone accounted for 30 percent of that. Those numbers don’t even include their newest, record-breaking creation, Angry Birds Space,…
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Microsoft Small Business Server 2011: A Techie’s First Impressions
Microsoft’s Small Business Server features prominently in my life as an IT consultant. Its combination of Windows Server, Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint at a low price-point makes it a compelling proposition for smaller firms. Dislike of Windows Vista has resulted in many of my clients continuing to maintain systems running SBS 2003 and Windows XP.…
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Is using Apple’s Cards app too impersonal?
Apple recently came out with Cards, an iOS app that allows you to create and customize real greeting cards and send them out to your loved ones for only $2.99 per card, all of which happens through the app. Apple completely takes care of the postage, prints the cards out, and then snail-mails them for…
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Review: Sonos Play:3, the Wireless Hi-Fi Stereo System
The term high fidelity (or hi-fi) can be traced back to the dawn of music recording, and in general defined a system that could reproduce music with the sharpest and most fulfilling audio quality. And as the generations moved from turntables to boomboxes to walkmans to portable music players, so too did the continual desire…
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Nokia Loses Mobile Phone Crown To Samsung After 14 Years On Top
Nokia has finally succumbed to pressure from the leading smartphone handset manufacturers and lost its crown as the leading cellphone vendor in the world. Samsung has taken its place at the top, while Apple remains in third place. Focusing in on just smartphone sales reveals Apple is still number one, with Samsung a very close…
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Build it on a Budget: A sub-$500 get-work-done rig
Look, not every computer you build has to be a tricked-out gaming rig with flashing LEDs and a complete water-cooling system. Some of us just need a machine that we can use to get work done in an efficient manner. This is where my heavily thought-out budget build comes into play. And we’re not talking…
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Set up your own professional podcast studio for less than $175
Whether you run a blog and want to add a podcast or just want to start up a podcast from scratch, it’s very possible to set up your own podcast studio for a relatively low budget while still making it sound and look professional. Obviously, you can simply connect a headset to your computer, fire…