October 25, 2012
by sjvn01
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Windows Surface RT: Microsoft’s greatest hardware fiasco ever?

Ed Bott “enthusiastically recommends” the Windows Surface RT.” I think it’s already dead.

Oddly enough, we agree on the main point, “It’s more than an iPad, and less than a PC.” Where we differ is what that means. He sees it putting RT Surface into a middle-ground. I see it as being neither fish nor fowl; it’s not entertaining enough to replace a wildly popular tablet, nor work-friendly enough to replace a laptop.

That has far more to do with the software, Windows RT, than it does the hardware. Windows RT, Windows 8 for ARM, is both a confusing mess and crippleware.

To be exact, Windows RT is a limited version of Windows 8 that runs on ARM-based devices, not on traditional PCs. It is compatible with most, but not all, of the Metro-style apps that also run on Windows 8. Windows RT will not run any desktop Windows applications beyond the applications that are bundled with the operating system.

Windows Surface RT: Microsoft’s greatest hardware fiasco ever? More >

October 24, 2012
by sjvn01
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Nice iPad mini Apple, but I’m keeping my Nexus 7

I have to say I was impressed. The new iPad with its extremely fast A6X chip looks great, pity it just instantly obsoleted every iPad 3 out there, but… oh wait. That”s the new iPad 4. That’s not what Apple is running up against the Nexus 7. Instead, they’re putting out the iPad mini. Seriously? That’s just sad.

True, Apple senior vice president for marketing Phil Schiller may say that the Nexus 7 is an example of how “Others have tried to make smaller tablets, but they’ve failed“, but that’s just showing that the Apple reality distortion field is still at work within Apple’s halls. The truth, as everyone knows who’ve used the Nexus 7, is that it’s a great tablet. Heck, without it and its relatives such as the Nook and Kindle, Apple never would have produced a 7” tablet.

Remember Steve Jobs? Back in 2010, he said “we [won’t] make a 7-inch tablet isn’t because we don’t want to hit [a lower] price point. It’s because we think the screen is too small to express the software. As a software driven company, we think about the software strategies first.” The only way a 7-inch tablet could work would be “if they came with sandpaper to file down human fingers to a quarter of their size.”

I wonder what changed Apple’s mind. It couldn’t be because of all those failed smaller tablets could it? As far as I can tell my fingers are the same size as they ever were.

Nice iPad mini Apple, but I’m keeping my Nexus 7. More >

October 23, 2012
by sjvn01
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Apple to fix iOS Wi-Fi problems

Apple’s dirty little secret, which was kept out of October 23rd’s iPad 4 and iPad mini’s limelight, is that iOS 6, the new and popular operating system for iPhones and iPads, still has serious Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networking problems. Now, though, it appears that a new version of iOS 6, iOS 6.01, will be fixing these problems in the next few weeks.

According to BGR, Apple sources confirm that they’re testing iOS 6.01. I’ve also been told by sources at one of the major telephone carriers that testing has indeed begun. This update will fix numerous problems. These include the horizontal lines bug, a problem with the camera’s flash not going off, and other minor problems. The real news as far as I’m concenred is that it will will fix iOS 6’s spotty Wi-Fi and fix the truly costly problem of iOS 6 using expensive 3G or 4G instead of free Wi-Fi when both are available.

Apple to fix iOS Wi-Fi problems. More >

October 22, 2012
by sjvn01
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Big Brother comes to BitTorrent

Lots of people download movies and TV episodes off the various BitTorrent networks. That’s always been asking for trouble, but it’s about to become a lot more dangerous.

I get why people download some of their videos from BitTorrent. If you’re a cord-cutter, there are some shows it’s very hard to legally rent or buy. My wife, for one, would kill to get copies of The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, which is pretty much unavailable anywhere thanks to a complicated combination of copyrighted songs that were played on the show.

Be that it may, the Center for Copyright Information (CCI) has announced that they’ll be soon out gunning for anyone they suspect may be violating music or video copyrights. They’ll be doing, in partnership with ISPs using a system called the Copyright Alert System. This, in turn, is ran by a brand protection company called MarkMonitor.

The name of their name is to monitor your network traffic, with the help of your friendly ISP, Their justification for this is the usual made-up facts that content thief leads to “More than 373,000 Job, $16 Billion in Lost Wages, and $2.6 Billion in Lost Taxes” Yeah, I’m also sure someone downloading copyrighted porn leads to cats and dogs living together.

Big Brother comes to BitTorrent. More >

October 22, 2012
by sjvn01
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How to get the Chromebook’s free goodies

The new, great ARM-powered Samsung Chromebook came with two great free offers: 100GBs of free Google Drive storage for two years and 12 free Gogo in-air, Wi-Fi passes. With a combined list price of $269, that means if you buy the ARM Chromebook today at $249, you’re actually getting $20 back! That’s my kind of deal. Here’s how you get it.

How to get the Chromebook’s free goodies. More >

October 21, 2012
by sjvn01
0 comments

Review: The ARM-powered Samsung Chromebook

was already a big Chromebook fan before I got my hands on Samsung’s just-released ARM-powered Chromebook. Now, after a weekend with it and with its amazing price of $249 I think it’s going to find a few million more fans. Indeed, as of October 21st, the ARM-based Chromebook is Amazon’s best selling computer.

Why? It’s not that the new model Samsung Chromebook has awe-inspiring hardware. It doesn’t.

Review: The ARM-powered Samsung Chromebook. More >

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