I’ve been using the new MacBook Pro as my primary computer for the last two weeks now. Equipped with an already outdated Intel X25-M SSD (SanDisk is working on something “100 times” faster) I put in myself, this is easily the best computer I have owned to date - despite a few issues I have found. Continue Reading »

It has almost been a year since I wrote about the future of computing and how I thought that it was all about Solid State Drives (this was before I became infatuated with the cloud). Well I finally got my hands on one. It’s Intel’s new X25-M 80GB SSD and it is among the fastest consumer-aimed SSDs out right now. Continue Reading »

Last week I made the upgrade from the Nikon D80 to the new Nikon D90. The D90’s claim to fame is that it is first DSLR camera to feature video recording. This lets me consolidate my gadgets as I just gave back my loaned Samsung SC-HMX10C HD camcorder. The D90 bundle comes with the new Nikon 18-105mm VR lens and retails for around $1,300 USD. Continue Reading »

Admittedly, I have been living a happy life in Appleland for the past few years and haven’t stopped to check out what’s been brewing in the PC world. Now that I have been tinkering with the HP Pavilion dv4t laptop that I am going to give away, I was a bit surprised by what it could do and what it was packing. I’ll start off with the basics. The dv4t notebook Continue Reading »

JamLegend is well on its way to becoming the latest online gaming craze. A product of LaunchBox Digital, a Washington, D.C. based early-stage startup incubator, - sorry, they prefer to be called accelerator - JamLegend brings Guitar Hero style gaming to your browser. No need to buy any fancy controller, your keyboard will do just fine. You can even hold it upside down like a guitar if you so please. Continue Reading »

Dropbox is the recently-launched YCombinator-backed startup that aims to seamlessly sync files between multiple computers as well as act as a conduit for backing up files to the proverbial cloud. They have been the subject of some great reviews and truly deliver what they claim. That being said I don’t plan on reviewing Dropbox, Continue Reading »

For the past 5 years I have owned the same set of Logitech 2.1 Z-2200 speakers. They have served me well in college and the large subwoofer made for an excellent footrest. However, they are typical “computer speakers” in the sense that they don’t accurately reproduce each frequency and provide too much bass, even with the subwoofer on the Continue Reading »

Last week I boasted about the release of PGP Whole Disk Encryption for Mac OS X and how it is definitely something to consider if data privacy is of utmost importance to you. By encrypting my hard drive, I am able to keep all of my data safe from physical disk access and other such tampering. Since publishing that post I have installed and been using PGP WDE Continue Reading »

Living the cloud life is only part of the equation; traveling light and easily being able to move your workspace from your home to class, a coffee shop, a coworking space or office are just as important. That’s why I use a MacBook Air and that’s why I’ve gotten my hands on some fine examples of small computer bags for light computing. Continue Reading »

Not too long ago I accidentally dropped my MacBook Air onto a hard floor and the screen cracked. I knew that I did not have the time or patience to let Apple take it away for repair for what, in my experience, would be at least two weeks (not to mention the exorbitant cost). I ended up putting TechRestore.com to the test after a suggestion from a reader (Thanks Mike!). Continue Reading »

There’s a new kid on the block when it comes to web-based applications for creatives. It’s called Aviary and I don’t believe I have ever seen anything like it. Aviary is soon to become a powerful brand. They are developing a massive suite of such Adobe Flex-based applications. I first heard about Aviary through a Skribit suggestion on my blog many months ago. Continue Reading »

I have been using the iPhone 3G ever since I waited in line and bought one a bit over two weeks ago. The big question people ask me is if it’s worth the $199 USD and increase in monthly service fees. It is, but only slightly. For the most part, the 2.0 firmware provided most of the improvements, like the App Store, and that’s completely free for first generation iPhone users. Continue Reading »

I know what you’re thinking - another lounge chair review? Not too long ago I purchased a Sumo Omni and declared it to be the ultimate blogger’s chair for its ability to conform to variety of comfortable computer-friendly positions. Not much has changed with Sumo as I feel the same way about their largest offering, the 6ft by 4ft SumoSac. Continue Reading »

I’ve never been a fan of bluetooth earpieces. I always thought it was kind of weird to see people walking along and seemingly talking to themselves, or emitting a bright blue pulse from a LED on their earpiece. After hearing about the Aliph Jawbone 2 bluetooth earpiece all too much, I decided to see what all the fuss was Continue Reading »

For the past three weeks I have been toting around a Nikon D300 camera, courtesy of John Ratcliffe-Lee and his team at the MWW Group. While my Nikon D80 is considered an entry-level DSLR camera, the D300 is more along the lines of a mid-range offering, only bested by the full-frame Nikon D700 and the D3. That privilege doesn’t come cheap though; the current D300 Continue Reading »

It’s no secret that I love the cloud and try to keep all of my data in it. So when Google announced that they added PDF support a few weeks ago, I was listening. Last night I had the bright idea to move my treasured PDFs from my S3 account to Google Docs, where I would easily be able to read them with Google’s built-in preview and access the original files. Furthermore, I figured Google would have tied in PDF support Continue Reading »

Back in May I did a bit of traveling and became somewhat paranoid about the Internet connections I found at various hotels. I began using SSH tunnels to protect my web traffic when using Internet connections I did not trust. While setting up an SSH tunnel is a fairly trivial matter for those familiar to the command line, it’s not the same for everyone. Continue Reading »

It wasn’t too long ago that I was taking a look at the first Eye-Fi card: a 2GB Wi-Fi-enabled SD card that uploads pictures to configured computers and photo-sharing websites. I concluded that the Eye-Fi was a 9 out of 10. Since then, Eye-Fi has differentiated their products and now there are Continue Reading »

When Firefox 3.0 was officially launched last Tuesday, I updated my copy of Firefox and installed a few select browser add-ons. This included my normal batch of add-ons like Firebug, YSlow, Delicious Bookmarks, and a recently discovered Quartz inline PDF plugin (nifty!). Then I found out about Feedly. Continue Reading »

Hot laptops are nothing new. Even with smaller processor fabrication, laptops keep getting smaller making it hard to effectively cool them without a large heatsink or loud fan. Case in point - my MacBook Air is a heater and it doesn’t help that the exhaust vent is angled down. I end up moving it around in various awkward lap positions while in classrooms with stadium seats that Continue Reading »

I have found it - the ultimate computing chair/pillow contraption. It’s called the Sumo Omni and it most closely resembles a big-arse pillow and glorified bean bag. I first heard about it from Derek Punsalan a year ago and I’ve had my eye on it ever since. Unlike most Continue Reading »

Many of you have been wondering when or if I was going to impart my thoughts about the recent Apple announcements. To get that out of the way, all I have to say is that iPhone 2.0 is what the first iPhone should have been, and exchange support will be huge for waning enterprise customers off their BlackBerries. Instead of writing about Continue Reading »

Last year I reviewed the Vudu set-top movies box and noted how it changed the way I watched movies. Instead of having any preconceived idea about what I wanted to watch, I would just plop down in front of the TV and find something with the Vudu. Taking that as a segue, the Dash Express has changed the way I commute. Rather than Continue Reading »

I recently started using RescueTime after hearing about it countless times on Hacker News. Simply put, RescueTime is like Google Analytics for your time. It automatically tracks where you spend your time while computing and helps you become more productive by Continue Reading »

Summize, a company I am quite familiar with following my review of their review aggregator product, has substantially changed their company direction since I have last been in touch with them. They are now focusing on a Twitter search tool - so much so that it is their main product and the review aggregator has been moved to Continue Reading »