Tech Blog

I have two dogs, miniature Daschunds. They’re about 6 inches tall at the shoulder and about 14 inches longs. Weiner dogs. Doxies.

I now have a scanner, and it’s a Doxie too! It’s about 2 inches tall, and about 10 inches long. Appropriately named. But the name doesn’t do justice to the scanner itself. The Doxie is one cool and powerful little scanner in a very tiny package.

While I was watching TV this afternoon, a commercial for another tech retailer came on and the helpful sales associate suggested to the psychology student that a netbook would be a good choice for her. I almost scream out loud at the TV: No! Are you kidding me? The woman has to write a lot papers! Which then got me thinking, is there ever a case now for netbooks?

I've been in university for the past 13 (or is it 14?) years and through that time, I've used desktop, laptop, and netbook computers, as well as a PDA and now a BlackBerry. And over the course of this time, I've made mistakes when purchasing my computers, and I've learned from those mistakes. Here are some tips for when you're looking at a new laptop based on my experiences, so that you can avoid the same mistakes and regrets.

It seems that around this time of year, the dog days of summer, friends and relatives start pinging me with questions about buying new computer hardware. I’ve come to call this time of year Computer Shopping Season. My own unscientific observations of this trend have concluded that there’s a bit of a marketing push happening as retailers clear out older models to make room new ones in the production queue; to be featured in the ‘back to school’ and upcoming holiday shopping season. Read more...

Netbooks may have been all the rage not so long ago, but they never really appealed to me, personally. The form factor was too small, but more than that, there was no differentiation in specs between the different manufacturers. Spending more on a decent laptop that could do so much more was a better way to go, I always thought. But now I wonder when tablets might overtake netbooks as the best way to go. Read more...

Routers may be the devices that help feed us our Internet access, but they can be a hassle to set up for the average person. And after setup, what is there really that someone can do with a router anyway? More advanced users take advantage of port forwarding and other features, but for everyone else, Cisco’s Valet Plus router is probably the easiest router to get up and running.

Earlier this week it was rather warm in Edmonton. So much so that my wife and I moved our home office outside to our shaded patio. With our dogs, and a few adult beverages (some of you can already see where this is going). Read more...

Are you the owner of a 2008 model Apple Time Capsule with a serial number falling in the range of XX807XXXXXX - XX814XXXXXX? If so, read on for some important news regarding repairs/replacement for faulty equipment.

Yes, I harp on the whole "you really need to back up your computer regularly" thing. Having bailed out enough friends coupled with said friends' tushies being saved only because they had a backup (or two), I think this is a topic that can always stand a little discussion. Today I'm taking the "you need to back up" to the next level, you need to back up and have a backup backup plan. Why? Simply this: backup drives fail. Often. Read more...

I realize that the issue I’ll be discussing in this post doesn’t affect every consumer or laptop owner out there, but I’m really starting to think that it’s time for PC manufacturers to agree on one standard power plug. If you’ve ever owned a few laptops from different manufacturers, I’m sure you didn’t appreciate the clutter that goes with having different chargers for each of them. Read more...

When is the last time you cleaned your computer? Did you know that a clean computer runs more effeciently and is less likely to overheat and have hardware problems? The following article will give you a rundown on one of the easiest ways to help keep your computer running smooth and ensure it lasts as long as possible. Read more...

There's yet another option for those thinking about making the switch to Mac. iPad, iPhone, MacBook, iMac and now a new and refreshed Mac mini. Read more...

Apple decided to phase the release of the iPad so that US merchants were able to sell the units (in the US) much earlier than merchants in ROW (Rest Of World) nations could, due to manufacturing process concerns. Which is cool, because Asian factories can only churn out so many iPads per day. And managing the release ensures that Apple can manage the PR and media blitz (hype) surrounding the ROW releases. Read more...

I'm a Mac guy, so when I say I'm impressed with a Windows 7 laptop, it really means something. Hence: I am impressed with MSI's A6200 series laptops. Future Shop is bringing two of them in as special buys, and I had a chance to test out the Core i5 A6200. Read more...

In the first 28 days the iPad was available over 1,000,000 units were sold. Yes, that's million. That's enough that one in 300 Americans would have one. The iPad hit this mark 2.5 times faster than the iPhone. Beyond these great marketing numbers, something interesting, and not entirely unexpected, happened: netbook sales tanked. Read more...