Towards the end of last year, I began to realize it was time for a new PC. My several year old Dell E1705, while still competent, had begun to show signs of trouble. I’ve long wanted to build my own PC, and the state of the PC industry made me decide it was the time to do so. PC manufacturers by and large are using cheaper and cheaper parts resulting in...

I’ve recently hopped aboard the Windows 7 train, using Microsoft’s latest OS on a new PC build. Right away I found that the day I’ve long feared has arrived: Microsoft has removed all features allowing for a toolbar you can dock to the side of your screen. I hate the start menu. It takes 3 clicks (on average) to launch any application. To say...

Looking for a last minute gift for the geek in your family? Look no further. This is a useful “toy” that every geek will love.A few months back, I was looking for a NAS (Network Attached Storage) for my home network to replace an aging unit that had begun experiencing problems. After researching several options, I chose the Synology Disk Station...

Windows 7 is out, and along with it a whole new batch of commercials to tell us how great it is. I’m not going to bash Windows 7, which by all accounts seems to be a huge improvement over Windows Vista. However, Microsoft’s advertising department thus far is living down to its reputation. First, we have the “Good News” series (view it...