Hardware
A lot of people don’t realize how glorious and complex computers really are. I mean, I’m sure they know they’re complicated, to a point, after all they’re pretty complicated machines to master, but it never really occurs to them just how complex they really are. Today, we’re going to delve into that complexity a bit- we’re...
One thing that most all laptop users lack: a battery that will stay charged long enough for all their uses. When your battery seems to have crapped out on you, do you buy a new machine? Absolutely not! All you really need to do is learn to manage its resources better. To learn more, read on. Why Your Battery Dies There are many factors that attribute to battery...
XM Satellite radio has had a rather tumultuous history. You can click that link to read up all about the rollercoaster of events, ending in 2009 where XM was planning to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy. You will absolutely not believe all the cash that was thrown around concerning the service over the years. Everyone took a bath on it, so to speak. Just for kicks, I...
Every year Apple hosts several events to announce their new hardware or software. Go back in time a little bit, 2010 was a big year for Apple across the board in my eyes. They announced the iPad, where they are clearly dominating the market. They announced the iPhone 4 with its retina display, which alone changed the smartphone market. Finally, the redesigned...
The problem with laptops is that, as a result of their portability, they tend to get quite a bit of use outside of your typical computing environment. As a result, their keyboards tend to be subjected to a lot more dirt and grime than usual. Unfortunately, the fact that the keyboard’s embedded in the system makes cleaning it something of a chore compared...
Tablets are much like laptops in the respect they’re not meant to be taken apart. And while with most laptops you can upgrade the RAM and primary storage device (HDD or SSD), with a tablet it’s basically “what you get is what you get and have to live with”. Where you can get creative with a tablet however is with the operating system. For...
When you’re out and about with your laptop, you obviously want the battery to last a long as possible. There are many ways to eke out more battery life, and I’m going to list five of them below. You’ll know some of the tips very well, while others are not-so obvious. We’ll start with the obvious tips first and end with the not-so...
While the Toshiba Satellite line of laptops are fairly high-quality and packing some reasonably high-end components, they aren’t exactly perfect. One of the most common issues I’ve come across involves the sound card. For some reason, after coming out of sleep mode, the system will occasionally forget that it can play sound. The card simply stops...
In 2002, Microsoft had a vision. They had the idea of the Tablet PC. They could use touch with a stylus and have that as their main input device. They had the software ready to create an entire ecosystem. Relying on PC OEM’s to produce a tablet computer did not pay off. Fujitsu and HP were the only big vendors to attempt to produce a tablet computer. The lack...
When it comes to motherboards, many motherboard manufacturers will openly state in very plain sight (usually right next to the download link) that if the BIOS is in good working order and you’re encountering no problems, don’t upgrade. When it comes to wireless routers on the other hand, we’re instructed to always keep the firmware updated to...
and geeks read The Insider, the digital magazine of PCMech.



