These are the rules for computer and online safety in 2018. You can download a copy here.
You will be safe if you are cautious. Stop and think before you click on links, before you call unfamiliar phone numbers, before you install programs, and before you fill in passwords. Only your vigilance will protect you against bad guys. […] continued
Read moreStretch your imagination.
Imagine that you pull your laptop out and pop the lid open and start using it right away. There’s no delay, no swirling circle – it’s just on, bang, every time. You put your finger on the fingerprint reader and you’re logged in immediately.
Now imagine that the computer is always online with a working internet connection. […] continued
Read moreNothing will stand still in 2018. You’ll be bombarded with new technology and more jargon. As always, some of the changes will be useful advances that will make your life better, and some of them will . . . not.
We’re going to start the year with a look at some familiar technology that will be changing in unexpected ways in 2018. […] continued
Read moreChromebook series
Why Your Next Laptop Might Be A Chromebook
Which Chromebook Should You Buy?
Although I’ve mentioned Chromebooks that cost $450, you need to know that those are the really expensive ones. Most Chromebooks cost between $200 and $400, and you can find some perfectly worthwhile Chromebooks for less than $200. […] continued
Read moreChromebook series
Why Your Next Laptop Might Be A Chromebook
Which Chromebook Should You Buy?
If you read the last article about Chromebooks, you know that the virtual store shelves are lined with lovely laptops at prices that start at $450 and go down from there. […] continued
Read moreNext month Microsoft will begin selling Surface Laptops, elegant and sexy, Microsoft’s first Surface devices with a traditional clamshell design. You’ll be tempted to buy one, but in the end you won’t. Almost no one will buy them. Microsoft will sell some Surface Laptops, of course, but sales volume will be insignificant – no shame but no bragging rights. […] continued
Read moreTechnology in 2017 is just a bit . . . dull. There’s not much going on. You hadn’t really thought about it but now that I mention it, you know it’s true, right?
Choose your metaphor. It’s a plateau. It’s the calm before the storm. We’re in a holding pattern. We’re almost – but not quite – at a couple of tipping points. […] continued
Read moreWindows 3.1 was released on April 6, 1992. Happy 25th birthday!
Computers ran MS-DOS 5.0 in 1992. Windows 3.1 was a separate program that ran on MS-DOS by typing WIN at a command line. There was no taskbar or Start button. Real work was still done in DOS based programs like WordPerfect and Lotus 123. […] continued
Read moreThese two things are true.
Apple’s revenues in fiscal 2016 from selling computers were more than twenty billion dollars. That makes Apple’s computer division almost as big as HP or Lenovo, and far more profitable than either of them.
Apple’s revenues in fiscal 2016 from selling phones and tablets were more than two hundred billion dollars. […] continued
Read moreEmail & online security | Computers | Phones & tablets
Passwords | Phone scams | Wire transfers
These are the rules for computer and online safety in 2017. You can download a copy here.
We are required to be paranoid and vigilant. Bad guys are coming up with inventive and sophisticated ways to fool us in email messages, on the phone, and on the web. […] continued
Read moreComputer manufacturers are letting us down. Computers are being sold with specs that appear to be perfectly fine, but buried in the small print is a detail that means they are deliberately hobbled. They will disappoint you from the first day they’re turned on. Beware of the 5400 RPM hard drive! […] continued
Read morePreviously: This Is The Year Of Premium Business Laptops – what to look for in a new laptop
These are some of the best looking new and upgraded laptops shown off at CES last week. They will be coming on the market during the first six months of 2017.
I’m not going to list all the individual prices and features – in part because articles with lists of specs are mind-numbingly dull, but mostly because I don’t want to work hard enough to get the details right. […] continued
Read moreThis will be a great year to buy a premium business laptop. Manufacturers are showing off lovely new and upgraded high-end laptops that will go on sale in the next few months.
In this article, I’ll tell you about the characteristics that make this year’s laptops stand out, and I’ll give you some general shopping tips that will help you choose any laptop. […] continued
Read moreThe new HP Spectre X360 joins the small group of the best business laptops.
A business-quality laptop costs $1,000-$1,200. The best laptops in that price range are not gold-plated; they’re not over-powered; they don’t have unnecessary extra features. Instead, they’re perfect. They’re thin and light, they have long battery life, the screens are crisp and large enough to get work done, and they have full-size keyboards that are comfortable to type on. […] continued
Read moreThe gently curved triangular cylinder in the above picture looks like a particularly attractive speaker. Wrapped in thick-threaded fabric, a lid that looks like it’s made for distributing sound evenly – obviously it must be a subwoofer or all-in-one speaker. And in a sense you’re right, because that’s a high-quality Bang & Olufsen speaker blasting out through that lid. […] continued
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