Microsoft and Google are stepping up their efforts to gain market share by encouraging manufacturers to sell large quantities of ultra-cheap phones, tablets and computers. And in an interesting new development, some of those cheap devices won’t suck.
Let’s talk for a minute about the strategy behind the upcoming flood of low-end devices, then look at some examples. […] continued
Read moreIn the twenty-year history of personal computing, there has always been a reason to wait a few months to buy the Next Big Thing. So let me tell you about the Next Big Thing, but with a disclaimer – if you need a new computer or tablet, go buy a computer or tablet. […] continued
Read moreWindows RT is the special version of Windows 8 that runs Microsoft Surface RT tablets and a few tablets from other manufacturers. When eight inch Windows 8 mini-tablets appear soon, they will be running Windows RT.
There are some good reasons to consider a Windows RT tablet instead of an iPad or Android tablet – and there was an announcement about Outlook this week that makes them particularly tempting if you want a tablet for business or law. […] continued
Read moreWhen I’m lonely and bored, I like to go back and read my old articles and marvel at how well I’ve been leading you through the fast-changing world of technology. It was just a year ago that I wrote these incisive comments about what to expect from Apple’s original iPad:
[…] continued Read moreIt’s not going to revolutionize anything, it’s not going to replace netbooks .
It is impossible to keep up with the flood of new devices onto the market. Technology is appearing everywhere, in every form factor, faster than anyone can hope to keep up with it. The most you can hope to do is be generally aware of how many choices are out there, so you don’t settle for something in the belief that you can’t get what you want. […] continued
Read moreAlmost a year ago I predicted that solid state hard drives would be mainstream devices once manufacturers finished ironing out some technical kinks and the price started to come down. What happened?
Solid state drives (SSDs) are the devices that work like hard drives but don’t have any moving parts. Intel has fixed the technical issues and the results are dazzling, especially with Windows 7, which is optimized for SSDs. […] continued
Read moreDell has added the Latitude 13 to its business notebook lineup, with a design that is identical in virtually every respect to the Vostro V13 introduced in December. The “Latitude” brand name is used by Dell to indicate that the notebook includes features for management by large companies. Here’s the description of the added features distinguishing the Latitude 13 from the Vostro V13:
[…] continued Read moreThe Latitude 13 adds features such as remote manageability and desktop virtualization through certification from Citrix and VMware to deliver a full PC experience to users in non-standard computing environments such as call centers, regional offices and hotels; Comprehensive systems management with support for BroadcomTruManage technology and Dell ImageDirect service which lets IT create, update and deploy system images 24/7 from a secure online location; Flexible connectivity options from mobile broadband and Wi-Fi via 802.11 g/n; and customized security offerings including solid-state drives (SSD), full disk encryption (FDE), Trusted Platform Module (TPM) control and Computrace software.
Who’s going to buy an Apple iPad?
Well, not you or me, anyway – not this version, not at $600-800.
It’s not going to revolutionize anything, it’s not going to replace netbooks, but it will find large and devoted audiences, particularly after the price drops and some features get added. […] continued
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Happy holidays from all of us at Bruceb Consulting! All my best wishes for an abundance of happiness and good cheer!
I’m looking forward to working with you in 2010 in a rapidly changing world of technology. These are the trends that will shape next year for small businesses:
Intel formally announced its new line of Atom N450 processors for netbooks, which will make the teensy computers powerful enough to be useful. In late January, Dell will be shipping the Inspiron Mini 10 with the new processors.
The features are pretty typical: 10-inch screens running at 1024×600 or 1366×768 resolution; 1Gb of memory (expandable, I hope); 160Gb or 250Gb hard drive; 3 cell or 6 cell battery; built-in wireless and optional built-in mobile broadband for data over a cell phone carrier’s network. […] continued
Read more It won’t be long until netbooks take their place as something you’ll be considering as your second or third computer.
On January 10, Intel will formally unveil the next-generation processor that will allow netbooks to function at a reasonable speed. Asus, Acer, Lenovo, MSI, and others will have netbooks using the “Atom N450” processor available immediately. […] continued
Read more The variety of notebooks is overwhelming and new models are appearing daily. The market is starting to look like this:
Don’t buy a netbook yet.
It’s taking longer than I expected for the next generation of netbooks to become available. There’s no shortage of the very small devices with 10” screens on the market but almost all of them are still slow and underpowered. AT&T just announced two new models that you’ll be able to buy at a discounted price along with a two-year data plan (the Samsung Go and Acer Aspire One); they’re perfectly nice but next year’s models may be even better choices. […] continued
Read moreThere are an overwhelming number of new computers on the market! It will be impossible to stay up to date on the brands and models – and almost impossible to get hands-on experience with more than a small fraction of what’s out there.
Click through to this article and take a look at some (but not all) of the new computers introduced by manufacturers on the day that Windows 7 was launched. […] continued
Read more Windows 7 is available today in the stores and on new computers.
It is faster than Vista and does not rely as heavily on state of the art video cards. It benefits from three years of ironing out compatibility problems that marred Vista’s introduction. Windows XP users will discover a wealth of new features – Microsoft has been working hard in the nine years since Windows XP was introduced. […] continued
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