Internet Explorer 10 is Here? | More..

Saturday Bits & Tech News

• Internet: Loyal readers have heard me say that this tech stuff is evolving at an exponential rate, and never stands still — you got to keep up — keep learning. Seems to me, Microsoft’s new version of Internet Explorer (#9) got here just last month, and here I see that a limited “test drive” (pre-release) version of IE 10 is now available for download.
I am sorry, I cannot tell you much about IE 10, except that you can get it/read about it here. (Not sure it’s something you want to do, but.. now you know.)

• Tablets: If you believe everything you read, tablets are how we are going to compute. Apple’s iPad has “changed everything”, and now companies are scrambling to bring you their versions. Android is a game changer. Blah blah blah.
I think it’s still much too early to buy a tablet, but I am keeping an eye on developments.

This week’s tablet hullabaloo and ‘press frenzy’ is a new player in this fast-shifting game: Review: HP TouchPad is the productivity tablet

“HP’s webOS tablet, the TouchPad, has landed. It’s not the entertainment powerhouse that the iPad is, but there’s a lot to like for business professionals. Here’s a look. READ FULL STORY..“

(Catch that? “Entertainment powerhouse”? The iPad?! That’s too funny. I am not knocking the iPad, but know this – no tablet is a “powerhouse”. You have to keep your thinking caps on, people. Tech Paul lives in the Playboy Mansion. Wrong. Just because it’s there in black and white, doesn’t mean it’s true.)

• Hacktivism: If you read sites like this one, you probably have read about about LulzSec, a group of politically motivated vandals. I cannot print my thoughts on this subject (there really is no such thing as true “free speech”; and this is a “public forum”) but I can say that the story does underscore just how vulnerable to mischief the technology we built this “web” (and “smart grid”) on is, and, if you want to learn more: 50 Days of Mayhem: How LulzSec Changed Hacktivism Forever

“LulzSec didn’t invent hacking, let alone hacktivism, but the merry group of digital outlaws showed how a tight-knit operation and canny PR can take the world by storm.” READ FULL STORY..

(Ahem. “Merry group of digital outlaws“??? What, these guys are modern-day Robin Hoods? Wow. How out of touch is that? A very good article, though.)

• More Internet: The Internet’s Thirty Second Rule.

(Also a very good article.)

• HP, or DELL? My recommendation on that question has been sought several times this week. Fortunately, I could just refer them to this: Which is Better, HP or Dell?

• Summertime Odds are good it is a nice day there where you are. Turn off your computer. Go outside. Stay there all day. Find a chair, and one of those really old-fashioned things that people used to call “paperbacks”, (Dashiell Hammett is a good choice) or better yet, take a hike. Stretch your legs. Leave the smart phone home — look up, and around.
There’s a whole ‘nother world out there.

(Thanks for reading this, though. Now get outside!)

Today’s thot: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” ~ Albert Einstein

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Fools Rush In… (aka "Let’s Go Slate-boarding!")

Those who know me personally, know that a little thing like last week’s predictions setback (25% accuracy) is not going to stop me from continuing to post my Playoff Picks…

And Now For The Tech:
It has been published that sales of PC’s was better than expected this holiday season – Intel and Acer doing particularly well.

Yes. I said Acer. The big sellers were a relative newcomer to the PC market, the category of small, portable, “netbooks” (see, It’s Time We Talked About Netbooks) of which the Acer models seemed to be preferred. It seems everybody wants a netbook.

And Then Came Apple.. And CES

More predictions: But netbooks and Christmas sales are ancient history already, and everybody’s looking ahead. And the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is where we get to see what the manufacturers will be bringing us soon.

It seems our future is something called a “slate”.

Photo source: Gizmodo.com

* Apple’s next “big thing” is supposed to be something named “iSlate”.
* Microsoft is hyping Windows 7’s “touchscreen” features.
* iPhone sales were ginormous, and everyone figured it was the ‘touchscreen’ that explained it.
* “gestures” and “multitouch” are seen as replacing the mouse and eventually the keyboard…

In spite of the fact that this all is vaguely reminiscent of the “voice recognition” and text-to-speech of Windows XP (that was supposed to give us “hands free computing“), you add up those bullet points, and you are not surprised when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer uses his CES Keynote Address to show us a tablet PC.. and refer to it as a “slate”. (As well he could, it was an HP prototype named “the Slate”.)

Reaction?
“The HP Slate was underwhelming, to say the least. Hailed by Ballmer as “something that’s almost as portable as a phone and that’s as powerful as a PC running Windows 7“, the demonstration showed a flat panel computing device that seemed more equivalent to a color Kindle than to a Windows 7 wonder-tablet.”

Yes.. the utter prior failure of tablet PC’s in the marketplace was simply due to the fact that touchscreen and gestures weren’t here yet. Windows 7 changes that, so… touch tablets. Oops. Excuse me. Touch slates.

For those of you who read this far, this article: HP Slate Lowers the Bar for Apple’s Tablet PC.

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Which is Better, HP or Dell?

Reader Asks For My Recommendation

Yesterday I received an e-mail enquiry from a person claiming to be a regular reader, who is shopping for a new computer during this “Black Friday”/holiday shopping period.  They asked for my personal preference as to a computer manufacturer… specifically, if the two machines were essentially identically equipped, would I choose an HP Pavilion or a Dell Inspiron?

I kind of had to laugh, because hours earlier (that same day) I had posted, Basic Guidelines for Buying a New PC — 2009. In it I had said (yet again) “It really doesn’t matter if you decide upon a no-name, a HP, a Sony, Dell, or whatever. You may want to take advantage of the many mix-and-match-components “custom build” option, and design your own PC.”

How can he say that?
Well, folks, it’s like this: computers are really an assembly of parts.
* The motherboard (aka “mainboard”) inside a machine is probably a manufactured-under-license version of either an Intel or an ASUS board.
* The hard drive was probably made by either Toshiba or Seagate.
* The optical drive may be made by, LG, Sony, Fujitsu, or someone you’ve never heard of.
* The power supply is made by somebody else.. or, manufactured-under-license, by somebody’s subsidiary.
* Etc., etc., etc..

Other considerations:
But what about other considerations.. like Customer Support after the sale, you ask.
Yes, you may have heard scary stories about somebody’s “tech support”.. Or maybe you had a neighbor who “will never buy another __________” for one reason or another. I think we all have. In my experience, I have heard bad stories, and I have heard good testimonials, about every single name brand.
Bottom line is, each one has had its embarrassing moments. Each one has its loyal supporters.

Let me give you an analogy: when I have a drippy/stuffed up nose, I use a tissue. I don’t care if it’s made by Kleenex or King Kookie.

I have now, or have purchased in the past, (for family, too) HP, Dell, Gateway, Apple, eMachines, CyberPower and Acer computers. I am probably forgetting somebody.. but this list is in just the last few years. Laptops and desktops. I can nitpik some fault, or find something to laud, about each one.

There is one thing about Dell I do like and feel is worth mentioning.. you can order a “crapware free” version (no “trial” software, Penguin Mania, or “Connect to AOL” icons..).

On the other hand, 3 of my last 4 buys were HP desktops, and when I got them home, I downloaded and ran PC Decrapifier, and got rid of that *stuff* with a couple of clicks… The HP’s were just the best bang-for-my-buck that particular day..

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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