I owe Microsoft Windows 8 an apology. See, when I first tested it, I thought it was dreadful. But I’ve become more comfortable with the Metro interface between my trusty Lumia 928 and using a Surface RT, and it is starting to grow on me. What really changed my mind, though, is the Samsung Ultrabook I have been testing for review!
I was really hoping to be blown away by the Xbox One’s “next-gen ness”, and although it has its flaws, the Xbox One is a fantastic gaming console. While the Xbox One may not amaze you right away, Microsoft’s new gaming and home entertainment console will prove that it’s an impressive step forward from the Xbox 360.
As much as I like using touchscreen tablets, there are times when a keyboard simply makes life easier. And as much as I enjoy using mobile operating systems optimized for speed and convenient apps, there are times when they fall short. Is it possible to have it all — portability, a touchscreen, speed, apps, a keyboard, and a full OS?
Saying Microsoft’s Surface failed to penetrate the market barely scratches the surface – the software giant took a $900 write-down on crappy sales. Now Microsoft has announced the second generation of Surface tablets, largely focused on improving the specs of the tablets with similar pricing as previous units. But the big surprise was the music-centric Surface Music Kit. Let’s take a look at the Surface Music Kit before quickly discussing the new Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. Microsoft Surface Music Kit Everyone knew that the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 were coming … the big surprise was the…
The Ubuntu Edge failed to meet the lofty 32 million dollar crowd funding goal that Canonical set. I hate to say I told you so, but I did back when the campaign first started. Is this a success for Canonical and Mark Shuttleworth or a failure? Read on for more. The campaign ended a few days ago, and there are many different opinions swirling around the net about this. Some say that it set the crowd funding record. I say it didn’t. Why? It didn’t fund! They raised 12.8 million dollars which is impressive, but because of how they set…
Over the last couple of years I have reviewed the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Elitebook 8440w and 2540p, declaring them each as a laptop that I would love to be able to keep and use in my daily life, and as the two of the best business laptops I’d ever used. Well, HP has taken everything that made the 2540p and made it better in the form of the Elitebook 2570p! Let’s take a look!
If you have jumped into the Microsoft Surface’s world of computing you’ll want to check out Waterfield SFBag’s Ultimate SleeveCase. Waterfield’s Ultimate SleeveCase will keeps your Microsoft Surface Safe. I’m a long-time fan of Waterfield’s various sleeves and have used them on pretty much ever device I have owned in the past few years. (And if you read the site you know that is a fairly large number!) I haven’t taken the leap into MicroSoft’s latest pool but Chris G has. You can read his most recent post on the MS Surface here. If, like Chris, you have a Surface…
A Little History… A while back I took the plunge and made the shift from an iPhone to a Windows phone, first with a Nokia 900 and later with a 920. It was an interesting exercise. I learned a lot, discovered some new ways of working, and learned to make some compromises. I even learned that some things I thought were “critical” to my daily functioning really weren’t so critical, after all. True, I am heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem for apps and movies, but music is pretty much DRM free these days. Books are still problematic no matter…
Last week I joined a group of bloggers and traditional press in Scottsdale, Arizona for a chance to take a test drive and learn more about the 2014 Kia Sorento (SUV) and Forte (4 door sedan) models. I should probably admit that other than knowing a few people who own or have owned Kia vehicles, I haven’t had much personal experience with the auto brand — unless you count taking a few hair-raising test rides in the Optima Hybrid Carly reviewed last summer! But I digress. So here are some things you might not have known about Kia: Safety is a priority for them, and every…
I am going to state right up front that my time with the Surface tablet was very limited. I was at my local mall and saw a Microsoft store, so I swung by to see the demo model. However, I didn’t intend to put it through its paces, nor did I have the time or opportunity in a crowded mall on a Saturday afternoon. But this did give me one unique opportunity; I treated the Surface not like a tech blogger would, but like a regular consumer who knew nothing about it and spontaneously decided to check it out. My…
A while back I did an experiment where I switched from an iPhone to a Lumia 900. I liked a lot of things about the 900, but in the end some of the limitations and missing applications drove me back to the iPhone. Now Windows Phone has made the rather painful transition from 7.x to 8.x and Nokia has released new models including the Lumia 920. Did things change for the better or were things lost in the transition? I decided to take myself down to my local AT&T store and pick one up, and now I’m here to fill…
Last week Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated that initial sales of the Surface tablet have been ‘modest’, though Microsoft quickly spun that to be about other stuff such as their approach and so on and focused more on the ‘Pro’ version. At the same time, just after the initial release of the Surface complaints started coming in about build quality and fraying of the cover material and other issues. Further clarifications have shown that what Ballmer said was simply poorly worded and really was about their approach … but for many the image of ‘modest sales’ remains. This, along with…
I’m at the Windows Phone 8 launch event this morning in San Francisco, waiting in the lobby of the Bill Graham Civic Center with roughly 150 other members of the media. There are probably fewer in attendance than originally intended, due to Hurricane Sandy’s grip on the Eastern states, but the mood here is upbeat and we are looking forward to seeing how Microsoft will (hopefully) wow us this morning. I’ll have more soon, we still have 15 minutes before the doors open … And we’re in and seated. Joe Belfiore is on the stage, welcoming us and saying that…
Last night while watching a rerun of The Mentalist, a commercial for the upcoming Microsoft Surface tablet came on. Clearly the focus is on the design, and in particular the magnetic click-on keyboard/cover, as well as the integrated ‘kickstand’. In fact, that is pretty much ALL you see in the video other than a few touch-gestures to make it clear this is a tablet device, and someone tapping to start a video and to end the commercial. Oh, and a user interface paradigm NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT (i.e. Windows 8, only tech folks have a clue about it yet). For…
As Dan mentioned, Apple is rumored to be announcing several things this week, such as the iPhone 5, releasing iOS 6, and possibly the iPad Mini, new iPods, new iMacs, and who knows what else. We don’t ‘do rumors’ at Gear Diary, but of course we have heard stuff – as has everyone – and we only have a few days to find out what is real. So the question I am left asking is: who really cares about a new iPod Touch? Over the last couple of years the distinction between content creation and content consumption has become increasingly stark,…
Last week I had the opportunity to be among 250 guests brought to Dearborn, Michigan by Ford; we spent 2 1/2 days seeing what they’re up to, learning a bit about their philosophy and, of course, checking out some of their latest vehicles. Usually, when attending such a junket, you’d expect to find one or two really good nuggets, a few sessions that were quite good, and a few duds. You’d also expect to have a few logistical glitches along the way. Having now had a bit of time to digest everything that we saw and did over those days,…
OK, so this was a post I started writing three months ago – when we first started hearing about a $199 Google Nexus Tablet. At the time I thought it was a bad idea – and we didn’t even know who was making it or what the specs might be like at the time! Now that we know that it is an ASUS device, with a footprint essentially similar to the Kindle Fire/Nook Tablet/Samsung Galaxy Tab/etc, with some decent sounding hardware compromises for the price, and the newly announced Android OS 4.1. And guess what – I am more convinced…
Just about two months ago, Barnes and Noble and Microsoft announced that B&N would spin off their NOOK and college bookstore businesses into “Newco”, to be jointly owned by both companies. Obviously this has been good news for B&N’s finances, but aside from the press release both sides have been very quiet. There were rumors that B&N would be part of Microsoft’s Surface tablet event, but that was proved wrong. However, I think Surface tablets are a big part of why Newco was formed. When the joint venture was announced, I pointed out this benefit on the Microsoft end: As…
I’m an iPad user (I write many of my posts on an iPad these days), and I have a big interest in tablets and tablet technology. Lately, I’ve been reading a bit about Windows 8 and the new “RT” version for is specifically for tablets. By the way, for those that don’t know “RT” stands for runtime. There’s a bit of a buzz around the fact that MS is going to enter an arena dominated by Apple (iOS) and Android-based apps like the Kindle Fire. There seems to be a belief that MS can (and might) make a huge mark…
When it comes to making a great gaming mouse, only one thing matters: precision. Precision and feel. OK, so I am not going to continue the ‘Spanish Inquisition’ line, but suffice to say that unlike just a few years ago there are many hurdles to making a successful gaming mouse. Let’s see how Raptor did! The Hype: The optical sensor of the M3 operates with precision accuracy at ultra-fast speeds up to 500Hz and 1600 dpi, and the dpi settings can be adjusted to 3 different levels: 400 dpi, 800 dpi, and 1600 dpi. The extra large Teflon mouse sliders…
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! ‘Tis the season of the “Top Apps of 2011” posts. The timing is great considering how many people just got a brand new iPad this morning for Christmas, or over the last few days during Hanukkah. But here’s the thing… The “Top Apps of 2011” list is a FLAWED MODEL. It doesn’t really help people who are new to the iPad figure out what apps they want and need to download. Why? Simple, because it isn’t about top apps in different categories, but rather what apps are most useful on a regular basis. There may…