Tech Blog

Want, as I am, to always find new and cool things for my machine and my workday, a post title like—Pomodoro Desktop puts a tomato in your menubar—is bound to catch my attention. Tomato? Really? Okay, I'll bite, what's this all about. Turns out it's not about fruit at all (remember tomatoes are technically fruits), but an interesting approach to getting things done during the day. The essence is working for 25 minutes on a particular, specific task then taking a 5 minutes break. Yes, there are some details to making it all work, but that's the guts of it. The guts of The Pomodoro Technique—The Pomodoro Technique™. Read more...

Routers may be the devices that help feed us our Internet access, but they can be a hassle to set up for the average person. And after setup, what is there really that someone can do with a router anyway? More advanced users take advantage of port forwarding and other features, but for everyone else, Cisco’s Valet Plus router is probably the easiest router to get up and running.

Rumours are getting pretty thick about a refresh to iLife—Rumor: iLife '10 coming with new application—and while some sites say iLife '10 and others iLife '11 and there are more rumours of a "new application" (iSendYourMoneytoSteve?), I think there is a good chance of seeing something new soon from Cupertino. It is back to school time and with the success of the iPad, I think beyond getting those in the hands of students, now that more and more people are familiar with Apple stuff (and by all accounts loving it), why not sweeten the pot? Read more...

Web.AppStorm profiled 15 of their favourite web-based app alternatives—15 Web Alternatives to Popular Desktop Software | Web.AppStorm—and while I was thinking I'd review them, that's not really that interesting. What is interesting might be if we've progressed to a point where you could work for a week using only web-based apps. Rather, let me make this more specific: work for a week without major disruptions using web-based apps. My gut tells me that I think you could do it, but it a) wouldn't be easy and b) would take planning to pull off for the long term. Read more...

Yes, I harp on the whole "you really need to back up your computer regularly" thing. Having bailed out enough friends coupled with said friends' tushies being saved only because they had a backup (or two), I think this is a topic that can always stand a little discussion. Today I'm taking the "you need to back up" to the next level, you need to back up and have a backup backup plan. Why? Simply this: backup drives fail. Often. Read more...

Yeah in my last post I talked about having three screens for my MBP. How about Four screens and two machines! Thanks to my friend Catherine Winters I think I have some real motivation to clean out my closet! Read more...

Looking at my desk (as cluttered as it is), I wondering what's the most useful piece of tech on it. You might think that my MacBook Pro would be the hands down winner, right? I'm not so sure about that though. I've used lots of laptops over the years. I'm thinking of something that regardless of setup, I'd always have. At this moment I'd have to say: an extra monitor. Or in my case, two. Read more...

Apple decided to phase the release of the iPad so that US merchants were able to sell the units (in the US) much earlier than merchants in ROW (Rest Of World) nations could, due to manufacturing process concerns. Which is cool, because Asian factories can only churn out so many iPads per day. And managing the release ensures that Apple can manage the PR and media blitz (hype) surrounding the ROW releases. Read more...

I'm a Mac guy, so when I say I'm impressed with a Windows 7 laptop, it really means something. Hence: I am impressed with MSI's A6200 series laptops. Future Shop is bringing two of them in as special buys, and I had a chance to test out the Core i5 A6200. Read more...

When I was offered a chance to review the Logitech Squeezebox Radio, I believe my exact response was 'hell yeah!', because this thing exemplifies a geek gadget. But wait, it looks like an appliance... Read more...

By now you're pretty tired reading all the '2010 is the year of the eBook' articles out there. But what about eRadio? It's more prevalent but do you even know what it is? Read more...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... ...and with that I'll end my Dickensian plagiarism and get on with it, my experience with two single cup coffee makers and the coffee they produce. Read more...

I love trying out new software, and I wish I could support software developers even more by purchasing their software, but lets face it, many of us are on a bit of a budget and the idea of dropping $300-$1500 on software makes us cringe. Even $50-$100 can seem like too much for some programs. And what's up with movies costing us $25-$30 a DVD, or many CDs costing close to $20? Do software developers, movie studios and music producers really want us to buy their products? Or are they making it too easy to look elsewhere for it? Read more...

Shopping for laptops is not an easy task, especially if you've never owned one before. With the vast selection out there, how do you pick the best laptop for your needs? If you take the time in advance to address a few key questions, you can ensure that you get the right laptop for now, and for later. Read more...

Readers of this Techblog or of my personal blog will know that I'm a fan of eBook technology. I love the idea of being able to take my personal library with me anywhere, to read at any time. Today I'm going to 'touch' on one of Sony's units. Read more...