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Archive for the ‘Hardware Reviews’ Category

The Ultimate MacBook Pro Protection Suite by Moshi

Written on July 07, 2009 by David Klein and 13 people have commented

I’m a huge fan of Moshi’s Apple-centric line of products and accessories. In fact, my entire collection of Apple products has now been complimented by Moshi. For example, I use the iLynx USB/Firewire hub and Celesta keyboard with my iMac; my iPhone is protected by the iGlaze 3G; and recently, my Macbook Pro experienced a [...]

Logitech’s G13 Advanced Gameboard

Written on June 29, 2009 by Chris Ryan and 1 person has commented

While many don’t see the Mac as the ideal game platform, it still holds its own against Windows PCs and console systems. Many hardcore gamers love to trick out their systems with beefier graphics cards, extra controllers and special, high-performance input devices, and Mac users are no exception.
Today, we’re looking at Logitech’s G13 advanced gameboard. [...]

Waterfield Designs: Cases for Apple Purists

Written on June 19, 2009 by Chris Ryan and 14 people have commented

Like some of you, I’m quite the “Apple purist.” I’m not a fan of fancy cases that junk up my Macs. I don’t like skins for my iPods and those plastic snap cases for my laptop. We all know that Apple designs beautiful products, so we might as well show them off! Balancing protection and beauty, the stylish and functional cases from Waterfield Designs are some of the highest quality cases I have ever used.

MacBook Accessories: Rain Design mStand

Written on June 16, 2009 by David Appleyard and 12 people have commented

Laptop stands are widely heralded as a great solution for a more ergonomic workstation and better positioning of your computer. They come in all manner of shapes and sizes, from the downright awful to very slick and stylish.
I recently took the plunge and purchased the Rain Design mStand. This particular stand is designed specifically for [...]

Hackintosh Dell Mini 9 OS X: Is it Worth it?

Written on May 19, 2009 by David Klein and 42 people have commented

With the help of a friend who already successfully completed the process, I managed to install OS X on my new Dell Mini 9. This was my first and, hopefully, my last Dell purchase. Sorry, Apple. I became too curious. Everyone appeared to love their hackintosh netbooks, so I decided to [...]

iPod Shuffle Unboxing and Hands On

Written on March 13, 2009 by David Appleyard and 11 people have commented

Much has been said about the new iPod shuffle. Its size has been praised, lack of buttons grumbled about, and — as with most new Apple products — has caused a little controversy. I wanted to try the product out for myself as I’ve been needing a small MP3 player for exercise. My iPhone is [...]

Drobo: The Ultimate Network Peripheral?

Written on February 13, 2009 by Arvin Dang and 23 people have commented

I was recently introduced to the Drobo box. If you’re not familiar with it, simply put, it’s the ultimate home backup server.
For $400, you get a BeyondRAID array that can support up to 4 simultaneous drives, and caps at 16TB. Even cooler is the ability to swap out your drives with a single push of [...]

Power Support Air Jacket for iPhone 3G

Written on January 13, 2009 by Clayton Lai and 12 people have commented

Unlike most hard protective cases that typically consist of separate front and back parts, the Power Support Air Jacket for iPhone 3G is a single plastic case for only the back of an iPhone 3G.

Available in either black or clear, the black version is notable for its rubberized finish. Two screen protection films — [...]

Scroll Different — Mouse Engineering Moves Up Top

Written on December 23, 2008 by Charles Moore and 1 person has commented

Mouse technology has advanced a lot over the past two decades. The Apple Lisa-derived mouse with its DE-9 connector and thumb screws that attached it securely to my first Mac, a 1988 Mac Plus, was a pretty crude piece of engineering, with an analog ball of course, and a noisy, long-travel, somewhat stiff single button. [...]

SoHo Printers On a Moderate Budget

Written on December 08, 2008 by Matthew Bookspan and 5 people have commented

Do you have small office/home office (SoHo)? Is managing your peripherals (printers, scanners, fax machines) a hassle? Well, if you are looking for a new all-in-one (AIO) printer that consolidates these peripherals into one for your SoHo, thankfully, there are many choices available for you today. Compared to the marketplace just a few years ago, [...]

Printer Review: Epson Artisan 800

Written on December 05, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 7 people have commented

At the $300 price point, the Epson Artisan 800 is a very nice all-in-one (AIO) printer. For most small office/home office users (SoHo’s), it could easily meet their needs. It is very small (18.4″ x 23.0″ x 7.8″) compared to most of the printers in this price range and offers both wireless as well [...]

Printer Review: Canon Pixma MX7600

Written on December 05, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 5 people have commented

At the $400 price point, the Canon Pixma MX7600 is a beautiful all-in-one (AIO) printer. For most small office/home office users (SoHo’s), it could easily meet their needs. It is moderate in size (21.0″ x 19.7″ x 10.1″) and includes wired networking.
Full disclosure: I have owned two other Canon printers (a MultiPASS MP390 and [...]

Targus 4-Port Bend-A-Hub

Written on November 17, 2008 by Charles Moore and 1 person has commented

Targus, a company more popularly associated with its extensive line of laptop cases, also markets computer accessories. One of their newer introductions is the Targus USB 2.0 4-Port Bend-A-Hub, a modestly-priced, useful add-on and an excellent gift suggestion or stocking stuffer for computer users on your Christmas list.
This hub allows you to connect up to [...]

TV Adapters for Mac: 9 Options for Watching Live Television

Written on November 13, 2008 by David Appleyard and 12 people have commented

In recent years, the Mac has become a device capable of acting as a very powerful media center. iTunes, Front Row, and OS X in general, provide a plethora of features which justify the Mac as a living room device.
That said, one vital piece is missing as a standard: watching and recording live TV on [...]

SimpleTech Duo Pro Hard Drive Offers Do-All Quad I/O Interface

Written on November 11, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 9 people have commented

Whatever system hardware you’re using, including the port-impoverished new 13″ MacBooks, SimpleTech’s new Duo Pro Drive should have you covered.
The Duo Pro supports a variety of different backup options, including Apple’s OS X 10.5 Time Machine as well as SimpleTech’s own Fabrik Ultimate Backup, and its aluminum and grey colored plastic case harmonizes with Apple’s [...]

Styli for iPhone & iPod touch

Written on November 05, 2008 by Josh Pigford and 9 people have commented

Am I the only one who gets more misses than hits with the on-screen keyboard of the iPhone and iPod touch? Typing accuracy is OK when my iPod touch is resting on a flat surface, but it is another story altogether when I’m walking or while I’m on a bumpy car ride. So I thought, [...]

MacBook Pro Review

Written on October 17, 2008 by David Appleyard and 42 people have commented

For the first time in Apple’s history, the recent incarnation of consumer and professional laptops are starting to show signs of being part of the same family. While the MacBook has seen arguably the most impressive bump in terms of comparison to its original feature set, MacBook Pros have also received great treatment.
This brief review [...]

Logitech V550 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse

Written on October 14, 2008 by Charles Moore and 12 people have commented

The Logitech V550 Nano wireless mouse is marketed as a notebook mouse, but the real story is that this is just a really superb mouse, whatever sort of computer you use it with — notebook or desktop.

I never thought I would say that about a wireless mouse, having not been a fan of wireless input [...]

Review: FastMac U-Charge for Apple Laptops

Written on October 09, 2008 by Charles Moore and 4 people have commented

The simplest way to get extended runtime with a laptop computer is to have a second battery charged and ready. For example, with two fully-charged extended life batteries I can get more than 10 hours computing time with my old G4-upgraded Pismo PowerBook running OS X 10.4 Tiger, and that’s without resorting to any elaborate [...]

Logitech Premium Notebook Headset Review

Written on September 11, 2008 by Brian Warren and 3 people have commented

I received the Logitech Premium Notebook headset at a very good time; I was doing some podcasting at the moment and my setup was a bit complicated. Also, I had several Skype chats on a pretty regular basis. This gave me a great opportunity to put the headset through some extensive testing in a short [...]