Consumer electronics
SDHC memory cards
If you have a digital camera, you are familiar with flash memory cards. These little cards are also a way to add memory to a PC. While thumb drives can also act as secondary memory in PCs, they stick out and can be awkward. Memory cards, of course, go into a slot and are barely [...]
How to keep your battery going
Batteries and more batteries. We all have an assortment of gadgets that need batteries. At the New York Times, Eric A. Taub explains some ways to help keep your batteries going.
About some mobile devices
Are you curious about what some of the new smartphones look like? CNET has a gallery of photos of some of the latest offerings.
Also from CNET is a new FAQ about the Apple iPad, which is scheduled to appear in early April.
The PC is dying-here come the mobile platforms
The mismatch between ponderous Windows systems and consumer needs is finally catching up with the PC. Thanks to the example of the Apple iPhone and to the Asian OEMs who pushed the netbook, the technology industry has awakened to what consumers really want. Predictions are popping up all over that the PC will be replaced [...]
From the files
Here are some stories that I thought were interesting but never had time to comment on.
Tech Support Hell: Ways to Avoid ItAt Computerworld, Bill Snyder says, “Tech support is a broken system. Low-margin products leave little room for good customer service. But you can minimize the pain.”
How Apple is training you for the futureMike Elgan [...]
Five billion cell phones globally
CNET reports another piece of evidence about the trend to mobile platforms:
On a planet with around 6.8 billion people, we’re likely to see 5 billion cell phone subscriptions this year.
Reaching 4.6 billion at the end of 2009, the number of cell phone subscriptions across the globe will hit 5 billion sometime in 2010, according [...]
Princeton report card on Kindle in the classroom
Princeton University has been using Amazon’s Kindle in the classroom as an experiment. An assessment has been posted and the results are mixed:
Managers of Princeton University’s semester-long pilot of the Amazon KindleDX electronic reader are calling the project a success, with results showing that student participants reduced the amount of paper they used to print [...]
Smartphone happenings
Some are saying that the smartphone will be the consumer platform of the future. The smartphone may or may not replace the PC as the primary way for consumers to use the Internet but it certainly is a major and growing force. Here are some recent posts about smartphones:
What Makes a Smartphone Smart?ExtremeTech explains what [...]
PDF files were major carrier of malware in 2009
The security problems of Adobe software are a frequent topic here. Unfortunately, Adobe too often lets security holes go unpatched long after they are discovered. Since Adobe software programs in the form of Flash and PDF readers are on most PCs, their poor security is a bonanza for cybercriminals. The PDF reader in particular has [...]
New Microsoft smartphone OS
Here’s yet another smartphone announcement. But since it’s Microsoft doing the announcing, the blogosphere is full of chatter about it. Microsoft’s previous efforts in the smartphone area have not been very successful but it has made a major revamp of the phone operating system. I don’t use smartphones so I can’t make a judgment but [...]
Site with extensive information about mobile computing
These days, people like to be connected to the Internet wherever they go. In fact, for many millions, mobile computers are the major or only platform that they use. Back in December, I posted about the speculation that the smartphone would supplant the conventional PC for consumer use.
As the popularity of mobile platforms has grown, [...]
