For one of the most successful, profitable, all-around-important inventions of all time, the PC has never gotten much respect.
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harry mccracken
Technologizer: Dell’s Streak–Is It a Huge Smartphone or a Tiny Computer?
By Harry McCracken
The time I’ve spent with Verizon Wireless’s Droid X has made one thing clear to me: I like great big smartphone screens. As impressively elegant as the iPhone 4′s 3.5″ retina display is, the X’s 4.3″ superscreen makes for larger type and easier tapping. It’s like the difference between a highly refined sportscar and a roomy SUV. I hope phones in both sizes flourish.
And then there’s Dell’s Streak…which makes the Droid X look like a pipsqueak. At five inches, its screen is so expansive that it’s not clear upon first glance whether this device is a phone. It is. Or at least it can be one: The Dell executive I spoke with at a demo yesterday described the Streak as being “capable of making phone calls.” In other words, Dell sees it as a data device that does voice rather than a phone that does data.
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – July 2010
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – June 2010
- Can You Trust Facebook?
- Internet TV That Finally Works
- Safe to Allow Remote Access?
- Office 2010-An Online Weakling
- A Printer with a $4.99 Cartridge
- Printer Quality in a Freefall
- How Many USB Devices Do You Have?
- USB Short and Sweet
- Gadget Survey
- Tip 1 – Sidebar for XP
- Tip 2 – Stream Radio In VLC
- Tip 3 – Automatic PC Shutdown
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Bits from Bill Pytlovany: Can Facebook Be Trusted?
By Bill Pytlovany
Plenty of people are doing articles about the new Facebook settings but I’m really asking the fundamental question. Can you trust Facebook? Based on my observations the answer is ….
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Technologizer: How to Control Your Facebook Privacy
By Harry McCracken
If you think the whole Web is suddenly looking more like Facebook, you’re not imagining things. At its developer conference last week, the 800-pound gorilla of social networks made a bevy of announcements — and all the biggies involved intermingling your life as a Facebook user with other activities around the Internet.
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Technologizer: The iPad vs. Everything Else
By Harry McCracken
Can Apple’s much-hyped tablet replace your notebook, e-reader, smartphone, audio player, magazines, or gaming device?
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – April 2010 #2
- Extreme PC Makeover #4
- Ask the Pros 2010
- 10 Unusually Useful Sites
- Still Using IE 6? Are You Kidding?
- Secret Origins of Windows
- Passing on the iPad
- Protect Your Info on Shared PC
- Windows 7 Gadgets
- Tekzilla Tip – Typo Fix
- *Tip 1 –
- Tip 2 –
- Tip 3 –
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Technologizer: Albatross Face-Off -Microsoft Bob v. the Apple Cube
By Harry McCracken
I promise we’ll stop commemorating the 15th anniversary of Microsoft Bob after today–and today is the anniversary of the app’s formal release–but bear with me for one last item.
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – March 2010 #2
- PC Matic Update
- Avoid Windows Security Updates?
- 5 Ways You Can Improve Windows 7
- Facebook Kids Getting Younger
- Spring Cleaning for Keyboards
- Internet Explorer 9 Preview
- Keep Your Laptop Data Secure
- Why Are Laptop Touchpads Bad?
- Tekzilla – Optimize Firefox Readibility
- Tip 1 – Get Classic Startup Back
- Tip 2 – Run XP Mode on Windows 7
- Tip 3 – TutCity Free Tutorials
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Technologizer: The Future of Windows
By Harry McCracken
How can Microsoft keep Windows relevant? We asked journalists, technologists, and former Microsoft employees that simple question, and got an array of answers.
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – February 2010
- Extreme PC Makeover
- Does Internet Explorer Suck?
- New Computer? Read this First.
- Got Duplicate Files? Dump them.
- InfoWorld Covers Lookback
- iPad Showing Netbooks the Way
- Where Did Windows Mail Go?
- End Your Online Life
- Clear Clipboard Like a Pro
- Windows 7 Shortcut Book
- FileMenu Tools
- Great Control of Desktop Icons
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Technologizer: The Golden Age of InfoWorld Covers, 1984-1985
By Harry McCracken
Return with us now to the days when Radio Shack was a PC giant, Apple was on the ropes, and people thought laptops were a foolish fad.
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – January 2010 #2
- Swiss Army Knife for your PC
- Can Hackers See my Data?
- 99 cent Software Experiment
- XP Apps Running on Win7
- Look at My Appliance
- This Terrific Tool is Free
- 15 Gadgets Ahead of Their Time
- GPS Speeds Relief Efforts
- Turn Off Your Laptops Trackpad
- Save Email Embedded Music
- Remove Artwork, Save Space
- Complete Guide to Google Wave
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – December 2009
- All New pcpitstop.com
- Black Screen of Death
- The Dodge Retort: PC/TV Habits
- Chris Pirillo: Skype Phone
- Bits from Bill: Facebook Apps Stealing Info
- Ask Leo: Help, Stolen Email Identity
- Technologizer: Windows 7 Survey Results
- TechBite: 5 Net Tricks to Save You Money
- Tekzilla Tip: Rein In Your System Tray
- Tip #1: Security Tab in XP
- Tip #2: Synch People & Contacts
- Tip #3: Google Power to MSFT Office
- PC Pitstop Driver Library
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Technologizer: The State of Windows 7 Satisfaction
By Harry McCracken
Windows 7 is scarcely more than a month old. Most of the people who will eventually use it haven’t gotten around to trying it yet; those that have are still settling in. And the Win 7 experience will change rapidly as remaining bugs are squashed, missing drivers arrive, and compatibility glitches are ironed out. Even so, it’s not too early to start gauging what real people think of Windows Vista’s replacement.
So to riff on Ronald Reagan’s famous question from his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter, Are Windows users better off today than they were a few weeks ago, back in the Vista era? We decided to ask the Technologizer community, a group of tech enthusiasts with a high propensity to acquire new operating systems quickly and push them to their limits. Starting on November 16th, we surveyed our readers (and Twitter followers) about their experiences with Windows 7. Our goal: to do a reality check on the mostly favorable initial reviews of the new OS (as well as our own survey of largely enthusiastic Windows 7 beta testers back in March).
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PC Pitstop Newsletter – November 2009 #2
- The Dodge Retort: Twitter, Facebook fertile phishing grounds
- Ask Leo: Secure Delete – What is it and do I need it?
- Chris Pirillo: How to Convert Cassettes to MP3
- Bits from Bill: Verizon Droid Day One
- Technologizer: 25 Most Notable Quotes in Tech History
- Use Your Droid as a Modem…Tethering
- TechBite: Fixes for 3 PC Annoyances
- Tip #1: Create Windows 7 Themes
- Tip #2: Float your Hard Drive LED
- Tip #3: Information about your Hardware
- PC Pitstop Driver Library
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Technologizer: 25 Most Notable Quotes in Tech History
By Harry McCracken
It’s not love, war, or baseball. But over the years some memorable things have been said about technology. Some have been memorably eloquent; others are unforgettably shortsighted, wrongheaded, or just plain weird. Let’s celebrate them, shall we?
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