April 2010 archive

Paper Manuals – Time to Say Goodbye?

In relation to a prior blog update (Steam vs Retail – Which is Best?), one of my friends (that’s you, Adam) made a comment that he likes to get a disc when he spends his money. I totally understand that some people like to walk out of the shop with something tangible. This got me …

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SuperGeek Arsenal – External Hard Drive Dock

Vantec NexStar Hard Drive Dock (Powered Up)

Any geek worth their weight in silicon will be prepared for almost any type technical problem or situation. One such device I reckon should be in a geek’s technical support arsenal is an external hard drive dock. A hard drive dock is important when you might have a computer that is refusing to boot up …

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Steam vs Retail – Which is Best?

Steam (Library)

Today I was having an online chat with a gaming friend through Steam as to which game they might buy next (which turned out to be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) and where they could get the best bang for their buck. Obviously, Steam was one option on the table but the other considerations …

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LCD Screens – Check the Dead Pixel Policy

Liquid Crystal Display (or LCD) technology has been with us for quite a while and most of us would have a device that would incorporate an LCD component (be it laptops, televisions, mobile phones or touchscreen devices amongst other things). As with any technology, defects can come about as a result of imperfections in the …

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Light Peak – Beyond USB 3.0

USB 3.0 has barely made an appearance in desktop computers (personally, I am yet to see a USB 3.0 port though) and Intel is already looking at a superseding technology. Just to put things in perspective: USB 1.0 is capable of 1.5Mbps (Low-Bandwidth) and 12Mbps (Full-Bandwidth), USB 2.0 added a new higher maximum speed of …

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Flash – Absolute Necessity or General Nuisance?

If there is one thing that the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad have perpetuated in terms of arguments it is the necessity of Adobe Flash on a platform. Sure, Apple will have you believe that Flash is a resource hog (which may be true in certain implementations) but does it still hold any value? One …

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IPTV – The Future of Multicast Content Delivery

At home in our living room, we have our LCD TV hooked up to the Foxtel IQ2 (which is a fantastic device by the way) but there are times when we both want to watch something at the same time and time shifting is simply not an option. One such case tonight was when I …

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Opera Mini for iPhone & iPod Touch – Approved

As promised in an earlier blog post, I said I would give a review of the Opera Mini browser for iPhone and iPod Touch if and when it became available. I am still planning on doing that after I have given it a thorough shakedown but the good news is that Apple seems to be …

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Team Fortress 2 – Fun in any Language

Are you a fan of first person shooters but don’t like the international war or zombie apocalypse genres that seems to be dominating the gaming industry at the moment? Perhaps you prefer something a little more light-hearted and casual when it comes to gaming? I don’t think I am a hard core gamer by any …

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Skype – Free Voice and Video Calls for the Masses

Skype (Conversation Window)

Traditionally, people have relied on landlines and more recently mobile phones to keep in touch with their friends and loved ones. Sure, costs to call people interstate or internationally have come down over the years and mobile caps are helpful to a degree but you still end up having to bear the cost of communication. …

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