May 19, 2012

A Concrete Reason Macs Beat PCs: Intel VT

There is a lot of FUD flowing between Apple Macintosh true believers and the rest of the PC world. This is especially true now that Macs use Intel CPUs, NVIDIA chipsets and graphics, and so much more commodity PC parts. Lots have argued that a Mac is just an expensive PC with a flashy case [...]

Experimenting With VoIP

VTech's IP 8100 was intended for use with Vonage, but it's a cinch to unlock and use with other SIP providers!

Longtime readers of this blog know that I’m a sucker for novel uses of technology, especially those that give me a chance to learn something new. So when I spotted a Vonage VoIP telephone on clearance at the local Best Buy, I couldn’t resist. After a quick Google search to confirm it could be unlocked [...]

How Far Can You Push a Mac Mini?

Can you supercharge a Mac Mini?

Last week I reported my progress upgrading my Mac Mini’s RAM and hard drive to extract much more performance out of Apple’s little desktop. And indeed, adding a 7200 rpm high-performance laptop hard drive did make a noticeable difference in system responsiveness. But a question came in via email asking, will Western Digital’s killer 10,000 [...]

Upgrades Give New Mac Mini a Whole New Attitude

The new Mac Mini performs well in CPU and RAM tests, but 1 GB is insufficient and upgrading to 2 GB gives a noticeable boost

It may seem odd to buy a computer intending to upgrade it right out of the box, but so it was with me when I snapped up a new 2009 Nvidia-powered Mac Mini. I had been waiting for Apple to update the aged Mini line, saving up my pennies, but the out-of-box specs for RAM and hard drive space were underwhelming.

New Mac Mini Is A Diamond In The Rough

The new Mac Mini's five USB ports share three USB busses

After a very, very long wait, Apple has finally updated their entry-level “bridge” Mac, the Mac Mini. It’s amazing that, after 19 months without an update, Apple’s new Mini looks exactly the same as the old Mini. But what’s under the hood matters, and Apple delivered a mixed bag there. The new Mini is an excellent home server, which is how mine will be used, but some poor choices limit its abilities out of the box.

The New Mac Mini is Finally Here!

Mac Mini (Early 2009) unboxed at last

I’ve been waiting on a Mac Mini to replace my sluggish and crash-prone Firefly/NSLU2 home music and file server, and Apple finally delivered the goods today, after leaving us in the lurch at Macworld 2009! I’ve placed my order for a base-model Mac Mini, and look forward to using Apple’s iPhone Remote with the Airport [...]

The Future of Home Storage

Homes now need data storage as well as closets...

Consumers demand friendly, flexible solutions. They don’t want to fuss with their media, and they don’t want simple shared storage. They want integration with multiple devices and flexibility to access their content on any device.

Working Backwards Reveals Apple’s Macworld Plans

As is traditionally the case, there has been some pretty wild speculation about what Apple plans to introduce at this year’s Macworld.  Some insist it’s 3G iPhone time, others look for a tablet/touch computer, and everyone sees Blu-ray everywhere.  But Apple upset the cart a bit this week by introducing new, faster Mac Pros and [...]