Computers, Laptops & Tablets

The first gaming laptop my wife ever brought home must have taken up half of our coffee table and weighed about as much. The second she owned was a little thinner but almost as heavy. The HP Omen’s size pales in comparison to those two monstrous laptops and that’s a good thing. As thin as many of today’s laptops and weighing less than 5 pounds, the HP Omen defies our conventional belief of what a gaming laptop should look and feel like. That’s just the beginning.  Come take a look.

We live at a time when many people are carrying around multiple devices, often including a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop. If you had to choose just one of those three as your only device, which would it be? I’m going to make the case for choosing a tablet, something I wouldn’t have thought possible a few years ago, but increasingly find myself doing these days.

Your home network should be easy to conect to and use, but only for the people you trust. With a little bit of preparation and smart computer habits, you can protect yourself, your data, and your family from the less pleasant side of our connected world.

Not sure what to give that special graduate in your life? Whether your young adult is heading off to college, travelling the world, leaving the nest, or starting their first career, here are 10 great gift ideas that will help your loved one transition to adulthood.

The beauty of the standard desktop PC is its open architecture. The idea is that people should be able to choose from interchangeable parts from a variety of manufacturers and swap them as they see fit. What this has meant for me is that not only have I been able to build myself desktop PCs myself, which is surprisingly easy to do by the way, but I have also been able to upgrade and augment my systems over the years to extend their lifespans. Desktop PCs may be the ideal situation for somebody looking to keep their tech relevant as they can focus their attention on upgrading the components they need and make little changes over the years rather than having to wait for obsolescence then investing in a net new machine.

A new laptop is an investment. It costs you money and it costs you time—you have data to transfer, software to install and settings to get just right. So it makes sense to put a little effort into extending the life of an existing laptop, especially if it’s one you’ve grown fond of. The key is to know when to walk away and just buy a replacement instead of throwing good money after bad. That’s not always easy to do. I have a few examples of going to extremes to keep a laptop relevant that hopefully will help when it comes time to make that decision yourself.

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a kick with gaming laptops. They’ve really been coming in to their own as of late. There are so many great options and people’s interest in having enough PC muscle to game, in a laptop form factor is definitely increasing. For most people something like an Ultrabook or Chromebook is basic enough to get work done day to day, but when you want to do multimedia creation, or enjoy the latest PC games without having to sacrifice on graphics or performance, a gaming PC is tough to beat. If you can get the power of a gaming PC with the mobility of a laptop you’ll have something that has been the dream of many gamers for years. These days it’s not that farfetched and you have a few options. The latest model I’ve looked at is the Electra 3 from Eurocom. I’ve been a big fan of Eurocom’s laptops in the past so I was curious if this latest model would continue their winning streak.

When you think about it, there is an incredible diversity among laptops. There are a surprising number of options available for under $300, but you don’t have to look hard to find one priced at several thousand dollars. Why the huge price range? There are laptops and ultrabooks to meet virtually every need, preference and budget. That means an amazing variety. Choice is good, but it requires careful consideration when it comes time to choose a new portable PC, because all laptops are not created equal.  

When it comes to a desktop PC, we tend to focus on high profile features like the display and the CPU. However, one of the things we take for granted—the lowly keyboard—can actually have just as much impact on how productive you are, or how much you enjoy using a computer. The good news is that the keyboard is one of the most easily (and inexpensively) replaced components of your PC, and there are plenty of options to choose from. Bluetooth, mechanical, backlit, full-sized, portable … which computer keyboard is right for you? I’ll explain the options and help you choose.  

Tired of dragging your computer to the living room to play your home movies for visiting friends and family? Looking for “anywhere” access to your photos? Need a simple computer backup solution? It’s time to look at adding Network-Attached Storage (NAS) to your home. But what is it, and which one is right for you?