If you’ve been looking to get into the Mac market, but don’t want to pay the Jobs Tax (read: actually pay a reasonable price to get quality hardware) then Psystar has come to the rescue… sorta. That white box to the left (also available in Black) is what’s called the OpenMac. It is a product of the underground movement called OSX86 which was formed when Apple announced its move to Intel-based processors. It is, for all intents and purposes, a Mac inside. It uses most of the same components, which are generally available Intel parts, to mimic the hardware architecture of most mow to midrange Macintosh systems.

So, why “sorta”? Because its not really a Mac. Sure, you can install Mac OS X on it without having to use an illegally hacked copy, but because it [uses an EFI emulator] so its not compatible with some hardware updates. In other words, this isn’t your grandpa’s Mac. If you’re into minivans, being a soccer mom, cruise the web for the latest investment ideas, or relish the idea of more pictures of your neighbor’s litter of kittens, this system likely isn’t for you. If, however, you hack kernels before breakfast, slipstream ISOs in your sleep, or can name at least 20 Apple project codenames without pausing, then you should investigate this US$399 little creature. [Editor's Note: The last time I checked, the site was available. -.Ed]

written by Tyler Regas

No, its not a new spin-off of Chris Rock’s popular sit-com, its the harsh reality of Microsoft’s plight as people more ardently voice their opinion of the new OS from Redmond. In general, people hate it. Microsoft, however, is not being swayed by these outspoken users who are displeased with Windows Vista’s seeming inability to work reliably. This isn’t stopping Galen Gruman, a technology journalist in the Washington D.C. area, from starting a new campaign to push Microsoft into maintaining support for Windows XP until the next version of Windows comes out, sometime in 2010.

My own personal experiences with Vista have been spotty. I currently have Vista Ultimate installed in an 80GB partition on my MacBook Pro, but I rarely use it. Besides, there’s nothing ultimate about it, just one of the many reasons consumers are unhappy with Microsoft. With the Ultimate version, Microsoft promised that there would be loads of exclusive content available for people who opted to pay the premium for the special version. So far, however, Microsoft has mostly failed to deliver anything except a silly card game, the BitLocker security tool which has dubious functionality, and a series of video-based background images which are useless and drain CPU cycles.

It appears that most people simply want to continue using the reliable software they are already familiar with instead of paying Microsoft a tax to upgrade to Vista which seems to be as widely reviled as Windows Me was in 2000.

written by Tyler Regas

Most laptops these days are used as a person’s single computer as opposed to a companion system to their desktop. Along with that portable power comes heat generation and a lack of ergonomic orientation. Laptop stands in various forms have come to the market to fill this need. Some are very large and bulky. Others are very thin and flimsy. They range from very artful to very functional to clumsy to utile. I’ve been using one for over a month now which delivers on all of those aspects, but mostly the good ones.

I’m speaking, of course, of the LapWorks Attaché Laptop Stand, a new product in their extensive line of mobility products for laptop users. The stand ships in a standard FedEx packing box, so its not very large, but its certainly not designed to be a portable stand. Unlike its lower priced brother, the Attaché is topped with an aluminum face, which is supposed to draw heat away from the bottom of the laptop. This process is assisted by two ultra-quiet fans located in the center of the panel. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

If it seems as if I’m obsessing on this little lappy, I am. The super-new HP 2133 Mini-Note represents the first major step taken by a major fab player to protect new market by releasing a superior system. ASUS gets to be credited with opening the market. HP gets the distinction of legitimizing it. Here now are the official specs for the HP 2133, which is also available to buy… Now:

VIA C7-M processors at 1.0, 1.2, and 1.6GHz, 400Mhz FSB on the 1.0GHz, 800MHz FSB on 1.2GHz and 1.6GHz CPUs, 512MB to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, choice of 4GB SSD module, 120-160GB 5400-RPM, or 12-160GB 7200-RPM drives, 8.9″ WXGA glossy display, VIA Chrome 9 graphics sub-system, Broadcom Gigabit ethernet and A/B/G wireless, Bluetooth 2.0, 2 USB 2.0 ports, Express/54 card slot, SD card slot, VGA port, mic jack, headphone jack, and two batteries, one three cell for 28WHr and one six cell for 55WHr.

Pricing is as follows: US$499 - 1.0GHz, 512MB, 4GB SSD, SuSE Linux 10; US$549 - 1.2GHz, 1GB, 120GB 5400-RPM, SuSE Linux 10; US$599 - 1.2GHz, 1GB, 120GB 5400-RPM, Vista Home Basic; US$749 - 1.6GHz, 2GB, 120GB 7200-RPM, Bluetooth, Vista Business; US$849 - 1.2GHz, 1GB, 160GB 7200-RPM, Bluetooth, Vista Home Basic.

written by Tyler Regas

They just keep getting smaller and smaller, yes? Now we are getting the full monty from HP and VIA regarding the new HP 2133 Mini-Note. Our information came first in a press release from VIA, obviously touting the fact that its chips are powering this pocket beast, specifically the VIA C7-M running from 1.0 to 1.6 GHz. It can also handle up to 2GBs of RAM, from 4GB SSD to 120GB standard discs, sports an 8.9″ widescreen “glossy” display, and integrated wireless. Additional details are sketchy, so I’ll hold off until the official “official” announcement, but suffice it to say that if it comes in starting at US$499 then we’re looking at a very good thing. Nice job, ASUS. You kicked off the MID market! Stay tuned after the break for another image. Here’s a PC Magazine review which lists the reviewed models price at US$749.

Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

First up, AppleInsider is reporting that “Uncle” Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, one of the privileged few whom Apple actually favors in the press, has strongly suggested that Apple will be shipping a 3G iPhone within 60 days. This falls within the range of days before the World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, where many are speculating Apple will announce the newest version of its handheld, as well as officially launch iPhone 2.0, which includes Exchange compatibility and other enterprise friendly features as well as 3rd party software developer support.

Additionally, AppleInsider is suggesting that it has details on Apple’s upcoming plans for its suspected overhaul of their MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. One big suggestion is that the MacBook will more from plastics to metals for the external case, making it more Pro and Air looking. As always, only time, and Steve Jobs on Keynote day, will tell.

written by Tyler Regas

I’m about to drop some serious power on you folks. This is one monstrous lappy, and I don’t mean that its large. Just look at the image. It looks like a normal, every day lappy. I can tell you that its not. Certainly not for US$6,995. So, what do you get for all that dough? Here are the specs for the 1Beyond GoFlex317: 2.4 or 2.66GHz Quad-core Intel CPU or a 2.6 or 3.0GHz Core2 Duo CPU, 3 SATA2 100 or 200GB drives in RAID-5 format, nVidia 8800 PCI-Express card with 512MBs of RAM, 1920×1200 17″ widescreen display, and up to 4GBs of RAM. The $7k price tag gets you the 2.66GHz Quad Core bad boy, of course. It you were to take one of the Core2 Duo’s, you might as well buy a MacBook Pro, but that Quad is really, really inticing!

written by Tyler Regas

Despite the fact that MoboDojo is a website which thrives on the discovery and exploitation of tools and gadgets, the Dojo doesn’t generally run reviews on utility software. Why? Because most utility software just isn’t all that interesting. Yes, we do review software like games and productivity packages, but those are interesting. So, why are we reviewing ImageWell, a Mac-only application? Simply put, its almost literally the only tool we use other than FireFox and our sharp minds to create the Dojo for you. Besides, they just went commercial with the product and I personally wanted to give the developer a shout-out.

Now, with the preamble out of the way, what is ImageWell? To keep a long story short, ImageWell allows you to take images from any source, crop,  edit, and resize them, and send them (via FTP and a wide range of other services) to your web server. It then thoughtfully places the URL to that image in your clipboard so you can quickly add an image to a story, much in the way I did for the image of ImageWell you see above. I found it interesting that, despite ImageWell’s integrated screen capture utility, I was required to use Grab.app to capture ImageWell. It can’t capture itself, which is really a feature and not a bug. Really. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

Being a reviewer of mobility products means that you are necessarily an iPod and iPod accessory products reviewer. Its inescapable, not that its a bad thing. However, there are loads of really crappy iPod accessories out there and I really, really don’t want to have to crawl through all of them. Of course, its always been the goal of The Dojo to provide details on only the best of breed products we can collect for our readers, and the Logitech’s new Pure-Fi Anywhere iPod portable speaker system is one of those. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

Here’s one to whet your whistle. More on the next page!

Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas