The Attack of the MIDs will be in full swing soon, now that Intel has started shipping its Atom CPU and VIA is making hay with its C7-M CPU, so what will that mean? Are we moving into a exciting, new, dynamic market where technology now suddenly does more for us than it has before? Does it mean that computing will change forever? Does it mean we’ll all have tricorders in our pants and robots tending yard? The short answer is no. The slightly longer but still not quite as satisfying answer is we’re not quite there yet and what we have on our hands is the Second Coming of The Apple Newton MessagePad. Is that terrible? Yes and no. Read on and I will explain. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that AT&T is completing their 3G network now, just ahead of the WWDC? In case you don’t see the humor, I find it a laugh riot because everyone was absolutely sure that the reason Apple didn’t include 3G in its first hardware release of the iPhone was over battery life considerations. Apple certainly wanted to guarantee a long battery life, yes? It appears that the answer to that would now be no. The new 3G iPhone is likely going to be thicker, meaning more radio and more battery, and there’s a switch which allows the owner to turn off 3G. So, if all of this turns out to be true, then the real reason Apple waited is so that AT&T could finish its 3G network. Did anyone have any clue that AT&T was still building their 3G network? I certainly didn’t!

written by Tyler Regas

I must say that I love me some Mike Rowe, the host of Discovery Channel’s hyper popular show, Dirty Jobs. Mike goes around to work on jobs around America and show everyone the filthy jobs people do which make our lives easier, and some are quite nauseating. It appears that I, too, have a job which is unpleasant but the results of which are coveted by people; reviewing products.

Why do I have this job? I cannot tell a lie, but I do what I do because I love gadgets and small gear and I enjoy having such stuff around me. I started in 2001 with PDA Handyman and migrated to the new name in 2007. In the seven years I’ve been online and expressing myself I’ve reviewed at least 200 products. No, not one of those reviews has ever involved gutting a fish, scooping poop, or scraping barnacles, but on occasion I get some really thick and noxious mud slung at me. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

I’ve been mulling over this idea that has been postulated amidst the Psystar dust-up regarding the idea that Apple’s EULA restrictions could constitute a monopoly. I’ve come to the conclusion that it cannot. The definition of the word ‘Monopoly’ yields many clues to how this is possible:

mo•nop•o•ly

n. pl. mo·nop·o·lies Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service: “Monopoly frequently … arises from government support or from collusive agreements among individuals” (Milton Friedman). Law A right granted by a government giving exclusive control over a specified commercial activity to a single party. A company or group having exclusive control over a commercial activity. A commodity or service so controlled. Exclusive possession or control: arrogantly claims to have a monopoly on the truth. Something that is exclusively possessed or controlled: showed that scientific achievement is not a male monopoly. Exclusive possession or control: arrogantly claims to have a monopoly on the truth. Something that is exclusively possessed or controlled: showed that scientific achievement is not a male monopoly

Somehow, I just don’t see how Apple’s EULA falls into this definition. Continue reading »

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

On a whim, I Googled™ for what devices Microsoft’s SYNC technology supports. I guess I’m not all that surprised that the first thing they list is Apple’s iPod. Take a look at this snippet from Mercury’s FAQ page on their cars which feature SYNC technology:

“SYNC supports a variety of devices including iPods®,* the Zune™, PlaysForSure players and most USB drives. Supported audio formats include MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV and PCM.”

While I haven’t verified it yet, I’m betting that the SYNC interface supports an iPod cable. Now the idea of getting a car with SYNC in it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Take a look for yourself here at the Mercury page.

written by Tyler Regas

Its that time of year again, when developers in league with Apple crawl out of their laboratories to migrate for that annual mecca in San Francisco, CA. know as the World Wide Developers Conference. It is at the WWDC, where programmers speak Objective C better than English, gather to learn about what Papa Jobs has for them this year. Interestingly enough, one of the biggest developer announcements ever has already been let out of the bag; Apple’s iPhone SDK as well as other significant announcements. What does this mean for a WWDC whose slogan is “A landmark event. In more ways than one.” Examine this slogan, the image above, and the cryptic message from the MacWorld expo (which ended up announcing the MacBook Air with “There’s something in the air”) and we have a new conundrum. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

I’m sorry, but I feel it important to post regarding this issue. Gizmodo has recently published what they are calling an “Advertorial”, paid advertising which takes the form of a story or feature in an effort to trick the reader into thinking its really written by the staff of the publication. Aside from the fact that The Dojo sees this as being irresponsible to its readership, selling lies as fact, and not clearly informing the reader that it is engaging in this kind of shady advertising, its not even an advertorial. It is, in fact, a survey from an online marketing group asking questions about the quality, penetration, and effectiveness of certain ads featuring new cars. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas

I love Apple, but there are a number of areas in which they fail, some of them miserably. In the case of who I will call Edward, Apple has apparently dropped the ball completely. Edward bought an Apple MacBook 2.16GHz model, in white, in the last week of January, 2006. All Apple computers come with a one year warranty to cover any failures or manufacturing defects. Apple’s process is to vet the issue over the phone and, if the support need is deemed valid, they send you a box to ship them your system. Apple has denied Edward service for his issue. Continue reading »

written by Tyler Regas