I’m taking a look at the APC BE700G UPS, using it with a 27″ iMac simply because there’s no good information out there on how long Apple’s latest consumer desktop behemoth will last on UPS backup battery, how well the OSX works with such devices and how easy they are to set up. In short, [...]
Archive for the ‘Personal Computing’ Category
APC BE700G UPS reviewed with 27″ iMac
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010Knomo Saxby Leather Laptop Bag Review
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010My search for the ultimate gadget bag is, as always, ongoing and is focussed as much on pure gadget capacity as it is on style and quality. One bag that strikes a very good balance and truly excels in the quality side of the scale, figuratively exuding quality, is the Knomo Saxby Leather Laptop Bag.
I [...]
Parallels 5 Gaming
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010One of the biggest questions raised in response to the 27″ iMac was “how good is it for gaming.” The response, at least in terms of native Mac games is very positive. And a reboot into Windows 7 offers pretty stellar performance in a variety of new Windows-only titles, even performing admirably at the native [...]
Samsung XL2370 23″ LED Monitor Review
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Not content with looking at simply one LED monitor, I sourced a competing product from Samsung and managed to obtain the 23″ XL2370 which also runs at 1920×1080.
I’ll come right up and say that the Samsung XL2370 is the inferior product in many respects, and it’s evident that either the Samsung brand has leant it [...]
LG W2486L 24″ LED Monitor Reviewed
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Face it, LCD monitors have been boring for years and the phrases “high contrast” and “2ms” just aren’t enough to wake me from plain ignoring them. However, recently someone out there in gadget world woke up and decided it was time to start implementing thin LCD display technologies into desktop monitors where, although space may [...]
Parallels Desktop 5 First Impressions Review
Friday, January 1st, 2010I finally braved the upgrade to Parallels 5 and found it far less painful than I expected. It’s faster, more compatible and generally better than its predecessor and I’d wager most upgraders will see the difference quite soon after taking the plunge.
The upgrade process from 4 was simple enough, requiring no scary disk conversion and, [...]
Antec Sonata Elite PC Case
Thursday, September 17th, 2009Antec make shiny computer cases, there’s no denying that. I’m a particular fan of the P180 series, in their gunmetal-clad, fridge-freezer-like glory.
The Antec Sonata Elite stays the course of Antec products, with a strong emphasis on being quiet whilst still having a high level of airflow for best cooling performance. It doesn’t do this [...]
Pico “Really Tiny” Bluetooth Dongle From MobileFun
Thursday, September 17th, 2009At the beginning of 2009 I acquired a Sandberg USB Bluetooth dongle, and some time later a Sandberg USB Wifi Adaptor. Both of these products are impressively, absurdly small but neither of them come even close to this particular little bluetooth gem which redefines the category of svelte, sleek USB bluetooth adaptors and delivers a [...]
Eclipse TD 307PA II Review
Friday, September 11th, 2009If you take your music seriously, even whilst you’re sitting at your desk working away, then a decent set of stereo desktop speakers is a must have.
The Eclipse TD 307PA II are a fine example, except rather than simply settling for being decent they are truly spectacular. The Eclipse TD 307PA II speakers exemplify both [...]
MiFi 2352 Mobile WiFi Hotspot First Impressions
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009I’m perplexed at the widespread, comparatively anyway, adoption of 3g USB dongles in lieu of far better and more flexible alternatives. So perplexed, in fact, that I decided to try one such alternative, the MiFi 2352 from Novatel Wireless, to see if there’s really a glaring flaw keeping it from the mass market, or if [...]