Category: Articles

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Ask Juan: Should I Upgrade my Desktop (non-touchscreen) to Windows 8.1?

Screenshot (1)From one of our readers using our contact page:

Hey,I have an older quad core AMD desktop running Windows 7 and was going to put in a SSD. While I was doing that I thought maybe I should upgrade to Windows 8. I don’t have a touchscreen though, so I was curious if you thought that would be a good idea? Thanks, Alex

First of all, I run an older quad core in my workstation, and installing a solid state drive (specifically a Kingston HyperX) made my system feel brand new. I think you’ll really dig it.

The upgrade to Windows 8.1 is a slightly trickier question. It’s pretty obvious that Microsoft is using this new interface as their first attack on tablets and touchscreens. Microsoft’s job moving forward isn’t to “save” the PC market, but redefine the what a PC is. If you’ve read much on this site, you would know that I’ve been fairly positive on their progress so far.

Stepping outside the tablet-y stuff however, I think Windows 8 can offer up some benefits to non-touchscreen users as well.

First of all, boot times are seriously improved. The combo of Windows 8.1 and an SSD will feel like an absolute screamer compared to Windows 7 and a spinning disc hard drive. My low power Windows 8.1 ultrabook with an SSD cache boots in about half the time as my desktop did with Windows 7 and a proper SSD. My Lenovo absolutely destroys my Nexus 7 in a cold boot race.

windows 8_1 file transfer dialog boxSecond, I think Microsoft has made some solid improvements to file management. It’s not the sexiest aspect of an OS upgrade, but you get substantially more info when moving files, better estimates for completion, and the entire file browsing experience has been more stable. I would run into issues on Windows 7 with folders that had tons of files. As my computer would scan through creating thumbnails it would occasionally just get stuck on a file and never finish the scan. What ever file it would lag on would just become completely inaccessible, and I’d have to jump through CMD prompt nonsense to fix it. I haven’t had any issues like that with Win8.1 so far (knocks on wood). Continue reading “Ask Juan: Should I Upgrade my Desktop (non-touchscreen) to Windows 8.1?”

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PSA: Amazon thanks the FAA by selling Kindles for 15% off (Today Only)

kindle amazon faa thank you saleGetting a little cheeky and I like it.

Amazon is showing their appreciation to the FAA for opening up the restrictions on electronic devices. As long as they’re in Airplane Mode, our favorite glowing rectangles may now be used during take off and landing, and several airlines are already allowing passengers to geek out.

Today only, Amazon is running a coupon for Kindles, and if you use the promo code “ThnksFAA” at check out you can chop 15% off the price of a tablet or eReader. Well done FAA. Well done Amazon.

Get at it folks! Sale runs through today only!

Shop for Kindles on Amazon.

Related:
Kindle Paperwhite Review

 

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Western Digital owned HGST turns to Helium for 6TB hard drive

western digital helium hgst he6 6tb hard driveIf you want BIG performance you have to start looking at exotic builds.

Storage is a big deal right now. Consumers routinely pick up thousands of gigabytes for cheap, and we’re all flirting with cloud storage which requires companies to run tons of redundant back ups. We’re creeping up on the maximum density per platter that physics will allow for packing info on a spinning disc, but other concerns can limit hard disc storage as well.

Namely air turbulence.

Yep. High performance drives spin up quickly. That 7200RPM badge on the side of your drive is commonplace these days, but that’s still pretty incredible when you think about it. Every second the platters are rotating 120 times. Those platters are designed around a certain fault tolerance and thermal envelope. Run them too hot too long and they’ll fail.

We’ve already posted about the new “shingled” array that Seagate and WD will look to use to pack more info on a drive, but that comes with certain sensitivities. Also, with each improvement in storage density comes the risk of losing even more data in the event of failure. HGST looks to improve run time and durability by hermetically sealing the drive in an envelope of Helium.

Helium is lighter than air, so there should be less resistance and turbulence. Less turbulence means less power is needed to spin the drive up, which results in less heat generated and a cooler operation temperature. Cooler temps should deliver long life cycles. It’s a very interesting solution for providing a more robust storage architecture. This kind of big storage affects every kind of service we use online today from social networking to streaming video.

HGST says the drives are “generally available now”, but bxpect the first applications to be for corporate storage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see these drives trickling out into consumer grade workstations next year.

Full PR after the jump. Continue reading “Western Digital owned HGST turns to Helium for 6TB hard drive”

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App Review: Top Task List for Windows Phone 8

050Go! Go! Go! It seems like all of us are on the go and multitasking throughout the day. Sometimes we overlook a simple or important task. I believe some organization is called for and the Top Task List app for Windows phones is here to do the trick!

Top Task List was created by Vladimir Pogrebinsky who really thought through of all the details for the functionality of this app. For each and every task, project or reminder   you can organize them by color, date and order of importance. You can pin your task as a tile to your home screen for a quick view to see what needs to get done as well as choosing a custom color for that specific tile. As far as creating your new task is concerned, I will tell you that it is easy breezy! You simply press the add button and begin creating your new task. When creating your new task you will see plenty of options to organize your new task. You can name your new task then add a note and even add a specific person or place to your new task. Another great feature is that you can take a quick photo to add to your task and the ability to add a specific task or a folder to the lockscreen. Continue reading “App Review: Top Task List for Windows Phone 8”

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SomeAudioGuy Top 5 for the week starting Oct. 28th – Apple & Nokia reign supreme!

auto awesome google plus photo editing 3Yup. Apple and Nokia took our top spots last week in terms of tech coverage, with Google sneaking in at the last spot. What was most important to the readers of SomeGadgetGuy last week? Here’s our run down of the most read and most shared.

5. Google announces TONS of new features for Hangouts, Google Plus, Photo & Video sharing 

People still make jokes about G+ being a ghost town, but the insane number of new features and add ons for Google’s social backbone service caught a lot of attention this last week. Whether it was improvements to broadcasting video, or improving the look of your photos online, there was something for everyone during this morning keynote. And of course you can get in on the fun by adding me to a circle…

4. The iPhone 5S in Action! Testing the Speakers and Camera of Apple’s Newest Phone

apple iphone 5s gold speakers headphone jack audio quality review somegadgetguyIn covering smartphones, each review is now so large that we can’t do just one post or one video to fully explain a new device. These two videos are part of our standalone coverage of phone and tablet cameras and speakers. We here at SomeGadgetGuy have the most comprehensive collection of speaker and video tests on the web, testing performance in a variety of scenarios. The iPhone 5S is going to be a hot seller this year, so it’s only fitting you should be able to see how it performs against the competition!

3. Hands on with Nokia’s Lumia 2520 Tablet, 1520 & 1320 Phablets

nokia lumia 1520 hands on video youtubeNokia might be getting swallowed up by Microsoft, but they’re definitely going out with a bang. Introducing the first Windows Phone phablets and a new Windows RT Tablet (which looks like it’ll give the Surface 2 and iPad Air a run for their money), Nokia cemented their position as the premier Mobile Microsoft Manufacturer.

2. A MONSTER Video Review of the iPhone 5S from a Windows Phone/Android User

apple iphone 5s gold camera lens sensor dual LED flash review somegadgetguyBut camera and speaker tests aren’t enough for you folks! You want the FULL run down, and our number 2 story isn’t a surprise. A proper review takes time, and since we’ve had a little time to get to know the iPhone 5S, it’s time to share our experiences using Apple’s new premier handset. How does it stack up when reviewed by an Android user? Watch on friends!

1. Real Person Review: Tony Talks About His Nokia Lumia 925

nokia lumia 925 review (3) charging fatboy wireless somegadgetguyThese reviews are my favorite to write up. While it’s nice knowing what the techie folks think about new gadgets, it’s also nice to check in with “real people”, and see how these devices are working out for them out in the real world. My pal Tony writes up a great post on his experiences making the switch from an iPhone to a Windows Phone. It looks like you readers responded as it was our number one most shared story of the week!

We’re nothing without you readers, and we certainly can’t compete against the big blogs by ourselves. We always greatly appreciate not only the likes, but the sharing on social sites like Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. The more we get to talk with other tech fans, the better we get, and soon we’ll be able to reward that participation with some fun contests coming up soon! 

Thanks for reading, and if you feel we missed a big story this week, or you have a hot tip, please drop us a line on our Contact Page!

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PSA: Unlocked Nokia Lumia 520 for AT&T on sale at RadioShack for $80 – No contract!

nokia lumia 521 review hands on somegadgetguy smartphoneJust a heads up for all you frugal smartphone shoppers out there. Nokia’s littlest smartphone is on sale at Radioshack!

The Lumia 520 is a handy entry level phone, basic specs, but Windows Phone runs very smoothly, and it’s one of the few Windows Phones with an SD card slot to expand the storage. On it’s own, it’s not going to “wow” anybody…

Until you look at it’s price.

If you shop it at Radioshack you can walk out the door with a perfectly capable dual-core phone with a decent screen, good battery life, and a 5MP camera all for $80. I know what you’re thinking. That’s NOT $80 on a two year contract. $80 out the door and you own it. Outright. It’s yours.

You could even shop a phone like this as a “weekender” if you didn’t want to take your nicer phone out for fear it might get messed up out at the beach or on a hike.

If you’re just looking for the basics, phone calls, email, some social networking, it’ll be hard to top this bang for buck player.

Lumia 520 on sale at RadioShack

Related:
Real Person Video Review: Tom Costello chats about his Nokia Lumia 521

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App Review: Phonly RSS Reader for Windows Phone

wp_ss_20131029_0010Phonly is a sweet Feedly RSS reader created by Geek Industries. I actually stumbled upon this app in the Microsoft App store, and I decided to download this highly rated app to see what all the buzz was about.

I’ve never really used a feed reader before but what better time than now to try it out! Soon as Phonly finished installing I opened the app up to give it a go. The first thing I did was create a Feedly account and start adding feeds.  Adding your favorite feeds is pretty straight forward as you can enter a URL, title or topic to find your favorite sites or find a new feed.  You can also create custom categories to keep all your feeds neatly organized.

Phonly has a ton of options on how you would like your feeds to be displayed.  To refresh your feeds, a simple swipe down on the screen and Phonly will automatically refresh all the sites you’re subscribed to! The free (ad-supported) Phonly has a fluid modern UI with a light theme. The dark theme can be purchased in app, which also removes ads. Both the Light and Dark themes are very easy on the eyes.

Some of the key features of Phonly: Continue reading “App Review: Phonly RSS Reader for Windows Phone”

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iFixIt Tears down the iPad Air, Scores low for repair-ability

ifixit ipad air teardownNot terribly surprising, but still something of a bummer.

Not for the Apple faint of heart, but iFixit has worked they’re dissecting tools over Apple’s newest iPad, and the results are somewhat poor. The new iPad Air scores a 2 out of 10 for repairing. It’s part of the trade off for having a powerful and sleek slate, cramming all of the guts into a package that slim is a serious feat of engineering. One which also requires the use of some pretty hardcore glue on the battery.

We should be able to count on a similar score and disassembly process with the new iPad Mini as well.

This continues Apple’s trend of gluing devices shut and locking the consumer out of hardware. It’s standard operating procedure for most tablets, though it’s a touch troubling on laptops and desktops, as their proper computers are becoming more difficult (if sometimes impossible) to upgrade.

Check out iFixit’s tear down, they do a great job of including a little wit while they eviscerate your favorite tech. They also posted this cute little video to show off the iPad’s new guts.

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