The PC isn't dead, it's just gone 'ultramobile'

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/04/09/pc-mobile-gartner-group-ultramobile/2067417/

This article in USA Today, written by Carol Kopp, caught my attention because I am thinking of getting a desktop PC at home to use as a workstation. I still have my laptop which is good for most of my surfing and presenting. Even with a 64bit processor and operating system 4 MB of RAM is not enough to do some tasks I’d like to play with.

OK, so my laptop is a little old. There are some laptops with 8MB capability and a core i5, but how long till that’s not enough. At least with a desktop I can do some upgrades as needed and afforded.

This ultramoble has my interest. I think I’m going to have to wait till they come out in the Fall and take a serious look and see how they compete for power with a desktop workstation.

My questions to you folks, how many still use or prefer a desktop for your serious work? Have you found a laptop that competes in both power and price? Since I haven’t gone the direction of the tablet yet, what have tasks you found to be limited on tablet that can be done easier or faster on a desktop?

Thanks,

Allen

No TV? 5 million U.S. households bid boob tube goodbye

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/07/zero-tv-homes/2061127/

This article on USA online author Ryan Nakashima wrote, “Some people have had it with TV. They've

had enough of the 100-plus channel universe. They don't like timing their lives around network show schedules. They're tired of $100-plus monthly bills”

This was me a while back. No I did rip everything out in a fit of rage. I did my homework. I checked out the web sites of the channels that I watched to see if the shows I watched were available. They were and I bookmarked each one. I checked to see what I could get from a regular antenna and the cost of this. It all seemed very reasonable.

We bought an antenna and played with it as far as strength and location. We did make a couple trips returning equipment for the next one up. But we did get great reception on the basic channels. To tell you the truth, the definition was noticeably better than the cable signal we were getting. Then we turned the cable off and sat back to enjoy out new disconnected freedom.

Then something happened that this article totally missed. Some of these channels caught on to what I, and may other people were doing, and they were loosing revenue. After a couple months some of these stations developed a catch. They made you have to enter in your service provider and account information to enter their streaming shows. But wait. I turned all that off. Why would I need to watch it on line if I had cable or dish and could watch it there?

They locked me out of my perfect plan of freedom. They had me where they wanted me, buying another dish plan just so I could watch my show on the web. I’ve had this current set up for about a year now. I still don’t like it. Cost too much to watch 3 or 4 shows that are only on 4 to 5 months of the year. It’s time to think of a new plan. Something the whole family will be happy with. I’m open to your ideas.

• What do you use for “TV” entertainment?

• Does it really work for you?

• Do you have a new idea you’re thinking of trying?

Put it in the comments and let everybody know.

Thanks,

Allen

When Should You Upgrade your Router?

http://www.pcmech.com/article/when-should-you-upgrade-your-router/

I was looking for something else when I saw the headline of this article and a familiar scream rang in my head. The sound when my wife is player her games and I'm watching Netflix both on the internet at the same time and our computers start slowing down to a crawl.

OK, so maybe our laptops are a little on the old side. We have talked about replacing them. But what about our DSL modem/router? We've had this for, let's see, how old is our grandson?? Oh yeah, 6 years!!!

Time flies when you’re not paying attention to that box with the blinking lights. So it's time to start shopping, at least while I have a little time. Or maybe I'll just wait till it... No not a good idea. I'll start looking. Tomorrow...