I can still remember the first Mac I used: it was a 512K unit that the fine folk at the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link loaned me when they hired me to hack their discussion system and make it faster. At the time I'd just left my job at Hewlett-Packard and had no computer of my own (back then people didn't have computers unless they were hardware hobbyists or could handle cassette backups). To the proffered...

Continue reading about Recommendation: Got a Mac? Get AppleCare!

If you're like most people, you've found yourself at least once in the situation where you have your music library on an old computer that's the system you used to sync with your fancy iPod. No problem, until you get a newer computer or laptop and suddenly find that you can't just switch: iTunes wants to wipe your iPod (or iPhone) before its first sync. Not good at all. There are various ways you can...

Continue reading about Review: iPodRobot Music Copying Utility for Windows

I've gone to the Consumer Electronics Show for years, and generally the innovations there are because something is bigger, faster or brighter (think TVs and audio gear). Occasionally you'll find a company that's rethought a common object -- like, say, an iPod dock -- and done good things with it, but mostly it's the same stuff you saw the previous year, just refined and reengineered. For 2009 the commodity item at the show seems to...

Continue reading about Review: IHearSafe Volume Limiting Earclips

This is the first of many reports we'll be filing from the Consumer Electronics Show, January 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are lots of places to get all the big announcements, so our focus will be on trends and things that catch our eye. Will Interactive Blu-Ray Save the Format? "Dreamer, a leader in interactive TV solutions, announces today that their BIDDLE™ platform will be utilized by Technicolor to offer digital content delivery services...

Continue reading about CES 09: Pre-Show News of Note

What's going to be the big announcement at Macworld this year, Dave? You have an inside track on these things, right?...

Continue reading about What is The Cult of Apple Mac?

I am a big fan of my Apple iPod, but I can't figure out how to have it automatically download the most recent podcast from the podcasts I subscribe to. I think there's something I can do in iTunes to get this to work, but I'm just not exactly sure how to proceed....

Continue reading about How to easily play the most recent podcasts on your Apple iPod or iPhone