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"desktop pcs" news, interviews, and features

News about desktop pcs

  • XI3 announces easy-to-upgrade PC

    Startup XI3 announced a modular computer with components that it says can be easily repaired or upgraded, which could help users save money and keep up with changes in technology.

  • 11 uses for an old PC

    You've finally gone and bought a new PC. It has a boatload of memory, lots of cores, and a fast, modern graphics card. But now your old computer sits in a corner, and although you know it's just a machine, it seems to be sulking like a puppy that missed its morning biscuit. It's weird, but you feel guilty with the whole idea of throwing it out.

  • New MacBook Air: The best ever

    After all the hype about the new MacBook Air releases last week, all the oohing and aahing over the engineering that slipped a significant amount of power and capability into such a tiny package, I was ready to be somewhat disappointed by the new 13.3-inch MacBook Air that arrived on my doorstep earlier this week. I've used every MacBook Air since it was originally released, and I still use an 18-month-old Air for hours and hours every day. What could impress me about the new one? As it turns out, plenty.

  • The top 100 best tech products of 2010

    One of the best parts of our job is looking at hundreds of products every year. Many perform well, some are silly, and a select group rises above the pack. Here are the hardware, software, services, sites, and apps that we decided - after much discussion - stood out this year.

  • Microsoft announces Office 2011 for Mac

    At a product launch event in New York Monday, Microsoft gave the media a day-early peek at Mac Office 2011, which went on sale at retail outlets and via Microsoft this morning. Eric Wilfrid, general manager of Microsoft's Mac business unit, explains how Mac Office 2011 is faster than previous versions, not only in startup, but in the execution of key tasks.

  • 5 criticisms of Mac App Store (and why they're wrong)

    The Mac App Store has the potential to breathe new life into the Mac platform. With Mac marketshare rising and there being a growing number of developers with skill in Objective-C from the iOS side of things, the time is definitely right for a centralized, and familiar-looking app delivery model for the Mac. However, since Apple released the Mac App Store guidelines similar to those for iOS, there has been a fair bit of criticism going around. Here are some of the criticisms I've seen and why they're wrong (or at the very least probably shortsighted).

  • Apple's top 5 back to the Mac announcements

    Apple came roaring back to the Mac on Wednesday by announcing Lion (the next iteration of Mac OS X), two new MacBook Air laptops, FaceTime for Mac, new iLife software and a Mac App Store. Wednesday's announcement comes after nearly 15 months of neglect for Apple's traditional computer business. During its Mac hiatus the company has focused largely on developing iOS devices such as the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone 4 and the new Apple TV.

  • Apple's new MacBook Air: 5 things it didn't get

    The new MacBook Air is certainly a great improvement over previous models - namely the move towards exclusive solid-state storage in a laptop is a welcome paradigm shift. However, there were a few notable oversights in the new models that I'm sure a lot of people are disappointed about. Here are a few of them, and the reasons behind Apple's omissions.

  • The new Mac OS X: What Apple has in store for business

    With all the attention on the iPhone and iPad, you might have forgotten that Apple has a computer called the Mac. Today, Apple is previewing the new Mac OS X operating system, to be released in 2011, about two years after the release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, a refinement of the previous version, Leopard. The company is also previewing new versions of some its Mac software, such as iLife.

  • What Apple won't announce at 'Back to the Mac' event

    In the world of Apple, 2010 has been the year of mobile. The iPad has become such a household name it's amazing that it was only first announced 10 months ago. It's hard to imagine using an iOS device now without multitasking. And let's not forget about a little something called iPhone 4. There was in fact so much activity on the Apple mobile front, you might have forgotten they were once a computer company. That's why Apple's special media event being held tomorrow is aptly titled "Back to the Mac"- to remind us that "Hey, we still make computers too!"

  • Adobe Acrobat X Pro gets a face-lift and improves features

    Adobe Acrobat is a multitalented business application. You can use it to lock down electronic documents, create press-ready color pages, or produce form-laden documents that feed data to a database. But judging from the beta I tried of Adobe Acrobat X Pro ($449 when released in fourth quarter 2010), the latest iteration will be much more Web-aware, and it will be able to bring new life to formerly staid, static electronic documents.