Hardware

In computerese, if you can touch it, it's hardware. The computer, keyboard, screen, mouse, peripherals, rocks. In computerese, if you can touch it, it's hardware. The computer, keyboard, screen, mouse, peripherals, rocks. ℹ️ Info

Hardware • [19 items]

2015 iPad Pro (1st Gen)
A better iPad. iPad Prois better in every way -- bigger, faster, longer battery life... and more expensive. OK, better in all ways but price. The bigger screen, a keyboard that works, and the iPad fills a niche for me as a great travel/note-taking and entertainment device, when it's not worth bringing out my laptop. Or as a second screen for my laptop.

2016 MacBook Pro (Touch bar)
There's a lot of whining and complaints about the New MacBook Pro's (MBP2016). Some valid, many overstated but heartfelt. But I think the problem was more about messaging than delivery. For me, and most users, it's a great product. But it would be as great without the touch bar.

64 bit
Bits of bits... how many bits should my computer be and why should I care? It mattered before 64 bits (2002 or so). After we got to 64 bit computing, this became ancient history. The idea was if 16 is good, then 32 must be twice as good, and then 64 has to be great. The truths of engineering aren't that clear. 32 bit did 99% of what people needed. 64 covered the rest.

Apple Mouse
Until Steve Jobs came back, Apple could design a mouse. After that, form over function, and they suck. The USB Mouse (Hockey Puck), the Apple Pro Mouse, and the Magic Mouse all suck. Hard! I use a Microsoft Mouse, because even though Microsoft is mediocre at design, they're still better than Apple on Mice.

Apple Watch
Watch is hit and miss for me. Enough value to get me to wear a watch again. Annoying quirks that could be easily fixed. Kevin Lynch was my old boss at Adobe, so I was sort of rooting for him. And I like the idea of wearables, and there are usecases that add enough value. But 7 years, and it still can't keep up-to-date, or have a multi-day battery?

Buying Computers
Forget what everyone tells you about buying a computer, I'm here to give you good advice. When should you move up the line (higher performance), or down the line (lower cost), and why? Where are the best values? Where should you spend your money? These are all just my opinions on what makes sense, but they're pretty objective ones.

Computer Basics
Many people get intimidated or even "scared" of computers, but computers (at their core) are really very simple devices. I can explain how they work, in detail, in one small and simple article.

Digital or Analog
What is Digital? Why not just use analog? Why is digital better? A lot of people hear and use the term "digital", but do not really know what it means. In humans, digital means digits (fingers), in clocks it means that the clock shows the actual digits (numbers) and not a hand that points to the numbers. In computers, digital is another way of saying "binary".

DoodleBook
DoodleBook: I hacked my MacBook by doing a custom paint job (with my own doodle on the inside), and making my MacBook a bit psychedelic. Later, I sold it and swapped the case back -- and kept the doodle.

IPod
The iPod is a little device that is much bigger than people realize. For a complete technology nerd, I'm fairly socially aware and can actually interact with humans as well as hardware. But when something new and cool comes out, my technaholic tendancies tend to come bubbling to the surface. The iPod will be revolutionary in its simplicity.

MHz or GHz
MHz or GHz, what does it mean? It's just clock speed - but that doesn't mean what some people think. Many people assume that MHz (or GHz) is how much work a computer can get done (horsepower): but it's more like RPM's in a car than MPH. If all other things are equal, it can mean the car is going faster, but usually they aren't. So it doesn't translate car to car.

Memory (Permanent)
Computers have a few types of memory; temporary (short-term) or permanent (long-term).Long term memory (or permanent memory) is for things that we want to remember for long periods of time or even if you lose power. In computers, we often do this by "saving" (writing) chunks of memory (files, pages or programs) to some device that is meant to provide our permanent storage.

Memory (Temporary)
Temporary Memory is often called RAM (a kind of temporary memory). A computers memory works a little like a persons memory. We have two types of memory; short term and long term, or in computerese this is called temporary and permanent storage (memory).

Multiprocessing
Mutliprocessing is the concept of using more than one processor (at the same time) to help you accomplish tasks. We sort of capped out (or the rate of improvement dramatically slowed) for single-processing, but the idea of getting computers to do more than one thing at once is still growing exponentially. So let's look at what this means.

Pixelbook

The other day I got a Pixelbook (at a great discount), which Google delivered to my house (same day, with 30 minutes of setup help): an incredible customer experience. For work? The Pixelbook is better than an iPad but worse than a MacBook, with a ton of caveats. iPad is better at single app workflows and iPhone/Mac integration, Pixelbook at multi-apps, keyboard/trackpad/browsing or as laptop replacement.

Printers
Buyers can get befuddled by all the jargon when they are looking at buying a printer; but it really isn't hard. There are only a few basic technologies that are popular right now in printers: Laser Printers, Ink-Jet Printers, and impact printers. (And you don't get many impact printers). So you're mostly just dealing with types of the other two.

RISC or CISC
During the 80s and 90s there was a Computer Chip design war about RISC or CISC. What does that mean, and which is better? For a while, Intel (and AMD) were able to spend more on design and delay the inevitable, but once mobility (with performance per watt) became important, ARM and RISC designs have taken over for x86's older CISC design.

Smart Home
There is no such thing as a smart home: there's a lot of devices that you can interconnect that makes your home more interactive. But Google, Apple and Amazon are playing it from different directions.

What is a bus?
A "bus" is short for omnibus. Omnibus is Latin meaning, "for all". Which is exactly what a bus is -- a way for ALL the devices to talk to each other. Think of it as public transportation for your computer chips or peripherals.

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