Tag Archives: CNET.com.au

Mobile Offices & Comfortable Mice

  By Alex | June 9, 2011 - 4:27 pm | Published
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Over at Geekspeak, my weekly column has looked at the mobile office concept through the prism of the smartphone. By way of that brother of mine — the one I’m frequently mistaken for. I don’t know why — his hair looks totally different to mine.

Is the mobile office a reality right now? “The concept of carrying a single, small device to do all your on-the-go work is becoming more and more realistic…”

Meanwhile, at CNET.com.au, I’ve written up yet another Microsoft mouse:

Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000: “The Comfort Mouse is a basic mouse option at a basic price. Nothing fancy, but nothing terrible, either.”

Expressive Mice, Telstra Broadband Deals and Yet More Android Musings

  By Alex | June 8, 2011 - 3:48 pm | Published
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It’s been a very busy week… and it shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Over at CNET, I’ve reviewed a mouse. As I explain in my review, it’s just a mouse…

Microsoft Express Mouse: “Back in the late 1980s, Madonna insisted that it was important that you “Express Yourself”. A year earlier, pioneering hip hop artists N.W.A. did the same, albeit with a little help from Charles Wright along the way…”

At PC & Tech Authority, I’ve taken a look at Telstra’s current push for better broadband value in the context of full bundled plans.

Telstra Home Broadband: The State Of Play: “Is the ISP that’s traditionally been Australia’s most expensive becoming Australia’s best value? We look at the numbers to work out what’s happening with Telstra’s home broadband offerings.”

And at Hydrapinion, my second week of switching from iOS to Android continues by way of Pulp Fiction. No, really…

Can an iPhone user switch to Android for a month? Part 2: The Little Differences “I’m still not sure whether Android is Vinnie Vegas or Jules Winnfield, however. And after this week’s reveal of the features coming in iOS5, I’m even not sure they’re different characters at all.”

Cloudy Puns & Tony Stark’s Mouse

  By Alex | June 7, 2011 - 3:18 pm | Published
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I’ve not written a lot of stories about the Cloud, which probably marks me out as exceptional amongst Australia’s IT journalist community. Even the games journos who only cover Barbie-themed games have written a few Cloud pieces by now. So today, I broke with that silence via an analysis of Apple’s announcement of iCloud overnight at the ABC’s Technology & Games portal:

Is Apple’s future in clearing up the cloud, or raining with problems? “In case you’re seeing cloud and thinking white fluffy bringers of precipitation, a quick primer…”

Meanwhile, over at CNET.com.au, an Arc Mouse. No, not the type that powers Iron Man’s armour, although it’d probably shift a few more units if it did. Or be prohibited from export by the US Military.

Microsoft Arc Touch: “It’s rather like what we’d imagine The Terminator would feel like if he were a Muppet.”

Wireless, Printers, Mice, Keyboards, Phones, Fights & Additional Awesome

  By Alex | May 16, 2011 - 2:36 pm | Published
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Another week kicks off, and with it a fresh menu of delicately prepared articles. Today, Chef Alex recommends:

At PC & Tech Authority, one part of the massive mobile broadband feature I’ve mentioned previously has gone up, detailing Optus’ test results:

Optus wireless broadband reviewed: “Optus’ network performance remains impressive, but…”

At CNET.com.au, an inexpensive printer with a terribly confusing print ink estimate scheme goes under my purview:

Canon Pixma MX885: “Canon’s small office multifunction is something of a bargain in the features stakes, although there are a few trade-offs in utility that make that possible.”

Telstra seems to think its latest Smartphone is (and I quote the advertising, both in words and pictures) AWESOME. I’m not quite so taken.

Telstra Smart-Touch: “After all, if a company as big as Telstra says it’s AWESOME, it must be so, right?”

And in this month’s PC User (on sale at newsagents now), I’ve got reviews of the Sony Xperia Play, Nintendo 3DS, Jabra Stone 2, Netgear NeoTV 550, Wintal DCR10W, Huawei Ideos X5, HTC HD7, Nokia E7, a whopping sixteen different Mice and Keyboards (tougher to test than you might think, even though one of them was waterproof), Motorstorm: Apocalypse and Fight Night Champion.

 

Whew. That’s a lot of dishes to prepare. I think it’s time for a break… but no, more customers await…

Mono Printers And Potential Prime Time TV Plug

  By Alex | May 2, 2011 - 10:17 am | Published
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An interesting start to the week. First off, over at CNET, a monochrome multifunction laser printer:

Fuji Xerox DocuPrint M205b: “Fuji Xerox’s inexpensive multifunction monochrome laser delivers pleasing printing results, but small businesses need to keep its lack of networking in mind.”

OK, OK, mono lasers aren’t that thrilling, all things considered.

The other, slightly more interesting thing for the day may not even happen, depending on the news for the day. But, optimistically speaking, an interview I recorded last week for the program that used to be called “The 7:30 Report” — but is now just called “7:30” — on Sony’s PSN outage woes — should air. I’ll be interested to see what bits they use, especially as the story has progressed a little since then. Bonus points for anyone who can name *all* the games on the shelf behind me. It’s on ABC1, and I’ll let you work out the time it airs…

All Things M: Mega, Meandering And Ms Tate…

  By Alex | April 27, 2011 - 11:20 am | Published
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This week’s Hydrapinion covers my personal thoughts on the fact that my iOS devices are watching me right now, by way of Catherine Tate and a dated catchphrase reference:

Apple’s iPhone Snooping: Am I Bovvered? “Does codswallop come in smaller portions than loads?”

Then at CNET.com.au, a colour LED printer that’s not exactly fast:

Fuji Xerox DocuPrint CP205: “Fuji Xerox’s colour laser is relatively quiet and delivers good quality prints, but not in any kind of hurry.”

And a modem that might not quite qualify as Mega, but it’s certainly an improvement:

Vodafone Mega Modem: “Vodafone’s new modem isn’t entirely mega, but it did show us the promise of better speeds than we’re used to seeing out of the carrier.”

Elite WiFi And Expensive Mini Systems

  By Alex | April 21, 2011 - 11:12 am | Published
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When I think of Elite, I tend to think of… well… Elite.

When Telstra thinks of Elite, it thinks of something slightly different, as I’ve covered today for CNET.com.au:

Telstra Elite Mobile Wi-Fi: “Telstra’s Elite Wi-Fi modem improves on the original in almost every way, but data costs are still a problem.”

Meanwhile, still at CNET.com.au, that old problem of Australians paying way over the odds for gadgets rears its ugly head, courtesy of Yamaha:

Yamaha MCR-040: “Why are we being slapped with an additional near AU$200 on the asking price simply for being Australian?”

I’ve sometimes been accused of being something of a head case…

  By Alex | April 19, 2011 - 9:26 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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But today I went head to head with a hangar of full of Samsung products and only 30 seconds to make them interesting

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(and yes, it’s yet another 30 Seconds Of Tech starting with the letter S. No, I don’t know why either)

Before dealing with more than a dozen iPad 2 cases over at CNET.com.au:

Best iPad 2 cases in Australia: “The iPad 2. It’s thin, it’s shiny, and at the time of writing, it’s in astonishingly short supply relative to demand. If you have managed to get your hands on an iPad 2, it would be wise to protect it with some sort of case. But which case is best?”

Notebooks aplenty, media streamers, portable gaming and 90 Seconds Of Tech

  By Alex | April 7, 2011 - 6:46 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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My, I’ve been a busy boy this week. But enough about me. What do you think of me?

Before you answer, consider this week’s offerings, which have been keeping me up late at nights. Mostly because that’s when I’ve been able to work this week.

First up, this week’s Hydrapinion, which pits Nintendo’s glossy 3D-capable handheld against Sony Ericsson’s Crash-enabled smartphone. Except in this case, Crash is a good thing.

3DS or Xperia PLAY? “I’ve spent a lot of time over the past week playing with two different, very game centric portable devices…”

Then over at CNET.com.au, a regular deluge of content. Firstly, a media streamer I wanted to like a whole lot more than I eventually did:

AC Ryan Playon!HD2: “The Playon!HD2 is an unusual mix of excellent format support with terrible documentation, serious stability issues and whacky GUI control choices. It’s inexpensive, but unless firmware updates can address the control and stability issues, it’s a poor choice.”

Then a tablet notebook with an exorcist-style spinning head:

Fujitsu Lifebook TH550: “The Lifebook TH550 is a well-built system with the kind of expected high price tag that Fujitsu usually applies to its PC wares. It’s a nice convertible tablet for the business market, but those on a tighter budget may wish to look elsewhere.”

Then another Tablet notebook, this one almost impossibly light:

Panasonic Toughbook CF-C1: “If your work environment would kill a regular tablet, Panasonic’s CF-C1 could be just the ticket, and a surprisingly light ticket at that. It will, however, leave your wallet feeling similarly light.”

And finally an inexpensive but unexciting laptop, just to maintain cosmic balance. Or something like that.

HP G62-400: “HP’s G62-400 isn’t a stunning laptop — it’s just a fairly priced budget model for those who want a basic laptop.”

Finally, in the world of me improving my video shooting/editing skills (and drooling over but not yet reviewing shiny new technology products), not one, not two, but three new 30 Seconds Of Tech videos

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Balls, Phones and Games

  By Alex | March 29, 2011 - 2:06 pm | 30 Seconds Of Tech, Published
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Another busy day sees yet more content going live. First up, at CNET.com.au, a review of a very nice trackball. I’m going to be sad to see this one go back, frankly:

Kensington Orbit Trackball with Scroll Ring: “The design of the Orbit ball makes it stand out from the trackball crowd, which traditionally goes for a bright red design that usually ends up giving off a distinct Hal 9000 vibe.”

Then in the 30 Seconds Of Tech field, business is picking up. Firstly, yet another S-themed 30 Seconds:

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And then an entry brought to you by the letter ‘N”

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(and yeah, I know, the music’s the same in both of them. You weren’t here for the disco, were you?)