upgrade

A somewhat predictable PC upgrade cycle was a welcome fact of life back in the '80s and '90s, but it might be a thing of the past.

Or it might not. Analysts are debating it, and we will find out what they conclude next year.

Here's the brief history. In those long-ago days, PC manufacturers--and hence software developers, chipmakers, and computer dealers--would see a spike in demand every three to four years. Microsoft and Intel would come out with major refreshes of their product lines roughly at that cadence. The whole system of steady upgrade cycles culminated with the … Read more

Adobe has finally published an update to Photoshop Elements for Mac, but the 30-day trial version has yet to be released. The update includes all the features that were included in the Windows upgrade to version 6 back in September, including the dual panels for editing and organizing, the new Photomerge tool, and updates to most of the basic tool set.

There are two new price points as well. An upgrade edition will set you back $69.99, while the full program will run users another $20 extra. CNET's News.com and Download.com have reported on the Windows … Read more

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Notepad2 is a free download that's very small entirely free and has more functions than the notepad that comes with Windows.

Here's how to add it. Download it from your favorite Download site and unzip it to your desktop.

Change the name from Notepad2 to Notepad.

Now a little warning. You are about to mess with system files, so be careful. Don't do it if you're not comfortable.

Open … Read more

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Windows Vista chokes on 1GB of RAM. If you bought a budget desktop, here's your chance to double the memory--and improve system performance considerably--for just 10 bucks. TigerDirect has a Crucial 1GB desktop memory module for just $9.99 after a $10 mail-in rebate.

This is 533MHz DDR2 RAM, a.k.a. PC4200. Make sure your existing RAM operates at the same speed, otherwise you could see some flaky results. Crucial is pretty much tops when it comes to RAM; the stick comes with a lifetime warranty. The rebate … Read more

Windows Vista eats RAM for breakfast. If your notebook has only 1GB, check out Buy.com's deal on 2GB of Crucial PC2-5300 667MHz memory: $24.99 shipped after a $20 mail-in rebate.

This sale consists of a pair of 1GB modules, so you'll probably have to remove your notebook's existing RAM to make room. (Needless to say, you should then head straight to eBay and unload them). Check the manual to make sure the system supports this memory speed and configuration. It's pretty standard, though, so you should be fine. The rebate deal expires Feb. 24.… Read more

A lot of folks were understandably upset when Apple released five new applications for the iPod Touch that currently exist on the iPhone (Mail, Stocks, Notes, Weather, and Maps), and then proceeded to charge $20 for the package. Now, they're even more upset. Apparently, Apple's insistence on selling Touch owners the $20 upgrade is sending some of them into an unending loop of refusal and redirection.

We've been discussing this a lot lately on the Buzz Out Loud podcast. It started when a caller told us that he plugged in his iPod Touch shortly after the new … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The good news is that Leica designed its $5,500 M8 rangefinder camera so its hardware components can be upgraded to ward off the obsolescence that afflicts digital cameras. The bad news is that an upgrade Leica announced this week at the Photo Marketing Association trade show costs 1,200 euros, or about $1,775.

The price includes shipping and replacement of the camera's glass LCD cover and shutter, said Brian Bell, national sales manager for Canada, in an interview here at the trade show.

The new shutter is quieter and has less tension in its spring, making … Read more

Blu-ray may be coasting to a format war victory over archrival HD DVD, but it's still got some mopping up to do in the meantime--namely, improving player compatibility with some of the more popular movies already available. Samsung has begun rolling out firmware upgrades for all of its players to address issues that have plagued some users when watching Blu-ray versions of such favorites as Ratatouille, Spider-Man 3, Live Free or Die Hard, Blade Runner, and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. According to Samsung, the updates will be available as follows: … Read more

It's called the Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate Refresh. It's supposed to be a bug-fixin', feature-enhancin' behemoth that makes Windows Vista leaner, meaner, taller, and sexier.

It'll do your dishes and take out your garbage, too.

Microsoft released this "Release Candidate Refresh" late last week--just one month after the initial release candidate made its debut. The company asserted that it wants additional information from testers, which indicates that even more bugs need to be fixed. But what does RC Refresh really do? Is it really that large? Most importantly, do you need it?

… Read more