common sense tech

My hunt for the perfect Windows 8 convertible laptop

One of the most exciting things about Windows 8 is the emergence of convertible laptops. They can be tablets! They can be laptops! I've wanted this type of device for ages, and I've been exploring the possibilities.

Ever since I got a MacBook Air about two years ago, it's left me disappointed in one key area. I wish there were times I could just use it like a tablet. Soon after getting it, I abandoned taking an iPad around on trips. There was no need. The MacBook Air gave me the same instant-on access to the Web … Read more

Why Google 'vertical' search shouldn't face antitrust action

It's likely we'll finally see the U.S. Federal Trade Commission make a decision on whether to take antitrust action against Google in the coming days. Among the charges is the idea that Google somehow is being unfair to competitors with "vertical" search. That has been, and remains largely to me, a laughable argument.

If the FTC did take action on this issue, it would be punishing Google for doing exactly what a good search engine should do.

Make no mistake. There are issues where Google deserves some antitrust attention. But vertical search isn't one … Read more

Life in the Microsoft Surface line

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- I'm no stranger to Apple lines. Come prepared with a chair, and a laptop to keep busy, and settle in among the converted. But a Microsoft line? The last time I was in one was for a midnight release of Windows 98. I didn't know what to expect as I joined the line Friday among the Microsoft faithful to get one of the new Microsoft Surface tablets.

I'd called the previous day to the Microsoft Store in my local shopping center, South Coast Plaza, in the Southern California city of Costa Mesa. A … Read more

Print isn't dead, though printer woes make me wish it were

Normally I try to provide thoughtful commentary in the Common Sense Tech column, with solutions to problems that I raise when I can find them. But indulge me in rant. Because, once again, I've had it with printers.

I hate printers. They never seem to work. I don't care the model. I don't care the operating system talking to them. I don't care if it's printing through wireless or USB. Printers don't work.

I print far less than I ever used to, but the odd occasion still comes up requiring it. Often it's that there's some form that requires an actual physical signature be written on it, because some bank, government agency, or other bureaucracy is still operating in the paper age.

With a sigh, I push print and hope that the form actually comes out of the printer. Sometimes it does, which leaves me in dread of the next step -- will I be able to scan it with my signature, in order to e-mail it back. Or worse, can I get the fax to work, if that's the only way to send it? Where's my phone cord again?… Read more

Verizon Galaxy S3 'world phone' coming. But when?

Readers keep asking me for an update. When's Verizon going to make its Samsung Galaxy S3 phones capable of global roaming, as I wrote about in an earlier column. Bad news: Verizon's still not saying when, though it promises the capability will still come.

Let's go back to what I was told by Verizon in June, from my column about using the Galaxy S3 to roam both within and outside the U.S.:

The Verizon model of the Galaxy S3 will be global ready for GSM roaming after a software update that will … Read more

Missing on Mac: Calendar with multiweek view, space for notes

I've written before that one of the hardest things about moving to the Mac from Windows was leaving behind the Windows-version of Outlook, in particular its calendar.

I greatly miss two key features: ample space for making notes related to an event and the multiweek view to see events split across two months. Alternatives for the Mac from Apple, Google, and even Microsoft's own Mac-version of Outlook fail to measure up. That's too bad.

Room for notes Let me start with the importance of allowing room for notes within events. When scheduling a meeting or an appointment, … Read more

Life in the iPhone 5 line: Fashion as a must-have 'feature'

I may write a CNET column called called "Common Sense Tech," but I can't say that I or any of those who were in line with me today for iPhone 5 are showing much common sense. But the iPhone, perhaps more than any other device, illustrates how important a feature that fashion can be, in addition to function, when it comes to tech purchases.

Don't get me wrong. The iPhone 5 is an excellent phone, as our CNET iPhone 5 review covers. As usual, I'm not trying to spark some type … Read more

For iPhone 5, it may be cheaper to jump carriers than upgrade

Note: I wrote this article before pre-ordering kicked in, and I got an entirely new story when I called AT&T today around 9:30 a.m. PT. I was told I could do an early upgrade on my iPhone 4S for an extra $250 fee on top of the two-year contract price, so that a base model 16GB version would be $450 total.

I was transferred from the initial customer service rep who told me this to an "upgrade specialist" after over an hour wait (so be forewarned, if you try today). At first, she … Read more

Rejoice! Kindle FreeTime brings multi-user support to tablets

The biggest game changer from Amazon's Kindle Fire announcement yesterday wasn't the pricing, dual WiFi antennas or Dolby Digital Plus sound. Rather, it was that Amazon became the first major tablet maker to allow different people to have their own accounts on the same device.

Think how commonplace this is for traditional personal computers. Mac or Windows, both platforms allow multiple people to use the same machine, logging in with different accounts that are linked to their own settings, data, applications and perhaps even special restrictions. But for tablets, it's been the dark ages.

I've found … Read more