208 replies to this topic

[garjones]

EDIT: Actually, maybe I'm just a good shopper but the only piece of tech that I've bought in the last decade that I thought was truly a piece of shit was an X-Box 360.

They really don't break that often (well maybe except the X-Box, I know many that say they are on their 4th or 5th machines). It's just the old truism that when they do people bitch and moan to 50 people and when they don't they just happily carry on without stating their Toshiba laptop is working fine today.

As I said an engineer call you'd get from a PC manufacturer on their standard 1 year warranty is $100+ down the drain if you include the cost of the call centre, the part, the logistics etc. It doesn't take much to realise that if they sell these things for $300-400 at entry level and a 10 - 20% profit margin a high failure rate would make them bankrupt within months (X-Box will survive as consoles are sold as loss leaders anyway and they make money from the games).

I know because it used to be my job to record the numbers and track they weren't increasing that on average 5% of computers we made would have a hardware failure over the usual 3 year warranty period. Now that's just one example (the PC and laptop market that I know about) but looking at that type of number and if you had repeat failures you've been very unlucky indeed.

Even while I had a little moan about my iPod being a bit buggy, it does work.

[brucegray666]

I know Apple users have a reputation for loving their products but bloody hell, this is taking it too far...

http://www.geekosystem.com/fleshlight-holder-ipad-case/

Fleshlight-Holding iPad Case is Just as Creepy as It Sounds

Are you speechless, or just surprised no one thought of this earlier? Behold: The Fleshlight Holding iPad Case for all your, you know, needs. Let’s not qualify that with an adjective; it speaks for itself. Now, it’s worth noting two things here. This is neither a real thing — it’s a concept mockup — nor is it officially endorsed by Fleshlight in any way, shape, or form. Last thing we need is letters from Fleshlight to start showing up at the Geekosystem office. But yeah. This is a thing someone thought of. Welcome to the future, everyone.

UPDATE: According to Gizmodo, who got in touch with Fleshlight COO Brian Shubin, this thing actually is going to be an official Fleshlight product at some point in the future.

[Ricardo_C]

So I mostly play retro games on my PC (emulated console/arcade games, classic PC games, etc.), which means I don't need a terribly powerful PC. But with Skyrim out there teasing me, Doom IV on the way, and me taking up digital painting as a hobby/challenge, I think it's time I gave my PC a proper upgrade. While it's a pretty decent machine (quad-core CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive), it's sorely lacking in the graphics department. With my birthday coming up, wifey has given me the greenlight to blow some cash on a proper video card. Can you guys help me choose a capable video card with between 512MB-1GB video RAM, in the $100-$200 range?

[David Chapman]

So I mostly play retro games on my PC (emulated console/arcade games, classic PC games, etc.), which means I don't need a terribly powerful PC. But with Skyrim out there teasing me, Doom IV on the way, and me taking up digital painting as a hobby/challenge, I think it's time I gave my PC a proper upgrade. While it's a pretty decent machine (quad-core CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive), it's sorely lacking in the graphics department. With my birthday coming up, wifey has given me the greenlight to blow some cash on a proper video card. Can you guys help me choose a capable video card with between 512MB-1GB video RAM, in the $100-$200 range?

nVidia 560Ti should fill your needs.

[Ricardo_C]

It does look pretty sweet. Thanks, David!

[Todd Gross]

For your iPhone 4/4s: Opena Case

[al-x]

Hello:

The Ipad 3 is scheduled to be released next month.
It will be interesting to see it up close.


Al...

[garjones]

I take it you'll be an early adopter on that one Al?

[Steve Sensible]

I take it you'll be an early adopter on that one Al?

I think that's another thing of Al's from which we've got to "get over and move on".

[al-x]

Hello:

Actually, my cousin bought an Ipad 2 and I have to visit him to,
among other things, check it out.

Here's an interesting article:

Apple’s introduction of the iPad 3 is cleverly planned to coincide with the massive CeBIT trade show in Hannover, Germany, in early March. This means that I’ll be forced to miss the lines that are sure to stretch for blocks, the madness, the pepper-spraying of fellow customers. But I’ll still have to make a decision about whether to drop another $500 on a second iPad, assuming Apple keeps the same pricing structure it has in the past, which it probably will.

For people who don’t have an iPad, but know they’ll need one, the decision is fairly easy. Wait a month and buy the new one when it shows up at Wal-Mart at a $3 discount. For everyone else, there are a number of questions you should ask yourself to decide whether you want to buy one, or just keep using what you already have.

• 
  Do you need the new Retina Display? This will give the iPad 3 much higher resolution, which will make photo viewing a better experience, and it will give you television and movies in true high definition. I use an iPad in conjunction with my photography, so for me, this is an easy decision.
• 
  Are you planning to use the camera? The original iPad didn’t have a camera, and that’s the model I have. The iPad 2 had a camera, but it was dreadful. While I’d never use the iPad 3 camera for anything involving serious photography (I’m lusting over the new Nikon D-800 so you can see what I mean about photo quality), it would be handy to be able to fire off a quick snapshot while I already have the iPad out anyway. Maybe I could use it for photos from airliner windows.
• 
  Are you doing anything that would take advantage of the higher-speed processor? We don’t know for sure whether the new processor on the iPad 3 will be dual-core or quad-core, and I’m not certain whether it will matter to most people. But the new display needs to have a better processor so that it can display video properly.
• 
  Will you need Long-Term Evolution technology? The new iPad may have LTE available. It might not. Verizon certainly has enough LTE coverage to be useful, if you need it. But to date, I haven’t found that I need anything other than WiFi, so it may not matter to you.
• 
  Do you want Siri, assuming it’s included? Apple’s Siri personal assistant could certainly function on an iPad, but to be really useful, Siri needs access to GPS and it probably needs at least a 3G data connection. Currently, you can’t get GPS in a non-3G iPad. Right now, there’s no way to know whether this will remain the case in the iPad 3, or whether Siri will be offered on this platform. If you have your heart set on talking to Siri, maybe you should consider an iPhone.
• 
  Will the iPad 3 really meet your needs? While the iPad 3 will clearly have some very nice features, before you give into iPad 3 lust, remember that there are some other very capable tablets out there. The Samsung and Motorola tablets based on Android are very nice, have slightly different form factors and they have some apps that don’t exist for the iPad. Plus, if you're an Android user, there’s some value in the consistent user interface.
• 
  Can you deal with the ethical issues of buying an iPad? By now, you’ve heard about the difficult conditions in the Foxconn factories where the iPads are built. Are you comfortable with that? Samsung builds its tablets in Korea, with far better conditions. Motorola builds the Xoom in its own factories, using its own employees. If Apple’s labor issues concern you, then not buying an iPad is one way to express your concern.

Obviously, the list above is far from the full list of things you may think about when the iPad 3 comes out in early March. But these points should at least kick-start your decision process. One important thing to think about with the iPad 3 is that it appears to be a much greater leap beyond the iPad 2 than the iPad 2 was beyond the original iPad. When the iPad 2 was released, I couldn’t find a reason to replace my original iPad. The upgrade wouldn’t do any better at letting me view photos, it wouldn’t let me use its e-reader features any more effectively, and it didn’t have any new apps that I needed and couldn’t get on the original.

But the iPad 3 will be a big enough improvement to actually consider, even if you have an iPad 2. If you need the new features and the iPad 3-only apps, then this might be time to go looking for that $500 you’ve socked away somewhere. As long as you can deal with the ethical issues.

I may have to reconsider my decision tree.


Al...

[garjones]

I may have to reconsider my decision tree.

The iPad 4 will have better features, I'd say hold out for that one.

[al-x]

The iPad 4 will have better features, I'd say hold out for that one.

Ha, ha... I won't wait out forever although it appears that way to
you, Mr. Sensible, and so on.


Al...

[The Lorcan Nagle]

The iPad will be like every other Apple product - over priced and under featured. You will always be able to buy a better product for less money, it just won't be the same status symbol as an iProduct.

[Arjan Dirkse]

The iPad 4 will have better features, I'd say hold out for that one.

it would be kind of interesting if they said, "Look this is the best gadget that is humanely possible, we're not going to make a new one ever again."

It could be a great marketing trick to get stragglers like Al-X to get an I-pad.

[al-x]

The iPad will be like every other Apple product - over priced and under featured. You will always be able to buy a better product for less money, it just won't be the same status symbol as an iProduct.

You are so right Lorcan, but that is just the thing... It is an I-product.



Al...

[Russell H]

And that's why I'll never buy one. I know I can get far more and far better for my money elsewhere.

[Sanjay]

On a related note, having looked at Carlos's ipad 2, I was thinking of getting a ipad 3 for reading comicbooks & books on, when it comes out - would you knowledged chaps have a recommendation on something similar/cheaper that's not apple made?

[Steve Sensible]

I have a Motorola XOOM, which I love. I think the best Android tablet so far is the Samsung Galaxy. No idea what the price difference is to an iPad these days, but either one makes a great comic reader. Gar also has an Android tablet - can't remember which one though.

[The Lorcan Nagle]

We've a couple of iPads and some Samsung Galaxies in work - the SAmsungs are far nicer. There's other good competition as well - Archos have been making tabs for years now, I've never used one but for my money they're the best MP3 player producers on the market, so they've got a good pedigree at least.

You are so right Lorcan, but that is just the thing... It is an I-product.



Al...

Is the logo that important to you, Al?

[al-x]

Hello:


Yes.



Al...