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>> Postings for July 2012

Armando Rodriguez - The end of do it yourself

Thu, 26 Jul 2012

Once upon a time, if something broke, you could fix it yourself. Most gadgets were easy to take apart, and a trip to the local Radio Shack or computer specialty store was all you needed to get your computer or television back into tip-top shape. But, as the years have gone by, it's become harder and harder to get into the gizmos you own, and repairing them now requires you to purchase special parts and tools from overseas. Even then, only a few parts can be swapped out, and of course you void your warranty.

Cell phones, tablets, and laptops—the items most likely to become damaged because they are carried everywhere—are the biggest offenders. It makes sense that you'd need a special tool or kit to replace a cracked screen, but why should I have to send away my laptop in order to upgrade the hard drive? Why should I have to be without my phone or tablet for a week while the battery is replaced because it will no longer hold a charge? Not all devices are like this, but the latest and greatest phones, laptops, and tablets of the last year (like the latest MacBook Air) have been composed largely of unopenable hunks of plastic and metal.

Armando Rodriguez | Read more...


Karen Haslam - iPhones just can't take the heat

Tue, 24 Jul 2012

Just in time for the Olympics, it’s finally hot in the UK (for those of you reading this from the US, we’ve been having the wettest summer and spring in forever, and we know you are in the middle of the worst ever heatwave…)

A few of us have been winging about the heat (nobody is ever happy with the weather). It seems that iPhones are also complaining. We’ve just heard from a reader who's iPhone is requesting that he lets it cool down.

Read more...


Christopher Breen - Go outside and play

Mon, 16 Jul 2012

In this month’s How To section, I write about how to configure an old iPad for a child. While I hope most readers will react positively to that story, I also expect a few will insist that exposing a child to an iPad will lead to a machine-dependent future devoid of fresh air and human interaction.

We can all agree that spending 18 hours a day glued to any one thing – a social network or an online game – is the sign of a problem. But in my daughter’s case at least, I’d argue that iOS devices have enhanced her life.

Christopher Breen | Read more...


Simon Jary - Apple vs Microsoft – it's back on

Fri, 13 Jul 2012

With the announcement that Microsoft is to launch its own iPad-killing tablet, the tech world is thrilled at the prospect of a rekindled war between old enemies. Apple versus Microsoft is the classic tech battle. Microsoft is Apple’s Moriarty. The two tech giants are almost mirror images of themselves – Microsoft forever the evil copyist, Apple the plucky innovator.

In the beginning Apple and Microsoft were bosom buddies. Bill Gates was pretty enamoured of the Mac: “To create a new standard, it takes something that’s not just a little bit different. It takes something that’s really new and really captures people’s imagination and the Mac, of all the machines I’ve ever seen, is the only one that meets that standard.”

Simon Jary | Read more...


Simon Jary - Zugzwang and other Apple Zs

Thu, 12 Jul 2012

Concluding my 26-letter A-Z compendium of all things Apple

Apple has always been too cool to be wacky or zany. Look at dull old Microsoft – it tries to be zany every now and again, with cringeworthy results. Steve Jobs appeared the very opposite of zany, although not deathly dull like his successors John Sculley, Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio. Steve was cool, not fool.

Simon Jary | Read more...


Simon Jary - Apple's dodgy Y chromosome

Wed, 11 Jul 2012

Nearing the end of my 26-letter, non-stop A-Z compendium of all things Apple

Steve Jobs didn’t seem the ostentatious sort. Indeed he lived for a long time in a house with practically no furniture, let alone a gold-lined Jacuzzi. For his last 20 years he lived modestly with his family in a simple country house in Palo Alto. Nicer than your house, yes, but not somewhere Donald Trump would feel at home.

Simon Jary | Read more...


Simon Jary - Apple's X Factor Talent Show

Tue, 10 Jul 2012

Continuing my 26-letter, non-stop A-Z compendium of all things Apple

Apple had been planning to completely rewrite its Mac operating system since 1987, and had got itself in a right old mess with a project called Copeland that was about as successful as a North Korean rocket launch.

Simon Jary | Read more...


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