As most of you know, netbooks became a fad for a while a couple of years back. With the recession in full force, folks welcomed the chance to buy a small but supposedly fully-equipped Windows note-book for a pittance. Indeed, prices often dipped below $300, although manufacturers soon piled on the features in order to […]

I suppose this is the sort of uncertain question that many ask in one form or another whenever Apple or Microsoft releases a major OS upgrade. Early so-called “version one-point-zero” bugs appear, one or two quick updates are released, and you have to wonder whether they might have done better to wait rather than rush […]

In Apple’s efforts to simplify installing Lion on your Mac, they’ve made things more difficult. First, you have to download a copy, at least for now. Later this month, Apple will release a USB-based installer at $69, a $40 surcharge. Now I’m not about to attempt to explain why Apple needs to charge more than […]

The scenario isn’t uncommon. Your Mac is suffering from constant crashes, or other system anomalies, so you decide, or a technical support person suggests, that you reinstall the OS. In the past, this wasn’t so serious an issue. You got your most recent system DVD, mounted it, and launched the installer. With Lion the rules […]