We’re home from the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show and while some might be a little worse for wear, it was a great show. Join us as we discuss what we introduced, what we saw, and what we think this year in electronics is going to bring.
OWC Radio is a monthly, forum-based podcast focused on the events and happenings in the Mac community. This week’s hosts are: OWC Grant, OWC Chris S., and OWC Mike H.
Other World Computing today announced its Mercury Elite Pro mini portable external storage solution now features the next generation Oxford 944SE bridge chipset from PLX Technology for faster data throughput, reduced power consumption, and even cooler operation. Offering a “Quad Interface” of FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA connectivity for data transfer speeds up to 300MB/s, the Mercury Elite Pro mini delivers high performance storage/backup to Mac or PC users in a portable, no AC adapter required Plug and Play footprint.
13 “Quad Interface” models offering a variety of speed and capacity options from $99.97: Article Continues…
Has Apple become the Big Brother they rebelled against in 1984? How large should the role of tech be in education? Has internet privacy gone the way of the dodo? Join us as we shake out the answers to these and other burning questions in this month’s episode.
OWC Radio is a monthly, forum-based podcast focused on the events and happenings in the Mac community. This week’s hosts are: OWC Grant, OWC Chris S., and OWC Mike H.
Upgrade to SSD for Faster Mac & PC Laptops Use the Old Drive as a Portable External Drive
Other World Computing announced today the OWC Do-It-Yourself (DIY) SSD Storage Upgrade Kit priced starting at $109.99 MSRP. Available in fourteen configurations with capacities up to 480GB, the OWC DIY SSD Kits let you upgrade your Mac or Windows laptop to the industry’s fastest solid state drives (SSDs) available on the market today.
The OWC DIY SSD Kits Feature:
I have made no secret over the last few years that while there are times I am forced to use Microsoft Office products on my Mac, it’s definitely not my first choice. For everyday writing, I tend to lean more towards Pages, or even Text Edit if I don’t need to worry about fancy layouts or graphics. I just want to get things done, and for years, Microsoft Word simply presented too many inconsistencies and became a resource hog I could do without.
All that being said, I cannot help but be somewhat impressed with some of the new features coming to Office 2011 for Mac. The below video highlights what I am talking about. Article Continues…
Other World Computing announced today that it has been named for the fourth consecutive year to the Inc. 5,000 “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in America” list as a result of a three year growth rate of 41% which placed the LEED Platinum certified, wind powered firm at 175 on the “Top Retail” list and 3,741 on the overall 5,000 honorees list. This exclusive ranking list by Inc. magazine represents a comprehensive look at America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs, defined by Inc. 500/5000 selection methodology as U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent — not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies as of December 31, 2009.
Good news, everyone! Gaming is about to make a surge back to the Mac! “How’s that?” I hear some of you asking, fearful only bad news can follow that line. Well, the answer lies in the helping hands of Valve and its online service, Steam.
The Press Release from Monday confirmed what had been rumored for the past week in gaming circles; Valve will be natively supporting Macs — not emulating! — alongside Windows with all of its own game releases from here on out. Most notable of which will be a simultaneous Mac and Windows release of Portal 2 this holiday season.
If you’re wondering why Steam should be considered a big deal, then you should know that it is the most successful digital distribution system in PC gaming — estimated to be about 70% of the digital distribution games market according to research completed by Stardock.
OK, so Macs will be getting a few more quality games, is that all? Not by a long shot. Here’s the better news, from Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve, “…we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.”
Furthermore: “…Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients.” Article Continues…
So often we are asked in reference to our OWC Instructional Series of Videos, “How exactly am I supposed to ‘Use proper anti-static precautions when performing this upgrade’?” The real answer is…it depends. There are actually several different ways, depending on your situation, that you can help to control static electricity in order to avoid damaging the electronically delicate components found inside your computer.
According to Wikipedia: Static electricity refers to the buildup of electric charge on the surface of objects. The static charges remain on an object until they either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by a discharge. And it’s that discharge that can ‘zap’ or ‘fry’ your computer components, rendering them inoperable.
To give you an idea of how little static electricity needs to be generated to cause harm to your computer components, it takes as little as 5 to 10 volts to cause damage inside your computer. In order for you to even feel the presence of static electricity, the level needs to be above 1,500 volts. You can accumulate an average of 10,000 to 12,000 volts just walking across carpeting. Rubbing a balloon on dry fur (or hair) generates about 20,000 volts. Did you know the average person can carry up to 25,000 volts of static energy at any given time? So discharging any built up energy before you begin is important.
So, how are we to be safe when working in our precious machines? Article Continues…
