Smartphones outsold computers for the first time in 2011 according to data from marker research firm Canalys.

Full year shipments for smartphones totalled 487.7 million units, higher than the total number of PCs which is 414.6 million units.

Total smartphone shipments rose 63 percent in 2011, up from 299.7 million shipped in 2012. The PC market only grew by 15 percent, despite an increase of 274 percent in the tablet PC subcategory.

The PC category included desktops, netbooks, notebooks and tablet PC devices.

Fourth quarter shipments were part of the driving force behind the impressive smartphone sales, with smartphone vendors shipping 158.5 million units. This was up 57 percent from 2010.

Canalys expect the smartphone market growth to slow in 2012 as manufacturers start to focus on profitability.

Source:http://mybroadband.co.za/news/quick-news/42839-smartphones-overtook-pc-shipments-in-2011.html

The growth in mobile platforms has made wireless hardware vendors the top consumers of silicon components for the second straight year.

A report from research firm IHS found that wireless manufacturer spending on semiconductors topped even that of PC manufacturers.

Overall, the firm estimated that vendors spent $58.6bn on components for wireless devices, compared to $53.7bn for computers.

Wireless spending has outpaced computer spending for two of the past three years, and analysts expect the gap to widen in the coming years. Over the past year, computer spending climbed by four per cent, while wireless spending climbed by 14.5 per cent in 2011.

For 2012, IHS projects wireless spending to hit $65.1bn, while PC semiconductor costs will decline slightly to $53.5 before recovering in 2013.

“A substantial portion of the segment’s increase will be due to rising tablet sales, although mobile handsets like smartphones will continue to account for the lion’s share of semiconductor segment in the wireless area,” said IHS analyst Wenlie Yi.

“The market for desktops and notebooks has stumbled in the shadow of smartphones and tablets, whose portability and computer-like features have usurped the position of the once-mighty PCs.”

The semiconductor and hardware manufacturing spaces saw a tumultuous year in 2011. Much of the industry ground to a halt in the wake of a chain of disasters in Japan and later by flooding in Thailand.

The year also saw the mobile space reach new heights. The continued success of Apple’s iPhone and iPad models was joined by record sales for Android lines and the emergence of the Windows Phone platform.

Source:http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2143129/gap-widens-wireless-pc-hardware-spending

Back in the mid-1970‘s a young engineer named Steve Wozniak pitched his boss at Hewlett-Packard on his idea for building a personal computer. Back then, computers were offered as kits designed for techies to build, not the finished, consumer products they are today. HP told Wozniak it wasn’t interested so he went on and joined his pal Steve Jobs to start a company called Apple Computer.

Fast forward about 35 years and Apple is looking in the rear view mirror at HP as it just passed the computer giant as the leading volume producer of PCs in the world, according to the latest research by Canalys covering the fourth quarter of 2011.

The biggest factor in Apple’s favor in the results is that research firms like Canalys now count tablets as PCs. Apple shipped over 15 million iPads and 5 million Macs in the quarter, giving it 17% of the total 120 million PCs shipped globally in Q4.

Tablet sales also boosted the total PC market (desktops, netbooks, notebooks and tablets) into positive growth territory for the quarter. Canalys says that minus tablets the PC market actually declined 0.4% compared to the same quarter a year ago; with tablets the overall market grew 16% from a year ago.

Of the top five PC vendors Canalys said that only Lenovo managed to increase its market share, a mere two points, compared to Apple’s six-point gain over the same quarter a year ago. Acer, Dell and HP – the hardest hit – all lost market share.

Canalys says one of HP’s key challenges will be to regroup following it’s disastrous launch of the TouchPad that the company chose to discontinue after only about six months on the market.

“Currently, HP is pursuing a Windows strategy for its pad portfolio, producing enterprise-focused products, such as the recently launched Slate 2, until the launch of Windows 8,” said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. “However, questions remain over Microsoft’s entry into the consumer pad space. While early demonstrations of the Window 8 operating system seem promising, Microsoft must focus its efforts on creating an intuitive user experience that is far less resource intensive.”

Pads accounted for 22% of total PC shipments during Q4 2011. In addition to Apple’s strong performance, Canalys notes that two new tablet entries, the Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet by Barnes and Noble, helped boost tablet sales in the U.S. with Kindle Fire claiming second place behind the iPad and the Nook Tablet coming in 5th for market share.

Could Ultrabooks challenge tablets?
Looking ahead, Canalys says the new generation of Ultrabooks promoted by Intel and its many hardware partners will take some time to have a serious impact on the market. Ultrabooks are very thin and lightweight, Windows-based notebooks similar conceptually to Apple’s MacBook Air.

“We expect Ultrabook volumes to see limited adoption through the first half of 2012, before finally gaining momentum later in the year as price points decline and Intel launches a new line of processors and embarks on an aggressive marketing campaign,” said Canalys Research Analyst Michael Kauh. “In the short term though, vendors will experience more pressure in the netbook and notebook segments, especially with Apple’s annual iPad refresh approaching.”

Numerous reports suggest Apple will unveil a successor to the iPad, dubbed the iPad 3, either next month or in April.

Source:http://tabtimes.com/news/ittech-stats-research/2012/01/31/ipad-pushes-apple-top-global-pc-market-past-hp

You’ve probably been hearing for a few years now that PC gaming is floating dead in the water, but I’ll be the first to tell you that it isn’t. As a matter of fact, it’s on the rise, and if trends continue, we’ll be seeing it as a dominant platform like it was earlier in the century. That’s a pretty strong statement, but there are several reasons that gamers are looking to the personal computer for their entertainment solution, and we’ve decided to compile a concise list of reasons that you should seriously consider getting into PC gaming.

Less Money, Mo’ Hardware

Prices are lower than ever before, especially with technology being as advanced as it is along with simple economics playing in favor of the consumer. You don’t have to sell a kidney anymore to buy a powerful PC. As detailed in my recent article, PC Gaming is Cheaper Than You Think, you can get yourself a considerably potent computer for less than $600. New technology has not only increased performance, but efficiency as well. It’s feasible to play games on laptops and smaller form factor PCs that put out very little heat and provide a stimulating visual experience that consoles simply can’t compete with right now.

A Game Library That Counts

A new StarCraft II expansion will be arriving this year alongside another massive World of Warcraft expansion which is sure to trigger another epidemic of people taking days off school and work to play video games. Diablo III will be joining them soon, and while that will also be on consoles, Guild Wars 2 and Dota 2 won’t. There are some extremely attractive games arriving on PC this year, including but certainly not limited to multi-platform blockbusters such as Mass Effect 3, Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, and Hitman: Absolution. Needless to say, you have a lot of options, and being able to plug in your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 controller means you can play games from an extensive library the way you want.

Consoles Are Showing Their Age

512 megabytes of memory? That’s so last century. It’s hard to believe that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have been able to last so long with severe limitations, but they have. However, their time is limited, and at this point they’re simply limping along with osteoporosis. We haven’t seen a new console announced from either camp yet, so chances are that the new generation will begin in 2013 at the soonest. What that means is that not only are PCs currently more than 10 times as powerful, but that number will continue to grow leaving a massive disparity.

If you recall, Battlefield 3 only supports 24 players on consoles, while the PC version has a range of up to 64 players, and in a game where the goal is to simulate a war, numbers matter. That’s just one of many examples of how hardware affects you directly. Spare yourself the heartache and get ahead with a PC that’ll last you well into the future.

Who Needs Real Life?

Playing on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network is satisfactory, but PCs have social gaming in the bag. Playing games like World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II with the ability to type to everyone and use voice communciation software for teamwork without the fear of group size limitations or Xbox Live fees can’t be emphasized enough. Nearly every online game that allows more than 32 players to play together is PC exclusive, so if you’re into socializing in your video games and meeting people, PCs are your best bet.

Mods Are The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Not many people know this but virtually every PC game available can be modded one way or another. What this does is allow you to customize the game in any way imaginable. With games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, this is a huge deal. The mod community is huge and shopping for mods to tweak your game is like going to your local game shop with a $200 gift card you found. It’s practically free content, and adds value to every game you play.

So there you have it, just a few reasons why you should join the fray and either build a PC or upgrade the one you already have. You’re probably content with sitting on your comfortable couch while playing Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, but you’d be surprised how much you’re really missing out on. If you decide that you’re ready to make the jump but have no idea what to buy, check out our PC build guide to get an idea of what’s hot, and what you need to get started.

Source:http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/2012-is-a-great-time-to-start-pc-gaming-and-this-is-why

After years of alternating between misjudging and flat-out ignoring the personal computing gaming space, I can now officially state that I am a PC gamer. I have Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to thank. And the Xbox 720, Wii U, and PS4 won’t coax me back.

Thanksgiving weekend I dropped some cash on a refurbished Asus laptop that houses a mid-range ATI-powered GPU. My intentions, honestly, weren’t to procure a rig capable of playing games; I simply desired an extremely lightweight portal computer that I could use to edit video shot during the team’s trek to events such as E3 and PAX. My old school Mac Mini, which features a three-year old Intel GPU, processes HD video at a snail’s pace. So, as I went about installing my most vital and cherished programs–Dropbox, Chrome, Jarte, Skype, and a handful of others–it sank in: my laptop has a real GPU that will let me play games more complex than Plants vs. Zombies.

Now, I haven’t hardcore PC gamed since City of Heroes debuted. That prospect of running around a virtual world in a cape and tights so enticed my inner Comic Book Guy that I purchased a Nvidia card and plopped it into my Dell desktop. That was 2004. The reason why I hadn’t gone PC before that (or after) was all about comfort and familiarity, really. I love controllers and joysticks, fighters and action games. The thought of a mouse and keyboard, RTS and dungeon crawlers did not appeal to me on any level. PC gaming was for the Starcraft-obsessed–you didn’t have any real fun on the platform. Right?

But I’m experiencing increased frustrations with console gaming. The walled gardens disgust me, as does the idea that you pretty much have to keep a stockpile of retro systems in your closet should you have the longing to fire up a game from an older generation. The latter gripe stings more than the former as this console generation proved that you can’t rely on manufacturers to keep their backward compatibility promises or developers to drop 100-percent accurate emulated ports in virtual marketplaces. Freedom of choice beckoned, and PC gaming answered the call.

My first order of action was to ownload Steam. My PC gaming comrades lavished it with much praise. I immediately saw why! The sales, community, sales, achievements, and sales immediately impressed. Humble Indie Bundle 4 debuted in the same time frame, which included the likes of Shank, Super Meat Boy, and Bit.Trip Runner, and other excellent, lightweight 2D games. On the surface, they don’t showcase PC gaming’s graphical prowess, but do demonstrate that you can snatch up several excellent titles for dirt cheap without a middleman serving up a hefty dose of shenanigans. It also proved that I could have a console-like gameplay experience as I popped in my Xbox 360 controller, downloaded the appropriate driver, and went to town.

I also found AAA titles a-plenty ranging from strategy games to hack-and-slash action-RPGs. But I returned to my superhero MMO roots by recreating one of my old City of Heroes characters in Champions Online–a MMO that recently went the free-to-play route. My first adventure saw my creation, Dr. Twilight, BAM!ing and POW!ing his way through an alien-infested metropolis. I had to reacquaint myself with the decidedly clunky keyboard-based control scheme, but I had fun. Lots of it. There are certain limitations in place for free-to-play users when it comes to archetypes and powers, but you can still have a wonderful MMO experience without reaching for the wallet–and there are tons of other quality games using that “pay-for-extras-and-premium-content” business model. How many console games do that?

Plus, PC gaming gives me the opportunity to move onto better hardware at my own pace–with consoles I’m shackled to console manufacturers’ release schedules. Granted, my laptop isn’t as upgrade-friendly as a desktop, but I did add more RAM, replaced the operating system, and added a speedy solid-state drive. That’s far more flexibility than any console has presented to the gaming public. Have you seen Battlefield 3 on PC? Good, god!

Source:http://www.2d-x.com/sony-nintendo-and-microsoft-made-me-a-pc-gamer/

When you hear the word Kindle, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For most people, this would be Amazon’s smash hit e-book device, with its svelte looks and crisp e-ink display. But even if you don’t want to shell out for a separate device, you can still enjoy many of the Kindle’s benefits for no charge, thanks to Kindle for PC.

With its range of powerful, dedicated hardware device, Amazon could almost be expected to neglect its Windows application. Instead, it has continued developing it, added compelling features, and made it into one of the best e-book reader applications available for Windows today.

When you first launch Kindle for PC, it prompts you to log on to your Amazon account. Once you do, your books are displayed with beautiful cover images. Double-click a book, and it instantly downloads to your computer.

Once on your computer, double-click the book again to start reading. If it is a book you bought on Amazon and started reading on another device, Kindle for PC will ask if you want to go to the last page you’ve read. It will also show any notes and highlights you’ve made in the book, even when reading it on another device, making for a seamless cross-device reading experience. Much like with Kindle devices, you can opt to ready our book in one of several fonts and font sizes. You can also control the color scheme (black, white, or sepia background), and its brightness. This is a very helpful feature when reading in the dark–and combined with the application’s full screen mode, it goes a long way towards reducing eyestrain from monitor glare.

Modern computer monitors tend to be wide, and lines can stretch on and on. While you can increase the margin size (much like with a physical Kindle), Kindle for PC also lets you reflow the text into two columns. This makes for a beautiful layout, almost reminiscent of a physical book spread out for reading.

There is another feature Kindle for PC provides, which is something I can’t do with my “real” Kindle 3 device. This is something called Shelfari Extras, and it provides instant context for the book you are currently reading. Shelfari is a community website owned by Amazon since August 2008. It is essentially a large catalog of books, where users are invited to tell the world about what they’ve read and fill in particular bits of information about every book, such as key characters, places, and even define special words used in the book.

With Kindle for PC, you can simply click the name of a character in the book, select More, and click Shelfari Extras. If it’s a well-known book, a definition for that particular character will pop up (“John’s brother, separated at birth”). This worked for the book I was testing Kindle for PC with, and frankly, it blew me away. It is a brilliant use of crowd-sourced information: The more people read the book and talk about it, the better the database gets.

When all is said and done, Kindle for PC still runs on a PC. It can be a small notebook computer, but it’s no physical Kindle. That is not necessarily bad, but it certainly makes for a different reading experience.

Source:http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=1FC86892-04F2-2CF6-37A9A1C6EBCE6A0D

Apple sold more iPad tablets last quarter than any single PC maker sold personal computers.

The company’s CEO used the opportunity to again predict that the tablet market would one day be larger than that for traditional laptop and desktop PCs.

“As I’ve said before, I truly believe, and many others in the company believe, that there will come a day that the tablet market is larger than the PC market,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said during a Tuesday earnings call with Wall Street analysts.

According to Apple, the company sold 15.4 million iPads worldwide in 2011’s final three months, more than double the number it sold in the same period a year earlier and an increase of 39% over the former record of 11.1 million, set in the third quarter of last year.

Research firm IDC has estimated that Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest PC manufacturer, shipped 15.1 million computers in the fourth quarter, just short of the iPad’s number. Lenovo and Dell — numbers two and three, respectively — shipped 13 million and 11.9 million units.

Altogether, approximately 92.7 million PCs were shipped during 2011’s final quarter.

But while Apple’s iPad sales were impressive, the tablet didn’t generate more revenue than its PC cousins: The average sales price (ASP) of an iPad in the fourth quarter was $593, lower than either the global desktop ASP of $600 or the laptop ASP of $758.

And although the iPad outsold HP, Lenovo and Dell during last year’s final months, it fell short of matching any of the top three for 2011 as a whole. During 2011, Apple said it sold 40.7 million iPads; HP, Dell and Lenovo sold 62.3 million, 44.3 million and 44 million machines, respectively, said IDC.

However, Apple’s 2011 tablet sales did exceed the year’s PC shipments by the world’s fourth- and fifth-largest computer makers, Acer (37.2 million) and Asus (20.7 million).

But IDC analyst David Daoud, one of the team that tracks PC sales for the research company, doesn’t think the comparison of tablets to computers was close to an apples-to-apples appraisal.

“No, it’s not a fair comparison,” Daoud said. “Tablets are companion devices to PCs that serve different purposes. Have they dampened PC sales? Yes. It’s clear that there’s a certain amount of cannibalization. But the [iPad] numbers speak more to the appearance of a new market and new products, not the death of the PC.”

In fact, Daoud believes that the iPad’s big sales number is a good sign for the PC business, not cause for doom and gloom.

“The PC [industry] will benefit from the iPad side,” argued Daoud. “We are going to see, by the end of the year or early in 2013, a proliferation of devices that are going to try to compete with the iPad, a uber-computer that fills the need of the old computer world but also runs applications as a tablet.

“It’s inevitable that the PC will morph into this uber-computer,” Daoud said. “So I see the iPad actually invigorating the PC market.”

That assumes Microsoft wraps up Windows 8 this year, and that the radically revamped operating system is a hit.

“Microsoft has a huge burden on its shoulder right now,” Daoud said.

Source:http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9223707/iPad_sales_beat_HP_Lenovo_Dell_PC_numbers

Now that the holidays and CES craziness are over, we thought it would be a good time to launch our latest giveaway! This time around, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Gigabyte to give away a few of pieces of HOT hardware. Up for grabs, we have a Z68 series, Z68XP-UD3P motherboard, GeForce GTX 560 N56GOC-IGI graphics card, and a Force K3 keyboard and M6900 mouse

To be entered into this sweepstakes, please follow these quick and easy guidelines below. If you’re brand new here, there might be a few more steps necessary, but otherwise it’s pretty simple!

1) – First: Make sure you’re a registered member at HotHardware.com. You can also login with your Facebook or Twitter accounts if you’d like.

2) – Be active in news and article discussions and the forum community here at HotHardware.com. Your posts are your entries! (Only quality posts will count. No Spam please.)

3) – “Like” the Gigabyte and HotHardware Facebook pages if you haven’t already done so.

4) – That’s it!

The contest will run through February 3, 2011, at which point we’ll pick and announce the lucky winners. Get in early and post here, in the HH news discussions and in our forum often!

Source:http://hothardware.com/News/HotHardware-and-Gigabyte-New-Years-Giveaway/

The desktop PC is dead; the era of the gleaming beige tower is over. The age of smartphones, laptops, and tablets is here–or so say numerous pundits and critics.

The only problem is that the desktop PC is alive and kicking–though it’s not quite as popular as it used to be.

“Over the last few years, the share of PC sales has stabilized around 80 percent notebooks and 20 percent desktops,” Stephen Baker, Vice President of Industry Analysis for market research firm NPD Group recently told PCWorld.

Notebooks did take a huge bite out of the desktop’s market share in the early to mid-2000s, Baker says. But desktop sales have since stabilized, accounting for 20.3 percent of all PC sales among U.S. consumers in 2011, with similar share numbers over the past few years.

Critics, pundits, analysts, and even executives at technology firms, however, can’t stop consigning the desktop to the history books. With that in mind, here’s a look at ten past, present, and future desktop killers including gaming consoles, recessions, computers without hard drives, and of course, tablets and laptops.

1. Laptops

Nothing says the desktop is dead like the holidays, and Reuters was leading the funeral dirge for the noble desktop PC in early 2009. The newswire reported that not one desktop model made Amazon’s list of top-selling PCs and PC hardware during the 2008 Christmas season. Seven laptops, meanwhile, were popular sellers. Reuters called this “yet another sign that the former dominance of desktop PCs is fading,” and later wondered if there was “any room left for desktops in the brave new era of laptops.”

2. Tablets

Ever since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in 2010, pundits have made pronouncements that the one-panel touch slate spelled doom for the lowly, traditional desktop PC. The iPad “is the biggest threat to the desktop as we know it,” tech site Neowin declared in October. Deciding factors for the demise of the desktop include the iPad’s long battery life, and the fact that most people use their PC for things that are much easier to do on a tablet, such as checking email and Facebook and watching streaming video.

3. Smartphones

Did you hear that smartphones are heralding the end of the desktop PC? Yep–in fact, desktop PCs will be on their last legs within five years, CNET quoted technology executive Nigel Clifford as saying. Clifford made that prediction more than five years ago in October 2006 when he was the CEO of Symbian Software Ltd. Remember Symbian? It created a mobile operating system that was fully acquired by Nokia in 2008. Fast forward to 2012–the Finnish phone maker is sidelining the Symbian OS in favor of Windows Phone 7. And desktops? Still around.

4. Video Games

You heard it here second: Video games are killing desktop PC computing. That’s the argument Benchmark Reviews Executive Editor Olin Coles posited in early 2011. Despite his title (“How Video Games Killed Desktop PC Computing”), however, Coles is predicting only a long, slow death for “PCs made just for gaming, overclocking, or any other recreational enjoyment.” Coles argues that, as more people choose notebooks and mobile devices over desktops, the tower PC’s last stand will be as a gaming platform. But with the popularity of console gaming and game makers designing new games for consoles first, the PC is on its way out. Coles isn’t ready to pronounce the death of the desktop just yet, but, he says, “the end of an era is near, so enjoy it while you still can.”

5. Internet, Web, Cloud

“The desktop computer industry is dead. Innovation has virtually ceased,” Steve Jobs told Wired in 1996 during his exodus from Apple, the company he cofounded. Jobs went on to say that the Web was the future, arguing that hardware designed specifically to serve the Web (so-called Web terminals) was a possible future beyond the desktop. To be fair, Jobs was arguing mostly that Microsoft was too dominant in the desktop space for any innovation to happen. Jobs’ quote, however, is an example of how, similar to the present day, people in the mid- to late 1990s saw the Web and Web applications as the future of computing.

6. Network Computers

Along with the ’90s-era Web frenzy came hardware such as Sun Microsystems’ 1996 breakthrough device, the JavaStation, a so-called network computer (NC), designed solely to get the user online. These devices had no hard disks, slots, or CD-ROM drives and were priced at $700 and up. Other companies including Oracle started touting the network computer as the end of the desktop. At one point, even Microsoft tried its hand at an NC called the Simply Interactive PC. But the NC ultimately failed to gain traction as PCs dropped in price throughout the ’90s, and as desktops offered users Web browsers to get online.

7. The 2008-2009 Recession

Sales for desktop PCs dropped precipitously during the 2008-2009 recession while notebook sales kept going, according to British tech news site The Inquirer. This led some to speculate that the death of the desktop had come that much closer as more people moved onto notebook computers. How times have changed since then. Market research firm IDC predicted in June that the worldwide desktop PC market would continue to grow through 2015 by about 1 percent each year. Notebooks, meanwhile, will grow at a much faster rate of around 15 percent per year between 2012 and 2015.

8. The Zero Client

The Year: 2008. The desktop killer: a small cube with a footprint about the size of a CD case called the Pano. A so-called zero client, the Pano consists of a mouse, a keyboard, a monitor, and an external USB drive that relies on to access a Microsoft Windows virtual machine stored on a remote server. The device has no operating system, software drivers, CPU, memory, hard disk, or graphics chip. “The Pano and visualization technology will revolutionize the desktop,” a UK Pano reseller in 2008 told PCWorld’s British-based sister publication, Techworld. Pano Logic, the company behind the Pano, is still selling its zero client, but zero clients have yet to replace the desktop.

9. Chromebooks: NC 2.0?

“Zero-maintenance computers such as the Chromebook will kill the PC and Windows within 10 years, delivering a punch to the solar plexus of Microsoft’s core Windows business,” TheMotleyFool’s Tim Beyers said in May. Beyers argues that browser-based computers are the future thanks to the popularity of online services such as social networking and video streaming, and to the use of cloud-based virtual platforms in the enterprise. It’s not just desktops that are getting the axe: Beyer believes all PCs will be gone by 2020, at least for enterprise users. It’s not clear how many Chromebooks have been sold to date, but price cuts by Chromebook makers over the holidays suggest that the browser-as-OS concept–the basis of Chromebooks–has yet to catch on.

10. Desktops: The Ultimate Desktop Killer

The desktop PC is dead, at least as a tower that sits beside your desk or underneath your monitor, according to PCWorld’s own Nate Ralph. The tower will become a “relic of a bygone age,” Ralph says, retaining just a small subset of users who need customizable hardware–people like gamers and enterprise users. The mainstream desktop, meanwhile, will morph into the all-in-one PC thanks to innovations such as Intel’s Ivy Bridge and AMD’s Piledriver chips that allow for thinner and sleeker desktops.

Source:http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/413278/desktop_pc_killers_past_present_duture/

Exactly what amount of money would you be willing to pay for a one-of-a-kind, custom-made Nintendo Entertainment System… PC? No, it’s not just a PC tower with an NES shell slapped on the outer plating — it’s a rewired system that actually uses the gaming system’s inputs as computer ports. Hardware wizard James Regan recently posted an extensive rundown of the project on the Retro Collect forums, describing how s/he built the entire kit.

Most notably, each socket and crevice on the NES was utilized for practical PC use. Even the front panel, normally reserved for inserting a Nintendo game (then ejecting it, blowing into the cartridge, and re-inserting it), was converted for the disc drive. Looking at the entire system, it’s hard to believe to this was Regan’s first attempt, although s/he notes that his/her entire house got destroyed in the building process.

And if you want to play some NES emulators and ROM files on this hardware with an actual gamepad, it’s as simple as plugging into the USB ports, which were re-wired into the actual controller ports — now that’s attention to detail.

Amazingly enough, Regan’s not keeping the NES PC and wants to sell it to the highest bidder. In terms of raw specs, you’re looking at an Intel Atom 330 1.6GHz dual core processor, a Samsung SN-208BB 8x DVD-RW DL & RAM SATA laptop drive, about 160 GB of storage space on a Seagate Momentus 7200.3 SATA 3GB/s hard drive, and 1GB DDR2 RAM. But can you really put a price on the innovation and nostalgia factor?

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/248625/nes_pc_mod_combines_nintendo_power_with_computer_tech.html

The Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive computer a low-power ARM-based processor and virtually everything you need to run a Linux-based operating system on a system board that’s around the size of a pack of cards. Oh yeah, and the goal is to eventually sell it for as little as $25.

raspberry pi

While the developers behind the project are hoping to see Raspberry Pi systems used in educational settings or other environments where low price and power consumption could be killer features. But the applications for this device aren’t limited to education. This weekend the group is showing off a Raspberry Pi system running XBMC, a powerful media center application.

XBMC can play music or movies, display videos, and run third party apps using an attractive interface designed for a TV or computer display. It’s popular with people building Home Theater PCs (HPTCs), systems that have typically relied on powerful x86 processors.

Since the Raspberry Pi’s low power chip can handle 1080p HD video playback, it can handle most of the actions you’d expect from an XBMC system. While video playback looks great in the demo video, the transitions between system menus could be smoother. I’m not sure I’d want a home theater PC that uses the minimum capable hardware. But I do like the idea of a media center based around a $35 piece of hardware (that’s how much a Raspberry Pi system will likely cost when configured with the input and output features shown in the demo). You’ll still probably need a case and some other hardware to complete the system, but this could present an attractive, customizable alternative to a $50 Roku media streaming box.

We’ve also seen Raspberry Pi handle video games such as Quake III in the past, and the team recently showed off a Raspberry Pi handling Apple Airplay video streaming.

Source:http://liliputing.com/2012/01/raspberry-pi-could-almost-be-a-35-media-center-pc-video.html

If you’ve been reading here for any length of time, you’ll know that we’re big fans of mechanical keyboards. And now, one of the famous ones is making the move to Mac. Das Keyboard today introduced a new version of its award-winning Model S keyboard designed to appeal to a fan base also known for its extreme loyalty – the Mac crowd. The company’s new Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac is now available online for pre-ordering, and will be shipping by April 15. Available in the U.S. and Canada, the Model S Professional for Mac retails for $133. A 15% discount is currently available on all pre-orders for the newest member of the Das Keyboard family.

“Mac fans will appreciate the high-quality and sharp design of our Model S keyboard, especially now that it provides the features and functions that Mac loyalists are used to and expect from their peripheral devices,” said Daniel Guermeur, creator of the Das Keyboard and CEO of Metadot Corporation. “Essentially, we’ve introduced the most advanced mechanical keyboard on the market designed specifically for Mac users.”

Features in the Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac include:

* Gold-plated mechanical key switches designed to withstand 50 million strokes.
* Enhanced 104-key layout with special keys for quick access to common media player and computer functions.
* Command and Option keys, helping Mac users to feel right at home.
* Instant sleep function, enabling users to easily put their Mac to sleep and save energy during even the shortest of breaks.
* 6-key rollover, enabling users to enter – and the keyboard to recognize – 6 keys pressed simultaneously.
* Two-port, high-speed USB 2.0 hub for syncing and charging iPhone®, iPod®, iPad® and other USB devices.
* USB hub connected devices charge up to 5 times faster than with other keyboards.
* Extra-long USB cable (2m, 6.6 ft) that goes through desk grommets to keep workspaces neat and tidy.
* KVM switch compatible, so users can control more than one computer (Mac or PC) from their Das Keyboard.

Source:http://hothardware.com/News/Das-Keyboard-Unveils-Mechanical-Keyboard-For-Mac/

Following their recent attempts to terrify us into buying a gaming PC with the Aurora R4, Alienware has now come over all friendly and announced the X51, a gaming PC that’s hidden in a console-style box. With the ability to stand vertically or lay horizontally, the new X51 could happily sit alongside other gaming machines under your TV too.

Despite a footprint barely larger than an original PS3, the X51 still packs in plenty of tech, and it being an Alienware machine means the internals can be tailored to your preferences. The basic machine uses the Intel Core i3 3.3Ghz processor with 4GB of RAM, a Nvidia GeForce GT545 graphics card and a 1TB hard drive. If you’re prepared to spend some money on your X51, you can select a Core i5 or Core i7 processor, up to 8GB RAM, a Blu-ray drive, an SSD and a better graphics card; or choose from 8 different standard builds.

All this is what we’ve come to expect from Alienware – top-notch, upgradeable specs and a good-looking chassis; but what makes the X51 standout is its entry-level price.

For the Core i3 machine with the basic specs mentioned above, Alienware has attached a $699 price tag, which considering how it looks and the spec it contains, seems very reasonable.

One of the company’s senior product consultants told TechRadar.com that he doesn’t believe “there is anything close” to the X51 in terms of performance and style at a similar price. It’s also good to see Alienware recognizes there are other markets, and not everyone wants high-price, high performance monsters like the Aurora.

The X51 has just shown up on Alienware’s website, and orders will begin later today.

Source:http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/is-it-a-pc-is-it-a-console-nope-its-the-new-alienware-x51/

Last week, I said something crazy, that Razer’s kind of insane Project Fiona gaming tablet is the future of PC gaming. I guess I should explain a little.
It’s not that Fiona itself is literally the future of PC gaming—a tablet with a pair of joysticks bolted to the side is the PC equivalent of a reject from the Island of Dr. Moreau. (Though I did have a grand time playing Fiona.) It’s everything that Fiona represents.

“A couple of years ago we realized that the PC giants weren’t innovating anymore. They kind of stopped,” argues Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan. Surveying the PC landscape over the last couple of years, well, things were looking a little grim. I mean, the largest PC maker in the world tried to sell its PC business. The insane things, like the Dell Adamo and HP’s Voodoo brand? Killed. There are a couple of exceptions, of course, even in PC gaming—we really loved Dell-owned Alienware’s m11x micro gaming rig, for instance. But by and large it’s been true. Why take the risk? Even the new-and-improved ultrabook onslaught from last week, which delivered some beautiful machines, clearly descend from the MacBook Air and spring from a hefty bankroll from Intel.

Then there’s the Blade. Two years in development, it’s Razer’s first attempt at building a platform, and it goes against every rule of PCs, especially gaming PCs—except for its ludicrously expensive $2,800 price tag. There’s just one model. You can’t configure it. It’s not a thick, angular box that defies every principle of aerodynamics. Machined out of aluminum, it’s smooth and round and sturdy. It actually feels a lot like a unibody MacBook Pro, down to the lid scoop. But it has the first ever laptop keyboard with zero ghosting, and a multitouch glass trackpad that’s also a screen. (Have you ever watched K-pop on your trackpad? I have.)

So, Razer is building crazy things. Actively. Tan says that besides the three products we’ve seen this year—the Switchblade, Blade and Fiona—they’ve “had maybe 10 different products we’ve never shown that have gone all the way to completion.” But the real difference between Razer and the other PC makers that Tan is slogging? Details. “We’ve had products pulled two days before launch… I’ve seen guys cry, but at the end of the day it’s about perfection.” Razer is ultimately built around details—weird, aggro, perpetually adolescent, neon, EXTREME details, but details nonetheless.

And when Tan complains, exasperated that some piece-of-shit manufacturer in China wouldn’t make his USB ports green unless he ordered a million of them, you feel his pain, in no small part because of the way he speaks. The Singapore-born Tan has a curiously studied and smooth blend of accents—it’s hard not to believe every word he says, or at least believe that he believes every word he says, no matter how grandiose. I could listen to him talk all day, about anything, really. Maybe genetics.

When no one would build the Blade for Razer, Tan bought an original design manufacturer (ODM). Nearly everything in the Blade that isn’t commodity silicon is a custom part, according to Tan, because he didn’t want to “go to a Taiwanese factory or Chinese factory and slap a logo on that. Everyone is doing that.” He holds up the Blade’s power supply, a slim black rectangle that almost looks like a brick of drugs, branded by the drug cartel/snake-worshipping cult that produced it, and wonders why other PC makers haven’t designed their power supplies as wonderfully as his. (This detail, perhaps intentionally, begs comparison to another computer company with wonderfully designed power supplies that every PC maker looks to for design innovation and managed to take over the tech world.)

But for all of Tan’s of vision, “bringing innovation back to gaming” and “pushing the envelope” and being synonymous with PC gaming itself, how is that a tiny company that’s mostly known for building pricey peripherals for gaming’s most notoriously pimpled and petulant set is going to make a scratch in, much less take over the PC world? Well, for one, Razer’s not so tiny anymore. It just picked up $50 million in venture capital, and I was shocked when Tan told me they have more than 400 employees now. And the hardware team has all the right buzzwords: They acquired the entire engineering team of OQO back in 2009. And they’re bolstered by ex-Apple and ex-HP engineers, along with a bunch of other guys who designed and built Microsoft and Intel’s Project Origami oh so long ago (which you see shades of in Fiona). So Razer might just be able to pull this caper off. Maybe.

What happens if it does? Well, I suspect PC makers won’t be looking solely to Apple for “inspiration.” Tan hopes they follow him, even. (That’s a good thing, especially if they start caring again, to boot.) And I think Joel might just be even more right than he thought he was, that Razer’s model might look a whole lot like the future of PCs, especially as it becomes an increasingly niche space—ironically because of the lack of hardware innovation.

They just need to ditch the snakes and black and neon. If you’re going to take over the world, it’s time to grow up guys.

Source:http://gizmodo.com/5876793/how-a-mouse-company-might-become-king-of-the-pc-jungle

Alienware enters the small and (relatively) cheap PC market today with a new computer, the X51.

It costs £699, is slightly bigger than an Xbox 360 and is designed to work upright or laid on its side.

The bottom range X51 can power Battlefield 3 in 1080p at an average of 32 frames-per-second, with high resolution textures, 4x aniostropic filtering and medium anti-aliasing turned on.

The top-end X51 can power Battlefield 3 running the same settings at an average of 54 frames-per-second.

Phwoar. And its sleek and black, with an acceptable amount of Alienware-lighting bling.

“This is something that has never been done before; there’s no other small form factor PCs out there that offer any sort of a significant gaming experience.”

Eoin Leyden, senior product manager, Alienware

“It’s taking enthusiast-class PC gaming and putting it in a small form factor. This is something that has never been done before; there’s no other small form factor PCs out there that offer any sort of a significant gaming experience,” Alienware senior product manager Eoin Leyden informed Eurogamer.

“We’re constantly pushing it; pushing the boundaries. We’re certainly exploring new avenues all the time. I certainly wouldn’t say innovation has stopped or anything like that.”

The declining desktop market and rise of “more consumer friendly” small form factor PCs forced Alienware’s hand, although the ultra high-end business has also been “growing” and doing “very well”.

“Somebody going into a store today looking for a PC basically has to make a choice,” said Leyden.

“You either have a nice-looking small form factor PC, or you get a gaming PC. And you can’t have both because it doesn’t exist – there is no small form factor PC that offers any sort of good gaming experience.

“And that, basically, is where X51 came from.”

Inside the X51 can be either an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. That can be complimented by either a 16GB Nvidia GeForce GT 545 or an Nvidia GeForce GTX 555.

RAM varies from 4GB, 6GB or 8GB DDR3, and there’s plenty of digital storage space thanks to the 1TB 7200 RPM hard-drive.

Blah blah 24x dual-layer DVD-RW; internal 7.1 audio and integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LAN.

Also, these ports and connections: on-board HDMI 1.4 out; RJ-45 GB Ethernet; 4x USB 2.0; 2x USB 3.0; surround sound speaker-out ports and TOSLINK and Coax digital outs.

“To get smaller you have to start compromising … And the core thing for Alienware is we’re not willing to trade on performance.”

Eoin Leyden

“It’s really knocking on some pretty serious limitations at this point,” said Leyder of the X51’s size. “To get smaller you have to start compromising … And the core thing for Alienware is we’re not willing to trade on performance.

“The Alienware name carries a reputation for gaming performance. Compromise to a half-height graphics card, and those minimum frame-rates might drop to below-20s. That is not playable in our view. That would not be an acceptable trade-off.”

Yes, yes, yes – but is the X51 loud?

“Depends on what you’re doing,” answered Leyden.

“In general computing terms, if you’re just messing around the internet it’s pretty silent. As you continue to stress the hardware, some of the active cooling systems come on, the fans come on, the graphics card fan comes on.

“If you play Battlefield 3 you’ll have some noise,” he said. “But if you’re gaming, you’re either going to have it running through your speaker or headphones; not usually an issue.”

Alienware will now offer high-end gaming PCs from £1500; small form factor gaming PCs from £700; and gaming laptops from £650.

And judging by Leyden’s comments, it sounds like the X51 will be the start of a long line of small form factor PCs from Alienware.

“Our laptop line is probably our best indication; we wouldn’t invest the time and effort and R&D and engineering efforts into a market if we weren’t pretty convinced there was a sizeable opportunity there,” Leyden told us.

Source:http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-18-alienware-unveils-its-first-small-and-cheap-gaming-pc-the-x51

We heard about an ambitious new project from the gaming experts at Razer even before CES started, but a staggered release kept us away from their ostentatious booth until now. The “Project Fiona” concept device is a full x86 Windows 7 computer squeezed into a tablet device. Two things make Fiona unique: one, it’s a tablet built wit the PC horsepower for serious modern gaming, and two, its unique control mechanism pairs physical buttons and triggers with a full touchscreen.

Those handles you see on the side aren’t just for show – they’re mounted into the Fiona via a metal frame, with space between the handles and the primary hardware unit for your fingers. Controls consist of dual analog sticks on both sides, four action buttons and two trigger buttons, effectively replicating console controls. The hardware on display is unfinished and under glass – Razer says’ they’ll evaluate their customers’ response and decide whether to bring it to market sometime this year.

Details on the hardware are sketchy: the machine runs on an i7 processor, but a Razer representative wouldn’t elaborate on what kind of GPU it was running. However, he did say that they’ve been working with Intel on the project for month,s which leads me to believe that it might just be using a next-generation version of Intel’s integrated graphics. At the Ultrabook presentation just before CES, Intel teased massive gaming improvements on its ultra-low voltage processor. For the record, this is pure speculation.

Razer will include its own Steam-style game manager, but since the Fiona runs Windows (or any x86-based operating system, really) you can load up anything you want. The demonstration unit wasn’t running anything special, but a representative said that it worked great with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a recent and relatively intense game. Razer doesn’t know if it will bring Fiona to market or not, but if it chooses to do so, it could hit in late 2012 or early 2013.

Source:http://www.slashgear.com/razers-project-fiona-concept-brings-pc-gaming-to-the-tablet-world-12209084/

While Ballmer’s CES keynote was as lacking in excitement as expected, there was one interesting announcement from Microsoft for PC owners. Kinect for PC aka Kinect for Windows will be coming out February 1st of this year. While that may seem to be a boon for PC owners the world over, there is one little catch. Kinect for PC will require new hardware and not just software.

Microsoft announced the upcoming release of Kinect for PC at CES a few days ago. The system will be available for $249 which is surprising considering that you can purchase Kinect for the Xbox 360 for $149 from Best Buy. Just like the Xbox version, the PC version will require separate hardware. Still the system will work with computers running Windows 7 and eventually Windows 8.

Kinect for Xbox uses a variety of sensors, cameras and a microphone to translate gestures and words into commands. Those sensors were developed to work using the Xbox and a TV which meant that the user was further away than most people are from their PCs. Normal computers, even those with built in cameras and microphones, don’t contain the sensors necessary to translate words and gestures on a computer. For that reason, another piece of hardware had to be developed that would provide the sensors and allow them to work in much closer proximity to the person using the system.

One of the interesting aspects of this announcement is that as far back as last November of 2010, “AlexP” hacked the Kinect system so that it work with a Windows 7 computer. In January of 2011, ASUS claimed that it would be releasing a system, WAVI Xtion similar to Kinect for PCs. At that time Microsoft said that it didn’t have any plans to release it for any system except Xbox 360. Of course a year has come and gone, ASUS hasn’t really begun pushing the system in retail stores and Microsoft has changed it’s mind.

Both Asus and Microsoft say that their systems for PC hold commercial uses beyond the living room. The companies say that this technology will be transferable for use with any type of Windows based intelligent machinery. If so, companies may want to consider which system they really want to purchase. ASUS and Microsoft have each licensed much of the technology from PrimeSense.

ASUS sells its PC based system for $149, the same as Kinect for Xbox 360. Microsoft sells Kinect for PC for $100 more. Which system is better? Don’t know and we won’t know until both systems are released and compared.

This February 1st, you can purchase Kinect for PC online and from retail stores. ASUS’s product can be purchased now but only online. It looks as if Microsoft has more consumer friendly software packaged with Kinect than ASUS has with WAVI Xtion.

Will this be worth purchasing if you already own Kinect for Xbox? Probably not.

Source:http://vista.blorge.com/2012/01/11/kinect-for-pc-is-coming-february-1/

Dell Inc intends to launch its first consumer tablet computer in late 2012, marking its entry into a hotly contested and increasingly crowded arena that has already claimed arch-foe Hewlett Packard.

The once-dominant corporation founded by Michael Dell has seen a growing crop of tablets and smartphones entice consumers away from PCs. But Dell learned from the hastiness of some of its peers and understands better now how consumers value the “ecosystem” of a tablet as much as the hardware, chief commercial officer Steve Felice said.

The Texas company, which has slipped steadily in the global PC sales rankings, had dipped its toe in the waters with an enterprise-focused, “Streak” tablet. It now plans a bigger push into the consumer arena, Felice told Reuters at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

While rivals from HP to Research in Motion introduced a spate of gadgets with much fanfare and went toe-to-toe with the still-dominant Apple Inc iPad, Dell kept a low profile with good reason, Felice said.

“We have been taking our time. The general failure of everyone that’s tried to introduce a tablet outside of Apple” suggested Dell made a prudent choice, Felice said in an interview. “You will see us enter this market in a bigger way toward the end of the year. So we are not really deemphasizing it, we are really being very careful how we enter it.

“When you are talking about PC, people are more focused on the hardware itself. When you are talking about the tablet or the smartphone, people are interested in the overall environment its operating in,” he added. “As we have matured in this, we are spending a lot more time in the overall ecosystem.”

Cards close to vest
Felice was coy about which non-Apple operating system Dell might adopt — Microsoft Corp’s upcoming Windows 8 or Google Inc’s popular Android — saying both were viable options.

But Felice did say he liked the feel of Microsoft’s touch-enabled operating system, which would be well-timed when it emerges later this year in light of recent high-profile product failures, from HP’s now-defunct TouchPad to RIM’s PlayBook.

“There hasn’t been a lot of advancement and it’s given Microsoft a good window to come into the market with Windows 8. I like the touch Windows 8 feature,” said Felice, who previously headed Dell’s large enterprise division.

“We like Windows 8 but we continue to develop with Android as well. We are still going to be more choice-driven, based on the feedback we get from customers.”

Dell’s maiden foray into consumer tablets comes as the iPad and other well-received gadgets such as Samsung’s Galaxy eat into PC sales. Some industry executives maintain that tablets do not cannibalize to the extent imagined.

On Monday, Michael Dell said at an event in the southern Indian city of Bangalore that tablets were an “additional device.”

Others warn that clunky laptops are coming increasingly under threat as tablets grow more powerful and take on a plethora of tasks from Web surfing to sophisticated graphics and video manipulation.

“When we introduce the products, they will be consumer products, but we are going to make sure that they are very compatible with the business marketplace, which we don’t think Apple has addressed,” Felice said. “There’s lot of use in the commercial sector that requires security and more compatibility, and I think we will be able to address that in a better way.”

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/hardware/Dell-to-launch-consumer-tablet-PC/articleshow/11446287.cms

Sales of personal computers slowed in the last three months of 2011, thanks to a sluggish economy, scarce hard drives, and the proliferation of other device types such as tablets, according to a report released today by IDC.

Overall, worldwide PC shipments totaled 92.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, down 0.1 percent compared with the same quarter in 2010, when 92.8 million computers were shipped. For all of 2011, about 352.4 million PCs were shipped, a 1.6 percent increase over 2010, when almost 346.8 million PCs were shipped. The U.S. was particularly hard hit: Sales dropped nearly 5 percent from 2010, from 75 million units to 71 million units. Sales in Europe and Japan also slowed, though sales improved in China.

Sluggish sales were due to several factors, according to the analyst firm. Last year’s shortage of hard disks, caused by flooding in Thailand, caused some smaller providers to scramble to find enough drives for PCs. The global economy also continues to be sluggish, discouraging people from purchasing new computers. In addition, people spent money on consumer electronics such as tablets, smartphones, and e-readers that took over some of the duties previously handled by the PC.

IDC expects sluggish sales to continue through the first three months of 2012 as the hard drive shortage continues. By the end of the year, sales should recover, growing 15 percent in the last quarter of the year. Overall, IDC expects 371 million PCs to be shipped in 2012, an increase of 5.4 percent.

Some vendors fared better than others in this slow season. Hewlett-Packard, still reeling from an announcement earlier this year that it would spin off its PC division (a decision reversed later), saw its shipments fall by 16 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 as customers wondered about the company’s future. The decline persisted even after the company stated it would not spin out the hardware division after all. HP, still the world’s biggest PC maker, sold about 15 million PCs worldwide in the past three months. Lenovo, the second largest, saw an sales increase of more than 36 percent, selling more than 13 million PCs. Dell saw a small uptick in sales and sold about 11.9 million units.

Source:http://www.infoworld.com/d/computer-hardware/idc-pc-shipments-slumped-2011-ended-183914

Aside from a big box store, there are not many places to take an ailing computer these days.

The Computer Clinic LLC, 4758 N. Congress Ave., is one of those places that can fix a cracked screen or destroy a virus without having to talk to someone overseas or buy a new computer.

Owner Mark Gorman said the store moved to Boynton Beach in October 2010 from another location nearby off Hypoluxo Road and Military Trail.

“We have been here about a year and four months,” he said. “The good news is Publix is coming here very soon. The location is great; we can serve Boca Raton and Palm Beach Gardens as well as residents here.”

Video: Springs woman accused of chaining grandson to bed each night for years

Gorman said most computer repair services are people working out of their car not professionals like those that work at his store.

“We are not a big box store and not someone working out of their car; we are right in the middle and do better work,” he said. “This has been my passion ever since I was a kid.”

Gorman grew up in the 1980s with a computer in his home and he loved taking it apart to see how it worked. He has been in the computer industry professionally for 13 years.

“I was born in West Palm Beach and have been here in this area my whole life,” he said.

He said surge damage and virus problems are some of the biggest issues that come through the door.

“We try and educate the customer for the future to solve the problem and also fix it long term,” he said. “With viruses, some people don’t have up to date anti-virus software.”

He also said some seasonal residents tend to leave their computer plugged in while they are away, which can cause surge problems or damage.

A cracked screen is also not a problem for his staff, where with a bigger store, a new computer might be the only option.

Bri Woods, store supervisor, worked for shops similar to The Computer Clinic before she moved to Boynton Beach.

“I liked the way this one functioned and was organized,” she said.

Woods often broke items when she was a child and had to take them apart to trouble shoot or fix them.

“The biggest problem I see is slow computers,” she said. “Most viruses or hardware failure can slow computers down.”

She said some websites aimed at making computers faster can not detect hardware issues that someone can see with their own eyes.

The Computer Clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Source:http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/boynton-beach/fl-bbf-clinic-0111-20120111,0,3777826.story