Category: Tech News

Vermont gets left in the cold again as wireless giant Verizon snapped up Unicel (Rural Cellular Co.) for about $2.5 Billion. This will make Verizon the only (to speak of) wireless provider in the Green Mountains. Making this deal also could spell the end of the Unicel GSM network as Verizon switches Unicel customers back…

Over at Macworld.co.uk I read that 70% of Zune owners will switch to iPod and / or the iPhone. While Microsoft said it has sold a million Zunes, Eagle Research Group finds that 70% of Zune owners plan to ditch the device in favor of an iPod or iPhone as soon as they can. Apparently…

No doubt about it, your computer’s energy consumption has a noticeable impact on your electricity bill. Of course, this also means more electricity has to be generated – for most of the USA, by burning coal. Apple has a somewhat informative page about the energy consumption of its various products. See this here: http://www.apple.com/environment/energyefficiency/ Apple…

by Jim Fecteau of Huntingtonriversmithy.com (posted by Ed, written and submitted by Jim Fecteau) Being a blacksmith, designing “stuff” for clients is sometimes hard to do. I felt having a laptop could be a really great way to convey what I (Huntington River Smithy) can do for them. Customers are able to ask the right…

by Matt, matt@smalldog.com Last week a MacBook Pro 15”, 13 months old, came in for repair because the battery would not charge, and the machine had stopped responding to the power button. This machine had been “heavily” used, and did not have AppleCare. In this case, the machine required at the very least a replacement…

Last night I noticed an article over at Tech Blog titled Worst iPod Knockoffs Ever. Occasionally people bring in iPod knock-offs for service, or wondering why it does not work as advertised by Apple. Needless to say, they’re not happy to find out they own a fake, with no warranty. Fake iPods are usually given…

by Matt@Smalldog.com (written by Matt, posted by Ed) A customer called in describing extremely bizarre intermittent behavior from her PowerBook G4 1.67GHZ 15” computer: whenever she pressed any key, the screen would show that another key was pressed. All macs are capable of using keyboards in any language, with any keyboard layout, so I first…

Google has long offered a great library of free software for Windows PCs. For example, Google Desktop (described by clicking here) was available for Windows PCs for 2 1/2 years before it was unveiled for the Mac. Most of Google’s excellent free software is now also available for Apple computers. For example, if you’re using…

Google Talk is simple instant messaging program. Many people don’t know that it is now compatible with Safari (as long as you have Flash Player 8.0 or above installed.) Check it out by clicking here: You can do some great things with Google Talk: make voice calls, transfer files, send voicemails, record calls, share YouTube…

By Matt@smalldog.com (posted by Ed, written by Matt@Smalldog.com) Whenever Apple releases a new product, like the AppleTV, predicted ship dates are rarely an accurate predictor of actual ship dates. The AppleTV didn’t meet its ship date, the original iMac didn’t, the 15” Aluminum PowerBook was introduced months after the 12” and 17” models. Here’s hoping…