Tech Smart Review

Chromebook by Dell On June 26, 2018, Dave Gershgorn wrote an excellent post for Quartz entitled "You Don't Need a Mac Laptop" which inspired me to add some comments of my own. Dave related his story of transitioning out of the Apple software ecosystem to the world of web-powered applications and I have to admit, I have often felt the same.  I'm not an Apple user, far from it, but I have been using Microsoft products for decades and have noticed the same trend.  As more platforms move to cloud-powered web applications, the need to individually license and maintain software locally on your computer starts to evaporate.  Google has been very instrumental in this movement, but they aren't the only ones.  Everyone uses a computer a little differently, but I can absolutely see the case for a Chromebook if you don't need the complexity of a traditional Windows or Mac operating system or the expense of a high-powered laptop. The options are plentiful if you a...

Image Courtesy of PCPartPicker.com It is June of 2018 and the Do-it-Yourself PC Market is still out of control.  RAM prices are way up, video cards prices are still way too high, and new processors are coming to market and with them the need to upgrade to a new motherboard.  My question today is this: Is it still worth it to build your own PC in 2018?  Let's take a closer look and find out. Why Build your Own? In the last couple of decades the DIY PC market has changed completely.  Today, it is easier than ever to get in to a straightforward custom build with less than ten components, and the quality of those components (and return policies of vendors like Amazon and NewEgg) have improved to the point where there is little risk and a lot of satisfaction to building your own rig. The main pre-built PC vendors really excel at one thing, and that is warranty service.  When you buy an HP Omen ,  Lenovo Legion , or a Dell Alienware , you are going to ...