Microsoft Surface Laptop 2

It’s blue! It’s handsome! It’s the laptop everyone loves! Like apparently a lot of other people I got a Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 last week, as I once again needed a portable Windows device. So far my impressions are very positive with the exception of a horrendous Windows update experience, which will probably surprise no … Continue reading “Microsoft Surface Laptop 2”

Dell & Alienware Reliability Issues

I just had two Dell systems unexpectedly fail on me that I had previously written good reviews for. This is something one unfortunately cannot anticipate until it happens. I’m updating both original reviews with links to this post, as in view of this lack of reliability I can no longer recommend these products: Dell XPS … Continue reading “Dell & Alienware Reliability Issues”

Alienware Andromeda X51 R3

2017-04-23: I can no longer recommended Dell systems due to significant reliability issues. I rather happily used a Dell XPS 15 for the last 1.5 years, but there was no denying that its NVidia GT 750M mobile video card was getting rather long in the tooth. It could just about handle the Steam edition of … Continue reading “Alienware Andromeda X51 R3”

Yamaha RX-A1040: Virtual Surround Receiver

When I wrote about the audiophile Blu-ray player Oppo BDP-105D back in January 2014, I was using an otherwise fairly simple A/V setup with an analog amplifier for my stereo loudspeakers, and a separate headphone amplifier with virtual surround sound. In closing I mentioned Yamaha’s Silent & Virtual Cinema DSP technologies which might allow me … Continue reading “Yamaha RX-A1040: Virtual Surround Receiver”

Logitech Multi-Device Keyboard K480

I recently stumbled over the Logitech K480 at the local electronics store. Apparently the keyboard had been released last September but I only noticed it now. The full name is “Logitech Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480” which highlights the most important feature: support for Apple Mac OS-X & iOS, Google Android & ChromeOS, and all modern … Continue reading “Logitech Multi-Device Keyboard K480”

Dell XPS 15 Review

2017-04-23: I can no longer recommended Dell systems due to significant reliability issues. About a year ago I switched to a stylish ultrabook hybrid, the Sony Vaio Duo 13. While I was overall quite happy with that neat little device, two of its unavoidable compromises eventually got on my nerves: the sheer lack of computational … Continue reading “Dell XPS 15 Review”

Returning to Wjjsoft myBase

Wjjsoft myBase is an “outliner database,” one of an old and illustrious group of applications whose perhaps most famous specimen is TreePad. TreePad has existed since 1995, myBase since 1998. Both are still under active development, but their user interfaces are clearly children of the 1990s. While certainly usable they look rather cluttered and ugly, … Continue reading “Returning to Wjjsoft myBase”

Mastering the Mocca

For the past 2½ years I’ve been brewing coffee with the Technivorm Moccamaster KBT 741, generally accounted the best drip coffee maker in existence. It’s not cheap – I paid €200 for the predecessor of the linked model – but it very thoroughly extracts the coffee grind’s tasty chemicals, thanks to a precise water heater … Continue reading “Mastering the Mocca”

Sony Vaio Duo 13 Review

Microsoft’s latest attempt to fight the race to the bottom in Windows hardware has once again ended in a whimper, mostly because its own Surface and similar upmarket devices showcased the Metro part of Windows 8 that nobody wants. Anecdotally, I saw the elegant ultrabooks and hybrids vanishing again that had populated store shelves around … Continue reading “Sony Vaio Duo 13 Review”