Like most New Yorkers, I spend the subway commute in the mornings reading news on my smart phone. This morning, one particular story from a CBS affiliate in Sacramento caught my eye: Fry’s Wouldn’t Replace My Laptop Until I Dropped Complaint. Talk about a mess. I think as New Yorkers, we take for granted how many local computer repair shops we have access to. We still occasionally get people coming in here and saying “Well, Best Buy is charging me [some small, insignificant amount of money] less than you guys, why shouldn’t I just go there?”

Well, for one, 9 times out of 10, we’ll match the quote on the spot. We’re already reasonably certain we have some of the lowest computer repair prices in town, but we’re not above dropping them a little more to get your business. Because really, yes we’re here to pay our bills, but more than that we love what we do and we love providing our level of computer repair service for you guys. We’d probably be doing the exact same thing even if it weren’t our job (though granted, we wouldn’t be working with our awesome customers. We’d just have to go over to Grandma’s house every other week to show her how to open Facebook and reset her router).

Much more importantly, though, being local means we’re integrated with the community. I’ve been getting coffee at the same deli every morning (A shout-out to my friends at the Z+S House of Snacks!) for over a year now, and know everyone there (including most of the morning customers). We see the same people walking through our doors year after year. We say hi to people in the street, and make recommendations about the best place to get lunch (Alpha Fusion has amazing Thai fusion). We’re accountable to our customers and to our community. And really, isn’t that the best way to run a computer repair shop, or any business?

So why should you go local for your computer repair needs? Because if we screw up, you know who we are and where to find us. It keeps us honest, and it keeps us motivated. Plus we’re all much better looking than Best Buy employees.

This is either a photo of Apple testing their antennas, or a stereogram of a schooner. (credit: Apple)

Just when we thought we could all put this long, national nightmare behind us, Antennagate is being dredged up once again. It seems that while everyone was busy complaining about the poor reception and other little quirks of the original iPhone 4 antenna, some enterprising Apple users actually did something about it and filed a class action lawsuit. And won!

Somewhere in the background behind all the noise about Apple and Google’s patent wars, this little tiny lawsuit, Case No. 5:10-md-02188-RMW Class Action, managed to sneak its way through the court system and has resulted in a settlement from Apple. Granted, it’s a settlement for $15 for everyone in the class, which isn’t huge, but it’s something.

For those that don’t remember Antennagate, think back to the release of the iPhone 4 in mid 2010. The phone was the coolest thing ever at the time, and consumers lined up for days outside of stores to get their hands on one. Then suddenly disaster struck: a small percentage of users reported that if they held the phone a certain way, their reception would disappear almost entirely.

The incident is less famous for the technical glitch (which affected an insignificant number of people, according to Apple) and much more for Apple’s utterly clueless response. Their first course of action was to tell people they were nuts and no such thing ever happened. Their second step was to admit that it could happen, but it would only happen to a tiny percentage of iPhone owners in a very tiny number of cases. Following that brilliant PR move, they released a software update that (This part is hilarious, bear with me) actually changed the reception display settings so IT WOULD DISPLAY FULL BARS EVEN IF YOU GOT NO RECEPTION!  I know, you can’t make this stuff up. Finally, after striking out, Apple introduced a bumper case that solved the issue and gave it out to iPhone 4 owners for free.

While this was going on, several lawsuits were filed by impatient customers, and after making their way through the court system, 18 of them were consolidated into one, which Apple finally settled recently. The settlement, details of which can be found at https://www.iphone4settlement.com, will provide $15 or a free bumper case to anyone who is a member of the class. Here are the details:

Who: Anyone can join the class if they are a US resident, AND are an original owner of an iPhone 4, AND both of these things were true as of Feb. 17, 2012.

What: Eligible class members get$15 or a free bumper case.

When: All claim forms must be submitted by Aug. 28, 2012. If you wish to be excluded from the settlement for whatever reason, you have to submit an exclusion request by June 15, 2012.

Where: Full information about the suit can be found at https://www.iphone4settlement.com/.

How: Either go to the website or give them a call at 1-877-417-7234 to receive a claims package to fill out and return.

Photo Courtesy of the LA Times

The new iPad is here. No, not the iPad3 or the iPad HD. The new iPad goes by the humble name of The New iPad. A fittingly boring name for a fittingly boring device. It really shouldn’t come as a shock, since the release of the iPhone4S set the stage for this release cycle being more about polishing the old and less about anything new, but on many levels it still comes as a disappointment.

So what exactly makes the New iPad new?

The Screen: Probably the biggest and most noticeable improvement is the updated screen. Apple has managed to take the great Retina display we’ve grown to love on the iPhone and make it big. With a resolution of 2048 x 1536, it looks significantly better than the iPad2. If what you’re looking for is the prettiest screen on any tablet out today, this one may well be it.

The Processors: Dispelling rumors of a Quad+1 processor, a la the Tegra 3 found in some Android devices, Apple instead went for a more traditional dual-core A5X processor, but supplemented it with a additional quad-core GPU. Why? I imagine their reasoning was that the iPad is rarely tasked with any serious processor-intensive tasks, however it is used to play games often. If they have also integrated proper load-balancing across the cores, this could make the battery life significantly longer than an all-in-one solution. On the other hand, if they didn’t it could mean that that you run out of juice shortly after turning it on. Oh, did I mention it’s supposed to be twice as powerful as the iPad2?

The Cameras: In a move that shocked no one, Apple has finally put a real camera on the back. About 3 years after everyone else. And it’s only 5 megapixels. Granted, that’s more than 5x the camera on the iPad2, but considering the size of the device I don’t see any real reason not to put a bigger camera with a dedicated image chip in. There is absolutely no excuse for the camera on a high-end tablet device to be outdone by $100 point-and-clicks. The front camera remains unchanged, though with so many video chatting services handicapping image quality for bandwidth purposes anyway, .3 megapixels is more than enough.

The Connection: 4G. And only a year or two after everyone else jumped on board. Which actually makes the New iPad a better phone device than the iPhone4s. Other than that, the only real improvement is the inclusion of Bluetooth 4.0, which should make using peripherals for gaming significantly more responsive and provide a much better experience when playing games, and I guess doing work.

What’d they miss?

A lot. I know I’m not the most Apple-friendly person in the city, but really there’s a lot missing here that should have been a no-brainer.

The Shape: It’s thicker AND heavier than the iPad2. Granted it has a bigger camera and beefier processors, but it still adds almost 2 ounces to the total weight. It’s noticeable. It’s also almost a millimeter thicker, which is a lot less noticeable, but still adds to the slightly bulkier feel.

Siri: The only big deal fro the iPhone4S is shockingly absent. This seems like a huge omission. My only guess is that they are working on making Siri play with the big screen better and will release her as an update, but nevertheless it feels sloppy.

Anything New: The internet, as always, was abuzz with rumors prior to the release. After Apple filed a patent for a carbon-fiber shell, many believed there would be new form factors or designs. We also expected something, anything, to get excited about. Even the addition of new colors would have been enough. Instead we got what is essentially the device Apple should have released last year as the iPad2.

So what does it mean for me?

If you have an iPad2? It means you’ve got another year to wait if you want to upgrade to something significantly better from Apple. If you have a first-gen iPad? It might be worth the upgrade cost to trade in for the newest model, but even then I’m on the fence. If you don’t have an iPad at all? Take a look at some of the Android options out there. They’ll give you significantly more bang for the buck. Or take advantage of the price drop on the iPad2.

As far as what this means for Apple? Based on Apple’s stock price, investors are very underwhelmed. This might be the first time in the last decade that Apples shares haven’t soared immediately after a new release was announced. Just as troubling is the lack of any real innovation in this release cycle. Technology has moved a LOT since the iPad2 came out, but the new iPad hasn’t kept pace. We saw much the same thing with iPhone4S. It’s too early to make a final call, but I’m going to speculate that Jobs played a much smaller role in the release of these two devices than he has in the past and I think it shows. With the cult of personality around Jobs dissipating in the Apple offices, I have to wonder if a lot of the employees are who had been running at 150% on fear and adrenaline are finally burning out. I guess we’ll see in a couple of months when the iPhone5 is announced.

What kind of information do websites store locally on my computer?

Websites, and this is almost all websites and not just Google, store little text files in your browsers local storage called Cookies. A Cookie is a machine-readable (not human readable, so you don’t have to worry about someone opening your computer and reading all your private information). For instance, here is the contents of a Cookie set on my machine by the site AccuRadio (an online radio provider):

So, you can tell what site it came from, when it was created, when it expires, and…well, that’s pretty much it. The information about me is encrypted in that long string of numbers and letters near the top.  So what does all this mean? Not a whole lot, in and of itself. Very few sites these days actually store anything more on your computer than a user id. This user id is linked to a profile in their central database which contains information that these sites use to do things like personalize your experience, allow you to customize the appearance of websites, or (in the case of AccuRadio) make it easier for me to get to my favorite station (“Modern Rock Classics: 90′s Alternative”).

Because cookies are registered to a specific domain (such as google.com or amazon.com), websites don’t have access to the cookies of other websites with very few exceptions. More importantly, because cookies rarely contain anything other than a user id represented by a long string of numbers and letters, websites wouldn’t be able to do anything with cookies from other websites unless they also shared databases.

Can I make my cookies go away?

Absolutely. In fact, most browsers not only let you clear your cookies out all at once by going into the web history settings and clearing your web history, but they also allow you to see every time a website tries to put a cookie on your computer and reject or allow it. Because cookies are simple text files and not programs that can run themselves, you have full control over what cookies are accepted by your browser.

So if all a cookie stores is a user id, why the fuss?

Even though your local machine just stores a user id, that user id is linked to a database located on the servers for whatever website placed the cookie on your computer. These databases store information on your interactions with a website. For example, Amazon.com uses the user id stored in the cookie on your computer to save the contents of your shopping cart so that if you leave the site and then come back a couple of days later, you can continue shopping right where you left off.

Many websites use a cookie with a visitor id and a linked central database to track activities of users on their websites. Google, for instance, records what you search for, what ads you click on, and how much time you spend on various pages, and other information that is detailed in their privacy policies. Despite the ominous-sounding nature of this, it is no worse than what happens when you enter a store that is under video surveillance. It is also important to keep in mind that Google and other sites can’t collect any information on you that you are not willing to give them, usually through some sort of registration mechanism. So if you use Google while you’re not logged in, all they have is your i.p. address and anonymous data on a generic “visitor” that cannot be linked to you unless for some reason they can convince your internet service provider to disclose the identity behind the i.p. address.

So what does this have to do with the new Google Privacy Policy?

Everything and nothing. First, let’s look over what the new Google Privacy Policy actually changes. The truth is, it’s not much. The biggest change is that the new policy essentially allows Google to merge all of the individual user databases for all of their services into one. Previously, Google maintained separate databases for each one of their services. So any information they got from your Google searches would be stored separately from information they collected from your Youtube usage history which was separate from your Google Docs account. The new policy combines all of these separate privacy policies and databases into one.

What will this mean for you? Not a whole lot, initially. In fact, most people won’t even notice. In the future, though, Google has made it public that they plan to combine data from various sources to make their applications more intuitive and more functional. The example they give is if you have a meeting scheduled in your Google Calendar, they will be able to pop up a reminder letting you know to leave early because they combined your location from Google Latitude on your cell phone with traffic information from Google Maps with the location of the meeting. Some people are spooked by this. Personally, I think it’s a great service, and is one step closer to the kind of seamless integration of life and technology that the Jetsons promised decades ago.

Can I opt-out of this?

It depends on what you mean by opt-out. Can you continue using Google’s services the way you have been without being subject to their new policies? No, nor should you be able to. Can you think of a single brick and mortar business that would let you walk into their stores and do whatever you wanted and expect to be exempt from their store policies? Of course not. To go back to the “premises under surveillance” example, it would be like walking into a convenience store that had security cameras on and demanding that they turn everything off while you’re in the store.

There are options, though, for those that are terrified of having anyone know anything about them. First, you can stop using Google products entirely. As much talk as there is of Google having a monopoly on things like Search, it’s actually not the case. Plenty of search engines exist that are not Google and not run by Google. Some examples include Bing, blekko, and many others, some tailored to specific fields and topics and other covering the whole range of the web. There are also plenty of email sites that are not GMail. In short, the reason people use Google is because it’s easy and it works, not because there is a lack of alternatives. Not using Google products is by far the easiest way of “opting-out” of Google’s new privacy policy.

If you want to have your cake and eat it too, there are tricks to making sure that Google can’t track you. First, as we’ve mentioned, most browsers allow you to monitor every cookie a website tries to place on your computer and allow or deny them one by one. Another option is to disable cookies entirely, although doing so will severely limit your ability to do things like log in to your favorite video streaming site or online bank. Another option is to use your browsers “incognito” mode (as Google’s Chrome calls it). Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome all have options to enter an anonymous browsing mode that limits the kinds of cookies that can be placed on your computer, as well as erases all cookies the minute you close the browser (and also limits what they place in your browsers history folder). Finally, for those that want to completely disappear, there are programs like Tor, called proxies, that allow you to disguise the location of your computer by sending signals through one or more intermediaries before they get to the website you are trying to visit.

Are there any less-intrusive options?

Not really. While browsers and websites exist that claim to be either completely anonymous or to protect your privacy, the reality is that every website you visit collects information about you. The reason Google is raising such a fuss is primarily because we’ve all come to rely on Google so much for so many different facets of our lives. In doing so, we forget that their services aren’t really “free”. We may not pay in money, but we do pay them in information, which to a company that bases its revenue on advertising is just as good. Considering how many wonderfully useful products we get out of the deal, I consider this a pretty good trade. After all, the real measure of how “evil” or “intrusive” a company is not how much information they have on us but what they do with it. So far, Google has not given any indication that they have ever misused our information, or have any plans to do so.

What does it all mean?

Nothing, really. We often forget that Google is giving away products that, until Google, many of us paid good money for. The bottom line is, if you want to use free services, you have to play by the rules. Just like if you want to shop at a brick and mortar store you have to play by their rules, or if you want to live in a city, a state, or a country you have to follow their laws. Most people don’t complain that they don’t get to opt out of, for instance, the US Tax Code, because they understand that that is the price of living in the United States. Similarly, using services on the internet means having to pay the price of admission. In this Google’s case, the price of admission is a history of the things you search for, the ads you click, and similar mostly-benign points of data. The new privacy policy is far more transparent than the old 60+ policies Google had for its various properties, and does a much better job of explaining exactly what information they collect, how they collect it, and what they do with it. Far from being a bad thing, this is a great improvement over the old system.

So, to break up the monotony of the week, we’ve decided to play a little game we call Trivia Tuesdays. From here on out, every Tuesday morning-ish, we’ll be posting a trivia question on our Facebook page (new window). First person to get the right answer wins a $5 Starbucks Gift card! Best of all, at the end of the year, we’re going to take all of the winners and have them go head-to-head for a chance to win a prize so amazing that we can’t tell you what it is yet. So head on over to http://www.facebook.com/LaptopMD and answer today’s question. Because nothing will make getting over Humpday tomorrow easier than some free coffee.

Some Legal Stuff: If you work for us, or you’re married to one of us, or you live with one of us, or you’re my best friend, or you once knew someone who’s cousin went to the same elementary school as we did, you are ineligible to win. I can’t stop anyone from cheating and looking things up, so I won’t even try, but in the spirit of having fun, try not to be too obnoxious with it. If you’ve won in the last month (30 days), you are not eligible to win. Stop being so greedy and let someone else take a crack at it. If it looks like a question is too difficult, I’ll periodically stop by and offer hints. Void where prohibited, etc.

The things are pretty impressive. The 13 inch models on display were significantly lighter than the much smaller 11 inch MacBook Air, with much brighter and higher-resolution displays. The cases were made with Toshiba’s proprietary Magnesium alloy, and seemed both sturdy and incredibly light (did I mention how light these things are?). They were snappy, and responded quickly to commands and input. Best of all, most of them are priced at $700-$1000, or much less than either the 11 inch or 13 inch MacBook Air.

My biggest problems were the hinges. They seemed loose and flapped a little more than I would have liked to see on a laptop. Especially on an ultra-portable. I’m going to go on record now and say that we will be seeing a LOT of these show up with broken hinges within a year, or right as soon as the warranty runs out.

They also feel a little…plastic-y. I know that the Magnesium shell is one of the most advanced in the wold, and is strong, durable, and light, but it doesn’t feel anywhere near as solid or luxurious as the brushed Aluminium of the MacBook Airs.

(Apologies for upside down pictures, they will be fixed shortly.)

That’s right ladies and gents. We’re here, and we’re bringing it all to you. From on the floor coverage and video-casts, to scoops on all the latest and greatest tech being shown at this years international CES, to scandalous shots from the hottest parties. We’re here, and we’re going to rock Vegas on your behalf. Stay tuned!

The Razor Blade Gaming Laptop

Suggested by Milan, Senior Technician/Manager

In the words of one of our senior techs, “The ultimate gaming machine 17”-es of gaming greatness. Don’t get me wrong, I love my amazing 11” alienware, but this is the new age of laptop computers.” And by ultimate, we mean ultimate. Super-model thin (.88″), incredibly light (6.9lbs), and packing a 2.8 GHz Core i7 with turbo, 8GB or RAM, and a 2GB GT 555M graphics card, this is THE laptop to bust out at your next LAN party. Oh, did we mention the Switchblade UI? 10 dynamic touchscreen keys that can be bound to macros and display game-appropriate icons, as well as a large touchscreen LCD panel that either displays game information or functions as a hyper-sensitive track-pad. Yes, it’s that awesome.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

Suggested by Zoltan, Lead Technician

The first pad using the much hailed and much looked-forward-to Tegra 3 quad-core chipset. A detachable keyboard with touchpad. 18 hours of battery life with the keyboard (did we mention it houses a long-life battery) attached. Do we really need to go on? Yes? Well, how about 178 degree viewing angle? Or the 8MP rear-facing camera with flash, and 1.2MP front-facing camera? How many questions can I fit in this description? Besides all that, it comes with Android 3.2 Honeycomb, but is ready for upgrade to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It also has a beautiful 1280 x 800 10.1″ screen and comes with either 32 or 64GB of flash storage. All this in an absolutely gorgeous brushed metal case in Gray or Champagne.

WowWee cinemin SWIVEL Projector

Suggested by Dima, LaptopMD+ Technician

I remember my last hiking trip along the Appalachian trail. It was horrible. Don’t get me wrong, the scenery was beautiful, the weather perfect, and the company pleasant and enjoyable. The problem was the new Elder Scrolls game had just come out and I could not. Put. It. Down. Carrying the Xbox wasn’t too bad. Even the generator at least had wheels. The 50″ Plasma, though? That was a killer. How much easier my hike could have been had I had a cinemin Swivel mini projector. At about the size of a point and click camera, it fits perfectly into most pockets, the projector head swivels up to 90 degrees for perfect picture, it can project a 60″ image up to 8′ at HVGA resolutions. Next time, the plasma stays home.

Nintendo3DS

Suggested by Nick, Lead Manager

After striking out with their first attempt at portable 3D gaming with the Virtua Boy (and winning the coveted #5 slot on PC World’s Ugliest Products in Tech History list), Nintendo has jumped in the arena yet again. Except this time their product is awesome! With graphics almost as impressive as the Wii, an elegant new design for the chassis, and all the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect from Nintendo’s latest-gen portable systems, this is the on-the-go gadget to have for handheld game enthusiasts. To top it all off the game lineup, already out and planned for pre-holiday launch, is amazing. Mario, Shinobi, Sonic, and a remake of the best 2D platformer you’ve never heard of: Cave Story.

Airzooka Air Gun

Suggested by Matt, COO

You know what you never hear about anymore? Bazookas. It seemed for a while in the 80′s and 90′s they were everywhere, and then…nothing. Makes you a little suspicious, doesn’t it? Like “they” are trying to hide something that “they” don’t want “us” to know about. It’s like how they covered up the alien spaceship that crashed at Roswell that no one knows about. Well, I’m on to them, and I have a secret weapon to uncover the truth: The Airzooka. Disguised as a mild-mannered office cubicle prank, the Airzooka is capable of launching a soft ball of air over 20 ft. Absolutely devastating to pets, paperwork, and clandestine government agents with comb-overs. Best of all? It never runs out of ammo!

 Roku 2 XS

Suggested by Tim, Director of Online Marketing

Cable is great. Paying a hundred dollars a month even though you really only watch three channels (IFC, Cartoon Network, and The History Channel!) is not. Then along comes Roku and says “Cable? What’s cable?”. With the ability to stream over 350 channels straight from the web to your TV, this is THE device to get if you’re looking to jump into the post-cable world. The 2XS edition is capable of wirelessly streaming beautiful 1080p content, and even has built in support for playing games, for those of us who still can’t put Angry Birds down. The best part is that even with Netflix and Hulu Plus, the $99.99 unit still comes out cheaper than most cable plans in just a couple of months.

Bang & Olufen BeoSound 8 iPhone Dock

Suggested by Pasha, LaptopMD+ Technician

iPhone docks, like iPod docks before them, usually look cheap and ugly and have horrible sound. After all, most people don’t want to spend more on iPhone accessories than they spent on the actual iPhone. Then along comes the BeoSound8. It’s gorgeous. Museum-quality gorgeous. Almost too good to be wasted as a dock for a $300 phone gorgeous. Which would be fine on it’s own for a lot of people, but the BeoSound8 also sounds amazing. The days of audiophiles complaining about digital music sounding hollow and tinny could well be over. It’s a little pricey at just under a grand, but with looks this good, sound this deep and clear, and the Bang & Olufsen name, it’s well worth it if you like rich, vibrant sound.

USB Tethering Pro for Android

Suggested by Arthur, LaptopMD+ Founder

Even in NYC, finding an open WiFi hotspot can be difficult sometimes. Especially if you accidentally wander into one of the outer boroughs. Well, unless you have a smartphone (if you don’t, why are you reading this?) with an unlimited data plan (see last comment). With the USB Tethering Pro app, you can turn your phone into your own personal hotspot, without having to pay the ridiculous charges the major cell carriers tack on for tethering, and without having to unlock and root your phone. Because if you’re already paying for unlimited data, why should you have to pay extra fees to use it, right? And with 4G a, you’ll likely get a faster connection than you would at Starbucks.

HIS IceQ X Turbo Radeon HD 6950

Suggested by Steve, LaptopMD+ Data Recovery Technician

It might seem shocking, but most of us at LaptopMD+ enjoy computer games. Who could have seen THAT coming? Not only do we enjoy computer games, we enjoy the latest computer games at the highest resolutions possible. And to get there, we need a graphics card that comes with 2GB of 256-bit GDDR5 memory. And a core clock speed of 840MHz. And a cooling system that could keep Frosty the Snowman intact in July. Which is where the HIS IceQ X comes in. With full DirectX11 support and CrossFireX support, this thing can handle pretty much anything you throw at it. And that’s before even considering the cards massive overclocking potential. A must-have for serious gamers.

Tesla Coil World Domination Doomsday Device

Suggested by Alex, Marketing Guru

I’ve been putting off my plans for world domination for a long time now, and I’m getting to that age now where I’ve started to realize I’m not getting any younger. So this holiday season seems as good a time as any to finally make good on my plans. Think of it as a long-overdue New Year’s Resolution. Now don’t be alarmed. I promise I’ll be a benevolent dictator once I use my giant, world-destroying Tesla Coil to enslave mankind. How about this, if all of you just come quietly, I’ll make Nintendo give everyone a 3DS? And some games. And maybe one of those fancy Transformer Prime tablets from earlier in this post? Sound good? Really, I think it’s probably for the best this way.

Happy Holidays, from everyone here at LaptopMD+ World Domination Headquarters!

It’s that time of the year again: the streets smell of chestnuts roasting, the Rockefeller tree lights up the night, and Oh Ya SHOPPING! Hours waiting outside, the lines to buy what you wanted the joys of holiday shopping are here. With Black Friday coming up this week to kick off the season we wanted to know what deals were worth climbing over people and standing in line for. Here are the deals that we’re standing in line for:

1) Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router

Netgear is synonymous with routers and this is one of their crown jewels. With dual band technology ensuring top WiFi speeds, while gigabit bandwidth offers ultra-fast wired connections.

The N600 usually retails at $149.99 but this Black Friday it is down to $79.99 at HHgregg.

2) Seagate – FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3TB External USB 3.0/2.0 Hard Drive

Why have multiple hard drives when you can back everything up onto one? This 3 TB external has enough room for all of your media. If you manage to fill it I have just one word for you: “WOW”.

The  FreeAgent GoFlex 3TB is normally $159.99 and will be down to $99.99 at Best Buy.

3) Samsung Series 7 Laptop / Intel Core i7 / 15.6″ / 6GB Memory / 750GB HD Drive

We all know Samsung makes one of the best screens on the market, but back that up with a 750GB HDD and a Core™ i7 CPU and we’re talking serious fun! Netflix will look so nice on this laptop.

Samsung – Series 7 Laptop is going from $949.99 to $799.99 at Best Buy.

4) Toshiba Thrive Tablet with 8GB Hard Drive – Black Tie

Welcome to the era of tablets!  This is the perfect laptop alternative: simple to use and light weight. The Thrive runs on the Android Honeycomb OS so you can play and work at the same time.

The Thrive Tablet with 8GB HDD is going from $379.99 to $279.99 at Best Buy.

5) Sony HDR-XR160 160GB HD Hard Drive Camcorder

Do you struggle at telling stories? Show the whole family what happened in high definition with this HD camera. Afterward you can download everything directly to an external had drive to keep for perpetuity.

Sony – HDR-XR160 is $599.99 and will b going down to $399.99.

6) iPhone 4 8GB w/ 2-year activation (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) at Best Buy for $99.99

It’s an iPhone4!

Enough said.

BestBuy

7) All Apple iPad 2s On Sale

Even though we don’t know how much the iPad 2 will be marked down yet, we do know even a little markdown is worth it.

And seriously: it’s an iPad2!

All Apple iPad 2 On Sale at Best Buy

8) Samsung 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV

As we have said before Samsung make one of the best screens on the market. Their HD TV’s almost redefine the term HD. With prefect color and unbelievable depth this is easily THE home TV to get this Black Friday.

It goes from $799.99 down to $599.99 at BJ this weekend.

9) Sony BDP-S370 Blu-ray player

Now that you have your HD TV, you’re going to need to get a Blu-ray player to go with it. Sony’s has you covered! You can’t get bragging rights to a home entertainment system if you don’t have a Blu-ray player.

Best Buy and Target will be selling the Sony BDPS370 Blu-ray player for $99.99

10) HP 20-inch LCD monitor

Now that you went HD in your whole house there’s just on thing you forgot to upgrade: your monitor! With more and more people moving away from desktops it’s easy to forget them, but Staples has a great deal to squeeze every last perfect pixel out of your desktop.

HP 20-inch LCD monitor is $99.99 at Staples

Of course being the compulsive deal hounds we are, we’re going to be keeping a close eye on things until Thursday night. Any tips? What Black Friday tech deals are you looking forward to?

Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

When Steve Jobs passed away yesterday, the tech world as  a whole lost a visionary and innovator.  Whether you’re Mac zealot, a PC user, an android enthusiast, or you simply care that your technology works and that’s it, in some way the products that we use and the way that we use them have influenced by Steve Jobs himself.

LaptopMD+ employees took a brief moment this morning to reflect on Steve Jobs and his influence and we want to share them with you:

Arthur Zilberman, Owner and President – “Steve Jobs was genius as a businessman, as an entrepreneur, and as a technologist.  One thing I love about Steve Jobs is the perseverance he had to continue building a great product and a great company even after being pushed back several times by competition and even his own company.  His determination and his drive were keys to his success and marked him as an individual.  He and his vision of technology will be sorely missed.”

Tim Bogus, Director of Online Marketing- “I grew up in the iGeneration.  The products that Steve Jobs pioneered may not be unique, per se, but his direction and vision moved normal computing devices in a completely different direction which had never been taken before.  Apple’s unique position now separates them as a computer company focused on delivering a superior product rather than as many products as possible.”

Zoltan Kovacs, Senior Engineer – “The guy built an empire from his garage – AMAZING!  His contribution to the computer world cannot be mistaken and his legacy will live on.”

We also would also suggest that you watch the Steve Jobs commencement speech at Stanford in 2005 – it is filled with great nuggets of wisdom and practical advice that is fitting coming from Steve Jobs.

1. The first masquerades as a PDF containing offensive political statements in Chinese and creates a backdoor that installs malware on a person’s Mac.
2. The second trojan virus poses itself as a fake Adobe Flash installer which temporarily attempts to siphon off personal information from the user’s computer sending it back to remote servers.

No Worms in this Apple, Thank You Very Much

Apple has responded with swiftness, quickly updating its central database of malware definitions, which are downloaded daily onto a person’s computer and used to notify users of potentially harmful files that they download.  (Note: Malware definitions are only available to users of Apple’s Snow Leopard and Lion operating systems.)

Users who have not yet been affected by these two trojan viruses should automatically receive a warning from the operating system before opening the affected files.  Also, it goes without saying that it’s always wise to only download software from sites that you trust but if you think that you’ve been affected, please let LaptopMD+ know and bring your computer in right away.

As a reminder: Apple’s malware alerts should not be considered fixes but simple warnings meant to keep people aware of the type of files they are downloading, providing an extra level of caution.  As always, make sure you are downloading the latest software updates from Apple and have installed an anti-virus program on your Mac.

Read more about these trojan viruses from Mac Rumors and CNET.

Commodore 64 with Blu-Ray Player

As geeks, a moment of joy and jubilation has been delayed – Last April, the Commodore 64 computer that many of us grew up on (a geek or not) was relaunched with modern hardware and a flashy redesign.  The Commodore 64 was the first personal computer for thousands, if not millions of kids and computer enthusiasts who grew up in the 1980’s and it’s been rebooted with the same nostalgic blue, programming screen.  I remember growing up that I used a Commodore 64 to learn programming for the first time and over the years it has been a personal lament that the computers were no longer available.

Today, 25 years after its initial debut, it is now possible to buy a modernized Commodore 64, either in the traditional tannish beige color or in a sleek black both featuring a modern intel chipset, graphics cards, integrated audio, and Ethernet/WiFi capability?  Don’t be worried if you think this new Commodore 64 comes with limited memory and hard drive capabilities.

Updated Commodore (64) VIC

You can soup up your new Commodore 64 with up to 2 GB of RAM and a 250 to 500 GB hard drive.  It’s comes with USBS ports, the options of a Blu-Ray Disc player, and is preinstalled with Linux but you’ll be able to install windows on it.  The traditional Commodore 64 models are available at pricing starting at $350 and 2 other models range up to $1500.  The modern, slim, and sleek Commodore VIC starts at $400 with 3 models ranging up to $1000.

Geeks are celebrating everywhere over this decision to bring back an American technology icon (I know I am) but so should you.  The Commodore 64 computers are sleek, compact machines that fit most budgets as a cool conversation piece in addition to being a usable and functional device.

From Top to Bottom: Toshiba’s Portege Z830, Apple's MacBook Air, Google's Chromebook

As we talked about in our introduction to ultraportable laptops, ultraportables come in many different sizes, shapes, and configurations.

We looked briefly at the difference between ultraportable laptops, netbooks, and tablets: netbooks are outdated compact laptops which were built with all the features of a laptop but in a smaller form and with processing power limiting functions to 1-2 tasks at a time.  Tablets, on the other hand, were built with the same hardware and components as ultraportable laptops but are designed to be a balance between a laptop and a smartphone with appearance and design as defining factors.

Today we look at the different types of ultraportable laptops and what sets each apart from one another.  Everyone is a player in this emerging market with PC makers, Apple, and even Google all laying a stake with ultraportables.  As we’ll see the characteristics of weight, battery life, and hardware configuration set ultraportables apart but function and form also play a big role.  Additionally, each type is defined by their small contributions and enhancements to the laptop, such as wireless syncing and cloud based offerings.

Read on to learn about the different types of PC, Apple, and Google ultraportable laptops and how the MacBook Air from Apple and Google’s Chromebook add unique twists that set themselves apart from the others.

Ultraportable laptops can typically be categorized into three different categories, typically based off of the manufacturer, hardware/software specifications, and other key factors.

PC Ultraportable Laptops

Acer, Toshiba, and Lenovo lead the pack in the still young ultraportable PC market offering most standard features of normal laptops though Sony, Dell, and Asus all have great ultraportable offerings. Growing with the help of Intel’s Ultrabook standard, the options may be small at the moment but look for this market to explode in the coming months.

PC ultraportable laptops or ultrabooks as they’re often referred to are starting to pop up more frequently as PC makers adopt Intel’s new ultrabook standard for mobility and portability.  The laptops being introduced today that can be defined as ultraportable are foregoing optical (DVD/CD) drives, user lighter weight material, and focusing heavily on battery life and power consumption.  However, it is still possible to find ultraportable laptops which have optical drives and adhere to the more traditional concept of a laptop.

Some great examples of PC ultraportable/Ultrabook laptops include Acer’s Aspire S3 which is similar looking to the MacBook Air and Toshiba’s Portege Z830 laptop which has a 13.3 inch screen and weighs 2.5 pounds, in addition to the Lenovo IdeaPad U300S.

The MacBook Air

One of the first laptops to spark the ultraportable generation of laptops, the MacBook Air is Apple’s signature ultraportable laptop that originally differentiated itself from PCs by letting go of optical drives and switching to solid state drives (SSD) relying on cloud based hardware components and external devices to pick up the slack.

The MacBook Air, available since 2008, was recently updated in July of 2011 with an updated Intel chipset and is available in 13.3inch and 11.6 display configurations.  The MacBook Air has claimed the “world’s thinnest laptop” title (at 0.76 inches) since its inception but is being challenged on all corners by PC makers for this prestigious distinction.  One other prominent characteristic of Apple’s solo ultraportable laptop is its 5-7 hour battery life which is rather good for ultraportable laptops.

The MacBook Air is being tightly integrated into Apple’s family of products, and is a cornerstone of its new cloud based storage system, iCloud.  Apple enables Air users to stream content over WiFi networks.  The ability to stream and share content between the MacBook Air and other macs offers a great solution to the storage problems all ultraportable laptops have for high maintenance users.  One other integrated feature, within the Mac family, that makes the MacBook Air unique is its ability to leverage Apple’s Time Capsule device for wireless storage as well as increased ability to stream and backup files over a network seamlessly.

The Google Chromebook

The Google Chromebook, which launched this year, is considered an ultraportable with a twist. As we’ve discussed, the Chromebook adopts traditional PC hardware but reduces other components, including memory and unnecessary hardware, to create a perfect device for running applications in the cloud with little need for a local hardware to back up the users’ needs.  Google has spearheaded the development of this new cloud based laptop with its Chrome Operating System which puts the operating system and the user’s functions in the hands of independent websites which now function as a generation of new web apps.

Although not billed as an ultraportable laptop, the Chromebook meets all of the necessary requirements of portability and mobility and is unique in its use of web-based software.

The Chromebook, with models available by Samsung and Acer, are simplistic in nature but very versatile in nature.  The versatility and portability of a Chromebook is achieved through its wi-fi availability and the almost non-existentence of internal memory and storage space.

Stay tuned to our series for a more indepth look at how to make the right purchase decision with ultraportable laptops, how you can use ultraportable laptops in different situations, and more in our continuing series.

Do you own an ultraportable laptop or looking to buy one?  What stands out to you as the best options?  What questions do you have as you’re looking to buy one?

What is an Ultraportable Laptop?

Ultraportable laptops are a newer breed of laptop that has been introduced to consumers in the last few years. These computers, aimed at providing the full experience of a normal laptop, typically apply the “less is more” approach in design so they can be more easily carried around than your 6-10 pound brick of a laptop.

Standard classifications for ultraportable laptops have yet to surface but Intel is leading the way with their Ultrabook standard to create a standard among PC makers. While less is more, the features of ultraportable laptops allow users to go farther and be more mobile than they can be with traditional laptops. Ultraportables are defined as laptops whose screens are less than 13.3 inches and weigh less than 4 pounds. Although screen sizes might vary and be as little as 7 inches, the emphasis of an ultraportable is its weight which determines, many times, what features are or are not included in the laptop. Battery life, overall thinness, and memory/hard drive space are also determining factors that make classify a laptop as an ultraportable.

Read on for more defining characteristics, netbooks are now considered defunct, and an overview of the various types of ultraportable laptops.

Due to the varying factors that define an ultraportable laptop, hardware configurations can be wide-ranging and even seem ‘revolutionary’ or just foolish (depending on your perspective) when compared to normal laptops. For example, some ultraportable laptops like the MacBook Air completely leave out optical drives (DVD and CD drives) in lieu of wireless connection points and the dependence on external drives. Some also replace high-quality, high-definition graphic chips with lower-end chips designed for less processing capability making functions like gaming less desirable. Keyboards may also be smaller than normal as the overall laptop size is reduced but this does not typically affect the higher end models which have higher resolution displays.

One last criterion that is being used to define an ultraportable laptop is the type of hard drive used, which may or may not seem like a big deal but it is a trend that is reshaping the price and usage of computers. SSD (Solid State Drives) hard drives are being used in ultraportable laptops as way to cut down on weight, conserve space, and maximize hard drive performance. Though the differentiation from traditional hard drives is nuanced, the key thing to remember is that traditional hard disk drives (HDD) are made of multiple, moving parts and are more prone to shocks and vibrations while SSD hard drives are compact in size, boot up faster, use less power and typically microchip based flash memory, much like a flash drive, smartphone, or other mobile device.

How are ultraportable laptops different from netbooks and tablets?

Ultraportable laptops are normally sized laptops that are built with portability in mind – minimizing the use of ‘heavy’ or extra components in the form and functions of the laptop itself.

Netbooks are much smaller than laptops in size, have a lot of extra components and features, and are only viable for a few activities such as surfing the internet, etc. Netbooks, for the most part, have been replaced by tablets including the iPad, the Samsung Tab, and others.

Tablets share many similarities with ultraportable laptops such as hardware and function. Ultraportable laptops, though, retain the laptop form factor and are treated more as a new type of laptop rather than an intermediary step between the smartphone and the laptop. Many of the features and components used in making tablet mobile devices are finding their way into the new class of ultraportables as both strive for portability and ease of use.

Stay tuned to our series for a more indepth look at the different types of ultraportable laptops, including models to buy for business/personal use and what to look for when buying one.

Got a question about ultraportables, netbooks, or tablets?  Share it in the comments section and we use your feedback as we continue our ultraportable series.

So this weekend, we will remember all those who lost their lives on that day, and honor all those who risked everything to help who they could. We’d like to send our gratitude to the brave men and women of the New York City Fire Department and the New York City Police Department, whom our very own founder Arthur Zilberman has worked with.

Just as importantly, we want to look forward to a better New York, and a brighter future, and the men and women from every walk of life and every neighborhood who are making that future happen. We will never forget, but we will never let it hold us back either.

It seems that in certain fields and among certain demographics, Apple products reign supreme. Among 20-somethings who work in “creative industries”, you’ll hardly find a single machine or gizmo without a shiny apple plastered somewhere on the case. Nevertheless, despite fitting squarely into that “20-something creative type” category, I refuse to own an Apple product. It’s not because I’m trying to buck a trend, or because I want to stand out from my peers. Really. It’s because when you look at it, there are very few positives to owning a Mac, iPod, iPad, or iPhone. Here’s my top 10 reasons why I personally will never (or at least not in the foreseeable future) own an Apple product (in no particular order):

1. Price: The cheapest current generation Mac available is the 11″ MacBook Air with the 64gig hard drive and 2 Gigs of RAM, which retails for $999. If you slide over to Dell, meanwhile, you can buy a 14″ Inspiron 14R with similar specs (actually, you get a processor almost twice as fast and twice as much RAM, a hard drive that despite not being solid state is 10x larger, not to mention those extra 3″ on the screen) for $599.99. Sure, you loose out on the form-factor and the ultra-lightweight portability , but I hardly think the extra 2.5 lbs of the Dell will kill you. And besides, I for one am of the opinions that hipsters could stand to get a little more exercise. If form is an absolute must for you, for $699.99 you can get the Dell 14z and still have $300 left over, which is enough to pay someone to follow you around for a day telling you how awesome you are. And that’s not even counting building your own machine from scratch.
2. Options: You can pick any Mac you like…so long as it’s the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. They come in a wide range of colors, ranging from “aluminum” to “metallic” to “kind of silvery” to “shiny grey”. That’s TWICE as many colors as are available for the iPhone. And don’t forget the wide range of configurations! You can chose from 2 or 3 different hard drives, RAM configurations, and graphics cards. For a company whose motto is “Think Different!”, their options all look surprisingly the same. I understand that that’s sort of the point: simplicity. Just as an adult who is not completely ignorant of computers, and recognizing that my computing needs are not the same as a million other people, I would like some choices in my hardware, thanks.
3. Chicklet Keyboards: This is a personal pet peve of mine, and I understand some people actually enjoy this setup. These are usually people who type hesitantly with one finger and think that the internet is piped into their house through a series of tubes. This wouldn’t bother me all that much, except that for whatever reason, other manufacturers have decided this is a great design decision and have taken up the chicklets. When will the madness end?
4. Back-seat device owning: Hey Apple, remember how people pay you in order to get one of your fancy iPhones? Remember that part? Well, generally, the way that works is that after they hand over their money and you hand them their phone, the phone is theirs. If you want to decide what apps should and shouldn’t be loaded on it, you are more than welcome to pay for an iPhone yourself. And yet Apple insists on micromanaging every possible interaction their devices have with the outside world. And most people seem completely ok with it. I shouldn’t have to jailbreak and unlock my phone, putting the hardware at risk in the process, to be able to load home-brew and non-approved apps on a device which I supposedly own. Period.
5. A thief, by any other name…:  More on the topic of approved and unapproved apps, Apple is quickly developing a string of allegations that they use  the App Store development community as free R&D for Apple products. Take for instance this case, in which apple purportedly took an idea for an app from the app developer and filed for a patent, using a virtually identical mock-up of the app’s interface to demonstrate their patent. Or the case of Camera+, in which case the app in question was banned for giving users the option of using the volume buttons to take a picture, a feature that Apple conveniently unveiled in it’s updated self-released camera software.
6. Apple thinks I’m stupid: Ok, this may be an overreaction, but must everything be dumbed down to the most basic functionality possible? I know some users prefer the simplicity and ease of use of Apple products, but I like getting to the heart of my computers and devices. I liked being able to set obscure setting on my first Creative MP3 player. I LIKE messing with my registry files. I thoroughly enjoy having a hundred and one toggles, switches, and slides in my control panel. Again, that’s just me, but so is most of this article.
7. iTunes: I absolutely can’t stand being forced to use proprietary software to do things that open standards software is capable of doing. Why should I have to use iTunes to load music on to an iPod? What’s wrong with dragging and dropping from file explorer? Also, why is all my music tied one device? Let’s say I have a home computer, a laptop, and a work computer. I want my music collection to be on all three, so why can’t I transfer songs from my home computer to iPod to laptop to work computer? Who is Apple to tell me what I can and cannot do with my music collection?
8. Tethering: Why does a wireless device need to be connected to a computer with a cable every time you need to update it or transfer media or sync contacts? It’s called wireless for a reason. I shouldn’t have to pull out my cord every time I want to do anything more complex than data tethering.
9. Proprietary Connectors: ‘Nuff said. The rest of the world somehow manages to do everything that needs doing with a micro-usb. Get on board, Apple.
10. Apple Users: Technically not a problem with Apple itself, but they certainly foster a particular culture. A culture that seems to defy all logic. Here is a computer built to be ideally suited to suburban soccer moms who can’t be bothered to learn how to operate their devices, and don’t quite “get” the internet, and yet it’s being adopted by otherwise tech-savvy youth. It’s as if the entire population of Williamsburg traded in their fixies and Vespas for Rascall Scooters. It defies all explanation. The only thing more puzzling is how anyone can have the energy to be so smug all the time.

With a sunny, cloudless sky and perfect 80 degree weather, it’s hard to imagine that just a few days ago we were running around in absolute panic. We hope that you have survived this hurricane and are healthy and safe. While we in New York City got mostly lucky and dodged a bullet, we know that many of our customers on Long Island, Staten Island, and in New Jersey were not so lucky. Our thoughts go out to all the people still dealing with flooding, power loss, and the damage Irene brought.

That said, it seems we in New York City are on a roll of underwhelming natural disasters. First an earthquake that was barely felt, then Hurricane Irene which luckily fizzled out. All we’re missing now is a mighty blizzard that drops half an inch of flurries, and a little tiny volcano and we’ll complete our bingo card. Whatever happens next, rest assured that we at LaptopMD+ will be here to help you with whatever you need, assuming we aren’t busy running for the hills from a massive 6″ tsunami.

Best of Luck and Best Wishes,

The LaptopMD+ Team

With Irene aiming directly for New York City this weekend, here are some basic tips for us New Yorkers to prepare ourselves digitally for the highly inclement weather coming our way.

Add your comments to this open thread as we weather the hurricane together.  Stay safe New York!

Backup Your Data Offsite and to Your Email – Whether it’s paper copies to put in your ‘go bag’ or a full-on offsite backup or file syncing like we recently talked about, NOW IS THE TIME to protect your digital life.

Upload important files and emergency contact lists to your email account and share them with your friends and family.  You’ll be able to access them wherever you are from any computer but be sure to keep paper copies with you as well.

Know Your Passwords and Download Pertinent Contact Information – backup your contacts, passwords, and other pertinent information to your phone from your computer in case you lose access to your computer.  Keeping printed copies, just in case, isn’t a bad idea.

Keep Your Devices Charged – Make sure that your devices are fully charged and that you have backup batteries for any devices which run off of battery power.  The electricity may go out so be prepared to ration computer and cell phone use due to a possible unknown outage period.

Protect Your Devices from Electrical Surges – New York City is no stranger to heavy duty storms but remember that surges can occur and short out electrical devices.  Keep your devices plugged in as long as possible but unplug them as soon as the storm hits.

Texts Will Come in Handy/Be Prepared for Bogged Down Networks – With an expected increased load on the cell networks, text messages may have a higher likelihood of getting through.  Communicate as much as possible with friends and family through texts if cell phone coverage becomes spotty.  Be aware that internet speeds will become much slower if local utilities are knocked out of comission – ration your bandwidth usage to conserve battery strength.

If the Electricity Goes Out – You can get more battery juice by shaking the flashlights.  Also, pack your refrigerator with food and keep it closed as much as possible.

Have you weathered a hurricane before like us?  Share your tech preparedness tips for Hurricane Irene in the comments.

Please note that if you are in need of repair service, LaptopMD will be open during regular hours on Saturday, 11am to 9pm, and (hopefully) on Sunday, 11am to 6pm, depending on exact weather conditions – Stay tuned to our Facebook page for up to date information on Saturday, Sunday, and early next week.

UPDATE: LaptopMD will be CLOSED this weekend due to Hurricane Irene. Please visit www.LaptopMD.com/Irene for more info and for a LIVE webcam feed of Hurricane Activity.

UPDATE x2 (8/29/11): LaptopMD+ is open normal hours for business – please contact us at 212-920-4833 or come in with your computer, iPhone, and laptop repairs.

On a more personal note, we wish our customers in the New York City area a weekend of safety and calm preparation in advance of Hurricane Irene.