DIY How-To Reviews And Demos

Anyone with a screwdriver, some zip-ties and a little bit of know-how can build a PC these days. However, you also might want to know what's going on under the hood of that hot new laptop, or even how to build your own NES Classic console or Amiga PC with something as simple as a Raspberry Pi. This channel my geek friend is for you.

Custom PC makers are getting increasingly creative, particularly with small form factor gaming systems. There was a time when the lion's share of the sexiest gaming rigs consisted of high-end components mounted in large, gaudy (but fun) chassis with lots of lights, killer paint jobs, and perhaps a wild mass of liquid cooling tubes... Read more...
Tablets are extremely popular right now, but many users still need a more powerful machine to do serious work. For people who don't want two devices but desire the touch screen controls and convenience of a tablet, as well as the productivity capabilities of a notebook in a single machine, a convertible ultrabook may be a good fit.... Read more...
Microsoft and its partners were pushing Windows Phone 8-based smartphones hard this holiday season. In a market that's already crowded with plenty of great Android and iOS options, Microsoft and its partners definitely have their work cut out for them. Given its touch-friendly features, unique UI, and personalization options... Read more...
3D printing is a fascinating new technology and an exploding new market. The process involved is pretty basic actually. Heat up some plastic, and sort of like that Play-Doh Fun Factory you were so fond of as a kid, you extrude the melted plastic out to create objects of magnificence -- because you built it yourself.  However, 3D... Read more...
There was a time when 5-inch and larger smartphones were scoffed at.  The term "phablet" was coined and holding one of these things up to your head typically meant a bit of ridicule was in order.  However, as devices got thinner, lighter and ever more sleek, the 5-inch smartphone has become a hot commodity with devices like the Samsung... Read more...
Google Nexus smartphones are usually somewhat special in their own way. Not only do they ship with the latest and greatest Android has to offer, but they also usually offer a glimpse into the future of the Android platform. Take the Galaxy Nexus for example. Not only was it among the first phones to ship with a large, 720p display but... Read more...
Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga 13 ultrabook is designed to give users flexibility in a way other ultrabooks don't: This ultrabook features a unique hinge that lets the Yoga 13's touchscreen display fold 360 degrees, converting the ultrabook from notebook mode to tablet mode. Thanks to its dual-hinge design, the Yoga 13 can also be used in "stand" or... Read more...
Take a look at a smartphone from a few years ago compared to something available today and you'll find a number of major differences. Screens, processors, operating systems and more are advancing at a breakneck speed. However, battery tech has been stuck moving at a relatively glacial pace, as evidenced by even some of the highest spec'ced... Read more...
The original Samsung Galaxy Note was a bit of an oddity in the smartphone market. When it was first introduced, many reviewers, analysts, and industry pundits scoffed at the device’s relatively large form factor. The 5.3” screen on the original Note looked simply gargantuan next to anything else available on the market at... Read more...
If you've been waiting for the other shoe to drop in the tablet market, today is the day.  We're a few days ahead of Microsoft's Surface and Windows 8 launch on October 26th but the folks at ASUS (and other OEM partners) have been given the green light to let fly with their Windows RT tablet offering today.  Microsoft is allowing... Read more...
Motorola Mobility, now a division of Google, has been on a tear as of late, releasing potent new Android superphones to the market, in competition with the iPhone 5, Samsung's Galaxy SIII and many others.  Not long ago we gave you a look at the recently released RAZR M, the 4-inch little brother to the hot, new device that... Read more...
It seems like ages ago that the world first heard the now-unmistakable "DROID" sound-byte. DROID was originally billed as the anti-iPhone, pointing things out that Apple's iOS platform couldn't do, but proclaiming proudly that "DROID does". The campaign seems to have worked. To date, the brand has taken off, proving to be a... Read more...
Apple upped the ante in the tablet market with its Retina display found in the third-generation iPad, which offers a resolution of 2048x1536. Since then, some Android tablet manufacturers have followed suit by increasing screen resolution and providing a better display overall. Acer's latest Iconia Tab A700 is one such tablet that aims... Read more...
So here it is, the mid-2012 refresh of Apple's trend setting MacBook Air line. It's been four long years since Apple first introduced the MacBook Air to the world, which at the time was almost considered a luxury item, with a comparatively steep price tag versus other ultralight machines. That changed a couple of years later, and in the process... Read more...
If you are a fan of phones with physical keyboards you don't have a lot of choice these days. Generally you're going to have to choose between a Blackberry and a handful of Android phones, as most companies are focusing their attention on bigger and thinner devices. The Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE has the rare mix of a decent physical keyboard... Read more...
Last winter, Intel made waves by demonstrating a number of cutting-edge technologies it believed could drive the next-generation of lower power devices. In addition to its pioneering work with Near Threshold Voltages, the company showed off Rosepoint -- a prototype SoC that combined a dual-core 32nm Atom with an all-digital radio. As we covered... Read more...
Intel's Dadi Perlmutter took to the stage in the opening keynote of Intel Developer's Forum 2012 to greet an enthusiastic crowd and evangelize the company's vision of what they call the rise of "natural, intuitive computing."  On stage with Dadi were a number of Intel-powered devices including a myriad of Windows 8 tablets and new Ultrabooks... Read more...
Intel’s Dadi (David) Perlmutter, General Manager Intel Architecture Group and Chief Product Officer, opened up the 2012 Intel Developers Forum by reflecting back on the significance of this day, the eleventh anniversary of the attacks on 9/11. Today, however, also marks the fifteenth anniversary of IDF, so Dadi ultimately moved on to... Read more...
Ultrabooks continue to be the hot trend in the Windows notebook arena. With the recent introduction of Intel's new, low power 3rd generation Ivy Bridge Core series processors, designs are becoming thinner with every iteration, while paradoxically it seems, performance continues to scale higher.  We've seen Ultrabook machines from virtually... Read more...
It's no secret that HTC has had a rough time competing with other big name smartphone manufacturers in the last couple of years. It looked like the company might be turning things around with its One series and the EVO 4G LTE for Sprint, but then the company got hit with another delay thanks to a U.S. Customs review. The EVO 4G LTE is... Read more...
The term “laptop” can only be loosely applied to the nearly 9.39-pound Alienware M17x--you don’t exactly want to have the thing perched on your lap for any extended period of time. But you know what? Who cares. The M17x is a powerful and (mostly) portable gaming rig, and Dell can call it anything they want; awesome by any... Read more...
There are generally two types of iterative processes that manufacturers go through with respect to product development and refinement; there are feature and performance enhancements that result from market feedback and there are enhancements as a result of technology advancements and cost reduction (or both combined). When it launched... Read more...
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