I have yet to see a more enticing camera as of late than the upcoming Canon T1i. A budget DSLR set to be released this May, it has several features that make it stand out from the crown, namely: 15.1 megapixels, full 1080HD video, and a three-inch LCD with LiveView…
I’ve been a fan of Apple products for years, but when I got my first Mac a year ago, the first thing I did was chuck the included Mighty Mouse and replace it with a Logitech MX Revolution. You’ll often hear fanboys scream about how unique and innovative the Mighty Mouse is, but anyone who uses their computer for professional work realizes the limits of the mouse. MG Siegler at Tech Crunch hit the nail on the head. The Mighty Mouse sucks. Period. It feels very cheap and flimsy to the touch, and as Siegler states in his article, the buttons require too much pressure to activate. When I first tried out the mouse, I remember how pressing one of the side buttons would press the other side button. Not to mention Apple put no thought into the ergonomics of the product. Apple has always been ahead of the curve in most areas of the computer industry, but when it comes to mice, Cupertino has a long way to go.
Photography is a fun hobby, but unfortunately, it is also quite expensive. No matter how much gear a photographer has, true followers of this obsession are always looking to get more. First you buy the camera body, then you need a new lens, next comes the new flash, then you need a flash diffuser, after that you need a battery back, and finally, you need a backpack to carry it all in. Before you know it, you’ve burned $2,000 on your camera setup. It’s a little shared secret among photo enthusiasts that a good setup doesn’t have to cost that much money. Through buying used or refurbished cameras and accessories, one can get the same high quality equipment for 30%-40% less. In this guide, you’ll learn how to find good deals on camera gear and avoid getting ripped off.
For many years, Starbucks has been known for its high quality coffee. Opening up coffee houses across the world and invading grocery stores with dozens of fresh varieties, the Seattle-based company has become a household name. Last February, many were surprised to hear news of the company’s launch of a new instant coffee line. Dubbed VIA Ready Brew, it promises to provide the quality of traditionally brewed Starbucks coffee in a more convenient form. How does it stack up against the real thing? Starbucks was kind enough to send us some samples for PC Fastlane to find out.
One problem some Mac users experience is compatibility with certain audio file types. iTunes is great, but its format support is rather limited. What is most annoying, however, is people still package audio in proprietary formats without giving a second thought to universal compatability. Such was the case when I downloaded some music last night only to find it wouldn’t play in iTunes because of the FLAC file extension. Rather than go through the pains of finding a utility to convert it to MP3, I downloaded Fluke.
Fluke is great in that instead of converting the files, it installs the necessary codecs and files for iTunes to play FLAC files. It’s as simple as downloading and installing the program, closing iTunes, and then opening the offending files with Fluke. The songs are then automatically imported into iTunes. What more could you ask for? Granted, the songs won’t be able to be exported to an iPod, but given how easy Fluke is to use and the fact that it’s free, who’s complaining?
Keeping up with the Joneses is an expensive proposition. From that new boat to replacing the pool filter to booking vacation to Hawaii, there are quite a few expenses involved. It might be hard to keep track of all the junk in your yard, but how do you track those pesky expenses? Thank goodness for Mint.
Mint is an online personal finance tracker that can keep tabs on bank accounts, credit cards, and investments. The cool thing about it is it automatically categorizes your spending, making it easier to analyze. It will tell you how much you burned at P.F. Chang’s last week, exactly how much you are paying in interest on your VISA, and will even let you make custom budgets. Best of all, it’s free! It can even travel with you on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
PC Fastlane is a technology blog that keeps up-to-date with the latest happenings in the world of bits and bytes. The brain child of computer enthusiast Daniel Foster, the site has been around for more than two years and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands worldwide.
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