With the increasing popularity of Apple computers, numerous third party accessories have sprung up across the Internet. Up for review today is one such accessory, the LowKey Stand by Macessity, a California-based company that makes a wide range of Mac accessories aimed at professional users. The stand, which is designed specifically for the iMac and Apple Cinema displays, is small enough to fit on any desk, but at the same time large enough to provide a stowing place for the new slim Apple keyboards. To top it off, the product also comes with an integrated USB hub, making up for the lack of front USB ports on the iMac. Read the Editor Daniel Foster’s take on the product after the jump.
With the increasing popularity of PC Fastlane, the site has been targeted by more and more spammers as of late. While some of the spam has been coming from bots, it’s clear that a good majority of it is human-based. Most spam is simply deleted on the spot, and the IP of the spammer banned. This not only takes up a few minutes of my time, but also wastes your time. To prevent this from happening in the future, please take a few minutes out of your spamming rampage and read the following guide. Read the rest of this entry »
Intel is currently working on what it calls the Rural Connectivity Platform, or RCP. The RCP involves intense modification to traditional 802.11 wireless technology to allow a wireless router to transmit data over a 100km span at speeds up to 6.5 mbps, providing Internet to remote areas or other places where the geography makes laying fiber optics or copper cable counterproductive.
The company is planning to begin sales later this year in India. At $500 for each wireless router and a requirement of two routers, the whole setup costs $1,000. This is more than the average yearly wage in India, but is much cheaper compared to running traditional cable. An entire village can share a single Internet hookup, and hopefully this technology will further increase the number of computer users out there, though I doubt a village in the middle of nowhere with no electricity will be getting computers any time soon, even with the availability of Wi-Fi. Though Intel hasn’t said so yet, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had plans to work with the OLPC or a similar low-cost laptop project to bring computing to the masses. If all goes well in India, Intel plans to make its new technology available to everyone. Many places could benefit from this technology, especially large countries with numerous remote villages like Russia.
With the increased popularity of Apple products over the past few years, especially the iPod, I have noticed my local Apple Store has been full of all kinds of PC-using smut as of late. While these undesirables may seem harmless to some, they are in reality a pestilence that needs to be dealt with accordingly. Consequently, I, Logan Harrison, have written my own rules for visitors to the Apple Store.
Have a love for running and technology? In a press release issued earlier today by Nike, the company announced their latest and greatest piece of exercise tech, the Nike+Sportsband.Slated for an April 10 release date, the armband hopes to make training easier for runners by displaying such information as distance traveled, calories burned, pace, and time. Though it is designed specifically for runners who do not use iPods in their exercise endeavors, it would make an excellent substitute for someone who preferred not to use the Nike+iPod setup.
There’s no word yet on pricing from the corporate shoe giant, and there is no word yet if Nike plans on making a similar device to track the productivity of its child laborers in Vietnam.
Gateways Into Electronics by Peter Caroll Dunn provides a good introduction of electronics to undergraduate students interested in engineering. A recommended read at PC Fastlane, it is considered to be one of the best introductory books to electronics out there, though it isn’t very well known. The book has been praised by many for the detail it is able to provide while still maintaining clarity. Anyone with a bit of physics knowledge and basic calculus can learn from Dunn’s book. With more than 500 figures and a variety of examples and exercises, this book is also makes a good reference as well as learning tool.
Some of the topics in Gateways Into Electronics include circuit theory, linear systems, operational amplifiers, feedback systems, semiconductors, and digital circuits.
In a stunt fit for the likes of our own Logan Harisson, a woman decided to call the Apple Store to see if they would host her wedding reception. Why? It turns out she and her husband first met there.Source
As the new comes in, don’t forget the old. Here are a few of our most popular stories from years gone by. Some of our more seasoned readers may be familiar with them, while new readers may have never seen them before.
I am often asked by friends and colleagues for help with computer issues. Such problems may range from simple software errors to full-fledged computer meltdowns. Whenever asked what tech support service I recommend, I am usually unable to respond. I am able to give myself and friends all the computer help they need, but when it comes to sending your problems out to another place, where should one go? Sometimes there are people who are simply too rude or who I don’t know well enough to help. Sure, you can call up Geek Squad or find an ad for a local guy in the phone book, but I heard about an interesting new computer help service today called Fast-teks. Now I have someone to refer the annoying old lady by the water cooler at work to. Fast-teks will go out to any home or business and fix any computers. Their pricing is reasonable, and they have a fair number of locations around the U.S. I will still be handling my friends’ computer issues for some time, but if I ever run into anyone I can’t or don’t want to help, I’ll have the number for Fast-Teks ready.
This is a sponsored post meant to keep PC Fastlane alive. In order to keep our site ad-free, from time to time we must make posts promoting outside services or products.
You can do more than view the starry skies with Pentax’s new $50,000 150SDP telescope. Who knew a telescope could do so much?
Little information about this telescope is available. It is meant for professional star gazers with its array of advanced optics, which include a 1120mm tube length, 150mm aperture, 960 mm focal length, and four lenses buttered in an apochromatic refractor. At 176 pounds, this hunk of telescopic love isn’t as easy to move around as you would like, but is still portable and is setup for astro-imaging. Americans will be sad to hear that the 150SDP is unavailable in the States, but it can be found on numerous Japanese and English astronomy websites.
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.
Read more about us here.
Intel is currently working on what it calls the Rural Connectivity Platform, or RCP. The RCP involves intense modification to traditional 802.11 wireless technology to allow a wireless router to transmit data over a 100km span at speeds up to 6.5 mbps, providing Internet to remote areas or other places where the geography makes laying fiber optics or copper cable counterproductive.
Gateways Into Electronics by Peter Caroll Dunn provides a good introduction of electronics to undergraduate students interested in engineering. A recommended read at PC Fastlane, it is considered to be one of the best introductory books to electronics out there, though it isn’t very well known. The book has been praised by many for the detail it is able to provide while still maintaining clarity. Anyone with a bit of physics knowledge and basic calculus can learn from Dunn’s book. With more than 500 figures and a variety of examples and exercises, this book is also makes a good reference as well as learning tool.
