Digital Trends
Suddenly as of late, I’ve been getting a raft of questions about which particular laptop and PC models stand out for use with Windows 7. It must be shopping time, and my guess is that a bunch of you are tired of the aging desktop and notebook products you are using and are now on the hunt for something new. Here, I’ll walk you through the products that I think stand out in this regard, from low-cost netbooks to business laptops, desktops, and the sweetest DIY options out there. And away we go…
We talk with the team over at FashionBuddha studios, based here in Portland, about the multi-touch table the studio recently put together for under $600.
Listen to our podcast about building your own multi-touch table here.
Task Manager Screenshot
There are two ways of making your PC run faster: You can spend money upgrading to new components (buying a faster videocard, more memory, or maybe even a more advanced CPU), or you can follow our guidance and invest a little of your time instead of your greenbacks and tune up your computer for free.
Besides, spending money on an old machine isn’t always a good investment. Plugging a spendy new videocard into a system with an aging CPU, for instance, is akin to bolting a supercharger to the engine of an old Chevy Chevette: It won’t matter how fast the card is if the rest of an outdated system leaves it starving for data.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
DIY Electric Car Clubs – Want to build your own electric car and break free from big oil? Join a DIY electric car club! We sat down with the Oregon Electric Vehicle Association on Electric Vehicle Awareness Day in Portland, Oregon to find out more. You can also check out the National Electric Auto Association here.
Spending a lot of money on your home theater and then not getting the most out of it is like eating pizza without tomato sauce. It’s really just a bunch of cheesy bread. To get that special sauce for your room, we recommend making a few simple adjustments and enhancements to let your theater truly shine. From a budget system to a high-end pin-up of a system, the following tips will get you dialed in, quick.
The old axiom that you can’t upgrade a laptop has never been less true. Sure, your nay-saying, desktop-bound friends who repeat it have a basic kernel of truth in their favor – the core guts of a mobile machine are pretty much set in stone. But if you’re not looking to completely revamp a computer (which can hardly be called an upgrade anyway), aftermarket manufacturers have found plenty of clever ways to skirt the issue of expandability, and slap new parts onto your aging laptop, giving it new functionality that may not have even been possible when it was built. So if your $2,000 wonder machine from three years ago doesn’t seem quite so wondrous any more, but another two grand for a new model isn’t in the budget at the moment, here are some inexpensive ways to hop up the old girl and get her running like never before.
We don’t know about you, but we’re tired of hearing about the economy. Who says you can’t have a little fun during tough times? While building a home theater may not sound like the most prudent idea, you can do it for relatively cheap – if you do it yourself! You’ll save money on the cost of an electronic systems consultant, the cost of gear, learn some really cool tricks, and have a blast doing it. Here are a few of our favorite DIY tips for your home theater. Just think of all the money you’ll save never going out to the movies again!
We’ve experimented with any number of home media servers that will stream YouTube, play movies across a home network, and stream music from a library of connected home storage appliance. And they’re nice if that’s all you ever want to do. But for ultimate flexibility, nothing beats a true home theater PC. Using a fully functional PC, you throw away all the limitations of a traditional set top box, building up a box that does exactly what you want it to, the way you want it to.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
We talk with the team over at FashionBuddha studios, based here in Portland, about the multi-touch table the studio recently put together for under $600. The team reveals why and how they made this project, shows off the cool applications it can run, and demonstrates how it can handle up to 30 points of contact at once.
See our slide show for a look under the hood of the DIY Multi-Touch Table.
When you have your first child, people seem to come out of the woodwork with all kinds of advice. There are endless unsolicited tips on diapering, feeding and sleep schedules. Well, to many, a home theater is like a baby, and with its birth comes a lot of opinion. Everyone and their installer has ideas, tweaks, products and plenty of other info. After all, there are endless audio and video products, as well as spaces, setups and resources. We asked 10 do-it-yourselfers to throw out the best advice for your growing baby. Here’s what they had to share.
Everyone wants to be an insider, and you can be one too! Choose your poison: sign-up for our Newsletter, join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. Do all three and you'll be swimming in the the latest news, reviews, videos and more gadget goodness!
Become a DT soldier! Join us on Facebook and share the best news, guides, videos and other cool information directly with all your friends. Some might even thank you for it!
Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Facebook.
Do you like information in small snippets? Then our Twitter feed is just for you. Follow Digital Trends and you'll be able to catch up daily on our latest content, or even interact directly with our team. Tweet Tweet!
Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Twitter.
That’s Right, Sign-up For Our Monthly Random Prize Drawings and You Could Be That Winner.
