Backside Bus

These days it is not uncommon for home networks to rival the business networks of 10 years ago. Rather than having the family computer that everyone has to share, people may have more than one desktop, a laptop or two, tablets, and smartphones. This  can make finding files hard... they are saved in local folders by default, so if you created, say, an address list for mail merges on your laptop, but then need to refer to it later while on your desktop, it is not available. How can you make this work better? You could set up a machine to serve as a file server (using something like a Windows HomeGroup , or more basic NTFS or SMB  shares) and use it as a repository for your files. This works well, but it can be complicated to set up and maintain, and the files may not be accessible to all your devices. Using a cloud-based service such as SkyDrive also works, but there is still an accessibility question and you can lose access to files if your Internet connectio...

I recently obtained a new Sony Vaio Ultrabook - the SVT13128CXS. This is a robust laptop that can easily serve as a desktop replacement while, at 3.77 lbs. and .71" thick, being small an light enough to not be a burden to carry around on a daily basis. Specs The Vaio SVT13128CXS has a 13.3" multitouch screen and comes with an Intel Core i7 3517U CPU running at 1.9 GHz, a 256 GB Solid State Drive, and 8 GB of RAM, and the Windows 8 Operating System . It has all the common ports: HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, and a MemoryStick/SD card slot, and has built-in 802.11 b/g/n wireless as well as Bluetooth 4.0. It also has a 1.3 MP HD Web cam. Design Like most high-end Vaio laptops, the SVT13128CXS looks great. The brushed aluminum casing and sleek lines look good and resist fingerprints. It feels solid, and, while a little thicker than some of the offerings out there, at .71" it is still very thin. The ports are easy to access and are spaced well enough t...

This is a bummer ... I had been hoping to get one of these, but when they didn't come out for over a month and there was no word on how long they were delayed, I decided to get my Sony Ultrabook instead.

Had a little early Christmas yesterday... well, technically a late birthday. I got a Sony Vaio T-series ultrabook and a 64 GB Microsoft Surface RT . Playing with them now. Quick first impressions of the Vaio: this thing is incredibly fast... from power off to using Office 2010 apps in under 20 seconds, including the time it takes to enter my password. Also, this is the kind of machine Windows 8 was made for. Surface RT impressions: decent tablet, but quirky. System messages call it a PC, which makes me chuckle when I see them. Not seeing the speed issues I read about in the early reviews, but mine updated right when I got it. Office 2013 RT is the best tablet office suite I have used, and it integrates well with my SkyDrive. I'm impressed with Microsoft's work on creating a seamless ecosystem... I upgraded my desktop when Windows 8 came out, and when I set up both systems, my settings (including wireless network settings) synced. I set the Surface up at ...