Stories by Loyd Case

In Pictures: The best new Ultrabooks

A wave of Ultrabooks -- light, thin laptops that have more capabilities and fewer compromises than ever -- is hitting the market. Here's a look at some of the current crop

Written by Loyd Case28 Aug. 12 08:28

Guide: How to sync your PC, smartphone, and tablet

A few years ago businesspeople carried a laptop on the road, used a desktop PC in the office, and worked on another PC at home. Maybe they had a BlackBerry, too--but only if they were real big shots.

Written by Loyd Case29 Sept. 11 23:55

Windows Home Server 2011: What it is and how to use it

Microsoft's original Windows Home Server was both crude and groundbreaking. When it debuted, it had limited hardware support, no 64-bit version, and weak built-in capabilities beyond file and app storage. On the other hand, it offered robust backup, reasonable security, and drive extender -- a feature that simplified the tasks of adding and pooling hard drives.

Written by Loyd Case27 May 11 00:31

Samsung SF510: Sleek design, ho-hum features

The Samsung SF510 undeniably looks good. Its sleek white exterior makes this all-purpose laptop look thinner than it really is, and the light weight doesn't hurt either. Flipping open the lid reveals an LED-backlit, 15.6-inch display and a nearly full size keyboard, complemented by a separate numeric keypad. The unit weighs just 5 pounds, 8 ounces without the power brick and 6 pounds, 3 ounces fully loaded.

Written by Loyd Case10 Dec. 10 11:47

11 uses for an old PC

You've finally gone and bought a new PC. It has a boatload of memory, lots of cores, and a fast, modern graphics card. But now your old computer sits in a corner, and although you know it's just a machine, it seems to be sulking like a puppy that missed its morning biscuit. It's weird, but you feel guilty with the whole idea of throwing it out.

Written by Loyd Case30 Oct. 10 05:16

Browser GPU acceleration: Navigating standards minefield

Once upon a time, in the distant past, there was VGA. VGA begat "Windows Accelerators" -- graphics chips that were slightly enhanced beyond dumb frame buffers in order to accelerate Windows-specific functions to paint small "w" windows on the screen faster. Later came 3D, along with a number of competing standards. That all settled out to mostly Direct3D on Windows and OpenGL everywhere else.

Written by Loyd Case23 Sept. 10 09:53

Nvidia's CUDA to support x86 processors

On Tuesday, Nvidia announced it was going to support x86 processors as a target for CUDA applications. This means that apps that are currently written to support Nvidia's GPU line for compute applications will be able to run on standard x86 CPUs--no GPU needed.

Written by Loyd Case23 Sept. 10 06:53

High-performance computing rules at GPU Tech Conference

Nvidia's GPU Tech Conference is evolving to have an even stronger emphasis on high performance computing than the past couple of years. Yes, there are token nods towards the consumer side of the business--Cyberlink is at the show, demoing 3D Blu-ray--but that's about it. PNY is here, but showing its Tesla and Quadro based professional solutions.

Written by Loyd Case22 Sept. 10 08:24

How to troubleshoot your home-built PC

Building a PC is a little like walking a tightrope without a net. Okay, it's not quite that dangerous, but unlike buying an off-the-shelf system, you have to be your own tech support staff.

Written by Loyd Case31 July 10 00:57
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