Stories by Michael Scalisi

Streamline the move to Windows 7 with Easy Transfer

Upgrading users to a new operating system always seems to have its pitfalls, and Windows 7 is no exception. If you're migrating multiple users, you'll definitely need some tools to help automate the task.

A business case for the Apple iPad

Last Wednesday, Apple introduced the long-fabled Apple tablet to the world. Much to nobody's surprise, it is a 9.7-inch touchscreen slate based on the iPhone OS. The media response has been largely negative so far, which is slightly surprising given ...

Despite the cost, SSDs are great value

Solid-state drives recently hit the 1-terabyte mark with the release of the US$3,300 OCZ Colossus 1TB SSD. Obviously, drives at this price point are not aimed at masses. Yet, from a historical perspective the Colossus is remarkably cheap. It's easy t...

Why Chrome OS is no threat to Windows

When Google first announced its Chrome OS project, many commentators assumed that the Internet giant was challenging the dominance of Microsoft Windows. The truth is, Chrome is not a threat to Windows, OS X, or any distribution of Linux--nor is it me...

Six ways to botch your backups

Many of us were shocked last week that a company as prominent as Danger, Inc. could make such a rookie mistake by losing the data of T-Mobile's Sidekick customers. As a system administrator, if there is one thing you absolutely have to get right, it'...

New Apple iMac is jaw-dropping yet incomplete

Apple's new 27-inch iMac is so beautifully designed that it's easy to look past its most glaring defects. Yes, there are other 27-inch displays out there, but I've yet to see one with the 2560x1440 resolution that Apple is offering. This approaches t...

Three tools to boost your multi-monitor experience

Screen real estate just might be the one aspect of using a computer that has the greatest impact on productivity. While the penny pinchers at your company might initially scoff at spending the extra funds on what might be perceived as a luxury, all y...

Apple tablet's killer app revealed?

According to Gizmodo, an insider has revealed that the Apple tablet is indeed real, and mostly what people are expecting: A 10-inch touch-screen tablet running the iPhone OS, priced somewhere between $700-$900. However, there's a twist. The tablet ca...

Manage iPhones with Exchange

When iPhones first started trickling into my office, I was a little apprehensive. At the time they only supported IMAP and POP3 for e-mail, which can be tricky to support in an Exchange environment. Two generations later, the iPhone has become a robu...

Windows 7 will scream with new SSD drives

With Intel introducing new faster and cheaper SSD drives coinciding with Windows 7's release to manufacturing, it might make sense to include one with your next computer purchase. After all, Windows 7 is the first Microsoft OS to include native enhan...

Microsoft sacrifices Office to save Windows

Microsoft recently announced that its next Office suite will have a free online counterpart. It also just released Silverlight 3.0, which competes directly with Adobe Flash. While each of these products is competitive in its own right, they're coll...

Mophie cures iPhone battery woes

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a critical post about, among other things, of the iPhone's battery life. Since then, reports have poured in of new iPhone users who are displeased with the device's longevity, indicating that the new 3GS does little to all...

Firefox 3.5 can still learn from its competition

While Mozilla lights a fire under competing browsers with support of emerging Web standards with Firefox 3.5, it can still improve its performance, reliability, and usability.

Pirate Bay sale signals the death of an era

With all the outrage over The Pirate Bay going legit, I think it's time to reconsider the merits of illegally media sharing. The world has changed since Napster introduced peer-to-peer file sharing in 1999, and the culture that made the practice seem...

HTC Hero finds a killer app in Flash

The HTC Hero opens up a whole world of multimedia content with support for Flash 9, intensifying the spotlight on Apple's lack of cooperation with Adobe in bringing Flash to the iPhone.