A certain social network’s initial public offering played zero role in my tech coverage this last week. Do you hear me complaining about that? No. Really, it’s okay.
5/16/2012: Sprint’s Evo 4G LTE: The Best Phone You Can’t Buy, Discovery News
I had intended to file this review late Monday–then was glad I didn’t. The delay allowed me to incorporate the strange news that broke Tuesday: U.S. Customs is detaining shipments of this generally impressive HTC Android phone (and its AT&T cousin, the HTC One X) to confirm that it doesn’t include features held guilty of infringing an Apple patent. It’s unclear when this contraband status will end.
Had I waited another two days, this review could have also noted that the loaner phone mysteriously rebooted a couple of times later in the week. I kind of hate it when gadgets act up like that after I’ve posted a positive review.
5/18/2012: Why You Can Spell LCD “LED”, CEA Digital Dialogue
As I started writing this update on the state of flat-panel HDTV technology, I expected that I’d only hear good things about the surprisingly quick displacement of “CCFL” backlights in LCD sets with LEDs. I did not–shockingly enough, swapping out one form of lamp for another still leaves room for a sub-optimal job by the manufacturer in areas like picture quality or energy efficiency.
5/18/2012: Talking TVs (Web chat), CEA Digital Dialogue
The monthly Web chat mostly stuck to the advertised topic, with questions covering everything from a clouding problem one reader observed on a new LCD TV to the prospects for “4K” ultra-high-definition (I’m not an optimist). I also fielded queries about e-book library loans, Father’s Day gifts (just let us sleep in) and possible features of the next iMac.
5/20/2012: An old-school fix for a new Mac problem, USA Today
Once again, fixing a problem on a relative’s computer led to a Q&A topic–but this time, it also gave me my first experience of Mac OS X’s little-known single-user mode. The column closes with an evergreen reminder: Don’t buy extra memory for a new computer from the manufacturer if you can help it, since you can buy the RAM from an aftermarket vendor at a fourth or a fifth of the build-to-order cost.
