All Content by Brett Thomas

Published on November 8, 2016 by Brett Thomas | Comment (1)

802.11ac is all the rage in routers these days, despite a slow start in clients that can use it. Even if you’re ready for the upgrade, a variety of market-hyped products makes figuring out the best investment a tough choice. We’re taking a closer look at TRENDnet’s offering, which sits in the middle on price and the top on features, and put it through some real-world use.

Published on January 15, 2016 by Brett Thomas | Comment (1)

VR is touted as the next big thing in PCs, and products like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive show it’s more than a mere pipe dream. However, is VR viable enough to eventually become mainstream tech, particularly on PCs? Or does it have a better shot at thriving on another platform? Techgage offers an op-ed on the matter.

Published on May 1, 2015 by Brett Thomas | Comment (1)

The latest revision to Photoshop Lightroom, called CC (or 6), is a typical Adobe release. That’s to say, there are some real steps forward, as well as some exciting features, but it seems we can never be without a frustrating misfire or two. The latest release is a definite improvement, but there’s still a lot of room to grow.

Published on January 13, 2015 by Brett Thomas | Comment (3)

In what can be called some of the most common and boring news in the tech world for most people to read, a new bug has been discovered in one of the world’s most commonly used OSes.  For once, Microsoft is off the hook – the bug is actually a flaw in…..

Published on January 8, 2015 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

For fans of low-power or small form-factor PCs, the world just became a more awesome place.  At CES this week, Intel showed off its new “Compute Stick” line of computers – small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, powerful enough to run a real OS. Intel’s new device is not…..

Published on January 5, 2015 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

Readers of our reviews know that I was blown away when I got the opportunity to review Logitech’s BOOM wireless speaker, brought from the sound labs of Ultimate Ears.  Prior to doing the review, I couldn’t imagine paying half the cost of that product for something as “simple” as a wireless speaker…afterwards,…..

Published on April 25, 2014 by Brett Thomas | Comment (3)

The press coverage for Heartbleed has come and gone, and it seems like the public has missed the message. Brett takes a step back to glance at the bigger picture of a world that authenticates based on what we know, and what that means when everyone else knows it, too.

Published on September 27, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (2)

Microsoft has been making a lot of weird moves lately, but the strangest of all has been its release (and now re-release) of the Surface tablet. With Steve Ballmer now out of lives, we take a look at his strange vision of Microsoft’s future – and how it has affected the company.

Published on July 26, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

For the first time since its launch in 2007, the newest version of Adobe Lightroom focuses on refining the experience for photographers with a few well-built features rather than packing in a bunch of cruft that most of us didn’t want. It may not boast a big list of “new” items, but the features that are here help establish LR 5 as the best yet.

Published on July 23, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (4)

We’ve had a lot of classic oldie-but-goodie games that have been brought back from the depths of obsolescence thanks to GOG, and many more old games that have received new love as they crossed to the open source community (Descent, Ultima VII, Sierra adventure games, Hexen).  However, true remakes of classic titles…..

Published on July 3, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (3)

As important as data encryption can be for the home user, it’s even more imperative in the enterprise. The problem? The most effective measures are usually cast aside in lieu of something a little easier to deal with. With the CipherUSB, Addonics hopes to bring “simple” and “most effective” together as one. Does it succeed?

Published on June 10, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (13)

The UE Boom from Logitech boasts an impressively hip advertising campaign and a promise to make music more “social” again. But past all of the buzzwords and pretty packaging, is this cylindrical speaker worth all of the hype? We take a close look… and can’t help but be blown away.

Published on May 10, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (5)

Whether you like it or not, companies have proven that they want our heads in the cloud. Adobe’s recent move to shift its entire Creative Suite there and make it subscription-only solidifies that fact. While there are some downsides to this movement that are blatantly obvious, the biggest devil may be hiding quietly in the details.

Published on March 6, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (23)

Six Strikes is live in the US, and the Internet is full of its usual rage. Rather than jump in swinging with both fists, Brett set down his editorial pen to let some truths come out before grabbing his own pitchfork and torch. With a little more knowledge and less gut reaction, he jumps to the defense of Six Strikes as the abused pop star that he feels it is.

Published on February 15, 2013 by Brett Thomas | Comment (7)

In advance of the busiest season at the office I work at, I wondered if adding an SSD to the slightly-aging Dell I use would offer a considerable gain in performance, and thus make the onslaught of work easier to deal with. Little did I realize, upgrading a Dell business PC requires a lot of patience, planning and snacks.

Published on December 20, 2012 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

Many sysadmins understand how to set up and maintain a network, but the concept of auditing is an entirely different world. In the first part of a series on auditing and penetration testing (pentesting), we introduce the concepts and tools for putting all that security to the test. We’ll also talk about our pentest platform of choice, the Pwn Plug.

Published on November 26, 2012 by Brett Thomas | Comment (9)

As a non-Windows user who’s forced to use Windows on regular occasion, there can often be problems or limitations about the OS that can cause you to throw your hands up in frustration. I’ve been there. But in this quick article, I’m going to talk about some free apps that will help you introduce some new-found power to the OS.

Published on October 19, 2012 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

It’s easy to overlook that huge corporations are far less dangerous than the small business you deal with each and every day with regards to information theft. Some institutions have treasure troves of info on you that can far exceed the “big fish”. If you work in a SMB, you can’t afford to have your info stolen, so read on for some important tips.

Published on October 10, 2012 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

AMD’s recent Trinity launch has turned a lot of heads thanks to its split NDA. Many journalists are calling “foul” due to the way it plays on our current press coverage, but Brett has a different perspective. He believes that this is not only good business, but (at least with this launch) better for the consumer. Read on to understand why.

Published on September 24, 2012 by Brett Thomas | Comment (0)

Interested in RAID, but not sure which option is right for you? The goal of this article is to clear up any confusion you may have. We discuss what RAID is, what it isn’t, potential dangers, differences between popular RAID levels and last but not least, what you need to get yourself up and running with your very own RAID.