PCMag.com: Tech Commentary

Confusing Always Online with Always On

Always online is pretty typical these days. It's always on that needs to be avoided to keep PCs (and Xboxes) safe.

Rethinking Yelp

Thanks to dingbat reviewers and restaurant pages with hundreds of contradictory reviews, Yelp is not the reliable service it once was.

Microsoft Partners With Paramount for Star Trek Cross-Promotion. Oh, Brother!

Finally Microsoft is getting into the cross-promotion and product placement game. How creative.

What Will it Take for Smart TVs to Succeed?

With a dedicated SDK to better integrate our second screens, smart TVs could finally take off.

Internet Taxation Coming Soon to a Link Near You

An online sales tax is starting to look inevitable. What's driving it, and is it a good idea?

Ask Alex: How Not to Offend With Headphones

Taking personal calls at the office; Using an alias on Facebook; When you should remove your headphones

Twitter Fails With "Who to Follow" Recommendations

With all the data Twitter collects, you'd think it could recommend some relevant people to follow.

Is Google Glass a World-Class Hoax?

All signs say yes.

Microsoft Office's Spaghetti Code Mess

A faster Officer upgrade cycle is warmly welcomed but it will mean messier code and thus more bugs.

What Should We Expect Now That Books Are a Service, Not a Product?

Authors will have to adapt further to consumer demand and decreasing pay checks.

Yahoo Blows It Again

Yahoo yet again is shutting down some of its useful products and services, leaving onlookers puzzled.

PCs Aren't Slumping Just Because of Windows 8

The rise of smartphones and the tablet market are arguably more responsible for the sales decline than Microsoft's latest software.

Ask Alex: Can I Use My Phone at the Dinner Table?

A better way to end your emails; Texting during meals; Sharing passwords with your partner

Wireless Witch: Lease or Buy a Cable Modem?

What are the pros and cons of buying your own DSL or cable modem rather than leasing it from an ISP?

Microsoft Calls its Competition 'Boring' and 'a Mess'

Maybe the company should look in the mirror before it goes calling Google's Android a "mess" and Apple's iOS "boring."

Why I Hope Google Glass Flops

Google Glass will ruin what remains of meaningful social interaction and for that reason (and more) I hope it fails.

The Truth About Google Fiber

The news that Austin is Google Fiber's next stop has pundits scurrying around for more answers.

Apple's Profits Vs. Market Share Conundrum

Will Apple deliver a low-cost iPhone or iPad in order to gain market share even if it means taking a hit on profits?

Indie Game Developers Revive Platformers

Once a dying genre, the side-scrolling platformer video game has seen new life thanks to the growing indie developer scene.

The Big Business of Buying Twitter Followers

A larger Twitter following doesn't mean more clout, it means a larger budget.

Will Samsung Open Its Own Retail Stores?

With the wild success of the Apple Store, which tech giant will be next to open its own brick-and-mortar retail shop?

Personal Computing: Same Story, Different Day

Are tablet sales going to surpass laptop and desktop PC sales in the next four to five years? Yes. Are tablets going to completely replace all PCs in the same time frame? No.

The Flaw in Samsung's Mobile Strategy

Samsung must take control of several areas of its mobile business in order to rival Apple and Google and a few recent moves tip that it's well on its way.

Why Yelp Needs Help

The directory service used to be helpful but has depreciated because of an overload of user reviews.

Google Chrome's Blink: More Than Meets the Eye?

Google recently stunned the internet tech world by announcing that it would abandon the mobile-standard WebKit page-rendering engine in its Chrome browser.

Courts Press Pause on Second-Hand Digital Music Company ReDigi

A US judge has ruled that reselling digital music breaches copyright and for once, I'm not sure where I stand.

Could WikiLeaks, Not Spamhaus, Be the Target of Cyber Attacks?

There's something very fishy about this whole Cyberbunker situation and I think it all traces back to WikiLeaks.

Samsung's Galaxy S4 Launch: All Spectacle, No Specs

Samsung should have focused more on features and less on fanfare at its Galaxy S4 launch.

The EU Needs to Quit Crying Over Google Search

If European companies have so many gripes about Google's search algorithms, then why don't they build a competitive offering?

Why You Should Get a Range Extender

Ranger extenders can work wonders, and I specifically recommend those from Netgear.