Common Sense Tech

Duplicate music woes? Let iTunes Match clean up the mess!

Years ago, I went digital with my music. I ripped all my CDs, bringing everything into Windows Media Player. I didn't start with the iPod. The Rio Karma was my main MP3 player. Over the years, my music library moved from computer to computer. It migrated into iTunes (and into iPods, iPhones, iPads....). It gained new music from purchases or the occasional rare CD that I'd buy. And my music got really messy.

I shouldn't really care that somehow, I ended up with two or three different copies of the same songs. What does it really matter, … Read more

Does an app store's size matter if content is the killer app?

Apple claims 500,000 apps in its App Store for the iPhone and over 700,000 when iPad apps are added in. Google Play claims 600,000 apps for Android. Windows Phone is estimated to have 100,000 apps in its marketplace.

But do the numbers really matter, especially when the "new apps" may be content like video, music, and books?

I'm not a big fan of numbers just for numbers' sake. I watched search engines play the numbers game for years, each trying to be "bigger" than their competitors by having more Web pages. … Read more

Going 'unplugged' doesn't have to lead to an e-mail meltdown

This is the story of email and two vacations. Three, really. Because I'm on vacation now, totally unplugged.

Disconnecting is a lesson I learned from my breaks last year. I found that I could indeed walk away from e-mail and not come back with an out-of-control inbox. Maybe you can, too.

Last summer, I took two separate vacations, each lasting one week. During the first, I tried to stay on top of my e-mail. I didn't want to have a relaxing time off only to find 1,000 or more emails awaiting me upon my return.

I'd … Read more

How the Mac finally won me away from Windows

Windows 3.0, Windows 95, Windows 98, XP, Vista, Windows 7. Once I left DOS, I went Windows and kept with it, never feeling a need to jump to the Mac. I'd even enjoy some lighthearted mocking of my Mac friends about which OS was better. But a one-two combo last week of getting a new MacBook Pro Retina and trying Windows 8 is finally knocking me off Windows as my primary computing platform and over to the Mac.

Before I write any further, I'm not trying to ignite any Windows vs. Mac fanboy debates. Whatever works for you works for you, … Read more

Forget Retina, look how much the new MacBook Pro displays!

Yes, the MacBook Pro's Retina display does deliver the clarity we've seen from Retina on the iPhone and the iPad. But what's really impressed me is how much more the new screen can actually show on a single display. Even if going big means less than "full Retina" quality, it's still a great benefit.

My new MacBook Pro Retina arrived on Friday, far faster than I expected. I immediately headed for the settings area, to better understand how much more the 15-inch Retina screen could display versus the 15-inch screen on my … Read more

I can roam the world with a Galaxy S3. So why not the U.S.?

Samsung's latest flagship phone, the Samsung Galaxy S3, is about to launch in the US. I'm excited! But I'm also confused. Is this my dream phone, one that I can use with both AT&T and Verizon? Getting a straight answer has proven tough.

In the past, swapping a phone between the two major networks had been hard because they use different technologies for their 2G and 3G networks. Verizon uses CDMA (as does Sprint), while AT&T uses GSM (as does T-Mobile).

But in the full 4G world, both are using … Read more

Android updates embarrassing, but do users notice?

It was big news this week that most Android phones haven't yet been upgraded to the latest Android operating system. Developers also seem to still prefer writing apps for Apple devices, despite Google's predictions. That's sure embarrassing for Google. But does it make that much of a difference to the Android user? I'll offer myself up as a reality check.

The statistics on the sorry situation come from Google itself. Only 7.1 percent of devices that have recently accessed Google Play are listed as using the latest Android 4 "Ice Cream Sandwich" version … Read more

Developers, do you really need to autorun programs in Windows?

I can't wait for Windows 8 to arrive, not really for the new features but because it's an excuse to start over with my computer, to lose all the crud that builds up over time to slow it down, crud that maybe software developers themselves could prevent.

In particular, I'm annoyed with all the programs that load themselves when I start my computer. They're like guests you invite over for a day who instead decide to move in permanently. Go home! Or don't come over again until you're invited!

I'm a longtime Windows … Read more

Google: Your bridge from Outlook to any smartphone's calendar

I love Outlook. Don't judge; I'm not alone. It's an outstanding tool for handling e-mail and my calendar. But what if you want to view your Outlook calendar when away from your desktop? I've found Google Calendar Sync is an awesome solution.

I know there's Microsoft Exchange that many companies use for syncing Outlook to other devices. I've never been in an organization that used it. Instead, my life of syncing Outlook to a phone started years ago when I'd use Microsoft ActiveSync to have Outlook talk to my Windows Mobile phone.

Oh, … Read more

Google, Apple, Microsoft (oh, and Amazon): My multiplatform life

I was at the relaunch of Microsoft's Bing search engine yesterday, covering it as part of my "day job" for Search Engine Land. Blogger extraordinaire Robert Scoble was sitting next to me and got a kick out of how I had three different phones going: one Android, one iPhone and one Windows Phone. He then noticed I was running Windows 7 on my MacBook Pro and using Chrome as my main browser. Yes, I'm a mixed-up boy.

I thought it would be interesting to reflect why I'… Read more