I was forced to reset my Dell Venue 8 7000 (2015 model) today and due to the lack of instructions found on Google search I believe it’s now my responsibility to share the sequence here.  A factory reset will remove all user data and reset the Dell Venue 8 7000 to factory settings. Again, you’ll lose all saved data and images but if you’ve forgotten your password it’s the only way to resolve the problem. Note: I found this through trial and error. This may not be the official reset […]

What a pleasure it was to have a few minutes (well it seemed like a few minutes) to take a look back at UMPCs from 2006-2010 at the Techlounge last week.  If you want to know where the roots of the consumer-focused tablet are look no further than the Origami project. Others had done tablets before but Microsoft, Intel, VIA and a few manufacturers and brands did research from 2004 that resulted in the consumer-focused UMPC. While the research was correct (hat tip to Otto Berkes, wherever he is) the […]

I was working at CeBIT with Mobilegeeks on their Techlounge product last week. If you haven’t heard of them it’s because they’re big in German but not so big in English. I’ll explain more in another post but it meant that my focus was on creating videos (with the talented German, Rob Vegas) that would fill-in between the live sessions. In all we created around 25 videos in German and English and it was interesting to take a look at stuff I don’t normally look at. Curved monitors, for example. […]

It’s the 23rd of March. We’re into Spring in Europe and the sun has just moved above my neighbor’s house.  According to the local weatherstation there’s 365 W/m2 hitting ground level. I’m getting 1 Watt out of my 4W Changers Maroshi panel.

Weighing just 800 grams and packing 14 W of maximum output the Anker 14W portable foldable solar charger looks like a bargain at $59.99 / €49.99. I stumbled across this at CeBIT 2015 in Hannover and took a look over it. It’s well-built, has a regulated 5V output via USB and a lot of good reviews on Amazon.com. I’m almost suspicious of the 4.5 rating from 700 reviews though because I see some issues, and it’s not because there’s a partial solar eclipse over my head as I write this!

I had a Software Development Ultrabook a few years ago and it was the best Ultrabook I had ever tested. You couldn’t buy it. The Chromebook Pixel 2015 is exactly the same. It’s a small-production-run showcase created to tease (or reward) developers, to steer Chromebook designers, to show the competition what can be done and of course to generate buzz in the media. It will be available at a price of $999 which is just silly for a Chrome OS product. It’s over-specified too. In order that software developed for it […]

The use of this Shutterstock image might have just landed ASUS in trouble and it might cost them more than the €79.50  it cost to download the image from Shutterstock.  While they’re not in trouble with Shutterstock as far as I can see, they appear to have changed an image such that it misrepresents an Apple product. That’s the last company you want to be doing that with!

It’s easy to poke criticism at the new Apple Macbook because it breaks new ground for a laptop but we must pay respect to the incredible engineering and confidence that Apple are showing with this ultraportable. In reality there’s little to worry about with the Macbook, if you can afford it. Full specifications, videos, information in our Apple Macbook information page. Macbook USB-C and USB 3.1 standards. I use a range of ultra mobile PCs in my work and one thing is for sure, whatever ports I have available on my device […]