Steve Bass

TechBite: Adios USB 2.0–Hello USB 3.0

Steve Bass / June 14, 2010

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By Steve Bass

It’s not like I have anywhere important to go to, but I still hate to wait. That’s why I’m enjoying USB 3.0.

Let’s get the numbers out of the way; then I’ll talk practicalities.

USB specs are inflated… they always are. USB 2.0 is rated at 480 Mbit/s (about 57MB/s) while USB 3.0 is 4.8 Gbit/s (572 MB/s). In the real world, the only users getting these speeds are the marketing people who dreamed up the specs. On my PC, USB 2.0 moved files at 25MB/s and USB 3.0 can get up to 55MB/s.

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TechBite: A Smart Printer with $4.99 Cartridges

Steve Bass / May 28, 2010

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By Steve Bass

I think we’ve got the razor-blade method of marketing printers figured out: Sell the printer for a couple of bucks, then gouge and exploit us on cartridges. I hate it.

Lexmark makes its money the old-fashioned way. It sells printers at higher-than-competitor’s printers, but then sells the ink cartridges at reasonable prices.

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TechBite: Free iPad Beta Testing Scam & Copy Machine ID Theft Risks

Steve Bass / May 19, 2010

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By Steve Bass

Privacy risks now extend to very legit looking sites and even your office copy machine. Yes, the copy machine!

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TechBite: 7 Handy Firefox Add-ons & Tweaks

Steve Bass / May 3, 2010

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By Steve Bass

Make Firefox Even Better

I know many of you still stubbornly use Internet Explorer (hello, Carl). I used to, as well. But Firefox, with all its lovely add-ons and tweaks, is just more fun to use.

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TechBite: 10 Unusually Useful Web Sites; Password Revealer

Steve Bass / April 16, 2010

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By Steve Bass

I spend lots of time patrolling the Internet, looking for sites that can help me with my life. Some are pin-pointed to something I might need right away, like Contact Help, a way to get the phone number of a company. Others are spots I know I’ll need someday, such as instructions for recovering a ring from a drainpipe or how to wrap an extension cord like a pro.

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TechBite: 5 Cool Tricks & Sites for Cell Phones

Steve Bass / April 5, 2010

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By Steve Bass

Spend some quality time with your cell phone and landline with these 5 great web sites and services.

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TechBite: Keyboard Spring Cleaning

Steve Bass / March 22, 2010

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By Steve Bass

My keyboard’s always catching junk — dust, bread crumbs, and unidentifiable schmutz. I know for a fact that a clean keyboard lets me type faster and more intelligently, and more important, lets me finish this newsletter more quickly.

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TechBite: 2 Weapons to Fight Spam

Steve Bass / March 8, 2010

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By Steve Bass

I wrote about “plus addressing” years ago in PC World. It’s a trick to spot where spam is coming from and stop it from landing in your inbox. Basically, you use a unique e-mail address when you sign up for a newsletter or Web service. If you start receiving spam at that distinct e-mail address, you know it’s been compromised.

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TechBite: Got Duplicate Files? Dump Them

Steve Bass / February 8, 2010

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By Steve Bass

No matter how neat you are, I guarantee your drive has duplicate files. How can you find them?

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TechBite: JDownloader -Open Source, Free, and Terrific

Steve Bass / January 26, 2010

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By Steve Bass

For years I used FlashGet to download freebie tools and legitimate movies and TV shows. FlashGet works fine, but it just hasn’t kept up with a few innovative — and downright lovely — features in my new favorite…

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