- Follow this blog:
- RSS
- Email Alert
TR Dojo
-
Lenovo IdeaPad K1 teardown: Easy to open, not so easy to service
The Lenovo IdeaPad K1 has a removable back cover and replaceable battery, but unfortunately it's more difficult to work on than it should be.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 31, 2011, 9:28 AM PDT | Latest comment by khf1972
-
Essential Gmail and Google Apps keyboard shortcuts
Bill Detwiler helps you work faster and smarter in Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar with must-know keyboard shortcuts.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 25, 2011, 10:39 AM PDT | Latest comment by birumut
-
Drobo B800i SAN storage device teardown: Proprietary motherboard with Marvell processor
The Data Robotics Drobo B800i iSCSI SAN storage device is easy to work on, but the manufacturer will likely be your only source for the proprietary hardware.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 24, 2011, 9:51 AM PDT | Latest comment by birumut
-
HP loses $206 per TouchPad during fire sale
By slashing the TouchPad's price, HP hopes to work off unsold inventory and cut its losses. Here's a look at what the company loses on each unit.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 23, 2011, 12:29 PM PDT | Latest comment by birumut
-
Work faster in Word by customizing the Office 2010 Ribbon
Bill Detwiler helps you take control of the Office 2010 Ribbon by adding shortcuts to the Quick Access Toolbar, creating your own tabs, and removing unused tabs.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 18, 2011, 7:39 AM PDT | Latest comment by Lost Cause?
-
Acer Iconia Tab teardown: Easy-to-service, 3G-ready
The Acer Iconia Tab has a stylish exterior, but the Android tablet also has a removable back cover, replaceable battery, and 3G-ready internal design.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 17, 2011, 9:23 AM PDT | Latest comment by seanreever
-
Cracking Open Motorola: StarTAC, XOOM, and DVR teardowns
As Google makes plans to buy Motorola Mobility, TechRepublic cracks open old and new Motorola tech, including the classic StarTAC flip phone.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 15, 2011, 1:58 PM PDT | Latest comment by rkm@...
-
TR Dojo Quiz: IBM PC celebrates 30th anniversary
The IBM Personal Computer celebrates its 30th anniversary this week, take our IBM PC quiz and test your knowledge of this piece of computer history.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 11, 2011, 1:40 PM PDT | Latest comment by learn4ever
-
Roku 2 XS teardown analysis: Smaller device hides significant hardware changes
A new processing platform and consolidated USB/Ethernet controller let the tiny Roku 2 XS deliver 1080p video and run apps like Angry Birds.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 10, 2011, 9:49 AM PDT | Latest comment by wrcousert
-
Stop users accidentally installing Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7
Bill Detwiler uses Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Blocker Toolkit to prevent Windows 7 from marking IE 9 as an important update.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 9, 2011, 8:57 AM PDT | Latest comment by spdragoo@...
-
Asus Eee Pad Transformer teardown: Convoluted, but 3G-ready internal design
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101's internal design leaves room for a 3G card, but also makes the 10-inch Android tablet difficult to work on.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 2, 2011, 1:43 PM PDT | Latest comment by techguy000
-
Make Gmail act like Outlook with these two quick tips
Bill Detwiler shows you how to make Gmail work like Outlook by turning off conversation view and sorting mail with filters and labels.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 1, 2011, 8:52 AM PDT | Latest comment by ElisabethBaker
-
Apple Mac Mini 2011 teardown: Goodbye optical drive, hello Thunderbolt port
Apple upgrades the 2011 Mac Mini with Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, more RAM, a larger hard drive, and a Thunderbolt port. But, they removed the optical drive.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 26, 2011, 4:15 PM PDT | Latest comment by isama001@...
-
Reset a Mac admin password with the OS X Reset Password utility
Bill Detwiler shows you how to reset a Mac OS X local admin password with Apple’s Reset Password utility.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 25, 2011, 8:17 AM PDT | Latest comment by clibby
-
MacBook Air (2011 13-inch) Teardown: Evolutionary, not revolutionary
Bill Detwiler cracked open the 13-inch 2011 MacBook Air. Inside the case, he found a few significant hardware upgrades, but the same basic internal layout.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 22, 2011, 11:44 AM PDT | Latest comment by kharnak
-
OS X Lion upgrade: Smooth, quicker than expected
Apple's download-only distribution for OS X Lion could have been and upgrade nightmare, but Bill Detwiler installed the Mac OS in under 45 minutes and with no problems.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 20, 2011, 1:49 PM PDT | Latest comment by Peconet Tietokoneet
-
Toshiba Thrive teardown: Most laptop-like Android tablet
The Toshiba Thrive's full-size ports make it a very laptop-like device, but they also risk making it too big and heavy for some tablet users.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 19, 2011, 5:35 PM PDT | Latest comment by pthiel69
-
Free Windows utilities you should download right now
From defragmentation utilities to password reset tools, Bill Detwiler lists free Windows utilities that you should download right now.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 19, 2011, 12:43 PM PDT | Latest comment by paventhan89
-
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 teardown: Daintiest of the Android tablets
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is sleek, sexy, and light, but also delicate and best kept out of harm's way.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 13, 2011, 6:51 AM PDT | Latest comment by tbombon@...
-
Five blatant security mistakes you should avoid when setting up a wireless access point
Bill Detwiler shows you how to avoid five blatant security mistakes when deploying a new wireless access point.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 12, 2011, 12:11 PM PDT | Latest comment by Arctic.Moet
-
Delete hiberfil.sys by disabling Windows Hibernate function
Hiberfil.sys can use several GB of hard disk space. Delete the file, and it will likely return. Bill Detwiler explains how to get rid of it for good.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | February 5, 2010, 1:48 PM PST | Latest comment by HAL 9000
-
Set up a free SSH server on Windows 7 with freeSSHd
freeSSHd is a handy little application. Learn how to use freeSSHd to get an SSH server up and running on a Windows 7 machine.
Posted by Jack Wallen | August 7, 2012, 11:21 AM PDT | Latest comment by wrzxc
-
Replace Windows Explorer with a free, feature-rich file manager
Bill Detwiler examines five free file managers that might make IT pros and power users dump Windows Explorer.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | November 14, 2011, 8:59 AM PST | Latest comment by lord_beavis
-
Clone and move virtual machines in VirtualBox
Jack Wallen describes cloning and moving virtual machines in VirtualBox. He tested this process going from Linux to Linux, Linux to Windows, and Windows to Linux hosts.
Posted by Jack Wallen | June 14, 2012, 8:46 AM PDT | Latest comment by matworld2000
-
Reduce the size of the WinSxS folder with vsp1cln.exe and compcln.exe
Deleting files from the Windows Side-by-side (WinSxS) folder is a bad idea. But, you can shrink the WinSxS folder with vsp1cln.exe and compcln.exe.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | October 2, 2009, 9:14 AM PDT | Latest comment by niente0
-
The best free IT tools for cheapskate admins
Jack Wallen lists 11 free applications that can be useful to any IT admin adhering to a strict budget. From antivirus software to a backup utility and more, we've got you covered.
Posted by Jack Wallen | August 11, 2012, 11:30 PM PDT | Latest comment by Jason S from Spiceworks
-
Monitor Windows 7 boot logs with the help of msconfig
If you just want to analyze what occurs during the boot process on a Windows 7 machine, Jack Wallen says msconfig is the perfect tool for the job.
Posted by Jack Wallen | July 27, 2012, 1:45 PM PDT | Latest comment by Julie9009
-
Five Firefox Add-ons for taking Web page screenshots
Five free Firefox Add-ons that let you take, edit, and even share screenshots of a Web page.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | May 7, 2010, 8:36 PM PDT | Latest comment by susbox
-
Four cost-effective POS systems for small businesses
Point of sale software can cost a pretty penny. If you're shopping for a POS product, the ones featured here are either free or should be affordable for small businesses.
Posted by Jack Wallen | August 24, 2012, 1:51 PM PDT | Latest comment by LivePOS2013
-
Save images in Microsoft Word documents as separate files
Save Word document images as separate files with the Save as Web page option (Word 2000/2002/XP/2003) or by unzipping the .docx file (Word 2007).
Posted by Bill Detwiler | September 10, 2009, 10:25 AM PDT
-
Make Gmail act like Outlook with these two quick tips
Bill Detwiler shows you how to make Gmail work like Outlook by turning off conversation view and sorting mail with filters and labels.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 1, 2011, 8:52 AM PDT | Latest comment by ElisabethBaker
-
Replace SyncToy with FreeFileSync for your SMB backup needs
FreeFileSync is an open source, cross-platform backup tool. Learn how to install it and then use it to set up a backup job.
Posted by Jack Wallen | November 26, 2012, 2:19 PM PST | Latest comment by Slayer_
-
Increase the number of workstations a user can join to a domain
Change the number of machines a user can join to a domain by editing the ms-DS-MachineAccountQuota attribute with ADSI Edit.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | September 25, 2009, 12:50 PM PDT
-
Enable the mounting of ext2/3 file systems on a Windows machine
One of the easiest ways to get data off an ext2/3 disk from a Windows machine is to use Ext2Fsd. Here are Ext2Fsd installation and usage instructions.
Posted by Jack Wallen | September 17, 2012, 5:01 PM PDT | Latest comment by rjsdavis
-
Solutions to an Android email and untrusted server certificate problem
Microsoft's frequent changes may cause issues with the email you receive on your Android phone. Jack Wallen offers a reader advice about such a problem.
Posted by Jack Wallen | May 11, 2012, 8:06 AM PDT | Latest comment by arnoldlodge
-
Registry hack tricks Windows XP SP2 into thinking it’s running SP3
You can make a machine running Windows XP SP2 think it's running SP3 with this quick and easy registry hack.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | August 10, 2010, 12:55 PM PDT | Latest comment by hammad1238
-
Video: Create your own bootable USB flash drive for Windows XP
In this IT Dojo video, Bill Detwiler, TechRepublic's Head Technology Editor, explains the process and pitfalls of creating a bootable Windows XP USB flash drive. You'll learn how to configure a...
Posted by Bill Detwiler | April 28, 2008, 11:59 AM PDT | Latest comment by dvijaydev46
-
Edit PDF documents with LibreOffice Draw
With LibreOffice Draw, you can edit basic PDFs without splurging for Adobe Acrobat or jumping through any hoops with add-ons.
Posted by Jack Wallen | July 25, 2012, 8:29 AM PDT | Latest comment by Andrewbuk
-
Find unused computer accounts in Active Directory with dsquery
Bill Detwiler shows you how to find stale AD computer accounts using dsquery and suggest ways to handle the ones you uncover.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | July 7, 2011, 8:47 AM PDT | Latest comment by NEJInstr
-
Restore the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows 7
Windows 7 offers many improvements over XP and Vista, but the absence of the Quick Launch toolbar isn't one of them. Here's how to get it back.
Posted by Bill Detwiler | December 11, 2009, 9:52 AM PST | Latest comment by simoncusonnet@...
