It’s roughly mid-December, which means it’s time eWEEK Labs to name our 2008 Stupid Tech Tricks. You can read the list in the pages of eWEEK print on Monday, or head right over to our Stupid Tech Tricks slideshow.
Elsewhere this week, Andrew Garcia reviewed the Blackberry Bold, and found the device impressive, but not as impressive as he’d once expected it to be. That’s because Apple’s iPhone 2.0 firmware refresh, and its App Store innovations, has raised the smartphone bar. Read on for Andrew’s review, and slideshow:
Jim Rapoza took the first alpha of Opera 10 for a spin. Jim noted the browser’s excellent standards support, but found the early release light on exciting new features. Stay tuned for more coverage on Opera 10 as it moves along in its development arc. For now, check out Jim’s review and slideshow of the browser:
Also this week, Jeff Cogswell reviewed Microsoft’s Robotics Studio 2008, and wrote about using jQuery in Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2008. Jeff also blogged about Aptana Studio’s annoying context menu colonialism, and how to root through your registry to reverse that context menu interloping.
- Microsoft Robotics Studio 2008 Makes Controlling Robots Easier
- eWEEK Labs Walk-Through: Using jQuery in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
- Developing with jQuery in Microsoft Visual Studio 2008
- Usability: Explorer’s Context Menu and Aptana Studio
For my part, I wrote a column about blowing up our traditional desktops in order to spend fewer resources fiddling with the desktop, and more resources on applications and on the works those apps help us produce. Also, I reviewed Red Hat’s latest enthusiast-oriented Linux distribution, Fedora 10:
- A New Deal for the Desktop
- Fedora 10 a Solid Linux Choice for Workstations, Development Servers
- eWEEK Labs Walk-Through: Upgrading to Fedora 10
Cameron prepared a rundown of VMware’s five top-rated Virtual Appliances.
And from Frank Ohlhorst, we had a Channel Insider five pack of product analysis:
- Tech Recipes: How to Build a Super Hot, High-Performance Workstation
- QNAP Combines NAS with IP Video to Create an Instant Video Surveillance System
- Array Networks Wants Citrix’s GoToMyPC Off the Desktop
- Adtran Enlists VADs to Attack SMB Market
- Can AMD Entertain System Builders with the Maui HTPC?
If you have a burning IT question that only eWEEK Labs can answer, drop me or another Labs analyst a line, or have your say in the comments section below. Have a great weekend.