Advice, they say, is cheap. Good advice, on the other hand, can be extremely valuable.
When it comes to electronic devises of all sorts, including computers, operating systems, software and gadgets, the one fellow who always dispenses sage counsel is our own Jack Kapica.
Each week Jack reviews consumer electronics products, software or computer peripherals for the Personal Tech section of globeandmail.com. His feature is called Kapica's Lab and in the past few weeks he's reviewed the Slingbox Pro and Apple TV, password managers for users with a dozen different aliases and Rogers new videophone.
This week, Jack looks at audio/video devices that can solve annoying viewing and listening issues with popular home electronics machines.
So now that you have his attention, ask Jack about whatever personal tech issue you're currently grappling with. He's taken Windows Vista and Office 2007 around the block more than once, has numerous recommendations for photo editing software and might even be able to suggest what mom might like this Sunday.
Jack Kapica was live online for an hour Thursday to take your tech questions. Read the transcript below.
Jack Kapica has been writing on technology for the past 15 years for The Globe and Mail, and has been working exclusively for the online Globe since 2001. In his Cyberia blog, he writes news, opines on the latest rumours and offers opinions on culture and developments in technology.
Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length, clarity or relevance. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.
Michael Snider, Technology Editor: Hi Jack, thanks for being with us today. I want to go back to your Apple TV review from a few weeks ago and get some general thoughts on how you write your reviews. You took a lot of flack from Apple aficionados even though, IMHO, the piece was balanced and pointed out the good and the bad. I wonder if it would help readers to get a sense of how you go about reviewing products, how long it takes, what sort of things you do to put hardware and software through the wringer.
Jack Kapica: Hi Mike, and thanks.
With Apple reviews, there is no such thing as good and bad. There's just good. And heaven help you should you use adjectives that are less than superlative, or the banshees come out of the woodwork and give all Apple fans a bad name.
That said, my reviewing process is pretty straightforward. I try to use the product in an intuitive way; others might call it the non-RTFI (Read the f... freaking instructions) method. After all, ease of use can no longer be sacrificed on the excuse that the technology is simply too hot to keep off the market.
If it doesn't work, I'll poke around and read the effing manual, praying it was not translated from the original Chinese by a Taiwanese computer with political biases. And if that doesn't work, I will assume I'm doing something bone-headed and call the manufacturer and ask. Life's too short to read all those manuals cover to cover in bed.
My big issue with Apple TV was that its most marketable feature — the ability to buy and play movies and TV shows — is not fully available in Canada. That leaves you with generic or home-made content, and Apple TV is a little expensive for that. A lot of people who objected to my review said that indeed I could do slide shows on my Windows machine, but for that I needed Adobe Photoshop Elements, which is not bundled with Apple TV. And that made another problem — after losing the movie-and-TV download feature, you needed to buy extra software to run a third-level feature on an expensive box.
