Stories by Patrick Miller

The Empire Strikes Back turns 30

Wondering how to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back? Check out how fans all over the Web have shown their devotion to this classic science fiction series.

How to fix anything

Your PC will crash, your camera will break, your network will fail, and your printer will chew up paper.

Playful tech pranks

A proper tech prank is a playful problem--mischievous rather than malicious. We've got a few quick tricks that you pull off with just a few minutes of access to your victim's gadgets.

Belkin adds apps to Wi-Fi router line-up

When is a wireless router not just a wireless router? Belkin's answer: When it's a total pain. That's why it introduced four new 802.11n Wi-Fi routers, ranging from $50 to $130, that come with a set of applications designed to help you use your wireless network for backing up, playing music and movies, setting up file transfers, and speeding up important Internet traffic without having to muck around in arcane menus

How to use Google Buzz

If you're buzzing about Buzz, we have the tips you need to make it work for you. And if you're wishing it would buzz off, we'll show you how to remove it from your Gmail account.

How to use Google Buzz

On Tuesday, Google announced Buzz, a new social networking service integrated with Gmail. On Wednesday, you probably mashed your F5 key waiting for it to arrive in your Gmail account--and maybe you even tried to cut in line. By Thursday, you were likely worried about the privacy issues. Well, if you're buzzing about Buzz, we have the tips you need to make it work for you. And if you're wishing it would buzz off, we'll show you how to remove it from your Gmail account.

Use your console gamepad with your PC

Mario can't rescue the princess without his Fire Flower. Mega Man can't beat Dr. Wily without his Mega Buster. If you're going to save the world, you need the proper equipment--and a keyboard and mouse just won't cut it. Fortunately, you can get pretty much any mainstream console gamepad working on a PC, so you won't have to shell out megabucks for an X-Arcade TankStick to bring back your gaming glory days.

Free up hard drive space, fast

Your hard drive is full. Normally that isn't such a big deal, but what if you need to grab a coworker's files before she leaves for a vacation, or what if you want your massive overnight file download to go off without a hitch? Here are some short-term tips for clearing space on your hard drive until you have the time to do a proper cleanup.

Netgear announces new SMB wireless network controllers

Today, Netgear announced three new wireless network controller offerings that take some of the network management features of their enterprise products into the small-to-medium business market, including mass firmware upgrades, centralized configuration options, and load-balancing, for networks from five to 1500 users.

LaCie announces compact Wi-Fi HD media center

Love your media center so much you wish you could bring it over to a friend's house? That's what LaCie had in mind when it debuted the LaCinema Mini HD at CES today, which delivers full 1080p HD video to your HDTV of choice -- and fits in the palm of your hand.

Fusion Garage JooJoo Web tablet

Attractive and interesting, but not without its flaws. It's been one of the internet stories of the past week or so, but does the Fusion Garage JooJoo web-browsing tablet warrant your interest?

Switching to a solid-state drive

Prices on solid-state drives are dropping, and operating systems (particularly Windows 7) are beginning to take advantage of the potential higher speeds of SSDs, so it's a good time to consider slapping one in your computer.

Sony Ericsson launches 8.1-megapixel camera phone

Anyone looking for a camera phone that packs a little more punch than the obligatory low-end cameras found on most phones these days will undoubtedly gravitate towards the new C905a Cyber-shot.

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