A typical PC laptop is capable of playing casual video games, but when it’s time to really push the pixels, most laptops aren’t up to the task. Being able to play serious PC games on the go, with blazing fast frame rates, means a powerful CPU and dedicated GPU —no shared graphics. These requirements typically result in a big machine that pushes the definition of portability. Many manufacturers of gaming laptops take the concept a step further, decking their computers out with shiny cases, lots of glowing LED light effects and other decorations. The EUROCOM Monster 1.0 11.6-inch gaming laptop takes a different approach. It has the specs that hardcore PC gamers want, but packs them into a laptop that’s sub-notebook sized and actually portable. And for added measure, the Monster 1.0 takes a more discrete styling approach, with a subtle, rubberized matte finish that doesn’t scream: “Hey, I’m playing games over here!”

Go green and celebrate Earth Day by properly recycling your computer and other electronic devices. You'll be helping to keep toxic waste out of our soil, air and water. Find out how to donate your computer and put it to good use to raise funds for charities.

When you compare price and screen size with HDTV’s and computer monitors, it seems to make sense to buy an HDTV and use it as your computer monitor.  You can get a bigger HDTV at a lower price than a smaller computer monitor, so why not go that route? Well there are reasons for what appears to be pricing inconsistencies, as there are tradeoffs with using an HDTV as a monitor that you should be aware of. Nevertheless, it still may make good sense to use an HDTV instead of a monitor for your computer. I will explain what you need to consider before using an HDTV as a computer monitor so you can make an informed decision. Then I am going tell you how to set up the HDTV as your monitor, with a few optional ways to set it up.

The ASUS Transformer All in One P1801 is the next step in home desktop PCs and tablets both.  How?  The monitor doubles as a detachable Android tablet while still allowing you to use the base (in conjunction with another HDMI inputted device) for computing as usual and maintaining a small desktop footprint.  Plug-In had the chance to unwrap the P1801 and we have a video ready to show you some of the ins and outs of this innovative piece of hardware.

Where would be without our moms to keep us organized? This Mother's Day give high-tech gifts to help Mom capture more special moments, stay in touch with loved ones but also have some fun.

Google Chromebooks like the Samsung XE303C12 are a great, affordable alternative to tablets and laptop PCs. If you’re pushing a Chromebook hard, opening dozens of tabs at a time, opening and closing them through the course of the day, you’ve likely run into the problem of an empty screen. With only so much RAM to go around, eventually you end up with blank tabs that you need to manually refresh. By enabling data compression in RAM, your Chromebook will be able to go for much longer without running into the blank tab issue —you may never have to refresh again. It's easy to do, takes less than a minute and you can undo it at will.

Blogs have developed into one of the more compelling content publishing platforms of the digital age. One of the tools that has helped to make blogs so popular is the RSS feed. And when it comes to RSS readers, Google Reader has been tops since 2005. So what to do now that Google has announced that it’s killing off Google Reader, effective July 1, 2013? No worries, blogs aren’t going anywhere, RSS isn’t going anywhere and there are plenty of alternatives to Google Reader available.

Spring is here – and along with longer days and warmer weather, comes the annual ritual of Spring Cleaning.

Now that technology is such a huge part of our lives, it’s become such a huge part of our Spring Cleaning ritual too. And what’s more annoying to clean than all the dust bunnies clinging for dear life and hiding behind PC cables and wires?

While we can all appreciate the power and flexibility offered when you build a system component by component, there’s something about all-in-one options that’s very appealing. This applies to home theatre, where a single soundbar with one connection to the TV and a power cord can replace five or more individual speakers, a receiver and a mess of wires, and the same concept holds true with PCs. An all-in-one PC from the likes of Sony, Acer, HP or Samsung packs all the components —monitor, CPU and storage— in a single, space-saving and stylish package. Say good-bye to clutter, cords and desktop sprawl without going to a laptop and giving up the big screen or compromising on performance.

When it comes to choosing a multifunctional printer, consumers are typically faced with two options. Option A, a smaller, more compact, less expensive printer that comes with a few bells and whistles, but is limited to printing single-sided 8.5 x 11” pages; or Option B, a much larger, faster, and robust “office quality” printer that allows for both double sided printing and printing on pages up to 11 x 17.” However, with the MFC-J4410DW printer from Brother, consumers and businesses alike can benefit from its compact design, touchscreen, ease of use, and “office caliber” capabilities.

There’s been considerable excitement over Google’s move to bring its popular Chromebooks to Canada, including the announcement that Best Buy Canada will be carrying the Samsung Chromebook XE303C12. However, with the product line being so new to this country and Chromebooks in general just starting to take off in the market, there is some confusion about why someone would choose a Chromebook over other options like a regular PC laptop. This comparison between three of the primary classes of portable computers is intended to help you understand when a Chromebook might make a better choice than buying another laptop or an Ultrabook.

Chances are, you’ve been hearing a lot about a newer class of devices lately: the Chromebook. This class of ultra-portable alternatives to a traditional laptop run Google’s ChromeOS instead of Windows or OSX and provide an inexpensive option for anyone who wants the capabilities of a computer while staying within a budget. This lightweight Samsung Chromebook has such a reasonable price tag that it’s also able to compete against tablets — while offering such niceties as a bigger display and built-in keyboard. Best Buy is now carrying the Samsung Chromebook XE303C12. Read on to find out how it performed in our review.

At a time when you can pick up a desktop PC for under $300, how do you justify a company releasing a graphics card that retails for over $1,000? For the average consumer, it may not make sense, but for gamers who invest in a rig and customize it to wring every drop of performance out of Crysis 3 and other graphics-intensive titles, Nvidia’s GeForce GTX TITAN Graphics Card —packing the same GK110 Kepler GPU Nvidia installed in Oak Ridge’s record-breaking Titan supercomputer— is worth every penny. This next generation video card packs double the transistors, yet runs quieter and cooler than the company’s previous flagship, the GeForce GTX 680. Best Buy has snapped up a big chunk of Canada’s allocation of GeForce GTX TITANs, so if your PC is stuttering on Assassin’s Creed III or you’re forced to turn down the settings on Civilization V, you know where to look for a solution.

Windows 8 has kind of changed the way we're looking at traditional PC gaming or functionality in the future through one simple implementation: Touch.  While gaming developers are starting to catch up a bit and see what touch functionality can bring to the table, a myriad of laptops already exist to help you make the transition, and try out what all is out there right now.  Here's a look at some of our line of touchscreen laptops and accessories, along with a bit of information about why things are a bit harder on desktops right now.

Given our voracious appetite for data (with digital photos, MP3s, video games, and digital movies), hard drive upgrades are among the most frequent computer improvements. WD is one of the world’s largest and best known manufacturers of computer hard disk drives. Founded in 1970, WD makes a huge range of storage solutions, ranging from portable hard drives to internal hard disks, external desktop drives and network drives. WD drives are available for any computer platform and come pre-formatted for Mac or Windows PCs.

Whether you are your own small business, or you’re part of an office of 25, storage is an important part of your computing needs. Digital files –everything from documents to spreadsheets, e-mail, software, assets like digital photos and individual system backups— need to be accessible to those who need them and they need to be securely backed up. Relying on a PC’s own hard drive is out, and a portable hard disk won’t quite cut it either. Two proven solutions for handling small business IT needs are the WD Sentinel DX400 and the WD My Book Live Duo.

Crytek has long been synonmous with graphical performance, and excellence in First-person shooters, and the newest installment in the Crysis franchise, Crysis 3, is no exception.  Running around an 'Urban Rainforest' of stunning detail, use your nanosuit and a pile of weaponry to crush your enemies.

When it comes to productivity, there’s nothing better than having a new printer. Greeting cards, photos, term papers, and even birthday banners - Armed with a stack of crisp, fresh paper, your project list, and the many cool features on your printer, you can take on any print job.

Once you’ve had your new laptop for a few months, you’ve probably got it configured just the way you like it —everything looks great and does exactly what you want. However, after four or five months you may start to notice your computer’s not quite as peppy as it first seemed. There’s no need to panic, though —just as cars need an occasional tune-up, your laptop also benefits from a bit of basic maintenance. It takes very little time, effort or money, but you’ll be glad you did it when the zip is back.

Whether you’ve chosen a Windows PC, a Mac, a desktop system or a notebook, you should be taking advantage of the cloud. Think of all the files you have sitting on your computer, tablet or smartphone right now: movies, music, photos, documents, spreadsheets —you name it. There are probably thousands of them. The cloud isn’t just the easiest and cheapest way to back up all these files, it’s also the way to share them or access them from other computers.

Acer manages to keep one eye on the future with its T232HL touch monitor that is fully integrated with the Windows-8 experience.

Even if your workday officially ends at 6 pm, if you’re like most people, you bring your laptop home to play catch up on whatever you missed during the day. Emails, extra projects, and paperwork can take over if you don’t put in the hours, and having a comfortable home office to kick back and relax with your laptop really can relieve a lot of work related stress.

Now that the hardest part about buying a new Windows laptop —picking the ideal computer for your needs and budget— is done, and the un-boxing ritual is over, it’s time to take care of some small details. Setting up your new laptop the right way only takes an hour or two, but taking a few easy steps now helps to ensure your experience going forward will be a great one.

Tablets are capable of almost anything, including streaming movies, playing games, doubling as an eReader, and letting you surf the web from anywhere. But did you know you could also turn your tablet into a mobile office?

When you’re on the go and you need to send out work email, edit a PDF, or print a contract, your tablet will easily transition into a portable office. All you need to do is take a few quick steps and you can put the most versatile device you own to work for you.

Chromebook is a product category introduced by Google that’s intended to offer a low cost, lightweight and fast computing experience without having to give up a keyboard. A Google Chromebook can make an ideal system for home use or as a second computer. It supports multiple logins (so everyone can have their own account), it’s compact enough to surf the web from the couch, its display makes it ideal for watching movies, it can play popular Chrome game apps such as Angry Birds and with Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive, it has everything a typical family needs to stay connected and get things done –all for a very affordable price.

The term laptop used to mean a small portable computer but nowadays laptop really means a class of computers.

Before you decide which “laptop” is right for you, learn some laptop lingo.

The last time Microsoft released a new version of its ubiquitous Office suite was three years ago with Office 2010. With the recent release of Windows 8 —the new PC operating system that bridges the divide between traditional computers and the latest tablet user interfaces— Office was also due for a revision. Customer trial versions were released in July, 2012, leading up to the 2013 launch. I’ve had the opportunity to test the final version of Office 2013 (the exact same version that will be appearing on store shelves shortly) and there’s a lot to like about it. Close integration with SkyDrive (Microsoft’s cloud based file storage system), an optional touch-friendly interface, improved multimedia support and a simplified, “flatter” looking interface are among the upgrades to look forward to.

ASUS continues to make a name for itself in the tablet market. This week, the company unveiled its new VivoTab Smart at CES 2013, proving that tablets are making a fierce comeback.

The annual Consumer Electronics Association (CES) trade show is an absolute orgy of cutting edge gadgets and devices we will soon be seeing on shelves throughout the year.

If you create a buzz at this show, it means you have a winner.

Razer has a boastful claim stating that the Blade is the world's first true gaming laptop.  The first one had a few mechanical issues, which the Blade 2 looks to build on.  Does the second generation Blade deserve the lofty title?

New toys at Christmas means you may have some discarded electronics. Whatever you do, don’t throw old electronics into the regular garbage where it becomes toxic e-waste.  

Our modern  electronics  (especially hand held devices ) are a complex mix of heavy metals and chemicals that need to be handled properly.  Throwing electronics into the garbage can pollute our soil, water and air.

Here’s how to do the right thing for Planet Earth and enjoy your new toys guilt-free!