Max Bleich Dot Com

If you've been reading my stuff for a while, you'd know that I was one of the thousands of early Chromebook adopters, being sent one of Google's Cr-48 laptops back in December of 2010. I've also used many of these devices since the unveiling of the official first model about two years ago at Google I/O. Since then, I've tried, tested, and used four different Chromebooks. It has taken me sometime to formulate a concrete opinion about the units, but I have since decided that these aren't just toys anymore: they're real, usable, and affordable for what they are capable of.  Needless to say, Google has hit a home-run with the latest rendition of Chrome OS, and the current line up of Chromebooks satisfies almost every sector of the laptop buying market. For the past three months I have been rocking Samsung's Model 3 Chromebook. It is perhaps the fastest, cheapest, and most versatile Chromebook I have ever used. As Chris Zeigler of The Verge put it a

Google Glass is  supposed to be the top-notch futuristic way to communicate in the land of tomorrow. It allows you to carry out many functions that are arguably very useful; such as a built-in GPS to help you get around, Google search everywhere, the ability to make calls and texts hands-free, and the ability to capture every moment you desire in the form of pictures or video. Folks, I think this is going to be a very bad thing for humans... especially with my generation. We grew up with these technologies, and they have been a part of us since the get-go. We have always had a lot of information available to us instantly, and the amount of information we are expected to know by the end of high school is crazy to even think about. Sure, we're smart. But we simply aren't able to keep focused on multiple tasks at hand. None of us are. And what is even more problematic is the reality that we all have very short attention spans. We are all very easily distracted. It isn't our f

Google put a phone in your pocket, maps on your computer, android on your TV, a cheap tablet in your backpack and now they’re trying to take over a new part of your life: your face. Google Glass Explorer is  a new venture to put googly googs on your eyes. Google aims to roll out Glass Explorer in the third Fiscal Quarter of 2013. Units will be available just in time for the holiday season. The price is not yet known. Technology experts from The New York Times and The Verge predict it will run somewhere between $99 to $249. Glass will be a heads-up-display. It will always be in your peripheral vision and always accessible with the simple prompt, “okay glass,” followed by a command: “Okay glass, take a picture.” Boom. Glass takes a picture. “Okay glass, call mom.” Glass calls your mother right away. Glass is thin and light: purposely designed to get out of the way. You aren’t supposed to notice it on your face. The goal is to have the technology there when you need it, and have it disapp

Windows has been built onto ever since Windows 2000, 12 years ago. Yeah, I said "built onto" as in, Microsoft has kept the same, unstable, decaying core of the operating system, simply adding on top of the framework new layers. Layers that are unneeded and unpractical still exist. Layers that need updating but are ignored still exist. It's like digging a hole in sand. It just keeps filling up, and you'll never get to where you need to. Windows 8 is bad. Real bad. Microsoft essentially took Windows Phone 7, Xbox's UI, and Windows 7 and mashed it into a bastard child only Steve Ballmer could love. Do you want to know what is wrong with the new Windows? Do you want to know your alternative choices? What about what you can and should do now to prepare? Read on past the break to find out why Windows 8 is a bad idea.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple probably said it best at last weeks' "new iPad" presentation when he said we are now totally immersed into a post-PC world, where Apple is at the forefront, and Apple has reinvented portable computing with it's iPad. But Apple also made a very interesting pun that not only applies to it's new iPad, but also to the company itself in this last year. It's not revolutionary... but rather,  resolutionary. There have been countless huge changes to the company in this last year, but all the while, the company has been able to shift itself slowly in the right direction, making small changes to big things, and doing a great job at it.

Max Bleich is the Editor-in-Chief of thetechtile, who monthly publishes to the website a long-form editorial on the world in consumer electronics. From Apple to Google to Sony and Samsung, just about every topic in the tech world has or will be hit at some point. This month, Max will be commenting on the Apple TV, and it's underlying ambition to rule the living room.  Perhaps one of the loftiest news stories that we've seen explode over the 'net in the last few days has been CBS's public revealing of their denial of an opportunity to work with Apple, who would have brought CBS content to Apple's TV platform. For anybody who isn't aware, the current Apple TV is a $99 device that currently serves as a do-everything streaming box. It connects iTunes content with YouTube, Netflix, user photo slideshows and news. However, despite the low price point, the device still remains nothing more than a "hobby"- which the late Steve Jobs has considered it to be from

This last week the technology industry and the world itself suffered a major loss with the death of Steve Jobs. Although we've all been preparing for this for years (heck, rumors of his death were spread in 2008), seeing it come to fruition was truly haunting and increasingly difficult to comprehend. Steve Jobs was undeniably the only reason Apple didn't die back in 1996. He came in, killed the clones, the cluttered product lines as well as the bad investments Apple had made since his departure. Apple is a company that thrives on innovation, and that is what sets it apart from the crowd. Apple is so important in the industry, as it has set the precedents upon which competitors look at to imitate and throw onto the market under their own brand. Apple began the computing industry and has revolutionized it four times- all of which have been directed by it's founder and father, Steve Jobs. He was the visionary- the man that conceived and breathed life into the products that hav

Although Review Editor Zach Davis isn't due for another video game review until next week, he has offered his own reflection on the death of Steve Jobs and Apple. You can check out the rest of Zach's stuff here . Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock today, you probably already know that Steve Jobs, founder and, for much of his life, CEO of Apple, passed away today at the horribly sad age of 56. You also probably know the nitty-gritty better than I do, but I don’t care about that anyway: I want to talk about this man’s legacy.

Steve Jobs, a catalyst of the personal computing industry, who has left an immeasurable dent on the hull of modern human society, has died today at the age of 56. Throughout his lifetime, Steve has made a plethora of contributions to the world in the form of consumer and professional products that have become an unmatched industry standard. The void that Steve has left in the world is great, as well as his child, Apple Inc., as a ship without it's captain. Steven Paul Jobs, as he was named, was born into the world to a parent that was in college and wished not to deal with him. He was to be adopted by a wealthy family, until they decided last minute that they really wanted a girl. Steve would then be adopted by a middle class family in Mountain View. Their names were Paul and Clara Jobs. Steve wasn't really into education, and had dropped out of Reed College in 1972 after deciding that it wasn't really for him. What looked to be the end of a bright future, was actuall

For less than a year Leo Apotheker had joined HP. In less than a year, he successfully destroyed its vital pieces. And in less than a year, he cancelled the results of a $1.2 Billion acquisition that had so much potential- all because he lacked the will power to rival with the competition. Reading this title we can look at the former HP CEO's effects in two ways- the positive or the negative. Unfortunately though, it's almost impossible to find such a positive. He came in and left behind him in his departure a comparative disaster upon which it will take years to fix. The result of his actions has left both himself and the company he ran in a laughing stock all across Silicon Valley. It's easy to look at what he did while he was in power- but it's incredibly difficult to imagine the future of the company now that he has finally left it behind him.

Almost ten years ago, Apple dipped into the music industry and changed it forever with the revolutionary iPod. Ever since, when we have all thought of tiny mp3 or music players- we've thought of iPods. And rightfully so; they produce the industry standard for portable media players (PMPs) and make the best products in the world. They earned their success. But the market is changing- smartphones and tablets are eating up media player market share. At the same time, the relevance of the products are slowly fading into oblivion- but we all still need that product that has excellent battery life, small size, a robust and unbeatable design, large storage sizes and ruggedness. That's the iPod line as it was once upon a time. But as I've said before, things have changed. The products are not as revolutionary and awesome as they were in the past. Something needs to change soon- or Apple will loose the beautiful gem that is the iPod product line.

If you haven't heard the news yet, it's time you did. Steve Jobs stepped down from his position of CEO, and instead opted for a lesser title of Chairman of the Board. He didn't die, and as far as we all know, he doesn't have cancer. But he's older, weaker and thinner. He isn't as fast as he used to be, and the CEO job just isn't working out anymore. Not only that, but the company needs stability and assurance for when that day comes when unfortunately, Steve will no longer be around. As much as we like to deny it, the world only gets one Steve Jobs. And unfortunately, if his condition (whatever it may be) is any indiction- he's a spent force. The job of CEO is a stressful one, for any company. Then imagine being CEO of Apple. How exhausting must that be? You'd need to be cold, calculating, innovating and capable of dealing with loads of stress and pressure. Sure, Apple's been doing amazingly well lately. Hell, they just re-invented the tablet com

On April 28, 2010, HP announced it would acquire Palm for $1.2 Billion. At this time, HP was doing great, but Palm was failing fast- their products were aging, and the new hardware and software wasn't selling very well. At the same time though, the software had a lot of potential, being the only true user interface competitor to Apple's iPhone. As the year marched on, the Palm brand died and was replaced by HP. On July 1, 2011, HP launched the first and the last webOS tablet. Then on August 18- a mere fifty days after the release of the HP TouchPad, the large, successful company announced that they were done with webOS, they were done with the Pre and they were done with the TouchPad. The product itself didn't even have the time to grow or evolve. To add insult to injury, the company also revealed it's plan to duck out of the hardware business and jump into software. What they got right. The Touchpad, although rather bulky when compared to the competition, was the only

I hear it everyday, all the time and everywhere. They defend it so strongly, and refuse to listen to the truth and the data points and instead rely on their own standards. I'm talking about people who read, and actually, people who don't. I read very often. In fact, I constantly immerse myself in books, I read news everyday and I use those things to manage this blog. I am not a book hater, I am not illiterate, and I don't think the book industry will ever die. Sure, we've all seen a complete disappearance and loss of book stores in our neighborhoods. And it's not likely to stop anytime soon. Reading is a pastime, a hobby, a dedication and a purpose. We read because we want to learn, we want to live, we want to love and enjoy life through the eyes of others. We want to relate to other people and enjoy their stories- fiction or non. We read because we are human. And books, just like television, radio, gaming, music and even the internet is a form of media... and a pop

It's a popular question when considering the purchase of a video game console; "which one should I get?" Unfortunately, this issue isn't made any easier by the overwhelming amount of systems available on the market today and the multiple versions that go along with it. The funny part is, or perhaps the irony in all of this, is the cold hard fact that there are really only four big companies competing for the top spot: Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony and Apple. Although we like to try and deny it, Apple's mobile platform, iOS has spun off to become the most popular gaming platform with the most popular online gaming service. Likewise, Microsoft and Sony both have very popular online services, Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. Nintendo, on the other hand, doesn't yet have a main multiplayer social gaming service beyond online stores and wi-fi connection in-game. Yet somehow, each company either can't make up it's mind on hardware. The software story is fi

The computing world is by far one of the fastest shifting industries in the entire planet. It seems as if every two or three years, technology makes another giant leap forward in terms of speed, functionality and compatibility. One of the greatest changes in the computer world which has since dominated the lives of many Americans and human beings is the shift from the desk to the pocket. Mobile computing, once a hilarious idea inconceivable due to cost and build factor, is now more than real- it's amazing. Mobile computing, in all truth, began with the popularity of the cellular phone in the mid nineties and expanded with the release of the iPhone in 2007. You can be an Apple fanboy or an Anti-Apple PC person or even a regular dude in a coffee shop, and you'd know that this is cold hard fact. Before the iPhone, smartphones weren't exactly powerful and were only a business man's toy. Ever since the iPhone however, everybody can find a use for a smartphone, even your gran