Deals or No Deals!

Whew it's been a while, but now is the perfect time to come back and talk tech, "Tis the season" so to speak. This week we are going to talk about a few stores and websites that either have awesome deals for tech (among other things) or point you to where the deals are. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday right around the corner, everyone should know where to get the most bang for the buck.

Let’s start off with one of my favorite deals website: Woot.com. Woot has nine sections that range from technology to wines and you can always find something that peeks your interest. There are a few caveats to this website though with the first being the primary item is only up for one day in most instances with some notable exceptions, i.e. the Woot-off. The way they operate is that the primary item on the nine tabs is up from the beginning to the close of the day or it’s sold out, whichever happens first. Luckily the Woot Plus items are up there for a few days, normally 2-5 days. Now the fun really happens when the Woot-offs happen. A Woot-off is when the primary item for the individual tab changes to another item when they sell out. The longest one I witnessed went on for 6 days before I stopped counting. 

The next I want to tackle is Slickdeal.net. Slickdeals is a collector of deals around the web and its all community sources. Other user’s scourer the internet for deals and post them in a forum style interface. You can literally find anything tech or otherwise, on the site. I generally use it to background check other websites prices to see if I can find my tech cheaper. You do have to be a little careful as some of the vendors that pop up aren't exactly big or well-known ones, do your homework before you buy and you should be fine. If you get a chance look in the Freebies section, you never know what you might find.

The next two are technology specific sites and we are going to kick it off with Logicbuy.com. Logicbuy has been around for a while but I am relatively new (6 months-ish) to the, but the deals that they have on prefab systems and parts is hard to beat. They are also an aggregator that’s pulls the best tech deals from all around the web. What you really want to watch out for with them is parts. They have the best prices on part anywhere, especially solid state drives and graphics cards. If its hardware related go here first.

Last but certainly not least is one of my personal favorite sites, Microcenter.com. Microcenter is one of those chain stores that actually have deals and everything you could want from, a PC and Mac perspective, it’s where I got the laptop that I am writing this on. My favorite part is that the still have actual stores and you can purchase items online and pick them up at the store. This is beyond convenient when you have to have the part for your gaming build TODAY, but by far the staff make the experience. My local store has a section called the Build-it yourself corner, where they have staff that can help you with your issues as you build a PC. If you are lucky enough to have one near you, utilize this store, for the unlucky ones there is a web store so don’t fret.

To change up the flow for a second, I want to talk about another site that most of you probably haven't heard of its called Giveawayofday.com. Giveawayoftheday has free licensed third party software that you can download. Everyday they have a different piece of software that the "Give Away". I get a lot of my niche software here and believe me some of the things you will find here will make the daily trip here worth it.

I am sure that you noticed that I left major chain stores like Amazon out of this post. That is because everyone knows them. I wanted to give you a view of some of the lesser known but fantastic sites to make your PC or Mac dreams happen this holiday season. On a side note, I am still torn between a iPad Mini or a Nexus 7 as my go to tablet. Let me know what all of you think I should get and as always stay tuned, I might buy an extra to give away if I get enough buzz for it.

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

The Business of Business

I want to let you in on a little secret. Running a business isn't the easiest thing in the world to do, but it has a list of rewards that are too long to list. The really hard part is starting, taking the first step, making the plunge, etc, etc. This is the story of the idea I had for Team Revolution technology.

It started a few years ago, about three I think, when I had lost my job and didn't know what I was going to do. My wife and I would be okay financially, but that isn't the ultimate problem. The real problem was that I really don't like to be fired. It’s a testament to your skills or mentality, in my particular experience it was mentality and it was a very humbling experience. I decided then that I would like to not be fired again, so maybe I can use my skills in PC Repair to freelance and strikeout on my own. That didn't last really long. I had no mind for the business, only for the actual work. Since the jobs weren't flowing in steadily and I was quickly losing patience I decided to seek employment again. This was my first real business mistake, giving up.

For the next year, I worked for another company and after said year we decided to part ways. The thought crept back into my head that I could really get my company off the ground if I really decided to do so, I just had to apply myself. This time I went about it smartly and decide to get help. I brought on my wife, who is much better with money than I am by the way, my brother, who is the most street smart person that I have ever met and my sister who has had real business ventures in the past. So now I had my crack team assembled, me the technician, my wife on financials, my brother the promoter and my sister the adviser. From here we settle into more roles with my wife doing all of our marketing design and such. There was an internal fracture sometime around then and my brother decided to leave. This is when things got serious. We had time and energy invested but nothing to really show for it, so we decided to kick it up a notch and go from your neighborhood fix-it shop to a legitimate business and that brings us to where we are today. We have started dealing with communities’ not just businesses and normal consumers. Not a huge chunk of the world knows us yet, but I guarantee that that will change very shortly. Always be on the lookout for us to do something explosive, whether it’s a special deal that only we provide or special giveaways or free service for special cases. Keep your eyes open.....you never know.

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Game of Choice

There are a few things that our team is passionate about, one of them is, above most of the others, gaming. We have all sorts of gamer types between the team. For instance, my Chief of Ops is more of a casual game, Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja type games. My wife and I are more of the hardcore gamer, late nights with Battlefield 3 and Halo and a slew of other games. But my how the times have changed. After I picked up my HP Pavilion dv6 6c35dx the game has changed, literally. This got me to thinking about something: What are the real differences between the game consoles? This is a funny topic for me since I find myself playing games more frequently on my laptop than my PS3 or Xbox 360, almost exclusively actually, this is probably going to change with the next wave of real multiplayer games about to drop, like Halo 4, Black Ops 2 and Borderlands 2 (which is out at the time of this blog) as these are the primary types of games me and my wife play together. There is an entirely different sect of games that we play in my house though, we play a lot of drama styled detective games like Heavy Rain (Thanks Tim), L.A. Noire and Red Johnson Chronicles where we solve the puzzles and crimes together. Trust me get a few of your friends together to help you make decisions with a game like Heavy Rain and watch the laughs ensue. 

My console of choice is the PS3 and it’s my own interesting reasons why. After playing the same games on both systems I found that there was more of a challenge on PS3, though that's not to say that there wasn't a challenge on the Xbox 360. My problem is I like to be the best and whatever makes me strive to be that will always hold my attention more. Also when I play on PS3 I generally am playing by myself and playing some First-Person-Shooter to boot and that's how I hone my skills to blow away the competition when I take it back to Xbox, my wife is the same way so watch out. But that is also my biggest gripe when it comes to PS3, the community. The PS3 community is less developed than 360 and sometimes I miss that, but because of that my skills are razor sharp.

Xbox 360 is just fun, plain and simple. That's where I go to play with my Halo/COD clan (Big ups to Fauxhound/Halo Royalty) and where we wreck stuff. I cannot begin to understand how Microsoft cultivated such a sense of community spirit among its players. It’s really easy to get a league going in any game and people come from all over to make it happen or claim a stake as the best. This unfortunately brings out mediocre players as well, which isn't a problem in the least, but if you're trying to get an Elitist Competition (been a while since I played Halo 3) going this can mess up the vibe of the game. I can say without a shadow of doubt that this is where I have the most fun at when I play.

Then there is my newest familial addition, my dv6. This is where I play most of my games nowadays. These generally consist of really good RPGs like Torchlight 2 and games that I can play with a controller like Sleeping Dogs and traditional keyboard and mouse strategy games like Anno 2070 and Civilization 5. The thing that draws me to this as my primary gaming platform is a few key things and one BIG thing. For one, the games are cheaper and this allows me to get more games quickly, which is a major plus. Another is the ease of using a controller for most of my games, Arkham City and Ghost Recon Future Warrior are two great examples of games where a controller far outweighs a keyboard and mouse. By far the biggest thing is the HD 1080p gaming. Consoles have a maximum HD rating of 720p in the current generation. Trust me, if you put any console side by side with a computer that has a good graphics card your mind will be changed too.

I'd like to know what systems you guys have. Also you can drop your PSN Handles, 360 Gamertags and Steam IDs in the comments or leave them on our social media sites and we can get a gaming night together.

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
Email: info@teamrevolutiontechnology.com

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

What we do

This week I thought I would shift gears after taking a few weeks off and explain exactly who Team Revolution Technology is and what we do as I have never really addressed this. That is a multifaceted statement though. We generally provide managed IT support for small businesses and emergent and non-emergent remote on-call and onsite support for general consumers and small/medium sized businesses. This is what keeps us a float, but we have other ventures that are what we really enjoy.

One of our favorite services that we provide is giving general computer education classes to seniors, recreation centers and churches for a reduced cost, this allows us to give back to the communities that gave so much to us. We also offer a paid version of this class, which is more hands on and follows the A+ Certification specifications and are hardware general and operating system general. We can specialize and customize a training package specific to your goals and needs too.

Most of our products revolve around a custom build of some sort. Our two biggest ones though are our Media Server builds and our Gaming builds. The Media Server is designed to hold you movies, TV shows and music as well as dozens of different media streaming services, like Hulu, Netflix and most of your favorite cable channels at no additional cost. The Gaming builds are powerhouse desktops that can and will do anything, from playing PC games with the display settings at the maximum or even running graphic rendering software like Photoshop, Lightroom and AutoCAD 3D, without having to worry about the resolution.

The Media Server builds are built in a few specifications, but the actual hardware is only limited by your imagination. We build two types when it comes to this build, a small form factor that can be mounted on or behind you TV or hidden behind your monitor and a more traditional desktop form factor. We can also provide this service as a upgrade for laptops to keep your Media Server portable.

Our Gaming builds brings the best parts that money can buy or one of our budget conscious builds that gives you great performance but don't break your wallet. These can be multiple monitor dispersed screens or single massive extremely high resolution displays. We can even use 3D and/or HD projectors that will make your display cover entire walls!!

We also, for our specialty market, can create MAC-compliant (Hackintosh) PCs or even Linux (any distribution) clients.

These are only a few of the services that we offer, you'll have to check on our website and social media sites for more info, deals and specials in the coming days and weeks. 

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

The Kindle Firestorm

Amazon drop a few separate bombs on us yesterday. The lineup that was announced is truly star studded and is available for every price point and need: The Kindle Fire HD in two sizes, the Kindle Fire HD 4G and the Kindle Paperwhite eBook reader.

The Kindle Fire HD comes in 2 sizes, 7" and 8.9" and are both WiFi only with two storage sizes each (16GB and 32GB). The Kindle Fire HD 4G is the same size as the 8.9" and the only real difference is that it has a higher storage ceiling (32GB and 64GB) and 4G LTE plan with it. This plan by the way is 250 MB of LTE greatness per month, all for the low price of $50 a year! That's completely unheard of! The price points are right where they should be ($200/$300/$500 for the smaller storage ceiling respectively). On paper, at least in my opinion, it blows away its closes competition, the Nexus 7, away. But that is misleading, it’s still running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This is by far not a bad thing, but ICS still has some of the biggest Android gripes relatively intact, like processor count buildup and segmented slowdown. No word on if there will be a update for Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in the future. But needless to say I am very excited for the Kindle Fire as it will foster competition in the market which will in turn force manufacturers to make better products. This ultimately helps to solidify the rumors that Microsoft will release the Surface at the lower price point of $200-$300 and maybe the yet-to-be announced iPad Mini close to that as well even though that's unlikely. Unfortunately there is "The" Kindle dilemma, its ad supported. This is, for some strange reason, only occurring in the US. This is probably how the keep the price point so low, but this has to be annoying.

Now some of you might be more interested in a eBook Reader instead of a tablet. For you people out there we have the Kindle Paperwhite. They move the PPI up from 169 to 212 and it is immediately noticeable compared to a regular Kindle. It also has a front lit capacitive touch screen, which offers greater control than the infrared screens of old. It comes in 2 flavors as well, with a wireless and a 3G version and minimal prices ($119 and $179 respectively). They are ad supported at that level but they do offer slightly pricier versions that eliminate the ads. I am not an eReader kind of guy, but I can understand the allure of having one and this might just change my mind. Now I just have to get a review model :).

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Update 2 The Dilemma

*Update 2*

I am looking for another tablet to replace my Arnova 10 G2 and am undecided as to where my allegiance lies. I would like a Nexus 7, my wife has one and I have used it a lot since then and I love it but I think that I want something a little larger. Then there is the just announced Kindle Fire HD 7” and 8.9”. The 8.9” screen on the Fire HD is really appealing but after using Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, moving back to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich might NOT be happening. It just fixes all my Android frustrations. Then there is the supposed (praying) iPad Mini that’s going to be announced on September 12^th. I wanted an iPad forever, but let’s be honest, it’s a little expensive. I entertained the idea to get a Generation 2 iPad, but I want something a little newer. So I am reaching out to the community and my readers. Which should I get and why? Whichever I decide to get (save the 2^nd Gen iPad) I am going to do a review for it and post my findings. Leave comments on what you think. 

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Prefabs vs. Customs

This is the burning question that resonates with a great many tech types and people looking to break into the computer culture. Prefabs are computers that you purchase that are ready to go, like your average Dell or HP, customs are somewhere in between. They can have parts from a multitude of different manufacturers from Seagate and Western Digital for hard drives, Corsair and Patriot for the memory, and Asus and Gigabyte for the motherboard. As confusing as this seems to be, creating custom builds or purchasing prefab computers are much like any real purchase or decision you have to weigh the pros and cons of it.

Prefab laptops and desktops are what you get when you go to CompUSA, MicroCenter, HP, Origin and Dell. These are PCs that come completely assembled with the operating system already installed (in most instances anyway). Depending on the place of purchase you might have the option to "customize" the hardware and add additional software but it’s wholly behind the scenes and you can start using it immediately. The most obvious pro to this is you have nothing to do other than use it and you're generally sure that everything works as advertised, but with this ease of access generally comes a larger price point. That desktop you just brought might have not been worth the sum of its parts. Most of the time if you purchased the parts separately it might be cheaper. This leads to the notion that what you're paying for is labor and the brand name as much, if not more, than the parts themselves. Now this is not a hard fast rule as this depends largely on the manufacturer. Acer parts, for instance, might be cheaper than Dell parts, but that doesn’t mean that Acer's parts are of a lesser quality, just cheaper to make. Another major pro is that you might get those upgrades that cost you less because the brand has an agreement with a particular parts manufacturer, for instance HP and Intel. HP creates the PCs and Intel supplies HP with a discount for buying its items, like the 3rd generation Core i5 and i7, in bulk, and then they pass the savings on to you when you "customize" their stock products.

Custom builds are where PCs shine. This is where you're only limited by your imagination when it comes to building your dream PC. You want a pearl white case with red, white and blue scrolling lights, done. You want 6 hard drives and 32 GB of ram, no sweat. This can also be THE MOST frustrating endeavor that you ever undertake. Besides the fact that simply mentioning DIY, sends chills up most peoples spines, things can go wrong easily and you could be out a LOT of money depending on the build. Needless to say this can be one of the most rewarding achievements for the non-IT guys and gals and geeks alike. The core of this process is learning what is compatible with what. You want to make sure that you pay attention to little things like how much power is drawn by all of the components, that your case is large enough to house said components, that your motherboard is compatible with you processor and that said motherboard has all of the inputs you need, etc., etc. There are a lot moving parts so be prepared for a project. Under most circumstances it’s generally cheaper to make a PC that is "comparable" in power with more inexpensive parts. Luckily most of the hard work has been done for you by the custom community. There a specification classifications, how to guides and compatibility list all over the internet, you can even make a MAC compliant (Hackintosh) PC if you know what parts to use and where to look for help. As a rule of thumb, I think everyone who is thinking about do a custom build should purchase a cheaper/older PC and (literally) rip it apart and put it back together a few times to get a feel for the general location of components and which connectors go to which device.

There is also a mid-way point in this process and a subculture that even I don't touch, Barebones kits and Custom Laptops.

Barebones kits come in 2 distinct but similar flavors, complete kits and non-complete kits. Complete kits are exactly what they sound like, they have all of the components to make the PC run, short of the operating system and you put them together. Non-complete kits are generally missing vital pieces like hard drives, ram or processors. You must purchase compatible parts to complete the build. Complete kits are easier to jump right into as all the parts are known to be compatible, but non-complete kits offer more flexibility with the trade-off of doing extra work to secure parts.

Now fanatics out there will swear by custom laptops. I have never even attempted to do one and probably won't anytime soon. Laptops by very nature are portable desktops crammed into a relatively very small space. There is generally lots of soldering and shattered dreams if something goes wrong. If you’re feeling brave and have the time/money to devote then give it a shot, you can find these guys and girls all over the internet showcasing their creations.

 For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:

FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Pavilion dv6-6c35dx Review

I promised an update on my new laptop and here it is. I wanted to get a good week out of it to test its capabilities, and I will be the first to admit, there are *plenty* of better laptops out there, but I needed something that could do a few things, like play some decent games (I’m about 12 hours into Kingdom of Amalur and almost finished Portal 2) and for my wife and I to be able to use Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash unhindered. I am happy to report I got exactly what I wanted. This will not be a traditional review with benchmarks and such, but it will be informative.

The laptop in question is a HP Pavilion dv6-6c35dx. It came standard with 6 GB of ram which is expandable to a whopping 16 GB, which I will be moving to very soon (explanation to follow) and a 640 GB hard drive. It’s sporting an AMD Quad-Core A8-3520M processor with an integrated AMD Radeon HD 6620G GPU (graphics processing unit). It also has Gigabit Ethernet, Beats audio and can decode, with ease, 1080p HD video on its truly gorgeous 15.6 LED True HD screen.

I purchased this specific laptop because of the potential for more than halfway decent graphics and its upgradeability. My line of reasoning is that since the GPU has no dedicated graphics memory but can syphon 3 GB of ram for the graphics, I can get some real gaming and graphics work done. Once I upgrade the ram, it can run the GPU full-bore when I need it and still have access to 13 GBs during gaming and graphic intensive stuff and all 16 GDs for more resource intensive applications (like VMware for my Certified Ethical Hacker certification, coming soon!!!) when I don’t. I also plan to remove the DVD-RW drive and replace it with a SSD (solid state drive) to get better boot times and upgrade my primary storage drive to a 1 or 2 TB hybrid drive.

This is a stepping stone purchase for me though. Sometime in the next 6-9 months I will be upgrading to a much more powerful gaming laptop specifically for the same reasons. I am not sold on who I should go with and price really isn’t an issue. I am kind of stuck between Origin, Doghouse Systems and Main Gear. If you guys have any suggestions please leave them in the comments, because you never know I might give on away. 

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Life Update

So without further delay, here is the update.

With the huge time commitment to owning and running a business I have not been updating the blog and doing reviews as I normally have. I have made the decision to change the posting schedule from twice a week to once a week and will attempt to have multiple topics per post to bridge the gap. The post will be up on Fridays, generally by late afternoon.

In personal news I have moved up to a better laptop to accommodate my Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Flash work (more for my wife than me, she’s the real artist J) and a quick review will follow. I am in love with this laptop, so much in fact that I am getting my wife one. For the time being my Dell Inspiron 1420 (yes it’s kind of old, don’t start with me) has been upgraded to accommodate my wife’s arts pursuits. Pictures of our setups are soon to follow once they are finished. 

For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Augmented Reality or Fantasy?

Good Afternoon All,

Welcome back to Team Rev’s Tech Review. Today we are going to talk about one of my favorite emerging technologies, which has already started to creep into our lives, Augmented Reality.

Augmented Reality or AR is slowly becoming a staple add-on or full feature software/hardware component of some of our favorite new toys, like the PlayStation Vita or Google Glass, even though it pops up in places that you wouldn’t expect like the line of scrimmage in football and other sports.

The term “AR” was coined in 1990 by Thomas Caudell, it revolves around using a physical viewing device, like a PlayStation Vita, and projecting virtual items onto it at the same time. Imagine for a second the camera on your device, is pointed at an restaurant that you have heard a lot about but are wary of visiting for whatever reason. Then while looking on the screen, a virtual display list reviews for the restaurant, their menu and an inside view of the establishment that you could see without actually going inside. This is just one of the many test scenarios that are being field not just by Google with the Google Glass prototypes but in Apple’s own AppStore with apps like Spyglass, a compass, GPS and digital rangefinder. Android isn’t far behind in this respect either, one of the soon to be release apps is an Ikea app that brings Ikea’s annual catalogue to life.

Time to talk about some of the actual new hardware a little more in-depth and first we are going to start with Google’s Project Glass. Project Glass is using AR to make you lives more interconnected. It allows you to do cool things, like the previously mention test scenario, where you see an establishment and get all of the pertinent details about it or get real-time street view directions. One of my favorite parodies of this is the Battlefield 5 Google Glass Parody (link), but it does bring up a great question about the capabilities of AR in gaming in the future. After watching this video, it gets you revved up for what this technology can do if it gets integrated into our daily lives and Project Glass can accomplish that.

Nintendo’s DS Series has had AR since the original DS and still utilizes it on the 3DS. Sony is a little late to the party with the PlayStation Vita, but this doesn’t mean it’s not a fully developed feature.  They both have a AR Games Suite which ships with the systems that use a card system as well. AR is a big staple of the popular futuristic pen-and-paper RPG game, ShadowRun, where the “Matrix” is an interconnected mobile mesh of personal area networks and the main way the interface with this mostly worldwide wireless mesh network are AR goggles and gloves, sounds like Project Glass to me.

Hopefully I haven't kept you to long and you've enjoyed the snippet that I have provided you. Please come back and join us again for more talk on tech. For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Pulling the Pin on Fragmentation

Good Afternoon All,

Today we are going to talk about something that’s been talked about before, but Microsoft and Google are trying (with some success http://bit.ly/NMI6M7) to remedy with their previously mentioned (original blog post http://bit.ly/OurEra) hardware that's dropping this year and next year, Fragmentation.

Fragmentation, at least in this sense, is when a company releases its software, in this instance Windows and Android, on multiple hardware platforms for which they have less control over the overall quality of the product. Good examples of this are the entire line of PC's and Laptops that run Windows and every instance of Android that is in place on the open market, HTC is a big offender here. What happens is that the software developers, Google and Microsoft, release a hardware requirements list that the software will run on, like the Dell Inspiron that I am using now. Google has a much larger issue with Android being open sourced, we'll talk about this shortly. The key to this article is hardware, as it dictates what can actual be done.

Apple has done something very well for a while now. It not only dictates the software requirements, but it builds the hardware requirements. The reason Apple is relevant is that they set a precedent for both Microsoft and Google to follow. The iPhone and iPad series are some of the most simple and beautiful pieces of hardware around, but it’s all them. They don't physically make the parts but they are the architects.

Microsoft has decide to begin the process by making the own tablet, the Surface, to showcase their new operating system (OS) Windows 8. The "Metro-Styled" interface is perfect for this medium, but the coolness factor doesn't stop there, they’re scaling hardware producers back and their own functionality up, by incorporating this interface with their other technology, like their upcoming game system code-named "XBOX 720" and the mobile OS, Windows Phone 8. This intercommunication system will allow them to publish not only their on movie and music steaming services but allow you to take your Microsoft games and application anywhere. The hardware industry is especially nervous as the Surface is Microsoft’s jump into Arm-Type processors for their mobile platforms. If this showing from Microsoft goes well, then they have effectively gotten the jump on all hardware developers and cornered the market, at least for a spell.

The same bodes well for Google with their officially sanctioned and in-house developed Nexus line. This line spans across the spectrum and introduces new elements to the home and mobile sharing platform with the Nexus Q, which is being billed as a "Social Media Player", which allows you to bring your own video and music playlist into someone else's Nexus Q. In Google pulling back and developing their own hardware, the possibilities are endless. However, the real deal is when it comes to Android itself. Every phone and tablet manufacturer adds their personal little spin to the base Android interface, which is where a bunch of bloatware like HTC Sense comes from. It has been proven for the most part, at least in my opinion, that the Google version vanilla unadulterated Android look and feel is what we are looking for. With 4.1 Jelly Bean, this is exactly what we get. Because Android is open sourced, it never really be free of fragmentation, but by developing its own line of products, they can assure loyal followers that they will be getting the authentic Google Experience which we have all come to know and love.

Hopefully I haven't kept you to long and you've enjoyed the snippet that I have provided you. Please come back and join us again for more talk on tech. For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

Bring the Net to the Masses

Good Afternoon All,

Today we are going to talk about something that everyone uses but not to many of us know how it gets to us, the Internet. I am not referring to how it gets from your ISP to you, but more along the lines of how true the term "World Wide Web" really is and how you can play Call of Duty or Battlefield with your friends across the pond. This is accomplished by using fiber optic cables that travel under the oceans and satellite transmissions that travel through space.

Fiber optic cables in their current iteration are "relatively new" technology, even though they have been around for a while now. They encode communication signals/transmissions in the form of light and are decoded on the other end back into there original format. The individual channels are made of a flexible glass or plastic optical fibers (glass passes better signal but plastic is more durable) that transmit at the speed of light in glass, which is slower that the ACTUAL speed of light in a vacuum. The underwater fiber cables are specially call Submarine Communication Cables (SCCs) and are made in an 8 layer design to protect the optical fibers at the center, which weigh about 7 lbs per foot. These cables, as of this year, carry 99% of all the data traffic around the world. There are major junction points all around the world, with SCCs  (sometimes) terminating at small island chains like American Samoa and French Polynesia and other times bouncing up and down the coast of the continents.

Interactive Map of Fiber Cables

There are a number of SCCs that are planned to create more junction points and will allow even faster internet traffic around the world. Unfortunately these aren't without peril. With these being physical lines that travel the ocean floor they are vulnerable to attack during wartime and terrorist actions. Back in 2008 this is exactly what happened. It is theorized that this was done to cut off the internet to the Middle East, even though it was largely unsuccessful as the cable system uses the aforementioned junction points to reroute it. This caused a sluggish internet response time, but the rest of the world went unaffected for the most part.

Cable Cuttings in 2008

Another way for internet to travel to us is satellites. Two major carriers for satellite internet are Globalstar and Iridium and they have pretty much cornered the market. Satellite communications are traditionally much slower than any other method due to high latency as the signal is bounced 4 times, once to the satellite in question, the to the ISP, then back to the satellite and finally back to your computing device. Satellite does have one advantage that no other method has, it can be broadcasted virtually anywhere in the world including the Antarctic research facilities. This allows for sluggish but reliable internet to be sent to rural and remote areas. Another good thing is that this same technology allows the passing of telephone signals anywhere in the world as well, remember that next time you decide to go hiking in Patagonia or Himalayas, it could save your life.

Reasons Satellite Internet is Slow

Even this isn't without its pitfalls. Satellite has a much more ominous enemy than human beings, it has space. In the "not really so empty" vacuum of space, satellites have to contend with debris and collisions from rogue satellites, this does happen by the way, but the Sun (Sol) is its real enemy. Solar Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can wreck havoc with the internal mechanics or the sensitive external satellite relays. This can also have a effect on power systems on the ground, which guidance systems control the satellites and the ISP's systems in general.

Coronal Mass Ejections and Satellites 

Hopefully I haven't kept you to long and you've enjoyed the snippet that I have provided you. Please come back and join us again for more talk on tech. For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
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Razer is the "Cutting" Edge of Portable Gaming

Welcome Back All,

So today were going to discuss some hardware from one of my favorite companies, Razer. Razer has created a much hyped (with good reason) gaming PC, that they say is the "World's First Gaming Laptop", The Razerblade. They have also created two concept pieces of hardware that are more finished than concept, The Switchblade and Project Fiona, which were both Best of CES winners, the Switchblade in 2011 and Project Fiona this year. Both embody what a real portable gaming machine should be.

The Razerblade is a beautifully crafted machine. Its comes equipped with 8 GB of Ram with a i7 processor, a 2 GB GeForce GT video card, with all the graphics presented on a 17.3" full-HD screen, it's also extremely light for a gaming laptop, weighing at just under 7 lbs, but by far one of the coolest features is the Razerblade UI (user interface) using what they call adaptive key technology. On the right side of the keyboard is the trackpad that doubles as a second screen that displays game info when you use a mouse. Above that are 10 programmable buttons that can be used to with specific games, like World of Warcraft, or with any other game. You can even program different skills and macros on all 10 buttons! This allows for a highly customized user experience that can be different for every end user. This powerful machine will have no troubles running even the most resource taxing PC games.

Razerblade Youtube Video

The Switchblade takes the Razerblade UI and turns it on its head, in a good way! The Switchblade uses the same adaptive key technology and transfers gaming buttons and commands directly to the entire keyboard. This changes things immensely, but the really cool thing about it is that the PC does this intelligently on its own. Of course you can change the UI to better reflect your play style (My wife would benefit from this greatly, can you say left handed controls by default!), but the UI is kind of like an AI in this respect. Another interesting feature is the lack of a trackpad, but this seems to be negated by the hyper-sensitive 7" touchscreen HD display. This might take some getting used to, but I have no doubt that this will make the Switchblade the next huge evolutionary step in ultra-portable gaming machines. The Ram and the graphics card haven't been specified yet, but it's shipping with an Intel Atom Z690 Oaktrail processor that only supports up to 2 GB of Ram maximum, even though this might change in the future.

Switchblade Youtube Video

Finally, we come to Project Fiona. Fiona is a gaming tablet that brings some console and PC like elements to a 10" tablet. Well documented info is hard to come by with this tablet, but a few things we know it are that it has two controllers, one on each side, both with force feedback. It has an integrated gyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer to allow motion based gaming. Amazingly, it also allows gaming with a traditional keyboard and mouse that use a special attachment or are used via Bluetooth.  Concerning other pieces hardware, we now know that it is running an i7 Ivy Bridge processor and has Dolby 7.1 surround sound built into it. Another addition is the custom UI that was built from the ground up for this tablet.

Project Fiona Youtube Video

Hopefully I haven't kept you to long and you've enjoyed the snippet that I have provided you. Please come back and join us again for more talk on tech. For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/

The Beginning of OUR Era

Welcome All!!

This is the first in a series of Blogs concerning Tech in today's digital age revolution. Future post will be made concerning PCs and Macs, Tablets and Phones and other cutting edge tech as a whole. Today we are going to start with what the country's been discussing in length for the last few weeks, The Battle of the Tech Giants, i.e. Apple, Google and Microsoft, all with new hardware hitting our shores sometime this year. Apple with the upgrades to the Macbook Air and Pro Series, Google with the Nexus Line and Microsoft with the Surface.

Apple is out in force with the new Macbook Air and Pro laptops. This new sleek Retina display looks like it might help keep Apple ahead of the pack, at least for a little while longer. They've updated the Pro with an i7 Ivy Bridge Processor, SSD and 8 GB of RAM as a standard, guaranteeing a blazing fast beast of a machine. The Air is not only slightly lighter but much more nimble with a 1.8 GHZ i5 processor with the standard sizes for the SSD, that seems to be standard for Apple at this point.

http://bit.ly/macline

Google dropped some serious hardware on us at the I/O this passing June. The Nexus 7, the Nexus Q and the Galaxy Nexus Smartphone, with the Nexus 7 and Galaxy Nexus both running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the Nexus Q running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The Nexus 7 is shaping up to be a tablet contender against the Generation 3 iPad and I have to admit, it’s a beautiful looking device to say the least. With 1 GB of RAM and a Quad Core Tegra 3 processor , borrowing a line from D2 The Mighty Ducks, this thing can really fly. The Nexus Q, is shaping up to be an interesting sounding device in theory, albeit a little expensive. It is billed as a social streaming media player that is sure to cause many a fight when it arrives at my house. With the easy ways to share and play music this is going to be interesting at least for constant entertainers. Last but certainly not least, the Galaxy Nexus is a smartphone on a mission. With 4.1 Jelly Bean at the helm, it looks to remove and reverse some of the problems that have plagued Android users since the beginning, like lag in opening apps and transitioning between them (a big pet peeve of mines is fluidity, so this cuts me deep) and the huge speed increase will make this smartphone something to watch out for.

http://bit.ly/nexusline

Microsoft's new tablet, the Surface, is making waves throughout the Tech World, some good, some bad and worse. From a personal prospect I think its gold, but it seems not everyone is in line with my train of thought.

The Surface ships in two formats with each with a different operating system, the "light" tablet version of Windows 8 called Windows 8 RT and one with a full install of Windows 8 Pro Edition. The "light" version hits shelves around the same time Windows 8 does and the Pro Edition following sometime Quarter 1 next year. The RT version comes in 32 and 64 GB varieties and the Pro Edition with a 64 and 128 GB and with the blazing fast Tegra 3+ ARM Type Processor. Just with those alone (and with having the Windows 8 Developer Preview) I think this is going to be the start of a new wave of tablets.

http://bit.ly/mstabletsurface

Hopefully I haven't kept you to long and you've enjoyed the snippet that I have provided you. Please come back and join us again for more talk on tech. For more info on Team Revolution Technology, please visit is at the following social media sites:
FaceBook: Team Revolution Tech
Twitter: @TeamRevTech
Google+: Team Revolution Technology
Web (Coming Soon): http://teamrevolutiontechnology.com/