Walt Mossberg

Dell refreshes Vostro laptops

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:16:56 -0400

Sure, old Walt Mossberg might not like Dell's Vostro line of SMB-tailored PCs much, but maybe you do. If you count yourself among Vostro's fans, you'll be pleased to hear that Dell is giving it's Vostro laptops a much-needed refresh. There's a new 13.3-inch model (the Vostro 1310), a new 15.4-incher (the Vostro 1510) and a reworked 17-inch model (the Vostro 1710). All sport a slot-loading optical drive, are thinner and lighter than their predecessors, include 10GB of online storage, are delivered bloatware-free and start at $599. The 1310 and 1510 are available now in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and May 1st in the Americas. The 1710 is scheduled to arrive in mid-May.

For more on the new Vostros:
- see this press release

ALSO NOTED: OS X on the Eee PC!; Barack Obama outlines tech plans;

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:59:51 -0500

> Barack Obama outlines his plans for government IT and tech. Article
> Walt Mossberg doesn't like the new Zunes. Review
> Eee PC: now available in black. Article
> Comcast gets taken to court for blocking network traffic. Article
> miShare debuts iPod sharing hardware solution. Article

And Finally... A Mac for $400? No way. An Eee PC running OS X? You bet. Article

Video: Walt Mossberg reviews the Gateway One

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:19:16 -0400

Mossberg gives Gateway One thumbs-down

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 07:59:53 -0400

Old Walt Mossberg has taken Gateway's forthcoming all-in-one One PC for a test drive and has posted a video and written review, as he is wont to do. The verdict? Not so good, folks. "I can't recommend the Gateway over the iMac," Mossy writes. "It offers smaller screens and lower resolution--huge factors in an all-in-one machine --for prices that can exceed the iMac's." Additionally, Mossberg took issue with the One's slow start-up and shut-down, lack of a built-in webcam, noise output, crapware-filled hard drive and reliability (it crashed twice during a few days of testing, including one BSOD). "The Gateway One may appeal to style-conscious Windows users, but I think the iMac remains the best consumer desktop on the market."

For more on Mossberg's thoughts on the One:
- watch the video review
- and read the full review at the Wall Street Journal

OS X Leopard gets reviewed

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

As you surely know by now, tomorrow is the big day for folks waiting to upgrade to version 10.5 of the Mac OS, more commonly known as Leopard. And right on schedule, here come the reviews. Of course, the usual suspects got their mitts on a pre-release copy of the OS, including the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg, the New York Times' David Pogue and USA Today's Ed Baig. So, what did they think? For the most part, all three found Leopard to be an improvement over Tiger, though the consensus seems to be that it's not quite a landmark release. "[W]hile it is an evolutionary, not a revolutionary, release, I believe it builds on Apple's quality advantage over Windows," Mossberg writes. Nonetheless, it seems that everyone found something to like, especially the Time Machine backup interface, which managed to impress all three critics. "When you connect [a] second drive, Leopard asks if you want to use it for Time Machine," Pogue writes. "If you click O.K., that's it. One click - that's got to be the shortest setup of any backup system in history."

For more on Leopard:
- watch Walt Mossberg's video review of the new OS
- read David Pogue's NYT review
- and see Ed Baig's review for USA Today

Mossberg pens mobile manifesto

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:59:54 -0400

In the world of tech journalism, there are few people who are as well respected as Walt Mossberg. After all, it takes a little bit of clout to get Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to sit down and have a chat with each other. In short, when Mossy speaks, geeks listen. So that's why its particularly exciting that Mossberg has seen fit to pen an anti-locked mobile phone tirade. Sure, a lot of other folks have been down that path already but Mossberg's manifesto is quite possibly the most fiery rant we've seen yet on the topic. In the article, titled "Free My Phone," Mossberg calls the U.S. "the laughingstock of the mobile-technology world" and goes so far as to compare American mobile carriers to "the old bureaucracies of communism". What's needed, in his opinion, is a little bit of market regulation from the U.S. government--the same sort of regulation that opened up the wired phone networks in the 1970s. It worked in the past and there's no reason why it wouldn't work now; the only question is whether or not that sort of regulatory legislation could ever be passed in this day and age.

For more on Mossberg's take:
- see this editorial from All Things D

Video: Walt Mossberg reviews the iPod Touch

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:30:09 -0400

Mossberg reviews iPod Touch

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 06:59:54 -0400

You probably don't need me to tell you that the iPod Touch is the hottest gadget since...well, the iPhone. As we've seen, the touchscreen device has already been shipped, unboxed and reviewed. Now tech guru Walt Mossberg is talking up the device, giving it his standard video review. Interestingly, Mossberg found that the iPod Touch's battery life is not quite as long as advertised--which is surprising when you consider that Apple is usually known for pretty conservative battery estimates. Though Apple boasts that the Touch can playback 22 hours of music or 5 hours of video on one charge, Mossberg was only able to play 17 hours of music or 4 hours of video before needing to recharge the device. He also took issue with Apple's decision to cripple features in the OS--the calendar, email and Google Maps for example--in order to better distinguish the Touch from the iPhone. Despite its flaws, Mossberg ultimately liked the iPod Touch and his closing comments seem to echo the other positive reviews of the device that have been floating around. "I still have to say that this thing is beautiful and it works brilliantly for music and especially for videos and photos because of the great screen."

Video: Mossberg gives Ubuntu thumbs-down

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Apparently, a lot of Linux fanboys have been emailing Wall Street Journal tech columnist Walt Mossberg lately to extol the virtues of Ubuntu Linux (fancy that). So Mr. Mossberg decided to get his hands on this so-called "Ubuntu" to see what it was all about. Deciding to approach the matter like a non-technical end user might, he decided to order a laptop from Dell that came pre-loaded with the open-source OS.

So, what did old Mossy make of Ubuntu? "Even in the relatively slick Ubuntu variation, Linux is still too rough around the edges for the vast majority of computer users," Mossberg reports. "While Ubuntu looks a lot like Windows or Mac OS X, it is full of little complications and hassles that will quickly frustrate most people who just want to use their computers, not maintain or tweak them." Apparently, the lack of small conveniences in Ubuntu--like the ability to tweak touchpad settings from within the OS's GUI or the ability to play music files without having to download codecs--proved to him that Linux is not yet ready for the mainstream. "The problem is, it's a two-edged sword," Mossberg opines in his video review. "Open-source gets you all this great talent but nobody in the end is really responsible for the product and very often, open-source developers have what I would call an imperfect idea of how non-techies want to use their computers."

For more on the verdict:
- watch Mossberg's video review (via All Things D)

Video: Mossberg reviews Dell's Vostro line

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:14:30 -0400