P. J. Connolly

About

P. J. Connolly began writing for IT publications in 1997 and has a lengthy track record in both news and reviews. Since then, he's built two test labs from scratch and earned a reputation as the nicest skeptic you'll ever meet. Before taking up journalism, P. J. was an IT manager and consultant in San Francisco with a knack for networking the Apple Macintosh, and his love for technology is exceeded only by his contempt for the flavor of the month.

Yet Another Golden Master Released for iOS 4.2

On Thursday, Apple released the third golden master for iOS 4.2 to developers, under the name of iOS 4.2.1; with the clock ticking on the company’s promised November release date for the mobile operating system, perhaps the third time’s the charm. The new version of iOS will bring to the iPad the features of iOS […]

Critical Testing Criteria: Desktop Storage

Critical Testing Criteria: Desktop Storage by P. J. Connolly Connectivity Of course, network connections that support Gigabit Ethernet are Priority No. 1, but the ability to connect to multiple external storage devices is a close second. USB 2.0 support is taken for granted, and I couldnt imagine a device lacking it; the focus is shifting […]

Mac OS X 10.6.5 Released, but Where’s AirPrint?

As rumors had predicted, Apple released today the latest update to Snow Leopard, but without the AirPrint support that was supposed to make it possible for iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad to make use of printers shared from Mac computers. Mac OS X 10.6.5 is available from Apple’s Software Update service; it’s […]

Critical Testing Criteria: Desktop Storage

Here are the things I look for in desktop storage devices: 1- Connectivity: Of course, network connections that support Gigabit Ethernet are Priority Number One, but the ability to connect to multiple external storage devices is One-A. USB 2.0 support is taken for granted, and I couldn’t imagine a device lacking it; the focus is […]

Cisco Series 300 Switches Dont Cut Networking Corners

Cisco Series 300 Switches Dont Cut Networking Corners by P. J. Connolly Cisco 300 Series Switch The Cisco 300 series switches offer a wide range of port configurations and a powerful array of management features. ACL Configuration Creating and modifying access control lists on the 300 Series switches is a simple matter, thanks to the […]

Cisco Storage Technology Helps Makes Small Business IT Easier

Cisco Storage Technology Helps Makes Small Business IT Easier by P. J. Connolly Cisco NSS 324 Makes Desktop Storage Simple Cisco’s NSS 300 Series devices present an attractive alternative to the larger-ticket solutions that have been the norm for multiterabyte data storage. A Plethora of Connectivity The NSS 300 Series storage devices have as a […]

Xserve Joins Apple’s List of Failures

The Xserve, which Apple officially put to pasture this week, proved to be another example of the company’s on-again-but-mostly-off commitment to large scale, enterprise-class computing. It’s a market where the company’s track record has been a series of disappointments, but for a while at least, Xserve seemed to have changed Apple’s luck. Depending on how […]

LaCie Adds Mac Support for Its USB 3.0 Products

Although USB 3.0 devices are began appearing earlier this year, it’s going to be a while before support for the specification becomes ubiquitous by being “baked” into operating systems and system hardware. For example, although Apple was bragging up the new features of Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion” a couple of weeks ago, nothing was […]

Excel 2011 Pushes the Envelope

Excel 2011 Pushes the Envelope by P. J. Connolly Set Sharing Options When more than one person is modifying an Excel 2011 workbook, it’s possible to define whose changes take priority. Sparklines Dress Up Data Excel 2011 adds Sparklines, tiny charts that provide an at-a-glance summary of data, while remaining near the values that define […]

Word 2011 for Mac Gets It Right

Word 2011 for Mac Gets It Right by P. J. Connolly Full-Screen Mode Adds Functions The full-screen view of Word 2011 provides users with a useful subset of tools for performing common editing tasks. Quick Styles Add Pizazz A number of predefined Quick Styles are furnished with Word 2011; users are able to define their […]