Hardware

Stick with the original Quickoffice HD app and either Dropbox or Box instead for a more reliable, cheaper alternative

Using Dell's flagship Ultrabook isn't quite like driving a MacBook Air, but it's still a sweet ride

Dell's PowerEdge C6220 squeezes four two-socket servers into 2RU, delivering blade server density at a rack-mount price

Samsung Android tablet hardware is essentially unchanged, but new UI is easier to use -- except for Web browsing

Products like OnLive Desktop have given desktop-as-a-service a bad name; CloudOn may fix that blemish

First look: 12-gen, 2U Dell PowerEdge R720xd pairs hardware heft with first-rate remote management tools

Elgato's external SSD is the first of its kind with a 10Gbps Thunderbolt port, which enables data transfers at more than three times the speed of USB. But there are drawbacks, too.

Microsoft's old Windows desktop and tablet-friendly Metro UI make strange bedfellows

The OnLive Dekstop is an app for your iPad that gives you a virtual Windows 7 desktop environment, as well as Office 2010 apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Adobe Reader and other basic Windows apps (Calculator, Notepad, Wordpad, Paint, Sticky Notes).

HP's Folio 13, the first of a new product line designed to appeal to both mainstream and business users, isn't the thinnest or lightest Ultrabook around. But unless you're a fanatic about such things, it will probably fill your needs better than its thinner and lighter competitors. It offers excellent performance and battery life, a fetchingly minimalist design, and a typing experience that thinner units can't match.

Samsung's own advertising poses the question of whether the new Galaxy Note is a phone or tablet. And punlike portmanteaus like "phablet" aside, the question is surprisingly pertinent. I've long regarded the 5-inch class display as a potential alternative to the larger 7-inch and 10-inch tablets that have been soaking up all of the attention of tablet makers, but Dell's Streak 5--a previous attempt at a 5-inch phone/mini-tablet--failed to wow. The Galaxy Note, on the other hand, impresses in many ways, though its usability is clearly hampered by the lack of a truly tablet-optimized operating system, and by its indifferent display.