TechieTalk: Global TechieTalk: Razer Edge, Lumia Problems and Robocopy Backups

Tech news and tips from around the globe!

USA: Razer Edge: With the Razer Edge, formerly Project Fiona, Razer have finally made good on their promise to produce a gaming capable Windows 8 tablet. There will be two models in the range- the Edge and Edge Pro. Both have the same NVIDIA GT640 M LE GPU with Optimus automatic-switching, 1366×768 displays, USB 3.0, front-facing 2MP cameras, WiFi, Bluetooth and stereo sound. They both weight about 1 Kg. The differences are that the Edge Pro will have an i7 CPU, more RAM, VRAM and storage than the i5 powered Edge.

The downsides? As usual with Razer it’s the price. Let’s start with the tablet itself. At around $700 for Edge and $1000 for the Edge Pro, you’ll need deep pockets just to get your foot in the door. Then, every e other thing you need to make this a viable gaming platform costs extra. For example, the docking station/stand is almost a must as it adds much needed ports such as HDMI-out to connect it to your TV or monitor. There are also other options like gaming paddles that you can slot the tablet into and a keyboard docking station to give your tablet a laptop-sized form-factor. Remember also that the graphics processor is not the most powerful and isn’t upgradeable; so it’s not particularly a future-proof of investment either. Availability for pre-order outside the US seems to be an issue too, so even if you are Richie Rich, you might have to wait a while to get your hands on one. The Verdict? Ignoring the usual Razer hype, you can expect a fairly average and very, very expensive portable PC gaming tablet. The Edge and Edge Pro start shipping at the end of March.

Europe: Lumia Problems: As I may have mentioned before, I am currently in the UK. Today I visited a well-known mobile phone shop to have a look at a Nokia 920 on behalf of my cousin who wanted some purchasing advice. However, I was informed by the sales assistant that the Nokia 920 was the subject of a recall because too many have been returned. After a little internet snooping I found out that since late last year the Nokia 710, 800 series and 900 series have all become subject to recall notices and customer complaints due to a variety of hardware bugs. The reaction of owners seems to be mixed; some reporting no problems and others complaining of everything from the phone becoming bricked (i.e. dead and un-revivable) to a very short battery life. If you are a Nokia Lumia owner in Mauritius, TechieTalk would like to hear about your experiences with any of the smartphones in the Lumia range.

Roy’s House: Robocopy Backups: I have been hammering you people out there about making regular backups and are you listening to me? That is what exactly what I thought! Okay, so here is an idiot-proof way to back up your data. First, get an external hard drive that matches or exceeds the capacity of your internal hard drive. The type of drive doesn’t matter, but USB 3.0 is preferable to USB 2.0 if your PC supports it, but even if it doesn’t, don’t worry- the external drive will still work, albeit at a slower speed. Now plug it in and let the drivers install. If you have Windows 7, you can go straight on to the next bit, if you have Windows XP, download and install the Windows 2003 Resource Kit Tools in the link below first. Then open a command prompt window (StartProgramsAccessoriesCommand Prompt). Now carefully type-

robocopy c:data x: /mir

Where c:data is the source folder of your data and y: is the external drive (you might have to change this depending on your setup).

Hit enter and let it run. It might take a few hours depending on how much data you are transferring, but finally you will end up with a copy of your files.

See you next week, or visit me at roymathur.com in the meantime.

Links
Windows 2003 Resource Kit Tools: http://bit.ly/Ku5sDN