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Jeff Porten

Jeff Porten

Jeff Porten provides consulting services on Mac, IT, and productivity, and is a freelance writer in Philadelphia. His most recent book is Take Control of Your Productivity.

Jeff Porten 4 comments

CE Week 2018: New Tech at “CES East”

Curious about what consumer electronics companies are up to in the months that follow the big CES show in Las Vegas? They’re not sitting still, as Jeff Porten discovered while attending two mini-CES shows in New York City. Read on for the latest in geeky gear, gadgets, and gizmos.

Jeff Porten 6 comments

Apple Announces Service Program for Butterfly-Switch Keyboards

Apple’s new service program won’t increase key travel for the butterfly-switch keyboards in the MacBook or MacBook Pro, but it does eliminate any worry about a $700 repair if your keyboard fails after the warranty expires.

Jeff Porten 5 comments

tvOS 12 Goes to 11 with Dolby Atmos

Apple TV 4K will rock your ears and eyes a little bit more starting this fall, alongside a collection of either nice-to-have or essential new features, depending on your living room.

Jeff Porten Adam Engst 7 comments

Agenda Offers a New Take on Note-Taking and Task Management

Momenta's Agenda provides novel ways of organizing projects and tasks within a note-taking system that can link to several other Mac apps. It offers a different subscription model that doesn’t expire purchased features. But it has been out only since the end of 2017, and still suffers from some bugs and limitations.

Jeff Porten 4 comments

CES 2018: Eureka Park Wraps Up CES

In wrapping up his CES coverage, Jeff Porten explores the show within a show that CES sets aside for startups, Eureka Park. Follow along as he finds a portable scanner, kid-focused smartwatch, global hotspot, solar-powered car, and monitoring shoes for seniors.

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CES 2018: The Main Show, LVCC, and Sands

Jeff Porten misses the riding luggage, wears a camera on his face, sees some ridiculously fast SSD drives, and roams the CES main floor.

Jeff Porten 2 comments

CES 2018: ShowStoppers Prepares for the Collapse of Civilization

Jeff Porten, who never leaves civilization, finds several products designed to help you survive the wilderness, alongside things useful in cities.

Jeff Porten 9 comments

CES 2018: PEPCOM Digital Experience

Jeff Porten continues the trek through the CES pre-shows and finds more gadgetry (a 1 TB USB stick, an inexpensive USB-C hub) and technological innovations (a smartwatch that charges from body heat, a dual-screen smartphone).

Jeff Porten 6 comments

CES 2018: CES Unveiled Gives a Duck

Jeff Porten starts off CES 2018 with the mini-show CES hosts for the media. Read on for the latest in wireless earbuds, mesh Wi-Fi systems, smart corkscrews, electronic scent mixers, and even a robotic duck designed to help kids with cancer.

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CES 2018: Tech Trends from the Consumer Technology Association

Jeff Porten kicks off another CES show with the Consumer Technology Association’s trends and predictions for 2018.

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Consumer Electronics at the PEPCOM Holiday Expo

Jeff Porten warms up for January’s CES in Las Vegas with a trip to PEPCOM’s branch show in New York City.

Jeff Porten 4 comments

Ideas from CES 2017: 5G in Your Future

Fresh from a panel discussion on 5G networks at CES 2017, Jeff Porten discusses the goals of this next-generation networking technology and speculates on how it will actually be implemented.

Jeff Porten 3 comments

CES 2017: Gadget Finds on the CES Show Floor, Days 3 and 4

Jeff Porten bids adieu to CES 2017 with a show floor wrap-up.

Jeff Porten 3 comments

CES 2017: Gadget Finds on the CES Show Floor, Days 1 and 2

Having finished up with the media-only events, Jeff Porten hits the show floors of CES, and has many miles to go and products to write up for you before he sleeps.

Jeff Porten 7 comments

CES 2017: From Laundry to Play-Doh at Showstoppers

Jeff Porten continues his explorations of what’s new and cool at Showstoppers, the third and final media-only show floor at CES.