By Andy Valencia As I mentioned last month, laptops tend to be tougher on the budget than a desktop PC. Buyers want a big, bright screen, a keyboard with a crisp feel, and lightning-fast performance. All this while everything is paper-thin and weighs less than your phone. Oh, and it runs all day on one…
August 2026, Technology
A Cheap PC is Good Enough
By Andy Valencia Yes, everything is up-up-up, as in prices: your cafe drink, groceries, ferry fares. Let’s not even talk about gas. Will we actually reach $8 per gallon? And in technology … RAM prices up 3x, maybe 4x, or even moreDisks, more than 2xSSD, more like 3x And now the word is coming out…
Island Resilience, June 2026, Technology
Software: Free as in Beer
By Andy Valencia This article was going to be about saving money when you need to buy a PC. I’ll write about that next month, because it’s hard to save money when your operating system is waging war on your pocket book. We need to talk about Microsoft Windows. Most people do need a connection…
December 2025, Island Voices, Technology
So Now I’ve Used AI
By Andy Valencia I was writing an article about some undeveloped parcels of Vashon land that are on the market. In case you don’t know, building on Vashon has a history of being expensive and fraught with regulatory delays and other surprises. People might be thinking about building, and an article on the subject could…
Island Voices, September 2025, Technology
Tech Blitzkrieg, Part Two …
… Or, resistance is futile. By Michael Shook When cell phones first arrived, I thought they were swell. Here was a handy thing to have, especially since I worked in construction. I could call our driver and tell him to pick up some more 2×6’s, or to swing by the shop for the table saw,…