The latest build of the Windows 10 preview for phones will open up the list of supported devices massively, and as such there’s a lot more Windows Phone users that might be thinking about installing it.

Whether you’re wondering if you should, how you go about it or even just want to know a little more on what we’ve seen so far, we’ve got you covered with everything you need.

“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid. I’ve added some special modifications myself.”

I love the Millennium Falcon. The idea of a junky space ship being faster than all the fancy ones really appeals to me. And in part, I think this is why I love tinkering with my Macs so much.

Recently, my 2012 Macbook Pro started acting up, and I got The Fear. Video glitches, trackpad freakouts, high CPU temps, and random shutdowns. It was clear: I needed to move laptops. And as pretty as the new MacBook is, it’s a little too much for my pocketbook right now. Instead, I opted for the thick, “outdated,” 13-inch non-Retina Macbook Pro. And I love it.

She’s fast enough for you, old man

No, the 13-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t have a Retina screen. It doesn’t have the fancy form-factor of the new MacBook. It is, by all and rights and means, hopelessly outdated.

But for what I need, this little MacBook Pro is more than enough: For one, it’s repairable. I picked up a cheap SSD off Amazon, and replaced the drive myself. Bonus: Now I have a spare 2.5-inch hard drive for backups, and I’m booting off a drive I can remove myself in an emergency.

Another bonus: I can add extra RAM to this MacBook Pro. I put my computer through a lot of RAM-intensive work during the day, and like to have as much available as possible. But were I to go with a machine from Apple’s Retina laptop line, I’d have to pony up more than $2000! Instead, I yanked 16 gigs out of an old Mini and this baby was ready to rock — no premium charge necessary.

No Retina does not a piece of junk make

You’re probably thinking, “don’t you miss all those gorgeous Retina pixels?” Honestly, no. High-density displays are extremely useful on a phone and certainly the future of computing, but they aren’t mission-critical for me.

Most of my work is done at a desk with a big monitor, full-size keyboard and an ambidextrous ergonomic mouse / Magic Trackpad combo. (Yep, I use the number pad!) I treat my laptops like Mac Minis that can move between a few different desks depending what I’m working on. And I keep my monitors in circulation for a long time, so the difference in pixel densities would be more of a distraction than anything else.

Am I clinging to a hokey religion that’s no match for a good blaster at my side? I dunno. Maybe I could learn to work in coffee shops or on a couch, but this system helps me focus and keeps my wrists in decent condition. After all, we pirates don’t get paid when our ship is stuck in space dock.

Who needs hyperspeed?

Understanding what’s inside my computer is empowering, and oddly enough, now I feel even more prepared for the future.

Yes, USB-C is coming. But Thunderbolt never really took off, and what’s up with the future of Magsafe? I’m on board for our reversible-cables-and-wireless-network future, but right now, I’d rather just use the adapters I own. Not investing in a really expensive computer now means I’m more willing to try the new stuff later.

Now let’s just hope I don’t break anything when I remove the DVD and swap in a second hard drive…

We’re only a fewer hours into Apple Watch pre-order day, and already I want to put my fist through a wall.

New Apple product releases have become a sadly predictable affair in watching people desperately trying to get their place in line, only to be disappointed when things don’t go their way. I’m sick and tired of it.

Not getting your Apple Watch on April 24th? Shut up.

Consider yourself fortunate — blessed, even — that this is your pressing concern.

The Apple Watch only went on pre-order sale in the wee hours this morning, and already I’m seeing plenty of sturm und drang from folks on social media who are upset that the ship time on their order doesn’t guarantee that they’re going to have their new device on April 24th.

Look, whether you get it on the 24th or a few weeks later, consider yourself fortunate — blessed, even, if the word applies to your particular worldview — that you live in a time, in a part of the world, where this is your pressing concern. Any day you don’t have to worry about dying of cholera or getting shot at is a good one.

I’m just going to leave this rant from Louis C.K. here.

And thus concludes another episode of “Peter rants from his soapbox about first world problems.”

Casting pearls before swine

Who actually gives a shit if the MacBook appeals to someone who plays with this stuff for a living?

The initial reviews are in on the MacBook, and if I had to thread consensus on this round, it’s that reviewers are impressed with the engineering and design work Apple has done, but are less impressed with the actual performance of the device.

Little surprise there: For the past several years, Apple’s stuck to the mid-range and high-end of Intel’s laptop processor line. You haven’t been able to get even a MacBook Air with anything less than a Core i5 processor in a while. So for a Mac to show up with a Core M processor, which is in an entirely different performance class, it’s bound to throw people a bit.

That the new MacBook isn’t as fast a device as Mac reviewers are used to shouldn’t be a revelation. The real question is what actual buyers are going to expect. I don’t think the initial rash of reviews are going to turn away customers in droves, because I don’t think most customers give a single shit about what reviewers think.

In fact, I don’t think most Apple customers read reviews, or have the faintest idea that sites like ours exist. Most people considering the new laptop are, y’know, going to actually use one in a store before they decide if it’s right for them.

Call me an Apple fanboy, but I expect that Apple engineers are infinitely more capable than the reviewers of figuring out the right balance for how this product should work and can work, given the engineering and design limitations.

And herein lies the essential conundrum for Apple when it comes time to offer any new product up for review: For the most part, the people writing the reviews have very narrow perspectives on how the devices work and what they should and shouldn’t do.

As I’ve said before, I think the new MacBook is designed for an entirely different class of Mac user than has been buying Macs up until now — one that isn’t overly concerned with how many peripherals can be connected or how fast the MacBook is when rendering effects in Photoshop.

Who actually gives a shit if the MacBook appeals to someone who plays with this stuff for a living?

No lines, no waiting

Lining up on launch days feeds into a culture of conspicuous consumerism that’s just really ugly and vulgar.

If there was any lingering doubt in my mind that Angela Ahrendts is the right person to head up Apple’s retail operations, her decision to try to get rid of the scourge of lines at Apple retail stores sealed the deal.

I’ve stood in line at Apple Stores plenty of times in my life, but I swore after the iPhone 6 launch that it would be the last time. Mainly because most of the people I stood in line with had absolutely no intention of keeping the product — they were counting on high demand and limited availability, especially in lucrative overseas markets like China — driving up the resale value of the devices they were buying.

That sort of parasitic activity isn’t something I want to be around, because I find it unsavory. What I found even more unsavory was the penchant that many of these people had for wholesale littering, yelling, and just general nincompoopery that made me wonder what sort of barns they’d been raised in.

But hell, I find the whole process of standing around at an Apple Store waiting for it to be open to be more than a bit pathetic. Gathering, in some cases, days before, to be the first kid on the block with a shiny new toy. Do you seriously have nothing better to do with your life? Do you have such little self-esteem that you need to prove you’re Apple’s biggest fan? Stephen King wrote a book dedicated to his “biggest fans” once. That book is Misery — you know, the one about the psychotic fan that keeps the author trapped in her house.

I’m a diehard Apple user. I don’t want to begrudge anyone their enthusiasm to get their hands a new Apple device during its launch day or any time thereafter. But let’s face it: Lining up on launch days feeds into a culture of conspicuous consumerism that’s just really ugly and vulgar.

So yeah, pre-order to your heart’s content, be glad you have the ability to do so, and be happy with whenever the product arrives. Whether you get your Apple Watch, MacBook or any other new product on launch day or a few weeks later, the world will still spin on its axis and everything’s going to be okay.

Star Wars fans are in for a treat today as the original trilogy and the prequels are now available in HD as digital downloads from Xbox Video.

Research firms Gartner and IDC both showed sharp declines in PC shipments worldwide in the first quarter of 2015. Gartner stated that 71.7 million PC units shipped in the first quarter of 2015, which is a 5.2% decline from the same period a year ago. IDC said 68.5 million PC units shipped in the quarter, down by 6.7% from the same period a year ago.

Today’s a pretty big day for Android smartphone fans, with the Samsung Galaxy S6 hitting stores as well as this guy — the HTC One M9. Two major Android smartphones hitting shelves on the same day. It’s been quite some time since we can remember that happening. And a lot of folks are going to have a lot of tough decisions to make.

We’ve written a lot about the M9, but here we’ll boil things down to their most basic for you. If nothing else, these are the things you must know about the HTC One M9.

Let’s get to it.

This Spring Clip Holster keeps your device clipped in tight, no matter the hustle and bustle. Just snap it to your belt, pants or bag and pop in your device. The top spring clip is extremely tough and provides quick-release access when you need to answer a call, text or email.

The second-generation Chromebook Pixel is launching in the UK this month and will be available on April 21. Prices start from £799 for the Intel Core i5 version.

Samsung celebrates the launch of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge with an all new commercial.

In the latest commercial Samsung celebrates the end of all the anticipation, as the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge launch officially. Everyone is always looking forward to what is next, and what’s next from Samsung is available now.

The Red Dot Award is recognised worldwide and is one of the most sought-after quality marks for excellent design.

The BlackBerry design team has just scored another win. This time around, it comes by way of the BlackBerry Passport which has earned the prestigious “Best of the Best” Red Dot Product Design 2015 award.

The BlackBerry Design Team is honoured to accept the prestigious Red Dot: Best of the Best Product Design Award for the BlackBerry Passport,” said Alison Phillips, Managing Director and Head of Industrial Design. “The value of design comes through when technology and new ideas can be turned into meaningful products that users connect with. This innovative product was a collaboration of many teams coming together to deliver a new design icon for BlackBerry.

The Red Dot: Best of the Best is awarded for innovative design and is the highest individual award in the Red Dot Award: Product Design. Only the outstanding products in a category receive this award – in 2015, only 81 products from 31 categories were given the sought-after seal of quality.

The full press release is below but if you’re looking to learn more about the design of the BlackBerry Passport, check out our video interview here with Alison Phillips, Managing Director and Head of Industrial Design from the BlackBerry Passport launch event.

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