Happy New Year everyone. We start out the new year with a quick review of Windows 8. The short story, we don’t care for it and do not recommend upgrading to it. If you are buying a new machine and can get Windows 7, do so.

Windows 7 was a smooth elegant operating system that worked very well. Windows 8 on the other hand is a clunky, non-intuitive operating system that is as difficult to navigate as it is to understand. Windows 8 was very clearly built for the tablet market and while it probably works very well on tablets, we are looking at the Desktop and Laptop markets, you know the ones that comprise the bulk of Microsoft’s business.

We’re not going to go into an in-depth explanation of all of the things that have changed as there are a million sites available for that. We are just giving the opinion we have arrived at after using the OS for over a year. The systems running have slowed, the last patch Microsoft put out nearly brought them to a stand still and had to be rolled back.

Down grading to window 7 is seriously being considered.

Bottom line, we recommend that desktop and laptop users steer away from Windows 8.

We are hoping to be able to provide a review and comparison of the Samsung Galaxy Note and a Windows 8 phone.
As soon as we are able to procure the needed items we will conduct the testing and provide a useful, plain English results.

Look for this as well as our upcoming review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 12.1 MP Rugged/Waterproof Digital Camera, we will be testing the underwater functions of this camera while snorkeling in Aruba this Spring.

I’ve been testing a bunch of different Twitter Apps lately. Trying to find that one special app that does everything I want in a Twitter app. Here are the contenders:

Of course first up is Twitter.
Twitter, formerly Twitterific,  is a app that worked so well Twitter bought it and re-branded it Twitter.
This is your basic Twitter client. It’ll get you where you’re going but doesn’t have many of the bells and whistles found in some of the other Twitter Apps. Twitter allows you to follow your interests: instant updates from your friends, industry experts, favorite celebrities, and what’s happening around the world. With this app you get short bursts of timely information.

Real-time search reveals breaking news, while trending topics show what’s happening now around the world. View trends, browse your interests and see suggested users in several categories, including fashion, entertainment and travel, or search to find out what people are saying about topics you care about, such as politics or big sporting events.

Features: Browse interests, Find & follow friends, Tweet, Retweet, Favorite, Follow, exchange Direct messages with your followers, share photos, videos and web pages, real-time search, trends.

Next up UberSocial

UberSocial has proven to be a big hit among the Android community. It has now been released on the iPhone platform.

Highlights:
• Access to ALL Twitter functionality
• LivePreview™—links, videos, photos
• Manage multiple accounts
• Tweet over 140 characters
• Multiple custom UberSocial Themes from 50cent, Ashton Kutcher and more…
• UberChannels—easy access to the best Twitter content

Features:

• Tweet/Retweet, Direct Mentions, @Replies, @Mentions, Trending Topics, Twitter Lists
• Photo and video support (multiple providers)
• Customized notifications
• Save Tweet drafts
• Pull-to-refresh
• Search nearby Tweets
• Protected Tweet mode for privacy
• Advanced Search functionality

• Mute capability – mute user for selected period
• Home Timeline – combines Tweets, DMs, @mentions, etc.
• Deals from Groupon and Living Social (optional)
• UberChannels with curated content from USA Today, Hollywood Reporter, Mashable and more…

**EDITOR’S CHOICE**

Twittelator Pro
This app has too many features for us to list here and  we don’t want to rehash all of the feature information you can find on the manufactures website.

Let it suffice for us to say this is by far the best twitter client we have found for the iPhone. It has all of the features of the above mentioned clients and more. The down side is the pro version, meaning no advertising, is around $5. If you are a hardcore Tweeter it’s money well spent.