Recommendations

Sundeep is trying to decide whether to get a Chromebook, a laptop, or an iPad for traveling. Leo says that for what Sundeep is needing, the Chromebook is probably out of contention. But the iPad is a great option. Because everyone has a mobile device now, Airlines no longer have entertainment systems onboard, choosing for streaming content via WiFi. You merely download the airline app, and you can watch movies, TVs, etc. That's where the iPad can shine.

Vince is going to be sailing around and he wants a tablet to stay connected. Leo says to stay away from third-party tablets and stick to the iPad or an Android tablet. They are the most reliable. Cheaper third-party ones will not give you the experience and performance you need. Leo also recommends getting a Dual Electronics Stand Alone Bluetooth GPS receiver. Leo has one and it's far more accurate than the GPS in the mobile devices.

Alan wants to get an all in one PC for gaming and watching TV. Is this possible? Leo says that games are the most challenging applications for a PC. They usually require a more powerful processor, more RAM, and a faster hard drive. But the main piece is the GPU or graphics card.. All -in-1 would make it a challenge, but you can get one with a better GPU. Leo recommends the Lenovo A940. Dell's XPS27 is also a good choice. It would also enable him to do graphics, photoshop, or video editing. 

Eddie is looking for a good color printer for occasional printing. Leo likes the Epson EcoTank 4550 (who is a sponsor of The Tech Guy show & the TWiT Network). It comes with a lifetime of ink. It'll cost a bit more, but you're saving on ink down the road.

Joe wants a good Tri-Band router. Leo recommends ASUS. It gives a 2.5 GHz and two 5 GHz bands. Also, check out theWirecutter.com, they like the TPLink Archer A20. 

Shane has a 2014 Trashcan Mac Pro and he's having trouble uploading his raw photo files. Would the new Mac Mini handle them, or should he bite the bullet and get the new cheesegrater this fall? Leo says that the new Mac Mini is a great computer and he can max it out for a great price. Leo also says that he will likely slow down the computer when he uses extra cores during rendering. So it's difficult to gauge the specs.

Jeff has reached the end of the line on his iMac since it won't work with updates anymore. So he's looking at buying a new Mac. Should he get an iMac or a Mac Mini? Leo says that he's a real fan of the new Mac Mini because it has a ton of connectors, including Thunderbolt 3, so he can run an external GPU if he wants. He can also upgrade the RAM. He can save some money and get his own screen, keyboard, and mouse.  He can also get a better webcam or connect a video camera to do streaming. 

Richard is in the market for a low priced laptop for $300-500. Leo says that SSDs are much faster and more reliable, but they are more expensive. Laptops with spinning drives are going to be cheaper and have more space than an SSD drive laptop. But sometimes they don't use an SSD, they use EMMC memory - the same memory on phones, so avoid that. It really comes down to how much data you want to store on it and what your needs are. Leo likes Thinkpads by Lenovo though as they're more though. For budget laptops, HP and Asus are good options as well to look into.

Jerry is looking to get a new computer and wants to know if the new Mac Mini is good for occasional video editing and sound recording. Rich says that the Mac Mini was thought dead, but the new version has had a bump in specs. Pretty much any computer will work for editing basic video for the internet. But 4K video is going to require more power. For $800, the basic Mac Mini really isn't up to the task. Rich recommends maxing out the RAM and hard drive if the budget allows. But remember, that the Mac Mini also requires one to buy a monitor. keyboard, and mouse.

Andy is thinking about getting into day trading. What does Leo think? Leo says to read FLASHBOYS. Trading is now an automated, high volume business, and trades are happening in milliseconds, often before anyone at the NYSE knows what's happening. That is the competition. And it's really easy to lose a shirt in day trading, as you get leveraged buying stock on margin.

He'll need a very powerful computer, but any laptop can do basic day trading. It's quite an investment. He'll also need software and a subscription to wall street's feed.