About Owen
Owen McCarthy
Reviewer
Owen McCarthy has had a long love affair with all things technical since the dawn of the computer age. A child of the 1960’s, he agrees with legendary author, Douglas Adams, that digital watches were a pretty neat idea. By the 1980’s Owen was learning how to code using C and by the turn of the century, he was teaching HTML to enthusiastic youngsters. These days, Owen can be found pestering editors for new technology to review on an annoyingly regular basis. In his spare time, he rides motorcycles of the three-wheeled variety, studies theology, aqua-jogs, and works hard to honour his late wife’s request to live a joy-filled life.
Stories by Owen - Page 10
Apple unveils new MacBook Pros
Fri, 28th Oct 2016
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smartphones
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martech
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commerce systems
Apple launches next-gen MacBook Pros, boasting a customizable Touch Bar, faster graphics, enhanced colour and sound, in a sleeker design from NZ$2499.
Hands-on review: HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 Wide Format All-in-One - Making me fall in love again
Fri, 28th Oct 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
In a very few days I’ve become enamoured of this printer. For a product with a relatively small footprint it sure packs a lot in!.
Hands-on review: Jaybird Freedom Wireless Earbuds - invaluable on-the-go tech
Fri, 7th Oct 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
If you like to customise your sounds, lead active lifestyles and despise connecting cables, these earbuds could be the answer you've been looking for.
Hands-on review: Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Tablet
Mon, 3rd Oct 2016
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smartphones
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gaming
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reviews
With so much thought going into the engineering I can report nothing negative about his little beauty. Certainly a worthwhile investment.
Hands-on review: Acer Switch Alpha 12 - a tablet packed with value
Wed, 28th Sep 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
Armed with an Intel Core i3 processor, the Acer Switch Alpha 12 is pretty zippy upon startup, and I found it easy to use the touch screen controls.
Hands-on review: Corsair Lapdog - Living room gaming with zero compromise
Tue, 6th Sep 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
This ensemble has to be some of the best gear I’ve reviewed, and I’ve broken the review of the Corsair Lapdog Console down into its components.
Hands-on review: Lenovo MiiX 700 Tablet - the best of all worlds
Mon, 5th Sep 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
Recently I’ve been fortunate to review a range of tablets. The Lenovo MiiX 700 is the latest one and the specifications suggest it’s a goody.
From the Dark Side turn you must: Alternatives to Windows 10
Wed, 31st Aug 2016
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personal computing devices
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microsoft
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windows
Pat Pilcher has just published an article aptly entitled, Windows 10 is horrible. So what are the alternatives? Owen McCarthy investigates..
Hands-on review: ACER Aspire S13 - slim, sexy and powerful
Tue, 9th Aug 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
The Aspire S13 is easily one of the most user-friendly devices I’ve trialled, with a powerful processor, the wonderful ergonomics and a sexy feel.
Hands-on review: HP Spectre - the world's thinnest notebook
Wed, 20th Jul 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
The lovely folks at HP seem to be determined to turn me to the Windows side, and with the Spectre, they may be edging ever closer to success.
Hands-on review: HP Pagewide Pro MFP577dw
Tue, 19th Jul 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
What we have here, my discerning and loyal readers, is a printer that is quick, quiet, producing quality prints while being stingy on consumables.
Hands-on review: HP EliteBook Folio G1
Tue, 12th Jul 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
I’m an unashamed devotee of all things Apple. However, HP appear to be making inroads into my hitherto steadfast devotion to the Mac.
Hands-on review: Thecus N2810 NAS Server
Thu, 5th May 2016
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storage
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gaming
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datacentre infrastructure
Affectionately known as the ultimate multimedia NAS server with 4k transcoding, this is the Multimedia NAS you have been looking for.
Hands-on review: Corsair Gaming Headphones - wireless or wired?
Fri, 29th Apr 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
My old gaming headphones are great, or so I thought. These headphones (both wired and wireless) absolutely blew that presumption out of the water.
Hands-on review: DJI Phantom 4 Drone
Fri, 15th Apr 2016
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gaming
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drones
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reviews
I never used to see the need to use a drone, but a week of testing the DJI Phantom 4 Drone has completely and utterly changed my mind.
Need beautiful mock-ups now? Dunnnk reviewed
Mon, 4th Apr 2016
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dunnnk
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online tools
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moth
Graphic saviours, rejoice! Dunnnk's quick mock-up creation tool shines for rushed designers and writers alike.
Hands-on review: Trend Micro Maximum Security 10
Fri, 18th Mar 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
I remain impressed with Trend’s easy to follow interface, and for me it remains a solid choice for protection from all the nasties out there.
What is the rumour mill generating about future MacBooks?
Mon, 29th Feb 2016
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personal computing devices
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apple
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technology gifts
Rumour has it that by this June we could be approaching warp speed with the introduction of a new generation of MacBook Pros.
Hands-on review: APC Back-UPS 950/1400
Tue, 9th Feb 2016
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gaming
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datacentre infrastructure
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reviews
A few years ago, I lost the best VCR I'd ever owned. The APC Back-UPS would have saved my beloved VCR and any other device attached to it.
Hands-on review: HP Color Laser-Jet Pro MFP M477fdw
Wed, 3rd Feb 2016
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gaming
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reviews
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digital entertainment
This article is hard to write. Once it’s submitted, I’ll have no reason not to return this printer back to the NetGuide offices.