That was a favourite saying of an old boss of mine when I was a grocery store stock clerk earning minimum wage while saving for college. Another favourite, often bandied about in Saturday morning stock clerk pep talks cum debilitating attacks on both moral character and work ethic (“two-legged rats” we were occasionally called; fun times) was “you’re a bunch of hungry beavers and the store is a forest so… go to it!”

No one had the heart, or perhaps the guts, to tell our erstwhile overlord that beavers don’t so much eat wood as they do destroy it and put it to their own use. Perhaps not the best metaphor to be using with the bunch of hormonal oafs you’ve entrusted with the tens of thousands of dollars worth of stock waiting to be put on the shelves. I digress.

Workin’ hard or hardly workin’? Ideally, both. It’s approaching the end of summer. An end to summer vacations, kids going back to school after eight weeks off, returning to find they’ve forgotten half of what they learned last year. Parents going back to work after a week off to find a full email inbox, a full voicemail inbox and an even more full schedule as they try to clear their inboxes both virtual and physical.

The summer is a time to forget about work, at least for a little while. To connect with nature or to lounge about at a resort, to go for bike rides or canoeing. But work is not a thing easily forgotten. The BlackBerrys on our hips, the laptops in our bags, the cell phones in our pockets are all a testament to that. Still, we do manage to get away for a while… though I for one am all for a few more summer long weekends and the downtime they offer.

This is the back to school and work issue of HUB: The Computer Paper. This month, we focus on technology to make returning to the campus or office as painless as possible.

In the Lab, we take a close look at netbooks. This is a product category that’s particularly near to my heart. For as long as I’ve been doing this (“this” being HUB: The Computer Paper, both in present and previous forms), I’ve been looking for the perfect portable PC. For my needs, netbooks are as close as I’ve ever seen.

Near instant start-up? Check. A full QWERTY keyboard that allows me to approach my words per minute count with a full-sized desktop keyboard? Check: My WPM is close to the same on a netbook as it is on my desktop. All the applications I need for day-to-day use? Check. Ultra portable? Check: I don’t even think twice; If I’m carrying a backpack, my netbook is coming along for the ride. Durable? Check: Due care is required but, with solid state media and a protective sleeve, my netbook has suffered nary a ding. Excellent battery life?

Well, there’s the rub: Battery life is reasonable at a couple or few hours at the outside but this category is certainly in need of the most work. If you’re in the market for one of these uber portable PCs — and for what it’s worth, we think netbooks deserve some serious consideration — we hope you’ll find the In the Lab piece of use.

We have a host of helpful gadgets and gear to pack the most tech into the least space for the dorm room or other tight spot. We look at creating your own media server either by putting together a modest PC or upgrading an old box to serve your music to any stereo in the house. We even get an update from the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) show floor. While the quintessential video gaming event has gone through a lot in its 14 years, it’s still the best all-in-one-spot barometer for the industry and what’s to come.

We discuss the best options for students or road warriors when it comes to portable and not-so-portable data storage and backup options, examine survival strategies for the quick-hit update service Twitter and its ilk and offer up tips for students working with Microsoft Word.

So, while gearing up to go back, we hope you find the information you’re looking for in our pages. I invite you to continue to visit www.hubcanada.com too, for full magazine archives, web-only feature stories and daily news and new product updates.

Enjoy the issue,
Andrew Moore-Crispin
Editor-in-Chief