The seminal cyberpunk writer William Gibson wrote in the late 20th Century “the future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed”. That’s why the reviewing team here at itechcluster.com has a simple philosophy, which is to forget marketing hype, ignore other reviews and ratings from dubious sources and concentrate on balanced, informed insight into new technology and it’s practical benefits to you in your daily life.
Our writers all come from tech-savvy backgrounds but have much wider hobbies, expertise and interests, including music, home improvement, food, and action sports.
When we write our articles and reviews, we always like to dig much deeper than simply talking about specifications and buzzwords. You can just as easily read those as we can. Instead, we really want to know and explain what that specification or that buzzword might mean to you. A feature might sound great – or even be great – but is it actually relevant to what you want or what you actually do.
We are enthusiasts but skeptics at the same time. We love it when vendors produce great products but we are also prepared to be honest when we feel they have missed the mark.
We do not accept money from vendors to write flattering reviews, rather we try always to give a reasoned and rational opinion, based on facts.
Market trends also need to be treated with caution. Just because there is a great buzz around some new technology, doesn’t mean we all have to buy into it. Do you remember 3D TV? How is that going these days? Have you signed up for Google Fiber? Do you have a Samsung Galaxy Fold?
Don’t get us wrong, we love new tech and we hugely and sincerely respect companies that are prepared to take chances but don’t quite make it. That’s how progress happens. It’s simply that part of good and useful reviewing is a bit of honest and constructive comment when it is needed.
Equally, we love to make people aware of how great some new tech is in practical terms. We love Bluetooth 5 and all the products that are adopting it can really up their game. There are new USB developments that – when you understand what they really mean – are going to make all our lives easier. 5G is another game-changer. The really big one, however, is AI and the whole area of machine learning. That’s a really fascinating topical area, with so many practical benefits. We aren’t yet seeing even the tip of that AI iceberg.
So, that’s a bit about how we roll at itechcluster.com. Now, let’s meet the iTechCluster team
Ray Crossman
Ray originally hails from Windsor, Ontario but moved to Flagstaff, Arizona after qualifying for a BA in English. He is a passionate collector of old Vinyl and a Movie Buff, having worked in a vintage record and movie memorabilia store, while at college. He is a keen movie-maker today, helping to shoot and edit community arts projects.
Ray loved the Canadian summers around the great lakes, which he spent sailing, water-skiing and windsurfing but hates Ontario winters. He says Arizona is great year-round for his other passion, which is motorcycling.
You will notice many flashes of humour in Ray’s reviewing, he can be irreverent but is always respectful and constructive.
Stevie Owen
Born in Yorkshire, England, Stevie’s parents emigrated to Connecticut when she was 5. Studied Classical Piano as a teenager before studying an Engineering degree at Vermont Tech. Worked in the consumer audio group of a well-known Japanese electronics manufacturer.
Stevie returned briefly to England to do a placement at the BBC in London. Now lives in upstate New York, is a keen cook and a dedicated Mountain Biker.
With the experience of working on the ‘other side’, Stevie’s reviews often show how Vendor’s thinking works, when designing tech.
Dave C. Frasco
Born in New Jersey, Dave’s family moved when he was 10 to Carmel, south of San Francisco. Dave now lives in lovely Half Moon Bay, handily next to the golf course.
Having studied electronics, Dave has worked on installing networking and IT systems especially using Cisco technology.
Dave takes full advantage of living in California and in addition to golf, has tried it all when it comes to action sports, including enjoying snowboarding, skiing, windsurfing, and white-water Kayaking.
A review from Dave is usually skeptical about “comparing apples with oranges” For Dave, it is all about finding products that work for specific individuals and their needs.
Mike Nomura
Mike hails from Athens, Georgia, now lives just outside Atlanta. Mike’s family ran a Realtor’s Business, which he worked at prepping houses for sale, while studying applied maths and computer science at Franklin College before working in a number of Atlanta telecoms and tech companies.
At week-ends Mike often heads out to the Atlantic coast where the winds are perfect for kitesurfing and paragliding.
Mike might look serious in this picture but he is, in reality, a lot of fun. You’ll often see his dry sense of humour in his product reviews
So, that’s a quick look at our team. You can see we have a broad range of experience to call on and writers perfectly capable of thinking for themselves, rather than being driven by market hype or vendor buzzwords. When you read an Itechcluster review article, which frequently can take 60-70 plus hours to produce, you know the Itechcluster team is on your side and trying to give you the very best and most useful information. In a nutshell, we do all the slogging and heavy lifting, so that you don’t have to.
We opened this article with a quote from the prescient Cyberpunk writer Willam Gibson, let’s close with another from the 20th Century futurologist Alvin Toffler, who wrote a groundbreaking work on the coming impact of technological change: “Technology feeds on itself. Technology makes more technology possible”
We now have so much choice as consumers and so many new possibilities for how technology can help us. So, stay tuned in to itechcluster.com reviews! 😉