The Internet felt sluggish today, especially loading web pages. This happens to all of us from time to time, but today everything seemed to just crawl.

Google's namebench app

My first thought was that my ISP was having issues; it certainly wouldn't be the first time, nor the last. But this time, I can't pin the blame on my ISP. Instead, the culprit was the DNS server I was using.

I decided to test the performance of the DNS server using Google's free namebench, a nifty application that checks DNS performance and recommends the best-performing DNS servers.

In my case, namebench suggested changing to servers provided by OpenDNS. With that information in hand, I changed my Mac's DNS settings and lo and behold, the web was finally back to its old self. It's responding to web queries and loading pages with the speed of a gazelle, or maybe a cheetah, or a diving falcon. Wait; how about the speed of a Lotus Elan, driven by one of those guys from Top Gear? Well, you get the picture. If you want to check your own DNS performance and make changes to your Mac's DNS settings, take a look at:

Faster Web Access: Test Your DNS Provider to Gain Faster Web Access

and

Use the Network Preference Pane to Change Your Mac's DNS Settings

For years, Apple provided a credit of up to $99 when you purchased a qualifying Mac and printer at the same time. The days of buying a Mac and getting a free printer are over, which means if you're looking for an inexpensive printer, you'll need to do some comparison shopping, to make sure you get the best value for your money.

Courtesy of Brother International Corporation

With that in mind, we took a look at a new multifunction printer from Brother. The MFC-J430w packs a printer, scanner, fax machine, and copier into a sub-$100 price point. What we found was a printer that requires some tradeoffs, but also offers a great deal of functionality.

If you're looking for an inexpensive all-in-one printer, take a look at our review of the Brother MFC-J430w Color Inkjet Printer.

Apple today posted an audio webcast of its Q1 - 2012 financial results. The quarterly results stacked up as the best quarter that Apple has experienced in a long time, with a record quarterly revenue of $46.33 billion and a net profit of $13.06 billion.

Courtesy of Apple

Apple sold 37.04 million iPhones, a 128% increase over the same quarter last year. iPad sales were an astonishing 15.43 million, a 111% increase over the same quarter last year. The Mac accounted for sales of 5.2 million units, a 26% increase over the same period last year.

"We're thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline."

Since Apple's announcement yesterday, some leading market analysts are indicating they will be raising their forecast on the company, expecting Apple's second quarter to outperform last year's results, with both strong earnings and sales.

At some point, just about every hobby photographer wants large prints of their favorite shots. In the past, this meant sending the pics to a photo lab to be output on one of their wide-format printers.

Epson Stylus Photo R2000

Wide-format printers have come down in price, and some are now within range for many amateur and semi-pro photographers (designers and artists, too). What was once strictly pro gear is now readily available to the rest of us.

In this review, we take a look at the Epson Stylus Photo R2000, a seven-color printer that can create prints up to 13x44. Of course, it also handles the more standard sizes, including 4x6, 8x10, and 11x17.

If you're looking for a fabulous wide-format printer, consider the Epson Stylus Photo R2000.