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Personal Computing
NEC develops white LED-based LCD module covering 100% of the Adobe RGB Color Range
By Mike Hanlon
04:52 May 31, 2009 PDT
NEC Electronics America is set to show an important new white LED-based LCD module this week at the Society for Information Display (SID) Display Week 2009 in San Antonio, Texas. The amorphous-silicon color thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) module achieves an ultra-wide color gamut for 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color range by incorporating a newly developed LED light-source unit into the backlight system and a newly developed color filter. Read More
EMC's Symmetrix V-Max cloud storage solution
By Alan Brandon
23:34 May 25, 2009 PDT
If you want speed, torque, and raw two-wheeled muscle, buy yourself a Yamaha V-Max motorcycle. If you are looking for performance and scalable power for your virtualized data center, check out EMC’s Symmetrix V-Max. Yamaha’s version may offer a claimed 197 horsepower, but EMC says their V-Max Engine churns out enough power to support hundreds of petabytes of storage for enterprise cloud storage networks. Read More
How to get rid of quizzes (and other crap) from your Facebook news feed
By Loz Blain
21:53 May 24, 2009 PDT
Most users have come to accept the new Twitter-style Facebook home page - but one thing continues to infuriate: all the annoying quiz and application updates in your news feed. But all is not lost if you are sick of learning "what Simpsons character" your friends are - here's a quick and easy way to make those annoying quizzes disappear from your news feed. Read More
Sharp launches first notebook PC with optical sensor LCD pad
By Paul Best
01:06 May 19, 2009 PDT
Sharp Corporation is releasing a new notebook PC with an innovative optical sensor built into an LCD touch pad – which the company claims is a world first – at the end of the month. While Sharp’s Mebius PC-NJ70A netbook will only be released initially in Japan, the 4-inch track pad, which recognizes input by pen or touch, clearly signals the direction notebooks are headed. According to Sharp, a pen can be used to input drawings and text, while finger gestures on the LCD pad can enlarge, shrink or rotate items on the notebook screen – all in addition to the conventional ways a mouse is used. Users can sign their name to a photo before emailing it, for instance; or they can use two fingers to zoom in and out of internet websites to adjust them for the best view. Read More
LaCie DataShare SD and MicroSD Dual USB Card Reader
By David Greig
23:21 May 17, 2009 PDT
The clever creation of 5.5 designers, LaCie's latest data sharing offering is a twin-barreled USB Card reader designed to bring a new lease of life to old SD and MicroSD Cards. Read More
Pencasts let you spruce up your website with a few doodles
By Darren Quick
21:48 May 12, 2009 PDT
Even in the digital age, there are still some cases where the pen is mightier than the keyboard. Scribbling a quick diagram or making a few quick handwritten notes can convey some information much more effectively than a slab of text. That’s the reasoning behind Livescribe’s Pulse smartpen, a computer in the shape of a pen that not only digitally captures handwriting, but simultaneously records audio and synchronizes it to the writing to create what it calls “pencasts”. Now Livescribe is taking pencasts to the next level with a social media tool that enables them to be embedded within any website or blog. Read More
Samsung’s 70 Series LCD monitors perfect for work and play
By Darren Quick
22:03 May 10, 2009 PDT
Samsung is definitely getting its money’s worth out of the manufacturing process that produces its proprietary high-gloss Touch of Color (ToC) finish. ToC can be found on everything from the company's latest TVs to its latest camcorders. Now computer monitors can be added to that list with the release of the 70 Series monitors. The new LCD monitors not only boast a crystal-like bezel with ToC finish, but also they feature the contrast and response of Samsung’s LCD TVs, making them ideal for watching TV as well as displaying the office spreadsheet or playing games. Read More
LaCie releases new high capacity network storage drives
By Darren Quick
22:27 May 7, 2009 PDT
With the advantage of freeing up a server to concentrate on tasks besides file serving, Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices have become an increasingly popular option for small offices and home users over the last few years. LaCie has two new high capacity NAS solutions for anyone considering going this route – the Big Disk Network and d2 Network. The d2 Network supports up to 1.5TB capacity, while the Big Disk Network combines two drives in a RAID 0 setting, for up to 4TBs of storage. Read More
MSi gx laptops get turbo boost
By Darren Quick
04:53 May 7, 2009 PDT
If there’s one button that could possibly be more tempting than “do not press”, it's the one with “turbo” written on it. Perhaps recognizing this MSi has included a turbo button on its new GX623 and GX633 laptops that ramps up the speed of the CPU when the laptops are connected to mains power. If instead you’re looking for reduced power consumption and longer battery life, MSi’s ECO Engine can cycle through a range of power setting tweaks at the touch of a button. Read More
USB VoIP speakerphone a good call for Skype
By David Greig
17:20 May 6, 2009 PDT
The USB VoIP Speakerphone is a nifty PC attachment that is ideal for Skype users. It can be plugged directly into the computer and uses digital signal processing (DSP) technology to deliver clear voice quality. Read More
Windows 7 Release Candidate available to the public
By Tim Hanlon
06:02 May 5, 2009 PDT
If you missed out on the limited public beta release (Build 7000) of Windows 7 back in January, here's your chance to score the first release candidate (Build 7100) of Microsoft's big redeemer. This time around, there'll be no limit on the number of downloads or the number of serial numbers given out - until the end of July, that is. Read More
AOL’s Socialthing aims to simplify your digital life
By Darren Quick
22:24 May 4, 2009 PDT
Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are designed to make keeping in touch with friends and family easy, but as the list of such sites continues to grow, the task of keeping up to date with all that data can quickly lead to information overload. "Lifestreaming" applications designed to simplify the process by aggregating data from multiple sources are now emerging. AOL's Socialthing is the latest lifestreaming app to join the ranks of FriendFeed, Tumblr.com and the recently announced Vine from Microsoft. Read More
Seagate Replica promises simple PC backup
By Mick Webb
19:33 April 30, 2009 PDT
It is no secret that we are increasingly dependent on digital information as hard drives replace cupboards full of photo albums, racks of CD’s and boxes of files. But with this convenience comes a danger - one which an estimated one third of consumers ignore by failing to back up their files according to research cited by Seagate in releasing its new continuous backup solution - Replica. Read More
Microsoft wants us to hear it on the Vine
By Darren Quick
04:00 April 30, 2009 PDT
With the Facebook and Twitter social networking juggernaut rolling ever onwards, Microsoft is looking to jump on the bandwagon with its new social web app called Vine. While sites such as Facebook and Twitter use the global span of the internet to let users connect with people from all corners of the globe, Vine makes its focus local, concentrating on keeping users in touch with family, friends, activities and major events in their community, including disasters and emergencies. Read More
GE develops 500GB disc using holographic technology
By Darren Quick
22:05 April 28, 2009 PDT
Many pundits proclaimed Blu-ray would be the last optical disc based storage medium we would see before the seemingly inevitable move towards Flash-based drives and online storage. Apparently GE isn’t buying into that prediction, forging ahead with the development next generation optical storage technology that can store a massive 500GB of data before Blu-ray has even gained widespread adoption with consumers. Read More
Greener computers talk in their sleep
By Darren Quick
23:48 April 27, 2009 PDT
Computers are often left running so they stay connected to a network or the Internet – be it to ensure remote access, availability for virus scans and backup, maintaining presence on instant messaging (IM) or voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks, or for file sharing and downloading. Although such tasks mean the PCs are relatively idle, they remain in awake mode and draw more power than they really need. Now computer scientists at UC San Diego and Microsoft Research have created a plug-and-play hardware prototype for personal computers that induces a new energy saving state known as "sleep talking", which provides much of the energy savings of sleep mode and some of the network-and-Internet-connected convenience of awake mode. Read More
Ultimate 3D design navigation tool
By Paul Best
00:14 April 27, 2009 PDT
To the untrained eye, the 3Dconnexion SpacePilot PRO looks and sounds like a pretty slick game control. But you’d be wrong. The mouse is, in fact, a serious tool for design engineers to navigate about and control three-dimensional computerized models. Read More
Samsung N120 joins Samsung’s mini notebook lineup
By Darren Quick
22:26 April 23, 2009 PDT
The flood of mini notebooks and netbooks that threatens to bury us shows no sign of abating, with Samsung announcing another addition to its mini notebook lineup. Joining the recently featured N110 is the N120, which includes most of the features found on the N110 in a slightly larger form factor. Read More
2-in-1 Mobile Broadband Card caters for ExpressCard and PC Card slots
By Darren Quick
00:14 April 22, 2009 PDT
Here at Gizmag we love gadgets that can transform from one thing into another - be it from a chair to a bed or a car to a boat... if it's 2-in-1, it's sure to get our attention. While possibly not on the same level as these examples, Sprint’s new Sierra Wireless AirCard 402 should come in handy for owners of multiple laptops with its ability to connect to mobile broadband via both ExpressCard and PC Card slots thanks to a locking 2-in1 adapter. Read More
MSI Wind Top AE1900 touch-enabled all-in-one PC
By Mike Hanlon
18:29 April 21, 2009 PDT
Due for its first public showing next week at EcoFocus in New York is the next-generation MSI Wind Top AE1900 desktop PC, a touch-enabled all-in-one PC with 18.5” widescreen and surround sound. It'll be interesting to try the Wind Top with its touch-enabled applications and webcam-optimized motion capture games, but we suspect that the ergonomics involved in continually lifting one's arms to touch the screen will soon kill the novelty value and users will be plugging in the color-matched keyboard and mouse that comes with it. One day, no doubt, all PCs will come without a keyboard – don't throw the keyboard and mouse away just yet though. Read More
The USB card reader with a twist or two
19:33 April 15, 2009 PDT
The clever folk at Brando have come up with a card reader reminiscent of Rubik's Cube. Okay, the USB 270° x 270 Cubic Card Reader doesn't offer the color or mind-addling challenge, but it does twist. And it's something novel to sit next to your computer. Read More
Gigabyte gets all touchy-feely and swively with new touchscreen netbook tablet
By Darren Quick
18:11 April 15, 2009 PDT
Gigabyte’s T1028 manages to straddle a few categories with its netbook size and specs, touchscreen capabilities and rotating screen, which gives the netbook a tablet look and feel. The new model sports a 10.1-inch WSVA 1024 x 600 display, while under the hood beats an Intel Atom N270 1.6GHz processor, Intel 945GSE graphics chipset, 1GB RAM (expandable to 2GB) and 160GB SATA HDD. Read More
FON shares the love with the new La Fonero 2 router
By Mick Webb
21:19 April 12, 2009 PDT
FON, the world’s largest Wifi community, continue their ethos of give and take with the release of the La Fonera 2 router. The self-confessed “hippie-love-in” style products work as such – a user purchases the router and once connected to the internet, gives away a small part of their bandwidth via a second public facing connection. This network can be accessed for free by other FON owners. In return for this show of generosity the user can then access other FON hotspots anywhere in the world. This latest addition also boasts Bit Torrent and Network Storage capabilities. Read More
Samsung’s latest N110 netbook claims 9.5 hour battery life
By Darren Quick
05:42 April 7, 2009 PDT
The netbook marketplace is getting more and more competitive and following hot on the heels of the recently released ASUS Eee PC 1000HE is Samsung’s latest entry into the market, the N110 mini notebook. The N110 boasts many of the features of the 1000HE including a 10.1-inch screen, 160GB HDD, 1GB of RAM and claims of up to 9.5 hours of battery life in a unit that is slightly thinner and lighter than its ASUS competitor. Read More
ViBook expands screen real-estate via USB
22:27 April 5, 2009 PDT
We've previously written at length about the productivity benefits associated with multiple desktop screens and the latest offering to cross our desk in this arena is the ViBook from Village Tronic. Bundled with its exclusive desktop managing software, this device allows the user to extend their desktop onto five additional screens, utilizing the USB port instead of the DVI socket on the back of your graphics card. Read More
matthew.rings
- November 9, 2009 @ 01:28 UTC
