Productivity

In another notable announcement ahead of the 2011 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has revealed that its iWork productivity apps are now universal binaries meaning that, in addition to an iPad, they can now be used on iPhone (3GS and 4) and iPod touch (3rd and 4th G). The price of the individual iWork apps - Keynote, Pages and Numbers - is still the same and existing iPad iWork app users will now be able to use the apps on any other compatible iOS devices they may own thanks to a free update. Read More

Business travel in the 21st Century is a whole new ball-game. With the advent of laptops, netbooks and even smaller form factor connected devices like tablets and smartphones, the task of taking your office on the road with you is getting easier, but there's still a compromise between the gear you need to maintain full productivity and the reality of wrestling your way through airport check-in queues. So what are the options? In the first of a three part series that will look at the best of what's new for the mobile technophile, here's our pick of essential accessories tailored to the needs of the mobile business traveler. Read More

Microsoft has commanded the attention of business folk around the globe by announcing the world-wide release of its new productivity suite, Office 2010. As well as introducing more new features than you can shake a stick at, the company's cloud computing aspirations are given form with the introduction of browser-based versions of the likes of Word and Excel. Read More

Modern technologies have made so many forms of collaboration possible that oft times the basics are overlooked, says Duke University management professor Jonathon Cummings. Globally distributed teams cannot rely entirely on technology to overcome time and space barriers; they still need to talk. And that probably means working some overlapping hours. Cummings developed these recommendations based on a multi-year study of 108 project teams in 53 locations in 22 countries at Intel. Read More

Forget high definition, AMD claims its ATI Eyefinity multi-screen technology has up to 12 times 1080p resolution, breaking into almost true eye-definition video quality. It's able to power up to six monitors from one card, is Windows 7 ready and positively champing at the bit to unleash the power of Direct X 11. Users can look forward to a much improved immersion gaming experience, or to taking advantage of one huge desktop workspace for better multi-task management, or to being able to keep an eye on breaking Internet news while also playing a game or watching a DVD. Read More

Toshiba has recently unveiled Dynadock Wireless U, a universal docking station that connects wirelessly to your Windows laptop and allows you to quickly gain access to a number of devices such as mouse, full-size keyboard and external monitors while featuring additional capabilities like two sleep-and-charge USB ports, automatic laptop connection and support for two additional monitors. Read More

Forty years after the first computer mouse saw the light of day, the IT industry still tries its best to reinvent this peripheral. At Gizmag, we've seen our good share of esoteric mice, but what's interesting about the Wow-Pen Joy is how functional its design promises to be, for a price well below the average for ergonomic devices. Read More

Researchers in the U.K. are working at turning newly developed imaging technology into an intelligent harvesting machine. Using microwave measurement, the system can look beneath the leafy layers of a crop, identify the differing materials, and enable precise size identification. Such a machine could minimize wastage in crops like cauliflower and solve an impending labor shortage for U.K. farmers caused by a fall in the number of migrant workers. Read More

Answers often lie in strange places. I have long hated the QWERTY keyboard. Designed more than 150 years ago to slow human input via the frail mechanicals of the typewriter, it is a dinosaur masquerading as high tech and has become the main input device for billions of computers across the planet, strangling global productivity a little more every day because it is also impeding the progress of the computer from the desk to the couch, the train and the footpath. So when I called into beautiful Tapong to see my mate Kiril's new guesthouse on the beach in rural Thailand, the last thing I expected to find was a viable keyboard replacement. Read More