Archive for the ‘Hardware’ Category

Digital Drawing Board

Monday, April 9th, 2007

This is what I call innovation. Back in my day we used a blackboard and chalk but it seems that future generations won’t have to get their hands dirty. This digital drawing board it’s not only clean and easy to use, as you can se it acts as a environment with predefined rules. Besides being cool this is a huge help when teaching physics classes or when you need simple animations to show your point.

Though it might take a while until we see this kind of hardware in the schools near you, it’s sure that technologies like this or derived from it are going to make our life better. What do you say about it?

iPhone vs Smartphone comic inspired from Mac vs PC ads

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Unless you have been wandering around with a bucket on your head, you have probably seen that Apple launched a heavily debated campaign last Christmas, trying to prove you once more the multitude of reasons why you’d need a Mac. However, the PC fought back, and the battle continues. This is overall a quite interesting concept and many people have tried to follow.

I have found this funny comic strip that is trying to represent the differences between an iPhone and a Smartphone and which I will be reproducing further. I’m looking forward to hear your comments.
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Uber-geek’s dream PC

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

We all strive to own the coolest PC configuration. The coolest mouse, the coolest keyboard, a sound system to envy and so on. Well I was wondering what’s the dream machine for a computer addict and I’ve thought at something like this:

The main unit

We’ll start with the beginning, the case is supposed to be one of the main attractions of your system. There was a trend of highly sophisticated cases with neons and glowing fans, but that’s all over now. The new hype consists in components showing as much as possible, preferably mounted on a wall or floating in thin air as shown here.

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The Keyboard

Now that we’ve got over that we should cover the basic input, like a keyboard. But classic keyboards have many a problem, such as dirt getting between the keys, you have to bother your fingers with pushing buttons all day, not cool at all. What you really need is a small, compact, easy to use and to carry, Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard. It uses rechargeable batteries that last for 120 min, and it has a height of only 3.5 inches.

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The mouse

The mouse is not just a pointing tool, it’s the extension of your mind within the computer. Hence it must be perfectly adapted to your needs. Such mouse must be ergonomic, precise, and smart. The Logitech MX Revolution does all that and a lot more. It senses what application you are using and switches the scrolling mode concordantly, you can turn the wheel ‘click’ on and off and it has a neat Li-Ion battery.

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The monitor

A monitor must be large. This is the rule when talking about monitors now-days, large, slim and bright. Well the Athens Flat-Panel Monitor sure is large measuring 5 meters in width (that’s 5 ‘normal’ monitors) and it supports resolutions of 19200×2400 pixel. That’s HD and pure visual enjoyment. On the other hand it seems that it’s not the best commercial product as the company making them went out of business, nevertheless this is a must for your supersystem.

athens_monitor.jpg

The Sound System

Last but not least the sound system is crucial for the ultimate PC. The sound must not be a addon, it has to be am integrated part of your system. It has to be all around you and it has to provide the clearest sound for you to enjoy. Such immersion can be obtained only with a machine as the one showed below, that’s capable of putting you in the middle of the audio storm. Grace to Alpine.

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There you have it, the base for the ideal PC, I’m sure that you can find better examples for each category, but the main idea is the same. Watch out for the supercomputer!

World’s smallest printers

Friday, February 2nd, 2007

They’re powerful, they’re cool and they are the smallest printers ever made. The perfect choice for traveling, these little gadgets are not expensive as it may seem. In fact, they’re quite affordable, and they will definitely match your portable notebook. They’re all developed by PrintDreams along with their patented technologies, RMPT lite and RMPT full.
Feel free to check them out. I can fully guarantee they’ll make great presents.


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The Xyron Design Runner is probably world’s coolest creative tool. The first printer from the series, running their RMPT lite technology, the little printer is is a cordless, battery operated, handheld device that allows creative users to print a large variety of letters, shapes, icons, WordArt, borders and phrases directly into their projects. Creative users appreciate the fact that it is possible to print directly in media types that would never fit into a conventional printer device, thus allowing exceptional flexibility. There’s no need of a computer, wires or complicated download processes. The Xyron Design Runner retails somewhere around $160.


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The Whooosh is scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2007 and it’s expected to be the coolest printer device. Using PrintDreams’ RMPT full technology, this will be the ideal tool to complement common drawing activities and make them even more fun and creative than ever. Users will be able to print out their favorite movie characters, figures, animals and much more directly in drawing books or other surfaces no matter format or size. Kids can also create their own art and uploaded to empty memory cards through an optional USB memory card burner accessory. The expected price will be around $150.


printer1

The PrintBrush is the smallest printer ever made that can print full size format (A4 or letter size). Featuring the RMPT full technology, this gadget is expected to launch within one year from now. It will retail around $200 and in many ways, it will be even better than stationary printers or other so called “mobile” printers. For example, it will be possible to print directly in notebooks or other media that would never fit into a conventional printer device. It will also be completely silent allowing you to print during ongoing meetings, etc. On top of all that, no wires, no cables, no mess.

I’m looking forward to try and closely review at least one of these little gadgets.

The Eclipse Phone – The phone that can be cool without gadgets.

Sunday, January 28th, 2007
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Yes, it is cool, despite the fact that it doesn’t rely on gadgets, and stuff that we seem to rely on nowadays. The only bad thing is that it’s not real, yet. It is the product of an ingenious designer called Rune Larsen. If the name rings a bell, he is the same person that designed the Tiny phone – the one not much larger than a toothpick. But, despite the earlier version, this is much more realistic when it comes to building it. There’s much more room for the battery, microphone, antenna, and the other essential stuff you can find inside a phone.

According to the inventor, the phone is equipped like a 1996 one (I wish I had one of these back in 1996). It is 5.5 centimeters tall closed, and 9 centimeters open.

In a world dominated by the arrival of the iPhone, I must say that, given the choice, I’d buy one of these in a heartbeat, just for the fun of having it. Here are some other photos of the older phone (Tiny Phone), and the Eclipse Phone. (click to enlarge).

tiny.jpg tiny2.jpg eclipse1.jpg eclipse2.jpg

The $25,000 computer mouse

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
diamondflower

Now here’s a little gadget that aims directly to those that really have money to spend. However, that doesn’t keep us, mortals, to have a look. What you can see in the picture is the world’s most expensive mouse, that costs ~$25,000. The retail price is set at 18,600 Euro.


The product is called the Diamond Flower and is being produced by Pat Says Now. You might be wondering why a simple concept as a computer mouse can be so expensive. Well, 59 brilliants are scattered all over the mouse’s surface. Also the main surface is made out of 18-K white gold. Out of the 59 stones I mentioned, one is about 4mm in diameter, practically doubling the others.

After reading a few details on the producer’s website, I noticed that technically speaking, the gadget is just a plain old computer mouse. Has 3 buttons, a scrolling wheel, PS/2-USB connectivity PC or MAC. What I’m showing you in the picture is the scattered version of the mouse, but its name (Diamond Flower) comes from another designed version of the product, one whose brilliants are arranged to form a flower silhouette.

Personally, even if I’d have that much money to practically throw away, I wouldn’t spend them on this kind of a gadget. What about you?

Build your own iPhone! It’s simple and quick. Everyone can do it!

Sunday, January 21st, 2007

Yeah, you can also build your own iPhone. No IT genius required, just some ingenuity, …and perhaps some scissors, transparent duct tape and a cool printer. Yeah, a printer, because this isn’t the real iPhone, but rather a cardboard mockup. Here’s some photos of mine, in different stages of progress:
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