GadgetSpeak Articles
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Clutching his notebook (paper variety) our roving reporter preened himself before posing for a photographic session.
Samsung L730 When launching several new digital cameras where better to hold the event than in a hotel frequently used by celebrities. However while the various cameras were there in all their splendour, I failed to notice even one minor celebrity. Maybe nobody had told them of the photographic opportunity afforded by the presence of the new Samsung digital camera range.
Here I am looking at not one but two mice from Kensington, the first a traditional desktop rodent. The second a smaller wireless offering primarily for notebook users. Both rodents are optical so no balls to pick up the dust and grit.
Ci20 Optical mouse My first joy on receiving this rodent was that it was in a box so no need for the industrial scissors. It is jet black with two grey stripes down the sides. 12cm long 6cm wide and a maximum of 3.5cm tall. On first glance it is a conventional 3 button offering but the left side has two more making it one of the 5 button variety.
It never ceases to amaze me the number of innovations that have been added to the standard computer keyboard. For example
What features do you look for when deciding on a new keyboard? Maybe you are looking for a keyboard that is not going to take up too much work space or perhaps wrist-rest functionality is top of your list of requirements. For many it would be the presence of additional keys that give control over multimedia features and/or accessing other elements of the operating system.
I love music but I am no musician, however this Casio keyboard with all its learning modes would certainly give me the best chance to at least grasp the rudiments of music.
Around twenty years ago I got an old Casio keyboard and that is exactly what it was a keyboard and little else. This top of the range offering is a world away from that. It is a five octave keyboard but what lies behind the keyboard is the guts of the unit. It is 95cm long, 34cm deep and 3cm tall at the front increasing to 13cm at the back.
Smile please as Canons new entry level PowerShot camera blends various technologies into a lightweight body.
Adding to its already impressive range of digital cameras, Canon has released the to replace the A530 model. This is a 7.1 mega-pixel camera that is tastefully decked out in silver lightweight casing and small enough to fit in a pocket without causing too much of an unsightly bulge. The reason for placing the camera in a pocket is that no carry pouch is provided although you do get a wrist strap.
This is a widescreen panel that is also a dock for your iPod allowing you to charge and or play it while working at your PC. Just like the Swiss army knife this has more much more.
For regular readers the is basically the same unit as I but as that was a 19inch panel it's maximum display size was 1440x900 while this 22inch one can display 1680x1050. Viewsonic VX2245 reviewed on the 6/6/07 The overall dimensions are 52x38x6cm and it weighs a little over 6kilos. I remember my first 17inch monitor if you moved it you certainly had somewhere nearby to put it down again.
Wind up radios have been around for a while, Solar power has been usable abroad, now with global warming they become viable here, combining the two could suit the UK.
, as this is the ultimate green product it is no surprise that it is a green colour. It is 7x5x8cm and weights only around 200grams. It may come in other colours as the packaging shows a white unit. This is a rectangular unit The front is a grill mesh with a 4cm circular speaker behind it. The top has a small five piece rod aerial that extends to 22cm and 4.5x3.5cm solar panel. The left side has circular volume control and earbud input.
Some might say You should never consider yourself a mobile user until you have suffered at least one power shortage. OF course you could take precautions.
Mobile technology is great. It can make life easier; increase your productivity; and satisfy your entertainment needs where ever you are. However you can attract some envious, curious or even disgusted looks when using a portable device in some public environments. You are also reliant a great deal on the availability of appropriate power sources to keep your devices up and running.
This device shaped like a letter Y is a two port USB hub but and heres the difference - it is also a 2GB stick/pen drive, so data can be stored on it from the PC or from the devices you connect to the Yego.
It is 8cm in length a maximum of 4cm wide at the top of the 'Y' and only 1.5cm wide. The one I saw was green and white and with a green LED in the shape of the 'Y' when connected. It has a small connecter in the trough of the 'Y' to allow attaching to a keyring. So a device only slightly larger than a pen/stick drive has a second use as a USB stick. Memory gets smaller and cheaper but here it has a second use.
Put together the components of an inkjet printer with duplex capability, a flat-bed scanner, fax features, card reading facilities with wireless connectivity and the results could well be the Lexmark X9350 product
This Wireless Office All-in-One (AIO) device is the latest edition of the Lexmark family of products aimed at the small office and home office environment. Tastefully decked out in matt silver and pale cream, this box shaped unit has a protruding control panel and 150 paper input/output tray. Convenient hand grips, positioned on either side of the box, help when you need to relocate the X9350 for any reason.
This is grey and cream in colour inkjet printer. Its rather low slung and could even be acceptable in the lounge. Also, it is quite quiet when in use, even in economy mode.
The Hewlett Packard is 43x35x14cm, paper is stored face down in the base and delivered face up on top of the paper storage tray so no extra space is required. There is also a built in 15x10cm paper tray that photo paper can be left stored (face down) in and only when you select photo tray is it moved back into place. After printing of the 15x10 photo images it is moved forward out of the way. In fact the whole paper storage on the D5160 is quite novel.
Taking photographs is fun but then there comes the problem of how best to organise these images and make creative use of them.
With the corresponding rise in hard disk capacity at economic prices and the overwhelming popularity of digital photography ruling the roost, the need to organise your collection of images into a presentable and easily retrievable format can be a strenuous exercise. AlbumPlus X2 is a software application from Serif that offers to provide photo management features combined with the ability to put your digital images to some creative use.
Like a lot of recent camcorders this records to mini (8cm) DVDs either DVD-R or DVD-RW. This is the lowest specified of three almost identical offerings but dont let that put you off.
It seems strange to call a 30x optical zoom entry level but of the three in this grouping it is. I took both movie and still images with the and was perfectly happy with both. Canon DC201 It is 13x8x4.5cm and it's weight is around 400grams. The recording method is not the old fashioned tape or by hard disc but by DVD's. It works with both 'R' and 'RW' DVD's. However this model can also support DVD-R DL (dual layer for added recording time).
This is a rather special USB cable with some rather clever software that over the coming months and years is likely to be in much demand as people realise they have information on their PCs that needs to be transferred to another.
So what is in the packaging? A 2.4metre USB cable with a clever dongle in the centre and a mini (8cm) CD as well as a few leaflets. Both the copy of the instructions on the CD and the paper version go to four small sides. My normal rant about Belkin packaging applies. You need a large strong pair of scissors and a strong pair of gloves if you are not going to suffer nasty cuts from the plastic as you try to detach the cable and CD from the packaging.
Leaving the navigation to others can take some of the strain off driving.
Recently I have noticed a trend with portable peripherals that connect via USB. Instead of providing, as part of the standard package, a power lead to recharge the internal battery via the mains, you have to rely on the USB connection to carry out this function. Maybe this trend can be justified as a cost-cutting exercise but I find it restrictive as I prefer to fully charge such a device in order to check it out before introducing it to my computer.
This is certainly a camera small enough to slip into a shirt pocket, however do not let its lack of size make you think it is just another near entry level offering, it has hidden secrets.
The is 9x5.5x2cm maximum measurements. When you zoom in the lens does not move out and the zoom is handled internally working rather like a periscope. The weight even with the metal body is only around 150grams. FinePix Z5 This has a solid feel without being heavy.
I am certain, that at one time or another, many will have encountered the situation where a memory card is filled just when you need to store additional data. A possible solution is available.
As we grow older our memory tends to suffer - at least mine does - and we come to rely more and more on devices that aid us in such matters. The growth of this dependency has had the knock-on effect of putting a strain on the memory capabilities of such devices with increasingly storage capacity being a vital requirement. In an effort to satisfy this mounting demand, a new standard has been developed for the popular SD memory card format.
This is a small DAB/FM radio with clock. Has this new offering from Alba anything new to offer an already crowded market apart from what Alba always offers lower prices.
This is a grey unit with shiny black front and sides. It is 18cm wide, 16cm deep (with power lead inserted) and 5cm tall. If weight is important the unit - minus the power brick - is around 600grams. The rear has the power brick lead input, beside this is a 3.5 earbud jack and a wire aerial (this is around 1.3metres long). The sides have no controls, the base has two rubber feet at the rear and a label saying designed in Great Britain.
Putting aside my usual keyboard and mouse gave me the opportunity to check out some new devices from Kensington.
Whereas keyboards and mice were once regarded as little more than basic utilitarian devices to communicate with the computer, the latest incarnations of these units come with various bells and whistle to enhance functionality. In the case of a new keyboard and mouse set from Kensington, the bells and whistles encompassing both wireless and laser technology plus a number of extra controls.
They say that good things are worth waiting for. Well I certainly had to wait for this with a © of 2006 (technically launched in November) and the retail launch in January I received it in May.
As Office 2007 has been available for download or on numerous computer magazine cover discs almost anyone can trial it for sixty days. So this look will not major on what is included. There are various versions but apart from the Basic Student version (Word, Excel, One Note and PowerPoint), there are three other main versions Small Business, Standard and the one I was sent Professional.
As regular readers will know I am not a huge game player. I do however when time allows enjoy a puzzle or three. Here there are no less than eight programs in the one DVD case.
The first three are all based on one game Sudoku, this in it's printed form now I believe is more popular than crosswords in daily papers and you can print out some versions here. The main differences between the three versions must be minor as they are all the same 'game' even to the extent of all being the most popular nine by nine grid. The look of each however is different and naturally the styles vary.
A change of ownership for Ulead brings a new version of its video editing and slideshow creating software
New Owners, Latest Version A change of ownership for Ulead brings a new version of its video editing and slideshow creating software. The latest version of , for creating video and slideshow disc, marks its introduction as a Corel product.
JVC are most known for Camcorders and TVs, finally I have managed to get one of their recent 32inch offerings to tell you about.
It is technically possible to connect a VCR, a DVD recorder, a DVD player, Audio Components, Games Console, Digital Camera and or course a Video Camera from this unit. I have never seen an illustration showing all these connected at one time, however as it has more or less the same external connections as most modern TV's they could probably do so as well. The right side has only four buttons and an input for earbuds.
It is not often that I get the opportunity to introduce a new product while promoting a worthy cause. This is one such occasion.
The developed specifically for use with a notebook system. This small three-button input device is being marketed with the tag line of "Go Pink". Although the mouse does feature various pink flashes along the sides and around the scroll wheel, this is not the real reason for the Pink reference which I shall return to at a later stage. Si750LE is a wireless laser mouse Kensington has designed this mouse with women in mind.
Having recently looked at the top of the range C520t that seems to do most things. Here is their entry level offering that is exactly what it says a satellite navigation unit.
The unit has one huge plus over it's larger and multifunctional rival, better battery life and should you use it as a cyclist or pedestrian then this is vital. Mio C220 The overall dimensions of the C220 are 10x8x5x2cm and it weights around 150grams. The landscape screen is 7x5.5cm with the largest viewable map area of nearly 5.5cm square when in cockpit mode. Going round the unit the right side has input for an SD card and earbud socket.
As more and more connectivity options become available, your laptop might struggle to cope.
Unlike desktop system boxes, which generally have enough surface area to place numerous connectivity options, a laptop is often not so well equipped. This lack of available sockets is not due to any parsimonious inclinations of the manufacturer but is down to the physical lack of space to place the necessary connections. One method of increasing the connectivity features of a laptop is by using an expansion device such as the .
On a day without rain in London theres a rarity I heard about technology that will vastly improve what you see on displays such as mobile phones and it will also give longer battery life.
While the basic technology has been around since 1996 it has been vastly improved and now on sale in Japan are mobile phones with the ability to display 864x480 video and still images. I have seen a demonstration that will knock your socks off, still images are brighter, sharper and most of all have a wide viewing angle. As for video that also allows you to watch at angles other than being right straight on to the mobile phone screen.
This product sold by Avanquest in the UK is version seven and looking at the things it does for your PCs health they are divided into seven main sections. Use the various preventative modules and with luck you will keep your PC in good health.
As always before installing any software it is wise to set a system restore point. This done I installed and when offered choices I went for a complete install. However should you want only a partial install (say two or three modules) it is possible. Eight minutes later and 264MB of hard disc used everything is installed.
Not wanting to sound too much like a prophet of doom, it is important to be prepared when dealing with the various forms of Internet interaction to avoid possible pitfalls.
How safe is safe? The question, in this case, refers to that wide ranging environment we know as the Internet. Like any community, the Internet has its fair share of individuals (and organisations) whose sole aim is to inflict misery on others through various nefarious schemes.
Do you get a lot of business cards? If so when you transfer the information its so easy to transpose a couple of numbers in a phone number or a couple of letters in a email address. Here help could be at hand.
The is a maximum of 16.5x10x4cm, silver grey in colour and will accept a maximum 10cm width card. It can scan both portrait and landscape cards. While the card unit is easy to use it is only a rather good scanner that enables you to easily scan information from business cards. The all important part is what happens to the details and this is all controlled in software.
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