Friday, November 06, 2009 1:18 PM/EST
 Right now many companies are looking to go green, and while some are doing it out of a feeling of environmental responsibility, there are many that are doing it mainly in the hope of saving some green.
This has led many businesses to look for more efficient server room hardware, desktops and office environmental systems. But what about your computer monitors? Like TVs, monitors can often be energy hogs.
Not surprisingly, vendors have started to introduce green computer monitors, and I recently had the chance to test out a new one from NEC.
Friday, October 30, 2009 10:49 AM/EST
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 When I heard the recent announcement about Wi-Fi Direct, a proposed method to make it possible for Wi-Fi devices to connect to each other seamlessly without the need of access points, I had a common reaction to a new technology: excitement, tinged with fear.
The part of me that's a tech enthusiast thought, this could be really cool. Letting Wi-Fi-enabled devices easily connect to each other will ease a lot of connection hassles, and probably kill Bluetooth along the way.
Thursday, October 22, 2009 11:37 AM/EST
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 By introducing the concept of a low cost and easy to use digital camcorder, the Flip essentially started a revolution in video recording by anyone at anytime. But recently there's been a disconnect in the line of Flip digital camcorders.
That's because, while the Flip MinoHD is their highest priced (at $229.99) and ostensibly highest quality camcorder, in recent months it has been eclipsed by the lower priced (at $199.99) Flip UltraHD, which had higher quality HD video and two hours of recording time versus the MinoHD's one hour.
But with the recent release of the latest Flip MinoHD, all is right in the Flip universe and the MinoHD once again gains its place at the top of the Flip line. In fact, this is easily the best Flip camcorder I've ever used.
Thursday, October 08, 2009 9:29 PM/EST
 If I had to stand behind one prediction on where high-tech devices are going, I'd pick my strong belief that single-purpose devices are going the way of the dodo.
I mean, why carry a device that only does one thing when you can carry something that does lots of things? I know I'd rather have one device that does many things fairly well than a device that does one thing really well.
And you can see this playing out in the market. Single-purpose music players are on their way out (even Apple knows this), and I don't think dedicated e-book readers have much of a long-term future either (sorry Kindle).
Friday, September 18, 2009 11:02 AM/EST
When one thinks of engineers, especially engineers on standards bodies, the last thing that comes to mind is legendary glam and punk rockers.
James Williamson is a member of the Standards Association Board of Governors at IEEE and was also until recently a Vice President of Technology Standards at Sony.
James Williamson was also the lead guitarist for Iggy and the Stooges and played guitar on Raw Power, one of the most legendary rock and punk albums of all time (and a personal favorite).
Friday, September 11, 2009 11:57 AM/EST
If your main living room television is anything like mine, you've probably already run out of space and connections for any new devices. Between things like the satellite box, the DVD player, gaming consoles, etc. there just isn't any more room for new devices.
So while I've been intrigued by devices like the Roku, which lets you play Netflix Watch Instantly movies on your TV, I just don't have the room for any new devices. But what if I could use one of the devices I already have hooked to my TV for playing any Internet based video, whether its Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube, whatever?
That's where a little piece of software called PlayOn comes in. PlayOn is a Windows application that, when installed on a PC, makes it possible to send Internet-based video and other media from your PC to a gaming console.
Thursday, August 20, 2009 10:46 AM/EST
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When I test out a new operating system, especially when I'm dealing with early betas and release candidates, I tend to be very utilitarian, focusing on just the hard core features and capabilities.
So it wasn't until I installed the recently released RTM of Windows 7 that I noticed the wild and crazy underbelly of the new Microsoft operating system. Digging around in the included themes and desktop backgrounds in Windows 7 I found a few that were quite different from the typical landscapes and nature photos.
I'm not sure whether it's a tribute to the 40th anniversary of Woodstock or if the developers of Windows 7 are just fans of the old TV show H.R. Pufnstuf (or maybe they've just been puffin some stuff if you know what I mean), but among the new backgrounds and themes are some decidedly psychedelic and trippy images.
Friday, August 14, 2009 10:17 AM/EST
While I've had the chance to test out and try various netbooks, I haven't actually been a netbook owner, that is until just about a week ago when I plopped down my own cash and picked one up.
Scratch that. I was a netbook owner in the past, they just didn't call it that back then. Years ago I was a very happy owner of a tiny Sony Vaio that would have fit in nicely with today's netbook crowd.
I always loved the lightweight and small size of that Vaio so as netbooks grew in stature and increased in power and capabilities that approximate full size laptops, I knew that I would eventually get one.
Thursday, February 12, 2009 3:41 PM/EST
Oh no! Technology has taken over my life! There's no escaping it! What am I to do?
If these kinds of statements sound familiar to you, then you've probably been exposed to the frequent handwringing about the invasion of technology into our modern lives and how it's turning everyone into anti-social introverts who constantly stare at their phones and other gadgets.
A recent article in the Boston Globe took this idea even further with a piece titled "The End of Alone." In the article, the author discusses how new technology is making it basically impossible to enjoy or even have moments of solitude. The author essentially says that if Thoreau were alive today, he'd be busy at Walden Pond texting pals, updating his Twitter feed and checking his friends' Facebook status.
Friday, January 30, 2009 5:09 PM/EST
With the deadline for the digital TV conversion fast approaching and with Congress still working on an extension, there are lots of people complaining about the lack of coupons and the fact that some people won't get coupons in time to get converters before the analog TV signals go dark.
Of course, there is an equal number of people saying this is no big deal and that, at $60, the converters aren't that big of an expense, especially for those who can afford it and are just asking for the coupons because they can.
But to me the interesting question is, Are the converters really worth $60 or did the $40 coupon program artificially boost the price by, oh, I don't know, $40?
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