Source: ElectronicHouse.com

LG Electronics recently released the LG HS-102 Ultra-Mobile Projector which is a palm-sized projector capable of throwing a 20-inch image from 50-cm away. This is LG’s second generation projector which uses LEDs instead of a bulb. Rated at 50,000+ hours, the LEDs are practically guaranteed for life-time use. The innovations for this pocket projector is its use of a built-in rechargeable battery and an MP4 player and a USB port. The battery is rated to last for two hours. About enough time to finish off a full-length movie stored on a thumb drive.

This is the latest release among pocket projectors. And it is the brightest on the market at 160-lumens. The downside is that it’s capable of only 800×600 resolution. But with a 2000:1 contrast ratio, the depth more than makes up for it. This should be great for small meetings and in small rooms, like a dorm or an office cubicle. Additionally, the LED’s high contrast ratio allows for a good quality projection even with the lights on.

Using PhlatLight LEDs the HS-102 does not have the same heating problems as arc and bulb based projectors. The LEDs also consume a lot less power than bulbs.

Although right now it’s only available in South Korea, expect it to be released soon in the US and priced at around $550.

There are some other developments with this technology including a water-cooled system for the LED, which would increase the LED lifespan. Theoretically, you can also have more LED elements packed tighter together to deliver brighter projections.

If you’re like me who’s wired to the internet or the corporate LAN all the time, it might come as a shock that you’re computer is no longer the hardware you’re supposed to have.  It’s just a conduit, or worse, you can think of it as just the viewing end.

The computer is now the browser.

A lot of effort is now on software as a service (SAAS) for the corporate world.  What regular internet users have not noticed is that it already exists.  And the interface of choice for the user is the browser.  

A few years back, every network or groupware had to have each own client on the desktop.  There are email clients, sales clients, accounting packages, which all reside on the desktop connecting to the server.  But with faster internet access, the server could now be located anywhere.  In fact, the server might not even owned by the company.  

The same services being used by small companies and small office/ home office setups are now being used by larger companies as well.  Nowadays, even home users, consumers and regular people are using the same services as companies large and small.

And all of these client software all run through the browser.  The advantage of using the browser as the platform is fairly obvious if you’re thinking of remote installation for an indeterminate number of clients:  no more install software, or installation program to propagate to the user.  The program only needs to run on the browser and the user is off and running, connected with his application being served data from a server located somewhere on the globe.

In much the same manner that Java is not just a programming language but a platform, same with all of these internet-based groupware and productivity tools.  They run on a platform and the platform is the browser.  For the most part, the user is not dependent on any other software on the PC.  Or, rather, not dependent on any pre-existing software on the PC.  If it isn’t loaded yet, he will be prompted to load it.  And it also doesn’t matter what OS is being used, as long as the minimum requirements for the browser are met.

I have two computers running side-by-side.  And I sidle from one to the other.  One is on Windows XP and the other is on Ubuntu Linux.  And if needed, these two PCs access the same sites with different users and sharing the same data with others all across the net.  But seriously, it doesn’t matter what the PC hardware or OS is installed, as long as the browser is there.  And for the most part, it doesn’t matter either what browser is installed.

For testing purposes, I use the more popular browsers, except for Internet Explorer.  I have Safari, Opera, Firefox, Chrome and Netscape on the XP.  On the Linux, I have Opera and Firefox.  If for some reason one feature is not available on a particular browser, I try to remember not to use it for that purpose.

Another reason I have a wide array of browsers is because of the plug-ins and toolbars.  I need one browser with a particular toolbar.  And I don’t want that toolbar on any other browsers. But besides that, the browsers are all practically the same in my use and opinion.

As a guy who has been using computers since the age of the IBM360/370 dinosaurs, I’ve always been agnostic with regards my box.

I’ve had the pleasure of using UNIX boxes from SUN, NCR, DEC and also terminals from SCO-UNIX.  I’ve also had some time tinkering with the old TRS-80s, Apple ][‘s and a Timex-Sinclair.  I had also once had an assignment with a hunk of a steel box called the KayPro portable computer, and you wouldn’t believe that that was a portable computer during those days.

As someone who was quite happy with an HP programmable calculator in college, I have not been caught up with the sense of macho one-upmanship which seems to be the craze of some geeks.  I believe in the saying that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Or to upgrade that for terminology of the Age of Designed Obsolescence era, “if it ain’t broke, don’t buy a new one.”

However, I recently found myself in a situation where I was forced to get a new computer.  My only hesitation was that I’m not ready to use Vista.  And with no XP around, I instead downloaded Ubuntu Linux 8 (also called Hardy Heron) and proceeeded to install on the scratch-built PC.

I was pleasantly surprised at this version of Linux.  Not actually surprised at the install process, even if it was easy.  Or, at least, relatively easy compared to Fedora, Red Hat and even Mandrake.  The surprise was after the install.   Most of the things I needed to do was already loaded, of course.  Truth is, I was a bit disappointed that there was almost no need to go to the terminal.  Yup, I’m very much a command-line guy and I was hoping to spend more time on the terminal.  Unfortunately, there was very little need to do that.

The really great part about the Ubuntu distro is Synaptic, the installer and update program.  If the program you needed is in the list, it downloads and installs for you.  If there’s an update, there’s an icon prompt for you to trigger the update.

About a week ago, I needed to convert a video from a Canon still camera to upload to YouTube.com.  I started the process using my XP computer.  But it was taking too long (maybe because the 8 minute video file was insanely huge).  While waiting for the conversion process, I started browsing for a possible solution on linux.  There was an command-line mpeg conversion program on linux, and with some searches on Synaptic, it was automatically downloaded.

The resulting file conversion was on the command-line.  I’ve been using PC video editing software and video conversion software, and none of the tools I have could convert and render as fast.  The conversion was done faster, using the terminal, than any program I’ve ever used on Windows.  And on an open source (read that as “free”) licensed software.  And yes, I’ve used the Mac’s iMovie before.

Now, that was a pleasant surprise.

Maybe the games will come to Linux soon.

Source:  Tech-On

There have been game controllers where the fingers, hands or feet are read by sensors as you try to control a game character’s movements.  In the arcade, these are quite propular, and there have been some manufacturers who have put these game controllers to market.

These hands-free game controllers have included one game controller for Mortal Kombat/Virtua Fighter, where an octagonal pad is laid on the floor and the player is in the center and moving across real space.  There has also been one controller which was a desktop model where you move your hands about a space of about a foot cube (1 foot wide by 1 foot breadth by 1 foot in height).  It seems that these were not that successful as no competitor came out to slug it out in this niche game controller market.

Now comes a touch-free or hands-free touch pad from Alps Electric Co., Ltd. of Japan, where you can control the computer much like a regular touch pad, but without touching the controller; the fingers hover about three inches above the touchpad.  The technology uses noise suppression and two capacitance sensors on the sides of the regular touch pad.

Supposedly, one use would be for devices in a dirty environment.  The company does, however, noted that the device is still under development and that it still malfunctions.  If and when the non-contact touchpad, or its variants, does get into production, there are a whole lot of uses for a  non-contact controller.

My creativity escapes me at the moment, and I cannot think of any application or environmental condition where I would rather use a non-contact touch pad over a regular touchpad.  I do appreciate, however, that touch devices have proven to lose their touch sensitivity with regular use.  If the sensor prove to be more ruggen and more resilient over time, I can see that this would be quite useful, indeed.

I’m not paranoid nor deathly afraid of another hard disk crash.  As I mentioned, I’m just being pragmatic about the whole thing.  Computer hard disks will crash.  The question is will you be using the computer when the hard disk crashes? Worse question: where’s your data?  Bottom line is you don’t have a clue when you’ll be able to recover with all your data intact.

I got stuck in that thought because of some of the IT projects I have been involved in.  One project was for an off-site backup and recovery center of a major government financial institution.  Another was for a telco disaster recovery site.  In both instances, the question was not about the data but about the downtime:  how long till all operations get back online?

In the same instance a home PC has the same problems.  But with less preparation for a crash and no idea when and if the data will be recovered. And since this is a home-based problem, the solution has to be very simple and easy to follow.  It should be mainenance free, and with no technical experience needed.

I have a backup software which copies the primary drive to the secondary (and larger) physical hard disk, as a single backup file.  The backup software also has a recovery boot CD, of course.  With regards the data on the secondary disk, all important data are copied to DVDs on a regular basis.  If the data is not needed on the hard disk, or it is rarely accessed, it is copied to DVD and deleted from the hard disk.

The recovery CD is used to boot the computer in case the partition gets destroyed or deleted.  From there the data recovery is straight forward, as the software asks where the backup file is located (on a directory in the second hard disk).  And then you wait for the backup and recovery program to finish reconstructing the boot disk.

Now just in case the hard disk has to be fixed for any reason at all, I also have a set of tools  called the “Ultimate Boot CD for Windows,” also called “UBCD-Win.” This set of tools allow me to fix most problems on the hard disk, including undeleting files, recovering partitions, anti-virus and other related problems.

Every so often, I boot up using the UBCD disk and run maintenance work on the Windows XP machine.  Not really paranoid, but just making sure that no hardware related problem would surprise me.

I’ve got this friend who works in an office close to where she lives.  And who also has some work for internet marketing companies and professionals.  What that means is that she practically works round-the-clock and is able to bill for more than 20 hours a day.

When she’s home, her desktop computer is about half a step from the bed.  And sometimes, she has this urge to work from her bed.  This is not being lazy, it’s about maximizing the busy schedule and shrinking work time of a busy person.  And she’s been thinking of getting a wireless keyboard and mouse.

She lives alone in her apartment and what she really wants is to work from her bed, which is about three feet from the computer table.  A wireless keyboard would be a big advantage for her.

When wireless keyboards first appeared years ago, the mouse wasn’t very common yet.  In fact, the wireless keyboard predated GUI interfaces (such as Windows).  The reasons behind the wireless keyboard was both to use the computer from a distance (allows the placement of the computer away from the user) and to free the user from the keyboard cable.

Early wireless keyboards were line of sight only.  This means that the keyboard has to be pointed at the computer, like a remote control for the TV.  This means that if someone passed between the user and the computer while there’s some heavy typing going on, some of the letters might be lost in transmission.

Nowadays, most wireless keyboards don’t have that problem.  It’s quite okay to have some items between the keyboard and the computer.  The signal will get from the keyboard to the computer, nonetheles..

Of course, with the wireless keyboard, there should also be a wireless mouse in use.  It wouldn’t do to be free of the keyboard cable,  but still tethered to the mouse cable, considering that the mouse usually has a shorter cable than the keyboard.

With the success of the Nintendo Wii, the concept which is next up at bat is a wireless mouse you can use without a desktop.  One such mouse has just been released.  You can swing it around as if you were also using an invisible desk.

These wireless devices come at a premium.  I would much rather use a trackball or a half-decent mouse rather than a wireless keyboard and mouse.  I don’t say that only because of the cost.  I am saying that because there is a limit at how far from the computer can a person can work on the computer.  Something like that.  My limit is about a six feet away.  Farther than that, and I need a larger screen.  Better yet, I need to use a  projector.  Now that would be a good reason to use a wireless mouse and keyboard.

I’ve been using PCs for more than 25 years and in all those years I’ve learned that a hard disk crash happens when it happens.  You might have an idea that it’s impending but you can never be really sure.

There are several ways to make sure that your data survives a hard disk crash.  A common (enough) solution with today’s generation of PCs is by using RAID on the PC.  The additional expense is for the second hard disk.  The RAID controllers built-in to the motherboard usually use SATA hard disk drives.  You can also use IDE (also called PATA drives) if you had a RAID card installed in your PC.

The advantage of this method is that with a RAID, you would have a more robust setup for your data, as the data can be stored in two drives (if mirrored).  In the most common RAID configuration for a small office PC or a home PC, the data is read and written at the same time to two disks, and this redundancy means that your data will not be lost even if one hard disk fails.  It is very unlikely that the two disks would fail at the same time.  Very unlikely, or you’re just very unlucky when that happens.

Another hardware solution is to have a dedicated hard disk for the backup.  This can be with the use of an external hard disk connected via the USB or a Firewire port.  This is relatively more expensive than a RAID because aside from the cost of the external casing, the RAID hardware is typically already included on the motherboard and BIOS.  External hard disks are sold at a premium because of the additional hardware/software combination which allows for “one-touch” backup.  In this solution, even if the PC’s hard disk fails, you still have a copy stored somewhere.

Of course, you would have to follow backup schedules religiously for the data to be updated.

Another common possible solution is a backup software, which allows unassisted incremental backup on a regular basis.  This should go well with a second hard disk as repository.  The repository may or may not be an external drive.  The backup can even be on tapes or DVD’s, and it could be backups of folders or files only, a drive, or a partition.

With these solutions, there is security of data in case of a hardware failure.  The remaining downtime would be in retrieving the data, or copying the data back to the computer.

Sony has a knack of running for a fastbreak on it’s own.  And again, Sony attacks the offence with a small notebook with a Blu-Ray drive.  And not content with that, it also uses flash memory drives on a RAID.  This may be a small computer but it it’s peripherals puts it on a class of its own.

The Sony Vaio TT, has an 11.1-inch widescreen display and full HD output via HDMI ports.  As mentioned, it uses Blu-Ray disks, not just playing high definition video but also storing data and video to BD disks.

With dual-channel 256GB (128GB x 2) solid-state drives with RAID, data integrity should not be a problem, and it also allows for fast boot-ups.

Prices start at $2,000 and will be available starting in autumn.

Meantime, Dell released a $499 pocket projector.  The Dell M109S SVGA pocket projector weighs in at 0.8 pounds, and can fit snugly on the palm of a hand.  With a maximum 88.5 ANSI Lumens and a resolution of 858×600 pixels, this goes nicely with a Dell Latitude or Vostro laptop.  It goes so well, it also uses the same model power adapter as the Latitude or Vostro.

As pocket-sized projectors go, this unit can project up to 94.5 inches away.  That’s almost 8 feet distant, just enough space from the table to the wall in a small meeting room.  The clincher is the mercury-free LED light source which is expected to last four years of normal use.

The main concern with any portable projector has always been the bulb.  I remember when Compaq first came out with their mini-projector, it came with an extra bulb.  Now with LEDs as light source, burn out shouldn’t be much of a problem.  A side-effect of this is that LEDs do not burn hot and use a lot less power than regular projector bulbs.

Source:  Sony Vaio TT

Source:  Dell M109S SVGA pocket projector

Around the start of the year, I installed Linux on my home PC. It was okay, as it was an old Fedora distro. I had no problems as it worked fine and I really wanted to play around with it a bit. The real problem was that it was installed on top of WinXP and installed on a third hard disk: a 4GB hard disk which was more than five years old, maybe closer to ten years old. Another thing going against the experiment was that I still didn’t have internet access at the time I installed it. I would have wanted to some comparison between XP and Linux as the OS performed on the net. That would have been fun to see.

But after this and that, and the hard disk being beyond the expected lifetime, it was beginning to show its age. At first the disk sounded like an old IBM 360KB floppy disk during boot up of an IBM XT compatible (circa 1983), going a wheezy/nasal “ka-zzhinng-eh ka-zzhing-ah hheengg heengg heeng”, or worse, sounding like a 10MB hard disk from thirty years ago (like a chicken with sore throat clucking “tock-tock-tock ka-shheeeghuee ka-shheeeghue”). But this only happened about once every hour or two after booting up to Windows.

For about two weeks, I was thinking of deleting the third hard disk and reverting back to a WinXP boot up.  I procrastinated, then got very busy.  But the PC was still running fine, except for the intermittent sounds from the third hard disk.  And then it happened, and on a weekend yet, the hard disk with the Linux OS died a natural death.  Old age, wear and tear finally caught up with the 4GB disk.

Which left me with a PC which could not boot up. Good thing I had already planned to uninstall Linux. Simple enough to find the XP install disk, and then going to the recovery console and running FIXMBR. Well and good.  With FIXMBR done on the console and able to reboot I was able to have the PC up and running WinXP.

Next hurdle was the second hard disk. It was tagged by Windows as unformatted. I was about to give several friends a call before I remembered started searching on the internet for a possible solution. A simple search for a utility to “unformat” a partition, a little effort at understanding the command-line text-based interface, with almost literate computerspeak/technicalese and a reboot, and the hard disk was recovered without a problem.

I found out how easy it was to uninstall Linux on the PC, through the hard way, of course. Just needed some patience. A lot less patience than if you were uninstalling Windows. By the way, though installing Linux does need more technical knowledge, it’s a lot less of a chore than the automated install process for Windows.

That was last June.  Since then, I’ve had some other recovery tools handy, a data backup software and a recovery CD.  I’ve also gotten a second PC which is now a dedicated Ubuntu Linux machine.  And I doubt if I would be doing any uninstalling anytime soon.

A film scanner is an electronic device that lets you scan film and put it on your computer. You can scan 35mm negatives, along with other negatives and types of film. Yup, simply put, it’s a scanner for film and transparencies.  A regular scanner can not do this type of work, it has to be a film scanner.  If you have some film you need to scan, then a film scanner is what you need.

Here are some situations that would require the use of a film scanner. One reason for the need of a film scanner is to scan negatives of old photographs. Let’s say you have big set of old family pictures. Because of the high cost to have someone scan those pictures, it could save you a lot of cash doing it yourself. If you take them to a place like Wal-Mart, you will get a low resolution scan. With the correct scanner, you can get some high resolution scans. Higher resolution means more pixels per inch.  Typically, you scan a picture at 600 dots per inch (DPI) or higher, up to 1200 dpi.  The hight resolution, the more detail is stored in the file.  That means bigger and more detailed scans.

Another reason for having a film scanner is to scan your photographs. Taking pictures with a film camera is a lot of fun. And a lot of people do this type of work for a living. I know we have digital cameras now, but they are not the same as using a film camera.

Some flatbed scanners come with either an add-on attachment for scanning film/transparencies or have some type of drawer arrangement that opens to accommodate standard film sizes (most are limited to 35mm film only). The film scanning attachment that comes with some flatbed scanners is probably fine for the home user that just wants to scan a negative here and there but the results will not be anything close to what could be obtained with a dedicated film scanner. It’s just not possible to create a single purpose scanner that can both scan paper and scan film well. The software provided with the flatbed scanner will probably also be quite lacking when dealing with film scans.

Working with an film strip adapter for negatives and transparencies to scan on your flatbed scanner would be okay for a quick and dirty job.  But for better results, it would be a lot better to use a dedicated film scanner for the job.  These typically scale upwards from 1200dpi to 2400dpi native resolution (that means it scans without any software enhancement).