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Tag: Computer

Nyxio VioSphere Splits your TV and PC

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 8:33 AM on February 15, 2012

Nyxio is a new company that is looking to integrate your computer and your TV.  They have a product, the VioSphere, which literally splits your monitor screen into half PC and half television.  The VioSphere is a touch-screen monitor that has a built-in web-cam and microphone to allow you to video-conference while you are watching that big game on the other half of your screen.  It’s like the old picture-in-picture TV features, which allows you to watch both or go full-screen with one or the other.

It functions like an all-in-one PC with a DVD burner also built-in. While it runs on the Windows platform they also are partnered with Bluestacks to include Android apps as well.  It also comes with a wireless keyboard and built-in WiFi.  As for the TV end of things, it just takes a normal coax input.  The VioSphere comes in a wide range of sizes spanning 21″ (although their website states the low end at 32″) all the way up to 65″.  A price point isn’t given in the video, but you can learn a lot more info on the product.  You can also visit Nyxio online for additional information.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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LG Pentouch For a PC and TV

Posted by Alan Buckingham at 8:31 AM on January 27, 2012

The new LG Pentouch technology connects to your TV and a computer to bring touch-screen technology to your flat screen TV.  The Pentouch consists of the box for connecting a Windows PC to the Plasma TV, which comes along in the package.  It all works on WiFi so there won’t be any messy cables either.  It’s geared more towards a business than home user as it essentially turns the TV into a whiteboard, but there are a lot more features than just that.  You can also edit Office documents and there are two pens included so that two people can work on the screen at the same time.

There is no exact release date yet, although LG hopes to make it available in the early Spring.  There is also no price point as of yet, although with a plasma TV included you probably shouldn’t expect it to be too cheap.  You can find out more by visiting LG and by watching the video below.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Pocket Computers As Learning Devices

Posted by tomwiles at 9:36 PM on March 26, 2011

Normally I have very little interest in games. However, a friend got me to install an app on my iPod called “Words With Friends,” an iOS/Android cross-platform app that allows games between people and utilizes push notification to let you know when it’s your turn to play. This allows for asynchronous play in spare moments.

That caused me to start thinking about other possibilities. I searched the Apple iOS App Store for the term “vocabulary” and found quite a number of different apps, both free and paid, that are designed to help the user master words for purposes such as taking an SAT or GRE test. Or, as in my case just enjoying myself. I know, I know, it’s weird, but I enjoy perusing words and their meanings.

After experimenting with a couple of free apps, and a “lite” version of a paid app, I ended up buying a $4.99 app called “GRE Smart Vocab.” One thing I really like about the app is that it figures out your level of progress and deliberately concentrates on helping you learn words that you don’t know or have trouble remembering the meanings of. The app has two alternating modes, a study mode as well as a quiz mode.

Even though you may be penurious or feeling impecunious, acquiring vocabulary apps such as these will fill your torpid, vapid, prosaic hours with a turgid, torrid plentitude of fun.

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Posted in Android, Apple, application, google, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, itunes, smartphone

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Usefulness of Apps

Posted by tomwiles at 9:00 AM on March 5, 2011

As I continue to live in a world of both Android and iOS apps, I have a few observations. These should serve as lessons for would-be app designers.

The most useful apps are those that take a single to narrow range of tasks that can be accomplished conventionally on a computer browser and squeeze them down into a simple interface that fits into a small touch screen.

Speedtest is a free iPod, iPhone, iPad, iOS app that makes it instantly possible to check Internet connectivity speed. It’s certainly got snazzy graphics, but it’s basic functionality is excellent.

To date, the most useful apps I’ve found revolve around banking, bill-paying and finance. For example, with a few taps on my iPod Touch I can easily log into my local bank’s banking app and check up on the status of checking and saving accounts as well as transfer funds and even pay bills.

I can do the same for credit cards. It’s amazingly simple. Apps such as this are most effective and effecient when common actions taken are quicker, simpler and faster than handling them with a conventional computer and browser. The acid test comes if I reach for the app even though I have an open computer browser in front of me right at my fingertips.

Apps such as these should include all of the primary action-oriented elements present on the main website. If seemingly small elements are left out, it can reduce an app’s usefulness. For example, the iPod/iPhone/iPad/iOS GoDaddy app includes most of the action elements of the GoDaddy.Com website. However, the app neglects to include PayPal as a payment option which ends up forcing me to use the main GoDaddy.Com website anyway – a partial but serious fail.

In short, to make any splash at all, apps must be designed for accomplishing their tasks even better than a conventional computer and browser.

Do you have some apps you believe fall into this category? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted in Android, Apple, application, google, Information, iOS, IPAD, iPhone, ipod, tablet, use, Web Browsers

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MiSee TX Computer In A Box

Posted by tomwiles at 4:22 PM on February 9, 2011

Scott Elliot talks with Charlie of CTX Technologies. Charlie demonstrates a prototype concept computer that has a functional projected virtual laser keyboard and a pico projected screen.

The technology will be shrunk down for use in smart phones and tablets.

Interview by Scott Elliot of Geek News Central.

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Posted in ces, gizmo, Info, Information, Interview, smartphone, Special Media, tablet, Technology

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The Xi3 Modular Microcomputer

Posted by tomwiles at 1:22 PM on January 23, 2011

David Politis of Xi3 Microcomputers (http://xi3.org/) presents the Xi3 Modular Computer. It is an extremely small form factor and operates on only 20 watts of power, yet contains a dual-core AMD Athlon x86 processor operating at 2 gigahertz. The standard model ships with 2 gigabytes of DDR 2 RAM and 8 gigabytes of solid SSD solid state drive memory.

The Xi3 is revolutionary in several different respects. Not only is the unit as small as possible, the motherboard is broken down into three modular, replaceable components. Thus it becomes possible to upgrade to the latest technologies such as USB 3.0 once it becomes widely available in the near future or to higher-performance future CPU processors.

Imagine the Xi3 as the heart of a high-performance, low-engergy-drain, absolutely silent-running Media Center PC. Since it’s x86 architecture running on a dual-core processor on a high-performance SSD drive it can easily boot Windows 7 Ultimate in 30 seconds flat.

Why didn’t someone think of this before?

Interview by Jeffrey Powers of The Geekazine Podcast and Tom Newman of The Fogview Podcast.

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Igugu Internet TV

Posted by tomwiles at 8:22 PM on January 21, 2011

Mario Cisneros talks about Igugu TV (www.igugu.com), a hardware and software combination that turns your existing Windows-based computer into a TV set top box enabling you to easily get over-the-top television content from your computer to your flat panel television.

Igugu has three kit offerings, including $99 dollars for the remote control unit and software, $129 for the remote control unit, software, and miscellaneous wiring kit, and $249 for a wireless version.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.

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Posted in ces, IPTV, OTT, Special Media, Streaming, TV, Windows

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