PC Hardtech

Ten Futuristic Computer Concepts

1) Sony Vaio Zoom Notebook Concept by Eno Setiawan.

Highlights: Thin Glass, Touch Glass, Opaque Keyboard And

transperant Screen.

2) B-membrane by Won-Seok Lee.

Highlights: Built-in-Projector, Membrane Keyboard,Integrated

Optical Drive.

3) Book Laptop by Kyle Bean.

Highlights: It showcases the new trend that we actually need.

4) The Napkin PC by Avery Holleman.

Highlights: Uses e-ink and RF technology which contains a pen like

module that sends info to your pc and display back the output over

the Napkin which is actually a e-ink paper.

5) Canvas by Kyle Cherry :

Highlights: Designed for those in the creative arts fields, offers a

wide arc of workspace.

6) Dual Screen Computer by Yong-Seong Kim :

Highlights: A large slot behind the LCD display that can

accommodate the notebook thus allowing you to use it as a desktop,

notebook’s screen transforms into a second display in portrait

mode.

7) Mac Folder by Tryi Yeh :

Highlights: A re-worked User Interface that resembles the iPod

Touch or iPhones’, super-slim multi-touch screen.

8 ) Evolve Modular CPU by Vas Obeyesekere of Point Innovation :

Highlights: transforms between mobile and home computing

configurations and can expand or contract its module based

components to meet any user’s needs.

9) HP LiM (Less is More) Concept by Jeffrey S. Engelhardt :

Highlights: Use of Bamboo fabric across the aluminum frame of the

PC, 19″ transparent touch OLED screen along with a wireless

keyboard, virtual trackpad.

10) MacBook Touch by Tommaso Gecchelin :

Highlights: Flexibility in form-factor via iSpine technology, flexible

OLED screen, and Magic Dock that externalize ports to keep the

appearance clean.

REVIEW

Lenovo Multimedia Remote Keyboard with Mouse

Front View

Back View

Features :

1. 2.4 wireless combo

2. 10M control distance.

3. It is compatible with all Windows platform (Xp,Vista and Windows 7).

4. It is a simple plug and play device.

5. It contains a trackball mouse.

6.The keyboard is similar to that of the ordionary multimedia keyboard with all shortcut and

function keys.

7. It works with a very small battery.

REVIEW :

Folding Fan Is A Keyboard

The designers for this Keystick – fan folding-style-keyboard, say that it’s a part of their None Bacteria Project – aimed at cutting down spread infections. Ah…I don’t buy the story of it being designed for personalized used so that you don’t contaminate your fingers. I’d much rather have it as this cool futuristic fan that I flip out of my purse and use it with my iPhone to update my latest posts. I’ll have mine in Pink Mr. Kim!

New Computer Technology

Disposable Paper Laptops

I quite agree with Je Sung Park when he says that disposable cameras and cell phones have gained acceptance, so why don’t we take the next step and bring out a disposable computer. His Recyclable Paper Laptop is quite a raw version and could do with some refinement. It uses recycled paper or pulp material all packed in layers. This is so that you can easily replace the damaged portions (even corrugated paper will tear easy). The vibe of a Paper Laptop is intriguing, I kno eventually someone will figure out the tech bit, so let’s see who will take the bait.

1. Libraries

My favorite new feature in Windows 7 has to be Libraries. In previous versions of Windows, there were your personal folders: My Documents, My Music, etc. These folders were indexed for quick searching and seemed like a good place to put all your stuff. But, unless you kept a close eye on them, it was very easy to lose track of what was being saved where. Finding a specific photo, music file, or document often sent you clicking in and out of folder after folder. Enter Libraries: now you can see the contents of more than one folder at a time! While Libraries aren't traditional folders, they definitely come in handy for keeping your files organized. Each Library has a default save location, the Known Location, that you can set by right-clicking on a Library and selecting Properties from the dialog box. Even better, if your files aren't listed in a Library, you can tell that Library to look into a folder of your choosing, as well!

2. HomeGroup

If you've tried to set up a home network using Windows before, you may be familiar with the complexity involved. For the most part, it was pretty simple just sharing one printer or folder. File and Printer sharing has been around awhile. But for different users to access shared folders, multiple identical user accounts had to be created for each machine to ensure that everything was interoperable. Now, you will need at least two computers running Windows 7 to make use of this. You may have already seen HomeGroup during Windows 7's initial setup, but sharing documents, photos, music, videos, and printers has never been easier. Simply find the HomeGroup Control Panel by typing homegroup into Search, from the Control Panel, or in the Network and Sharing center, and start the wizard. The wizard will guide you through selecting the types of objects you would like to share and will present you with a cryptic password, suggesting you write it down. You don't have to do that. You can change the password once the homegroup is set up, just navigate to the Advanced Sharing Settings menu from the Network and Sharing Center or from the HomeGroup menu itself in the Control Panel. Now file and printer sharing is as easy as typing a password.

3. Paint

Yes, that's right, Paint is new and improved in Windows 7. It's gone from that very basic program that was so comically inferior that it spawned its own art style, to a downright decent image editing application. It's been upgraded with more features and tools like new brushes and now features the Scenic Ribbon, the new UI design that was first featured in Microsoft Office 2007. Now it's functional, easy to use, and makes a perfect tool to use for taking quick screen shots or cropping and resizing images.

4. Wordpad

Just like it's artsy-fartsy friend Paint,Wordpad has received an upgrade as well. You've probably long-since replaced past versions of Wordpad for better, more robust word processing applications, but to keep pace, Microsoft has added a few new features as well as the Scenic Ribbon UI. Now it looks like a slimmed-down version of Microsoft Word and makes a perfectly acceptable tool for offline document creation or editing. It also now supports Open Document and Open XML file formats for opening newer files and saving them in formats that work with older version of Office.

5. Calculator

Previous versions of the Windows Calculator had all the basic functions just about every user would need. There was the standard look and the Scientific view, and this was largely unchanged since the very first version of Windows. The Standard and Scientific views are still there, but now Microsoft has addedProgrammer and Statistics views as well as new functions in the form of Unit Conversion, Date Calculation, and Worksheets that pop out to the right of the Calculator itself. The Programmer view gives you data type and number format conversion options and the Statistics view gives you, of course, common statistics functions. The new Unit Conversion function converts just about anything you can think of, from angles and areas to temperatures and weights. Date Calculation makes it easy to do exactly what the name implies and Worksheets give you a way to calculate a mortgage, vehicle lease, and fuel economy in both miles and kilometers.

6. Windows Key

The Windows Key has been sitting on our keyboards since Windows 95 and now it's actually functional. Use the Windows Key plus the Up Arrow to maximize a window, the Down Arrow to minimize, and Left and Right Arrows to snap a window to the left or right. The Windows Key plus the G key will bring your Gadgets to the front, and using it in combination with Tab will let you cycle through opened windows in 3D. That's not all, pressing the Windows Key in combination with any number on the keyboard will launch an the application in that slot on the taskbar. For instance, if Internet Explorer is the first icon next to your start button, pressing Windows Key + 1 will launch Internet Explorer. It's now easier than ever to accomplish common tasks without taking your hands off the keyboard.

7. Taskbar Jump Menu Properties

Last time we covered the new taskbar, but what if you'd like to customize it beyond just pinning application shortcuts to it and sliding them around? What if the shortcut needs special instructions or needs to be Run As Administrator? Now, when you right-click a taskbar item, you're presented with the Jump List, which is handy, but not what we're looking for. If you navigate up the Jump List to the Application Name and right-click that as well, you're presented with another context menu that gives you the Properties, Run as Administrator, Pin to Taskbar, and Open options. This gives you fairly quick access to everything you need from the taskbar.

Hanging Hard Drives

Portable hard drives are not really THAT portable if you have to tote around another peripheral but maybe you should have bought a laptop with a bigger hard drive! OOO Zing! No I didn’t! Yes, yes I did just go there. Kidding aside, the Hang it On hard drive encloser lets you hang you 2.5″ companion off the back of your lappie’s LCD screen. Sure, now your MacBook Air looks like it has a tumor growing off it’s svelt lines but at least you’ll get more than a measily 80 GB.