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Microsoft Surface: Innovation that Gives Windows 8 Tablets an Edge

June 23, 2012 in Computers, PC, Product, Productivity, Slideshow, Tablets

On Monday, June 18, Microsoft had a very hushed, short noticed press event in Los Angeles, where they announced the Microsoft Surface – a 10.6 inch tablet running Windows 8. There will be two versions of the tablet – Microsoft Surface, and the Microsoft Surface Pro. The Microsoft Surface will run Windows 8 RT, and will run on Nvidea ARM chip. This means it will not be able to run traditional window applications. It is intended for more leisurely use whilst still being able to run productivity applications such as Office. On the other hand, The Microsoft Surface Pro will run Windows 8, and will run on an Intel chip. Because of the Intel chip, it would be able to run legacy Windows applications as well. The Surface Pro is intended to have capabilities parallel to ultrabooks in the market currently.

 Microsoft Surface ProThe Surface is made from liquid magnesium; a technology Microsoft has named VaporMg – pronounced Vapor Mag, for magnesium. Microsoft claims this allows the Surface to be lightweight, permanently scratch and dent resistant, as well as be very durable. Microsoft also says that it has integrated two Wifi receivers to the top of the Surface to make it a device with the best Wifi reception. The Surface RT is 9.6mm thick, and 13mm thick with the touch cover. The Surface Pro is approximately 13 mm thick, and with the Type cover, makes it less than 2cm in total. More details of the specs can be found on the new Surface website, and the keynote announcement is below:

 

Most tablets announce nowadays are frequently compared to the Apple iPad, and no doubt the Surface will also be compared. However Microsoft really worked hard to innovate and polish the design to stand out from existing tablets.

One of the most innovative features is the Cover– a tablet cover that also doubles as a keyboard, a seemingly obvious design idea but very innovative. There are two versions of the cover. One of the covers is the Touch Cover, which puts a full QWERTY keyboard and track pad onto a solid 3mm pressure sensitive cover. The other cover is the Type Cover – which also puts a full Qwerty keyboard and track pad, but each key can be physically touched and pressed down. There is a wide range of colours available. Although no one outside Microsoft have tested the keyboards, Microsoft officials claim to be able to get over 60 words per minute on the keyboard. I personally think it is an ingenious idea of Microsoft to do more on the cover, making it more valuable and simpler for users to be productive on a device type that traditionally only consumes.

The other innovative feature is the integrated kickstand. Whilst many smartphones now have integrated kickstands to allow video watching on the small screen, tablets tend to rely on cases to standup, despite being even more suitable to watch videos on. With the integrated kickstand, Microsoft makes entertainment consumption even easier on the Windows 8. The surface is also designed around the angle 22º, with edges kickstands and even cameras angled to make it simpler for users.

Although Microsoft has yet to announce a precise price, it has mentioned that the Surface will be price-competitive with other tablets running on ARM (such as the Apple iPad) and the Surface Pro will be price-competitive with ultrabooks at the time it is released. The Surface RT would be available on the same day as the general availability of Windows 8, with the Surface Pro arriving another 3 months afterwards.

 

 

Are you as inspired by the Microsoft Surface as I am? Comment below or email at Janice@plomonet.com

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Look Mom, No Hands!

May 22, 2012 in Accessories, Business, Computers, Education, Entertainment, Gaming, Gaming, Lifestyle, Lifestyle, Mac, Main Blog, PC, Product, Productivity, Productivity, Slideshow, Travel, Travel

The mouse. The Achilles’ Heel of the computer. The mouse is one of the greatest nuisances that computer users have to deal with, we just want to open what we want without hassle. Yet touchscreen computers are just to expensive, and that iPad next to you just doesn’t cut it yet. The Ion Wireless Air Mouse by Bellco Ventures Inc brings us one step closer.

The Design:

The Ion Air Mouse’s design is relatively simple. It consists of a partial glove with an attached sensor that runs a cable to

the finger where the mouse buttons for clicking are strapped on. Positioned on the sensor there is an on/off switch, the

micro-usb charging port and three LED lights, for charging status, power, and active or not. The finger p

ortion has three buttons; left click, right click, and pause. In order to connect the Air Mouse to your computer you simply plug in tiny USBdongle into you computer and your good to go. I like that Bellco chose this method of connection over something like bluetooth because it provided a stronger connection that is unaffected by interference. The Air Mmouse is compatible with Mac, PC, and Linux, with the only requirement being a USB port.

The Operation:

Using the Air Mouse could not be simpler, just slip the glove on and adjust it to your had, do the same with the finger tip, then plug in the adapter into your computer and wait for the drivers to install. Once that finishes, turn on the mouse and your ready to start clicking. The mouse does take some getting used to, but you can always adjust your computer’s mouse settings to make it easier. With the air mouse, just move your hand in the direction you want the cursor to move and then left or right click your heart away. If you want to readjust the position of your hand, or you need to type, just click the pause button and the Air Mouse’s motion sensing becomes inactive, but leaving clicking functionality available.

The Uses:

I must say, the Ion Air Mouse is very versatile. It works great for everyday use, but it really shines when you get a little creative. When I hook up my laptop to my TV, I can now just sit back and do all my controlling needs from the comfort of my couch. No longer will I have to get up over and over again to change the volume between fight seen and whispering dialogue. The Air Mouse also works well for presentations; the other day in fact, I used the Air Mouse for a presentation in English class, the mouse gave me the versatility to move around the room, while still being able to advance the slides.

The Overall

Overall, the Ion Wireless Mouse, is pretty awesome. It is the ultimate ergonomic device and looking like you’re part robot is an added bonus. The simple set up and use is great and the mouse is fun to use. The only draw back is that it does take some getting used to. I would give it 4.5 stars for sure. You can buy it for 79.95 Here.

 

Did you get it? Have an app or product you want me to review? Let me know in the comments below.

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Review: IMATION i-Pro Metal 2.5″ Portable Hard Drive

December 31, 2011 in Accessories, Business, Computers, Mac, PC, Product, Productivity, Slideshow

Imation’s i-Por Metal 2.5″ Portable hard drive is one that’s pretty old which comes in three sizes: 320GB, 500GB and 640GB. Therefore I believe it’s great for those of you who are looking for a relatively small one just to store some backup as well as music and videos. I’ve had a 500GB one for over a year and I’ve never had a single problem with it.

I always personally thought that external hard drives that you get don’t really matter as long as it performs its function, however it seems like many people around me have ones that perform very badly. This one has never overheated in my experience, and is pretty compact. I use this one as a simple backing up device, and for saving large set up files and various videos that I’ve downloaded previously.

It comes with a mini USB cable, which has two male USB ends, one for actually connecting the hard disk to your computer and the other simply to supply enough energy to the hard drive to actually get it working – meaning it doesn’t require external power. It’s very compact, so I have no problem carrying it around even to long holidays, during which I often view a very large number of videos.

It’s supported by all Macintosh and Windows operating systems, and runs at 5400rpm. The only downside to this is probably the FAT32 file system, meaning that the maximum individual file size that you can put onto the disk is 4GB. While this may affect some potential buyers, it should be of no problem to the general user – I personally have never had any problems with this.

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