Microsoft Encouraging More Tablets

Several hardware makers are teaming up with Microsoft, in an attempt to give Apple a run for its money. They're looking to release a number of Windows-based tablet computers that can compete with Apple's iPad. At least 21 manufacturers were mentioned, including Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, Sony, Lenovo, and Panasonic.

The news was announced by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Monday, July 12, at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, "This year one of the most important things that we will do in the smart device category is really push forward with Windows 7-based slates and Windows 7 phones. Over the course of the next several months, you will see a range of Windows 7-based slates that I think you'll find quite impressive. This is a terribly important area for us. We are hardcore about this."

He added, "They'll come with keyboards, they'll come without keyboards, they'll be dockable, there'll be many form factors, many price points, many sizes, but they will all run Windows 7. They will run Windows 7 applications. They will run Office."

Ballmer did admit Microsoft failed with Windows Mobile and is unable to compete with iPhone, Droids, and Blackberrys. On the other hand, he says Windows Phone 7 has received, "great reviews, really quite remarkable reviews." The company's mobile phone partners were listed to include Samsung, Dell, Asus, Toshiba, Garmin, Sony Ericsson, and HTC.

Ballmer also talked at length about cloud computing - Windows Azure - and its "new opportunity." He says cloud enables Microsoft to help customers "streamline their operations and improve their agility." Ballmer also says, "The world of tomorrow is a world of a smart cloud talking to smart devices roam your information across the internet. We are at an inflection point in technology history...for customers, cloud computing creates tremendous value, which translates to massive opportunity for Microsoft and its partners."

According to Microsoft, eBay, Fujitsu, Dell, and HP will be using Windows Azure appliances. Dell says the platform will be useful for delivering cloud services to small and medium-sized businesses.

Other news from Microsoft included news that they've sold 150 million licenses for Windows 7 since its launch in October, 2009.

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Summer Travel with Your Computer

Let's face it. With computers becoming more and more mobile, many people are traveling with their laptops, smartphones, tablet computers, and even desktops in some cases. Vacation doesn't necessarily mean a vacation from EVERYTHING in 2010. We still check in with the office, we still check our email, and we still surf the internet or play games. But what happens if you have a problem? How do you prevent a problem from occurring? If you're planning to take you computer on the road this summer, here are a few tips for you to keep in mind:

- Remember when you are on a public network, you are vulnerable than you would be at home on your own network. Unless you have a firewall, any data that can be shared on your home network can be shared with the other people using the same network you are, whether it be in a restaurant, hotel, or other spot.

- Purchase and take along a car adapter. My personal laptop battery only lasts about two-three hours. That was a bit disappointing when I recently found myself in the backseat of my grandfather's car for a five-hour drive to Florida. I was able to get a little work done and play a few computer games, but over half of the trip was spent wishing I'd charged my iPod. So, take your car adapter along for long rides, or don't use power-hungry applications.

- If you are going to have to rely on your battery more than usual, make sure your computer is running smoothly. Get yourself a tune-up, defrag your hard drive, run a few malware removal programs and delete or disable programs you no longer use for quicker boot-up and optimum performance.

- Be aware of thieves. Sure, we worry about people stealing our data but if someone has physically stolen our computers, data stolen over unsecure networks is the least of our worries. According to LoJack for Laptops, 600,000 laptops are stolen from cars and hotel rooms each year. Fortunately, there are laptop locks you can purchase that prevent this from happening. Also, use common sense. If your computer is in your car and you need to run into a store, don't leave it in plain view. Keep it in a suitcase or in your car's trunk.

- Power down. If you're done working with your computer, turn the power off completely. Wireless connections and even Bluetooth connections can leave you vulnerable to attacks.

- Find out where you can get reliable tech support and computer service. Many hotels offer tech support but many do not. If you find yourself with a problem, you don't want to be stuck, trying to find someone who can help get you up and running again. A quick call to a company like Computer Service Now (1-877-422-1907) can take care of any of your problems, no matter where you are located.

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Gateway’s DX4840-02e Desktop Computer

It’s not exactly what I would call a budget desktop, but the Gateway DX4840-02e is certainly still a good deal. It comes standard with a 23-inch HD monitor and a 2-year warranty. It has all of the usual features and a design that should satisfy anyone looking at desktop computers.

The mid-sized black tower of the DX4840-02e has every port included that you could ever need. There are 10 USB ports, headphone and microphone jacks, a Photo Frame hot key, 2 PS/2 ports, Ethernet ports, VGA and HDMI video inputs, and 5 media card slots. Also included is a DVD burner.

The 23-inch LCD monitor matches the design of the keyboard and the mouse and features 1,920 x 1,080 resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio. You can enjoy 1080 HD content to its full extent with the monitor. It has good color quality and decent sound, although if you’re going to be watching many movies on your computer than you may want to invest in some speakers.

Inside the DX4840-02e is a 3.2GHz Intel Core i5 650 processor and 4GB of RAM. That means that its not the fastest desktop computer out there, but it definitely still has great performance.

The Gateway DX4840-02e is a sleek, fast, feature-filled desktop that is pretty reasonably priced. You can get everything discussed and a 2-year warranty with Costco’s Concierge Service, that provides any technical services and help that you might need, all for $799.99.

If you’re looking for something a little more portable that the DX4840-02e but still like Gateway’s products, check out the Gateway EC14D Ultraportable laptop.

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Don't Trade That Book in for an iPad Just Yet

iPads and eReaders are all the rage these days because people love the thoughts of being able to read on the go with the electronic devices - no turning pages, no losing your place, and no carrying multiple books around when you know you're going to have lots of time on your hands. Seems convenient, right? But according to a recent study by Dr. Jakob Nielson of the Nielsen Norman Group, a product development consultancy, reading on an iPad or a Kindle is a lot more time-consuming than reading good old fashioned ink and paper.

The study compared 24 users' reading times using Kindle 2, iPad's iBooks application, and an actual book. For the most part, reading on either of the electronic gadgets took almost 11% longer than reading a regularly printed book. But despite the increase in time taken, those who participated said they preferred the electronic devices to books. The study also looked at reading books on a regular PC monitor - something that was given all around negative reviews from participants.

The participants were people who describe themselves as people who like to read and read often. They read short stories by Ernest Hemingway on the four different platforms. Their reading speeds were measured, as was reading comprehension. It took each user an average of 17 minutes and 20 seconds to read each story on all four platforms and their reading comprehension was not affected by the platform used.

Statistics for the PC monitor weren't released by Nielsen but the numbers for the other platforms stacked up like this: compared to the paper books, readers read 6.2% slower on the iPad and even slower on the Kindle 2 at 10.7%. Sort of ironic considering the Kindle 2 is designed specifically for reading. But Nielsen dismissed the difference in time between the iPad and Kindle, saying the difference was not significant and shouldn't be considered when consumers are shopping for new gadgets.

Participants were also asked to rate how much they liked reading on each platform. They were given a scale of 1 to 7 with 7 being the greatest. The iPad was rated 5.8, Kindle 5.7 and printed book 5.6 - not a whole lot of difference there. But the PC monitor ranked at just 3.6. Reasons for disliking the PC monitor included that it was not as relaxing as the other gadgets and that users felt like they were at work when using it.

So what does this mean? In the long run, nothing. PC World asks what would happen if the study had looked ages. Would people in their 20's, who have been using digital screens for their entire life, prefer the Kindle or iPad, or read faster on it? Would people in their 60's be more set in their ways and prefer the printed page? Also, the study only included 24 participants - that's a pretty small group and not really representative of the general public.

One thing is for sure. digital books and eReaders are becoming more and more popular in the last couple of years. This year, eBook sales have grown at a rate of 217% from last year. But in my opinion, you still can't beat a good old-fashioned book.

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Great Deal on Dell Desktop

If you are looking to buy a desktop computer this summer, Dell might just have the deal you've been looking for. The Dell Inspiron 580s Core i5 Dual Core 2.93GHz desktop is now on sale through July 31st. When you use the coupon code ?8CN$RJ?W5TQ0C you will get $199 off the original price of the computer plus free shipping.

The Inspiron 580s comes standard with a very fast i3 processor, HDMI port, 320 GB hard drive, and decent 3D performance. Also thrown in is a 15-month subscription to MacAfee Internet Security.

For merely $629.99, you can have this fast, easy to use desktop computer. The Dell Inspiron 580s is a fantastic deal that you should definitely look further into.

If a Dell just doesn’t suit you, the you should check out Gateway's ZX Series or maybe Apple's iMac.

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Gizmodo iPhone 4G Fail

Click to enlarge

So here we have an ad on Gizmodo playing off the stereotypical college graduate who has an extremely refined taste in beer and is also aimed at their fathers who are looking to buy them something shiny, new, and expensive. While the pitch is hilarious in itself, what really got me was this sentence and the picture chosen to accompany the ad.

"No one can be sure what the fourth generation iPhone will look like (oops! actually, we can)..."

Oops, actually, you can't Gizmodo. That's because you're using an outdated picture of the iPhone 3G instead of the iPhone 4G you are advertising. If I paid $10,000 for that iPhone, I would make pretty darn sure that I was using the correct picture for it.

You can see the original advertisment on Gizmodo's Grads & Dads Gift Guide by clicking on the photo of the iPhone.

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The Shutdown Timer App for Your Computer

The Shutdown Timer app is perfect for you if you don’t have the time to worry about whether or not you shut off your computer or not. The timer will shut down or reboot your computer whenever you set it to perform such actions. You can set it to do this based on CPU or RAM utilization or even CPU temperature. You can either put your computer into sleep or standby mode. Shutdown Timer can really help to save energy when you aren’t utilizing your computer.

Shutdown Timer runs on both Windows Vista and Windows 7. With the program, you are able to install a sidebar app that gives you single-click access to view Shutdown Timer, and you are able to use a portable version that can be dropped on a USB flash drive to be downloaded on a different computer.

Once Shutdown Timer is installed, you are given the ability to set a scheduled computer shut off time for every day of the week. You also may set it to reboot every day at a certain time or lock on its screen at certain points throughout the day. This is a great feature if you want to make sure that your computer will be turned off when you aren’t at home.

As mentioned before, you can set your computer to shutdown or reboot when certain conditions occur. For example, you can set your computer to shutdown or reboot when you reach a certain point of CPU or RAM utilization. Also, you can do the same thing if your computer is overheating because of something that you are not there to monitor. This can help to safely power down your computer without any possible damaging effects.

The Shutdown Timer app is a very handy tool. It can do more than just turn your computer on and off when you need it to, it can monitor your computer while you are not utilizing it. Another great thing is that its free! If you’re looking for anything like this for your computer, then you should definitely check it out.

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