Showstoppers Gadget Focus 09

Details

Parent Category: Gadgets

Category: Media

Published on Thursday, 17 September 2009 13:11

Written by Brad Balfour

Every fall tech promoters gather together various audio, video, accessory and computer companies to showcase new products or innovations being made available through the winter and spring season. Last night's Showstoppers event was no exception. What  follows are a few snaps and capsules on a host of tech companies's product roll-out. Over time, these will be evaluated and reviewed in greater detail.

To the right is a computer screen featuring fastpencil.com--a self-publisher with a twist. With new writing tool and marketplace upgrades for their free social self-publishing platform fastpencil.com allows authors to easily write, share, publish and sell their books.Writers can use the new Color Book Creator™  for projects such as children’s books, cookbooks, comic books and coffee table books while also promoting a more robust marketplace for FastPencil users to showcase their books and skills. The new Color Book Creator™ allows authors to focus on the visuals of their projects in addition to the content. Writers can import images and illustrations to their book pages with no limitations on placement or image and text size, enabling them to create the exact experience they envision.

FastPencil makes the book-writing process easy for anyone and everyone,” said Steve Wilson, FastPencil Co-Founder and CEO. “With our initial product offering we proved that our tools strip out the complexity of the writing and publishing process for novels and now we want to extend the capability to writers using images and artwork in other genres as well.”

To the left is a new security device available from Escort, Entourage™ PS, powered by Blackline GPS, a fully portable, personalized security system with mobile phone alerting. Iit’s from Escort the award-winning authority in radar and laser detection for more than 30 years. Unlike siren-based vehicle security, Escort Entourage PS features a powerful combination of always-on cellular communication, industry-leading GPS tracking and tamper-sensing technology to silently notify you directly of any threat to your vehicle’s safety. All of which makes noise-polluting siren-based security systems a thing of the past. 

In the image to the right below is Vusik's the Wrap 310.  The Wrap 310 challenges the status quo of traditional video viewing devices by looking and feeling like normal sunglasses. It features twin high-resolution video displays which projects a 56-inch screen and includes removable noise isolating earphones. Powered for up to 6 hours on just 2 AA batteries, the Wrap 310 will accept video from almost any video player, including the iPod and iPhone.

Whether it's for a executive business traveler or someone who wants an immersive console gaming experience, the Wrap 310 does the job done in style.  With composite video input and optional VGA and component compatibility adapters, the Wrap 310 is the most versatile pair of video eyewear on the market. Please see a complete list of compatible devices below. VGA and Component adapters coming soon.

"The Wrap 310 is the first device to merge the look of video eyewear and traditional sunglasses into one,” said Vuzix CEO, Paul Travers.  “We are excited to be a part of the mobile video revolution and are thrilled to be globally unveiling the Wrap 310."

Kingston Technology, a leader in memory products, announced a new addition to its SSDNow line of solid-state drives. The SSDNow V+ features capacities up to 256GB, higher input and output operations per second (IOPS) and faster read/write speeds than a standard mechanical hard-disk drive. It is targeted to prosumers and enterprise companies looking to increase performance and extend the life of existing systems.

A computer’s operating system will benefit from the drive’s impressive random 4K read speeds of up to 6,300 IOPS, and random 4K writes of up to 291 IOPS. The Kingston SSDNow V+ has a blazing sequential read speed of up to 220MB/sec. and write speeds of up to 180MB/sec. The V+ is the latest addition to the SSDNow family of solid-state drives. The V+ is currently available in the United States in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities; the 64GB drive is available worldwide with increased capacities to come. It uses a standard SATA interface and is extremely durable with no moving parts and less heat generation than a typical hard-disk drive. 

Storage Devices as Toys

Details

Parent Category: Gadgets

Category: Media

Published on Saturday, 12 September 2009 21:59

Written by Brad Balfour

What a wacky idea--turning memory sticks into collectibles. But why not. You can hang them on your neck; attach to your computer bag, travel case, or shoulder bag. Hey, they could even be a strange extension for your piercings.

Since 2005, Boston-based design house Mimoco has fused contemporary characters and artist's original designs with the functionality of personal data storage devices. Making its name known both in the pop-culture driven Art Toy underground and in the high-tech gadget world Mimoco has developed a set of lines signing up lots of great creators and classic pop culture icons. With a mission to bring style and soul to consumer electronics, Mimoco is renowned for their flagship collection of Mimobot designer USB flash drives.

The distinctive character-based Mimobot line offers flash memory storage drives from 1GB to 8GB for you to transport all your precious data. One way you won't lose the drive is to remember the unique drive you own. The Mimobot range is available in several crossover flavors, such as Star Wars, Halo, Happy Tree Friends, and Japan's Domo. Moreover, the Mimobot Artist Series has functioned as a canvas for pop-artists like Gary Baseman, Jon Burgerman, and Simone Legno amongst other hip fresh designer toy, street art, and urban cultured talent. Mimobot flash drive creations also originate from the minds of fans through design challenges and through the original Mimobot Core Series of data deprived denizens hailing from far out Planet blõôh (whatever the hell that is!) Whatever design strikes your fancy, Mimoco's has developed a creative take on the portable personal data storage tech tool.

Billy Taylor’s iPhone App – Jazz Piano 


Details

Parent Category: Gadgets

Category: Media

Published on Saturday, 12 September 2009 19:04

Written by fftraveler staff

Pianist, composer, educator, author, broadcaster and Jazz advocate Dr. Billy Taylor has released Jazz Piano, an iPhone App.

Taylor has always been on the cutting edge of using technology to reach existing and new listeners of jazz first on the radio, then television, on his website; on YouTube; and, now on the iPhone.

 Jazz Piano, is available for free download in the iTunes App store, features Billy’s music; a photo gallery; both performance and instructional videos; a biography; news; and, a fan wall, so that users can interact directly with the musician.



Bret Primack, who is working with Taylor to digitize his archives and post them online, developed the iPhone App. Primack believes that “it’s important for those of us who are involved with Jazz to utilize new media and each new technology platform to reach the global audience. So to tap into this growing audience of mostly younger people who embrace new technology, we must create programs, websites, videos, etc., and position them accordingly.”

 

Apple continues to innovate, and in the last decade, the company has become not only a leader in consumer electronics, but a potent music retailer with iTunes. For musicians, the major benefit of an iPhone App is the ability to preview and purchase music so easily. 

An App on the iPhone makes it really easy for Jazz listeners to preview and then purchase music because the buy links go directly to iTunes, and then the purchased music is downloaded directly to the iPod that lives within the iPhone.

To Download: Jazz Piano, Billy Taylor’s free iPhone App, go to: 

http://www.tinyurl.com/jazzpiano



For all things, Billy, please visit his website: 

www.billytaylorjazz.com