Windows 8 Laptops

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Windows 8 Laptops are now the main computers sold through the retail outlets. However, unless over $1200 is paid for one they do not have a "Touch Screen". Basically you have a "Touch Screen" interface without an actual "Touch Screen", making them difficult to use. There is a "Tile" that allows an old type Desktop to be used, but many parts taken for granted have been omitted with this version. The more expensive "Touch screen" types are awkward to use in a laptop but should be easier to use on a "Tablet" which is what this interface was designed for. Microsoft have put aside a billion dollars for advertising these to let you know how easy they are to use. These laptops should not be confused with the new "Windows 8 RT" types which look the same outwardly but are totally different inside and  do not run any Windows 7 / XP programs. The alternative Desktop can only be accessed from the Tiles, and the machine can only be shutdown from the Tiles. No doubt some hacker will soon find a way to get around this. Boot up time has been halved as it only recalls an image of the last session on startup. Program speed is approximately the same as for Windows 7 on a similar machine.

7 inch Tablets

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Although 7 inches sounds small for a monitor it is a good size for a Tablet as it fits in one hand nicely allowing the other hand for manipulating the images on the screen. Readability of the text is about the same as a paperback book with the added advantage of "Pinching to zoom" to enlarge the text or images easily. Weight is also a helpful factor as the 7 inch tablet is approximately half the value of a ten inch tablet such as the iPad. Prices range between $100 to $400 depending on the options and specifications. Useful options include SD card reader, standard USB input and HDMI output. The USB port can be used for a keyboard while the HDMI output is useful for viewing the sceen on a TV or a projector.

$100 TV sticks

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TV sticks are starting to appear on Trademe for under $100. These Android gadgets will turn a TV with a HDMI or DVI port into a 'Smart TV' allowing the viewer to surf the internet, E-mail, watch movies, view pictures, play music and create documents etc. These devices are new and are appearing on Trademe as this site is New Zealands largest online retail outlet. The usual retail stores would prefer to sell New TV sets with these features rather than $100 sticks to keep older sets updated. Wireless networking is used for broadband, keyboard, mouse, camera etc, although the USB port could also be used for these with a multiport USB hub. The USB port is needed to supply the device with power.

Desktop computer in a keyboard

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Several Chinese manufacturers are now utilising the space under a keyboard to insert a full computer with several USB ports and a SD slot. A standard VGA socket is provided to connect to a Monitor or TV. Wireless networking is used to connect to the internet. This is a much better idea than putting the computer in the monitor which also means the prices of these are generally  under $200. The Operating System is held on an internal hard disk but is not provided in the price.

Samsung Apple Courtcase

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Main Mobile phone news points to a USA jury awarding Apple a Billion dollar settlement with possible banning of most Samsung phones. Even NZ papers are printing the story without any mention this is not a global problem for Samsung especially when The USA is only around 17 percent of the global market. China is about 25 percent and is not saturated with phones. NZ is totally unaffected as we do not recognise ridiculous patents.

The trial was held 15 miles from Apple's headquarters with a jury foreman that holds a software patent himself, so Samsung being a foreign company had lost before the court case started. The jury decided it was impossible to tell the two phones shown apart as they are both rectangular with round corners. Yes that is now a valid USA patent. I wonder which American company has the patent for a car with four rounded wheels. The modern mobile phone has approximately 250,000 patents around it. It must be difficult to make something that misses all those patents.

HDMI and DVI ports

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The computer industry used the DVI port for digital quality displays (Left side). The consumer industry (TV's etc) decided the DVI port was too big to fit in the sides of slimline TV's and therefore turned towards the HDMI port (Right side). The HDMI port incorporated the Audio whereas the DVI required a separate cable. Electrically the signals were compatible so it is possible to buy a DVI to HDMI cable and run a separate Audio cable for connecting a HDMI device to a DVI device. This is useful for connecting DVD / USB players to computers / monitors and vice versa.

Android on a Laptop without a touchscreen.

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Android 4.0 (Icecream) runs well on a 7" Laptop. I am now running my Asus 7" Netbook on this operating system which does not have a 'Touchscreen' and has only 500Mb ram. My system boots in under 30 secs and surfs the web in a fast HTML 5 Browser. Youtubes work perfectly as does picture viewing. Movies need to be MP4's. Google marketplace is usable but care has to be taken in selecting apps as a laptop can only be run in 'Landscape mode'. I use an external mouse similar to the picture shown. Wordprocessing is achieved with Google Docs. The software requires the use of wireless only. My built in camera worked well with Skype.  Virus checking and updates not required.