Hey kids, let’s check out the official trailer for a new movie called “I.T.” Looks awesome, right?
Waitasecond! The IT guy in question is now a handsome, brooding young guy with some mental problems? Wait, he’s the bad guy? Noooooooooooooo!For years, the depiction of the stereotypical IT guy has been one of the “nerdy guy that nobody wants to talk with”, or the obnoxious, know-it-all, “let me do this, you clearly don’t know tech” kind of person. See the following examples:Saturday Night Live: Nick Burns, your company's IT Guy:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For more than 90 years, Pitney Bowes has been helping its customers conduct physical and digital commerce worldwide. In this keynote session at the recent IT Roadmap event in New York, James Fairweather, SVP of Technology and E-commerce, talks about his company’s investment in a digital infrastructure. This change moved across clouds, APIs, data, mobility and collaboration, as well as how they created a “culture of innovation” with developers and designers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Over the past few years, I've tried out a several solar-powered recharging devices, usually in conjunction with summer gift guides or other outdoor gadget projects. For the most part, the solar chargers were big, bulky things that required a lot of heavy lifting in order to recharge your much smaller smartphone, and didn’t seem worth the extra effort in lugging it around on your travels. One exception - the very cool solar-powered flashlights and other devices that incorporate the hand-crank generator. GoalZero, one of the leaders in the solar power market, has upped its game a bit. This week at the Outdoor Retailer Expo in Salt Lake City, the company showed off some new devices aimed at shrinking the size and bulkiness of those solar panels.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For ages, human beings have been using their hands to write - whether on stone tablets, papyrus, parchment or paper. With the invention of computers, writing shifted to electronic screens, whether people use a keyboard to type or an electronic pen to capture thoughts on a modern tablet.But for many, the process of writing on a computer tablet has stalled - sure, digital pens and ink technologies can capture a person’s hand strokes, but those notes, diagrams or other drawings stay locked into whatever software (OneNote, Evernote) is being used. With pen and paper (and word processing applications), things can be edited, searched, stored and shared with others. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Fans of Star Trek know that its communicator device was iconic. Whether it was Captain Kirk on the original series asking Scotty for a beam-up (he never actually did say, “Beam me up, Scotty”), or Captain Picard tapping on his Starfleet insignia badge asking for a status report from Engineering, this was the way that instant voice communication would work in “the future.”Many devices seen on these shows have evolved into real-life products. While the communicator that Kirk used evolved into the flip-phone (which then evolved into the smartphone), the badge that Picard wore hasn’t hit the mainstream. Over the years I’ve seen a few products attempt to recreate this device (one company had success deploying a badge-like system via Wi-Fi, geared towards hospital doctors and nurses), but there hasn’t been a popular badge-like device.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Over the years, I’ve ridden lots of roller coasters - everything from the “kid coaster” at the local carnival, to Space Mountain and other Disney coasters, to the mega-monstrous coasters at Six Flags and other amusement parks. There is something very exciting about the first drop, a corkscrew loop or the speeds that you attain when riding a coaster. That said, as I’ve gotten older I find myself riding them less. Depending on the coaster, the shaking and head bumping that sometimes occurs gives me a sense of nausea or dizziness following the ride, and the recuperation time takes longer than when I was in my 20s. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Superman battles Lex Luthor in virtual MetropolisImage by Six FlagsAt the Six Flags New England amusement park in Agawam, Mass., visitors can now experience virtual reality on one of the park's most popular roller coasters - Superman The Ride.The first drop is a doozyImage by Six FlagsTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In part 1 of this mini-series looking at the new wireless mesh networking aimed at home systems, I looked at Luma’s system. Instead of a single router providing coverage for the house, a mesh system uses multiple nodes that work in conjunction with each other to provide greater coverage and faster speeds.So here's part 2, in which I tested another wireless mesh system - this one from San Francisco-based startup eero. Like the Luma devices, the eero system comes in a three-pack of nodes (it costs $499), but you can also buy individual nodes for $199. You can get away with using just one node as its own Wi-Fi router/access point as long as you connect it to your modem (cable/DSL), but the added benefits of the mesh kick in when you add the second, third or any additional nodes. In the three-pack, the system includes power cables for each eero node, and one Ethernet cable that links the first node into your cable modem or WAN connection.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Even though gadgets like virtual reality and augmented reality are the “it things” in the technology space, there are still systems coming out that let you do normal things like computing, web browsing and movie watching / book reading.Here’s a quick roundup of three notebook and desktop systems (using those terms loosely) that offer some unique features and usage scenarios aimed at the business and consumer markets. Kangaroo.cc
The Kangaroo Mobile Desktop Pro (with cover removed to show inside of system)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In our recent beginner’s guide to virtual reality, we showcased various Google Cardboard VR headsets and apps to try out on a limited budget. A lot of those apps were either gaming-based apps or ones that gave you an experience, like a virtual roller coaster ride or a view of 360-degree photos of a particular location (like New York City).If you’re not interested in those types of experiences, you might say, “Is that it?” and miss out on the next steps with VR, which could expand the use of the technology in your own life or as part of your business.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Wireless mesh networking has been around for many years with business-level products and services, but it’s been pretty scarce in the home network space. The most famous user of a wireless mesh network (in which Wi-Fi clients talk to access nodes that can talk to other nodes, instead of a single router) is the wireless audio provider Sonos. But for the most part, improvements in Wi-Fi meant you still bought a singular router that you’d connect to a modem (or you have a combination modem/router given to you by your broadband provider). If you wanted to extend your network or improve coverage in parts of your house, you would need to buy a repeater/extender, which created an extra “hop” for network traffic (not optimal for services/apps that have a need for speed).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When you see a virtual reality game being advertised on a box of Froot Loops, you know the VR trend has hit the mainstream. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
As part of my research for the Network World Father’s Day 2016 gift idea slideshow, several companies sent along gadgets for me to try out. While some products made the guide, some didn’t – not because they aren’t good, but because I wanted to pick only one device per vendor. Ventev
For example, I chose the Ventev PowerCell 3015+ charger for the guide, but they also sent me some other cool devices. The Desktop Charging Hub (model s500, $50 - See it on Amazon) is a combination device that will help you recharge a phone, a tablet and at least one other USB device. The circular unit also has two 10-amp outlets, for powering additional devices (like your computer, monitor or perhaps other accessories for your desk). The Charging Hub comes with a 5-foot power cord for optimal desktop placement, and two grooves for resting your tablet and/or phone. It should help clean up an area if you do a lot of recharging.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Going above and beyond the typical Dad giftI’ve been a father for a decade now, so I’ve become accustomed to getting a lot of Father’s Day gifts from my wife and kids. At first it was the “Draw something cute for Dad” type of gifts, or my wife took over and got me some really cool stuff. With the kids getting older, though, I’m entering the “Typical gifts for Dad” era of my life, where I’ll end up with things like “Hey, Dad, here’s a tie” or “Hey, want this cool coffee mug?” even though I don’t wear ties or drink coffee.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you’ve ever had a pet go missing from your house, you know that time is critical – whether it’s danger from other animals or the possibility of them getting hit by a car, you want to find them quickly.Here’s a really cool tool - the FurAlert app, available for iOS and Android smartphones, gets the word out quickly to other FurAlert users when a pet goes missing. The app serves two purposes – it lets pet owners alert all of the other users (within a specific geographic area) if a pet goes missing. Second, it lets someone who has found the animal notify the pet’s owner directly, through a phone call, text or email.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
We’re back from some travel and video work to present you with a bunch of quick reviews for the gadget fan (either you or someone you know). Is there a theme this week? Not really, just a bunch of cool stuff I’ve been playing with recently.The scoop: Toddy Gear personalized Toddy Cable, about $12 (Kickstarter project, other options are available so you can donate more and get more stuff in return) What is it? It’s a Lightning charging cable for your iOS device that has a personalized message on it - whether it’s your name or some other funky design (see photo at the top of this page).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Last week, the Network World and IDG.TV video crew was out in Las Vegas gathering interviews at the Interop 2016 event. We tallied up 10 interviews at the show, ranging in topics from networking to security to Wi-Fi. If you missed the show and want to get a sense of some of the companies and issues discussed, take a look below:
Cisco: How the Digital Network Architecture can help the network Cisco had a big presence at Interop (it was the first booth you saw when you entered the expo hall). We got a chance to speak with Jeff Reed, a Cisco SVP and one of the Internet keynoters. In the video, he explains a little bit more about what its Digital Network Architecture (DNA) can do for the future of the enterprise network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I’ve become that dad - you know, the one who goes around the house turning off the lights because his kids haven’t learned how to flip a light switch, or the one who opens the cupboard to discover an empty bag of Oreos (See it on Amazon).So instead of disdain, I want to congratulate and applaud GE for inventing a refrigerator that has an automatic refill water pitcher function. The press release says it best:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Up-front disclaimer: I have several issues with earbuds, aka “in-ear earphones” – those things that you stick inside (or just on the outside of) your ear when you want to listen to music. For the most part, people experience earbuds when they buy their first smartphone or music player, and many don’t realize that you can graduate to less sucky devices to hear your music better. The first big issue for me – comfort. Put these in your ears for any length of time longer than two minutes, and the outside of your ear starts to get sore. Next comes fit – most of the time the earbuds won’t fit correctly and will slip off, forcing you to jam the earbud further inside your ear canal, which can’t be a good thing for comfort or the health of the ear. Third – with some people there’s a bunch of gunk both inside and outside their ears, and these things tend to get grimy pretty quickly (there’s a reason why earbud companies never ask me to return their review samples).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As a somewhat frequent traveler, I’ve been in enough hotels to realize that entertainment options are not as good as the ones you get at your home. You end up watching the local version of news for whatever city you’re in, or, if you’re lucky, something good is on either HBO or Showtime as you’re drifting off to sleep.If you have to be stuck in your room for a longer period of time, it’s likely that you end up watching Netflix or Amazon Prime streaming on your computer, but you usually need to position the notebook (or tablet if you’re one of THOSE people) near a power source/cord so that the battery doesn’t run out after the third episode of “House of Cards” finishes).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Keith Shaw