Computer Support Blog

Between work, school, afterschool activities, other responsibilities, and trying to have a social life, it can be easy to forget to do your laundry. Laundry tends to pile up and hardly ever get done, at least in most households, but what if there was an easy way to do your laundry while concentrating on other tasks?

The Samsung announced its new WF475 washer and dryer set at the Consumer Electronics Show this January, which feature integrated Wi-Fi. Along with the now-standard touch screen settings display, your washer and dryer will be able to connect to the Internet.

This built in Wi-Fi capability will allow users to activate the washer and dryer with a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. With this ability to remotely activate the system, if you forgot to turn on the washer before you left the house you can do so whenever you remember, wherever you are. You will be able to start and stop the cycles, change settings, and remotely monitor your laundry by using the SmartHome app.

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What is the one major problem with tablets? If you answered with something similar to “They do not have keyboards,” then you are among the majority of frustrated tablet and touch screen smartphone owners. Tablets are great; they are portable, lightweight, easy to use, and great for working outside the home or office. Tablets are the hot new item over the last two years and many people would love to be able to discard their laptop in favor of their new tablet.

There is just one problem with replacing laptops with tablets and it is a huge problem for users. The lack of an actual keyboard makes typing on a tablet a hassle. Typing on the virtual, onscreen keyboard is slow, imprecise, and awkward. The angle for holding your wrists and arms is completely wrong, and there is also the problem of trying to hold the tablet and type with both hands at the same time.

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This year, the blind will begin to see again. Well, no…that is not quite true. However, people who have gone blind from retinal degradation will be able to see light/dark, shapes, and faces if the FDA approves a new technology that was created to enable people to regain lost sight.

The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System from Second Sight Medical Products is a device that will allow some blind people to begin to see again. This technology only works for people whose photoreceptor cells have degenerated, but there are over 200,000 people with that condition in America alone. After 13 years of development, a few test patients have finally been fitted with the device. The company is conducting clinical trials and Second Sight is waiting on approval from the Food and Drug Administration before they make Argus II available publicly.

A small camera embedded into a pair of sunglasses sends an image to a smartphone-sized processor, which converts the image into a black and white picture. This picture is wirelessly transmitted to the receptors surgically implanted around the eye and finally sent on to the electrodes that the surgeon carefully attached to the retinas.

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If you are a serious audiophile, or just love music and live in a noisy house or apartment building, there is one essential tool for you: noise cancelling headphones.  For those unfamiliar with the product, nose cancelling headphones operate on a principle much like earplugs.  Noise cancelling headphones eliminate overt loud noises as well as background white noise.  The theory behind the headphones – as opposed to earplugs – is that using noise cancelling headphones creates a clean auditory palate which will leave the music you play sounding extra clear, crisp, and unhindered by other auditory distractions.  For a long time, noise cancelling headphones were a Grail for audiophiles, now they are fairly common.  But arguably the best noise cancelling headphones are the new ones from AKG.

AKG’s new K 495 NC noise cancelling headphones represent the highest-quality headphone for listening to music from portable music devices.  With its 121 decibel sensitivity, you are much more likely to notice flaws in your digital music files than you are with the sound quality from the K 495 NC headphones.  To make that clear, most digital music is compressed and does not contain as much audio information as music does when you play it from a compact disc or over the radio.  With a basic pair of earbuds, though, you might never notice how much is missing from your favorite songs.  The K 495 NC headphones, though, are not a pair of cheap earbuds!  As a result, you will hear the full depth of sound that is in your music files.  When you hear how much is missing from your digital music files, you may feel compelled to upgrade your digital music service and player, just to keep up with your awesome new headphones!

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Biometrics is a term used mostly in reference to fingerprints, retinal scans, and facial recognition. Biometrics is a way to identify exactly who a person is, by comparing a unique biological feature to those already in a registered database. Biometrics is nothing new; people have been using fingerprints as a means of identification for literally thousands of years. The ancient Chinese would sign a document with their handprint or fingerprint rather than a name.

The first modern uses of fingerprinting began as far back as 1877 when Sir William James Herschel used fingerprints to prevent fraud. Since that time, our methods of and uses for biometrics have advanced quite far. The government uses facial recognition software to identify immigrants, fingerprints help police catch criminals, and retinal scans are used to keep high-security buildings safe.

Already, we are seeing the use of biometrics in computers as well as these other applications. Many models of laptops come with a fingerprint scanner, and soon our other computer devices may have biometric capabilities. This is a growing field in computers because it is more secure and very easy to use.

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With all of the leaps forward in the way entertainment is presented, from enhanced audio standards to 3-D Blu-Ray players, it is almost surprising to learn that microprocessor production has been occurring on a two-dimensional scale for so very long.  Even the current generation of microprocessors, in stores now, runs on transistors that are two dimensional.  While they are faster and more intricate than the earliest transistors from 1947, they are essentially the same design.  Until now, the transistor has been refined by improved manufacturing methods and changes in the materials used to manufacture them.  All of that is about to change, though.  Intel is releasing computers based on their Ivy Bridge technology, the world’s first transistors designed with three dimensional pathways!

The Ivy Bridge processor is a 3-D Tri-Gate transistor and what that means to consumers is that it is fast!  The Ivy Bridge processor advances the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture that Intel pioneered and released in 2011.  While the Sandy Bridge used circuit pathways that were 32 nanometers wide, the Ivy Bridge improved the pathway to 22 nanometers!  With that improvement in the die, Intel’s new Panther Point (Series 7) chips will have more transistors per chip . . . by several orders of magnitude!  The change in ten nanometers allows Intel to use a vastly greater number of transistors in their new chips.

What does this change mean for you?

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Today, more and more is being expected of headphones.  Back in the day, you plugged headphones into your stereo or portable tape player (or portable CD player) and the headphones brought you music at a level that didn’t annoy those around you.  But now, consumers are plugging their headphones into more sophisticated electronic devices and they are demanding more from their headphones.  Koss proves that they are up to the new expectations of music enthusiasts with their Porta Pro KTC headphones!

Koss Porta Pro headphones have long been an industry standard for audiophiles who have enjoyed the high-quality sound and fashionable, not bulky, appearance of the Porta Pro.  The addition of KTC, Koss Touch Control, upgrades the popular Porta Pro headphones for the current generation of music enthusiasts.  The big breakthrough with the Porta Pro KTC headphones is that the cord that connects the headphones to your Apple music player – iPod, iPad or iPhone – now includes a discrete control panel and a microphone!

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Given that there are so many specialized computer products for everything from weight loss to animal control, it might not surprise you to learn that there is a booming industry of computer devices for nautical use.  Watersports and boat travel have become increasingly sophisticated through the use of specialized computer hardware.  Working near water has unique risks that other occupations do not necessarily have and as a result, professions that work on waterfronts and waterways require specialized equipment.  One of the key pieces of equipment boating enthusiasts require is a specialized monitor.  For that, there are KEPM Marine Displays.

The KEPM Marine Displays come in six different screen sizes, from twelve to twenty-four inches (diagonal measurement).  No matter the screen size, the KEPM Marine Displays share some very important attributes that make them ideal for nautical use.  The first aspect is that all of the monitors come with aluminum frames that are powder coated to resist wear.  Because a computer screen on a moving boat will encounter more dust, debris and other environmental wear from both air and water, the frame of a nautical display must be sturdy and weather-resistant.  KEPM Marine Displays resist the elements as well as sudden shocks, like dropping limited distances.

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It is still early in the new year, so advertising on television still contains reminders to drink responsibly.  That type of advertising virtually disappears right after the Super Bowl until the winter holidays (I suppose the beer manufacturers know that many people consume alcoholic beverages when confronted with either football or family), despite alcohol-related drinking deaths being a year-round problem.  And while there are numerous forms of technology that may help you find where the trendy places to drink are or what the best new alcoholic beverages are, there are few products that can help prevent drinking and driving.  Outside outright prevention, the best weapon against drunk or buzzed driving is education.  For that, HDE has a portable breathalyzer!

HDE’s Digital Breathalyzer is a blood alcohol level tester that is available for consumer use.  The specialized electronic device is very simple to use and runs on 3 AAA batteries (which HDE does not provide).  The Digital Breathalyzer runs on the same principles that the breathalyzers used by law enforcement personnel operate on.  The small black device has a tube into which you breathe and the Digital Breathalyzer determines your blood alcohol content.  Registering from 0.00% BAC up to the almost-lethal .19% BAC, the Digital Breathalyzer is an exceptional tool for preventing the operation a motor vehicle while impaired or influenced by alcohol.

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With all of the emphasis on USB flash drives for portable storage, it is easy to forget that portable hard drives are even a viable option for consumers any more.  Portable hard drives, however, offer you more stable digital storage and, usually, greater capacity than can be found on the less-stable flash drives.  LaCia makes it impossible to deny the power and coolness of portable hard drives, though, with the Rugged Triple USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive!

The Rugged Triple Portable Hard Drive is a state-of-the-art portable hard drive from LaCia, one of the leading computer hardware manufacturers concerned with computer security.  LaCia is synonymous with data protection the world round and the Rugged Triple may well be their masterpiece product.

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