Did your personal life just disappear?

Your personal phone may just become your work phone. The smartphone market is taking over our lives and we don’t even seem to understand its capabilities. Could smartphones be the end of our personal lives? It appears that people are ditching their landline phones in favour of high speed broadband and mobile phones, and the death of the landline phone as we know it could just be the result.

The contact ability of smart phones with GPS and network location services might just spell the end of personal lives as we know it. Your employer, if they provide you a mobile phone has the ability to track your every move. Pop your mobile phone into the dock when you arrive at work and you just clocked in. Pop it in late and you may only get payed for the hours you’re in the office.

The idea behind the smartphone dock is brilliant but are consumers going to give into company expectations. Are we now expected to work 24/7 with our desk work phone? The capability is certainly there!

I do like the idea of the ability to charge your mobile phone and replace your home phone but I’m a little scared of what this means. Are Australians now working, all day every, every day and should you be contactable outside of business hours. Are we going to get paid for this capability?

It looks like it’s here, and here to stay.

More information can be found at:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/29/desk-phone-dock-review/

Microsoft Surface Review

Microsoft Surface is a multi-touch product from Microsoft which is developed as a combination of both hardware and software technology.It allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of gesture recognition.This could involve the motion of hands or physical objects.It has a 360-degree user interface, a 30 in (76 cm) reflective surface with a XGA DLP projector underneath the surface which projects an image onto its underside, while five cameras in the machine's housing record reflections of infrared light from objects and human fingertips on the surface. The surface is capable of object recognition, object/finger orientation recognition and tracking, and is multi-touch and is multi-user. Users can interact with the machine by touching or dragging their fingertips and objects such as paintbrushes across the screen, or by placing and moving placed objects.

Targeted customers are in the hospitality businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, retail, public entertainment venues and the military for tactical overviews.This fast approaching technology has the ability to expand into the mass market,possibilities for domestic use include a virtual serving tray,dinner table or game board .Currently the product is only available commercially,though this limitless technology could see implementation into everyday life in the not too near future.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Review

Malwarebytes is an effective malware remover which comes in two versions,the freeware version which allows users to scan files and recieve unlimited updates and the paid version which introduces the ability for real-time protection and technical support. The spyware remover is ranked #1 on the internet for most downloads, and though the freeware version doesnt allow for real-time protection it can be easily combined with another free anti-virus program and a freeware firewall effectively.Though the program uses a rather high 87 Mb when idle,the program only increases slighlty in usage to 91 Mb on average when performing a quick scan and 92 Mb when peforming a full scan. The interface is well layed out,featuring multiple tabs along the top of the window. The program features a interesting tool called FileAssassin, this tool allows for locked files to removed from the system. It supports multiple drive scanning including networked drives, context menu options including a scan-on-demand for individual files.I give it 4.5/5.Currently the retail price for the paid version is $24.95.

 

The program can be found at this website:

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Smart Watches – Facebook on your watch?

inPulse, A Canadian company is attempting to build a name for itself in the smart watch marketplace, which I personally didn’t know really existed. The smart watch connects to your smartphone (or PC) and can be programmed to relay instant notifications and alerts directly to the watch.

The device will be marketed with applications which allow the wearer to download and personalise application “including an iTunes controller, PowerPoint Controller, a create-your-own analog clock app, and the FBCheckin app that lets you check into Facebook Places without getting your phone out of your pocket.” They’re also looking at building their own applications store specifically for the device.

The device is already on sale in America and can be purchased for $149USD. I think the device looks reasonable however will it be a success with the smartphone market increasing its capabilities at such a phenomenal rate? According to the New York Times article, students wearing watches is almost non-existent most opting for the phone to get the time.

The idea is certainly something to keep an eye out for in the  future.

More Information can be found at:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/now-facebooks-on-your-watch/story-e6frfro0-1226043383578#ixzz1KaGuGtV6

http://www.getinpulse.com/

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/the-wristwatch-looks-for-a-new-use/

Are Smart Tv's Really That Smart?

It seems to be that the next big leap in tv technology will be instant connectivity to all internet services,centralised servers and over the top content,simply refered to as smart tv's. The smart tv's will feature a similar structure to that of cloud computing,basically allowing games,movies,tv shows etc to be viewed and shared between tv's and certain devices.

Users will be able to do their shopping via the internet, download app's, feature intergrated Wi-Fi and view personalised content to name just a few. Samsung has already unveiled its own app store named "Smart Hub". In regards to apps the store features a very similar layout to that of Apple's "App Store". However the Smart Hub will also allow users to bring all their multimedia applications in one centralised place,reducing time spent searching for multiple applications and the costs involved with having to purchase multiple peripheral devices. The majority of the big name brands have already adopted this technology, with release dates yet to be announced the wait is on.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play

Looks like Sony Ericsson are lifting the game with their smartphones. The XPERIA Play will come with an online Sony store to download and play PlayStation One games which seems a little behind the game however it seems to have potential. With the Nokia N-gage, perhaps being a little before it’s time and being a major failure, this just might be the device to revamp the mobile gaming industry. At launch, the PlayStation store will have 50 games optimised for the device.

The device is slightly smaller than a PSP and it appears that a lot of time has been spent ensuring the device is comfortable to use from a gaming and but perhaps not so much from a phone perspective.  To quote GSM arena’s review, they’ve commented that “when you hold it landscape with both hands, it fits like a glove but otherwise it’s quite big to handle.”

The gaming controller is modelled on the PSP and PlayStation controller so will be familiar to most Sony product gamers. The gingerbread Android OS should be extremely stable but I’m a little confused as to why the device does not contain a dual core processor. My other worry with the device would be the battery life. For users travelling over an hour playing games on buses or trains, let’s hope they don’t have to recharge the phone every few hours.

Let’s see if this device kicks off the future in mobile gaming and is the start of much greater things to come. The success of Angry Birds certainly shows there is a large market for mobile gaming and this device could be the first of many to increase mobile phone gaming capabilities.

For more information on the device, see;

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_xperia_play-review-591.php

Banking system in major need of IT upgrades!!

Most of us use internet banking to check transactions and especially when our pay comes in. If your expecting a payment of your salary don't be surprised if it doesn't come in til after the Easter break is over. Yes, thats right all Australian banks this long weekend will be affected by this holiday.

This delay comes after last weeks failure in the National Australia Banks payment system when people's salary and wage payments were not showing up in their accounts. NAB was forced to open during the weekend to accomodate those people that were most affected. I myself have pay going into a NAB bank account and was very disappointed to see that it did not turn up until 24 hours after it was suppose to.

Fact: Australia is way behind in banking systems from a technological sense.

What the.....

Flying machines.Yes as unbelievable as it sounds the wait for your very own jet pack may soon be over.Inventor Glenn Martin has marketed this product mainly towards Military agencies,border control and rescue organisations with those in the United States being offered the first chance to try before they buy.The price may throw you off a bit though, starting at $75,000 as well as an 18 month waiting period.

Currently 2500 people have signed up for one of these jetpacks,and why wouldnt they with the two litre jet powered engine being able to reach speeds of 100 km/h at a height of up to 50 metres.

An interesting fact:The jet pack is highly fuel efficient,for just 15 cents you get 20 seconds of flight time.

Can Windows 7 compete with the iPad 2?

In terms of the individual specifications, Windows 7 is by far superior to the iPad 2. But popularity in gaining market share takes more than just beating your competitors on paper. Where Windows 7 lacks is in its user interface. It has failed to provide a specialised tablet interface instead adapting one used on normal PC operating systems. This pales in comparison to the simplicity of the user interface used by Apple.

In a practical sense, Windows 7 also loses out to the iPad 2. Having far superior specifications to the iPad 2, Windows 7 was far slower in loading applications and in web rendering. In addition to this, the app store (dubbed ExoStore) had a relatively small selection of applications to choose from. The only advantage critics could see in owning a Windows 7 tablet is that it could sync with laptops and PC's running the same system.

In an overall sense, Windows 7 doesn't really have a chance in the tablet market, let alone against the iPad 2. Give Microsoft a few years but at this point in time Apple is the way to go.

Read a more detailed review:
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/tablets/windows-7-on-tablets-is-just-not-worth-it-20110414-1deuz.html

Samsung Galaxy S II first with MHL port for dual-purpose USB or HDMI out (video)

 I found this article on engadget about the eagerly awaited Samsung Galaxy S2. After the huge success Samsung had with the first Galaxy S, huge numbers of people will looking to get one of these as soon as they are on sale. With the HDMI output and MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link), this device has a strong chance of grabbing a huge chunk of apples share of the mobile market with their iPhone 4 and soon to be released iPhone 5. The galaxy S 2 has some very impressive features firstly the dual core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, 16GB or 32GB of internal storage with 1 GB RAM and the ability to add a microSD, up to 32GB. It has a super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen with 16M colors at 480 x 800 pixels and sized at 4.3 inches using gorilla glass. This one is one to keep an eye out for.

For some more specs and info, check out:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-first-with-mhl-port-for-dual-purpose-usb-or/
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i9100_galaxy_s_ii-3621.php

HTC Desire Z Review

Features:

• 5.0 megapixel camera
• Android 2.2 operating system
• 3.7' screen
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Weight: 180 grams
• 1.5gb of internal memory
• Talk time:6.6 hours
• Standby time: up to 408 hours

From first looking at the HTC Desire Z we can see a very similar shape to the iPhone (minus the interactive tab running just below the screen).As mentioned the phone does feature a full QWERTY keyboard,and unlike most other phones the buttons are quite large which means less frustration and more texting.The phones 3.7' screen works well with the many social networking sites available,especially when considering that the phone features the friendstream application. This application allows for users from all social networking platforms to connect together,view posts,recieve all your friends updates,look through new photos and the ability to update your statues via any social networking site.

A very distinct feature that the phone has is it's ability to be remotly locked from any location.The phone can also be wiped by logging into your HTC account.The phone also features a location finder,perfect if you've just had a late night and cant find your phone for work in the morning.

HTC has incorporated its own map software package with the HTC Desire Z,the company promises no data roaming fees,zero dead sposts and instant GPS navigation.The navigation software allows for users to find general places of interest's such as ATM's,restraunts,gas stations etc.As the user is driving by these places the software will pin point all available services onto the screen and show its exact location.The softwares ability to take up the full width and height of the screen brings a sigh of relief,considering that most phones use tiny icons and street locations that are barely visible.

For more information please visit
http://www.htc.com/www/product/desirez/overview.html

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