Computer Monitors

From the USA Today:

ClickStart: My First Computer

(From LeapFrog, www.leapfrog.com, $49.99, for ages 3 to 6, plugs into TV)

Why it's hot: It creates a computer learning environment for young kids using only a TV.

Young children can learn how to use a computer mouse and keyboard without their sticky fingers ever messing up the family computer. By plugging the "ClickStart" into your TV's A/V ports, the TV turns into a computer monitor. The system comes with its own keyboard/mouse device for kids to use to play the five educational activities.

Buzzworthy?: Yes. The system works well, it's easy to set up and the games are fun. Two of the games even offer two levels of difficulty and the software keeps track of up to three children and saves their work. Plus, add-on software is available for $13.99 each.

But this is a game that creates more "screen time" for preschoolers, something the American Academy of Pediatrics advises should be monitored. They recommend that children over age 2 have no more than one to two hours a day in front of screens, including TV and computer monitors.

On Gadget Overload and Feeling Powerless

From the New York Times:

When my 10-year-old daughter walked through the front door after receiving her first cellphone a couple of weeks ago, my house rebelled. It had quietly endured the abuse of many holiday seasons in a gadget-loving family. Over the years, the house had become filled with obsolete modems, MP3 players and computer monitors as big as dorm refrigerators.

Every drawer, every shelf and every closet was bursting with electronics.

Now, Clementine unboxed her phone and started looking for somewhere to store her transformer thing. But when she opened the junk drawer in the kitchen, long-forgotten power cords attached to other mysterious transformer things sprang out in great looping tangles.

And when I checked for space in the hall closet, cardboard boxes and instruction manuals rained down from a shelf. And I knew it was no coincidence when a dead iPod tripped me on the basement stairs.

As I rubbed my bruised shin, I murmured softly, so only the house could hear, “O.K., you win.”

My New Year’s resolution was to clear out the electronic junk.

A Laptop Reborn

From Portfolio:

It’s that time of year again—out with the old and in with the new cell phones, MP3 players, laptops, and TVs that were nicely wrapped and placed in the holiday gift pile.

Now that the new gadgets have been sufficiently warmed up, it’s time to figure out what to do with the old ones. And technology and electronics companies want consumers to think twice before tossing them to the curb along with the crumpled wrapping paper. If they can’t be donated for reuse, then it’s time to find a way to recycle them.

In many ways, electronics recycling is still a problem with no easy solution. Recycling is a costly process, which is why most companies haven’t made the effort easy for consumers. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that unwanted electronics amounted to approximately 1.9 million to 2.2 million tons in 2005. Of that total, about 1.5 million to 1.9 million tons were primarily discarded in landfills and only 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled.

Dell Announces Stylish New LCD Monitors Ahead of CES

From PCWorld:

The annual Consumer Electronics Show may not kick off until January 7, but Dell today officially announced two new (and long rumored) wide-screen computer monitors that it plans to showcase at the event. Most eye-catching is the stylish 22-inch Crystal display: It boasts an innovative design and gained favorable attention when first unveiled as a concept product at last year's CES.

Like other models on PC World'sTop 5 22-inch wide-screen monitors chart, the pricey but-ever-so sleek $1199 Dell Crystal (pictured at left) has a native resolution of 1680 by 1050. More uniquely, it features capacitive touch controls, and a panel encased in 4mm ultraclear tempered glass (with integrated speakers) that sits on a chrome-plated zinc alloy stand for a floating screen effect. The Crystal lacks height or swivel maneuverability, but tilt adjustments can be made.

Further specifications include a 2 millisecond response time (grey to grey), 2000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and--through Dell's TrueColor technology--the stated ability to provide 98 percent color gamut of theNTSC color space.

The monitor also has an integrated 2-megapixel Web cam that's capable of capturing video at 30 frames per second (fps) in 640-by-480 resolution, but just 10fps at 1600 by 1200 resolution. The Web cam also has a microphone.

IP Telephony

LifeSize (News - Alert) maintains that its mission is to deliver on the promise of video: face to face communication that feels as natural as being in someone's office. Using an existing broadband network, LifeSize high definition video systems provide a full telepresence experience at a price that is affordable and accessible to everyone who needs to communicate with colleagues across town or across the globe.

I caught up with LifeSize CTO Casey King who shared with me his thoughts about high definition video conferencing, LifeSize’s place in that industry, and what attendees can expect to hear during the two sessions King is participating in at the upcomingITEXPO ( News - Alert).

RT: What trends are you noticing in the communications market?

CK: Video and IP

are converging faster than predicted. Video is simply moving everywhere, and video is how we will communicate in the future. High definition screens are becoming ubiquitous for TVs and computer monitors, and LifeSize is leading the transition from standard definition videoconferencing to accessible, high definition telepresence. And it is all happening over existing shared IP data networks, many of which were recently upgraded to handleVoIP

Computer Monitors

Sunday, February 10, 2008

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