Glimpse the browser that promises to unite the Internet

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

Glimpse the browser that promises to unite the Internet. The upcoming new version of Maxthon will automatically switch between the Trident rendering engine that displays Web pages for Internet Explorer, and WebKit, which Chrome and Safari use.

Want to hear how the fans of one program racked up half a million votes out of a total of 2 million divided among 100 products —- and in the process brought down the computer counting the votes? Ask Ron White at the Maxthon booth.  It’s a great story about what true fanship can do.

And, pick up the white papers that tell how and why research firms get browsers mixed up, leading to statistics that get pretty wobbly.  Oh, and they’re called “White papers” because they’re written by Ron White, author of “How Computers Work,” and an expert at explaining the why behind technology.

They’re No. 6 and proud of it. Maxthon didn’t make the first page of the Choice Screen that will be used to select a default browser for Windows in Europe.  But it did come in 6th place, a short hair behind Opera, and the folks at Maxthon are happy to be there considering that a few months ago, Maxthon didn’t officially exist, as far as the research companies go.

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Iomega introduces ScreenPlay Director HD Media Player

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

iomega-sp_director_hiangleAt ShowStoppers @ CES 2010, Iomega® introduces the ScreenPlay™ Director HD Media Player.

Enjoy a complete media experience with the new featurerich Iomega® ScreenPlayTM Director HD Media Player. With full 1080p high definition (24 fps) and up to 1TB of space to save your files, the ScreenPlay Director adds exceptional features like direct access to online media, rent/buy movies with Roxio® CinemaNow® and network connections.

This high-definition multimedia player connects easily to your home network to store & access your videos, music and photo collections. Easily browse your network to select stored videos and view on your home theatre or access online content with the convenient remote. Compatible with the latest media formats such as H.264, WMV, MKV, MP3, AC3 (Dolby® Digital Encoding), WAV, WMA, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (AVI/VOB), MPEG-4 (AVI/DiVX /XViD) and JPEG. It supports the Iomega USB WIFI Adapter for wireless access (adapter sold separately). Available in 1TB capacity, plus includes Iomega Protection Suite software. The ScreenPlay Director is powered by an Energy Star® qualified adapter for a better environment.

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Iomega introduces iConnect Wireless Data Station

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

iomega-iconnect_rd3At ShowStoppers @ CES 2010, Iomega® introduces the iConnect Wireless Data Station, a simple way to bring all of your desktop and portable USB storage into your network.

Plug your external USB drives or USB thumb drives (any brand) into the Iomega iConnect device and they are automatically connected to and accessible on your network. Remote access allows you to connect, share, and access your files securely from anywhere in the world via the Internet.

Wireless connectivity allows you to place the Iomega iConnect device in the most convenient location in your home without having to run another cable. Taking backup data off-site for disaster recovery has never been easier.  Simply back up all your networked computers through the Iomega iConnect device, and then take your hard drive off-site for safekeeping.

The Iomega iConnect device truly makes your USB drives “smart” and includes the ultimate set of advanced media features, such as the DLNA®-certified UPnP® AV media server, and iTunes™ server so that content can be easily shared between computers and any other digital media adapters such as game consoles, Iomega ScreenPlay products, digital picture frames or networked TVs.  Picture Transfer Protocol, torrent download compatibility, and the Cooliris™ slide show plug-in round out the advanced media features. Embedded RSA® BSAFE® encryption for protected installs and upgrades.  Supports PC, Mac® and Linux® clients.  Three year warranty with product registration.

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Iomega v.Clone Software – coming soon!

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

Take Your PC Virtually Anywhere!

iomega-vcloneAt ShowStoppers, Iomega® previews v.Clone™ Software, which lets you take your operating system, files, settings, and applications wherever you take your external hard drive. Plug your Iomega hard drive into just about any PC and enjoy using all your applications including office software, email programs, games, and browser favorites.

Easily access, edit, and save files to your hard drive. No data is left behind on the secondary computer, so your files are kept secure. Then, sync all your data back when you return to your primary computer.

Take your hard drive when you travel without the hassle of packing an entire laptop.

For additional security, Iomega v.Clone provides you quick access in case of emergency or if your primary computer ever crashes. (PC only – software via download)

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Blackline GPS announces Teenage Driver Safety Program and evolution of retail exposure

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

blackline-gpsSometimes a small step for technology leads to a giant leap in peace of mind. Witness the advent of GPS-related location services - a technology that is revolutionizing the way we stay connected.

In concert with Escort Inc., Blackline GPS has developed a line of products that are blazing a trail in personal and vehicle safety. With strong corporate partnerships, Blackline is proud to announce that they have gained access to coveted retail institutions such as Fry’s Electronics, Ultimate Electronics, the Source, Future Shop, Sears, and Al & Eds to name a few. They have also partnered with the American Red Cross to illustrate their commitment to community stewardship and showcase the incredible capabilities of their tracking and monitoring systems for emergency situations.

NEW at CES: Driver’s Report Card Program
A new development from Blackline GPS is at the forefront of innovation. Blackline GPS powers the Escort Entourage CIS, Escort’s signature tracking product and we are proud to introduce the breakthrough release of the Driver’s Report Card Program.  Stay connected with your teenage driver in the same fashion that parents have been doing for decades – a report card.

Monitor average speed, amount of time driven, excessive speeding, curfews and more with the report card linked to a personalized driver identity provided by a unique key fob.

This proprietary software allows the user to issue reports on driving history as well as monitor the location of your young drivers.

According to the National Safety Council, the leading cause of fatality among teenagers is traffic accidents due to speed. Blackline GPS and Escort are both committed to promoting safe driving habits for our teenagers.

With the Escort Entourage CIS product, customers are eligible for insurance discounts. Further information can be found here.

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Answers.com connects community with social media sites

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

At ShowStoppers @ CES, Answers.com announces the connection of its community with leading social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo!. Users will now have the option to log in to Answers.com with their preferred Web identity. Experts will also be able to identify themselves with their real names, more conveniently building their online reputations and increasing answer quality.

Answers.com, the world’s leading Q&A site, bridges the gap by providing a unique approach to answers on the web. By combining the best of 250+ licensed reference resources with community, Answers.com is able to provide comprehensive answers to its extensive global audience.  They have 6 million answers in nearly 6,000 categories in English, and are now also available in French, German, Spanish and Italian. Their English-language sites reached an audience of 56 million in the U.S. in October according to comScore, giving them a ranking of #15, hitting a total audience of 84 million worldwide.

Answers.com also understands that social media sites are an important vehicle to communicate and connect.

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Before Zorap. After Zorap.

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

Zorap is real-time integration of web content and communication. Using Zorap, you and your friends share, experience and collaborate as a group with audio, photo and video in real-time. No other technology lets you view, share and listen to music, video and photos with up to 50 friends anywhere in the world and connect with those friends as it is happening.

Unlike most things that let you share and collaborate online, Zorap supports all digital rich media – whether its music, films, pictures or files. “Zorapping” with friends brings you an incredibly rich experience on the web, such as the ability to travel to movie sites and watch trailers together, listen to new music with friends at your favorite artist’s site, watch sports events together or shop for travel destinations with friends and family.

Before Zorap, communication on the web was completely limited and without context - just like a telephone call. With Zorap, you can have a meeting in a specific place - a place which already has the stuff you need.   It’s the difference between phone calls and travel.  With Zorap, you can travel the web, invite your friends to come along or make new friends.  You can experience things together.    

Launching at CES are Zorap Custom Clubs.  Custom clubs are a group of Zorap chat rooms that are dynamically created by, and accessed by, users through third party websites. Clubs are used to promote multi-media content types such as music, videos, live events as well as marketing messages and commerce offerings. Zorap’s private label service offerings will target the music, TV and social media industry sectors to further enhance community building efforts around targeted multi-media content and messages. Further, custom club services may host special “club hours” which tie into a broader digital marketing program.

Companies in turn may prompt fan’s to enter on specific days and times for moderator driven engagements, release parties or virtual meet & greets. All club services offer fans the ability to enter pre-existing open rooms or create their own which may be designated public or private allowing for a more personalized or intimate experience. Club rooms may be branded with specific text, color schemes, backdrops and offer its own unique set of sharing bar buttons hosting a variety of targeted multi-media content types.

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Planon rewrites scanning pen specs via debut of Docupen Xtreme X-Series

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

planon-docupen_xseriesThe pen may be mightier than the sword, but today, Planon Systems Solutions Inc., a leading provider of scanning hardware and software, proved that one class of pen can definitely be mightier than all the rest, by introducing its new DocuPen Xtreme X-Series line of scanning pens.

The remarkable DocuPen Xtreme X-Series line, encompassing the X05, X10 and X50, takes portable scanning power to a whole new level of efficiency. Able to support image resolutions of up to 600 dpi (up to 1,200 dpi for the X50), the three models each feature a 200 MHz internal processor—when compared to previous scanning pen processors that max out at 60 MHz, the processors in the DocuPen X-Series make it by far the fastest line of pocket-sized scanners on the market today.

Featuring Planon’s Crystal Line Contact technology that provides extremely accurate imaging, Xtreme X-Series scanning pens far exceed cameras and other portable scanners for professional reproductions of contracts, receipts, invoices, color pictures and more. What’s more, the pens’ wireless connection takes advantage of smartphones and laptops that are allowing people to complete their office work from anywhere.

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Goodbye “smart,” hello “smarter”

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

ibm-pic09324Guest post by Bruce Anderson, general manager, IBM Global Electronics Industry, and Scott Burnett, director, IBM Digital Convergence Group

IBM believes a “smarter home” is on the horizon. The increasing number of web-enabled home appliances and devices, coupled with the widespread availability of broadband communications, are finally enabling new “intelligent” products and services that reach far beyond traditional markets. Today’s internet of people is evolving into an “internet of things”, as soon there will be more than one trillion connected devices. By 2013, 1.2 billion connected consumer electronics devices are expected in the more than 800 million homes with broadband connections.

Compared with previous attempts to enable the “smart home,” where the intelligence was based on centralized control through a home server or gateway, the intelligence and with it the complexity in the new smarter home is moved out from the home onto the network, or more precisely the internet cloud.

This new paradigm exposes opportunities for innovative services which leverage the computational power and scalability of the cloud, as well as the collective consumer knowledge. Data which is aggregated then stored within the cloud can provide dramatic new insights about consumer needs and behavior. Ultimately, this paradigm facilitates a host of possibilities, from radically improving the performance of current devices and services, to delivering benefits which have not yet even been considered. The current smarter home services areas showing early adoption are:

• Entertainment & convenience
• Energy management
• Safety & security
• Health & wellness

Many consumers are already using cloud computing and may not realize it. Anyone who has a web-based email account from Google or Yahoo! or has ever used YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter, has already interacted with data stored in the cloud. With cloud computing, consumers do not need to have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the cloud that supports their consumer electronics.

A common services delivery platform based on industry standards supports cooperative interconnection and creation of new services. Implementation inside the cloud enables quick development of services at lower cost, with shorter time to market, facilitating rapid experimentation and improvement. The emergence of cloud computing, web services, and service-oriented architecture, together with new standards, is the key that will open up the field for the new smarter home services.

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The end of fragmentation

By Steve | Published: 7 January 2010

Diskeeper 2010 is all about a revolutionary new technology called IntelliWrite. Never before has fragmentation prevention been a reality - until now.

So what does IntelliWrite really provide your systems?

To demonstrate its benefits, we did some tests using two identical systems to measure how much fragmentation is prevented. In these tests, lower scores are better (means less fragments on the system). To get the full scoop on IntelliWrite, and see the test results in the new Diskeeper 2010 white paper.

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