Gadgets Base

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 11th 2008 at 1:10PM
We’d been encouraged in previous spy shots that AT&T was intending to keep a clean, brand-free look on the front of the Fuze, but what were we thinking? That’d never sit well with the suits up on the 49th floor of AT&T’s headquarters (we just made that up, by the way — we have no idea how many floors AT&T’s headquarters has), and sure enough, the latest batch of shots is showing a big ol’ logo slapped on the upper right of the face. The poster says release is currently planned for early November, but we’d say that target is about as solid as one of those Jello rings you make in a bundt mold. We’ll believe it when it’s on the shelf, as they say.

[Via wmpoweruser]

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

The term “cloud computing” has been thrown around a lot recently in regards to many different web apps or Internet services.  There are a lot of options out there for doing just about anything with cloud computing. 

There are plenty of upsides and downsides to using apps in the “cloud” that is the Internet, with many of them being obvious.  Though not a perfect substitute for desktop applications, cloud computing can theoretically replace a number of things normally done by computer software.  The first and most obvious use of this is with office suites.

In this guide I’ll show you web apps that you can use to move your office to the cloud.

What do you need?

The first thing you need to decide is what exactly you use your office suite for normally.  Do you use your office suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, or as a way to just jot down quick notes to yourself? 

There are some cloud computing services that specialize in doing only specific aspects of office suites if you only use one of these.  There are others, however, that offer the whole range of services that you would normally get if you were a Microsoft Office, iWork, or OpenOffice user.

Specialty services:

Word processing is possibly the most often use of an office suite.  There are a number of sites that offer only word processing and/or text editing and that’s it. 

gOffice and Edit Pad

Two of these gOffice and Edit Pad offer simply a text box.  gOffice has some small formatting options which Edit Pad does not.  Both have the option to save your files, gOffice allows you to save files as Word documents, and Edit Pad saves as text files.  Neither are particularly mind blowing, but they offer a quick option for writing files without having to open a word processor.

Evernote, Backpack, and Notely

A lot of people, mainly students, tend to use office suites to take notes, whether it’s in a class, or in a meeting there are a few ways cloud computing can help with that.  There are three very useful applications for note taking: Evernote, Backpack, and Notely.  Notely is specifically targeted at college students, but can be used by anyone; Backpack is targeted at small businesses or those involved in a number of projects; and Evernote is essentially for everyone. 

All have the ability to take notes, tag them, and search based on tags.  Each also has a sharing feature, so you can share your notes with others who might need or want to see them.  Being able to jot down quick notes and view them on any computer through a website is really invaluable. 

There’s less frustration with having all your notes on your computer back at the office/home/dorm room, or on the laptop with a dead battery and no charger.  Backpack and Evernote have other features which can constitute a separate guide.

Full office suites:

While having specialized applications can be nice, what you really want is a full blown office suite.  You want one that doesn’t require a long boot up time, can be accessed anywhere, and is reliable.  There are two major players in this area: Google and Zoho.  Both offer similar experiences, with slight differences.

Google Docs

Chances are you probably already have a Google account from Gmail, iGoogle, or one of its other services.  Google also offers what it calls Google Docs, which can do word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.  Like nearly everything else Google does, Docs runs very fast.  It autosaves your files every time you stop typing for a few seconds, and stores them all on its servers.  Every file can be shared or emailed to anyone, and any changes made to the documents can be recorded in an RSS feed. 

Presentations can be shown over the web to others, with a chatroom beside the slideshow so you an discuss what you are showing.  All files can be downloaded onto your computer in a number of formats.  The main downfalls of using Google Docs are the lack of formatting options for word processing, the boring options for Presentation, and the fact that it’s just one more thing to keep with Google which is bad if you dislike one company holding all of your information.

Zoho

Zoho Suite, as the other major cloud office suite, also does word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.  A big draw of Zoho is how full-featured it is compared to software office suites.  It’s especially obvious in Zoho Word which can be formatted as easily as and software word processor.  All the options are right there as they would be in Microsoft Word; every option visible as an icon.  Their spreadsheet is about on par with Google spreadsheets.  Presentation lacks the Internet slideshow viewing of Google presentation.  Major downfalls are the lack of Safari support for presentation, and it runs a bit slower than Google Docs.

Thoughts on having your office in the cloud

It might be hard right now to replace your office suite software with the cloud computing alternative.  Although, as the technology gets better and more the availability of wireless internet increases through 3G, WiMAX and the like it could be much more of a possibility.  For now, they are useful, especially if you don’t plan on using them anywhere without Internet access. 

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by Donald Melanson, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 11:47AM
Zepto managed to carve out a tiny niche for itself with its understated Nexus A15 gaming laptop, and it looks like it’s now giving it some company with its new Nox A14 model. From the looks of it, this one is mostly identical to its predecessor, with the notable exception of a 14.1-inch 1440 x 900 screen and, consequently, a slightly smaller and lighter form factor. Otherwise, you can expect to get a Core 2 Duo P9500 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512MB, up to 8GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive (or 128GB SSD), a built-in 2-megapixel webcam, and a DVD burner or optional Blu-ray drive. If that’s sounds about right, you can order one now for a starting price of £827 (or roughly $1,400), or a good deal more if you want any of those supposed “world’s fastest” specs.

[Via PC Launches]

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Filed under: Laptops

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 11:23AM
Look, we’re not going to argue that those chintzy clap lamps weren’t pretty sweet in their heyday. And we’re also not going to put up a fuss when you assert that snap bracelets were equally adorable in the early 90s. Nostalgia aside, Fraunhofer IPMS is headed straight for the future with its latest OLED breakthrough. Reportedly, the company has devised an OLED display that can be controlled via human touch or by simply waving one’s hand in front of the panel. Unlike similar applications that have come before it, there’s no additional hardware needed — and therein lies the magic. The outfit is currently showing off the design at the Plastic Electronic 2008 show, though it yet to reveal anything close to a release plan.

[Via OLED-Display]

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Filed under: Displays, Household

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 8:25AM
Onkyo’s latest aren’t the most stylish headphones we’ve ever seen — far from it, actually — but those more concerned with audio fidelity and iPod compatibility may be able to overlook the pedestrian design. The wireless MHP-UW2 headphones transmit tunes over the 2.4GHz frequency and come bundled with a handy-dandy ipod adapter that should work with practically any dock-connecting unit out there. We’re told it can last around 8 hours before needing a recharge via USB (or AC adapter, should you choose), though it’s hard to say when it’ll ever ship to any market outside of Japan. Nevertheless, those in and around Tokyo can find the kit next month for ￥20,000 ($201).

[Via UberGizmo]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 7:29AMWe’re still baffled that traditional eSATA flash drives require power from the USB port in order to operate (at least until that Power Over eSATA initiative starts bearing fruit), but it seems that Ao-LAB has found a nice, practical workaround for the time being. The outfit’s eSATA / USB Combo Drive arrives in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB flavors and provides dual interfaces along with a convenient way to power it if you’re dead-set on using eSATA for transfers. And given that speeds over eSATA absolutely obliterate those over USB 2.0, you’re going to want to. Shame there’s no pricing / availability information, but we suspect you can get a few hundred of ‘em sans issue should you contact the company seeking a bulk contract.

[Via EverythingUSB]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 8:57AM
If you’re wondering why you don’t have an AT&T-branded blackberry Bold in your hand at this very second, the answer might lie a couple thousand miles away where Orange has allegedly pulled all units off the shelves to hammer out some “software issues” that have plagued early devices in subscribers’ hands. The whole situation leaves us to wonder whether carriers jumped the gun on validating early builds of the Bold’s firmware in an effort to get it out into the market in a non-ridiculous amount of time, while AT&T may have chosen to play it safe with a longer, more excruciating battery of tests — leading to RIM’s swipe that the October 2 miss was all AT&T’s fault. It’s just a theory, and probably a pretty meaningless one since this Orange fiasco should apparently take a couple weeks to clear up at most, and we’re still hearing occasional whispers out of the AT&T camp that they’re still pushing for an October release over there. Chop chop, guys.

[Via Mobile Tech Addicts]

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 9:12AM
With Sprint snagging the vast majority of the WiMAX limelight of late, we aren’t going to complain with a similar network halfway across the globe yanking it back. Out of absolutely nowhere comes HTC’s first WiMAX-enabled handset, the sure-to-be-delightful T8290. Reportedly, this bugger packs a 3.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 802.11g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, GSM and WiMAX radios and is expected to launch soon on Russia’s Yota. Granted, we can’t take this as hard truth or anything quite yet, but the images that reside in the read link are more than convincing. Oh, and HTC — given that you’re passing on the US with the Touch HD, do you think it’d be possible to get this over here for use with XOHM? We’d really, really appreciate it.

[Via Slashphone, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: cellphones, Wireless

by Samuel Axon, posted Oct 10th 2008 at 6:58AM Even with today’s wireless video game controllers, you can’t stay untethered forever. After a few hours of gaming on the playstation 3, you’ll have to plug in that SIXAXIS or DualShock 3 USB cable to charge. Starting December 18th, Sony Japan will offer an AC adapter intended for PS3 controllers at a price of ¥2,800 (just under $30). Like third party solutions we’ve seen, it has two USB ports so you’ll be able to do two controllers or toss in a Bluetooth headset. Nothing yet on availability outside of Japan, but if we get word we’ll be all over it, ’cause we feel slightly guilty for leaving the PS3 on overnight to charge — what with the world’s dwindling energy supply and all.

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Gadgetell Quick Review: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2

What is it?

Lightroom 2 is a program for Windows and Mac OS X designed to help organize, streamline, and develop your photos.  It costs $99 for the upgrade from Lightroom 1 or $299 for first time buyers.

Pros:

Easy to use thanks to clean and organized interface.
Imports all of your files using your preexisting directory structure.
Works with a wide variety of file formats.

Cons:

Does not allow pixel editing.  Requires another program for that task.
Initial use can be frustrating and can cause loss of work.

Does it hit the mark?

Yes.  Lightroom 2 definitely lived up to all of my expectations.  It’s easy to see that this program would be extremely popular with anyone working in the art or ad industry, or someone who does batch work with photos.  The program allows for very controlled editing and is remarkably easy to use.

My first thoughts:

Installation was a breeze.  Pop the disk in and just let it go.  It only took about 2 minutes to complete on my computer.  As soon as it finished installing, it asked if I would like to open the program and began to import all of my files over into the catalog quickly and cleanly.

Using Lightroom 2:

I really liked the fact that Lightroom is organized on so many levels.  You see your shots in a regular “panel” across the screen.  You also see the “tree” drop down menu off to the right, listing all of your folders and sub-folders.  Then, what I find really great, they have a filmstrip of thumbnails across the bottom of the screen that you can also quickly scroll through for easy access to a shot you’re searching for.

Click for a larger image.
Images can be seen on the main portion of the screen, as well as thumbnails. This is showing a catalog of 26 shots just imported. You can notice the “Import” button clearly shown on the bottom left.

Importing Images

Lightroom 2 supports many of the popular formats out there.  Not just JPEG, TIFF, and PSD, but, also RAW files.  It is extremely easy to import your images into Lightroom.  This also went very quickly.  I tried importing pictures from different folders twice.

The first time I imported 26 pictures from a subfolder on my system and it was completed in seconds.  The second time I imported about 170 from a subfolder and it only took about 30 seconds.  I thought that was pretty impressive. 

What’s great about this program is that so many of the basic functions and tasks can be completed just by looking around.  I didn’t have to go in and read any kind of help tutorials to do the basics at all.  It’s really pretty self-explanatory. 

Keyword tagging

Once you’ve imported photos, you are able to use the metadata and keyword tagging system so you can find them again very easily.  All you have to do to tag a photo is click on it, type in whatever keywords you want to assign to it, and you’re done. 

I also liked that once it realized I often used a certain keyword along with another keyword, it began offering it up as the number one next suggestion.  For example, if I often used the keywords “architecture,” and “buildings,” it might then know to offer up the word “stone” next, since I had often used that with the other two words.

Developing your shots

When “developing” images using Lightroom, it really does make it next to impossible to ruin a shot.  It has built in tools that help prevent this. There is an “auto” correct button you can use and there are also arrows for each of the different settings such as color, tone, etc., so that you just adjust parameters a small piece at a time.

Lightroom saves the original so you don’t accidentally ruin it if you should happen to make a mistake in the photo you are adjusting.  There seems to be much less margin for error in the “adjustment” stage in Lightroom as there sometimes is when playing around in Photoshop. 

When doing “developing,” you open the shot you are going to be working on.  You can choose the specific area you are only going to be “developing” which is one nice change. The local adjustment brush allows painting to be done to just a specific area.

Click for a larger image.
You can see where you go in the toolbar to select the adjustment brush to begin the development process

Other Fun stuff

Another neat tool in Lightroom is a tool with some auto presets where you select to have the program automatically alter your photo to look filtered differently.  Some examples are the standard grayscale and B&W then they also offer up choices like aged, antique, zoomed and more.  Below is a shot I took showing the photo before any filters are applied, and then the same photo after I applied the “aged” look preset.

Click for a larger image.

Another nifty little thing Lightroom 2 offers is the fact that you can work and save for the web.  It has it all right there for you with lots of presets.  It really couldn’t be much easier than this.  Lightroom also makes it super easy to open up files in Photoshop to edit them.

Simply go to “Photo,” then “Edit in” and it will offer you any choices that you have on your system to edit photos, nice and easy.  It even let me edit a screenshot I took of Lightroom 2 that I then saved in a catalog and imported over.  See?  This is showing a shot imported over to PS from Lightroom 2, they are made to work in conjunction easily with each other.

Click for a larger image.

Final Thoughts:

After using Lightroom 2, I could definitely see where this would be an excellent organizational tool.  It’s great for mass editing, and keeping track of photos.  I think it is something that would definitely be an asset for anyone working in the publishing business in any way, or someone that does any type of portrait work even.

I had no problems at all with it crashing or slowing down my system, even while running Vista on a machine not quite equipped for Vista.  The only item I’d wish for to make it perfect is the addition of pixel-editing capabilities. (I know, I’m dreaming.  One day, one day.)

Gadgetell Rating:

4/5

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