Acer Aims to Kill Laptop

Like this writer, you may be tired of hearing about yet another entry into the brand new world of tablet computing. So what if Acer is offering not just a 7” Samsung Galaxy Tab-sized alternative but also a 10.1” iPad-sized alternative. So what if Acer, like so many other companies, is making a grab at Android software for its tablet without making virtually any changes (yet) to the interface compared to a puny little phone.

But Acer's plans may be more than just a “Can I play too?” from the annoying kid down the street.

Instead of a Laptop?

By offering two different screen sizes and a fun way to dock your machine at home, Acer appears to be moving ahead with the plan to kill laptops set forth by tablet PCs everywhere. If you ask me, Acer is making a smart move to offer both previously-exclusive screen sizes. Whereas before a consumer's choice to board either Apple's or Samsung's corporate train was bound together with the choice of what screen size to get, now a customer can leave out the choice of screen size from the decision of what company and software to side with.

Some commenters say that a tablet PC is good for on-the-go use or media consumption such as videos, photos, and web, but not great for creating things such as spreadsheets, word documents, and photo/video editing. However, by offering big screen sizes and a keyboard dock, your on-the-go machine can take a break from travel to become a dedicated creation control.

It should be said that the iPad has a dock and a physical keyboard you can get to let your on-the-go Apple tablet become a powerful home computing device. As a matter of fact, the Samsung Galaxy Tab has all these things too. I'm not saying that Acer does these things better than its opponents necessarily, but that to me it illustrates the slow decline of the laptop as we know it. I think the tablet PC is coming into its own as a more mobile choice than a laptop; especially now that tablets now widely come with the capability of an in-depth user interface that doesn't sacrifice an already-small screen space for a virtual keyboard or a drop-down menu of input options.

Laptop Fused with Tablet?

Acer stands ahead of its competitors because of its variety of personal computing options right now: not just 7” and 10.1” tablet PCs, but now a laptop that might combine what's fun and useful about a tablet touchscreen and double it. This laptop has a touchscreen that replaces the keyboard, unveiling yet an even more advanced way of breaking down the wall between a user's mind and a computer's response. Take a look at this video here:

Blackberry Tablet Parks Near Stadium But Doesn't Enter Ring--Yet

A recent video demonstrates strengths that Blackberry's new tab PC has over the iPad in web browsing: faster loading times and flash support (i.e. animated web pages, for example).


One article suggests that the Blackberry's double the horsepower in internal hardware simply outshines what the iPad has under the hood. However, it goes on to say, the iPad might have improved by the time the Blackberry tablet comes out, which is still a ways away.


What's still at stake, however, is the screen-size quandary: are customers looking for an amazing new handheld device more like a blown up cell phone or more like a mini-laptop? I'll admit that the size of the screen is tied for #1 on reasons why I might choose iPad. Reason #2 is the apps.


Now what I need to see is a competitor show me that the software on a 7" screen makes it all worth my while.


See the video here:

RockMelt + Fb Email Could Rip Space Time Continuum

In this post, we'll take a look at what happens if two social media software forces on the horizon merge onto some hapless citizen's computer screen. Heaven help us all.

RockMelt Gives You More Stuff To Do At Same Time

Netscape-person Marc Andreeson is backing a new internet browser, RockMelt, that's driven by the power of social media. It's built off of the same thing that gives us Google Chrome, but this time the sides of your screen will be loaded down with all the social media shortcuts you could possibly need in a hot second. Hang on... I need to Tweet that, Like it, and Post it to my profile right now.

Google Chrome = Gas Powered Mini-Cooper
Fun, lightweight, and gets you
there without costing battery life

One RockMelt tester reported that all the excess live activity made him feel twitchy, like having too much caffeine. It seems that for everything you might do on the internet there are 30 responsive actions you can take to let everyone know that you did it. One second... I need to Share it, Friend it, and save it to my queue right now.

Well, imagine if this was combined with other news, like say for example:

Facebook Awakens Sleeping Gmail Killer

In a move that's called “Project Titan” by those on the inside and the “Gmail Killer” by those on the outside, Facebook seems to be opening up a new portal into a seamless social-media-driven email client. This will let you have an email address ending in @facebook.com, and it will presumably further merge your personal and your social lives, so everyone will be all up in your business.

Caution: Checking Facebook Email on RockMelt May Rip Space-Time Continuum

If you find yourself with plugs running from your upper spine down one arm to a USB port while in the other arm you have a coffee needle slow-dripping into your arteries, you may be going too fast. In fact, your brain speeds may reach critical mass and threaten the fabric of space and time. A tiny black hole could invisibly open, right behind your computer screen, and it will suck all of your brain power through it to the other side of the unknown reaches of the universe.

Is All This Constant Brain Activity Making Me Better?

According to some reports, excessive and constant multitasking can actually make you do everything worse. One family suffered from burned cookies, dropped grades, and a $1.3M business deal nearly lost. Think about it: Are you getting more done? Hold up for one minute... I need to poke it, Buzz it, Yelp it, and tell everyone I know. Right Now. 

Thirty of your friends like this. Do you like it too?

Cage Match: Apple iPad versus Samsung Galaxy Tab

In this space we'll take a look at the breakdown between the world's first significant tablet PC competition. In the first corner we'll start with the iPad, since it came out first and currently rules the market sphere for tablet PC. In the second corner, we'll take a look at what the Samsung Galaxy Tab brings to the table.

LLLLLet's get ready to rumble!

Apple iPad Strengths and Specs

• Large 9.7” screen diagonal
  
• 40,000+ apps in a moderated app marketplace
  
• 10+ hrs battery life
  
• seventh-month headstart on market share and customer feedback
  
• cheapest model is $100 cheaper
  
• rumored to multitask as of iOS 4.2 releasing apprx. 11/16/10
  
• bigger screen makes viable eBook reader

Samsung Galaxy Tab Challenges and Turn-Offs

• Even Google despaired at the Tab using its Android—it was designed for a cell phone, not a tablet
  
• much less battery life
  
• no USB charging (ex. via laptop)
  
• smaller screen has less than half of the area than iPad

Samsung Galaxy Tab Strengths and Specs

• 7” screen diagonal viewed by some as refreshingly large compared to cell phone
  
• runs popular Google Android 2.2 interface
  
• cameras in front (video conference) and back (taking photos)
  
• 6+ hrs battery life
  
• like iPad did, Tab may spark renaissance of specific-to-device app development
  
• can see Flash web pages
  
• multitasks
  
• easier to hold in one hand
  
• Fits in more places, such as purses or jacket pockets

Apple iPad Challenges and Turn-Offs

• Although small and thin, does not pack as easily as the smaller Galaxy Tab
  
• significantly heavier than the Tab
  
• less mobile carrier options for 3G model
• no cameras... period

Conclusion
Choosing which competitor you favor will depend on your needs from the machine. For business purposes including video conferencing and ultra portability, you may like the Galaxy Tab. For personal purposes including a huge variety of fun and useful apps, the iPad may be for you.


Seeing the possibilities of the Samsung Galaxy Tab is somewhat of a changed attitude from my initial reaction, which you can read here: Dead on Arrival: Don't Need Tablet's Limited Size and Software for $600

HDTV on a Teacher's Budget (part 3)

On part 1 of this series we talked about screen size and contrast ratio and how important or not important they should be to the HDTV customer on a teacher's budget.

On part 2 of this series we discussed what those numbers and letters mean in 480p and 720i.

Now we wrap it up with how to get the most out of your HDTV... high-def media and great SOUND.

Your High-Def TV Wants High-Def Media

Right off the bat let me just say that my wife and I mostly just wanted a bigger screen after spending a year with our laptops. We knew that ever since HDTVs made their hostile takeover of the television market, we could virtually do no wrong at achieving just a bigger screen. With that in mind, we do want a nice picture to look at, but we don't care if we have trouble counting the sweat glands in our favorite quarterback's flushed cheeks after a near sack and QB sneak for the touchdown conversion in overtime.

For many people the answer to getting high-def media is easy: (1) cable TV often comes with an assortment of HD channels, and (2) if you don't have Blu-Ray, you can still get a decent quality out of a decent DVD player that has component cables. (“Component” video cables are red, green, and blue, and are only responsible for carrying video information. They do not carry any sound information. This makes their quality better than their counterpart, “composite” video, which is just the dinky little yellow one that comes out of your Super Nintendo.)

Ready for a money-saving solution when your goals are a little lower? At home we don't have cable TV, and we don't feel like upgrading to a better DVD player. The answer to how we get our HD TV: our computers. Plugging in a VGA cable (the same one that goes to your desktop computer monitor) directly from my laptop to my HDTV achieves a video quality of about 480p, which is high def enough for sitting 8ft. away from my TV. My laptop screen displayed on my TV looks better than it did on my laptop! Hallelujah! DVDs look amazing, and any internet content is only limited by our internet connection.

We watch our favorite movies and shows instantly from Hulu and Netflix, so we have more media content than we can handle.

Worry Bout It Meter: Flat Tire (pull over and fix it, but you won't die). Regular, non-HD cable programs look far worse on an HDTV than they do on the boob tube. I will say that non-HD hardware, such as the Nintendo Gamecube, looks fine on my TV. On the other hand, my cheap DVD player makes everything look red and a little blurry. On the third hand, my laptop produces a great picture on the TV with just a regular old VGA monitor cable.

It Sounds So Easy

Here's a trick many people don't realize. After both of us spending years as film majors in college (including analyzing movies and creating them from scratch!), my brother and I both agree on this one truth: good sound quality is often more important than video quality. If you can get a half-decent set of speakers to turn up the volume and make you believe that your favorite drama is happening, your brain will jump through all kinds of hoops to make you believe that the tiny, grainy video you're watching on YouTube is both convincing and satisfying. The same is true for your relationship with your TV.

Most of our media plugs into our TV directly from our laptop, so getting the sound is easy: speakers designed for computer are plugged directly into my laptop. There are two speakers spaced evenly around the living room and a subwoofer that kicks out the bass “floor” of the sound field.

Worry Bout It Meter: Def-Con 1 (if you're not worried about this, you could foul up the whole operation). In my opinion, the speakers built in to a TV are never good enough. Turning up the volume produces a sound that seems flat and metallic, and it gets worse when it's loud. The best way to get decent sound cheaply is to buy a set of computer speakers (a good indicator of quality is if it has a subwoofer for bass and requires its own power supply). If you're not going to plug this into your laptop to simply blast your laptop's sounds (i.e. if you're streaming off of Netflix, like me), you should investigate what sound system/speaker setups you can get that receive sound directly from your device (ex. Cable box, blu-ray player).

Conclusion

My advice: even if you're going to order online, visit a store to see if your favorite size and model produces the picture quality that you're after.

HDTV on a Teacher's Budget (part 2)

In the last post we looked at how important or less important screen size and contrast ratio are when you're selecting your amazing HDTV on a teacher's budget.

Today we're going to tackle a different number you'll see on your TV specs: screen resolution. This is usually represented as--for example--480p, 720p, or 1080i.

480p...720p...1080i...What does the “p” and “i” mean?

Progressive Scan: In the first instant, your screen shows one picture.
In the second instant, your screen shows a second picture.
In this way, your on-screen hero is given the illusion of moving,
even though you are only basically seeing photographs.
This digital idea reproduces what film projectors have
done since movies were invented.

First, take a second to think back to how a moving image was displayed to an audience many decades ago: the film projector would unwind a film roll of thousands of tiny pictures. Each completely motionless picture would pass before the display area so fast that the many pictures in quick succession would create the illusion of a moving person, horse, or circus clown.

Interlaced video: Instead of updating 100% of the picture
with every passing instant, interlaced video just
updates every other horizontal line. First it updates the
even lines, then the odd lines, and back and forth.

In the world of digital video on computer monitors and high-definition TVs, there are two different options for showing moving pictures: progressive (p) and interlaced (i). A progressive video pretends to be a roll of film by showing you thousands of motionless images, one after the other, creating the illusion of a moving train, dog, or lunch-break business tychoon. An interlaced video instead alternates horizontal lines across the screen: imagine if just the even rows down the side of a house changed to show a new image, then just the odd rows changed, then just the even rows changed, then just the odd rows changed... you get it.

The number in a TV resolution, for example “1080” in a big TV, represents the number of horizontal lines going down the TV when it shows an interlaced image, usually represented as 1080i.

Question: My TV is 1080p, but you just told me that it only shows one flat image at a time, like film. So what are there 1080 of?

Answer: Progressive TVs just retain the numbering system from interlaced images as a way of communicating to the buyer how highly-detailed your TV is. In this case, your 1080p TV is as highly detailed as a TV with 1080 horizontal lines of color information, even though yours does not use interchanging horizontal lines.

Many HDTVs now are only progressive, so you will only see 480p, 720p, and 1080p. The higher this number the more sweat glands you will be able to count on your favorite athlete during a game.

Worry Bout It Meter: Spilt Milk (care enough to clean it up, but don't cry about it). In my opinion, even the lowest high-defness of TVs today (about 480p) is plenty of high definition for me. I can't honestly say that I would notice the difference between these calibers of HD, so I'm guessing that for many people this is more of a NONfactor than they may at first think.

Next time:

HDTV on a Teacher's Budget (part 3)... we'll take care of how you can get HD media on your HD screen cheaply, and most importantly: the surprisingly MOST important and oft ignored thing about sealing that high definition experience. Stay tuned!

HDTV on a Teacher's Budget (part 1)

The holidays are coming. Will you do what I did at the end of the summer: tell yourself you've earned a home theater upgrade?

My wife and I used our laptops last year to watch any movies we wanted to see. Now that HDTVs are down to the $300-400 range for a 32” screen TV (a screen size that, although one of the smaller sizes in Best Buy, used to pass for the family set in my household), getting one just took some planning ahead and a revised “spending awareness” for several months.

We purposely aimed our sights for an elusive mark when shopping electronics: we wanted to drive the price as low as possible, but we also wanted a reliable product that serves our needs—not a cheap knock-off with a half-life like a gallon of milk left in the garage. In other words, we wanted to walk out of that store feeling that we had saved, not compromised. Well, we got what we wanted, and we rolled out of that store doing heel-clicks all the way to the car.

If you're thinking of doing the same thing for yourself in the next few months, and—like us—you are on a limited budget, here's what you need to know about what you really need in the high definition realm and what doesn't matter.

Screen Size: What They Recommend and What You Need

Some sources recommend about 4” of diagonal TV screen for every 12” you plan to sit away from that TV. We have a narrow living room, and our TV looks across the short dimension, not longways. That means that our couch is only about 8ft. away from the screen, which fits our 32” TV perfectly according to the popular recommendation. We're supremely happy with how well we can see our screen from across this short space.

Worry Bout It Meter: Flat Tire (pull over and take care of this, but you won't die). If you obey the strict recommendation of inches of screen to feet away from the TV, and if you have a large living room, you may find yourself unpleasantly compelled to up the ante at the cash register on the way out of the store. Be strong. Bring a tape measurer to the store to map out about how far away you plan to sit from the TV, and then YOU can make the decision!

Contrast Ratio: How Light is Light and How Dark is Dark

This is the number that describes the range of light and darkness your screen can handle. Presumably, if the number is big (like 1:1,000,000), then all the whites and light colors will look dazzling, and all the blacks and dark colors will look deep and shadowy. The other presumption is that a narrow range (like 1:10) would produce flat, virtually inseparable colors. For these reasons, many people want to boost this ratio to the maximum contrast available.

Here's the thing, however: although this is true on principle, after a certain point it's no longer distuingishable to the naked eye. Some companies even allegedly find a way to simply blacken their black colors twice as much, providing just about the same exact final image but enabling a TV company to advertise 1:1,000,000 instead of 1:500,000 for the contrast ratio. Then, because they made a subtle change invisible to the naked eye, these alleged companies allegedly add a block of money on the price tag because their TV is twice as powerful in this one small way.

Worry Bout It Meter: Fuh gedaboudit (not your problem, baby). I recommend all but ignoring the contrast ratio. Unless the ratio is horribly below the average competition, I say that a high-def TV a contrast ratio does not make.


Next time:
HDTV on a Teacher's Budger (part 2)... we'll look at what the "p" means in 720p and whether or not you need to stress about it.