Technology Effect

The current trend in smartphone design is that of a vertical symmetry. It’s important to make sure the left and the right of the screen, (that being the right and left when the phone is held in a portrait mode,) are equal, or at least appear to be equal. The future of the phone is presented in a project by Jason Wang, a designer who believes that the next logical step in the evolution of the handheld communicator is symmetry in landscape mode. As a proof, he offers a conceptual design by the name of Nokia E2. Wang believes that as the past several years have yielded a set of smartphones that are overwhelmingly similar to one another, it becomes difficult for the consumer to differentiate between them. He believes that the first step toward a new type of phone is the 21:9 aspect ratio. He notes though, that upon first viewing a traditionally designed 21:9 phone, it lacks visual appeal, especially due to the fact that they’re designed, still, to be held upright. His solu...

I am not a watch wearer, I have said that many times. I do like to look at some of these awesome watch designs like the Hublot La Cle Du Temps “key of time” watch here. This thing is so cool it hurts. If Darth Vader had an awesome watch, this would be it. The awesome watch is a follow up to one that was apparently designed with the Predator in mind with a dial meant to look like a brain. I don’t see any resemblance to a brain or the Predator in the new design. All I see is a crazy watch with a really sweet design. The watch has a control on the side that will slow down or speed up time. Why you world want to do that is beyond me. The watch will always remember the correct time though. An exact price is unknown, but it is said to go in the high six-figure range.

Microsoft is reportedly pestering Intel for a 16-core version of its Atom processor, which would provide a low-power alternative to mainstream chips for use in data servers. Dileep Bhandarkar, an engineer at Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services, suggested that higher-power Intel chips more commonly positioned for servers, such as the Xeon, demand too much power and active cooling in return for their higher clock speeds,  PC World reports, and that there is a “huge opportunity” for a different strategy to data center processing. “When you look at these tiny cores, another way of making them work in a very efficient way is [not to] surround them with a whole bunch of south bridges and network controllers. … Essentially, the tiny cores and systems-on-chip should go together” Dileep Bhandarkar, Microsoft Global Foundation Services is the division of Microsoft responsible for managing the hosting of Bing, Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger, together with Sharepoint an...

Just about every NAS offers a way to open up the contents of your network-attached storage to external access, allowing you to quickly retrieve a document or media file you’ve forgotten while on the move, but all too often the settings required are too tricky for the average user. Princeton reckons it has the answer, though, with the MyDitto DE-MD2H2T , a 2TB drive that comes with a USB stick that when plugged into a remote computer automatically gives access to the NAS’ files. The MyDitto USB key loads a special management app and automatically negotiates the encrypted link between whichever computer you’re on and the NAS back home. Rather than having to remember passwords and login URLs, it’s a simple case of jamming in the stick and browsing the directories as if you were on your home network. Up to thirty keys can be registered to any one MyDitto unit (supporting four active simultaneously). There’s also a pair of USB 2.0 ports for hooking up external storage, a gig...

Sony has remained coy on pricing for the Sony NGP, though it has dismissed concerns that the upcoming handheld will carry an extreme premium price tag. Speaking to GameInformer , SCEE president of worldwide studios Shu Yoshida confirmed that the NGP is “not going to be $599″ when reminded of the surprise many gamers experienced at the original launch of the PS3. “From the very beginning of the project — since 2008 — pricing was one of the considerations that we had” Yoshida explained. “Hopefully when we announce the price, people will see the proper value.” Currently Sony is refusing to discuss pricing in anything more than vague terms; even the name of the NGP is described as a temporary one, standing merely for next generation portable. News earlier that different SKUs of the NGP would offer 3G and WiFi-only variants also raises questions about ongoing subscription plans for the 3G-enabled models. Sony is yet to suggest whether it will be bundling some amount ...

Controlling your iPad or iPhone in your car with a normal FM transmitter can be a pain in the butt. Controlling them through a device that plugs them into the AUX port on your car isn’t any better typically. The problem is that you have to look down to skip tracks and taking your eyes off the road isn’t a good thing. Monster has unveiled a new car adapter that connects the iPhone or iPad to the car via an aux input and a 3.5mm cord. The cool part is instead of having to look at the iPhone to control the thing; you can control it with hand gestures. The car adapter is called the Monster iMotion CarPlay 3000. Once connected you can swipe your hand from left to right to skip forward and from right to left to go backwards. The only downside I see is that the usefulness of the device might not be as good for everyone depending on where the aux input and DC outlet are.

Callaway is one of the biggest names in golf gear. The company has announced a new gadget for golfers that will let them know exactly how far they are from the hole when on many of the most popular courses around the country. The new gadget is called the upro mx . The upro mx is a GPS device that comes loaded with 25,000 courses from around the world. The preloading of course layouts means the upro mx is ready to be used right out of the box. Callaway says that it is the only dedicated GPS device on the market that offers high-quality aerial maps of each course. The upro mx will ship in May for $199. It has a 2.2-inch color LCD, weighs three ounces and has no annual fees that the user has to pay if they use basic mode. An additional fee is required to activate the pro mode with the aerial photos. What that extra fee will cost is unknown.