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Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-10a
Review to-dos & other news
In this issue:
Antec review to-do: LanBoard, Rockus speakers... Franklin review
to-do: AnyBook & Roadie... Iconosys review to-do: DriveReply...
Boogie into Showstoppers... More new Steadicam models for pros...
Zoom review to-do: ZDTV keyboard... Special Report: Tapping
NASA... Reviews: Hitachi Travelstar Z5K320, two, three, four,
five... plus our commentary on To-do ado: for you or adieu?
Antec review to-do: LanBoard, Rockus speakers
Here are 2 general-audience Antec products to put on your
chillier-weather to-do list: the LanBoard ($35) wheeled base for
desktop computers & the new SoundScience Rockus 2.1 speakers
(fall $250). Ask V for either or both. Contact: Veronica
Feldmeier, Antec Inc. (Fremont, CA) 510-770-2150
vfeldmeier@antec.com http://antec.com
Franklin review to-do: AnyBook & Roadie
The new Franklin AnyBook ($40 DRP3000 holds 15 hours; $60 DRP4000
holds 60 hours) is one of those grandparents/parents/kids
products you'd feel bad not reviewing. You record the kids'
favorite story books, one page at a time, put a sticker on the
page & when the kid touches the AnyBook tip to the sticker, your
voice is reading the page. Ask Aline to get you one. Contact:
Aline Boutin, Franklin Electronic Publishers (Burlington, NJ)
609-386-2500x4434 aline_boutin@franklin.com http://franklin.com
Iconosys review to-do: DriveReply
The one Iconosys distracted driving antidote that supports the
most handsets is DriveReply; it detects when you're driving then
goes into a mode where instead of alerting you to incoming text
messages, it auto-replies to the sender that you'll get back
later. Contact: Wayne Irving II, Iconosys Inc. (Laguna Hills, CA)
949-335-5350 wi@iconosys.com http://iconosys.com
Boogie into Showstoppers
Kent is signing up to let you see their stuff at Showstoppers
during CES. That will definitely include a peek (or more) at new
products they intend to launch during the year. Feel free to
start with their "old" (since mid-year) Boogie Board, complete
with sleeve, stylus clip & mounting magnets; just connect with
Kevin. Contact: Kevin Oswald, Kent Displays (Kent, OH)
330-673-8784x161 koswald@kentdisplays.com
http://KentDisplays.com
More new Steadicam models for pros
Last time we told you about the new Steadicam Scout; if you cover
gear for pro cinema or video shooters, you'll also want to know
about the bigger Steadicam Phantom & Steadicam Zephyr mounts.
Hilary can fill you in. Contact: Hilary Araujo, Tiffen Company
(Hauppauge, NY) 631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
Zoom review to-do: ZDTV keyboard
3G modems & routers & USB modems may be fun for us, but no Zoom
product has as broad an appeal as the novel long-range wireless
ZDTV keyboard with built-in track pad & special-purpose buttons.
It's especially good for Media Center watching on a home theater,
but it's just plain cool for other things, too. Ask Terry to send
you one. Contact: Terry Manning, Zoom Telephonics Inc. (Boston,
MA) 617-753-0087 terrym@zoom.com http://zoom.com
Special Report: Tapping NASA
While looking into ion engines (which were developed at the NASA
Glenn research facility, about a 40-minute drive from the
Newstips bunker), we had occasion to chat with NASA about how
they work with private companies to help technology transfer
happen. They use separate approaches for technologies to which
NASA holds patents (which generally then involve royalties)
versus those that have not been patented. The most interesting
approach to some of their more complex developments involves
(while they don't call it this) leasing some of their key
researchers, generally for periods of 1-3 years. (Off the record,
we heard that it tends to be longer when the company provides
managers instead of their own scientists; managers have to learn
the basics - frustrating grade-school-like time for the NASA guys
- while the scientists are already well along the road & often
just need "last mile" advice). One of the coolest things we
learned is that NASA can also provide some level of technology
transfer for programs that were never funded or were dropped.
Most (not all) of their research concentrates at 10 of their
facilities; smart private companies establish local liaisons to
help tech transfer go much faster.
Special Report Bonus Review: Hitachi Travelstar Z5K320
We're working with vendors to come up with 3 small-footprint PC
solutions as upcoming short project series; one of these is a
homebrew set-top box with a design goal of being unobtrusively
quiet. Among other things, we wanted to explore the best
acoustics among rotating drives & in response, Hitachi sent a
Travelstar Z5K320 SATA II 2.5" 5400rpm drive. At 7mm thick, it's
slimmer than most drives, meaning more room for airflow, which
can help keep a box running without turning up the noise on
cooling solutions. Our testing can't contradict Hitachi's claim
of best-of-breed acoustics for this drive; we doubt that anyone
will hear it at all in real life set-top applications. (An SSD
may be quieter but we find the noise level of this drive low
enough that a good case design can render it inaudible). Our
project goal does not include a DVR function though the 320GB
capacity of this drive could manage up to 80 hours of HD. Bottom
line: Hitachi Travelstar Z5K320 7mm 5400rpm SATA II 320G 2.5"
hard drives set a new, lower limbo bar on acoustic noise without
compromising performance.
To-do ado: for you or adieu?
We thought we'd try an issue where most of the items would
spotlight specific products from each company that we felt had
the broadest appeal. We're guessing that's useful, but it could
just as easily be annoying. As always, we're hoping you'll drop a
note to say which it is for you (or to hear that all of a sudden
everybody's asking for these). Contact: Martin Winston, Newstips
(Novelty, OH) 440-338-8400; marty@Newstips.com
http://Newstips.com
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Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
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