|
Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-11a
Did you want vember with your news or no?
In this issue:
Antec overpowers demanding big-PSU realm... Franklin AnyBook
hitting more bookstores... Iconosys NASCAR sponsored racer at
5-Hour... Kent doubles, wants to triple Boogie Board builds...
Snapping & streaming into the Tiffen holidays... At CES, Zoom
past hotel link fees... Special Report: The "grandma" PC...
Reviews: Fallout New Vegas (full), Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo,
TrendNet TU3-H4 USB3 hub... plus our commentary on those
elections & tech
Antec overpowers demanding big-PSU realm
The geekiest of sites now confirm that Antec's new HCP1200 ($299)
High Current Pro 1200W PSU is the best in category at meeting the
needs of power-hungry PCs without sacrificing stability,
efficiency longevity or quiet. Earlier, Antec announced that
every PSU spec is 100% guaranteed; it's nice that third parties
noticed. If you BYO in this high-power category, ask Veronica
about a review unit; if you're a little less hands-on, she'd be
happy to set up an interview on things like what to watch out for
when replacing a PSU. Contact: Veronica Feldmeier, Antec Inc.
(Fremont, CA) 510-770-2150 vfeldmeier@antec.com
http://antec.com
Franklin AnyBook hitting more bookstores
100 Borders stores will have it by December & it's already in
Barnes & Noble so more parents (or others) can buy their favorite
kids new storybooks & use the new Franklin AnyBook ($40 DRP3000
holds 15 hours; $60 DRP4000 holds 60 hours) to read it to them
when not there. Where an eReader is for private time, AnyBook is
a me-reader for any child's story time. Ask Aline to get you one
to review. Contact: Aline Boutin, Franklin Electronic Publishers
(Burlington, NJ) 609-386-2500x4434 aline_boutin@franklin.com
http://franklin.com
Iconosys NASCAR sponsored racer at 5-Hour
Ironically, Iconosys-sponsored driver Michael McDowell was one of
the drivers caught in a 9-car wreck in lap 105 at the NASCAR
5-Hour Energy 250 race; none of the drivers is believed to have
been texting. Contact: Wayne Irving II, Iconosys Inc. (Laguna
Hills, CA) 949-335-5350 wi@iconosys.com http://iconosys.com
Kent doubles, wants to triple Boogie Board builds
When the paperless Boogie Board ($35) passive LCD tablet first
hit stores earlier this year, the company had no hope of
producing more than 20,000 units per month, largely because of
the one-of-a-kind machine used to create its writable film. They
added a third shift & managed to build 40,000 in August, with
hopes now to be able to make 60,000 per month sometime next year.
That unique machine, by the way, will take at least 8 months & a
ton of money to clone. Ask Kevin. Contact: Kevin Oswald, Kent
Displays (Kent, OH) 330-673-8784x161 koswald@kentdisplays.com
http://KentDisplays.com
Snapping & streaming into the Tiffen holidays
While the holidays will be pretty good for cameras & camcorders
this year, lots of shoppers are trying to spend a little less
than that for gifts in this category, which suggests a turn to
Tiffen. When it comes to products like camera bags, tripods,
camera grips et cetera, ask Hilary to set you up with products
for review or show & tell, or info & pix or an interview with
Steve Tiffen himself. Contact: Hilary Araujo, Tiffen Company
(Hauppauge, NY) 631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
At CES, Zoom past hotel link fees
CES is a great opportunity to understand what's so cool about
those Zoom 3G modems. We can get press room net connections days,
but at the hotels, how much a day will you have to pay to turn on
that in-room access? Some chains are free, but most charge a big
enough fee that something like the no-contract all-you-can-eat
T-Mobile data offering makes bottom-line sense, but only if you
have a 3G modem to stick into your PCs USB port. Zoom makes a lot
of those, so if you'll pick the carrier you plan to hit for
no-contract access, Terry can get you the right Zoom model to
review. Contact: Terry Manning, Zoom Telephonics Inc. (Boston,
MA) 617-753-0087 terrym@zoom.com http://zoom.com
Special Report: The "grandma" PC
Do the elder to elderly members of your family have their own
PCs? Are they using them for anything that needs a lot of
horsepower? An eye on who's buying what (across all retail
channels) is showing us a developing category in what we call the
"grandma" PC; while older folks are well represented in this
niche, it also describes a lot of PCs used in schools, in home or
business guest rooms, in kitchens or in younger kids' rooms. A
"grandma" PC is a little more capable than a netbook but it isn't
asked to do much more than run Office apps, browse the Web, run
gadgets & host such things as Pandora or Skype. Complete systems
(including keyboard, mouse, small monitor, speakers) are under
$500, often under $400, some even lower. If a PC is an
information appliance, a "grandma" PC is an information small
appliance - a blender or coffeemaker in a category more familiar
with dishwashers & refrigerators. The metaphor also holds in
consumer behavior, with "grandma" PCs more an as-needed & less a
considered purchase, so they're bought & used more casually.
Special Report Bonus Review: Fallout New Vegas (full)
Since our preliminary report last issue, we've since played all
the way through Fallo9ut New Vegas. Players of earlier Fallout
offerings will find it irresistible, though elements are
frustrating or confusing. The number of major & minor factions
becomes confusing, as do the alliances among them. The variations
among weapons & ammo often split a gnat's lash; we assume that's
there to trigger arguments among the fan base & boost the buzz of
the game. Crafting in the game is different from earlier
installments, so experienced players are much more likely to pick
up items that were relevant then but just dead weight now.
Getting past those niggling observations, we very much enjoyed
playing it. Bottom line: Fallout New Vegas to be one of those
games designed to be devilishly hard not to want to play some
more.
Special Report Bonus Review 2: Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo
A Dymo LabelWriter 400 Turbo has been here since reviewing it a
while back so we were happy to get in the newer 450 Turbo (the
non-Turbo version we discussed, just a tad slower, wasn't as easy
to get to us). The drivers & utilities we had work for either
(even supporting both, if you want). We tend to use printed
labels for the parts & cords drawers or for sending stuff; wife
Judie pointed out how insecure self-sticking flaps on envelopes
can be, so we flip envelopes & reinforce that seal by overlapping
with an address label. One design element we never tried before
(rotating our logo & return address to appear at the left end of
the label) turned out to be easy with the new software. Saved
labels show up graphically, which we find makes them easier to
find. Dymo also seems to have reduced the power hunger of this
newer model. Bottom line: the Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo adds
elegant to simple for labels.
Special Report Bonus Review 3: TrendNet TU3-H4 USB3 hub
USB3 is a big step up in bandwidth (5GBps, 10+ times as wide as
USB2) & in the power each port can deliver (up to 900mA). We have
2 USB3 ports on our production system so we were eager to try the
TrendNet TU3-H4 USB3 4-port hub. This is a powered hub that comes
with a 4A supply (comfortably more than the 3.6A max the ports
are collectively expected to deliver; note that under USB3, idle
ports can go into an energy-saving low-power state, so it will
rarely need to deliver that much. It's as plug & play as can be &
like almost every piece of Trend gear we've ever reviewed, it
meets every spec & avoids hassles. As more USB3 gear becomes
available, having bandwidths available that once required eSATA
but without the need for a separate power feed means we're in for
a lot of faster & easier times. Bottom line: a TrendNet TU3-H4
USB3 4-port hub is a dependable, trustworthy answer to the need
for more USB3 ports for systems that got built to older, slower,
less powerful standards.
Those elections & tech
Record numbers of organizations have been able (for the first
time this year, thanks to a Supreme Court decision early in the
year) to fund their own pro or con campaigns on issues or
candidates, but the fascination factor is in where they spent it.
Most of the money went to traditional media, largely broadcast,
where most of the reach involves only older voters. Social media
has been more effective at younger voters, but doesn't seem to
have done much to change minds. An even more interesting trend is
to early voting (the new name for absentee ballots, thanks to
some relaxed eligibility rules) which hits both older & younger
voters who then vote before campaigns in either traditional or
social media are in full swing. Whatever tech is behind polling
seems as maladjusted as ever with way too many polls showing an
outcome amazingly consistent with the results that the sponsors
of the polls prefer to have the public believing. Once the
elections pass, try this poll with your readers: Which Web site,
TV spot, newspaper ad, talk show, social media or other outside
communication - if any - influenced the election choices you
made? Contact: Martin Winston, Newstips (Novelty, OH)
440-338-8400; marty@Newstips.com http://Newstips.com
# # #
Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
|
