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Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2010-09b
Working hard now to afford the holidays & other news
In this issue:
Antec makes PSU spec guarantee absolute... Literacy beyond
definitions in your hand with Franklin... SMS Replier scores with
Mead & on BlackBerry... Kent at CES in a way with new gizmos...
Techno park in space - in DC October 1... Tiffen adapter will let
many minis mount multiply... Now Zoom past high cell modem,
hotspot costs... Special Report: Kiss the kids... Reviews:
Telefingers, Kodak EasyShare M580, Monster Clean Touch, Sungale
Kula TV, My Phone Leash... plus our commentary on Hotel health
Antec makes PSU spec guarantee absolute
In a land of liars, how can you believe anyone who claims to tell
the truth? In the notoriously mendacious category of computer
power supply unit (PSU) products Antec has an answer: Antec now
absolutely guarantees every one of its products to meet or exceed
every one of its specs. Ask Veronica to set up an interview with
VP Scott Richards or to get you your cvhoice of PSU products to
test. Contact: Veronica Feldmeier, Antec Inc. (Fremont, CA)
510-770-2150 vfeldmeier@antec.com http://antec.com
Literacy beyond definitions in your hand with Franklin
They may call them dictionaries but some of those handheld
Franklin products can help users polish their literacy beyond
definitions. The MWD-1500 Merriam Webster Dictionary & Thesaurus
with Spell Correction (street $43) also offers a grammar guide, a
guide to punctuation & style & more. If you're more literate than
most of the people you reach & a few you work for, this may be
very worth covering; ask Aline to send you one. Contact: Aline
Boutin, Franklin Electronic Publishers (Burlington, NJ)
609-386-2500x4434 aline_boutin@franklin.com http://franklin.com
SMS Replier scores with Mead & on BlackBerry
Mead Research just named SMS Replier as its favored
texting-stopper app & we should note (amending our info from last
issue) that it's also available on BlackBerry (as well as Android
& Windows Phone 7 & WinMo); ask Wayne to set you up. Contact:
Wayne Irving II, Iconosys Inc. (Laguna Hills, CA) 949-335-5350
wi@iconosys.com http://iconosys.com
Kent at CES in a way with new gizmos
While Kent Displays probably won't be a CES exhibitor, you may
run into them at one or more of the outboard press events there.
They're planning on bringing new products, by which we mean more
than just another Boogie Board. One candidate that may show up is
a handset skin with some chameleon qualities. Ask Kevin. Contact:
Kevin Oswald, Kent Displays (Kent, OH) 330-673-8784x161
koswald@kentdisplays.com http://KentDisplays.com
Techno park in space - in DC October 1
One of the strongest groups behind a program to set up a
commercial technology park in space has news for you at the
National Press Club (Washington DC), 1:30pm October 1. The
program will adapt external tanks into special in-space purposes,
send them up in a series of launches & assemble them in space
into a sprawling technology park. Zero-G environments can
accelerate research in pharmaceuticals, physiology, even
nanotech, crystallography, microlithography & space-based power
transmission. Be there (you know you want to). Contact: Gene
Meyers, Space Island Universe (Covina, CA) 626-260-3184
http://spaceislanduniverse.com
Tiffen adapter will let many minis mount multiply
We've told you about the new Steadicam Smoothee coming in
November but out focus here is its accessories, which aren't just
for it. The pocket gear adapters for Flip, iStuff etc. will also
let you mount them to tripods, monopods, grips or other
tripod-screw-centric gizmos. Ask Hilary. Contact: Hilary Araujo,
Tiffen Company (Hauppauge, NY) 631-609-3216 haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
Now Zoom past high cell modem, hotspot costs
The biggest cost factors in connecting to the internet over
cellular are the mistaken beliefs that you have to buy the gear
from the carrier & that you have to buy into a long-term
contract. Check your carrier for prepaid, pay-as-you-go or
month-at-a-time contracts then check Zoom for great gear you only
pay for once. Zoom tri-band USB 3G modems (street $91) are great
examples & they can plug directly into a desktop (street $70) or
travel (street $80) Zoom Wireless-N router to multiply your
savings acumen across multiple devices. BYO minutes for any
reviews; ask Terry. Contact: Terry Manning, Zoom Telephonics Inc.
(Boston, MA) 617-753-0087 terrym@zoom.com http://zoom.com
Special Report: Kiss the Kids
Hospitality Automation Editor Les Spielman just briefed us on
"Kiss the Kids Good Night", a new initiative at some upscale
hotels (Mandarin Oriental for one) & being pilot tested at others
(including J.W. Marriott & Four Seasons). A guest can originate a
Skype video call from the room's IP-connected TV set to anywhere
in the world; the hotels found lip marks (with & without
lipstick) on some of the room TV screens. Initially at least,
upscale hotels have been offering offer it as a free amenity;
they report an increase in repeat guest visits as a result; with
the video also showcasing the room, some are non-business return
trips as a couple.
Special Report Bonus Review: Telefingers
This is one of those sweet little things that a zillion people
will jump to own: Telefingers gloves have conductive thumb, first
& second finger tips, so you can keep them on & still use your
touch screen gizmos. They're mostly acrylic (with nylon &
spandex) so they fit & flex well; little rubbery bumps on the
back can keep them from sliding off the dash if that's where you
want to keep them. Bottom line: Telefingers are a hot idea for
fighting the cold in a cool way that's compatible with your touch
screens.
Special Report Bonus Review 2: Kodak EasyShare M580
We chatted with Kodak about small, mostly flat pocket-adept point
& shoot cameras & in response got a Kodak EasyShare M580 in for
review. They tried to steer us to cover easy uploads to online
places from Flickr to YouTube but please, anything can do that.
On the plus side, this camera has some great specs, from an 8X
optical zoom to an unnecessarily high 14Mp resolution (yes, with
a video mode, too). On the minus side, it still takes several
seconds from power off to first snap, so fast-reflex grab
shooting (or whale out of the water shots) may not happen as
planned & it's reluctant to enter or remain in macro mode. Bottom
line: for most snaps or video that most people shoot today, the
Kodak EasyShare M580 camera is a nimble & capable performer that
helps almost every shot come out right.
Special Report Bonus Review 3: Monster Clean Touch
Handheld things with screens (especially touch screens) attract
fingerprints & smudges faster than needy women attract flawed men
(or vice versa), so we asked to try the new Monster Clean Touch
kit. There's a small flat sprayer (with 300 squirts worth of
fluid) about the size of a stack of six credit cards, an
antimicrobial cloth & a carry pouch. We tried it & got the screen
showcase-new in seconds. Bottom line: Monster Clean Touch kits
for touch screen gear work.
Special Report Bonus Review 4: Sungale Kula TV
The Sungale Kula TV is about the size of a dashboard navigator
with a 4.3" LCD & a flip-out WiFi antenna. You could use it to
display photos or videos or play music from an SD card, but it's
really supposed to be an alternative to TV that involves no
subscription fees. It's not like you can take it camping unless
your sleeping bag has WiFi. It's not like there's a lot to watch;
well there may be a lot in total but not much in any one
language. It's not like the video quality is wonderful (blurry &
low contrast, but because of the sources more than the display) &
it's not like anybody will find it comfortable to watch this
small a display for any length of time. The unit they sent us
also refused to turn off. Bottom line: The Sungale Kula TV can be
a tiny, unobtrusive alternative for viewing a variety of
IP-streamed programming over WiFi.
Special Report Bonus Review 5: My Phone Leash
There was a time when we carried our handsets in a shirt pocket;
when they fell out, they didn't always still work. My Phone Leash
is a gizmo that sticks a grab tab on the back of your handset,
connects it to a 30" retractable cord on a spring reel that
offers both a swiveling belt clip & a carabiner top. Bottom line:
for people who tend to drop or lose or leave handsets behind, My
Phone Leash offers a simple solution for preventing that.
Hotel health
None of us fears domestic travel, no matter how scary it's
become. A chat with Hospitality Automation Editor Les Spielman
told us that most 5-star hotels didn't feel much pain in the
recession while most 3-4 star chains are recovering at a good
pace. Economic health aside, don't expect much cooperation for
your weight loss ideals in their restaurants or room service
operations, though some are now offering downsized-portion
alternatives. Also, mistakes in implementing Pro:Idiom (digital
content protection at hotels & hospitals) mean a lot of TV that's
supposed to be HD isn't. As Dorothy said, there's no place like
home. 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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