40Tech

The tech community seems to be almost overwhelmingly positive about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab. Some of that is because the tech community tends to love the openness of Android, and some of that is because the Tab is a shiny new toy — but much of it appears to be because Samsung’s new tablet is actually pretty cool.

I may be one of the few left on the planet that is underwhelmed (and often annoyed) by the 3D-everything craze. I understand that it is the current reality of the video and gaming world, and I admit that 3D-TV tech is pretty cool, but I really don’t need all of my media to pop out of the screen at me. Plus, it hurts my sensitive, near-35 year old eyes — and I don’t like to wear the glasses. That said, it appears that Sharp is attempting to address at least the latter part of my whining with the advent of their new 3D cell phones — awesome tech… but do we really need 3D cell phones?

The modern computer workstation is made up of a wide variety of parts. Unfortunately, 
when any one of these parts runs into problems you, the computer user, are likely to feel 
the negative consequences.  Here’s how to troubleshoot one potential problem – your RAM.

I like it when science fiction tech waltzes its way into the “really real” — and that’s what eLegs is doing. Well, it may not be waltzing just yet, but it’s certainly going a long way to helping paraplegics start walking!

I’m a music nut. Are you a music nut? We’re all technology nuts, here — and when the two combine… well, let’s just say it makes me happy. This afternoon, my friend and fellow music/tech geek Eric — also known as my business partner — sent me something fantastic that I had to share with you. I want one! If you haven’t come across it already, allow me to introduce you to Töken, a “multitouch technology platform” that was made to bring live music performance to an entirely new level.

One way to switch audio output between a USB headset and your external speakers is to plug or unplug your USB headset.  In Windows 7, that will automatically switch sound between the devices.  You may not have easy access to your USB ports, though, or you may want to keep your headset plugged in all the time.  Soundswitch is a free program that allows you to set a hotkey to switch between audio output devices.

If you are even halfway interested in some of the “neat-o” tech available in futuristic sci-fi films, you are going to want to learn all you can about Skin. Skin is a hot new bit of tech that’s been brought to market by Displax, purveyors of several intriguing touch screen devices such as Crayon, an interactive table for kids, and the Oqtopus multitouch table. Skin takes all previous future-tech from Displax to a whole new level , though. We’re talking touchscreen-on-any-surface kind of cool.

The newest super-powered Android 2.1 phone on the block is the Acer Stream, a 1GHz Snapdragon fuelled, 3.7 inch multi-touch WVGA AMOLED screen sporting, HDMI port having smartphone that easily compares with the Nexus One and Droid Incredible. Hold on to your hats, kiddies, it’s been cleared by the FCC and is heading to the US all soon-like (no word on Canada though)…

My main computer is a gaming rig, and as a result consists of a large tower with multiple vents and fans.  Over time, these vents and fans become filled with a thick layer of dust.  I’ve been meaning to clean out the tower for some time in order to improve cooling, and finally had the [...]