Tiny, laser-based projectors could transform these pocket-size devices into full-blown entertainment systems by shining images onto walls, tabletops or the backs of airplane seats. In a bright room, the handheld projectors would produce images about as bright and big as a 10-inch laptop screen, said Greg Niven, the vice president of marketing at laser maker Novalux.… Read the rest
[Slate] Before last month, Dell had made only one attempt to look cool in its 22-year history. I don’t need to tell you that the “Dell dude” wasn’t the coolest guy on the planet. Dell’s second attempt to win street cred, its recent acquisition of the hip, gamer-friendly computer manufacturer Alienware, will probably prove more successful.… Read the rest
[Laptop Magazine. No online version.] Profile of (subsequently failed) mobile startup Amp’d. Article available only as a 1MB big image!… Read the rest
[New York Times] Shopping for a mobile phone can quickly become bleary-eyed drudgery, as I discovered after my beloved Samsung SPH-i500 (a flip phone with Palm organizer) died from age and neglect.
Phone makers are spawning a confusing array of new models in all colors, shapes and sizes.… Read the rest
[New York Times] A new study by the Consumer Electronics Association shows that American homes spent $1,250, on average, for electronics last year. Though it may sound like a lot, that is barely enough for a medium-size flat-screen TV. So even gadget-crazy Americans have to weigh priorities – deciding what older gear they can still live with and what demands an upgrade.… Read the rest
Helping gay couples get hitched gave me a new respect for a tradition I’ve been happy to escape [Newsweek] I’m a straight, single man, who, during Valentine’s weekend and for several days that followed, performed weddings as a deputized marriage commissioner for the city and county of San Francisco. … Read the rest
[New York Times] WHILE Carrie Bradshaw in ”Sex and the City” agonizes over settling down, at least 3,000 couples jumped at the chance to marry during the frenzied first eight days that San Francisco allowed gay marriages.
And I, a straight bachelor, have happily performed about 60 of the ceremonies, in the cavernous rotunda of City Hall.… Read the rest
[New York Times] IN the tech world, the slender liquid crystal display monitor has become synonymous with cool, making steady inroads against its rotund predecessor, the cathode ray tube. By the fall of 2002, sales of flat-panel L.C.D. monitors in the United States had exceeded those of C.R.T.’s… Read the rest
The farmers and ranchers of the Dakotas are ahead of environmentalists on preserving the prairie and fighting global warming.
The first night of my visit to North Dakota Brad Crabtree fed me a hearty steak dinner-courtesy of a steer he’d recently sent to the butcher.… Read the rest
I struggle with my keyboard and mouse every day. I’m an abysmal typist, and lousy posture has taken its toll on muscles and tendons, making input painful at times. Plus, keyboards and mice just aren’t fun.
The PC has evolved from an electronic typewriter and calculator to an entertainment system, but we still interact with it as if we were at work — seated at a desk, hands suspended over a keyboard or clutching a mouse.… Read the rest
