Category: Displays

Dell’s New 20″ LCD Monitor

Specs:

  • 1680 x 1050 resolution
  • DVI with HDCP, VGA, and 4 USB 2.0 Ports
  • VGA (2 megapixel still pictures) video webcam with microphone
  • Optional soundbar
  • September 12 release
  • No price information available

This thing is awesome though, If it is under $300 it will definitely be something to consider. I’m also really glad that Dell did what Apple has been rumored to do for so long, PUT A FREAKIN WEBCAM IN THE DISPLAY. It’s so handy using a MacBook with it built in and you would be amazed at how often you will use it.

Engadget

Published
Categorized as Displays

USB Monitor Tested

The Samsung SyncMaster 940UX is the first USB-monitor. X-bit Labs got a hold of one and reviewed it. The review is pretty cool and the monitor is built for computers that don’t have enough display outputs but you would like to have multiple monitors.

When I was reading the article only the first page was working for me and when I tried to get to the other pages they would time-out.

Even though I didn’t read it, I plan to so I think you all should too.

X-bit Labs Samsung SyncMaster 940UX Review

Published
Categorized as Displays

Microsofts Surface Computing Table

Cool looking table however it is going to cost waaaay to much money. I understand that it is not going to be marketed to regular consumers but to commercial consumers. The surface computer is really cool though. Check it out:

[via UneasySilence]

Dell’s Super-Slim Display Concept

Jim Louderback on Gearlog tells us about Display Port and Dell’s idea of “its history of developing new standards, and forcing them on the industry.”

Display Port sounds pretty darn interesting and I think that it will end up being the new standard for displays. I like the idea of being able to daisy chain displays together instead of having to connect them in a star pattern.

Check out what Jim Louderback has to say about it here, but I will say, the display look nice!

My First Experience with Dual Monitors

Yesterday I had my first experience using two monitors at once. And I am using two right now as well.

I happen to be cleaning out my junk room (the room where you keep all your junk, everyone has one) and I found the monitor that I had been meaning to give to my girlfriend. Well because I hadn’t used it in so long it was like a new toy to me. I got it out and grabbed my old laptop from my bedroom that had been collecting dust.

I set up the monitor next to the laptop and set them up for spanning accross the two. OMG! I don’t know why I have never done this before. You get so much more work done when you can use two monitors at the same time. More screen real estate equals more productivity. This is obviously going to end though because I do still plan on giving this monitor to my girlfriend and the laptop that I’m using is on its last leg, not to mention I’m too cheap to go out and buy a $12 adapter so that I can connect the monitor to my MacBook with a VGA cable.

All I have to say is if you do a lot of work on a computer and happen to spend a lot of time with many applications open at the same time, do yourself a favor and go buy yourself an extra monitor, yea I know it will cost you like $200-$300 but it is well worth it, trust me.

Apple Goes Green and gets LED Displays

In a open letter to all Steve Jobs said that Apple will begin to become more green. I think that it is great that Apple is going to be more Green. One of the things that they are going to be doing to become greener is to transition its displays to LED back lighting whenever possible:

“Apple plans to completely eliminate the use of arsenic in all of its displays by the end of 2008.

Apple plans to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of mercury by transitioning to LED backlighting for all displays when technically and economically feasible.”

Sounds pretty good to me. Apple gets greener and we get better displays and a better environment.

Recycling Apple’s Products (E-Waste)

“Apple started recycling in 1994 and today we operate recycling programs in countries where more than 82% of all Macs and iPods are sold. By the end of this year, that figure will increase to 93%. How successful are these programs?

Currently, there is no industry standard way to measure the effectiveness of a company’s recycling programs. Dell has proposed a simple measure – assume a seven year product lifetime, and measure the percentage of the total weight you recycle each year compared to the total weight of what you sold seven years earlier. This makes sense to us, and has the added advantages of clarity and simplicity.

Apple recycled 13 million pounds of e-waste in 2006, which is equal to 9.5% of the weight of all products Apple sold seven years earlier. We expect this percentage to grow to 13% in 2007, and to 20% in 2008. By 2010, we forecast recycling 19 million pounds of e-waste per year — nearly 30% of the product weight we sold seven years earlier.”

Weight Recycled as % of Past Sales

The whole letter

Matte Screen MacBook

I have a MacBook and I actually love the glossy screen but I do know that a lot of people out there hate the glossy screen and prefer a matte screen. One MacBook owner hated the glossy screen so much that he decided to put a new screen into his MacBook from a Sony notebook.The MacBook looks pretty good and it gets me in the mood to do some modification myself, I won’t do any because I don’t want to kill any of my computers, but I do want to.

MacRumors Forum [via UneasySilence]

Tomorrow is the end of Analog

Ok, its not exactly the end of analog but it is the last day that manufacturers can ship TVs without digital tuners in them. Tomorrow will end the shipping of TVs with just analog tuners. Manufacturers will be required to ship their TVs with digital tuners if they come with analog tuners. The only loophole is if the manufacturers just decide to remove the analog tuner and then they don’t have to have any tuner at all.

This is part of a year long transition from over the air analog broadcast television to digital over the air.

I’m hoping that this will be an easier transition than I’m guessing it will be. My guess is that manufacturers will just decide to save the money and remove the analog and the digital tuner from their televisions possibly causing some confusion for consumers. But, I’m going to hope for the best and just believe that manufacturers will do the right thing and put both in.

iSight Prices Skyrocket

Since Apple dropped the iSight from its product line up many people have been searching for the Apple webcam. The camera have been becoming a very expesnive item for some people. The prices have began to skyrocket with some of the buy it now prices up to $350 or more! It seems imminent that Apple will release new displays with iSights built in but it just seems odd that even with all of the prices for the cameras skyrocketing on ebay that they haven’t released a new version for all of those who haven’t bought any of the cool Macs with the built in iSights or those who have bought a Mac Pro.

I think it would be smart for Apple to release a new smaller camera along with the displays, even if the camera is only out for a year or so until most have upgraded to either a new Mac or a new display.

iSights on Ebay

What could Apple be up to?

The Apple store is now showing a “We’ll be back soon” sign. their were some rumors yesterday that something would be updated. I hope we’ll bet some of the stuff that we thought we were going to get at the MacWorld Keynote. Like, updated Mac Pros, new cinema displays, updated Mac Minis?