Issue 2.16
The Consumer Electronics Show just concluded and I wanted to report to you some of the new and exciting tech coming out this year. First of all, everywhere you went there were drones of all kinds and sizes. Many have cameras and extended range or flying time. One drone you won’t get to use in the near future is the Ehang 184 from China. It is touted as a personal transportation drone that can carry you at speeds up to 60 mph for about 20 minutes after which it must be recharged. Illegal in the US at this point, you may be able to buy it in China this year for about $250,000. Smart watches were also shown from many new players in this field.
Many manufacturers are showing OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays. These are used in TVs and Computer Monitors and have more contrast and higher resolution than LED screens. Some manufacturers are even showing “roll-able” screens you can roll up and put in a tube for transport. Prices are a bit higher but the possibilities are very interesting.
It the computer area, many companies are showing Intel Core M laptops that have good performance but run cooler allowing thinner and lighter laptops and tablet/combo systems. Dell seemed to be the favorite with these but others are in hot pursuit. Origin showed their Omni all-in-one gaming computer which will be out this year. It has a 34 inch curved screen and can accept high end video cards and accessories instead of using laptop parts as most all-in-ones do. There were also a number of VR (Virtual Reality) 3D headsets that are improvements on existing technology.
Samsung showed a high end refrigerator ($5000) that has cameras inside and shows you what is there on a door mounted display and through the internet. They also showed a button that you can wear that locks your computer when you walk away from it and a carry bag that uses solar panels to charge usb devices.
Amazon’s Echo voice activated assistant (similar to the iphone Siri or Microsoft’s Cortana) can answer your questions or tell you sports scores or other info. It is also a sound module designed to play music in regular rooms of your home instead of just with your phone or computer. Amazon has been very successful in linking it to many internet sources and wifi automation products such Insteon, WeMo, Pandora and others.
Other companies have improved speech to text/type software. Portable SSD (Solid State Drives) are becoming affordable in the 250 to 2000 Megabyte (2 Terabyte) sizes and should be a big hit with those that need to transport large amounts of data between locations. Intel also showed a new version of their “Compute Stick” which was debuted last year, but is more powerful and functional this year. You simply plug it into your TV with the HDMI port, connect a keyboard and mouse and you have a computer. Though it won’t replace your desktop or good laptop, it is fine for email, video and music streaming, facebook, etc. At around $150, it might be worth playing with.
The innovations keep coming so keep your eyes open for something you like. And remember – make sure you always have a backup of anything important.
Shaun McCausland has worked in the computer industry for over 33 years, 26 years of it locally with Bits ‘N’ Bytes and Musicomp and currently works as a computer consultant. If you have questions you can reach him at 435-668-7118 or shaun@musicomp.net.