Teamwork has always been a successful way to get a job done. Case in point: Paul McCartney’s solo albums are all well and lovely on their own, but it was the collaborative efforts of four kids from Liverpool that first birthed a musical revolution. And while the technology industry has had its own fair share of notable collaborations (the most recent arguably being Microsoft and Yahoo’s much-debated Internet search partnership) we often find ourselves asking: What would happen if other leading trailblazers in the space (say, Dell and HP) could let bygones be bygones and tie the knot to the benefit of high-tech innovation worldwide? Tempted by the possibilities, we asked several of today’s leading tech experts which consumer electronics behemoths they themselves wish would get a clue, stop butting heads and join forces. For all you dreamers out there, here are the results:
Category: Features
Augmented Reality Past, Present and Future: How It Impacts Our Lives
Can’t stop hearing about it in the news, but wondering what makes “augmented reality” (AR) – the concept of overlaying computerized information, digital pop-up windows and/or virtual reality (VR) displays over real-world scenes and imagery – so exciting? Allow us to paint a picture. Imagine. You walk up to an airport terminal and breeze past the airline check-in. Afterwards, a wireless chip in your smartphone uses biometrics to verify your identity at a checkpoint, then a green arrow pops up and shows you the best path to the gate. When you get there, a blue circle shows you where to sit and helps you avoid the most common congestion points. You wait about five minutes until a soft chime tells you to get in line. The total time between drop-off and take-off: Just 20 minutes.
Publishers and Booksellers Rally to Support eBooks and eReaders
Lovers of all things printed, bound and published have a new literary hopeful hovering over their heads. But rather than the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, it’s the electronic reading device known as the eReader. Thankfully, while Johannes Gutenberg may be rolling his eyes from beyond the grave at the concept of digital tablets that display virtual volumes known as eBooks, the reality is that we’re potentially standing on the cusp of an industrial revolution. Better yet, even the field’s formerly staunchest holdouts – newspaper, book and magazine publishers – are finally waking up and embracing the technology’s potential in growing numbers.
Which Gadgets Are Selling: For Some Technology, Analysts Say, It’s Buyer Beware
What’s hot? What’s not? And what was the last gadget you actually bought? It’s quite the challenge to keep pace with technology’s latest and greatest trends, especially with disposable income tighter than ever for so many. Which made us wonder: Despite all the flashy ads and splashy headlines, which types of consumer electronics are actually selling? According to the top technology insiders we spoke with, the results may shock. Planning on buying a new PC or iPod this year? Surprise: Here’s why you might just be the odd man out…
What is Augmented Reality (AR): Augmented Reality Defined, iPhone Augmented Reality Apps and Games and More
As you wait anxiously in the motionless horde of cars tangled in rush hour traffic, you gather surrounding statistics through your digital LED contact lenses. Tom’s Pizzeria is five blocks ahead and was ranked four out of five stars by customer reviews. As for the woman in the beige Honda beside you, she has a Jack Russell Terrier named Charlie, is originally from Texas, and her favorite book is Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. The pack loosens up and you finish your commute home.
Is the Internet Poised to Break?
Global Internet backbone operators are responding to the traffic growth, such as annual growth rates in the triple digits for many developing countries, by deploying staggering amounts of new capacity, research firm TeleGeography says.
Since 2007, international Internet bandwidth increased 64 percent, according to TeleGeography, as backbone operators upgraded their networks to handle rapidly growing traffic volumes. And in 2009 network operators added 9.4 Tbps of new capacity, exceeding the 8.7 Tbps in existence just two years earlier.
In the Year 2020, Part III: Transportation, Urban Planning, and Energy
Check out Part I and Part II in our series about life in the year 2020.
Our cities are a mess. Based on grids of pavement for devices of transport that pump poisonous fumes into the atmosphere, they and their inhabitants are slowly but inexorably being choked into submission. Many of them are rotting from the core – their eroding downtowns often unattainable in heavy traffic from the distant, sprawling suburbs that surround them.
Epic Fail: The Top 10 Most Terrifying Technology Disasters
Check out some of the worst tech nightmares from the Digital Trends staff.
What’s scarier than Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and that creepy girl from The Ring combined? The horror of technology when it bombs out on us at the worst possible time, as both everyday individuals and some the world’s most prestigious companies alike can attest.
Upgrading to Windows Mobile 6.5: Experts Say Wait and See
Consider this: It probably won’t matter whether you upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 or you don’t, so save some money and do the latter – or at least that’s what some top mobile experts are saying. Other tech experts are urging consumers to remember that if you’re looking for a low cost smartphone with an updated operating system (OS), then maybe you should try a new Windows Mobile 6.5 phone instead. But is it just a case of mixed messages? Only time will tell for sure, but for now, across the board, inside opinions are torn as to the actual value of Microsoft’s latest platform for mobile handsets.
Music, Movie and Software Piracy: What’s Your Chance of Getting Caught?
“No two ways about it: Piracy is legally and morally wrong.”
We’ve all heard it a million times. We’ve heard the analogies to walking out of a store with a CD under your jacket, sending software developers straight to the unemployment line or ripping food right out of a poor key grip’s mouth. And for some of us, we’ve even seen people we know ensnared by the law when they finally get caught gorging on free motion pictures and music.
