Smart Technology » Electronics

Panasonic Unveiled Interchangeable Camera Lens

daler — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:58:03 +0000

Panasonic makes an interchangeable photographic camera lens as bringing 3D still images and brought out a consumer camcorder able to record 3D video. The consumer camcorder electronics company introduced the lens system on Tuesday, telling it would work on with choice models of the company’s Lumix camera line. Well-matched models will be announced ahead the closing of the year, by the release date of new lens.

The lens is actually comprised of two small lenses that transmit slightly different viewpoints of a subject to the camera’s image sensor. The resulting picture gives the illusion of depth and appears to be in three dimensions.

Because the 3D lens is interchangeable, photographers have the option of using a standard 2D lens with the camera. But Panasonic, and other major consumer electronics makers, such as Sony and Samsung, sees 3D as the future.

Panasonic is hoping that people buying its 3D-capable Viera televisions and Blu-ray disc players will also want to create their own 3D content. Global shipments of 3D TVs will total only 4.2 million units this year, compared to 27.7 million shipments of Internet-enabled TVs, iSuppli predicted in a report released Wednesday. The market researcher expects IETVs to be “the biggest near-term growth story,” with 3D television sales picking up steam in the coming years.

Smart Home Automation

daler — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 11:53:16 +0000

Home automation is an advanced technology that can make your day to day life very comfortable and provide convenience at your fingertips. However, due to its prohibitive costs, not all families can afford to purchase these gadgets to enjoy their benefits. In the future, though, fully automated homes will be a reality for the world.

There are many companies dealing with home automation products and many are trying to manufacture these devices to make them more affordable to the general public, without compromising on their quality. Home automation can bring all the comforts to your home. Smart House Digital Interiors is a company based in Atlanta, Georgia that provides all kinds of home automation devices and gadgets.

Smart House Digital Interiors specialize in entertainment, automation, communications, structured wiring, security, lighting control and service support. They cater to newly constructed homes or existing homes. For home automation, the company provides lighting control, system integration and energy management. The company will design and install the automation system and also provide service and support to the networked systems. Their systems are easy to use and reliable and they are a company trusted by many residents of Atlanta.

The company will guide you in your home automation project from the start to the finish. The home automation technology is used to the fullest by integrating all the systems such as heating, lighting, cooling and security to work together. The jobs are completed on schedule and they pay close attention to detail at the time of design and installation of the system. Customer satisfaction, quality and service are the three factors that make them a leading home automation company in Atlanta.

Besides providing an automated home system, Smart House Digital offers energy management to help you conserve energy. The company ensures to make your life secure, easy and comfortable and also guarantees you a beautiful home.

For an individual leading a busy and hectic life, the home automation system is a blessing. Smart House Digital’s home systems offer the following features:- Automatic activation of the security system on weekdays- Turn the lights on or off during the day and night.- Predetermined lighting scenes activated automatically- Automatic adjustment of thermostats- Checking of the operation of the system through telephone- Centralized controls through touch screens and automation keypads for lighting, security and HVAC.

The security system provided by Smart House Digital Interiors is much more advanced as compared to the traditional security system. It can detect the malfunction in the smoke circuit, it will inform you when the alarm is disarmed, it can detect extra motion at night and it can also be integrated with the HVAC or lighting system when you are not in the house. Some packages even provide front door cameras, backyard cameras, baby cameras and pool cameras.

If you wish to make your home automated, you must first identify the areas that need automation, and the budget that you intend to allot for the purpose. Residents of Atlanta have a wide variety of packages offered by Smart House Digital Interiors, to choose from, that may be suited to their needs. Home automation will allow you to spend quality time with your family and make life in general, comfortable and relaxing.

Smart Board or Electronic Whiteboard?

daler — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:30:05 +0000

The Smart Board is an interactive whiteboard that turns your computer and data projector into a powerful tool for teaching and presenting. With the computer image projected on the Board, simply use your finger and press on the large touch-sensitive surface to control the computer. This allows your students or employees to do presentations from the front of the room instead of having to be at the computer.

Using one of the pens from the Smart Pen Tray, you just write on the board and the touch-sensitive screen tells the computer what color pen you are using and your notes are projected onto the screen in the correct color. You can save these notes on the computer or send them to your printer to be given out as a study aid. These are just a couple of the many uses for this wonderful tool.

The Smart Board is an interactive whiteboard. Using the Smart Board, you can:

Save notes written on the Board to a computer file.
Use your finger to press on the Board to control Windows and Macintosh applications and other multimedia materials projected onto the Board’s touch-sensitive surface.
You can then write over top of your applications and save the annotations to a computer file.

The notes and annotated images can be printed from a computer printer, e-mailed, posted to a network, copied and pasted into other applications or saved as an HTML file. Smart Board Software, included with every Smart Board, dramatically enhances group collaboration. Smart boards are perfect for schools and meeting rooms or any application that needs visual communication or collaboration over the internet. Imagine a workspace where communication flows freely between individuals and groups – whether you’re in the office or thousands of miles away. Collaborate with colleagues or clients by creating a conference session that takes seconds to set up – and you can do it all from your own office, saving valuable travel costs and time.

How does the Smart Board work?

It uses resistive technology, which means there is a small air gap between two sheets of resistive material inside the board. When you press on the Board with your finger or an ordinary dry-erase marker, a contact point is registered and its coordinates correspond to the same area on the computer screen. Because the Smart Board is based on resistive technology, it does not require a special stylus or pen to perform mouse or pen functions at the Board, only pressure on the Board’s surface.

Electronic whiteboards allow users to interact and touch the board to control any computer application, create and write notes, draw diagrams and illustrate ideas. One can focus by highlighting key information with electronic ink and also capture images, notes or updates and save, print or e-mail notes. Using an interactive whiteboard helps you to simplify and work naturally at the Board with familiar, easy-to-use tools.

Smart DVD Player

daler — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:52:35 +0000

Your current DVD player isn’t working so hot right now, or maybe you just returned to the planet and discovered your betamax didn’t work out the way you hoped it would. Either way, Sparky, you need a DVD player. You could run down to your local electronics store and pick up a new one; after all, a DVD Player is a DVD player, right? Obviously not, otherwise you’d be reading something else right now. It just so happens that there are options you might not have thought about-and we’re going to tell you about them.

If you’re buying online to save money and add to your choices, you might be asked, “NTSC or PAL?” or the two might be referred to. Without getting too technical, they are standards of picture quality and regional. NTSC is the standard used in North America and PAL is the general European standard. They are not compatible and PAL will not work on your American set, period– UNLESS you buy a non-regional (or both region) DVD player. Then it will work on your NTSC TV set (HDTV). The advantage is that you will be able to buy and watch imported movies without any problem, which is very cool if you’re into French Noir films-who isn’t?

Let’s chat about outputs. The standards now for players are the composite video cable and the s-video cable. Neither is really that much better than the other. Both are messy and if you hook up everything else to your TV using HDMI cables, your DVD player’s “extra” cables will throw everything off and drive you crazy hooking and unhooking. A viable option that a lot of people miss is to buy a DVD player with DVI outputs. DVI outputs work with HDMI cables without having to do anything special and at a cheaper cost than a one with HDMI outputs. This will keep your home media center cabling all on the same type of cable and save you around $50 or so. You are very welcome.

Interlaced and progressive DVD players are different. Without getting too technical and talking about a bunch of stuff even I don’t care about- interlaced means that every other line on your DVD disc is scanned and then the DVD player pairs them together. Progressive players scan in order from first to last, the result being a faster frame rate (pictures displayed per second). Progressive players cost a bit more, but why spend a lot of money on a nice TV if the DVD movies you are watching are not going to be of the best quality available?

Playback is something you might want to think about as well. Will you be playing MP3 files (on CD) on your new DVD player? How about DVD-R/DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW, and WMA? Check the specs on this one. Basically, you took all that time to (hopefully) buy your music and maybe a movie on the internet, you want to be able to play them back on all of your equipment, including your new DVD player. Most new DVD players should be able to playback all these formats, but don’t take this for granted.

Outputs are a concern as well. DVI or HDMI? They are both interchangeable – so really, that’s not a problem. What might be a problem is if you decide to buy bargain basement. If the outputs are not HDMI or DVI, the DVD player will still work with component video cables, but the end product will be a slightly less than desirable picture. Keep that in mind. Also you’ll have more cables to hook up than with an HDMI/DVI output.

DVD/DVR combos are out there now to consider as well, and most consumer like them. You own the DVR so no monthly payments to your programming provider, and you can archive what you want in the way of TV shows and sporting events for further use without them cluttering up you DVR hard drive. Which is always a plus. They are definitely more pricey, but unlike a straight DVR, eventually you’ll break even on what you are paying for a DVR rental.

You should be well-armed now to make a better informed decision on purchasing your new DVD player. Comparative-shop away!- Or you could just wait awhile; I read a rumor that Betamax is making a comeback soon…

Smart Leasing Strategies

daler — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:11:39 +0000

The U.S. Department of Commerce continues to cite what business owners and financial managers already know: rapidly changing technology and cost-containment issues have spurred phenomenal growth in the equipment leasing market. Despite current economic difficulties, Global Insight, Inc., predicts that over $1.15 trillion in equipment will be acquired during 2009. More than $672 billion will be financed using loans, leases and other financial instruments.

Eighty percent of U.S. companies lease equipment to add or upgrade and stay in step with the changing landscape of business, especially in the area of technology. Fifty-nine percent of all businesses that finance equipment report they will lease computer equipment and 37 percent say they will lease software. Digital printing equipment is the most common equipment leased in every printing company.

However, not all equipment leases are the same. How can you protect your company? Whether your company is small, mid-size or large, avoid technical obsolescence without overspending by learning to bring financial and technical matters into line with the business issues. By trimming hidden fees, it is possible to cut five to 15 percent from the cost of leasing equipment, whether it is a laptop or desktop computer, molding equipment, printing press, fork lift or digital copier.

The first step to paring costs is awareness. You hold the power of negotiating financial terms in any lease agreement; in turn, you hold the power to save hundreds, thousands–even millions–over the life of the lease.

Here are eight smart leasing strategies to save time and money.

1. Find a natural fit. There are many types of leases and leasing companies. All offer variables that affect the bottom line, and all contain benefits as well as potential pitfalls. Shop for the company that helps you get what you need when you need it–at the right price. In theory, the leasing company wants your business and will not jeopardize the relationship because of a few fine points related to financing. The manufacturer’s leasing source may not offer the best priced financing package it often is an easy option to choose.

2. Reduce up-front costs and monthly payments. Focus on the best price for the equipment, not the monthly payment. Always negotiate with the equipment sales person as if you are a cash buyer. In that way you are assured that you remain focused on the asset price. The financing negotiation will follow later. The best monthly payments and terms are driven by the purchase price you negotiate.

3. Adjust the payment schedule. After the cost of equipment is negotiated, payment terms are also key to cost savings. Request the payment plan that fits your cash flow projections, whether it is monthly, quarterly or annual. If equipment operators experience a learning curve, structured lease payments may be helpful. Consider lower payments during the first three to six months.

4. Understand buy-outs. You may believe you can buy equipment at the end of the lease for “about 10 percent” while the lease states “in-place and in-use fair market value.” The difference can be significant and costly.

5. Avoid hidden penalties. Penalties as high as 60 percent that lurk in return provisions, upgrades, deadlines, cancellations and automatic extensions are negotiable and avoidable.

6. Beware of the “Perpetual Lease.” Chances are, you will not be notified that the original lease term has ended. The lease may automatically extend or renew, trapping you in added payments or a costly “Evergreen Lease.”

7. Ask an expert. Consult a lease review expert to bring financial and technical matters into line with legal issues–before you sign.

8. Never too late to negotiate. Even if you are in a lease, there are still negotiable items such as late payments, end of lease purchase prices, relocation fees and return fees.

Smart Technology » Electronics

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