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The Consumer Electronics Show has been for many years the place to see a preview of the new gadgets coming out in the coming year. Thanks to Leo Laporte and his TWIT Network as well as Revision3 I was able to see everything that was going on at CES without having to go all the way out to Las Vegas! One thing about CES is that there is a lot of weird or gimmicky stuff but, along all that, there are some really cool gadgets and I would like t share them with you.

One of the biggest things of CES this year were tablet PCs, although I have in the past not been much of a fan of Tablet PCs, but these new ones are really cool. The one that I liked the most was the Lenovo U1, this is a truley innovative device because it has a base that when it’s docked, it looks like a normal latop computer and runs Windows 7! However, you can pull the monitor part off the base and allow it to work as a slate and once it is off the base, it instantly switches over to Linux and goes right back to Windows 7 when you re-dock it.  This device is the best tablet computer I have ever seen, but, I have a feeling Apple will one-up Lenovo at there even at the end of the month.

One of the biggest gimmicks of CES, was 3D TVs, personally I don’t want to watch TV in 3D and definitly not if I have to wear 3D glasses. I think this will be a passing trend and won’t catch on.

Something, I found interesting is the Boxee Box which allows you to watch internet content both from television networks and web content on your TV using an internet connection and is a competitor to the very popular Roku box. Between these two boxes, I think I won’t need a Mac Mini for my media center in the future and I can use either a Roku or Boxee box and save over $300!

Another big thing was smartphones, Google’s Nexus One was released just before the show adn was there on display. The other big announcment is that the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi will be coming to Verizon in the first quarter of this year!

There were many other smaller gadgets that you may want to look at but, these are just my thoughts and what stuck out to me!

The rumor of a touch-based Apple computer have been floating around for over a year now and it sounds like the device is going to be announced in their press event on January 26th.  Reports have stated that Steve Jobs has been working on this device for three years now and that he is happy with the tablet, although both of these are rumors. There is a chance that there will not be a tablet announcement but, I think it is time for them to announce the tablet even if it is just a preview. I am going to give my thoughts about the tablet and what I expect out of it.

Two Theories:

Version 1: Touch Screen Macbook:

If Apple were to make the Tablet more like a Macbook with a touch screen, then it would run a Touch Version of Mac OSX. At this form factor I would expect the device to be priced between $700 and $1,500 and to have at least a 13 inch screen. I think there most likley will not be a hardware keyboard and would have a webcam built-in to the device.

Version 2: Large Screen iPod Touch:

The giant iPod Touch would run iPhone OS and would definitely not have a hardware keyboard. The screen would be between  7 and 10 inches and will run iPhone OS. This iteration would cost somewhere between $300 and $600.

I think that Apple will use one of these two tablet form factors for the device.

Other Thoughts:

1. NO STYLUS! – Why bother when the iPhone doesn’t need to have one
   
2. Ebook Reading capabilities- Apple ebook store?
3. Cellular internet- Hopefully optional
4. Handwriting Recognition???- Would require pen

I will be covering what happened at the Apple event and give my thoughts the day after the event, as I usually do and will give my thoughts about the tablet if it is announced.

Since we are now in a new year, I thought it would be a cool idea to make technology New Years resolutions and post them and then follow up with them at the end of the year to see how I did.

1. Use more Cloud Computing

I have been a strong advocate of Cloud computing for a while and although, I use many Cloud services, I plan on using more in my daily life and I will continue to update all of you with my articles of services that I begin to use and tell you what changes I will make during the year.

2. Responsibly Dispose of Old Electronics

As you can imagine, being a technology enthusiast, I have collected many old electroncis that no longer are useful for me and just take up space sitting around. I plan to take them to places that will recycle them and dispose of my old gadgets in a responile way that will not be harmful to the environment. This will be also covered with a blog article once I have completed this so that everyone can do this with their broken and unwanted gadgets.

3. Reduce papers and use more Digital Documents

As I have mentioned in a previous article, I am trying to reduce my papers and replace them with digital copies so that I can have access to the data and not have papers lying around.

I will follow up with these goals as things happen and post advice if you are interested in these as well!

Well, this year and this decade is almost over! As I do every year, I am going to write my predictions for what big technologies will be coming out in 2010!

1.    Apple Tablet
This device has been rumored for over a year now, and I think the rumors are pointing to the January 26th Apple event for the release of the Apple Tablet!
2.    More Set top Boxes
Set-top boxes that allow users to access internet content on their living room television sets. This is going to be more common because more people have stopped using cable and just use the internet to watch the TV shows they want to see.
3.    iPhone on a New Carrier
All iPhone users know the pain for having AT&T service. Apple has been exclusive with AT&T since the iPhone was released but that exclusivity expires in this June and I think at the very least, Apple will be adding an additional carrier if not replacing AT&T, rumors suggest Verizon which I think would be awesome!
4.    More 4G Coverage
Although 3G internet is just starting to roll out, it is still not finished but, the next generation of cellular internet, 4G is coming out and is being rolled out in major cities. In 2010, I think 4G will become much more common and will continue to roll-out into

This past decade, will be known for the massive growth of Technology and I wanted to highlight the biggest developments this past decade!

1. iPod
2. Mp3 Music
3. High Definition Video
4. Youtube
5. Streaming Video
6. iPhone
7. Android
8. Google
9. Social Networking
10. Cell Phones

At the end of every year, I predict what are the big Technology developments for the next year. I will be putting out my predictions for 2010 soon but, let’s review how accurate my predictions from last year.

1.    More Ultraportable Laptops
Definitely happened, netbooks exploded this year and every major computer manufacturer, except for Apple!
2.    More Android Phones
This year showed major growth for Android with the introduction of the amazing Droid from Verizon and many other Android Phones.
3.    New Nokia Internet Tablet
The Nokia N900 which is not only a tablet, but a phone as well was released this year! Although it is not as good as the iPhone or even an Android phone it is out and has some potential.
4.    Affordable 3G Modems
Modems have become cheaper and sometimes free with a contract but, contracts are still ridiculously expensive.
5.    All-In-One Desktops become standard
This was a little too much forward thinking! Maybe in the next 5 years!
6.    Nationwide Wifi
Hopefully, this is still in the works!

Copying or ripping your DVDs to your computers is something everyone should do not only for backing up, but also for a copy that you can take with you anywhere you take your computer. Back-ups is the biggest thing for me, because what if a fire destroys all my DVDs, that would be awful. So, one of the first things I do when I buy a DVD is rip it to my computer using Handbrake and keep it on my external hard drive. This way I can watch it on my computer if I choose or just make sure I have a copy of my movies if disaster strikes. Also, as a extra precaution, I have the external hard drive backed up using Backblaze so my movies are safe even if my hard drive breaks. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act permits you to make a digital copy of your movies for “Personal Use” so I recommend getting a external hard drive and ripping all your DVDs so, you know your movies are safe. I actually don’t take any DVDs to school and just use the digital copies to watch movies when I am at college.

Security for a personal computer has become essential because so many things have had to go digital. However, computers are still very new technology and have issues and one of the largest issues is keeping you information safe. Here are some tips so can keep you computer safe.

1. Change Your Passwords

With all the accounts you need to keep password protected, including your user account that you need to login. But it is a good idea to change your password regularly. When choosing a password, make sure it is not a word or something easy to guess. It is best to use: lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers and symbols in your password. If you don’t want to make your own password, then there are password generators like the one made by GRC. I recommend that you change a few letters in the password so that you can be sure the password is safe.

2. Encrypt Your Hard Drive

If you want to keep your data extremely safe then, you should encrypt your hard drive so even if your hard drive is stolen, your data will remain safe. Both Windows and Mac OS have encryption tools built-in to the operating system, even though it is only in the business versions of Windows. If you don’t want to spend more on your operating system, then you could use Truecrypt which can be used to make an encrypted volume or just encrypt the entire hard drive.

3. Disable The Guest account

To make sure unwanted guests don’t log into your computer, you should turn off the guest account and make sure all your user accounts require a password.

4. Enable the Firewall

Firewalls are essential for keeping hackers from being able to gain access to your system from the internet. The Firewall will, control who and what can access the internet and the computer.

Since the year is almost over, you might want to have a fresh start with your digital life and get rid of all the digital clutter that has been accumulated on your computer. The best way to do this is reinstalling your operating system and clearing off your entire machine. This is incredibly easy thing to do, but, very few people in my experience actually do it! Before doing anything, make sure you backup all your data and make sure you have your hardware drivers easily accessible, I like to keep them on a external hard drive or thumb drive so that I can just pop it in and install everything I need. You will also need to have either a Windows Installation Disk or a Restore disk that should have come with your system!

You might wonder why, you want to spend the time to do this. Well first, especially on Windows, the disk drive gets fragmented which causes the computer to run slower and make the read and write speeds with the hard drive much slower. There are also all those extra files from things you have downloaded, or programs you may have had installed and uninstalled. Buy reinstalling your operating system, you can get rid of all the junk on your computer. I try and do this at least once a year with my Windows computer, although I have yet to do it on my Mac! One tip, if you really want to get rid of all your just is to run a Hard drive wiping tool such as Darren’s Boot and Nuke to completely wipe the drive making sure nothing remains after the reinstall. This is just a great way to eliminate all the junk slowing down your computer and it really only takes about an hour and then however much time it takes you to restore all your data, The computer will definitely run better and you can have a fresh start for the new year!

Picture from My Flickr Page

As you might of heard on The Weekly Spin or on my Twitter feed, my old Logitech headset that I used to record The Weekly Spin and used for general Skype use broken and I had to return it to Newegg! Luckily it was under warranty and because of that after I returned it I was able to get another microphone with the same value which was $20! There were not many USB microphones or headsets for $20 except this one so, I knew it was really my only option. The Logitech USB Microhphone was my choice and I am so grateful that I made that choice. After I plugged it in for the first time and tested out recording I found out that this microphone is extraordinary! The voice quality is great and even when I put it  directly in front of my old Dell Laptop that makes a lot of noise all it picks up is my voice. This is because of the noise cancellation built into the microphone which makes this great for podcasters as well as anyone who needs to do voice-over work!  The only compalint that I have is because I have gotten used to having a headset with the microphone directly in front of my face, having a standing mic takes some getting used to and requires some pre-recording testing to asure good audio levels.

Overall, I recommend anyone just starting doing professional recording it is completely worth the money and will not disappoint! I am excited to begin using this for The Weekly Spin and other projects because of it’s superior quality, it makes me almost glad my old microphone broke because this microphone has much higher quality!