Dispatches from the Reviews Editor
Charles has been in tech publishing since the late 1980s, starting with Reed's Practical Computing, then moving to Ziff-Davis to help launch the UK version of PC Magazine in 1992. ZDNet came looking for a Reviews Editor in 2000, and he's been here ever since.
Tablet computers are getting plenty of exposure at the moment thanks to Apple and its consumer plaything, the iPad. At the other end of the tablet market is Motion Computing, which since 2001 has quietly built a successful business targeting traditional vertical markets like healthcare, construction and field service workers.
Lenovo has introduced a second member of its new SOHO/SME-focused Edge range, and a new family of entry-level enterprise ThinkPads — the L series.ThinkPad Edge 15"The 13.
Having initially shipped a nicely designed piece of hardware with what can only be described as a half-baked operating system, Fusion Garage has now begun to rectify the matter with a series of OS and firmware updates for its Joojoo tablet.The updates, which will be pushed out during May, will include improved touchscreen firmware and support for full-screen HD video via Flash-based players.
Designers and developers in a range of creative professions can now get their hands on Adobe's new Creative Suite 5, which ships today.Whether the new features in updated versions of stalwarts like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Flash and Premiere Pro are worth the prices Adobe charges is a subject of debate every time a new Creative Suite appears.
We're used to seeing imaging devices and notebooks supporting SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards, which offer storage capacities up to 32GB. You can buy a 32GB SDHC card for around £60, although a fast Class 10 (10MB/sec minimum write speed) card suitable for high-performance HD video recording will cost at least double that.
Before Christmas, Sandra Vogel wrote about 3's MiFi device, a £49.99 (PAYG) Huawei-made portable HSPA modem/Wi-Fi router about the size of a small smartphone.
Data Robotics, the company behind the Drobo range of 'self-managing, self-healing storage solutions' for small businesses and creative professionals, has launched two new additions to its product line — one aimed at each of its target markets.Drobo EliteFor SMEs looking to implement an iSCSI SAN, the 8-drive Drobo Elite extends the functionality of the Editors' Choice-winning Drobo Pro to include multi-host support for consolidating storage across several servers (up to 16).
A few weeks ago I met with Craig Malloy, co-founder and CEO of high-definition videoconferencing specialist LifeSize Communications, as the company was introducing its Skype-compatible Passport product. Naturally the conversation touched on Cisco's recent purchase of Tandberg.
Windows 7 launches officially next week (22 October), and to mark the upcoming event, three bulky packages arrive from publisher Wiley. Yes, Windows 7's assault on the world's forests is underway.
To 30, St Mary Axe, a.k.a The Gherkin, to meet Craig Malloy, CEO of High-Definition (HD) videoconferencing specialists LifeSize in their swanky new UK office.