Mouse-Box is a complete computer… in a mouse!
Small computers are proving very popular these days. As well as the likes of Raspberry Pi, there are Windows 8.1/Linux devices like Intel's Compute Stick on the way, and fans of Linux Mint can purchase the CompuLab MintBox Mini. Given the size of this new generation of diminutive device, it’s perhaps surprising that no one has (successfully) tried to squeeze a PC into a mouse before.
Well, now, finally they have. Mouse-Box aims to be a complete computer inside in a fully functioning pointing device. You’ll be able to use it with your normal PC, and then switch to the Mouse-Box computer with ease. You just need access to a screen and keyboard (you already have the mouse!)
Brits are ready to be 'digital by default'
A new study from Fujitsu has revealed that UK consumers are ready for a nation that is digital by default.
Over a fifth of us will always opt for a digital-first approach, when a digital service is offered. Driven by a desire to speed up (66 percent) and simplify (62 percent) everyday processes, the results show a digitally confident nation, one that is seeking to move faster towards a digital future (39 percent) and that would vote for a political party if it focused on digital policies (20 percent).
I sold my MacBook Pro and bought a Chromebook
Yesterday afternoon, a San Diego State University student bought my MacBook Pro—13-inch Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD—for $1,100. I purchased the laptop from local dealer DC Computers in late-August 2014 for a few hundred dollars more. The buyer's interest was my own: Mac, large SSD, and extended warranty (expires April 2017).
The proceeds go to buying Toshiba Chromebook 2 (two, another for my wife) and Android phone for her. She moves from iPad Air, which has been, since September 2014, her PC—and that experience should be another story (be patient). If time travel was possible, I would keep, rather than sell, my Chromebook Pixel early last summer. The Chromie lifestyle suits me best, and I am excited to be back to it. However, in December, when reviewing the tech products that changed my digital lifestyle last year, including the switch to Apple's platforms: "I can’t imagine using anything else". I lied to myself, and unintentionally to you.
Fast forward to the 1980s as the cassette player makes a comeback
For anyone under 30 it may be hard to remember a time when you shared your musical tastes via mixtapes rather than playlists, when the top of every bus shelter was adorned by a broken cassette trailing yards of tape, and when loading a home computer program involved a tense few minutes hoping that you wouldn't suffer a read error before the end of the tape.
Well, prepare for a wave of hissing and clicking nostalgia as the cassette player seems to be making a comeback. According to UK catalog retailer Argos sales of cassette players over the past three months are 45 percent higher than the same period last year.
Atari Fit motivates you to exercise with the promise of classic games
January is the time of year when people traditionally decide to lose weight and get fit. Partly it’s because a new year equals a new start, and secondly it’s because the month follows the holidays when we’ve all overindulged and packed on the pounds.
This is the perfect time for companies to release fitness products, and veteran games company Atari is hoping to cash in with the announcement of a new 'gamified' fitness app that offers an unusual nostalgic twist.
When the going gets tough the hard drives get rugged
More than ever before we expect our technology to come with us wherever we go and more importantly be able to survive the journey.
The weakest link in the past has usually been storage because even SSDs don't take too kindly to rough treatment. Storage company G-Technology is using CES to launch a solution in the form of its range of rugged drives.
The Internet Archive now lets you play 2,400 classic DOS games online
In late 2013, the Internet Archive introduced a new area of its site called the Console Living Room which lets visitors play classic console games from systems of the past (including the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, ColecoVision, Magnavox Odyssey and Astrocade) in a web browser. In 2014, it made over 900 classic arcade games playable in its Internet Arcade. And now, in 2015, playable DOS games arrive on the site.
If, like me, you spent a lot of the 90s playing games on the PC, this is like a late, but very welcome, Christmas present. There are currently 2,391 games available to play, including classics like Cannon Fodder 2, Boulder Dash, Duke Nukem 3D, Prince of Persia, Championship Manager, The Incredible Machine, Eye of the Beholder (and its sequels), Hexen, Sim City, Wing Commander Academy, and the Kings Quest, Space Quest, and Leisure Suit Larry series -- to name just a few. More titles are promised, and the collection will change over time.
Amazon Fire TV and Roku gain Sling TV service, joining Xbox One and others
Sling TV, yes from the folks who brought you the Box, has launched and it's heading in many directions all at once. Earlier we heard that Xbox One would be the first gaming console to feature the service, now we're learning of the set-top box makers also partnered with Sling.
The new internet TV and video service has also teamed up with two of the most popular device makers currently in this market -- Roku and Amazon. Both companies plan to carry this new internet-based video service.
Top social networking regrets include immature comments, boring updates and vain selfies
The average Briton has 15 'internet regrets' -- things they wish they hadn’t done online -- according to a recent survey.
Everyone has in the heat of the moment posted something onto the internet without realizing the possible consequences. From rants about work and the boss to compromising photos and soppy status updates about the ex.
My favorite tech products of 2014 [Joe]
Looking back on this last day of the year, I wonder how my daily tech changed so much since the first. On Jan. 1, 2014, my core computing comprised Chromebook, Nexus tablet, and Nexus smartphone. Midyear, I switched out to all Microsoft—buying Surface Pro 3 and Nokia Lumia Icon. While commendable the effort, Windows poorly fit my lifestyle. Today, I'm all Apple—13-inch MacBook Pro Retina Display with 512GB SSD, iPhone 6 128GB, and iPad Air 128GB. I can't imagine using anything else.
Following the lead of my BetaNews colleagues Mihaita Bamburic, Ian Barker, Alan Buckingham, Brian Fagioli, and Wayne Williams, I review my year in tech, and unlike 2013 focus on products that released during the year. I present my 2014 personal tech alphabetically, from company name, rather than order of importance—because they all matter. Note: While the list looks like four, it's five because the first is two combined.
Facebook liars can start losing their grip on reality
If you have a habit of lying on Facebook, you’re only storing up problems for yourself, a new piece of research has concluded.
The new poll has pinned some numbers on a fairly obvious truth, and specifically, found that lying about how great your life is on the social network could induce paranoia and actual memory problems.
Will signatures soon be a thing of the past?
In March a new exhibition opened at the US National Archives in Washington DC. On display you could find, among other things, Adolf Hitler’s marriage certificate, witnessed by Goebbels, a greeting card from Saddam Hussein to George Bush, and a patent application from Michael Jackson for floor-lock shoes that allow the wearer to lean forward without falling over.
The exhibition called ‘Making Their Mark’ aimed to show how the story of the world can be told through signatures. In the months leading up to the opening, while the US archivists were busy trawling through the millions of documents available to them, a very different look at signatures was taking place across the Atlantic.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 2024
You send a command from your smartphone and your house automatically decorates itself with a holographic Christmas tree complete with decorations and a suitably conifer-like smell.
Sound like science fiction? Maybe, but this is among the predictions by the authors of a new book that looks at how technology is changing our lives and how we do business.
Modern technology brings friends and family closer together
A new piece of research is arguing against the belief that modern technology is unsociable and interferes with families spending quality time together.
The research, commissioned by Tesco, found that almost a quarter of Brits surveyed felt better connected to friends and family thanks to gadgets like smartphones, tablets and computers.
Hub It can now charge your devices wirelessly
I reviewed Hub It a couple of weeks ago, and described it as an "essential, fully customizable sync and charging station for all your devices". I liked it so much in fact, I persuaded its creators, Eggtronic, to giveaway two to BetaNews readers. Enter here (but be quick, the giveaway ends soon).
The product comes with three USB 3.0 ports, as well as connectors for Micro USB, Mini USB, Apple 30 pin and Apple Lightning, but you’re not limited to those options. The station makes use of hot switchable cartridges so you can choose exactly which connectors it offers. And from today, you can add Qi wireless charging to the list.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.