Corning Visualizes Our Glass Future: Tablets & Huge Displays (Video)

You might know Corning for their Gorilla Glass and Gorilla Glass 2 that provide great durability to your smartphone and tablet displays, but Corning makes much more than tablet glass.

In this new video, Corning envisions the future, specifically the role smart glass will have in your day-to-day life. In A Day Made of Glass 2, Corning shows off a collection of awesome glass technology that will make its way into your home, school, office and car.

From smartphones and tablets to edge to edge displays around your house, and the networks that carry all the information you need to stay connected Corning is counting on a glass filled future.

Take a look at this cool video, it is well worth the 10 minute runtime.

How Glass Will Shape Your Future

In the video above, you can see how Corning, a maker of specialty glass, imagines a day in the life of a shoolkid and a medical professional. From see through tablets, smart closets, adaptive glass dashboards and full wall conferencing systems and outdoor signage that can do amazing things, like bring dinosaurs to the forest. At the end of the day, forget a 55 inch HDTV, and tune into your tablet controlled smart wall edge to edge display. 

One example of how a transparent tablet can make augmented reality awesome. 

Some of the cool tech includes

• Super thin, see through displays on tablets that need less power. 

• Window that changes from tinted to clear on demand. 

• Automotive glass that tints on demand. 

• Edge to edge display so you can have a smart mirror on your closet, powered by your thin tablet. 

• Community Activity Surfaces – Essentially Microsoft Surface style multitouch glass activity surface on a huge scale. 

• Dashboard made of thin glass, that’s also a display. 

• Huge outdoor glass barriers that can display information and enhance the environment with learning. 

• Many improvements in weight of automobile parts. 

• Better solar power panels that are aesthetically pleasing and efficient.

Here’s a collection of images showing off the technology Corning has envisioned for your glass filled future.

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Best Business Notebook : Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Review

The new Thinkpad X1 Carbon is an incomprehensibly thin 14″ premium Ultrabook that ought to be standard issue in corporate America. Like the Thinkpads before it, the X1 Carbon has a strong, moderate appearance coupled with an incredible console. Dissimilar to business machines of yesterday, clients no more need to exchange off versatility for a vast screen. Basically, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon is the best business note pad cash can purchase, at any rate for the regular working drone. 

The X1 Carbon addresses three of the greatest issues business note pad clients grumble about: using up battery power, not having the capacity to discover an Internet association and needing to haul around a substantial machine. On the off chance that you confront those journal infirmities all the time, you're going to love the way that the X1 Carbon weighs short of what three pounds, can go from zero to 70% charge in 30 minutes and accompanies Hspa+ remote heated in. 

In general, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon is an immense change over the first Thinkpad X1, discarding the gleaming screen, 12 ounces of weight and a decent measure of thickness. 

Starting today, its our top pick for general business clients that have a couple of additional dollars to use on a quality machine. Its thin profile, enormous showcase, phenomenal console and fabricate quality procure it a Notebooks.com Editors' Choice Award. 

Like all contraptions, the X1 Carbon has a few blemishes, however they're for the most part veiled by everything else the X1 Carbon brings to the table. Corporate recluses may dismiss the Thinkpad X1 Carbon's $1,399 passage value, which can move to $1,849 when generally prepared. The showcase could be brighter and the speakers louder. We additionally wish Thinkpad would offer an amplified battery choice for clients that can't live on the single inward batter.

Pros

Very thin and light
14″ Display in a 13″ Package
Great Keyboard and Touchpad
Charges very quickly Cons

Speaker volume when used on lap
Fixed battery
Screen brightness

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Design

The Thinkpad X1 Carbon looks a ton like each other Thinkpad at the outset. Anyhow that is alright with us thinking of it as' a look that is stood the test of time. There are a lot of spots where ostentatious completes and shining logos are alright, however the board room isn't one of them. The cover is all dark put something aside for the Lenovo and Thinkpad logos up top and modest slumber and battery markers on the lower-right corner. 

The fundamental draw of the Thinkpad X1 Carbon is that its amazingly thin and light for a 14″ record book. Measuring only .71″ at its thickest point, the X1 Carbon is more slender than two iphone 4s' stacked on top of one another. One thing that we like abou the X1 Carbon is that its pivot is intended to permit the showcase set down just about totally level. This may not sound like a major ordeal to a few clients, however tall gentlemen stuck utilizing their journals as a part of tight circumstances will admire it. 

As the machine's name proposes, Lenovo uses carbon fiber in the X1 Carbon's development. The top spread and the inner move confine are made of carbon fiber, which is as solid as aluminum and weighs two-thirds less. Normal Thinkpad move pens are made of magnesium, which is double the weight of carbon fiber. Move confines are crucial in business note pads to secure their innards. The X1 Carbon meets or surpasses eight MIL-SPEC principles for sturdiness. The consequence of these decisions is the X1 Carbon feels extremely robust and clients won't need to stress over minor drops or knocking it around. 

Thinkpad X1 Carbon Ports on Left Side 

The Thinkpad X1 Carbon doesn't have a considerable measure of ports contrasted with different Thinkpads, including the first Thinkpad X1. Gone are Ethernet and HDMI ports, alongside the standard Thinkpad AC connector port. Rather, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon has a rectangular force port on its left side, alongside a USB 2.0 port and remote on/off swi



Thinkpad X1 Carbon Ports on Right Side 

The privilege side of the X1 Carbon has a 4-in-1 SD card peruser, USB 3.0 port, Audio In/Out port and Kensington lock space. The card space swallows a whole SD card, instead of leaving piece of it hanging out as some note pad card perusers do. Displayport is the main feature out choice, which implies you may need to purchase a connector or two in the event that you have to interface with a projector or HDTV. 

There's a little SIM card opening on the again of the machine. The portable broadband gimmick permits clients to get online without needing to hunt down an open Wi-Fi system or set up tying on their cell phones. Lenovo makes the portable broadband experience by permitting clients to transform the X1 Carbon into a versatile hotspot so partners can jump online in generally Wi-Fi free zones. 

The Ethernet port's absense can be reduced as a USB-to-Ethernet dongle or by buying a USB docking station. The Lenovo Thinkpad 3.0 Dock offers five USB ports, a sound jack, double DVI ports, Ethernet port and a Kensington lock opening. 

Thinkpad X1 Carbon Keyboard and Touchpad 

The X1 Carbon's console is the best Thinkpad console I've ever utilized, which is to say its the best note pad console I've utilized. Ask any prepared Thinkpad client what they cherish most about their Pcs and they'll likely indicate the console. The Thinkpad X1 Carbon's console is much unique in relation to yesterday's Thinkpad consoles, yet that is not an awful thing. My fingers felt at home the first occasion when I laid my active the Carbon X1′s island-style console and was in a split second ready to sort as fast as I can on consoles I've utilized for a considerable length of time. The keys are scalloped, bended like a grin at the base and have plentiful space between one another. These configuration decisions make it hard to unintentionally strike the wrong key. There's a lot of travel, giving the keys an extravagant feel. 

The keys light up by default automatically in dim environments, providing a nice glow when working in dim environments. A quick press of the function key and spacebar toggles the backlighting on and off .


ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touchpad

The X1 Carbon's touchpad is plush and it works better than some other we've attempted on a Windows PC. It's fundamentally the same to the ones found on Apple's Macbooks, which is a compliment. The Windows record book world's been tormented with poor and unremarkable touchpads as of late, a considerable lot of which are so awful its a miracle producers let them send. I discovered the X1 Carbon's touchpad surface to be slicker than the Macbook Air. Squeezes, zooms and taps all functioned admirably and reliably. 

Long-lasting Thinkpad clients aren't compelled to utilize the touchpad however. There's a Trackpoint right amidst the console and a couple of catches underneath the spacebar for left and right clicking. 

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Display

Maybe the greatest change over the first Thinkpad X1 is the X1 Carbon's 14″ hostile to glare show. The matte completion implies clients don't need to stress over glare as much or seeing their own particular reflections while they work. 

Most business record book clients are acclimated to 14″ presentations with great reason. They're sufficiently huge to work with full time and keep away from the cramped feel of 13″ and littler showcases. Despite the fact that the X1 Carbon has the foot shaped impression of a 13″, Lenovo's fashioners figured out how to wrangle in a 14″ presentation with a determination of 1,600 by 900 pixels. That is the same determination found on Thinkpad T430′s discretionary high-determination show. This implies clients will have a lot of land to chip away at spreadsheets, Word reports and creating email. 

The showcase quality is OK for a business note pad, yet it isn't as fresh, bright and clear as what you'll discover on top of the line purchaser journals. That is one of the tradeoffs of going thin and augmenting battery life. The showcase is appraised at 300 nit, which is agreeably splendid, yet I wish it would go a few scores brighter. 

Performance and Graphics

The Thinkppad X1 Carbon accompanies a scope of low-voltage Intel processors and Intel coordinated representation. These parts are improved for battery life, so the X1 Carbon isn't the privilege journal in the event that you anticipate altering feature, playing feature recreations or running other processor-escalated applications. Anyhow the most recent era of Intel engineering is miles in front of the languid low-voltage processors from several years prior. The X1 Carbon has a lot of velocity and force for the normal business client. Records open in a snap, applications dispatch rapidly and the framework is responsive in ordinary errands. 

The entrance level X1 Carbon ships with a 2.6ghz Intel Core i5 processor. The decked out X1 Carbon, which is the model Lenovo sent over, accompanies a 3.2 Ghz Intel Core i7 processor. Processor decision isn't as imperative as it used to be for one vital reason: the SSD. The X1 Carbon ships with either a 128gb or 256gb SSD. Both of these drives are much speedier than the hard circle drives found in many Pcs and give a ton of the distinguishable zip. Regular work undertakings, for example, Web searching, email and drafting records essentially needn't bother with that much transforming force. What clients will recognize with the X1 Carbon is that archives open rapidly, applications dispatch much speedier than on most journals and the machine wakes from slumber rapidly. You can to a great extent thank the robust state drives (SSD) for those profits.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Battery Life

The Thinkpad X1 Carbon is evaluated to keep going for up to 6.3 hours on a solitary charge. Likewise with all Pcs, your battery life mileage will change. I utilized the X1 Carbon for a couple of days and was satisfied to find that the Thinkpad X1 Carbon kept going a little more than five hours on a solitary charge without attempting. That is not stellar, particularly when stacked up against bulkier business note pads that brag of 'throughout the day processing,' yet its a lot of juice for most clients, more often than not. 

Lenovo's assembled an imaginative method for managing a fixed battery. As opposed to asking clients to haul around an auxiliary cut battery or other extra, Lenovo's accelerated the energizing process significantly. The battery can go from zero to 70% charged in only 30 minutes, which implies clients can get enough squeeze to last whatever remains of the day by connecting to amid a rushed lunch. We tried out the X1 Carbon's Rapidcharge gimmick and saw the battery meter move from nothing to 72% in 30 minutes. Lamentably, it takes three times as long (90 minutes) to get the distance to 100%. 

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Speakers and Webcam

We don't expect much in the speaker office from slender and-light note pads. The X1 Carbon's speakers are average and fire downwards, which reflects sound off of your work area and up to your ears. The result is acceptable sound that is improved by Dolby Home Theater 4 innovation. The engineering takes advantage of little speakers packed into the dainty undercarriage. Tragically, this strategy doesn't work so well when utilizing the X1 Carbon on your lap since the sound has nothing to skip off of. For the best sound experience you'll need to wear a couple of earphones and play with the Dolby Home Theater control panel.
The X1 Carbon accompanies a 720p HD Webcam that works fine and dandy for videoconferencing. It can consequently track your face so it stays focused in the edge, which makes it less diverting to others when you move your head around while on videoconference calls. There is a couple of receivers by the cam to enhance sound clarity. 

The Bottom Line 

The Thinkpad X1 Carbon is a phenomenal purchase for portable experts, however the machine is substantially more costly than thicker Thinkpads. Those searching for a business Ultrabook ought to look no more distant than the X1 Carbon. It is the first business note pad to effectively cross over any barrier between full-sized journal presentations and ultraportables. 

With a beginning cost of $1,349, the X1 Carbon is more than a few managers will need to fork over for a solitary machine, however we think the Carbon X1 will pay for itself in profit upgrades since clients wouldn't fret hauling the thing all around. It may even be the first business note pad numerous workers really appreciate utilizing.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Specs as Reviewed

OS	Windows 7 Professional Premium 64-bit
Display (size/res)	14-inches, 1600 x 900
CPU	3.2-GHz Intel Core i7
RAM	4GB
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000
Storage	256GB SSD
Ports	1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, DisplayPort, 4-in1 card slot, headphone/mic, Kensington lock slot
Size	13.03″ x 8.9″ x .74″
Weight	2.99 lb
Wireless	3G Ericsson WWAN
Price	$1,849

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Microsoft Surface Tablet Updates Bring Fixes And Features

English: Microsoft surface table (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New updates coming to Microsoft’s family of Surface tablets should address many of the issues buyers reported when trying to use the home button on the Surface RT and the built-in LifeCam on the Surface Pro.

As detailed on the Surface website, Microsoft will first address the Home button issues that have plagued users of the Surface RT for some time now. With the new firmware update, users should be able to press the home button and have it take them to the Start Screen in Windows 8 on the first try. Until new many users had reported that it took them two or three tries before the capacitive home button would react.

Surface Pro improvements will include an updated driver that allows the device’s built in LifeCam to shoot better pictures in low light situations. Users had also reported that the device had trouble when switching between the Surface Pro’s built-in camera and external cameras. This should also address that as well.

The Surface Pro

Microsoft had already announced that it would add function key compatibility to the Surface line’s keyboard accessories, the Touch Cover and Type Cover. That firmware update is also available as of today, and should allow the devices, particularly the Surface Pro to continue to provide the experience of a full-fledged Windows device, in a sleek tablet form factor.

While Windows 8 and Windows RT will install these updates for users automatically as part of their Windows Update functionality, the updates can be manually downloaded at any time by heading to the ‘Settings’ in Windows 8 and manually checking for updates.

Today’s updates come nearly a year to the date that Microsoft announced the Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets at a secret event in Los Angeles. While there are no hard numbers on actual sales of each model of the Surface tablets, numbers compiled by market research firm IDC indicated that thanks to the Surface family, Microsoft was now the fifth largest tablet vendor worldwide. In comparison, many of the company’s hardware partners have ever barely made it into the top five.

Reports from The Wall Street Journal have indicated that the company could be on the cusp of releasing a Surface tablet with a 7-inch screen aimed at devices like the iPad mini, and Kindle Fire.

keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the high Tech RoadShow inventions of today. Enhanced by Zemanta

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Microsoft Surface RT Torn Down, Deemed Difficult To Repair

 As with any major new device, now that Microsoft’s Surface RT is available iFixit has a new teardown to show the inside of the device and see how easy it is to repair.
To disassemble the Microsoft Surface RT iFixit had to remove a total of 17 Torx screws from under the kickstand and the camera bezel. The inside of the Microsoft Surface RT looks just as nice as the outside of the device. It’s dominated by a large Samsung-made battery, and a tightly-packed motherboard.

After removing the 17 screws the battery inside is relatively easy to replace. Microsoft glued battery to the inside, so users need to work it with a spudger to take the battery off. The battery itself is a 7.4 V, 31.5 Wh battery which makes it larger than the 25 Wh battery inside the iPad 2, and smaller than the 42.5 Wh battery in the iPad third generation.

The teardown also reveals two stereo speakers inside the Surface, as well as a mystery third speaker. The smaller third speaker is likely what produces the clicking sound of the Type Cover when it’s connected to the Microsoft Surface RT.

The only other surprise in the Surface RT is the display panel is a Samsung panel that’s very similar to a display with a 1280×800 resolution. Microsoft says its display has a 1366×768 resolution, which is the minimum required to use the Snap feature in Windows 8 and Windows RT to run two apps side-by-side. There’s no reason to believe Microsoft would lie about the resolution of the Surface RT, but it is an interesting point.

Overall, iFixit gave the Microsoft Surface RT a 4 out of 10 repairability rating. The battery and some components are relatively easy to replace, but it’s difficult to actually get inside the device. It’s also very difficult to replace the LCD display in the device without a lot of patience and a heat gun, though it’s hard to see why users would want to replace the display themselves.
keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the
high Tech RoadShow Blog inventions of today. Enhanced by Zemanta

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Microsoft Makes Surface Pricing Official Pre-orders Go Live Today

Microsoft may have flipped the switch too early this morning on Surface pricing, but it looks like things are now official. The pricing is no different now that the press release is out. (See below). What is news is that there will be limited pre-orders available today beginning at 12 noon EDT, presumably at this link.
Here’s the pricing structure as we stated this morning: A 32GB Surface RT Tablet will set you back $499. That is without a keyboard. That same capacity RT Tablet with the Touch keyboard will cost $599. If you order the Touch Cover separately you'll spend $119. The Type cover (with moveable keys as opposed to non-raised hardware keys) will set you back $129. There is (was) a 64GB model listed for $699.

Here’s the press release that also contains more details and specs:

Microsoft Announces New Surface Details
Ahead of Oct. 26 launch, Microsoft outlines pricing, market availability and special limited quantity pre-order.
REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 16, 2012 – Microsoft Corp. today released new details about its highly anticipated Microsoft Surface, a tablet PC designed to be the ultimate stage for Windows. In addition to pricing and market availability, the company announced a special limited-quantity pre-order for Surface with Windows RT available 9 a.m. PDT. Those who want to learn more or pre-order can visit http://www.Surface.com.
Surface delivers the power of amazing software and the feel of premium hardware in one exciting experience. Originally unveiled in June, Surface with Windows RT will initially be available in three SKUs: a 32GB version priced at US$499, a 32GB version bundled with a black Touch Cover priced at US$599, and a 64GB version bundled with a black Touch Cover priced at US$699.
A variety of accessories will also be available, including Touch Covers in five vibrant colors – black, white, magenta, cyan and red – priced at US$119.99 so customers can express their personal style. Customers will also have the option to purchase a Type Cover in black for US$129.99, which adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.
Surface will be available for purchase beginning Oct. 26, 2012, at all Microsoft Store locations in the United States and Canada, including in all 34 new holiday stores. In addition, Surface will be available for sale online in eight markets across the world: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United States. See Surface.com for more details.
Additional Product Information – Surface With Windows RT
Software
• Surface with Windows RT comes with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT Preview (which includes Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote)
Exterior
• 10.81 x 6.77 x 0.37 inches, 1.5 pounds, VaporMg casing, dark titanium color, volume and power buttons
Storage
• 32 GB; 64 GB
CPU
• NVIDIA T30, 2 GB of RAM
Wireless
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 technology
Cameras
• Two 720p HD cameras, front- and rear-facing
Audio
• Two microphones, stereo speakers
Ports
• Full-size USB 2.0, microSDXC card slot, headset jack, HD video out port, cover port
Sensors
• Ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass
Power Supply
• 24W power supply
Warranty
• One-year limited hardware warranty
Apps (included)
• Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT Preview2 (Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote), Windows Mail and Windows Messaging, SkyDrive, Windows Internet Explorer 10, Bing, Xbox Music, Xbox Video, and Xbox Games
Those interested in learning more or pre-ordering can visit http://www.Surface.com or follow Surface on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Surface and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/surface.

Anyone pre-ordering today? Let us know.
UPDATE: I pre-ordered a Surface RT with both keyboard options. Reports to come once I have my hands on the device, which according to the verification email will arrive on 10/26. Get your questions ready.

 post by Warner Crocker .

keep up with the newest technologies and contemplate about how these will be used in the future. On this blog I'll share my thoughts about the future of technology, based on the high Tech Road Show Blog inventions of today. Enhanced by Zemanta

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