What is Miracast ?

Intel has been promoting their Wireless Display (WiDi) technology for quite a while now and we are starting to see some traction in the industry to include it in display devices and other types of components. 

So what is Miracast? Wikipedia describes it as such:

Miracast is a certification program of the Wi-Fi Alliance based on their Wifi-Display specification. It defines a protocol to connect an external monitor or TV to a device, and therefore can roughly be described as "HDMI over Wifi", replacing the cable from the computer to the display

So what do you do if your notebook has this capability but your wall mounted TV does not? Actiontec has a product called ScreenBeam Pro that turns any HDMI connection into a WiDi receiver. Priced under $100, you can easily connect a laptop or android device to that screen or projector with an HDMI connector and wirelessly transmit your video/audio signal to that device. 

Actiontec also has kits that will provide your with a USB transmitter that will connect your laptop that doesn't have the WiDi capability built in so that it will work with the receiver. This is a great solution for providing this capability.

Actiontec Brochure

Windows 10 Feature Cuts

Before deciding what you want to do about upgrading your Windows 7 or 8.1 operating systems to Windows 10, think about what programs that you use that may or may not be available to you in the new operating system.

Windows Media Center is one of those programs that I am sorry to see go by the wayside. Microsoft has been planning this for a while but it makes me unhappy to see it go. From Microsoft's Windows 10 spec page here are some of the other features that are being cut:

Feature deprecation section

• If you have Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro with Media Center, or Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and you install Windows 10, Windows Media Center will be removed.
• Watching DVDs requires separate playback software
• Windows 7 desktop gadgets will be removed as part of installing Windows 10.
• Windows 10 Home users will have updates from Windows Update automatically available. Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise users will have the ability to defer updates.
• Solitaire, Minesweeper, and Hearts Games that come pre-installed on Windows 7 will be removed as part of installing the Windows 10 upgrade. Microsoft has released our version of Solitaire and Minesweeper called the “Microsoft Solitaire Collection” and “Microsoft Minesweeper.”
• If you have a USB floppy drive, you will need to download the latest driver from Windows Update or from the manufacturer’s website.
• If you have Windows Live Essentials installed on your system, the OneDrive application is removed and replaced with the inbox version of OneDrive.

Most of these items you can live without but if you still have some things on on floppies that you haven't moved to other media, you may want to consider doing that before upgrading. I think most people have already done that but here is the impetus to do so. Entire experience at the store more people will be worried about Solitaire than anything else.

Microsoft sets Windows 9 reveal for Sept. 30

Are you ready for a new update? Most of the world says yes but what will it look like? Invitations went out on Monday for a September 30th event where Microsoft will show off the next version of Windows. One of the ongoing questions being bandied about is how much is the new version going to cost. If they decide to give it away for free or very low nominal cost then it would go along way to heal the rift that has opened up on how Corporate Users look at version 8 and 8.1.

Microsoft is going to presumably release it sometime during the first half of 2015. Corporate users as a whole don’t much care for the split personality (User Interface) of Version 8 and if Version 9 converges the functions within a single user interface than it might be a more widely accepted product. If Microsoft doesn’t provide a product that Corporate wants to use than we might see a real decline in Microsoft’s presence in the workplace.

There have been some images leaked showing what the new operating screen is going to look like but I still take a wait and see attitude before I jump aboard. What everyone is saying should happen will hopefully happen and we will get a good product that makes us all very happy users.

Android vs. Window 8.1 (what’s best on a tablet)

I just posted and article about the ASUS Transformer Book Duet notebook/tablet that hopefully will be coming out in the near future. This unit provides both operating systems on the same system whether it is in tablet or notebook format so you don’t have to make a choice between one or the other. But if you have to make a choice now between the two, which should you choose?

James Kendrivk wrote for Mobile News/ZDNet an interesting article that describes the “4 advantages Windows 8.1 has over Android in mobile”. Take a look at his article, he makes some interesting points.

Is 2014 the year for Windows Tablets to have their first strong boost in sales?

So the simple question is whether the corporate world is going to make its first will push into replacing notebook purchases with tablet purchases. This is the real area that has a use for a Windows based tablet if there is one. Gartner seems to thing that this will one of the 2014 trends but I am still in a wait to see stance about this. Window’s main advantage is the ability to run natively programs such as Microsoft Office and of course Outlook. While there are ways to work around this on the other devices, having this one capability for most of us pounding with Office through out the day would much rather have it running device that we are used to. Add in other job related applications that require Windows as the base operating system and all of sudden you have a real reason to buy this type of device. I am surprised that it hasn’t happened as of yet and that is the main reason that I still hold the wait and see attitude.

The choices are going to get better as the year progresses so keep your eyes open for some of the new products that you will have to choose from.

ASUS' Transformer Book Duet–Dual Identity

If you are not sure whether you want a tablet or notebook, whether you want to use it with Android or Microsoft Windows then maybe this will help you with that decision. The Asus Transformer Book Duet TD300 is a 13.3 inch PC with dual OS. It is a tablet that comes bundled with a keyboard dock that has its own hard drive and ports. The real interesting thing about this unit is that it will run both Android 4.2 and Windows 8.1 on the fly whether you are in tablet mode or laptop mode.

This is a pretty nice little machine running an Intel Core I7 processor, 4GB RAM, 13.3 inch screen that supports 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 128GB SSD in the tablet and 1TB hard drive in the keyboard. The unit weighs in at 4.1 pounds which is a little heavy for an UltraBook, and is about half an inch thick. This is very comparable to a Surface Pro 2 in weight but a little thicker. There’s also the usual array of extras, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 + EDR, a headphone jack, 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, 10/100Mbit/s LAN, an HDMI 1.4 output, and support for MicroSD cards.

The real kicker here is that ability for the unit to instantly switch between Android and Windows 8.1. That’s nice for those of us that need to be able to switch back and forth at a whim but it doesn’t sound like they will include some of the nice features of the Samsung Ativ Q which allows you to pin Android apps to the Windows Start Screen. Starting at $599 this looks like it might be very interesting indeed. There has not been a launch date as of yet but this looks like a nice alternative to having two different devices.

Use Windows Easy Transfer over a network to migrate from XP to Windows 8

This hand article from TechRepublic discusses the use of Windows 8’s Windows Easy Transfer tool. If you are planning the big move before Windows XP’s support vanishes next April then this may be helpful to you. While not 100% this will help with the process. One of the drawbacks of using this tool is that it does not transfer applications.This means that you will have to manually reinstall those applications that you are using to access the data.

Another product available out there for you to use is a program from LapLink called LapLink PCmover that we have had pretty good luck with migrating not only your settings and data but also most of your applications. This is very handy and if you wish to purchase a copy for yourself it only costs $59.95. So if you are ready to make the big move to either Windows 7 or 8 from your XP machine this may be a product you’ll want to add to your toolbox.

• Easy-to-Use Wizard
• Now Includes Free Transfer Assistance!
• Set it and Forget it
• Undo Feature
• Complete Selectivity
• Multiple Transfer Scenarios
• User Profile Selectivity

New Samsung ATIV Q hybrid Notebook/Tablet

So you need Windows for the office and Android for your entertainment, huh? This new tablet from Samsung may just fit the bill. At Samsung’s London event today they showed this new tablet that is very interesting with a high resolution display, low weight and both Android and Windows 8 installed on the unit.

Brent Rose of Gizmodo wrote:

ATIV Q

Samsung's most interesting tablet-type thing is a double-hybrid freak of a device. It has a keyboard that is connected by a rather versatile hinge. It can fold all the way flat against the back so you can use it as a straight up tablet, you can use it as a normal laptop, you can type with having the screen magically floating above your fingers, or you can use it as a stand.

But why is it a double-hybrid? Because it runs Windows 8 AND Android. I guess that's one way to solve the lack of good tablet apps in the Windows 8 ecosystem. The tablet can switch back and forth between modes, and while it won't share settings or apps, at least you can share files and folders back and forth. It will be running a full version of Windows 8 (not RT) and Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with the Google Play Store and all.

Switching back and forth between operating systems looks lighting fast. Just the press of a single button. No booting or anything. It looked extremely seamless. You can also add Android apps to the Windows 8 homescreen for quick access, which is handy.

The other highlight on the ATIV Q is the touchscreen. It's at 13.3 inch gHD+ display, which comes in at 3200 x 1800 pixels. At 275 pixels per inch that bests even the screen on the Google Pixel (239 PPI). Samsung claims that it's "the world's highest resolution display," has a 170-degree viewing angle, and is clearly viewable in bright sunlight. Very impressive looking.

The ATIV Q comes running Intel's latest and greatest Haswell processor, which means it should be mighty fast, and it also comes with an S Pen, so the graphic design crowd should be able to really take advantage of all those pixels.

The ATIV Q comes in at 0.54 inches thick and weighs 2.84 pounds. That's pretty fat n' heavy for a tablet. But for a laptop-hybrid thing? Well, maybe that's not so bad. No word on U.S. It bears mentioning that this entirely dissimilar from Acer's R7 hybrid, though the ATIV 8 certainly wins in on the resolution and processor front.

Microsoft Surface Firmware Updates for June 2013

Nice updates to both Surface devices

Jun. 11, 2013Paul Thurrott

Nice overview of the updates that became available last week. So if you have Surface RT or Surface Pro you may want to take a look at what is new by taking a look at Paul’s article.

Surface RT firmware improvements

Update includes these firmware and performance improvements

Surface Pro firmware improvements

Update includes driver and performance improvements including

To learn more about Windows Update, see Install Surface and Windows updates.

Shut down Windows 8 from the keyboard | TechRepublic

Great article to add some new features to your Windows 8 machine. Worth taking a quick look at this.

Shut down Windows 8 from the keyboard | TechRepublic

Windows 8 Apps are finally coming into their own…

Are they? According to Microsoft there are now  six times more apps in the Windows Store as there were when Windows 8 launched in October 2012. While 60,000 is a fraction of the 800,00 plus found in either the Apple App Store or in Google Play, it is still a lot of apps.

It seems that they Apps are becoming more stable and more capable as the developers are revising them. Feedback from users are also helping developers to figure out what user really want from their apps and are making the changes to suit these requests.

Most of us are still drawn to the traditional “Programs/Software” that we use from the desktop. While the differences are subtle what really defines the difference between and APP and a Software program? Aren’t Apps just smaller snippets of code that differ mainly from their software/program counterparts by having fewer features and capabilities? Apps are great for devices that have limited resources like phones and tablets but do they really have a place on fully capable notebooks and desktop computers?

Apps provide a different delivery method of these smaller snippets of code to perform simplified functions that may be all you need from that program. One of the reasons some of us are drawn to the lure of the Windows 8 tablet design is the promise that we can use our favorite Windows programs alongside of these new Apps that are appearing side by side of the old standbys.

The Redmond Channel Partner Magazine collaborated on an article “40 Killer Windows Store Apps for Microsoft Partners” that discussed this very fact:

…even those helping deploy Windows 8, have focused on traditional Windows applications. After all, one of the main selling points of Windows 8 is that customers and partners don't have to reinvent computer software. If it ran on Windows 7, it will generally run on Windows 8. Unlike iPads and Galaxy Tabs, the Windows 8 ecosystem doesn't have to start from scratch.

This is just it. I have both IOS and Android devices and when I am using them for the workplace I am constantly looking for Apps that make more productive like what I have on my desktops or notebooks. In fact many times when using one of my tablets I am using them as a terminal to access one of my machines to do functions that I can’t do directly with the tablet apps.  In fact the usefulness of the tablet for me is primarily as an entertainment device or as something I use to give me access to my other systems to do the things that I need or want to do.

Will Windows 8.1be enough to begin Windows 8 adoption?

Two of the biggest complaints I keep hearing from users is that Windows 8 doesn’t look like Windows and where is the Start button? I know that anything new always has a hard row ahead of it but the antagonism associated with the Start Screen and the loss of the Start Button has been vicious. I haven’t completed moving over entirely to Window 8 myself but I do have it running on my laptop and I have become quite comfortable with it. Though I don’t have a touch screen on the notebook to take advantage of the what that brings to the table, I have played with tablets that do and if I were to purchase a Windows 8 notebook I wouldn’t do so without it having a touchscreen. You just lose too much function without it.

With Windows 8 booting to the Start Screen doesn’t bother me at all, it does cause me to one extra step every time I boot up to jump to the regular desktop where I do all my work.When the free Windows 8.1 update comes out that will provide a choice of booting to the desktop, this will satisfy one of the complaints that most new users have with it not looking like Windows. On a tablet device the Start Screen is probably more desirable  but in a world where users are trying to be productive and get some work done, this is not the case.

Microsoft’s constant drive to make your experience simpler when using the Windows interface initially makes it harder to change to the simplicity of new Start Screen interface. On a desktop computer that has a keyboard as its primary input interface you can just type the word of the action or program that you are looking for and that immediately brings up a list of things that meet the criteria you are typing in.  I am a touch typist and I find this feature very useful. On Windows 7 I used the Windows Key to jump to the search bar within the Start Button a lot to find things and to launch programs and now if I am on the desktop I can do the same thing to jump to the Start Screen and begin my search in the same manner. Once you think of the Start Screen as the growth of the natural evolution of the contents of the Start Button than the new changes begin to make sense. The Start Screen becomes a more customizable palette for you to access many of the p[programs and utilities that were once found only on your Start Menu. But does Microsoft tell you this?

In a recent Redmond Channel Partner article by Kurt Mackie, many of the new networking features of Windows 8.1 were revealed and they are really sounding pretty interesting. Many of these new features will require adoption of the technology by other device manufacturers to be able to use these new networking functions and only time will tell if they will do this. If the do great but for now it is useless. Tethering will become a big function as well but again, there will be limited use of this function beyond turning your Windows phone into a hotspot I would think unless you are connecting your notebook wired into your internet connection and wanting to then piggy back your Wi-Fi devices on to it to have a sharable hotspot.Read Kurt’s article to find out more about some of the new BYOD Features and Security Features that are being shown at TechEd Conference last week.

Windows 8.1 may feature the comeback of the start button

One of the biggest requests that I hear from all the guys in our office is that they want the start button back in Windows 8 and they want to be able to select the desktop view as the default view in their installation of Windows 8. The latest rumors indicate that Microsoft may be moving to squash these apps, by enabling 8.1 to boot directly to the desktop and reinstating the start button. Discussions around code recently dug up in a DLL, buried within the bowels of a leaked version of Windows Blue suggests that this new minor revision of the desktop and tablet OS could offer users a way to skip the live tiles and go right to the familiar user interface that many long for.

Look at engadget for more information on the Windows Blue screenshot tour. There are also some interesting videos showing an installation of Windows Blue running on a virtual desktop. The videos are interesting with some of the changes in personalizing your Widows 8 experience to a much greater degree. This will be interesting to get our hands on once the beta version is released.

Windows 8 touch PC demand strong

I am seeing quite a few posts lately stating that they are starting to see a demand trend towards Windows 8 machines with touchscreens. Personally I wouldn’t want a PC running Windows 8 without a touchscreen because the ability to have direct interaction with the screen greatly enhances the Windows 8 experience.

We have recently set up a four screen set up in our showroom (see the picture to the right) and it turned out beautifully. We also have an All-in-One touchscreen and even though I like looking at the four screen setup I find the touchscreen on the All-in-One to be more enjoyable to use. I can only see this as getting more important to a user when the have a laptop, convertible or tablet with Windows 8 on it.

There are some reports of touchscreen shortages that are attributed to this demand. In general a touchscreen device is more expensive than a non-touchscreen one, which tells us that people really want this capability in their new purchases. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues and if the touchscreen products will start to be produced in greater quantity and hopefully the prices will start to come down.

Let me know your thoughts!

Windows 8 Drivers for Xerox Documate Scanners

Press Release: We are seeing drivers become available for Windows 8 very quickly. Xerox sent out this notification today. If you have a Xerox Documate Scanner go to: xerox.com

Dear Xerox Documate Scanner customer,

As a registered user of our Xerox Documate scanners, we are pleased to announce that all drivers for its most popular professional and consumer scanners have been updated and deemed fully compatible with the new Windows 8 operating system. New and updated drivers are now available for immediate download.

“We are committed to giving our customers a favorable scanner experience with full operating system compatibility and our engineering team has worked diligently to ensure that Xerox DocuMate® products are compatible with the new Windows 8 OS,” said Walter Thinfen, chief information officer and vice president of support and services at Visioneer, a Xerox licensing partner.

Availability of Drivers
Windows 8 drivers for Xerox DocuMate scanners are available immediately on the Xerox Scanners.com support page. Driver support for other Microsoft operating systems can also be found at this website.

We appreciate your business and loyalty. If you have any other product inquiries, please call us at 925-251-6399, Monday through Friday 7 am to 4 pm PST.

Thank you,
The Xerox Scanner Support Team
http://www.xeroxscanners.com/en/us/support/

Microsoft Surface Pro–coming in January…

So we finally have some initial specs and pricing for the upcoming release of the Surface Pro tablets. Basic specs include your choice of either a 64 or 128 GB SSD, i5 processor, 4GB RAM, 10.6 inch 1920x1080 10 point touch screen (this is higher resolution than the Surface RT, 1366 x 768), a Digitizer Pen for Pen input, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, 42E-h battery, (2) 720p front and rear facing cameras, microphone, stereo speakers, full-size USB 3.0 port, microSDXC card slot, Headset Jack, mini DisplayPort (that can output a 2560 x 1440 resolution), and the following sensors: Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass.

Priced at $899 for the 64GB version and $999 for the 128GB version there are a couple things that concern me about this device. First and foremost is the short battery life. The Surface Team confirmed that it will get half of the 8-10 hour battery life that the Surface RT has. So at 4-5 hours that is really pretty poor for this type of device. Is is a powerful i5 Ivy Bridge processor so we should see good performance and with the unit only weighing in at less than 2 pounds, for many the battery life might not be an issue. However, I would have liked something between 7 or 8 hours to get one through a full day at work.

For a person on the go that wants the lightest computer  possible in a form factor that makes it great for doing intake data collection (medical) or a writer that is on the move this is something that might really work for you. I live with both my iPad and my Nexus 7 at my side pretty much 24x7. My phone is less of concern for me anymore since I have gotten a 7 inch tablet (I just slide the tablet in one of my pockets without a problem). It would have been nice if the keyboard had been included in the price but that will be something that you will need to add to your basket when you purchase this tablet. Also missing in this tablet is Microsoft Office, so you will need to add that back in as well.All in all if you are in need of tablet that will allow you to run your Windows 7 applications and want something that is light and in a tablet format then you may be a candidate for this version of the Surface.

Lenovo ThinkPad Twist

Lenovo has quite a few different offerings available with the new Windows 8 operating system and I agree with most of the reviewers out there that believe that Windows 8 is best when being used in conjunction with touch technology. So if you are looking for a Notebook and want to have the newest a greatest make this one of your must have options on the new notebook. I recently posted information on the Lenovo Yoga that is one interesting design, The ThinkPad Twist is reusing a traditional convertible PC design with the center post allowing the screen to swivel the screen to fold back onto the keyboard to give you a 12 inch fat tablet configuration. Priced from $829 to $1,129 with the primary difference in processors and the amount of RAM.

Weighing in at 3.48 pounds the Twist can easily be cradled in the crook of your arm or handled single handedly. The from factor lends itself well towards presentations which is probably why you would be considering this type of notebook in the first place. However, it is not as easy to handle as a true tablet would be which is characteristic of all 11.6 – 13.6 inch Windows 8 convertibles. The touchscreen is made of Gorilla Glass using HD IPS (in-plane switching) display for wide angle views, again great for presentations. It has a 1,366 x 768 pixel count  which is below the Yoga’s 1,600 x 900 display. I would liked to seen a little better resolution but it isn’t there. The shell construction is of Magnesium Alloy that provides extra durability and keeps it light and thin.

As with most of Lenovo’s laptops this one also has their ThinkVantage Active Protection System (APS) that uses an accelerometer to detect movement and stops the drive when a fall or similar event is detected. Rubber mounts are used for the hard disk drive to provide a little more protection. Other specs include a real Ethernet jack, two USB 3.0 ports, a mini-DisplayPort, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a mini-HDMI connector. There is  a memory card reader that is often left off of the smaller notebook systems.

Save for a few small modifications, this is more or less the same six-row, island-style keyboard Lenovo used on the X230 and some other recent systems. At this point, it's been at least six months since the company unveiled its latest keyboard design. The important thing to know is that the keys have about 30 percent more surface area than they used to. Meanwhile, the page up / down buttons have moved to the lower right area, so that they're clustered in with the arrow keys, arranged side by side instead of stacked on top of one another. It's also spill-resistant, like other ThinkPad keyboards before it. As for ergonomics, Lenovo has maintained that even though it's moved from a traditional spread to a chiclet arrangement, the keys should still offer about the same amount of pitch.

So what's new? Lenovo has added four Windows 8 hotkeys to the Function row up top. These include buttons for searching, settings, the app list and toggling between open apps. With regards to that last one, you'll see a row of thumbnails stretch across the screen, with each one representing an open program. You can click on them with your mouse or finger, of course, but you can also use the left, right and Enter keys to select the one you want. As I earlier suggested I prefer using Windows 8 with some sort of touch input device, but it's still nice to see Lenovo adding an extra option for people who prefer keyboard shortcuts. One missing feature is that the keyboard is not backlit which is something that I would have liked to seen.

Battery life is a little poor as well. Lenovo rates it at 7 hours but in battery tests using WiFi and streaming video only about 4 hours was the mean time of support. I have included a table from engadget showing some comparable system’s battery test times as well to compare their results. Other than this poor result from the battery life, a real road warrior may find this feature one that would prevent them from purchasing it. However, if long battery life is not an issue for you. then the other features add up to a very nice device.

Could the Start Button possibly come back to Windows 8

I am sure this would make a lot of people happy to see happen. Could the fact that Steven Sinofsky is out be enough of a change to make this happen? Since he is attributed to being the driving force for losing the Start Button this could be one of the results of his leaving. There are already patches provided by third party entities that bring the Desktop and Start Button back to the interface and it would be a great thing to have this as an option for corporate users. Big change isn’t good in the Corporate World because of the costs associated with retraining office workers with new programs and interface designs. Something along this line would greatly contribute to the acceptance of Windows 8 more quickly in business environments.

Interesting review on the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 inch

Lenovo is definitely giving us many options with Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro machines and here is one more example. Since CES I have been drooling over this design probably only because it is so much different. Priced in the UltraBook price range it is an interesting the mixed review that I have seen on it so far. The one thing I would hope for with this design is a more substantial hinge. In the early years when I had one of the first Microsoft Tablet/Convertibles.

Most consider the tablet function a little unwieldy which I can understand but I still come from a 15 inch display convertible that weighed in at a hefty 5.5 lbs so using a thin and light 13.3 inch unit is like heaven. If you feel that it might be a little big, think about deciding to downsize to the 11.6 inch version. Though it’s hdd is much smaller 65gb and the big difference is that is running Windows 8 RT. So if you need more power and function you have to stay with the larger unit.

Here are the basic specs:

• 360 degree dual- hinge flip design
• At 0.67" (16.9mm) thin and 3.1 lbs (1.47kg), the Yoga is the industry's thinnest convertible Ultrabook
• Powered by the next generation ("Ivy Bridge") Intel Core processor family and a Windows 8 operating system
• 8 hours of battery life
• Up to 8 GB of RAM
• Up to 128GB SSD storage (optional upgrade to 256GB)
• 13.3" screen with 1600 x 900 resolution and 10-point capacitive touch
• Design: Soft touch rubber paint on the exterior for strong grip, a leather cover on the palm rest, and side buttons designed for easier access for all usage modes
• Starting at 3.4 lbs
• Prices range from $999 to $1,549
• Expected Ship date mid December 2012

Take a look at these articles for more in depth reviews:

• Windows 8: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Flip - Jan. 9, 2012 by Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows
• Lenovo Yoga Review: This Is How You Build a PC/Tablet Freak Machine by Kyle Wagner Gizmodo
• Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 review by Dana Wollman engadget

All in All I think that it is a buy if your are looking at this market but I have two concerns, the keyboard review and how well it will hold up and the sensitivity of the touchscreen.

Yoga 13 Tech Specs

Ultrasound gesture control for Windows 8

I caught this over at Engadget and watched the video that they provided. This looks really neat and I hope that it becomes a new addition for our PC’s and notebooks. With the addition of this type of interface you won’t need to touch your screen so it ought to stay much cleaner.Take a look at the video demo below I think you will find it interesting.

Press Release:

Elliptic Labs Launches First Commercial Touchless Gesturing Technology Using Ultrasound, Designed for Electronic Devices and Windows 8

Windows 8 Gesture Suite and SDK Available

PALO ALTO, Calif. – November 13, 2012 – Science fiction and futuristic movies stepped into reality today as a result of powerful new touchless gesturing technology from Elliptic Labs (www.ellipticlabs.com) based on ultrasound. Enabling consumer electronic devices to respond to natural hand movements all around a screen, Elliptic's breakthrough technology is the first of its kind commercially available and has been incorporated in the Windows 8 Gesture Suite, introduced today. See video here.

Elliptic is the leader in ultrasonic touchless gesturing for consumer electronic devices. Its patented, low-power, responsive new technology is superior to the limited, camera-based approaches on the market. The Windows 8 Gesture Suite enables a touchless version of all touchscreen gestures in the new operating system. Combined with Elliptic's SDK, the technology gives OEMs the flexibility to create disruptive new ways to interact with devices.

Elliptic's ultrasound technology uses sound waves and microphones to detect movement, similar to how radar detects objects. The technology is not limited to detecting movement within camera view - it detects natural hand movements that extend beyond the camera, surrounding a device screen.

"Microsoft's new Metro interface changes how consumers interact with the operating system and the design is a perfect fit for touchless gestures. Elliptic's Windows 8 Gesture Suite gives users a touchless version of the gestures they already know from a touchscreen," said Tobias Dahl, CTO and founder of Elliptic Labs.

"The future of technology lies in moving from touchscreen to gesture recognition, but to date, using cameras has proved limiting and unnatural to users," he said. "Ultrasonic gesture technology uses sensors to deliver its capabilities and extends gesture-space to all sides of the screen, ensuring that the technology is robust and - unlike cameras - can be used in dark and bright light. Our Elliptic Windows 8 gestures gives users full control of the new interface by simple intuitive gestures in 3D space, enabling a more natural and efficient way to work."

Ultrasonic touchless technology uses up to 95% less power than current camera image-based gestural systems, making it an attractive option for device manufactures around the world. Elliptic provides a Starter Kit for laptops; an out-of-the box solution that allows customers and partners to get started with ultrasound-based gestures without designing hardware. It also comes with an SDK that incorporates natural gestures into devices and delivers an extensive range of example applications. With the SDK, customer and partners can create disruptive new ways to interact with devices and applications beyond Windows 8. The set of controls allows using gestures for scrolling, selecting, rotating objects and controlling menus.

Elliptic's software is in high demand by large OEM, ODMs and component and chip manufactures that are looking to integrate new capabilities allowing consumers to interact with tablets, ultrabooks and smartphones.

Availability

Elliptic's Windows 8 Gesture Suite, Starter-Kit and SDK are available immediately. For more information, contact sales hello@ellipticlabs.com or visit www.ellipticlabs.com.