Laptops Arena

Nicolas Gonzalez Garrido is the head of a project called SoundGate, created together with Alejandro Sanguinetti, Gustavo Fontana, and Esteban Orlandi, a tablet PC equipped with the latest software tools to allow musicians get access to an advanced learning system and live playing.

They get tutor instructions and maximum composing experience because of the tablet’s special features such as playing sessions recording capability, music transcribing and recognizing, and prompting sheet music and lyrics.



More than that, SoundGate is able to generate electronic accompanist sound and to display the timing and metronome on its 10-inch LCD touchscreen.
The I/O ports it comes equipped with include headphones jack, USB, RCA, 6.3mm audio jack, and LAN/Magic ports.
Also for music, it comes with a jog-dial and effect buttons, while the QWERTY keyboard ensures the best ergonomics that is very important in this case.

Same designer created a stand concept for the SoundGate to make future musicians get used with standing in front of a cheering crowd, or let musicians keep the same standing level as on the stage.



This stand consists of an adjustable flexible arm for height and tilt, and a foot pedal, but the most amazing thing at this device is the integrated webcam and helium display that allow artists get in touch with each other, regardless of their location, but with the condition to own a SoundGate.

The innovative tracking and remote deletion software created by Absolute Software Corporation has become the most reliable weapon against notebook theft.
The UK police have teamed up with the specialists at Absolute Software to recover stolen notebooks and charge the alleged thieves.



Results of this collaboration are significant. For example, the ComputraceOne notebook monitoring and tracking service has helped in solving two recent thefts that involved one notebook stolen from one of the staff members of Independent Television News company.
The thief took the notebook directly from the person’s car, while in the second situation, the other thief stole the device from an employee’s house.
Both thieves were caught relatively fast.

BRC Reinforcement Solutions, the largest steel supplier in the UK, was also a victim of such a theft but after the directors have installed ComputraceOne on their laptops.
The thief stole the notebook but its car position was immediately detected after the Absolute Software specialists have turned on and connected to the Internet.

“ComputraceOne combines the ability to track computers, recover those that go missing and remotely delete sensitive information. It also provides secure IT asset management for computers that are disconnected from company networks. As these customers can attest, ComputraceOne provides an easy-to deploy, cost-effective solution for combating issues surrounding lost or stolen computers,” says William Pound, senior director of international operations at Absolute Software.

StoreJet OTG is an external HDD drive coming from Transcend and what’s cool at it is a dual-color OLED display viewable at any angle.
This HDD has 30GB storage and measures 1.8 inches so you can call it a micro HDD that looks like an MP3 player.



StoreJet OTG is supporting direct input and data transfer between the most popular USB and miniUSB devices like MP3 players, flash drives, digital cameras and card readers.

On its 128 X 64 pixels OLED display you can check whenever you like the remained free space and transfer all your extra work from your laptop onto it. You can transfer, backup, store and manage data, anytime, anywhere.

Let’s see what the general specs are!
The StoreJet OTG comes with high-speed USB 2.0 support, provides data transfer speeds of 14MB/sec as peripheral and 4MB/sec as standalone HDD, and uses an internal rechargeable 1200mAh Li-Ion battery that lasts up to 1.5 hours in work time and 4.5 hours in standby.
It measures 105 mm x70 mm x19.5 mm, weights 198 grams with the battery, and the optimal operating temperature is between 5ﾟC and 45ﾟC.

Together with this portable HDD you get the 2-year warranty after you pay a retail price of $196.

Upgroup is an online retail store for Pro-Desks laptop desk products that has just launched Pro-Desks USA and Pro-Desks CA notebook mount stores.

"This new online store front allows us to leverage technology to make our operations more efficient and customer friendly for Canadians. Pro-Desks - has a proven track record of great customer service and product line, now with the addition of the all new Canadian E-commerce site we can offer our existing Canadian laptop desk customers and new clients even more.” This is what Merv Carlson, the President of Uppgroup, declared about the new Canadian store.



Pro-Desk is known for its laptop computer desks, police car desks and notebook truck computer stands, and you can see their products "http://www.pro-desks.com"> here.
Their latest spectacular device is the Pro Desk Enforcer II, priced at $493.15, a notebook desk designed to bolt right to the seat rail bolts, without drilling.



It can swivel, tilt and turn, allowing you to set the best keyboard position.
Its articulated arm lets you turn the mount from side to side to operate it from either side, even from outside the passenger compartment.

Also, you can change the height of the notebook by using the height adjustable main rod, and more than that it is anti-shock equipped.
The Shock Pads are in charge with absorbing the impact protecting this way your equipment.



According to the company, this notebook desk has the same main configuration as the models destined for the police, and the only difference is the base plate, built to match the Ford F Series.

In Austria, researchers are studying the behavior of dogs in relation with notebooks.
BOFFINS have chosen four dogs for this study and have been training them to use computers with touch screens to classify color pictures.
This took place at the University of Vienna.

The training is far more different than the traditional method used by the dog’s owner that told the dog what to do, influencing the expected final result.

Now dogs can visually categorize photos and use their knowledge in new situations.
For example, when the dogs watch a landscape or pictures with other dogs, they have to select something using the touchscreen.
When they match a landscape with the right dog picture, they get food.

To make this more difficult and conclusive, Friederike Range showed to the dogs photos with other dogs but pasted onto the landscapes so the animals had to choose between the picture with a dog on a landscape and a dog-only picture.
Amazingly the dogs have chosen the right pictures, those with dogs only.



Researchers at University of Vienna has declared that "Using touch-screen computers with dogs opens up a whole world of possibilities on how to test the cognitive abilities of dogs by basically completely controlling any influence from the owner or experimenter."