Computers and mobile devices are an integral part of any business today, and if you’re up to using Macs, iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices in your business, Apple can help you get started. Whether you’re moving from PC to Mac or starting the business outright with Apple products, Apple says they can get you started within 24 hours.

The Joint Venture service starts at $499 for up to five systems, and will involve setting up your computers/devices, training your staff, and technical support. This also includes migrating your data from existing platforms (such as Windows), and setting up a collaborative site where you can coordinate with staff and Apple Geniuses or Business Specialists.

Tech support is done via Genius bar either on-site or via telephone.

We’ve already seen various businesses starting to adopt platforms like the iPad in their day to day operations. This is either with their mobile staff, retail and restaurants, or even at point-of-sale settings.

If you run a small business and you think you can afford the extra cost, then Joint Venture might be the easiest way to shift to Macs and Apple gadgets.

Both the Samsung CLP-325W and the Samsung CLX-3185FW boast speeds of up to 17 pages per minute in black and white, slowing down to four pages per minute when printing in color.  They’re both geared toward smaller spaces, and offer Wi-Fi connectivity, AnyWeb Print software which lets you just print the information you need (no more printing banner ads when you need to print a web page), and with the more advanced CLX-318FW, you’ll also be able to copy, scan, fax and print, which is pretty much everything useful that you can do with a document short of making paper airplanes out of them.

Even better, the new printer will average between a thousand and 1500 pages total life, and they use 35 percent less electricity in their manufacture, so if you want a greener printer then you’ve got a good start right here.

Not surprisingly, there’s a pronounced difference in pricing between the two: the simpler CLP-325W is available at $199.99 and the more powerful CLX-318FW will come your way at $399.99.The prices are pretty good, though I’ve seen better, but the efficiency looks like it’d make it worth your while if you needed a higher-end muscle printer for business. You’ll have a while to shop around, though, as these won’t even hit shelves until the middle of January, at last report, so keep your eyes out for these if you do a lot of printing.

Just 10 days before Christmas, Yahoo’s product division is set to lose a large part of its workforce, though it has not yet been decided if that is the only unit who will be losing people. As if losing their jobs this deep into the holiday season wasn’t bad enough, rumors are swirling that the employees will be hustled off the company’s grounds post haste. It is a bit strange that Yahoo has chosen to handle this move as coldly as they have, especially since rumors of the layoffs have been circulating for months.

While there is no good time to lose a job this close to Christmas screams lack of heart.

From December 2nd to 13th, Dell has big discounts on selected items, and these will be limited to a couple of days only for each item. Currently, you can snap up a 15-inch Inspiron for $479.99 (after a $214 discount), a Studio XPS 8100 for $899.99 (after $448 discount), a Vizio 55″ HDTV for $889.99 (after $510 discount), and more. Deals will change each day, so you’d better watch out for something that interests you.

Meanwhile, the Dell Small Business Store also has computers and equipment for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are looking into upgrading this holiday season. Business-oriented deals include the Dell Vostro laptop and desktop line, and the PowerEdge server line, among others.

Aside from Dell products, the Dell Store also has other gadgets like digital SLRs, Blu-ray players, and the like. Whether you’re looking into upgrading your office equipment or giving a holiday gift to loved ones, you’ll be able to get good prices from Dell. (Don’t forget to send the TFTS team a little something, though!)

The list of announced deals is enormous and covers fully twelve pages, so you’ll want to settle in and brace yourselves for the big rundown, which I’ll try to break up by section for your convenience and to keep your head from exploding.

First in camcorders, we have just one item: a Vivitar 720p Video Black Camcorder 810 for $69.99.

We follow that up with a cell phone deal, the Samsung Galaxy Tab for $399.99 with any plan

Now here’s where things get patently massive–there’s an enormous set of computer component deals going on here, featuring things like an Acer 20 inch widescreen LCD monitor for $79.99 (or a 23 inch version for $159.99), half off all Sony EX earbuds, a Compaq 18.5 inch widescreen LCD monitor for $89.99, a D-Link Wireless Xtreme N Router for $79.99, a Hitachi Life Studio one terabyte external hard drive for $99.99 (or an X Series from Hitachi in the same size for $50 less, same price as a 500 gig portable model) and plenty more to boot.

Meanwhile in full computers, there’s an Acer AX3910-U3012 desktop coming in at $349.99.

A full array of digital cameras start out with the Vivicam 7022 7.1 Megapixel Black Digital Camera with Free Starter Kit at $39.99 and go up from there with a whole variety of features and price ranges. There’s nearly two dozen cameras available here, folks.

For those of you who find yourself in the market for a new laptop as I do, then there’s plenty of deals to be had here too: try an Acer Aspire AS5742-7653 for $499.99, an HP laptop packing Intel Pentium T4500 dual-core processor and SuperMulti DVD drive for $369.99, or a half dozen others.

And it’s not complete without software to run it on: all computer games, Sony DVDs and CDs will be half off for Black Friday.

The plain and simple here, folks, is that if you want electronic goodies this holiday season, OfficeMax is going to be a great place to start.

All major printer manufacturers analyzed by The ETBC were given a flunking mark of F, with the exception of HP, which got a C-. Said companies included Brother, Epson, Lexmark, Kodak and Canon. This was on account of the fact that most printer companies don’t have a program for physical collection of unused and unwanted printers for disposal.

Epson, Lexmark and Canon offer mailback programs. Brother and Kodak have no takeback programs for unwanted equipment at all. The report notes that users are often reluctant to mail in large items for recycling. Given that printing equipment are often priced so cheap they’re almost disposable, manufacturers should be expected to give consumers an easy way for disposal once the equipment reach the end of serviceable life.

The good news is that the information you write and/or record with your Livescribe pen can now easily be sent to Evernote. First things first though, the pens. Currently you can choose between the Livescribe Pulse and the Livescribe Echo. Both models offer the ability to record your handwritten and audio notes. They also both export handwritten notes to PDF files and are refillable for when you eventually run out of ink. The Pulse is available in a 2GB storage capacity and is priced at $129.95. The Echo is available in a 4GB and 8GB storage capacity and are priced at $169.95 and $199.95 respectively.

But back to the task at hand, the new integration between Evernote and Livescribe. At present this is coming courtesy of the Evernote API and is described as being “only the first step” in their partnership. In other words, it sounds like more good stuff is to come in the future.

As for what this means now — you can connect your Livescribe pen in the same way you have in the past and import your notes in the same way you did before, however you will notice a new right click menu item called “Share Page(s) -> With Evernote. By selecting that your notes (both handwritten and audio) will be sent to your Evernote account and stored in your default notebook. And one nice feature, those handwritten notes will use Evernote’s text recognition and in-turn will be searchable.

With that, the new compatibility is currently available for Livescribe users on Windows and will arrive for Mac users sometime “next week.”

And nicely, well, nicely for those who use Bluetooth, this new headset will allow you to connect with two devices. In other words you can use the same headset to connect to your office phone and your cell phone. The headset is the ‘Jawbone ICON for Cisco Bluetooth Headset’ and is available for those in the US as of today. As for international availability, that is set to begin in October 2010, next month. As for getting the headset, it will come bundled with the Cisco Unified IP Phones 9951 and 9971.

In terms of the headset itself, it seems this will make a nice model for the office as it is capable of receiving future updates that will add new features and functionality as they come available. After all, there is one thing certain in most offices — upgrades are slow and often passed over. At least this way the headsets will not become outdated as quickly. Then again, in some offices it is bad enough moving into a new desk and getting a second hand phone — how about passing off the headset to the new employee. But as I digress into nastiness, there are other perks of the Jawbone.

Those software updates are handled by the Jawbone MyTalk platform and the headsets will work with the Cisco Unified IP Phone, Cisco Unified Wireless IP Phone or Cisco Cius. Otherwise, another perk is described as how;

“Employees can remain connected to both phones at the same time and don’t have to pick up the handset on their ringing phone, then pick up their cell phone when it rings because both calls from both sources can be handled at the same time on the same headset.”

All in all, it does sound like a nice feature for those with Cisco office phones. But then again, there was one remaining feature that makes it sound not quite as nice.

“Users no longer need to remain tethered to their desks; their audio and voice follow them wherever they go, leaving their hands free for other tasks.”

Yup, that last one makes it sound like it will become that much harder to take a break or truly avoid a phone call.

Specifically, it’s a TI-84 Teensy, which is currently sold out (bet this had something to do with it!), used in conjunction with the PSGroove open source code. Anyway, connecting up a couple USB cables and running the software on the Teensy will basically allow you to break open that PS3. The bad news is that you’ll need to hook up the calculator every time you turn it on.

It’s amazing that a combination of a relatively low-powered graphics calculator and some open source code could bring down a Playstation 3, but there’s the proof.

See, the folks out at Rockchip developed a desk phone that runs on Android, and was showing it off back in the middle of nowhere at the IFA show. But what really unnerves about this development is that they have no plans to sell their spectacular new device and instead were using it to show off their new chipset.

This isn’t to say, of course, that they won’t someday sell the Android-powered desk phone, but that they don’t have plans to do it right now. Instead they have plans to put their Android chipset into a bunch of different things, none of which we have specifics on right now. We might be seeing a lot more Android devices in the near future, and I’m not willing to call that a bad thing.

However, when it comes down to raw productivity, a traditional laptop or desktop computer is second to none. Just imagine sitting there typing out a 20 page report on a smartphone’s tiny QWERTY keyboard or worse, a touchscreen, and you’ll quickly see what I’m talking about.

In the business world, Microsoft’s Windows desktop operating system has long been the favorite due to its extensive line up of productive software. Microsoft Office, for one, has always been leaps ahead on the Windows platform with the Mac OS X version tending to trail behind. Luckily, now that the OS X install base continues to grow more software developers are proceeding to release similar software on both platforms at the same time and Microsoft is no different.

Apple addicts may swear by the OS X-exclusive iWork productivity suite but in the work world, Microsoft Office is the standard. Released in 2008 for the Mac OS X platform was Microsoft Office 2008 which brought with it features normally only found on the Windows versions. However, like I said above, the Windows version is years ahead currently resting at Office 2010. But that doesn’t mean OS X is going to be left in the dark as it’s been known that Apple’s platform will be getting Microsoft Office 2011 before year’s end complete with the new “ribbon” interface along side boat loads of pre-made document templates.

Early last month the pricing for Office 2011 had been announced ranging from $199 to $279 depending on if you wanted the Home and Student edition or the Home and Business edition. However, at the time, we had no official confirmation as to when Office 2011 for OS X would actually be out with Microsoft only saying ‘late October’.

Luckily, just recently it was noted that Amazon had put up a listing for Office 2011 that had the software package shipping on. As of now, the date has since been pulled but it does line up nicely with Microsoft’s late October release window. Too bad they didn’t push it out before the school year began as it surely would have sparked interest with returning students.

We’ll let you know if the release date changes, but for now expect Office 2011 to be out for Macs sometime around October 26th.

It’s packing a five inch touchscreen and a host of services that provide real-time traffic updates as well as the most up to date points of interest available. It’ll also connect to Google, which will give you access to current weather reports, fuel prices, flight times and updates (driving to the airport and discovering your flight is delayed, en route, will no doubt save thousands upon thousands of hours and headaches).

Now, it likely won’t surprise anyone that this level of functionality calls for a massive price tag–you’ll shell out $450 just to walk away with the device, and five bucks a month just to keep the lights on (metaphorically speaking, of course–that’s the cost for the data transmission) but if you do a lot of traveling (or if you’re a business traveler looking for a deduction) then the Garmin nuLink! 1695 might be exactly what you’re after.

Like the title says, it’s all about design philosophies here–the Lumileo P100 weighs 54 grams less than its slightly larger cohort the M100, projects at VGA resolution with roughly a 75 inch diagonal from a 65 inch range, a 200:1 contrast ratio, 14 lumen brightness and even a teeny-tiny half-watt speaker, too.

The M100 may not offer much more than extra weight, but it will offer you storage capability (two gigs worth!) plus a memory card slot, headphone jack, and even offers MS Office Viewer, so when you absolutely positively have to show everybody in the room your resume, you’re covered. You’ll also get a slightly bigger picture from slightly farther back, but still at VGA resolution.

There’s no word on price yet, but availability has been described in vague terms as by the end of the year, and Europe looks to be the first to land these.

The Indian government rescinded its ban efforts following proposals from Research in Motion (Blackberry’s parent company) to provide ways to allow Indian authorities to snoop through emails received on the devices as needed.

This was apparently a substantial sticking point in the discussions leading up to India threatening a ban, but here’s the really interesting part. See, India’s about to have general elections pretty soon, and the time to look through Research in Motion’s proposals could take a couple months. Is this going to have an effect on elections? I know more than a few people who’d be upset with the government if they threatened a Blackberry ban in order to get snooping capability.

While there are several different ways to manage your calendar, any individual in the working world generally picks a method and sticks with it. Old school productivity whizzes focus on drawing their calendar out by hand but newer age folk have migrated towards software from Microsoft and Google such as Outlook and Google Calendar, respectively.

While both services are quite capable, Outlook is generally viewed as a standalone desktop application with data being stored locally. Google Calendar, on the other hand, has its data stored in the cloud meaning you’ll be able to access it anywhere you go.

For what ever reason, some users have sworn by using desktop calendar management software in conjunction with an online service. But how are you to going to boost productivity if you have to input every task twice into two different calendars? Well, thanks to Google Calendar Sync from Google themselves, you won’t have to. Instead, all you need to do is download the small program, input your Google Account settings and choose a few other options as seen above.

Once complete, your Google Calender and Outlook 2010 calendar shall live together harmony with one another, exchanging tasks, dates and appointments as an interval set by you.

However make note if you’re running the 64-bit edition of Outlook 2010 you’re going to run into some problems as Google assures us the current version of Google Calendar sync only works with Outlook 2010 32-bit edition. Luckily, Google is fast with these sort of things so if you are affected by this problem, it most likely won’t be long.

We’ve seen a lot of different robots out here, but the ChouChou Electric Butterfly may well be the first robotic butterfly that’s been made commercially available. Powered by two AA batteries in the lid, the Electric Butterfly responds to vibration and people tapping the lid, much like a regular butterfly would do haphazardly. But now, you can keep that butterfly all day, every day, for the rest of your life if you’re so inclined and without all the nature guilt that would come with keeping a butterfly in a jar until it died.

It goes on sale this September, and if you want one of these, you’ll have to shell out a surprisingly high $75 for it.

Thanko’s Butt Cooler Cushion is pretty much what it says on the box–you plug it into your computer’s USB port, and a fan attached to the front of the cushion (distressingly close to your crotch from the look of it) pulls in air and recirculates it throughout your nethers, thus cutting down on the still, moist air that’s currently settling around your situpon as we speak.

And even better, with the aid of a cigarette lighter port, you can detach your cushion and take it with you in the car, thus ensuring that your hindquarters swamp will be thoroughly circulated while you drive.

How much will you have to shell out for this kind of rump comfort? Why, just $60 is all that stands between you and a well-chilled behind.

The Kokonatchi, you see, are tiny psuedo-robots that bounce around and flash LED lights whenever you receive a Tweet. Yes, they’re intimately connected to Twitter. Simply plug them into your computer via a USB connection, and they’ll start dancing around whenever you get a Tweet. Oh, and further word says that the devices will actually bounce and flash in specific fashions (and even speak audible words) in response to responses from certain Tweeters or specific categories of Tweet.

These will hit stores sometime this fall for $45 each, so if you ever wanted an early warning Twitter system, the Kokonatchi are just what you need.

You could also just as easily store this in your car’s glove compartment or tuck this away in a carry on bag with your cables, mp3 players and headphones all in one spot so you can easily set up whenever the need to be a DJ god arrives.

The deck features a basic black and white design and includes a simplistic two-channel mixing deck, cross fader and volume controls. You can also plug in your headphones, for a more private DJ experience or play sound out through the internal speaker for all to hear. The mini mixer connects via to the headphone jack of your iPod or any standard 1/8^th headphone jack available on most mp3 players.

Mixer comes with two short audio cables for necessary connectivity and pair of white earbuds. Besides being able to fade from between players with the slider you can also preview the next song on your playlist with a separate volume- controlled headphone jack.

Right now the Lecci Mini Mixer is available at both Think Geek and Amazon for $24.99, which is a relatively small party investment. The Mixing Deck does not come with a long audio cable to connect to larger speakers, so you will have to supply that on your own, also it takes four AAA batteries (which are also not included). All in all, a very fun device for anyone who loves music and has ever aspired to be a DJ. It’s a great way to spice up an office party or create your own private club scene at home. Also please note, parental supervision is not included.

The new Acer S5200 3D projector boasts 3000 ANSI lumens with a 2500:1 contrast ratio, has a native XGA resolution of 1024 x 768 (4:3 ratio) pixels and can be compressed to UXGA 1600 x 1200 resolution or WSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 pixels, but it’s obvious, you’ll have to live with the blurry stuff.

It also boasts Picture-in-Picture tech, has an 8x digital zoom should you needed it, two internal speakers that output 3 watts, and the same Philips 350 W user replaceable P-VIP lamp as the P7290, that promises a 2000 hours lifetime when used in standard mode or 3000 hours when in ECO mode.

Just like the P7290, the new Acer S5200 3D projector is DLP compatible, it comes with ColorBoost II technology that features an optimized 6-segment colour wheel design that delivers vivid graphics and enhanced details, has HDMI, D-Sub output and an RS-232 serial port.

Now all you need to do is grab a graphics card capable to send 3D signal and a pair of 3D glasses, because the Acer S5200 3D projector is already selling for some $1,000.

The new P7290 is a DLP certified projector that has been equipped with leading technologies like the Advanced Acer ColorBoost II+ system that will deliver enhanced details thanks to the new powerful image processing and advanced lamp illumination technology. Speaking of lamp, it’s a Philips 350 W user replaceable P-VIP lamp that should be good for 2,000 hours when used in standard or some 3,000 hours when in ECO mode.

Available with a 20-metre wired remote control, the new Acer P7290 comes with a keystone correction and a blackboard mode that will help you project sharp images no matter what’s the color of the surface you’re putting them on. Connectivity wise, the P7290 brings both HDMI and DVI-D inputs allowing for an easy connection to your PC or notebook. It also comes with two inbuilt stereo speakers that output 3W and a S/PDIF port that allows connectivity of a 5.1-channel sound system.

Acer’s P7290 video projector is available as you read and should retail for a MSRP of £1500 (or some $2,236 at today’s rate).

NovelQuest has released a ‘cheaper’ verison of their Emperor 200 ‘workstation’ line. The Emperor workstations are highly expensive chair-speaker-lighting-desk-monitor combinations that resemble something found on a Battlestar Galactica set.

The Emperor 1510 packs a steel frame, LED lights that light up your workspace, footrests and a (hopefully) comfortable chair. Your PC or MAC connects the video, audio, keyboard and mouse inputs in the back of the chair, which then forward them to the three monitors and speakers built into the chair. An adjustable tray puts your mouse and keyboard at your fingertips.

NovelQuest will let you customize the colors of your $5,000 chair, upgrade your chair from manual to electronically adjustable, and upgrade to 5.1 surround sound for your computer. NovelQuest says that this represents the ‘future’ of office environments. An earlier, similar office ‘environment’, the Emperor 200 was produced by NovelQuest and cost an staggering $40,000.

NovelQuest will begin accepting orders for the Emperor 1510 on December 15th. The base chair will cost you $4,950, and that doesn’t even include shipping on this bad boy (I’d estimate it probably weighs close to 500 pounds). While most of us probably won’t be getting it, it will make some professional athlete’s son very happy this holiday season.

NEC have added two models to their professional projector lineup with the new NEC NP2200 and the NEC NP1200 projectors that not only vouch for outstanding performance, also make for an eco-friendly and energy efficient setup ideal for higher education and corporate environments

Priced at $2,399 for the NP2200 and $1,999 for the NP1200, both models allow images of up to 500-inches at (max) 304-feet from the surface, delivers native resolutions of up to 1024 x 768 pixels, a contrast ratio of 600:1 and comes packed with built-in 5W speakers.

NEC NP2200 Projector Specs

• 4200 lumens brightness
• Complete line of (5) bayonet-style lenses
• Vertical and horizontal lens shift
• Built-in closed captioning enables decoding and display of text information from a video
• Virtual Remote (DDC/CI) over the VGA cable to control the projector directly from a computer without the need for additional control cables
• Variable audio-out allows the remote control to adjust the volume of self-powered external speakers connected to the projector
• Extended lamp life with ECO Mode^TM technology increases lamp life of up to 3000 hours, while lowering power consumption
• Comprehensive input panel includes 5-BNC, DVI-D with HDCP, 15-pin, RCA and S-Video
• 0.4W ECO Mode that makes standby lowers power consumption to a minimum
  

As for the NEC NP1200, the specs are virtually the same but this model only has 3700 ANSI lumens.

Both models start selling this month.

Today, November 24, fans of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” will be able to witness the season 9 finale of the show. During the show they will notice Grandstream Networks’ GXV3140 IP Multimedia Phone, a communication device that’s going to be showcased tomorrow.

Now I don’t have any problems with gadgets being advertised in popular TV shows. We see that every day and it’s something we have gotten used to over the years. What I have a problem is the gadget itself. So bear with me for a couple of minutes and I will be more than happy to explain.

The GXV3140 IP Multimedia Phone is not a mobile phone but a phone made for your home. Furthermore the phone is not just a simple phone but a smartphone for home. That’s right, in a world where landlines are losing more and more marketshare a home smartphone wouldn’t exactly be something I’d want to buy.

In all fairness to the device and its maker, I will say that the GXV3140 comes with some interesting features which you could very well take advantage of once you chose to get it. It has a 4.3-inch LCD screen, an integrated web browser, one-touch access to RSS feeds, Internet radio support, social networking support for Facebook and Twitter, and support for Internet streaming from various sites.

Although remarkable for such a phone, the features offered aren’t special in any way. I’d definitely use a laptop or desktop instead of the GXV3140 in order to browse the Internet, stream video and audio files or check Facebook and Twitter updates. And I’d definitely use my cell phone whenever I need to make calls and send messages to friends and family.

Let’s face it folks, home phones and landlines are slowly dying and we’re going to use smarter phones instead. Sure a phone like this could be used by various companies which still rely on regular phones to communicate. But a phone filled with such features will affect overall production as employees will use it extensively to check out Facebook and Twitter instead of doing what their supposed to.

What about you? Do you still use regular phones?

How many hours do you spend in front of the computer? Does your back hurt? What about your joints and in particular your knees? There’s no point in denying it, the more time you spend at your desk whether at work or at home, the more likely to visit the doctor for a work-related condition.

In order to be as efficient as possible at work you should be as healthy as possible. The chair and the desk you’re using are just about as important as that computer in front of you. And since we did show you all the latest laptops and desktops out there, maybe it’s time to offer you a seating solution too.

The ON comes from the German office furniture maker Wilkhahn and from the looks of it, the ON sounds like a great addition to one’s personal workspace. The ON uses the Trimension technology which is a mechanism that follows the “positions functions and scope of movement in the knee and hip joints.” In other words, sitting becomes less tiring and therefore you’re less likely to feel various kinds of pains. In fact it seems that the Center of Health at the German Sport University Cologne has confirmed that the ON will activate the whole metabolic system. That sounds like something I’d want to have active while I’m focusing on the screens in front of me all day long.

The ON lets you move forwards, backwards and sideways without leaving the chair. That way you activate various group muscles which are otherwise ignored while you’re sitting. So whenever you need to move around, the ON will follow your posture. The chair’s pivotal sections follow the position and movement of the knee and hip joints while keeping your center of gravity in perfect balance. In other words you can move as much as you want to any direction without worrying about unwanted accidents.

The ON is available right now and it comes with a price tag that will make you think twice before buying. The chair costs around $850 but we’re talking about your health here. There’s no price for that, is it?

Before telling you about this Pulse smartpen I’ll have to admit that I happen to type a lot more words than I’m writing. And there’s a simple reason for that. I can understand the words I’m typing whereas my writing isn’t that easy to decipher. Furthermore I’m not getting tired as fast when using both of my hands to type instead of simply writing everything done.

But there are various situations when typing isn’t possible. That’s when one could use the Pulse smartpen in the picture above. Made by Livescribe the Pulse smartpens will be offer you handwriting and audio syncing which is a features most recorders can’t offer.

The Pulse comes in two versions, 2GB and 4GB and they will be available for $169.95 and $199.95, respectively. The 4GB can offer you up to 400 hours of recorded audio files. Furthermore Livescribe will offer applications which can be added to the Pulse when the Application Store will be available later this year.

Before choosing your next writing / recording solution you should also know that the Pulse is also available in Pro-Pack bundles. The Pro-Pack contains a 4GB Pulse smartpen, an A5 notebook, a premium leather carrying case, handwriting to text transcription software and a Pro Charging Cradle. The Pro-Pack bundle will cost you $249.95 and it will be available together with the simple 2GB and 4GB Pulse smartpens in Best Buy, Apple, Staple, Target and Amazon stores.

The Pulse will be using an infrared camera and a microphone in the stylus which will make taking notes a lot easier. The pen will be able to record both your writing and your conversations. The files can be synced with your computer and your handwriting can be transformed into something that you’ll be able to read easily in the future. In order for the Pulse to record everything you write you’ll need to use a special Dot Paper also made by Livescribe. The paper lets the infrared camera know where it is and therefore the Pulse will precisely record all your writings. At the same time the voice recorder will be able to show you exactly what was spoken at the time a certain phrase was written.

One of the best software solutions ever to have been released by Microsoft is the Microsoft Office Suite and Microsoft is well aware of that. With Windows 7 coming soon we’re bound to also see Office 2010 emerge. And Redmond has decided to make available a Starter version of Office 2010 which is supposed to replace Microsoft Works be available totally free.

So what will the Starter version have to offer? According to Microsoft the starter will come with limited features and you can expect it to deal just with Excel and Word documents. If you think you can go ahead and install Starter on your computer and immediately start working on your spreadsheets and documents for free, then you’d be a little wrong. In fact, the Starter version will be part of the Office 2010 family and it will be available only on new computers.

If you hated Works for various reasons then you’ll be happy to know that Office Starter edition is a totally redesigned piece of software. The Starter edition has full file compatibility with Office documents and comes with the “Ribbon” user interface. Furthermore Microsoft is considering offering an ad-supported version, which would run in a web browser window.

As you can see, Microsoft is trying to innovate and we, faithful Office users, should really appreciate it. But wait, there’s even more! Microsoft will start selling Product Key Cards in various electronic stores. These cards will be used to activate the Office 2010 copy already pre-installed on new PCs.

One more interesting feature Microsoft is going to introduce is the “Click to Run.” Basically you’ll be able to stream and immediately use Office 2010 just like you normally do with video downloads. The PC will initially download the stuff needed to get you going while the bulk of the download will be available later on as everything will be quietly downloaded in the background. That way you’ll be able to start your Office 2010 trials almost immediately after initializing the download. Whenever you will decide to keep using Office 2010 you’ll have to get one of those Key Cards to activate it.

What do you think? Anxious to try Office and Office Starter 2010 for yourself?

I’ve seen my share of multi-function gadgets over the years and I can honestly say that the majority of them have been pretty useless. So when I came across the Weather Alarm Clock Photo Triple Frame from ExpertVerdict.com I nearly did a double take. Not only is this thing a digital photo frame, it combines a mini weather station and alarm clock in the same unit? You owe it to yourself to at least take a look at this one.

The Weather Alarm Clock Photo Triple Frame’s name says it all. This nifty little combination unit has a weather station, clock and photo frame all wrapped up in a slim silver package. It’s devices like this that offer up usefulness and the ability to save us some much-needed space on our nightstands and desks that are worth a deeper look. The clock has an alarm and reports the indoor temperature and humidity while the mini weather station tells you what it’s like outside using easy-to-read weather icons and a colorful temperature trend indicator.

For the photo part of the device, you get a 1.8-in digital photo frame with 16MB of built-in memory. According to the website, this is enough for up to 120 pictures. I am guessing they would need to be fairly low res to meet that quota. Along with the mini frame you get a mini USB port so you can import your images. Overall measurements for the device are 3 x 6 x 1-in (8 x 15 x 2.5-cm) and it features a rechargeable battery cordless use.

You can pick up your very own Weather Alarm Clock Photo Triple Frame for £49.95 (about $80) at www.expertverdict.com.

If you’re anything like me you are surrounded by hundreds of CDs and DVDs from years of collecting. While not all of them are worthy of keeping (Lady’s Man, anyone?) it would be nice to be able to have a record of every movie and CD in my collection so I could at least attempt to get myself organized. Something like that might even come in handy for insurance reasons. The IntelliScanner Classic from IntelliScanner can help you do just that and all you have to do is scan the barcodes while it does all the work.

The IntelliScanner Classic is a handheld laser barcode scanner and software system that was designed specifically to help you keep your media collection organized. It really is as easy as it sounds. All you have to do is scan the barcodes on books, DVDs, CDs and games and the IntelliScanner automatically identifies the corresponding detailed product information so you can organize, sort, search and share your collection.

The software that comes with the IntelliScanner Classic gathers information like book and CD titles, album and DVD cover artwork, and authors’ names. Once you’ve scanned and recorded all of your multi-media into the IntelliScanner database you can publish the entire collection online at www.intelliscanner.net so you can share it with family and friends. You can even manage the entire database from your iPhone.

The IntelliScanner Classic is available for sale now for $99 ($79 with student/educator discount) at www.intelliscanner.com. It’s compatible with both Mac and PC and comes with everything you need to get started right out of the box.

There is something to be said for videoconferencing. It’s cheap compared to the alternative of sending groups of people from all over the world to one place for a meeting, it’s relatively easy to do, and anything that can save me from having to go through the agonizing peril that often accompanies air travel I am all for. OK, that last one was more of a personal thing, but still, it gets a vote for videoconferencing. Into what has been a world dominated by the likes of WebEX and GoToMeeting, HP has decided to land and they’re bringing the big guns with their new SkyRoom videoconferencing software.

HP announced today that they will formally enter the videoconferencing arena with a piece of software it has dubbed SkyRoom (sounds like a frequent flyer perk to me). What’s so special about HP SkyRoom? Well, for starters it is based on the same technology that NASA used when it was chatting back and forth with the Mars lander. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? Joining the never-ending search for the holy grail of videoconferencing, zero latency communication amongst multiple persons, HP claims to have gotten as close as anyone thus far.

As long as the minimum system requirements are met (Core 2 Duo 2.33-GHz or equivalent processor with 2GB RAM, a webcam and Microsoft Windows® XP or Vista®) HP SkyRoom promises simultaneous live interaction between up to four people with near zero – more like 100ms, actually – latency. This means less waiting for the screens to refresh and less of those creepy, Max Headroom-like jumpy video feeds.

HP SkyRoom supports both 2D and 3D graphics as well as full-motion video and multiple displays. So how is HP able to obtain near-zero delay in its transmissions with SkyRoom? The main reason is that the software doesn’t send an entire screenshot over the wire like some others we know. Instead, it transmits only those bits of information that have changed on the screen. Fewer redundant bits means less latency. Another cool feature of SkyRoom is the software’s ability to both compress and encrypt the data before it sends it on its way.

HP SkyRoom is earmarked with an MSRP of $149 and it will come preloaded on all HP Z800, Z600, Z400 and xw4600 workstations. It will also come loaded as a 90-day trial on certain HP business desktops and notebooks. Along with the SkyRoom software, HP is toting a hardware bundle as well.  The HP SkyRoom Standard Accessory Kit, which is set to retail for around $120, comes with a high-resolution webcam and a set of headphones or speakers. Still want more info? Head on over to www.hp.com/go/hpskyroom.

When I was gainfully employed by Corporate America as a product manager, I spent untold hours creating and giving PowerPoint presentations. Actually, not only did I give my own presentations, I’d spend hours creating other’s presentations because I just happened to be a whiz with the PowerPoint software. If only there was a way for the less adept to create basic slideshows without having to learn the complicated software applications. It turns out that there is. Honestech has just announced their latest product, FOTOBOX™, and it is set to take the thinking out of the presentation equation.

Honestech’s FOTOBOX is basically a USB device that lets you create multimedia slideshows from photos, videos, music, and narration without having to install any software to do it. The FOTOBOX is actually a combination of two things: an integrated memory card reader and a pre-loaded piece of software that doesn’t require any installation on your PC.

According to the folks at Honestech, you just take your digital camera’s memory card and insert it into the FOTOBOX and off you go. The included software also has some basic photo editing functions so users can red eye from photos, crop images, and add effects. There are also themed templates, transitions, and motion and title effects to customize the slideshows. FOTOBOX offers both an easy mode and an advanced mode and supports high-definition MPEG video with resolutions up to 1920×1080 and standard TV resolution.

The Honestech FOTOBOX is expected to hit store shelves sometime in October and will retail for $79.99. You can get the skinny by surfing over to www.honestech.com.

Skype VoIP technology is growing in popularity as an alternative to the more traditional telephone service providers because of its ease of use and dirt-cheap costs. Who wouldn’t want the ability to basically chat with anyone on the planet that has a computer connected to the Internet…for free? Oh yeah, and they also have video. Now you can see why technology like this has the big phone companies scrambling to slow down their own obsolescence. In support of the continued growth of VoIP providers like Skype, ClearOne has announced their latest high-end speakerphone, the CHAT™ 160.

The new Skype-certified CHAT 160 group speakerphone is designed to connect to laptops or PCs via USB. Its touted as a hands-free communication option for anyone using Skype but given its rather large price tag, it’s a safe bet that this is an enterprise or SOHO purchase. The CHAT 160 offers full-duplex audio for voice and video communication. It features three different microphones and a 360-degree design so you can bet that it would feel right at home sitting in the middle of a long, mahogany boardroom table.

The CHAT 160 contains HDConference™, the same suite of audio technologies that is contained in ClearOne’s other professional conferencing systems. The HDConference technology includes full-duplex, Distributed Echo Cancellation™, noise reduction, automatic level controls, and adaptive modeling. And you thought it was just another speakerphone. The CHAT 160 is plug-and-play and requires no software or drivers to be installed.

The CHAT 160 has a suggested retail price of $399.99 and can be purchased from the Skype Shop at www.skype.com/shop.

Now I have to admit something to my global readers; I have never heard of UK-based radio maker PURE. And for a company that calls themselves the world’s leading radio manufacturer to fly below my radar screen is inexcusable. I do hope that you’ll find it in your hearts to forgive me. Putrescent begging aside, lets get on with the show. PURE has announced today the launch of their latest DAB and Internet-connected radio, the PURE Sensia. One look at this super-sleek, kinda retro design with its massive touchscreen will have you wishing for one this holiday season.

After I laid eyes upon the PURE Sensia I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t seen them here in the States sooner. Is it because I haven’t been looking hard enough? Is it because they simply got lost in the shuffle? Whatever the case, the Sensia is one serious offering and to call it a mere radio is most certainly selling it short. The Sensia is another in the line of DAB/DAB+ and Internet-connected radio-like devices to have come out of PURE in recent years. Incorporating PURE’s award-winning Flow technology, Sensia is a revolutionary radio with a nearly 6-in 640×480 high-resolution color touchscreen.

Using the touchscreen, users can scroll, access spinning lists, tap to select, maneuver sliding controls and swipe to change views. You can even choose between multi-panel and a full screen views all with a touch. The screen consists of several distinct content areas. You get a visual panel for viewing things like apps, station slideshows or album artwork, a list panel so you can scroll through radio stations and playlists, a now playing panel and a control bar for general system controls.

The Sensia radio truly offers a unique new way for users to interact with both Internet and radio content. Along with traditional FM, you get support for podcasts and DAB/DAB+.  PURE as also bee hard at work generating a considerable list of apps so you can get the weather, news, Picasa, Facebook, and even Twitter. You can also access the media that you have stored on your home computer using your wireless network. Sensia uses PURE Clearsound technology to deliver 30W RMS of stereo sound, an iPod/MP3 player input, an alarm, countdown timer, sleep timer and a headphone jack.

The Sensia radio from PURE is available in four colors including red, yellow, black, and white and is available for sale in the UK for £249.99 (about $404). For more information and all of the Sensia specs you can handle, head on over to www.mytouchradio.com, www.pure.com, or www.thelounge.com.

Last week we let you in on the announcement that ASUS had just added a touchscreen interface to its AiGuru standalone Skype phone the SV1 and renamed it the SV1T. This week, we bring you the other half of the ASUS announcement, the introduction of a new Dolby headphone and microphone set, the HP-100U.

The new ASUS HP-100U Dolby headphone set is being touted as the chicest and most complete headphone set for compelling Dolby audio on PCs and Macs. Now if that isn’t setting yourself up on a pedestal. Before I dive into the details, were you as confused by the word “chicest” as I was? Just thought I’d check. The HP-100U is comprised of a lab-tuned pair of headphones, a Xonar U1 external audio device and a high quality array microphone.

The Xonar U1 external audio device is basically an external sound card that uses integrated Dolby technologies and support for DirectSound, EAX 2.0 and Open AL acceleration to provide the audio support for your PC or Mac. Think of it as the middleman for your sound encoding. This can come in particularly handy if you happen to be using a Mac where compatibility issues can often leave you on the wanting end of the Dobly experience. It’s also equipped with a Hi-Fi headphone amplifier that’s meant to improve sound clarity when driving headphones.

The headphones are no slouches, either. They have leatherette (fake leather for you less-cultured folks) ear cups and an elastic headband that will have those with larger-than-normal craniums breathing a sigh of relief. They also have 40-mm speakers, 125 to 20,000 Hz frequency range, and offer less than 5% distortion at 1000Hz. The set also comes with an advanced array microphone with 15dB noise canceling.

The HP-100U is open for pre-sale in Europe for €64.70 (about $95) and is available in four colors, black, silver, white and red. No word yet on when it will be available in the rest of the world. For more info and the complete specification you can head on over to www.asus.com.

My experience with the office projector has been somewhat of a mixed bag. Having a projector in your office is definitely a good thing when you need to give a presentation to a large group of people that are turned on by graphics and slide animations. Having a projector in your office can also be a bad thing, especially when they stop working, produce migraine-inducing blurry and distorted graphics, and kick out thousands of BTUs of heat as they sit across from you on the conference room table. Let’s just say a good projector is an asset and more companies should spend the money to get a good one. The latest office-friendly projector from Epson, the PowerLite 1716, sports high-end features and a low-end price tag.

The Epson Powerlite 1716 is the latest addition to their already successful PowerLite 1700 series of portable business projectors. Coming in at less than four pounds, the PowerLite 1716 multimedia projector offers a range of user-friendly features along with XGA resolution and 2,700 lumens color light output and white light output that should make it a welcome addition to almost any office setting. If you don’t have access to your computer, no worries. The PowerLite 1716 accepts USB storage devices directly for presentation without your PC.

Epson has designed the 1716 as an affordable and portable projector solution targeted directly at its business and education customers. The PowerLite 1716 offers USB Plug-and-Play for easy set-up and enables you to simultaneously display images and play audio on both your computer and the projector screen. In addition, the PowerLite 1716 offers optional wireless add-ons like its EasyMP wireless module for delivering monitoring and control, virtual remote control, closed captioning, and presentation via IP network capabilities. You can also get a wireless dongle called the Quick Connect Wireless USB Key so you can connect your PC and the projector without cables running all over the place.

The Epson PowerLite 1716 projector is expected to hit retailers sometime in October with a retail price of $999. For more information on the new PowerLite 1716 projector and the complete line of Epson products visit www.epson.com.

If you make you’re living on the road making presentations you’ll know only too well how your choice of mouse and other presentation related peripherals can make the difference between slick presentations and unmitigated disasters and with that in mind Philips have just unveiled their SPM9800/10 Bluetooth Notebook Mouse which offers bother wireless and USB connectivity paired with the ability to act as a non-desk based presentation device.

The Philips SPM9800/10 Bluetooth Notebook Mouse manages to offer rather more versatility than your average mouse (except for the likes of Logitech’s MX, of course) thanks to Philips’ 360 degree TouchControl technology that’ll facilitates the mouse serving as a non-desk based presentation device allowing you to sweep through spreadsheets, PowerPoint slides and other presentations with motions of your hand whilst freed from the restraints of your (probably rather limited) working space. This grants you freedom to not only work in said limited spaces but to patrol the room menacingly as seems obligatory when one’s making presentations (if only to ensure no one’s dozing off).

Interestingly, the Philips SPM9800/10 Bluetooth Notebook Mouse will also not let you down when its internal battery is depleted as, thanks to it featuring a retracting USB cord, in the event that power levels become critical you can simply extend the USB cord and plug it in to recharge whilst it retains its usability (albeit from a wired perspective until charged sufficiently to allow for wireless operation once again).

Seemingly the ideal, all-in-one companion for presentations, the Philips SPM9800/10 Bluetooth Notebook Mouse with 360 Degree TouchControl is set to retail in Europe for around $80 though at this juncture there’s no specific word from Philips concerning dates of availability.

[Philips | via Gadget Review]

NEC haves announced the addition of two new projectors — the NP110 and the NP215 — to its NP Value series, and as that name clearly says, the word here is budget pricing. It’s about home theater capability, multimedia functions and an affordable price tag.

NEC NP110 and NP215 offer brightness up to 2500 lumens, built-in 7 Watts speaker, closed captioning and ECO mode. The ECO mode offers lower power consumption to 0.49 Watts in standby mode and can increase lamp life up to 5000 hours. Both projectors offer a contrast ratio of 2000:1, and can receive input from a number of devices like computers, composite video, S-video and component video. The Brilliant Color Technology increases system brightness to better handle color saturation and color gain, while the built-in wall correction presets adapt the projectors to display clearly on non-white surfaces.

But as you may wonder, the difference between the NP110 and the NP215 is the display resolution. The NP110 has an 800×600 SVGA resolution, while the NP215 comes with a 1024×768 XGA resolution. The latter also includes an RJ45 port.

Both projectors will be available in October and will sell at $459 for the NP110, and $599 for NP215.

Klipsch is definitely known for their sound systems and they have some of the best iPod docks on the market. They realize that sound quality and craftsmanship is key to consumer acceptance and they have taken it to heart in their latest creation, the Klipsch iGroove SXT iPod/Computer Speaker. They have certainly improved over the first-generation iGroove SXT (released in 2007) by adding increased compatibility for the iPhone 3Gs and all new iPod models as well as complete insulation from cell phone interference and bi-amplification technology.

The iGroove SXT remains one of the most well-constructed and affordable iPod true stereo sound systems. Unlike a lot of the cheaper models out there, Klipsch employs dual long-throw 2.5-inch woofers in a ported enclosure and dual 0.75-inch horn-loaded tweeters. Klipsch is also the only company in the iPod speaker category to utilize horn technology, a design that delivers lifelike sound as well as produces more output using less energy.

The iGroove SXT is now bi-amplified, which means each driver is individually amplified, a feature that virtually eliminates distortion and significantly improves sonic performance.? They’ve also re-tuned the bass ports on the sides of the system to remove any “port noise.”

As far as compatibility, it charges any iPod with a 30-pin connector, while the shuffle and other digital devices connect via a rear auxiliary input. And to make sure that your device is charged in a reasonable amount of time, they’ve added a 1000mA rapid recharge circuit to the system. An S-video output lets you watch videos on external monitors.

The Klipsch iGroove SXT is available for $149.99 in a black finish with a silver trim and black cloth grille. It comes with an IR remote, power adapter and power cord. You can get yours by visiting www.klipsch.com. Take note, they’re on backorder, but you can enter your email to be alerted when more are ready to ship.

3M have rolled out their latest projector, the MPro 120. A successor to the earlier MPro 110, the company thinks the new 3M MPro 120 is an ultra-portable projector, and a sound investment as well. The full VGA projector has 12 lumens of brightness and can project at 640 x 480 resolutions for three to four hours while running on its batteries alone.

Images can be projected on any flat surface at a distance between 8-inches to 50-inches in 4:3 aspect ratio while working in the “enhanced brightness mode”. It can connect with a number of multimedia devices including PCs, netbooks, smart phones, game consoles, digital media players, digital cameras and even camcorders.

The new 3M MPro 120 projector is currently available on pre-orders for $423, with deliveries scheduled to begin by September 10.

One last thing! Just to show how wonderful the projector is, 3M have also released a cheesy advertisement with queer and totally off-sync sound effects which will probably make you think a thousand times before spending your money on the MPro 120.

Projectors are certainly garnering a lot of press lately as manufacturers are racing to see who can be the first to come up with the smallest, brightest, most full-featured models. The latest product offering from Epoq, the EPP-CEP1 Pico Projector, and it is definitely going to give the competition something to talk about this fall. It’s currently the only mini projector to feature the Windows CE 5.0 operating system and it also gives the user the option to open Microsoft Office programs directly on the projector without having to attach it directly to a PC.

The EPP-CEP1 Pico Projector is definitely a step ahead of the competition when it comes to functionality. Not only is it a mini projector, but by integrating a pocket PC into its compact chassis, can open and project Microsoft Word, PowerPoint Presentations, PDF Documents and many other business applications, without the connection of any external device. This feature will certainly give you some added flexibility especially for those occasions where you are without your PC or simply want to show someone your latest presentation quickly and painlessly.

With an integrated Windows CE 5.0 platform, the EPP-CEP1 includes Windows Media Player, Word Pad and Microsoft Office viewers that let it display PowerPoint, Word, and Excel documents. It can also play video in WMV, AVI, and MPEG formats, photos in BMP and JPEG formats, and MP3, WMA, or WAV audio files.

The EPP-CEP1 projects images up to 50-in (it supports standard VGA 640×480 pixel resolution) onto any surface and also features a 3.5-mm standard jack that allows you to connect your headphones or speakers. You can also use the built-in mono speaker to play audio directly from the device. The projector is operated via the integrated touch pad and can be used as a USB host, allowing you to plug in a mouse and keyboard into the CEP1′s USB ports. This means that you can control the presentation directly from the projector.

The CP1 uses energy-efficient LED technology that provides for up to 20,000 hours of operation and is powered by either on-board battery with 4-hour continuous operation or AC adapter. You can get your own Epoq Pico Projector for $359.95 at www.gadgetcraver.com.