Author Archive: Matt

Personalise your laptop with a laptop cover

Laptops are useful tools and they’re becoming indispensable in many homes. But, it can be a little dull to look at the same cover day after day and as with mobile phones, it’s sometimes nice to change the look of your device. In homes where two or more identical laptops co-exist then it can be important to be able to easily distinguish between them, too. This is where laptop covers come in very handy.

Works of art or humour?

People get very attached to their laptops and the way they look has become as much an extension of the owner’s personality as phone covers have. There is a huge range of covers available and a simple web search will lead you to any – from plain coloured ones to some absolutely gorgeous designs. There are many based on common themes, current memes and trends and a few arty ones, but look at websites promoting and selling an individual artist’s work in different formats for some really unique ones. There are even sites that allow you to design your own cover, if you have the cash to spend on something bespoke. A good way to start is with a simple search for “laptop covers” plus an interest of yours.

Decals

If you like smaller designs, then decals may be an alternative answer. They’re just as easy to change as covers, if you feel like a change and are sometimes a more affordable option. You can get a big variety of designs too. If you’re a Mac user then it’s worth looking out for clever decals that make good use of the apple logo. Available from the internet, you can find plenty of humorous, interesting and beautiful decals and one benefit is that since they don’t necessarily take up the whole space you have much more say over the positioning of your decals.

Practical decoration

As well as looking good, there are some practical benefits to using a laptop cover. Making your laptop more individual makes it easy to identify it immediately; Useful where, as mentioned before, identical laptops co-exist, or in the library if lots of people are studying and moving between books and computers. Covers also provide a level of protection from minor bumps and scrapes. Finally they’ll keep some of the everyday dirt off of your laptop. You can get covers that have inserts to stop lint getting into the USB and charger ports but even a simpler one will protect from little scratches and general dust to some extent. This will all help to extend the life of your laptop, or keep up the resale value when you need to upgrade. You can of course get paid cash for your netbook if you do decide to upgrade.

There are so many different kinds of laptop covers, decals and other decoration that it’s really very hard to choose between them. You can easily spend hours searching for just the right decals and covers related to your interests or deciding between glorious art works.

TV Faster Than the Speed of Reality

Our living rooms are filled with more screens these days. Smartphones tell TV viewers more about their favorite characters as they watch. You can play “Words with Friends” while you’re waiting for the commercials to end. And laptops allow people to multitask on homework during halftime.

Meanwhile, marketers are trying to reach consumers on second, third and fourth screens. Let’s pull back the curtain to show the tactics being used in order to maximize the budding romance between advanced smart TV technology and the ever-present Internet.

Faster is Better

We demand high-speed Internet, uninterrupted TV signals, and Wi-Fi on our phones wherever we go. Why should our views of TV be any different? Now, TV programmers are shifting their focus to fully integrate with users on multiple devices. So far, Twitter is the platform of choice.

Many TV shows allow viewers to give instant feedback or ask questions through the social channel while a show is broadcast. TV programmers put hashtags on screen and use them as immediate sounding boards for their shows. TV show hosts often respond back to viewers’ questions in real time, empowering those at home to feel like they are a part of the show. As long as your tv antennas are working, you can enjoy shows anytime.

Networks have also introduced connected TV apps. Bravo’s “Bravo Now” app allows viewers to answer in-program poll questions during the show “Watch What Happens Live.” The answers are displayed on the show in real-time.

Is Reality Finally Real?

TV programmers are driving viewer engagement by allowing faithful followers to have a direct impact on a show’s outcome. For example, the “Miss USA” pageant lets fans vote for their favorite contestant online. The contestant who received the most votes automatically makes it past the first cut during the live telecast.

This is not only gets viewers interested in the live pageant before its television debut, but it is also a way to ensure direct participation from a wide group of individuals. Plus, the higher the interest level from viewers, the more the pageant can charge for advertising and sponsorships. Reality shows such as “Survivor” also are using social media as a way to encourage fans to vote for contestants they feel should win prizes or special awards.

Let the Games Begin

Smart TVs and second screens have created another trend – gamification. For the 2012 show, “The Great Escape,” TNT created an app that allowed viewers to take their own journeys alongside the show’s contestants. The app rewarded the player for watching the show, and used game mechanics to keep interest high.

Other shows jumping on the bandwagon, too, to fuel fan loyalty and amplify viewer numbers. As the programs shift in this direction, programming providers are doing so, as well, notes http://www.Direct4TV.com.

What Does the Data Show?

TV show apps can provide content creators and advertisers with rich data and targeted consumers. Not only can advertisers better target their ads, TV writers and producers can even better tailor their content and interactive elements based on second screen user demographics of their most invested viewers.

And while networks are expanding their reach, websites are creating content to enhance the TV screen, too. TV networks and program providers are embedding videos directly on their Web pages to increase SEO and enhance the probability for more social likes. By showing segments of popular TV shows or creating new content, the TV and the Internet continue to intersect.

Whether it’s through real-time interaction by way of Twitter during a live telecast, or through audience participation in a specially designed gamified app, the strong ties between TV and the Internet are undeniable.

What’s New (and Improved) on the PS4?

If you thought the PS3 could do everything, just wait until the PS4 comes out later this year. However, if you were hoping that the PS4 would be able to make you coffee and do your taxes, you may have to wait for the PS5 for that. The PS4 introduces some cool new features like improved controllers, social sharing, facial recognition technology and the ability to stream games using cloud technology-not to mention that the PS4’s CPU is discernibly more powerful than the PS3’s. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of these new improvements.

Improved Hardware

Although the leap in graphics from the PS3 to the PS4 isn’t as big as the one we saw from the PS2 to the PS3, it is still significant enough that hardcore gamers will be impressed by the improvement, according to the Los Angeles Times. What stands out on the PS4 is the 8 GB unified memory and a GPU that has 18 processing clusters with 64 cores each. This means faster response time and increased parallel computing power.

DualShock 4 Controllers

The new controllers are fitted with motion sensors, and the PS4’s new camera will be able to track each attached controller with pinpoint accuracy. The controllers also have a high-resolution touchpad. If that isn’t enough, the controller also features a share button. Since the PS4 automatically records the previous several minutes of your game, you can simply push this button and share those recordings with your friends.

Playstation Move

If you have been waiting for facial recognition capability from a game system, you won’t have to wait much longer. The new Playstation Move will track the light bar on your controller and then identify your face to your game avatar. The new Move will also have two dual-color cameras, a three-axis tilt sensor and four wide-baseline microphones. It is not yet known whether the PS4 will launch alongside the new Move controllers and Eye Camera or if it will be a console upgrade that updates the current camera and sensors, as explained on TechRadar.com.

Sony’s Cloud and Streaming Games

Unfortunately, the PS4 will not have backwards compatibility for PS3 games, or PS2 games and PS1 games for that matter. However, the Official Playstation Magazine – UK stated that GaiKai (a cloud technology provider that Sony acquired in 2012) is claiming that after the PS4 is released, we are likely to see PS1, PS2 and PS3 games be made available through the Playstation Network. So eventually, every game on every PlayStation could be available via the cloud.

Of course, identity theft is still on the rise and there is always the possibility that the PSN could be hacked like it was back in 2011. So if you’re afraid of having your identity stolen, take the advice of an article published in the USA Today and get an identity theft monitoring service like Life Lock in addition to making your password more unique and trickier to crack.

Confirmed Games

It’s easy to get caught up in all the new game console features and forget about the actual games. If you don’t like the games you are playing, what good does an expensive game console really do you? The good news though is that Playstation does have a pretty awesome list of games debuting with the PS4. Some highly anticipated game releases include Diablo III, Knack, Assassin’s Creed 4, Infamous: Second Son, and Killzone: Shadow Fall among others.