Government Technology - April 2008 - (Page 37)

Big Hit The star of the show was, without a doubt, Panasonic’s 150-inch plasma TV, which measures 12.5 feet from corner to corner. Seen from this angle, the colossal TV appears taller than the Panasonic pitchman. products worth a second look. While not positioned as prominently as the giant TVs, Microsoft Surface was an example of technology that is both practical and astounding. Invoking fond memories of sit-down Ms. Pac-Man machines, Surface is a touchscreen tabletop PC that users control with their hands and fingers. A demonstrator showed how easy it is to use: Simply place a digital camera on Surface, and using one finger, drag images to and from the camera and the hard drive. Microsoft also showcased a fingerpainting tool, an interactive wine guide and a travel planner — all of which can be used without a mouse or keyboard, though a soft, virtual keyboard is available onscreen. The interface is very much like the feature-laden computer terminals depicted in the sci-fi film Minority Report, in which applications are controlled via a multi-touch, reactive screen. Microsoft expects the first Surface units to carry a $10,000 price tag. Forgive the cliché, but thin was most definitely “in” at CES. Big names like JVC, LG and Hitachi proudly showed off ultra-slender LCD TVs that are less than 2 inches deep 50-inch plasma TV measured just 9 mm thick. There was no manufacturer suggested retail price for the Pioneer TV, which may not be available for a year or two. Buyers hoping to snap up the Sony 11-inch OLED TV screen — which is only 3 mm thick — can expect to pay at least $2,000. Storage capacity was another hot ticket at CES. Several companies announced the arrival of advanced flash memory storage drives. Intel showed off dime-sized 2 and 4 GB cards while SanDisk and Samsung displayed compact flash drives that offer 128 GB, as well as 8 GB memory cards. Samsung and Hitachi also chose CES to introduce 500 GB laptop hard drives, besting the current champ by a 180 GB margin. Being that this was the Consumer Electronics Show, TVs were lords of the realm. Beyond those already mentioned were 3-D TVs (with special glasses, of course), waterproof TVs, even TVs that let two people watch two different things on the same screen at the same time (also with special glasses). One nifty bit of technology made for one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments: A company called Vievu showed the crowd a wearable video technology. Also called a personal video recording device, the Altoids container-sized camera clips onto a user’s Take Public CIO Magazine’s National IT Governance Survey AND RECEIVE COMPLIMENTARY ACCESS TO: Gartner’s: Magic Quadrant for IT Project and Portfolio Management, 2007 The Forrester Wave: Project Portfolio Management Tools, Q4 2007, Forrester, December 2007 Attendees who endured the slew of HDTVs, smaller cell phones, and the latest laptops (slightly higher performance than last year!) found some fresh products worth a second look. — skinnier than a business card is tall. The anorexic models of the bunch were Sony’s OLED TVs and a concept TV from Pioneer. The organic light-emitting diode (OLED) is a technology that allows for screens that are truly paper thin. Though it debuted last year, Sony’s flexible OLED screens were again a big hit with CES attendees. And Pioneer’s collar or belt and features a 4 GB flash drive that can store more than four hours of VGAquality video. The only moving part is a lens cover that turns the unit on and off. Exposing the lens starts the recording, and covering the lens stops it. When the recording is stopped, the unit automatically saves the recording as a file. Vievu claims the unit is rugged and To participate go to: www.public-cio.com/itgovsurvey 37 http://www.public-cio.com/itgovsurvey http://www.public-cio.com/itgovsurvey http://www.public-cio.com/itgovsurvey http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - April 2008

Government Technology - April 2008 Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile On the Scene Four Questions for... Freeze Frame How Safe Is Your Data? Easy Street Gadget Overload Indiana Overhaul First Person: A Better Bill Data Defense Strength in Numbers Public Storage Products Two Cents Spectrum Personal Computing signal:noise

Government Technology - April 2008

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