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TechMan Texts: Samsung keeps improving
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Phone manufacturers have been talking about an iPhone killer for years while slowly coming closer to actually building one.
The Samsung Galaxy S IV, announced last week, could be it. The phone is definitely ahead of the iPhone 5 in features. Whether it will continue Samsung's growing lead in sales will be seen when the phone goes on the market in April.
The phone reportedly features a 5-inch screen, 8-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. But what is really getting advance interest is the new eye-tracking ability.
Smart Pause knows to put a video on hold when you look away, and Smart Scroll checks when you're looking at the screen and will move the page as you tilt the phone back and forth. Air Gestures allow the user to jump to the top of lists, skip music and flick through pictures and answer calls without touching the screen.
Although Samsung is a giant in consumer electronics, many don't realize it is the world's largest information technology company. (Subsidiaries also include the world's second-largest shipbuilder, the world's 35th- and 72nd-largest construction companies, 14th-largest life insurance company and 19th-largest advertising agency).
And it made my refrigerator.
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Steampunk began as a sub genre of science fiction and has expanded into film, video and fashion. The premise is that people in the Victorian era or the American West developed advanced mechanical machines powered by steam.
Steampunk has an active following. Its enthusiasts dress in period costumes and attend fairs and gatherings of the faithful.
Still, TechMan was surprised to see a booth advertising steampunk jewelry at a quilt show he attended with TechMaam over the weekend.
You might think that quilting is an archaic craft indulged in by elderly farm wives. You would be wrong.
The world of quilting, sewing, embroidery and other fabric arts is being transformed by technology.
Modern sewing machines are computers with a needle. They can download designs from the Internet, then sew, embroider or quilt the designs without the guidance of a human hand.
Top-of-the-line home machines cost $10,000 and more.
Printer technology also has opened up new techniques in fabric arts. Most inkjet printers can print photos or other images on cloth.
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Tip of the week: That funky little key on the bottom left of your PC keyboard with the Windows logo on it is for more than reminding you that Microsoft used to rule the world.
If you just hold it down, the start menu will open. My favorite is to hold it down along with the "M" key. That minimizes all windows, taking you directly to the desktop. Adding the shift key restores the minimized windows.
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Geek term of the week: Epic fail -- A system that not only doesn't perform its function, but that may indeed perform quite the opposite.
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I was texting someone the other day about my dog Ziggy, and unnoticed by me, autocorrect changed Ziggy to ziggurat. It's fair to say the recipient was somewhat confused by the message.
First Published March 19, 2013 12:04 am
