Archive for August, 2011

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Wacom Inkling: Digital Sketch Pen

August 31st, 2011
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Wacom Inkling is a new digital sketch pen that captures a digital likeness of your work while you sketch with its ballpoint tip on any sketchbook or standard piece of paper. Designed for rough concepting and creative brainstorming, Inkling bridges the gap between paper sketching and digital drawing by giving users at the front end of the creative process a way to rough-out ideas with real ink on paper and capture their concepts digitally so that they can be later refined on their computer. Inkling even allows users to create layers in the digital file while sketching on paper in the following creative software applications: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk Sketchbook Pro.

The Inkling digital sketch pen is comprised of both hardware and software components. Hardware includes both the pen and a wireless receiver that captures a likeness of the sketch and stores it digitally. The ballpoint pen uses Wacom’s pressure sensing technology (1024 levels of sensitivity) to detect how hard the pen is being pressed to the paper while sketching. These pressure variations will appear in the digital version of your drawing.

The receiver can be clipped to the edge of standard paper or sketchbooks and the position can be adjusted for left or right handed users to provide the receiver with an uninterrupted line of sight with the pen tip. When sketching is complete, the receiver is connected to the user’s computer via USB to transfer the digital files. Files can be opened with the included Inkling Sketch Manager software to edit, delete or add layers as well as to change formats and transfer the files for adjustment and editing in creative software applications.

Inkling can store thousands of sketches and export layered files directly to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator (CS3 or newer), as well as Autodesk Sketchbook Pro (2011). Alternatively, files can be saved in JPG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, SVG and PDF formats for use with other applications.

Inkling ($199.00 USD) will be available beginning in the latter half of September.

Source:http://www.dexigner.com/news/23709

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Chromebooks are dead, they just don’t know it yet

August 31st, 2011
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When Google first announced the Chromebook, there were two basic reactions. For many people, the reaction was, “Why would I need this?” After all, they already have the Chrome browser on their laptop and desktop computers. Their tablets already have built-in browsers and their own application ecosystem. Sure, the Chromebooks are small and light with great battery life, but you can buy a netbook with a fully-featured OS for the same price.

On the other hand, you also have early tech adopters like me who can’t wait to get their hands on the latest gadget. Chromebooks are new and different; the browser IS the operating system, and applications are available as browser plugins. But when all is said and done, why would I want to switch to a Chromebook when my MacBook Air runs OSX and Windows and is at least a pound lighter?

There is the matter of complexity, of course. There are a lot of people who simply do not need a full-blown computer in their lives. Many people are quite satisfied to surf the web, send email, use Facebook. They don’t need Microsoft Office, they don’t play World of Warcraft. For them, a Chromebook would be perfect.

The problem is that if I already have a notebook that I like with the Chrome browser installed, and an Android tablet, why would I want another device taking up space? Obviously I wouldn’t. And there’s something else brewing that may make the Chromebook itself obsolete.

Apparently the WebKit folks are working to consolidate the source code for WebKit and Chromium. The end result of this would be that the browser on Android tablets will eventually be replaced by a Chrome browser.

Currently the Android browser on Android 3.x tablets are capable of synching bookmarks between your tablet and laptop/desktop Chrome browsers. But this consolidation would enable you to sync everything, including themes, passwords, and extensions. Yes, Chrome plug-ins would be available as well.

It’s important to note that if we had the Chrome browser on an Android tablet, why would we want a Chromebook? For the price of a Chromebook you could pick up an Android tablet with a keyboard that connects via dock or bluetooth. You would have the same functionality, plus the added capabilities of Android.

Since it’s a tablet, you get the convenience of that as well. Many people who would need a Chromebook to perform their daily internet tasks have found that they can get along just as well with a tablet.

It makes sense from an economical standpoint; there’s simply no need to have extra devices with redundant functionality. Admittedly, the Chromebook has a larger screen than a standard 10″ tablet. I think, however, that the convenience, portability and modular capability of a tablet running the Chrome browser outweighs the drawbacks. Then again, there’s always the possibility of running Chromium OS on a tablet.

Source:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/chromebooks-are-dead-they-just-dont-know-it-yet/18393

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HP Pre 3 punters peeved as expected price cut is a no show

August 30th, 2011
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HP attempted to sell off the remaining stocks of its Pre 3 WebOS smartphone last week, but eager anticipation that it would do so at a dirt cheap price were not met, much to annoyance of a number of Reg Hardware readers who were told they’ll have to cough up the full price.

Having sold its TouchPad tablet for just £89 the previous week, HP was widely expected – admittedly in the main by enthusiastic online bargain hunters – to do the same with the Pre 3.

And, according to readers who contacted HP early last week, company representatives in the UK told them that a “substantial” price cut was on the way.

One reader claims he was advised at the time to pre-order at the full price, £299, so he would be in the queue for a low-cost Pre 3 when they became available. He says HP took full amount of money off his credit card immediately.

During the first half of the week, various phone resellers were also taking Pre 3 pre-orders. Some admitted that no price cut had yet been confirmed, and that was still the case on Wednesday – despite rumours on the net that the price would fall to just £46.

Later, it was alleged the price would only drop to £100-120, but include a bundle of accessories.

On Thursday, many retailers began cancelling pre-orders, some claiming they had now been told that HP was retaining all stock in order to sell the handsets itself.

Come the end of the week, and HP’s website was updated to show that the Pre 3 had “sold out” and that “these [WebOS] products are no longer available at HP UK”.

The Palm UK website, run by HP but separate from the main site, now says: “No new orders can be taken for this Product SKU at this time. No change expected to that position. We do not now expect any further qty’s of this SKU.”

HP emailed some pre-orders punters this weekend stating, “there has been no price reduction”, but they have a Pre 3 allocated for each of them at full price.

HP emailed some pre-orders punters this weekend stating, “there has been no price reduction”, but they have a Pre 3 allocated for each of them at full price. They can cancel the order if they wish.

To be fair to HP, it never said outright that the Pre 3 would be discounted – we only have one punter’s word for it that he was told by an HP sales rep last week that a “substantial” price cut was in the pipeline. If you were made such a promise, please let us know.

Most folk after a Pre bargain appear to have merely assumed there would be a sale simply because HP previously sold off the TouchPad cheap. Caveat emptor.

However, HP should have anticipated a rush of bargain seekers. It could have clarified the situation, even for resellers.

One dealer described the experience as “very frustrating… for all of us”. ®

Source:http://www.reghardware.com/2011/08/30/hp_pre_3_sell_off_aggravates_punters/

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SGI Dives Into Open-Source CFD Software

August 30th, 2011
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Count SGI in the bucket of venerable computer hardware companies (in this case, high-end graphics workstations) trying to remake themselves, with software playing a central role.

The company, a longtime technical computing leader often credited with putting 3D graphics workstations on the map, has purchased OpenCFD Ltd., which provides open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. OpenCFD has a large, very active user base that spans the commercial engineering, science, and public sector markets. The OpenFOAM CFD software comprises more than 80 solver and 170 utility applications. It’s used for solving everything from complex fluid flows involving chemical reactions to turbulence and heat transfer problems and engineering challenges around solid dynamics and electromagnetics.

CFD is an important but still emerging segment of the computer-aided engineering and simulation segment, which is primarily dominated by a handful of small, lesser-known companies and ANSYS, the more well-known player in this space.

SGI sees CFD technology as the right fit for its focus on combining computing, storage, and third-party products into integrated technical computing platforms that can help customers solve tough problems. Software is becoming a bigger part of this equation, Franz Aman, SGI’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview with Design News, and CFD software in particular is a compute-intense area, making it a perfect fit for SGI’s approach.

“We are focused on technical computing, where compute-intense algorithms are used heavily,” he told me. “We are not focused on running ERP and other applications that support a company’s business. We are helping them do the things that are their business: envisioning the next-generation airplane, curing cancer, solving climate problems.”

With the CFD market still in its infancy, SGI sees an opportunity to expand the market and encourage broader adoption, particularly in industries beyond manufacturing. In biosciences, for example, companies would leverage CFD tools to examine things like blood flow and climate conditions. Being able to provide tightly integrated software tools with high-performance computing hardware is one way to make CFD more accessible, Aman says, as is an open-source approach, which encourages partnerships with a wide community of contributors.

“Time to results — this is what makes a huge difference at the end of the day,” Aman says. “Having compute, storage, and software work well together has performance advantages — in the CFD space, up to 35 percent — but also makes sure customers have a complete system.”

Given the collaborative nature of the open-source market, SGI sees OpenFOAM as complementary to packaged CFD tools like those from ANSYS. Because many CFD problems can’t be solved with existing packages, or customers employ multiple solutions to get the right answer, open-source CFD will allow users to customize and extend the tool more like a development platform, he said. It can also be used in tandem with packaged offerings like ANSYS’ CFD tools.

The entire OpenCFD team, including its leader, Henry Weller, has joined SGI. As part of the acquisition deal, SGI has established the OpenFOAM Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will work to oversee community contributions and ensure stability, structure, and resources for evolving the technology.

Users can get free downloads of OpenFOAM source code from the OpenFOAM Foundation. SGI will also offer a fee-based OpenFOAM support subscription and a fee-based OpenFOAM distribution, in addition to training and professional services.

Source:http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1394&doc_id=232765&f_src=designnews_gnews

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Microsoft details new Windows 8 Explorer layout

August 30th, 2011
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Windows 8 will make use of a revised version of previous Windows Explorer layouts

Director of Program Management at Microsoft, Alex Simons, has detailed the future of the new Explorer interface in a blog post on MSDN.

Interesting statistics from the post include usage patterns in the current Windows Explorer. According to Microsoft, despite having over 200 commands in Explorer, “the top 10 commands represent 81.8% of total usage.”

Simons goes on to detail how the right-click context menu was the main method of executing commands at 54.5 percent, followed by keyboard shortcuts at 32.2 percent.

Microsoft also found that the command bar, the most visible feature on Vista and 7’s Explorer menu, houses two of the top 10 commands used in Explorer. Despite this, it was used only 10.9 percent of the time during file management.

Microsoft will therefore integrate the ribbon interface, a feature first introduced in their Office applications. This interface allows sets of related actions to be grouped together for easy access, while oft used actions will be more prominent.

The new interface will also feature live preview for files, expanded tool tips, and keyboard shortcuts for every command in the ribbon as a nod to power users.

Source:http://mybroadband.co.za/news/software/32798-microsoft-details-new-windows-8-explorer-layout.html

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HP’s CEO follows IBM footsteps, but investors fear to tread

August 30th, 2011
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When the board of HP, the world’s largest computer maker, unveiled plans to restructure, it expected the company’s shares to suffer, but not to crash by 20 percent. HP’s bosses thought investors would love their plan to spin off the firm’s low-margin personal computer business, but be wary of their plan to buy Autonomy, a British software maker, for a handsome $10.3 billion. In fact, they hated both ideas. On Aug. 19, the day after the announcement, they wiped $12 billion off HP’s market value.

One problem was that the announcement left unclear what HP wanted to do with its PC unit and why exactly it intends to pay so much for Autonomy. Another factor was that many of the firm’s shareholders are short-termists, who were scared away by lowered revenue and profit forecasts. But the big problem is that Leo Apotheker, HP’s newish boss, is taking a huge gamble. He is trying to follow the example of IBM, by reducing HP’s dependence on hardware and pushing up into software and services.

To grasp what HP has in mind, one has to understand the two main currents in the information technology industry. First, nearly any new technology quickly becomes a commodity that is easily copied and hence not very profitable. This is why IT firms are always trying to move “up the stack” into software and services, where margins are higher. Second, the biggest IT firms typically control what is known as a “platform”: a digital foundation on which others build their products, such as Microsoft’s Windows. This allows them to capture a disproportionate share of the industry’s profits.

HP seems to have ignored both currents, at least in the past decade. Carly Fiorina, its boss from 1999 to 2005, merged with Compaq, another computer maker, in a deal worth $25 billion. Mark Hurd, her successor, cut costs but was ousted in 2010 after a dust-up over sex and expenses before he could fix the firm’s strategy.

That job now falls to Apotheker. The firm’s PC business is the world’s biggest, but it is not as profitable as HP’s other units. What is more, most buyers of HP’s machines are consumers, whose demands shift faster and more whimsically than those of corporate customers. So HP intends to turn its PC business into a separate unit and then spin it off.

Buying Autonomy also helps HP to move onto higher-margin terrain: The British firm’s operating margins exceed 40 percent. But the main reason HP paid a 64 percent premium for its shares seems to be that it believes that Autonomy’s technology could be turned into a platform to help companies make sense of their ever-growing pile of data.

This includes not only “structured” data (payroll records, sales figures), but also the “unstructured” kind (documents, e-mail), which now makes up more than 80 percent of the information that flows through a typical company.

Such a platform would allow firms to do some nifty things. A retailer, for instance, might decide how much beer to stock based not just on previous sales records, but also on weather forecasts, party chatter on social media and schedules for sports matches.

All this sounds sensible. But establishing a new platform and ultimately becoming a firm that looks much like IBM is a tall order. Many other firms are also jostling to become the main interpreter of corporate data. To reach its goal of having software generate 8 to 9 percent of its revenue by 2015, up from less than 3 percent today, HP will probably have to make further acquisitions. And its services business is mainly about keeping IT systems running, not about helping firms reinvent themselves (as IBM does).

Given the difficulties, it is not surprising that many shareholders have bolted. But HP and its new boss should not be faulted for trying. They have little alternative, if they wish to avoid becoming a collection of commodity businesses.

“Technology is a brutal business,” says Apotheker. “If you don’t innovate and reinvent yourself, you will become obsolete.”

Source:http://www.startribune.com/business/128510188.html

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5 Hardware Stocks: Which Ones To Buy Right Now

August 30th, 2011
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This article is about bringing to you the five best hardware stocks that have strong business fundamentals, robust growth prospects, and valuation comfort. I believe that during these volatile times one needs to invest in companies that have the financial muscle to withstand weak economic conditions and emerge ahead of the pack:

Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) – It is the largest industrial electronics company in Japan with strong focus on development systems, information and communication systems and power systems. The company is up to the changing economic scenario and has initiated the process of divesting its non-core activities and enhanced its focus on its core competencies. It divested its Hard-disk drives business in March of this year. The company is on overseas expansion drive with major focus on the emerging markets which are expected to be the engines of growth going forward. We expect the company to perform strongly in 2H 2011 driven by automotive-related sales, storage services and construction machinery businesses. Also, the company is recently in news about its proposed merger with Mitsubishi, which will result in the largest infrastructure company in the world with integrated operations. On CY12 basis, the company has a PE of 8.6 times and a P/B of 1.27 times with return of equity of 17%. The ADR of the stock has performed strongly in the last one year with returns of 33% during the last one year.

EMC Corp/Massachusetts (EMC) – EMC is a globally leading company that provides information storage systems, software, and services to enterprises. EMC has recently increased its stock repurchase to $2 billion from the earlier planned 1.5 billion repurchases. EMC has more than USD9.0bn of cash and has been generating steady operational cash flow, which gives a strong indication about the performance of the company. Many OEMs are being affected by the current economic situation but EMC is in a position to withstand this situation although its performance might be strained for a short time. Although the stock is trading at a trailing PE of 15, we feel the stock is not over-valued as the company has strong EBIT margins in the range of 22-25% and its trailing EV/EBITDA is ~6.5x. The company is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% and we believe that the company can protect its high margins successfully. The stock is currently trading at $21.6 and has over the last one year given a return of 17.6% returns for its share holders and we believe that its shareholders will be well rewarded if they stay invested with this stock.

Canon Inc. (CAJ) – It is the global leader that provides office equipment and cameras. The company is also the market leader with market share of ~50% in the laser printers including OEMs and is also a large provider of copiers with more than 18% market share. It caters mainly to the international market with more than 70% of its sales coming from the Western and emerging countries. The stock is trading at a higher PE of 16.5 times but is strongly supported by its higher dividend yield 3.5%. The stock has also given a return of 14.5% over the last one year giving a cumulative return of 18.0%. We believe Canon is in a stronger position relative to its competitors because of its strong balance sheet and its partnership with other global giants like Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Océ (OCENY.PK). The company was affected by the earthquake in Japan but has been demonstrating its ability to come out stronger and we believe that the company will recover from that impact very soon. Also, the company has been looking for some M&A opportunities to further expand its growth profile.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) – Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest IT company, is a technology giant that has operations in more than 170 countries in the world. It generates revenue of $126 billion and is ranked 11th in the list of Fortune 500 companies. HPQ has recently announced that it will shut down its smart phone business, sell off its PC business and will focus on enterprise computing division. The company has embarked on a share repurchase program and is expected to make ~$13bn-$17 billion over the next two years leading to EPS growth. The stock is currently trading at $23.6 which is its 52-week low and has fallen by 40.0% in the last one year. At a trailing PE of 5.3 times, the stock looks extremely attractive. We feel that HPQ would come out successful with its focused approach and see a improvement in EPS in the next financial year. HP is another large giant that has focused on emerging markets as a part of its integral growth strategy. The company has continuously endeavoured to provide cheaper solutions to its customers to make their operations more cost effective. It has a high return of equity of 21.6% and has a dividend yield of 1.53%.

International Business Machines (IBM) – IBM is a global giant that manufactures computer hardware and software and offers consulting services. We regard IBM very highly because of its strong execution abilities. Compared to its peers, IBM revenues are more recurring in nature because of its services business, which is also a high margin business for the company. The company has also announced that it plans to do cost savings of USD8 bn between the period 2011-1015. IBM also has strong presence in India, which it uses as a low-cost hub to provide services to its global customers. The company has found a niche there, alongside Infosys (INFY) and Wipro (WIT). The company has an aggressive M&A strategy and will be one of the major contributor for its growth in the future. IBM has demonstrated strong performance in Q2, with revenue growth of and 12% YoY and EPS growth of 18% YoY .The stock is trading at a trailing PE of 13.7x which we regard as low compared to the growth prospects of the company. The stock has given an excellent return of 38% over the last one year and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Its ROE is one of the best in the industry at 65%.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Source:http://seekingalpha.com/article/290321-5-hardware-stocks-which-ones-to-buy-right-now

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