Connecticut's IT Managed Services Blog

The Pixel Qi, a screen that uses both LCD and e-ink technology, debuted about a year ago showing its ability to switch between its LCD for video and normal computing and then switch to an e-ink display when being used outside in direct light. This is not to be confused with Barnes and Noble’s Nook that uses 2 separate screens, one a LCD, the other e-ink to bridge the gap, this is just one screen and is able to switch between them both at will. What makes this interesting is Apple’s interest in the technology. Amazon has made a lot of money from eBook sales and Apple was looking for part of the market too, in which case it was able to position itself with the iPad as an eBook reader. The problem with this, which Amazon has been keen to point out, is that the iPad isn’t a real eBook reader and still suffers from problems like not being able to read outside in direct sunlight due to glare, along with lower battery life and the eye strain that comes from staring at a LCD screen.

Recently Apple filed for a patent that would have a translucent e-ink display that goes over the LCD screen in which it could switch the displays automatically as needed. This is an interesting development for Apple, as they are perfectionists at heart, and if they plan on using this technology in future tablets means that have will have to overcome certain tech limitations. These limitations come from trying to mix the two technologies which leaves the LCD with lower viewing angles and makes it look less robust and crisp compared to current LCDs, while on the other hand it also gives the e-ink screen a slight glare, most likely from the glass that covers the display itself. These problems seem minor, and for any other company they would be, but Apple has prided itself with the fact that it uses such crystal clear displays and noticeably lowering their quality might disappoint Apple fans who buy these products for this level of quality.

Its always been difficult for users and security experts to come to an agreement when it comes to password creation. Users want something simple and easy to remember so they can just log in without having to think of which password they need for that site, while security experts would like each person to have a to complex password with a mixture of capital letters, numbers and symbols. On top of that they say its best practice to use different passwords for each site, having the same password for each site leaves you vulnerable if your password leaks once it leaks for everything. But new research from Max-Planck-Institute for Physics of Complex Systems has come up with a way to help stop brute force attacks when it comes to hackers trying to steal your password.

Brute force attacks are when hackers run a program to try every letter combination in order to get into your account. This means that the longer and more complex the password is the longer it will take the hacker to try all the combinations.

As an Android user and Google fan, I have been waiting for quite a few months for Google’s new music service to finally debut. It is rumored to be a place where you can store your music in the cloud and then can be played from anywhere. Well after months of waiting it looks like Amazon has beaten Google to the punch with the debut of Amazon Cloud Storage. This new offering from Amazon allows users to place their music onto Amazon’s free 5gb of storage and then stream it to any computer or android device, with iOS currently not being supported. Amazon is looking to rival apple in many ways, with Amazon focusing on MP3 sales to combat Apple’s iTunes and just a few days ago Amazon releases their own App Store for the Android market. Now Amazon has added icing to the cake giving away 5gb of space to users to store not only music, but videos, photos and documents.

With an entire department dedicated to IT Consulting for the small to medium businesses space, we are often asked about the future and impact of smart phones. The Mobile world is changing, and fast. If you remember the big boom for computers in the 90's then be prepared for something similar to happen in the Mobile world as phones are becoming powerful enough to replace desktops and laptops for many tasks. But this time around the major technology companies aren't guessing on what strategies will work, they've learned from their past mistakes. So what’s going to happen and who will be the next major tech players in this upcoming generation?

Nobody can be certain on who is going to dominate the mobile world, for the longest time it seemed like Apple was the only company with a real plan, but as 2011 is starting to gear up, all the major mobile companies are showing that they are ready to compete. If we were to look at the current landscape I would say there a few names to look out for; Microsoft with Windows Mobile 7, Google with Android, Apple with iOS, HP with palm's WebOS and finally RIM with Blackberry OS. There is one more, Nokia, but they are a currently going through major structural changes, switching from their own Symbian OS to Microsoft's Windows Mobile 7 so for now we won't consider them. All these companies are hoping to become THE mobile OS provider, just as Microsoft was THE desktop OS with Windows. At this point it is good to look at each and see where they are going and how this is can affect the future.