British Gas robo home remote gets itself into hot water
Energy has been in the news again lately, but not in the way that suppliers would favour. On Tuesday, opposition leader Ed Miliband promised to freeze energy prices for 20 months if Labour made it into power. It’s a message British Gas was keen to forget as it announced its renewed commitment to the connected home in London …
Asus NV550JV 15.6in full HD notebook - the one we didn't have to send back
When Asus sent the N550 to Vulture Central, I sent it back: the wrong model had been dispatched. Having seen so many tiresome comments following El Reg laptop reviews along the lines of “when I saw it was only 1366 x 768 I stopped reading”, I wasn’t going to proceed with this spec - and with more than these moans as …
Lighting bods blind designophiles with LED-powered lounge lamps
At the 100% Design show in London's Earls Court this week, the great and the good from architecture and interior design spent their time gazing into lights. Not just any lights, either: LED lights covered in a thin film based on butterfly wings.
LEDs can produce very intense point source illumination, which is great for cyclists …
Mini-Me, stop humping the 'L-A-S-E-R': New 3D tech can make a Mini-You
The way 3D printing enables ideas to move from the drawing board and become actual objects in a matter of hours has certainly inspired designers. To highlight this point, London-based 3D printer supplier iMakr appealed to visitors' egos at the 100% Design trade show in London's Earls Court this week.
iMakr 3D printing examples …
Sofas with a roof and Star Trek seating: The future of office furniture?
I’ve been going to the 100% Design trade show for quite a few years now and there’s always some finely crafted cubicle contraption lurking in the Office section of the event.
Unless I’ve developed some curious office consciousness since my last visit, I’d say there are more of these cubicle designs than ever this year.
OK, so …
Knock, knock. Hello, delivery person: I am this building's SKYPE OVERLORD
London’s Earl’s Court plays host to 100% Design again this week, the UK’s largest showcase event for architects, designers and manufacturers. It's not all supercool decor, furniture and lighting though, as you'll find some tech gems among the design icons too.
Got a Skype account? Who hasn’t? Skype’s great for distance calling, …
Tracking the history of magnetic tape: A game of noughts and crosses
America began its love affair with tape following WWII, when Jack Mullin, serving in the US Army Signal Corps, dropped in on German radio broadcaster Bad Nauheim and returned home with two portable Magnetophons and 50 reels of tape.
News of his 1947 Hollywood equipment demos reached entertainer Bing Crosby who recognised the …
Got it taped: The business of tape-based disaster recovery
For many SMEs, tape disappeared from their landscape as a data storage choice ten or more years ago. Domestically, it exists, if at all, as a legacy item with perhaps a car stereo chewing its way through a selection of fondly regarded C-90s. Still, this lack of public visibility by no means indicates that tape has come to the …
TV's goggle gaggle: EVERYBODY'S first with something at consumer tech feast
If you’re in Berlin and have a tech habit, then IFA, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show, rages on for another couple of days. On display you'll find all manner of things upon which the consumer tech giants want us to focus our spending – even those that may well soon be redundant.
As mobile content viewing explodes, it …
Reelin' in the years: Tracking the history of magnetic tape
Today marks the 80th anniversary of the first patent filing for a magnetic tape recording medium, though the tech I worked with was a bit more recent than that. Still, it has been quite some time since I last went shopping for tape.
I recall the last time as being a deal on a load of JVC miniDV cassettes that I still haven't …
Sony unveils Tap 11, the world's SLIMMEST tablet PC (for now)
Tablets, tablets, tablets. There’s one out there for everyone these days or so it seems. On show at IFA there are, er, certainly more tablets than you could shake a stick at – or should that be a stylus?
Sony was looking pleased with itself after it was confirmed that its Vaio Tap 11 is officially the thinnest PC tablet around ( …
Hands on, er, heads on: We take a gander at Sony's gaming goggles
Is it pride or some futuristic obsession? Just what is it that keeps Sony revamping its HMZ series head-mounted display?
It’s certainly not to compete with Google Glass, as this experience blots out everything else – you have no idea who’s going to sneak up and take an Olloclip pic and make you look weird when you’ve got it on …
OK, forget the 3D telly fiasco: 4K is gonna blow you away - say tech giants
We have mixed opinions regarding the merits of 4K TV viewing here at El Reg. It's something that we have covered in scientific detail. In short, the 4,000-plus-pixel resolution looks great for still images, but misses the point for moving pictures.
Reality check aside, that hasn’t stopped world+dog at this year's IFA trade show …
Hands on: Panasonic bakes a 20-INCH tablet for big biz to swallow
At the IFA trade show this week, Panasonic shed more light on the latest addition to its Toughpad range, a 20in, 4K resolution monster that’s only 12.5mm thick. Yes it’s the same tablet it teased the press with at CES at the beginning of the year, but it’ll be available to purchase before the end of it.
Panasonic 4K Toughpad UT …
Wrist SLAP: Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch hands-on
Plenty has been said about the tech behind the Galaxy Gear already on El Reg, here and here, so what’s it actually like up close? It certainly looks a chunky beast but it’s a good deal lighter than you might think.
Samsung Galaxy Gear
Looks bulky but feels light and that black circle on the strap is a video camera – yikes! …
Decks and plugs and rock and roll: Tascam CD-A750 cassette and CD combo
The recent El Reg feature on the Compact Cassette's 50th birthday had many a reader commenting on some of the format's former glories. Names mentioned among the dewy-eyed included Aiwa (a favourite in UK studios) and the audiophiles’ choice, Nakamichi, with both producing state-of-the-art recorders with three heads and a lot …
Compact Cassette supremo Lou Ottens talks to El Reg
As a principal member of the R&D personnel at Philips, Lou Ottens has been behind some of the most enduring audio products in both the analogue and digital domains, from the Compact Cassette to the Compact Disc.
In this interview with The Register, Lou Ottens, now in his eighties, recalls the development of the Compact Cassette …
Happy 50th birthday, Compact Cassette: How it struck a chord for millions
On 30 August, 1963, a new bit of sound recording tech that was to change the lifestyle of millions was revealed at the Berlin Radio Show.
The adoption of the standard that followed led to a huge swath of related technological applications that had not been envisaged by its maker; for Philips, the unveiling of its new Compact …
MIDI daddy Dave Smith: '30 years of version 1.0 shows we got it right'
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) specification is 30 years old this month and it's still on version 1.0. More to the point, it still works – with more people using it than ever. In this interview, Dave Smith talks about MIDI past, present and future.
It was the combined efforts of Sequential Circuits founder Dave …
Loads of mis-sold PPI, but WHO will claim? This man's paid to find out
When the opening line of a conversation starts, “I read an interesting number the other day”, it’s fairly safe to assume that you’re talking to someone whose business it is to know about "interesting numbers". Perhaps unsurprisingly, these words were uttered by an economist whose ability to find god gold in the numbers is the …
Happy birthday MIDI 1.0: Slave to the rhythm
In part one, the main focus was on MIDI’s myriad data forms and how it began chattering to synths and drum machines, but it was the sequencer that really demonstrated MIDI’s brilliance. In fact, so brilliant it was, that musicians even began to think they were brilliant too by association. Brilliant!
It’s early 1988 and it’s …
Happy birthday MIDI 1.0: Getting pop stars wired for 30 years
Back in the early days of computer music, Reg man Bob Dormon was a professional recording engineer and music programmer. With a little help from some of his old music gear, he documents the rise of MIDI from a creative concept to its practical applications – which have ultimately led to its recognition as a Grammy Award-winning …
Asus will bung 'Nexus 7 2' fondle-droids on Blighty's shelves this month
Asus has confirmed the UK release date of the new Nexus 7 tablet, or 7 2 as it has become known, the latest Android 4.3 fondleslab it makes for Google.
The quad-core, full HD 7in slab will be available from 28 August in both 16GB and 32GB capacities at £199 and £239 respectively.
Google Nexus 7 2 flanked by the Asus MeMo Pad …
Lenovo ThinkPad Helix Ultrabook: Your new summer convertible?
Make it thin enough with a decent battery life, slap Intel’s latest Core series mobile chippery in there and it seems that just about any design can be described as an Ultrabook these days.
Has the marque lost its focus? These days there is a huge range of options from HDD to SSD, slimlime or slab-like - yet all for a price …
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch 2013: Windows struggles in Boot Camp
For years now, Apple’s MacBook Air has held its own as the ultimate in portability, inspiring the PC market to follow suit with the Ultrabook marque. While not all Ultrabooks attempt to ape the Air’s slimline form factor, they draw from the same line of Intel CPUs and often beat the iconic Apple on cost.
Yet Apple has one trick …
LG's curvy telly and Samsung's Galaxy camera seen in the wild
A hands on with LG's new TV and a Samsung camera that doubles up as an Android phone? Is this Christmas in July?
Not really, it’s a PR thing, would you believe. It’s when all the products the hardware makers slavishly promoted earlier in the year are laid bare for the press to fondle, as a reminder of what punters may be tempted …
Fitbit Flex wristband: What to wear out when wearing yourself out
Judging by how quickly Apple is dashing around the world registering the iWatch trademark, by this time next year I could well have a micro Mac strapped to my wrist. And so might many others, if the craze for wearable devices continues on its current trajectory.
You might wonder what all the fuss is about and perhaps a bit of …
Acer aims low, gets into BT's trousers
At BT Tower in London this week, Acer was all smiles having secured positions for two of its recent smartphones on the BT Business mobiles roster. The Acer Liquid E1 and Z2 are both Android handsets running Jellybean and are pitched at BT biz customers whose pockets are not so deep.
The Liquid E1 features a 4.5in 540 x 960-pixel …
Play the Snowden flights boardgame: Avoid going directly to Jail
If Vladimir Putin is to be believed, the PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden is considering his options from the transit capsule hotel at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. A plane full of journalists, anticipating he would join them, flew from the city for Caracas via Havana yesterday, but Snowden stayed put by the …
Review: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
If the word from the Apple WWDC is to be believed, we’re just months away from hooking up all our peripherals using Thunderbolt 2 cables. Funny that, as I thought this was supposed to happen when the original Thunderbolt ports appeared on Macs back in 2011.
Even though this Apple-Intel interface love-in can be found on PCs too, …
Review: Acer Aspire P3 Windows 8 slate
Acer's recent tablet bash in London not only showcased its latest A1 Iconia Android fondleslab but also on display was its forthcoming Aspire P3 Windows 8 slate.
This model exists in the convertible-cum-tablet twilight zone, as it comes with a keyboard cover as standard. Yet Acer really wants you to forget it's a tablet and …
New Tosh 'droid slabs include Newton-like scrawl-pad: We try it out
Among Toshiba’s Haswell-packed laptop frenzy in London yesterday were a few new ten-inch tablets: three Android and one Windows 8 slate for business.
The new Android 4.2 fondleslabs adopt the Excite brandname, as used in the US, and kick off with the Excite Pure, an Nvidia Tegra 3-powered tablet which has 1GB RAM, 16GB of on- …
El Reg gets its hands on Haswell fondle-gizmos at posh Tosh bash
Intel Haswell fever today had Toshiba showing off its full range of laptops, some of which featuring the new chips - plus some new tablets to boot.
The new Satellite laptops and Qosmio gaming models were out in the wild in a swish London hotel, nestling up against three new Excite 10in Android tablets – more on those fondleslabs …
Review: HP Slate 7 Android tablet
The other day Vulture Central was visited by HP with a Google chap in tow. We were treated to a couple of HP products: the new Slate 7 Android tablet and the company’s latest Chromebook, which we’d already seen as it happens.
The smart-looking seven-inch, dual-processor-core tablet appeared to have little to distinguish it from …
Review: Pure Jongo S3 multiroom speakers
I’ll admit, I didn’t think I was going to have much to say about Pure’s Jongo S3 speakers, the latest addition to its growing wireless audio gear range.
It connects to mobile devices, but what else is new? Well, there are a few nice touches to this boombox, the most significant being its integration with the online streaming …
Review: Samsung Series 5 Ultra Touch Ultrabook
When it comes to handing out Windows 8 laptops to the UK reviewers, Samsung has been surprisingly glacial. Whether this is another Apple emulation strategy to become more elusive or a sign of hesitancy to have the brand tarnished by Windows 8’s underwhelming reception, is unclear.
The hardware was paraded at CES 2013 five months …
INSIDE GCHQ: Welcome to Cheltenham's cottage industry
For staff at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, there’s an air of Fight Club about the place. The first rule about GCHQ is you don’t talk about GCHQ.
It’s a well observed tradition, even though there are road signs and a bus route directing you to this highly secret establishment, the nerve centre …
Review: Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1 WinPro 8 tablet
In the UK, Panasonic is not known as a high-street PC player - but the company’s Tough range of products makes quite an impression in the world of business.
Out in the field you’ll spot them in the hands of BT engineers and the like where the manufacturer's rugged laptops, and now tablets, survive the rigours of white-van man …
Review: Disgo 8400G 7.9in Android tablet
A 7.9in Jelly Bean Android tablet with 3G connectivity for £150? There has to be a catch, right? Absolutely. The catch with the Disgo 8400G is that you’ve probably never heard of the company before...
Now, this could mean you’ll be ahead of the game with the next big thing in affordable fondleslabs if you bought one. However, …
Review: NetAtmo Urban Weather Station
Do we need a new obsession? Isn’t Facebook and Twitter enough for most folk? Some argue the British are obsessed about the weather.
It’s hardly surprising we talk about it all the time, the weather here changes so much, it never fails to be topical. Well that’s how it used to be. Lately, Blighty has been blighted by a godawful …
TomTom brandishes new strap-on in Amsterdam: The wristnav
Satnav maker TomTom guided the press - along with automotive and retail partners from all corners of the globe - to Amsterdam on Tuesday for the launch of its next gen satnavs and a new sporty lifestyle product range.
The company has form with fitness gear, having teamed up with Nike to deliver its strap-on range of Nike+ GPS …
Kobo strikes new match against Kindle: The Aura HD e-reader
Kobo gathered the great and the good from publishing and distribution in London yesterday to launch its new high-res e-ink reader, the Aura HD.
Michael Serbinis, Kobo CEO, said the company asked 10,000 book lovers for the features a perfect e-reader should have. While the Kobo Aura HD probably doesn't match all the survey …
Movie review: Oblivion
When the film Oblivion was mentioned in the office recently, my first thoughts were that it was a prequel to The Hangover series. I couldn’t have been more wrong... or was I? After all, this Tom Cruise sci-fi caper has loss of memory as one of its key themes, which, booze fueled forays aside, immediately has me thinking of some …
Review: Kobo Arc Android tablet
As pocketable Android tablets gather momentum and e-reader manufacturers look to offer a more flexible platform, the twilight zone where both meet is certainly looking lively.
A criticism of Amazon’s Kindle Fire e-book-meets-Android offerings is the company’s imposition of a walled garden for installing apps: you have to …
Review: HP ElitePad 900 Atom tablet
If HP’s ElitePad 900 is anything to go by, not everybody expects a business Windows 8 Pro Atom tablet to be a pocketable wafer. You only have to hold it in your hand to get the impression that this model has been built for endurance rather than designed as a fashion accessory. That’s not to say that it doesn’t look good, quite …
Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2
I’ve tried out quite a few variations on the Windows 8 theme just lately – touchscreen notebooks mainly – but I’ve been dabbling with Boot Camp and virtual machine incarnations on the desktop too but without the finger friendliness. So trying out Lenovo’s business-centric ThinkPad Tablet 2 seemed like it would be an easy …
Whatever happened to telepresence? From $2.5m deals to free iPad apps
Cast your mind back nearly 10 years and high-end videoconferencing with its eye-watering price was being touted as the substitute for the corporate jet. At the time, having remote video streams to view your conference room was a big deal that involved an awful lot of looking after and a continuous investment each month for the …
Review: Toshiba Satellite U920T Ultrabook
Whatever you might think about Windows 8, when it comes to taking the top down on the new ranges of convertible laptops, it’s certainly not boring. Every single one I’ve encountered so far has a different take on how to make the laptop-tablet duo dance work and Toshiba’s Satellite U920T Ultrabook offers yet another approach. …
Review: Sony Vaio Duo 11 Ultrabook
The other day, a friend sent me a Picasa link to photos he'd taken at a recent vintage motorcycle show. It was a wide ranging display of classic engineering imagination put to work to power a rider on two wheels. Similarly, it’s those variations on a theme that Windows 8 has spurred among mainstream computer makers, as they all …
From stage to stream: The unseen tech at the BRIT Awards 2013
If you think you know all about the O2 Arena having visited it when it was called the Millennium Dome, then think again.
When the site was sold to entertainment biz AEG in 2004, it was gutted and turned into a concert venue; all that remains of the original structure is the tent. Today, its owners claim it’s the busiest live …
