monitor

Regardless of its function, this has got to be the ugliest workstation since the "TreadDesk." Even its name, the "flipIT DUO," is irritating--it looks like the shift keys got locked while they were writing the press release.

This contraption is designed to let two 19-inch monitors pop up from the desk surface like a reverse trap door, according to BornRich. But the saved desktop space is more than offset by its offensive aesthetics: It resembles an ill-conceived DIY project that gutted an old used upright piano and stuffed some computer hardware inside.

That would have been … Read more

Looking to capitalize on the popularity of its $400 Linux laptop, the Eee PC, Asus announced it will release three products under the Eee banner later this year: a desktop, an all-in-one PC, and an LCD TV. I can't see any of these forthcoming Eee products matching the Eee PC's early success--a compelling form factor and significant cost savings over similarly sized laptops helped it out of the gate--although the all-in-one PC may have a shot. Let us run through the newly announced products.

Confirming earlier rumors, Asus said it will release a desktop version of the Eee … Read more

It's rare to see a 22-inch LCD for less than $200, so I'm quite excited to find the Acer AL2216WBD on sale for just $179.99 (after a $50 mail-in rebate). This is a new unit, not a refurb, and it has a stellar pedigree.

For starters, check out some of the specs: a 700:1 contrast ratio, 5 milliseconds refresh time (ideal for games and movies), and DVI and VGA inputs. Better still, the AL2216WBD earned a five-star rating from more than 200 TigerDirect customers and a 7.1/10 from CNET. (Readers gave it an even … Read more

If BMW's rumbling steering wheel, Infiniti's Lane Departure Prevention system, and Volvo's coffee-break alert are not enough to keep you awake at the wheel, then Toyota may have developed just the thing for you. According to its announcement today, Toyota has developed an enhancement to its Pre-Crash safety system that can determine whether or not a driver's eyes are open. The system relies on a driver-monitoring camera and image-processing computer, which determine the position of the driver's upper and lower eyelids. The development follows Toyota's existing face-monitoring technology--available on the Lexus LS600h--which tracks … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Dell got a lot of attention at the Consumer Electronics Show when its Alienware group showed a mammoth curved-screen display for gamers, but NEC is hoping it'll reach an even bigger market with its own version of the technology.

NEC was showing off a prototype of its 42-inch, 2,880x900-pixel, curved-screen display, the CRVD-LMD, at the Macworld trade show here this week. The monitor is geared for professionals such as medical scanners, photographers, and video animators who need an immersive display and a lot of real estate but don't want their view interrupted by the frames of … Read more

I wrote about the benefits of using multiple monitors in 2004 (see Secrets to My Excess), and I haven't wavered from my position: If you use a single monitor--unless it's a giant 30-inch model--you are missing out on one of the easiest ways to increase your productivity. Yes, I know this isn't really a Webware story, but the tools I'm about to describe have made using Web apps (all apps, really) much easier for me.

It's dead easy to add a second monitor to either a desktop or a laptop computer. The operating systems handle … Read more

A lot of computer gear these days seems to be following the Hummer/SUV trend of the auto industry from the early '90s: the bigger and tougher the better. We've seen, for example, military-grade laptops, keyboards, and even nuke-proof USB drives. So why should LCDs be left out?

Specialty equipment maker Stealth Computer plans to fill that void with the "TuffTouch," a 17-inch touch-screen monitor encased in aluminum alloy for "harsh environment applications," according to the company. The 1,280x1,024 monitor can also be ordered with a built-in "Little PC"--and it'… Read more

On Thursday, Web site-monitoring firm WatchMouse released the results of a study about the performance of 104 social-media sites--social networks, blogging communities, bookmarking sites, and the like--and boldly deemed them to be overall "slow and inaccessible."

WatchMouse used its "Site Performance Index" (SPI) methodology to track the reliability and load time of the sites in question; this figure is computed by calculating the time needed to call up a site's home page and applying a penalty for each failed request. Lower is better: an SPI of 500 is considered good, whereas the Utrecht, Netherlands-based WatchMouse … Read more

There's something about Korean manufacturers that apparently makes them want to experiment with monitors as if they were lab rats. A company called Woojin, for example, saw fit to grow a small screen out of the top of a full-size LCD last year. Now Samsung, which also has already shown a penchant for Frankenstein projects, has grafted a second screen onto the side of one of its displays.

Why? No idea. Coolest-Gadgets speculates that artists and others might want to reserve all 22 inches of the Samsung SyncMaster 2263DX's main screen while leaving lesser functions to the 7-inch … Read more