2. TECH the holidays. Toys for… | |

3. TECH for the Holidays Computers Tablets Cameras Everything Else

4. The $300 Computer Intel Celeron or AMD E-240 APU Onboard AMD Discrete Class Graphics or Intel Extreme graphics 2-4 Gb DDR3 RAM 250-320 Gb hard drive DVD+-RW drive Windows 7 Home Premium Did we mention it’s a LAPTOP!!! $200

5. $300 Laptop (Available now!) AMD E-350 APU Onboard AMD Discrete Class Graphics w/ HDMI 4 Gb DDR3 RAM 250 Gb hard drive DVD+-RW drive 15.6” 1366 x 768 LED Screen Windows 7 Home Premium x64

6. Intel Core i3, i5, i7 or AMD A6 Llano dual core or quad core CPU 2 Gb DDR Ram is minimum –4 - 8 Gb is recommended Hybrid Graphics –ATI or Nvidia –At least 256 Mb video Memory 500 Gb hard drive or better - You can go with SSD but far more expensive Blu-Ray RW, or BD/DVD+-RW drive Go for a 1600x900 resolution or better –Widescreen laptops have either 16:9 or 16:10 ratios –Remember, ALL screens are HD but that doesn’t mean they are all 1080p –Check if unit has LED edge lit or Array (Array is better) What to look for in a good Laptop

7. What happened to the netbook? Yes, they still exist… Ultra Mobile PC 1.6 Ghz Ultra Low Voltage CPU (some dual core) Weight under 2 Lbs 1Gb RAM Screen Size 11” or smaller –1024x600 250 Gb hard drive Wireless N and bluetooth or WAN Modem Windows 7 Starter Edition Cost between $300-600 (price hasn’t changed)

8. What are SSDs? SSD – Solid State Drive No moving parts Uses non-volatile (non magnetic) memory Has much better seek speeds Dropping in price

9. A New Form of Laptop? …no.

10. How Do They Stack Up? Do not run on standard PC hardware (NOT A PC) Ultra Mobile Internet Device 1 Ghz Ultra Low Voltage CPU (some dual core) Weight under 2 Lbs 1Gb RAM Screen Size 10” or smaller –1024x600 8 - 32 Gb Flash Drive Memory (integrated) Wireless N and bluetooth or WAN Modem Android OS (Open Source developed by Google) Cost between $300-700 (price negotiable)

11. Galaxy Tab

12. What About Desktops? $300 Desktops –Pentium Dual Core or Athlon II –4-6 Gb DDR3 RAM –320-500 Gb hard drive –DVD+-RW drive –Onboard Graphics with HDMI hookups –Windows 7 Home Premium

13. Stuff For Your Computer

14. What to Look For in HDTV 1080p or 720p? –F–Full HD is always better 120Hz or better 3D maybe? –D–Depends greatly on the content Contrast Ratio (real vs. dynamic) –M–Make sure you know what your looking at Smart TVs –G–Get Netflix strait to TV!

15. Note about LED and Backlighting First, LED is the backlight method, not the image rendering element. (LED is LCD) “LCD” TVs use CCFL (Florescent) Bulbs LED TVs come in two types –Edge lit: LEDs strung around edge of screen Cheaper, Lighter –Array: Every pixel has its own LED backlight Expensive, more power usage Best contrast (can turn off backlight for pure blacks)

16. What To Look For in a Digital Cameras Native Sensor Size –Some cameras have high resolution but small sensors. This can cause apparitions or Moiré in photos Optical Zoom –Digital zoom will crop pictures giving lower quality picture. Image Stabilization –Electronic vs. Optical Screen/EVF resolution –The screen on the back of the camera may be big but it may not be clear Video –Not always used but can be useful. Some have 720p or even 1080p.

17. $100 Cameras 8-10MP Resolution 3x to 5x Optical Zoom Many photo shooting options

18. Digital SLRs – Now under $500 6-10MP Resolution Optical Image Stabilization Live Preview Options

19. Predictions

20. Door Stoppers 42” LCD 1080p HDTV –$299 15.6” Laptop –$199 Android Tablet –$99 iPhone –Free (when you sell your soul to Verizon, Mua ha ha! ) BluRay Player –$39 10MP Digital Camera –$49 The smile I will get when I get all this for Christmas –Priceless

21. Show and Tell