The Zone

Taking out the bulk from microscopes and allowing doctors in rural areas to quickly and correctly identify life-threatening diseases such as tuberculosis, or malaria and even dengue, an engineer has created and adapted a cellphone to substitute. Even more impressive is the fact that he has used only USD10 worth of off the shelf-hardware. Dr. Aydogan Ozcan, an assistant professor of electrical engineering has created the devices, founding a company called Microskia to commercialize the technology. More in-depth information here

We just got our hands on Apolco's Powerline Networking kit. Featuring two plug and play plugs in a single kit, these PLC bridge/adapters let you connect two computers in a network via your power line. Offering 85Mbps speeds (better than wireless G at 54Mbps) the device is very easy to use. For a full review on the kit check out our latest issue of HWM.

We've tested quite a few Apolco micro projectors to date, however the Apolco Mobile Media Projector is so far the best one to date. From what we've seen so far, the tiny LED powered micro projector can handle 60" displays, has pretty good built-in sound and now even has a rechargable and removable battery. For a full review on the projector check out our latest issue of HWM. 

Taking a shot of yourself or a self-portrait using your own camera is probably one of the most common shots in the world. Everybody's done it at one point or another and everyone has usually ended up with a mess or missed themselves altogether. Samsung have recently launched their new 2View line of digital cameras. One of them is the ST550 which bears two touchscreen LCD, one on the front and one on the back so you can frame yourself nicely without having to ask someone else for help. Check out the full event and details on the cameras in our latest issue of HWM!

With North Korea stepping up its military presence, quite a few of its neighbours are getting a little itchy about it all. Proof of the pudding is this product we got recently which was made in South Korea with a statement sternly saying 'Not for distribution into Republic of Korea'. Wonder if we'll see more of these or if the Republic will face a dire shortage of computer components any time soon?

In the HWM Malaysia August 2009 issue, on page 250, you’ll find a 4-page Intel Advertorial on how the Dell’s Inspiron 1545, powered by a Pentium Dual-Core 2GHz processor with 800MHz bus and 1MB cache, as well as integrated graphics - fares against the Dell Studio 1555 notebook, powered by the Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology, with a 2.4GHz processor and 1GHz bus and 3MB cache, as well as discrete graphics.

You can see how the Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology, even with discrete graphics, enables you to do more in less time. Here we reproduce the screen capture of the MobileMark 2007 1.05 industry-standard notebook benchmark results.

Offering a comfier and keeping your mouse dry from your sweaty palms, Mouse Blisters are also purported to reduce CTS and Tendonitus symptoms for sufferers thanks to the increased size which reduces hand fatigue. Besides all that, it adds grip to your mouse which is perfect for gamers looking forwards to agressive gaming!

[Mouse Blister]

Network Accessed Storage (NAS) devices are finally making the move to 2.5" sized bays and we were privileged enough to get our handson Synology's four bay 2.5" DS409slim. Featuring four 2.5" bays with each bay able to support up to 500GB for a total of 2TB this miniscule NAS is extremely small, barely taking up more space than your average mouse. The 2.5" bay size also means that power costs and cooling costs are cut down significantly. For a full review of the Synology DS409slim check out the analysis part of the SMB section for HWM Malaysia August 2009.

Hot on the heels of its 14" screen cousin, the Samsung NP-X360 flew into our arms for a little hands-on this month. With a 13.3" screen and doing its best to beat the Macbook Air with its ultra slim design, the X360 revealed a startling statistic in comparison to a normal 13.3" notebook of the same class. Read all about it in our latest issue of HWM. (HWM July 2009)

We managed to get our hands on a Samsung X460 and take it for a spin. Featuring an ultra slim design that may give the Macbook Air a run for its money, this new addition to Samsung's line of notebooks holds plenty of promise. Like its NC10 netbook counterpart, it is also rumoured to be competitively priced. Couple this with its excellent performance and we may have a sleeper hit on our hands. Check out the PCMark05 score it gave us below. For a full review, pick up the latest copy of HWM (HWM March 2009).

As part of Samsung's renewed attempt at piercing the personal computer market they have introduced their take on the netbook. With a classy design and ultra light casing, the Samsung NC10 looks great. Rumoured to be priced much more competitively (as in cheaper!) to get into the already saturated market, this 10" netbook will be something to watch when it comes out in force. We managed to lay our hands on an advance version. So far we found that the NC10 has an awesome battery life, stays cooler under pressure and has more than reasonable performance. For a full review of the Samsung NC10, pick up a copy of HWM (HWM March 2009).

We finally managed to get our hands on one of those miniscule projectors that you can fit into your pocket. As you can see above, it really is small enough to fit into your pocket. From the few test spins that we've taken we've managed to ascertain that the RCG Virtual Vision 5100 Pocket Projector has a built-in fan (so it should stay cooler than its fan-less compatriots), its based on a 10 Lumens LED lamp (so it should save oodles on electricity) and on top of having a built-in speaker also has touch-sensitive controls. For a full review check it out in the latest issue of HWM.

Fancy taking a panaromic picture but can't stitch it yourself in Photoshop? Let this nifty piece of kit do it for you! Gigapan Systems has released its latest Gigapan Epic (not related to the image above) which has taken an impressive shot of President Barack Obama's inauguratio ceremony using just a compact digital and funky algorithim.

Check out the panaromic image here

BBC News has reported that high-tech golf clubs made from titanium will be a health hazard to golfers. Thanks to the boom made when the club head touches the ball, golfers are in risk of becoming deaf if they regularly play with the same clubs. According to a case which was outlined in the British Medical Journal, a 55-year-old golfer developed a case of tinnitus and loss of hearing in the right ear after using one of such clubs, three times a week over a course of 18 months. Testing several models, the found out that the King Cobra LD club outputs the most sound, at 130 decibles, making that short moment a truly damaging one to your ears.The solution? Wooden clubs!

[BBC News]

Coming to us in the not so far future is an umbrella thatnot only lights up when it rains but is also powered directly by the rain droplets that hit its surface. The Lightdrops umbrella designed by Sang-Kyun Park uses a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fabric which transforms the kinetic energy of the rain drops into electricity which powers LEDs on the underside of the umbrella. Previous piezoelectric fabrics couldn't cut it since they weren't waterproof but the new PVDF fabric promises us the heavier the rain, the brighter the light to shine our way.