Intel’s latest laptops turn the TouchBar into a full-blown secondary display!

Posted on 29/05/2019 by Sarang Sheth

I’d totally sign up for this laptop Intel believes is the future of computing. Meet the Intel Honeycomb Glacier, the company’s vision for the direction for gaming laptops of the future. It features not one, but two hinges, and not one, but two displays. Ditching the trackpad (who games on a trackpad, honestly?) for that extra bit of real estate, the laptop shifts the keyboard down, and fits a secondary screen into the area above the keys. With a rather unique hinge system that uses a tiny, one-way roller-clutch, the Honeycomb Glacier can be opened up and arranged in a unique format, allowing two screens to face you in a way that actually feels ergonomically sound, relieving neck pain. Unlike the TouchBar that actually needs you to look down while working it, the secondary screen adjusts upwards, giving you the visibility you need.

This secondary screen, in context, is actually heaven-sent. It can be used to run productivity tools or secondary programs like Slack or Discord, giving you the ability to chat/communicate while you work. You could possibly run an instance of Skype on one screen, and work on another, or even lay out timelines on the lower screen while you’re editing videos on the upper display. Things get even more interesting with Intel’s integration of the Tobii eye-tracking system. A camera on the top of the display keeps track of which screen you’re looking at, allowing you to toggle between them, so you can use the keyboard to control your game, and then to type something into chat just by looking at the secondary screen. Your eye movement dictates what screen/program gets focus, so you’re not scrolling between displays to select an active program, or alt+tabbing your way through your applications.

The Honeycomb Glacier is Intel’s pet project, and there’s a great deal of work yet to be done. Made from a standard set of parts, the 12.3″ secondary screen comes with incredibly fat bezels (and was apparently sourced from an in-car entertainment display supplier), and the hinge mechanism itself makes the laptop rather thick and bulky. Nevertheless, the Honeycomb Glacier is an incredibly unique, innovative, and honestly amazing proof-of-concept that I genuinely hope sees the light of day… and if you’re wondering where the trackpad disappeared? Don’t worry! It’s where you’d expect the numpad to be, although not very ideal for a left-handed person!

Designer: Intel

Image Credits: The Verge

Microsoft’s Hololens 2 all sorts of futuristic awesomeness

Posted on 25/02/2019 by Sarang Sheth

The Hololens, when it released four long years back, made some great promises and lived up to a fair amount of them. However, after 4 years of being used, developed for, and pitted against competition, the Hololens 2 has a set of well-defined milestones to achieve. Microsoft spent a significant amount of time figuring out where the Hololens would enhance professions and lives, and even an incredible amount on the Hololens’ internal technology that they claim is so state-of-the-art that the Hololens 2 has no competition for the next 2-3 years when it comes to fidelity.

This is the Hololens 2. It’s slightly lighter, slightly better looking, but just remarkable on the inside. It has a much larger projection area and can display images in 2K. Rather than relying on reflection technology, the Hololens 2 uses lasers, a waveguide, and a proprietary rotating mirror that turns the laser’s beam into a wide fan of light that reaches your eye. This fan of light is what you end up seeing, and Microsoft’s managed to make this system so incredibly good that the images you see feel real. The Hololens 2 also packs cameras that scan your pupils to identify you and correct the images to match the distance between your pupils, calibrating things to an incredibly minute level so that your idea of reality is successfully blurred. The Hololens 2 is also a mixed reality headset, allowing you to interact with the holograms around you. An Azure Kinect sensor sits on the front of the headset identifying objects as well as gestures, making your interaction with digital elements much more natural.

The Hololens, according to Alex Kipman, is a device meant for the majority of professions. Created to be a device that transcends its current use (designing cars in 3D and such), the Hololens 2 actually sees itself being used in more technical requirements as a means to look past objects. Be it an engineer who’s analyzing or fixing a jet engine, or a doctor who’s studying a patient, or even a production designer who’s trying to visualize an entire space with interactive elements. In short, instead of making the computer experience portable, it’s designed to bring the digital experience to people who don’t sit in front of computers at all. The Hololens 2 even packs a flipping hinge that lets you lift the lens up like a visor or welding mask, lowering it down on your face only when you need it. Microsoft plans to roll out the Hololens 2 purely to corporations and factories, rather than let consumers have access to it immediately. Judging by how much value its design intends to bring to professions that need to get down in the dirt and use hands, that makes sense… but then again, that’s also been Microsoft’s mantra for the longest time. After all, the company is in the business of facilitating businesses, isn’t it?

Designer: Microsoft

Image Credits: The Verge

Giant Antarctica Iceberg is on the Verge of Breaking off

Posted on 01/06/2017 by hira

A huge iceberg is set to break away from Antarctica. Researchers say that the rift on Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf is spreading fast and it will soon end up creating a massive iceberg. Once...

Nintendo Switch Sales on the Verge of Record Setting Numbers

Posted on 08/03/2017 by shane

Nintendo isn't exactly being forthcoming about just how many of the Switch consoles it has sold. Third party reports are indicating that sales of the Switch are robust and while the console is...

Dell Says on Verge of Digital Revolution, as largest Tech Merger Comes into Effect

Posted on 08/09/2016 by ians

As the world's largest technology merger between EMC and Dell formally came into being on Wednesday, the driving force behind the $67 billion marriage, Michael Dell, said that this was just the...

Most Minimal Pen…YET

Posted on 14/03/2016 by Sarang Sheth

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I feel really stupid every time I publish an article about a minimalist pen, and then just months later I come across another pen more minimal than the first. The Sens is the latest pen to make me swallow my pride and once again proclaim that I have found the most minimal pen…YET. Until someone designs a pen that’s just one big cylindrical vial of ink, the Sens takes the crown for its 3-part pen design.

Made out of machined Aluminum (it’s beginning to become a prerequisite!), the pen features a knurled knob on the back that exposes the refill once you rotate it. The Pen comes in a just as minimal wooden box, and if you chip in a bit extra, you can get yourself the leather case and give yourself some hipster cred!

Designer: Verge

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