LadyTron's Round Up Of This Weeks Tech News

3D TV’s – Disney and Paramount Sign Deals With Virgin TV

To date, Sky TV has been leading the way with the variety of 3D content available to view on demand, but are their rivals, Virgin, catching up? I think so! Virgin has signed deals with two media production giants, Disney and Paramount, to add more content to their 3D on demand service. In theory, as more 3D content becomes available, the demand for 3D TV’s will increase to suit. I’m still skeptical about 3D TV taking over the relatively new HD TV. I know that I won’t be buying a 3D TV any time in the near future, not until 3D TV without glasses has had time to flourish and there is no chance of it making you feel sick!


Looking For A Super-Fast Computer?

Well look no further – the Tiahne-1a super computer is now officially the fastest computer in the world according to the TOP 500 Project report, published twice yearly. With 229, 376 GB of RAM compared to an average 4-6GB of RAM on a standard laptop or PC, this machine is a beast. Its mammoth memory means that it is capable of processing 2.507 pletaflops, which to you and me is the equivalent of 2507 trillion calculations per second. Trouble is, there’s only one of them in the world, and looking at the size of it you’d struggle to fit this bad boy into your average home study!


Smartphones And Tablets To Over Take PC’s by 2013

Technology analysis firm Gartner have predicted that by 2013 sales of smartphones and tablets will over take those of PC’s and Laptop computers. From recent figures they have estimated that we will own 1.82 billion smartphones compared to 1.72 billion PC’s, and that’s excluding the rising tablet market. Are we seeing a shift on how we consume the Internet and is the demise of the desktop PC imminent? According to these figures, the PC may become a ‘Retro’ object well before we ever expected.

MoreFrom the Gadget Show Live 2011

Last week we managed to escape the confines of MoreFrom mansion and headed to Birmingham NEC. Our destination - The Gadget Show Live 2011 'the UK's ultimate consumer electronics event' according to their website and pretty good it was too. As you'd expect there were a mass of phones, laptops, cameras and many of the latest tablets.

I did get quite excited when I realised there would be bikes too. Although the selection on offer was disappointing in the end, too many weird electric hybrids for my liking and a rather pointless test track.

The show is split into many different areas; 3D experience, gaming and future tech all had their own zones as the Gadget crew like to call them. With the Game Zone particularly impressive, I imagine it was heaving at the weekend with rows and rows of gamers vying for prizes and getting a taste of future releases.

If you wandered off the beaten track a bit you could also find the Robo Tech Challenge area - great if you like Robot Wars and that kind of thing. The Photographic Workshop also looked good for the latest cameras and picking up a few retouching tips.

Music and sound were well covered with everything from DJ kit to in-car entertainment. Yes there were cars with ridiculously large speakers and yes there were scantily clad 'personality' girls.

The massive 'Super Theatre' where the presenters chat (and sing?) and demonstrate kit was unfortunately not open for the trade day (the day we attended) but it looked very impressive and reports say it was.

All-in-all it was a good show - some big brands like Apple, Nikon and Toshiba were missing, but their products could still be found. Highlights for me were the Motorola Xoom tablet, the 3D TV demos and the 70s Batmobile. Will we be back next year? Probably, there were no brand new products launched, but it was good to see so much shinny plastic in one place.

Brother Printer Promo- Save up to £200

If you're like me, you love a free gift. Our blog last month on Samsung printers highlighted that saving money in today's economy is important, I now have some more fantastic news to report.

Brother has put together a great new promotion made up of several different offers on selected printers:

• Cashback - from £50 to £200
• Free 3 year on-site warranties
• Free toners
  

To make it easier to select which offer suites you best, I have created a dedicated Brother promotions page on the MoreFrom Group websites.

"How do I claim my free prize?" - Simply visit the Brother website then enter your details and the designated promotional code (shown on our product page).

"What kind of saving is this offer worth?" - If you opt for the 3 year warranty, Brother suggest the value of the saving is worth £149. For the colour toners your looking about £194, and £70 for the high-yield black - the cashback is self-explanatory.

"When is the expiry date?" - 31st May 2011

This is a great promotion and if you're looking at a new printer, this will certainly save you some money. Follow this blog for more interesting promotions and MoreFrom news.

Danny at MoreFrom Group