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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Pete, who reckons a tablet + keyboard combo will be best for his future note-taking. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I will be attending college next year and figured that getting a tablet + keyboard combination to take to class instead of a netbook or small laptop would be a better idea. I was looking into getting the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, but my grandparents gave me an iPad 2 as a graduation present. A friend of mine is considering getting the Transformer, but doesn’t want to pay 0 for a keyboard dock. Both of us will be using our tablets for essentially the same purpose and we were both wondering what the best wireless keyboard was for a tablet. Thanks!”

We’ve definitely tested our fair share of tablet-focused keyboards, but none of ‘em have actually struck us as ideal. The newly-released Lenovo Folio case is a gem, but alas, only functions with the ThinkPad Tablet. So, bright minds — any ideas for Pete and his pal? Drop ‘em in comments below.

Ask Engadget: best wireless keyboard for tablet use? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patents are the currency of the realm these days, and companies accrue them however they can — whether filing for their own or buying someone else’s. Microsoft’s no stranger to the patent game, and it’s added one more piece to its IP stockpile in the form of a “moveable housing of a mobile communications device.” A broad title, to be sure, but the patent essentially covers sliders where the keyboard ends up flush with the screen after it’s moved. In existing designs, the sliding display gets in the way of pressing the top row of keys, and squishing the grid’s size or fattening up the phone are the only ways to make space for fingers to press them. This new design frees phalanges and keys from such constraints, and adds a little something to the phone’s aesthetics as well. Sounds great Microsoft, now put this patent in the capable hands of Nokia’s hardware engineers and get to work making a sleek new WP7 slider, stat!

Microsoft patents new type of mobile slider, puts keyboards and screens on equal footing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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To keep your hardware up to date on your computer is important if you want to keep it working rightly. According to your OS, there will be many ways to update your driver files. With the help of a driver software, you will find out it’s the easiest way to keep a healthy and fully working PC. Check here Avanquest Driver Genius Review to read more about Driver Genius.

Once you install driver software it is easy to locate driver issues, updates, and repair instances of driver issues. Without proper updates to your drivers your computer will not work at it’s optimum performance. Most usual problems are with modems, printers, routers, besides any syncing devices like smart phones. It is also important to note that ‘auto’ updates that are recommended by your computer’s operating system often do not reflect the driver settings.

Any person using their PC system on a daily basis should know that driver software is a great tool. For both your hardware and software updates, and due to the constant technological changes, it is very important to remain updated. Below are some common errors related to hardware driver issues:

Crashing and or freezing of the entire computer.
No possibility to print. Neither to get connected to a wireless or wired printer.
Unable to ‘see’ plug and play devices such as web cams, external drives, keyboards and pointing devices.
Network adapters problems. Those connecting you to the Web ( like a modem)

Such problems are just some of the errors you can get because of outdated, corrupt, or even missing driver files. These can be troubleshooted through the control panel of the operating system on your computer, or by using a driver software that is installed on your machine.

Continue reading Dell Inspiron R refreshed with removable lids and Intel’s latest processors

Dell Inspiron R refreshed with removable lids and Intel’s latest processors originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The main goal of the driver is to act as a translator between programs using devices like printers, and your actual device. Every different device is coming with its own commands set. Such set is unique, only the driver understands such commands. A program will mostly speak to a device in a general way. What the little program known as a computer driver does is take these general commands and make them understandable to the device the program is attempting to communicate with. Without the adequate driver, such tool cannot really communicate with the device and a PC error will happen. Without the right computer driver, a given device can become totally useless to the PC users. You will be very frustrated then. Check this website Driver Genius to know more about Driver Genius.

Sometimes drivers can go missing or end up corrupted. Expect many reasons to be possible for that: a common reason you will find out is the computer virus. If a person has a missing or corrupted computer driver they can use driver software to help locate and download the driver they need for their device. Once the driver is found and downloaded it can easily be installed and get the device working properly again. The moment your device will start working, you’ll be smiling. To have drivers updated is important whenever you want your PC system to work the right way.

It’s a subtle shift, so let me illustrate. When I use voice commands on my Android handset, I have to find my program, such as text, enter in the content, then hit a button to record my message. I then see the message and I can elect to hit send. The message is recorded verbatim if Google is feeling good, although I have to tell it how I want to punctuate the message when I’m dictating it. With Vlingo’s Android app, I open the Vlingo app, tap a button, and say, “Tell Kevin Tofel he should try the Vlingo app.” Vlingo then opens a text message addressed to Kevin and fills out the body text with “You should try the Vlingo app.”

Instead of dictating text, I’m dictating actions. As a user, it’s natural, intuitive, and far less awkward if I want to easily interact with my phone via voice commands in a public place. For Vlingo, it’s also going to be more lucrative, or so the company hopes. By elevating itself to a personal assistant app, Vlingo has opened up myriad opportunities to generate revenue, from automatically opening applications offered by paying partners, to taking a cut of the sponsored ads if a query for movie tickets or a certain type of restaurant results in a click or a call. When I tell Vlingo, “Find me a hotel in New York for next Tuesday,” it opens Kayak with a list of hotels on the appropriate night. As a user it’s delightful, and for Vlingo it’s a source of money.

If I don’t have Kayak on my phone in this situation, Vlingo prompts me to install it. If I elect to do so, Kayak plays Vlingo a fee. If I clicked through to make a reservation with a hotel, Vlingo might also get a cut of that revenue. While Vlingo doesn’t disclose sales, it says the company’s revenue has been growing and offered the following chart to show where it thinks it can go from here in terms of the average revenue per user each month. As you can see, in 2010 with 8 million users (this counts everyone who downloads the app) it got about 14 cents per month or about .4 million a year. The chart indicates that Vlingo expects to make 22 cents per user this year as it ramps up its personal assistant push.

It also wants to broaden its user base and is looking beyond smartphones to do so. Vlingo currently offers an Android app, a BlackBerry app and an iOS app for Apple devices, plus it just signed a distribution deal to put Vlingo on Nokia’s handsets. How that deal fares in the wake of Nokia abandoning it’s software platform for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform is unclear, but there are more Nokia Symbian phones on the market than from any other platform for now. Vlingo has a Windows Mobile app, but doesn’t yet have a WP7 version. However, smartphones are only the beginning. Hadley Harris, VP of marketing of Vlingo, says the company also has a deal with two carmakers and a smart TV company to offer its personal assistant inside vehicles and so people can control their televisions from their couch without using a complicated remote.

For a glimpse of this future, download the free version of Vlingo and check out the In-Car function. Once done, a user simply says, “Hey Vlingo,” and then issues a command. The app takes care of the rest including reading back a text or email so you never have to take your eyes off the road to ensure that it’s correct. When comfortable, just say, “Send.” It also will read your incoming emails and texts out loud while you’re driving, which is pretty awesome, although it does drain the battery. For fun, you can ask Vlingo questions about movie starts, the age of the universe or other bar bets and it will search various partner sites and offer an answer.

Much like Siri, which was almost magical in implementing certain tasks, Vlingo has built a breadth of intelligence on top of its voice recognition software to take voice a step further. Given the improvement of our devices in terms of processing speed and the availability of information available through apps and the web, the evolution from searching, finding and then taking action to giving an order and then having the device search, find and then take the correct action on your behalf could be expected. But that doesn’t make it any less cool.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d):

• Is Speech-Recognition Technology Finally Ready for Prime Time?
• Why RIM’s Future (Unfortunately) Hinges on BlackBerry OS 6
• Why Google Launched App Inventor

GigaOMTech

KVM switches are the best way to tidy up your desk. The keyboard, monitor and mouse are plugged in to the KVM switch and then the computers are plugged in too. The computers will obviously need to be compatible with the selected keyboard, monitor and mouse. When you want to flick from one computer to the other, simply activate the switch – it’s as easy as that.

Depending on what type of KVM switch you use, you can even use keyboard ‘hot keys’ to switch between computers. There are 2,4 and 8 port KVM switches and it is sensible to buy one with more ports than you than you need because it will enable you to add others at a later date.

You could of course control many computers at once by installing specialist software on all of the computers concerned. This isn’t great though because you can run into latency issues because the software runs over a network. You will also need a set of input devices plugged into your extra computers or you will find they don’t load up correctly. On top of this, the system only works when the operating system is running.

A less costly option is to use a dual input monitor but that only solves the problem of multiple screens – it doesn’t avoid multiple keyboards and mice.

The best solution really is the KVM switch. It’s a simple device that makes running many computers from one keyboard (K), monitor (video, V) and mouse (M) easy. KVM switches are designed for the job!

Having your own beat maker program allows you to add the verse, hook and percussion parts so that your hip hop beats can be produced within one interface.

Your Own Rap Beats Maker

When evaluating sample instrumental hip hop beats offered by rap beats maker programs, listen closely to the music and try to isolate the instruments in that track. Notice the echo, panning and fading as you listen to the beats on each track. Next listen for the rhythm. Make sure you see how the reverb was added.

Producing Instrumental Hip Hop Beats Can Be Simple Playing the keyboards is not a requirement in order to make great beats. You can layer your instrumental hip hop beats within the dynamic user interface by applying sounds and beats with toms, cowbells, symbols, or with the sound of any instrument that you want to use. When picking a style, think of how you want your beat to sound. Such as, Rap, Pop, Rock or R&B. When you mix a beat, each track is treated individually. In order to give your completed beat professional sound you will need to use the layering feature.

Buy A Beat Maker Program

When buying hip hop instrumental beats online, you have to be sure that it will mix music that sounds good and has a beat that is clean and crisp to the listener. Trying to make your mix sound perfect is not necessary since you are in control of the final version as the sound engineer you decide how to mix vocals into the softer. Really good hip hop production beats can be sold for a lot of money. With the help of a good beat making software product you can start making beats immediately. Here are some of the most important features to consider before buying a beats maker program:

• Download instrumental beats as many times as you want!
• 100% Full Copyright
• Royalty free, YOU own every single beat and instrumental
• 39 genres and styles from Rap, Hip Hop and Much More
• Download to MP3

Keep in mind that there are lots of different options to select from. Creating quality instrumental hip hop beats you will need a good beats maker program, the skill to layer sounds and a good ear for hearing different types of beats.

The Foundations
Servers are notoriously pricey. They have to be entirely sound (or as near as makes no odds), and with the data that is accumulated on them, they are not supposed to be easily disposed of. So they’re built to a high spec rather than a low cost. Just like a safe is to a house, servers for a company are not bits of kit to penny pinch over (never mind how competent your IT support may be). Company directors may gasp but generally accept that, and so servers are more often than not bought with an it must work at all costs and at all times mentality.

Servers also take up space. Not only are they substantial pieces of hardware, they usually need storing in a 19″ rack, alongside supporting equipment

• keyboards
• power supplies
• computer screens

and kept away from small particles of dirt, accidental spillages and little (or devious) fingers. This generally necessitates putting them in a special room or a safe area on the premises.

Servers gobble up energy. Not only the electricity required to run a robust computer that’s on continuously, but also the airing and cooling they crave to keep them operating at the right heat (a server in a small space can produce excess heat).

All this would be manageable enough if you only ever had need of one server.

But that’s the thing: you often need multiple servers. Whether that’s to fulfill different functions, to operate as a fail-safe, or to cope with fluctuating demands : for example, spikes in website traffic or everybody checking their e-mails first thing, organisations are often subject to a ‘peak server load’ requirement that eclipses their average use. You can’t physically switch a server on and off in response to this load, so spare capacity is not used efficiently.

Seeing the quandary? More and more pieces of expensive, power-hungry equipment that demand their own space on your premises, and mostly there in case of emergencies.

Is there a better way? Well, there may be. For many different businesses virtualising servers is the way forward.

‘Server Virt’ quite literally means separating and re-organising a single physical piece of kit into a few alternative instances of a server. Every instance can either complete similar jobs, or be given over to alternative types of task.

So How’s it Done?
The concept is relatively easy to grasp but putting it into practice requires something like this IT services company in Bristol. But the benefits of having a single machine perform the tasks of several virtual machines, consequently performing like multiple physical servers, are evident:

Less cost (on items that are not needed full-time)
More room at your premises (less of it taken up by computer equipment)
Lower utility bills (by miles! … and a smaller carbon footprint)

Look into IT services in your area to find how much you can save by virtualising your servers.