LandingZone MacBook Air Docking Station

The LandingZone is a docking station for the Apple MacBook Air. The dock provides four USB 2.0 ports, a 10x100T Ethernet port, a Mini DisplayPort and a locking port to secure your precious MacBook Air. The LandingZone supports both the 11-inch and 13-inch versions of the MacBook Air (2010 or later). Additionally, it is equipped with a power adapter.

Gogo And American Airlines Now Streaming In-Flight Movies to Your Laptop

I'll never get tired of this photo of American Airlines' in-flight entertainment. Photo: Charlie Sorrel

Now, customers of American Airlines can watch in flight TV and movies on their own computers, instead of being forced to stare at the terrible seat-back screens of old. Gogo Vision, as it is called, is provided by in-flight Wi-Fi company Gogo, and has been installed on all 15 of AA's Boeing 767-200 aircraft.

Right now, you're probably having the same reaction as me. Why would you want to pay to watch content on your own laptop computer, when you doubtless have movies and TV shows on there already?

On the upside, the “introductory” prices aren't bad, costing more or less the same as services like iTunes. A TV show will cost you a dollar, and a movie will be four bucks. If you don't manage to watch the whole thing then you can finish up back on the ground, TV shows stay available for 72 hours, and movies for 24 hours. You will not have to pay for Wi-Fi to access the service, either.

If these prices stick around, this could be a great emergency service for nerds who have forgotten to load up on in-flight entertainment ahed of time.

I see a bigger advantage, though. I'm over six feet tall, and I'm also terrible at picking a good seat. Often I end up in the seat with the in-flight entertainment machine taking up half of the legroom. If these bulky boxes could be replaced with invisible Wi-Fi waves, that would only be a good thing.
source: Gadget Lab

Ergo-Tilt Laptop Stand Review

I recently reviewed a laptop cooling stand, and Herb Ostroff, the CEO of Ergo-Tilt, contacted Julie to ask if we'd put his Ergo-Tilt laptop stand through the same tests. We agreed, and Herb quickly shipped out a couple of stands to me. The Ergo-Tilt stands are designed to keep your back, neck, and wrists relaxed by lifting your laptop up to improve the typing and viewing angles and to allow ventilation under the laptop to help keep it cool. Let's see how it performed.

Ergo-Tilt is a Canadian company, but they ship internationally. To make things easy on us here in the US, they even have a US page with prices shown in American dollars. They are a socially responsible company. Ergo-Tilt stands are assembled in workshops for challenged individuals. They are all plastic with no metals, so the stands are easily recyclable. Even their packaging is made from recycled materials.

The Ergo-Tilt is a one-size-fits-all-laptops product. I measured it at about 13.6" X 12.10" X 0.75" when closed. I couldn't fit it on my digital kitchen scale very easily, but the website says the stand weighs 8.9 oz. There's a hinge at the back that opens to raise the back end of the stand to about 3 inches.

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It is currently available in black, yellow, lime, and pink, although they also show a couple other colors in pictures on their website. I requested a yellow stand. I was surprised when I received both a yellow and a pink stand. The Ergo-Tilt URL is molded into the raised lip. There is a large paper label on the surface of the stand area and a small one centered on the raised lip area. The labels have the Ergo-Tilt logo and URL on them. The stands can be branded for any reseller by replacing these stickers with another logo.

The front of the stand has a raised lip to prevent the laptop from sliding off the stand. At first, I thought both the yellow and pink stands were exactly the same, but I quickly realized that the pink stand had a raised tab at each end of the raised lip. Info from Herb said they had recently added the tabs to their molds to prevent laptops with very rounded fronts from slipping over the raised lip.

My MacBook Pro worked well on the yellow stand without the retaining tabs. Of course, I tried out both stands with my laptop. I was a little afraid that the retaining tabs would dig into my wrists and make using the stand uncomfortable, but that wasn't the case. The front of my laptop is tall enough that the tabs were below the level of the laptop's wrist rest area.

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I already mentioned that the Ergo-Tilt is one-size-fits-all-laptops. Because I have a 13" MacBook Pro, you can see that the stand is bigger than the laptop. It's not very much wider, but it is about 2.25" deeper than needed for my laptop. That means the stand takes up much more real estate on my tiny laptop table than it should to fit my laptop.

The angle/height of the Ergo-Tilt stand isn't adjustable. You unfold the leg at the back into a single position. I've mentioned my tiny laptop table (too?) many times. Not only is the tabletop small, but the stand is very low, too. Normal desks are usually about 29" tall, but my stand is only about 24" tall. Even being 5-foot-nothing, I find this table a bit low, so I was hoping the stand would make using the computer more comfortable. It does raise the screen enough that I don't slouch as much to view the screen, so my back and neck feel a bit more comfortable. The stand, when sitting on the very low table, isn't as comfortable for my wrists as I'd like, though. My wrists are too flexed, with the hands angled back toward my arms, when I'm using the very low table. However, I do plan to replace this table with a standard desk, so I decided I should also try the Ergo-Tilt on something with a standard height. My kitchen table is about the same height as a desk, so I tried the stand on it. With the higher table, I found the angle much more comfortable. My arm/wrist/hand was almost a straight line as I typed. Since having your wrists bent in weird angles while typing is the root cause of wrist pain and damage, having my wrists straight should help. Of course, I did mention that I'm only 5' tall, so taller people using a standard desk may have the same problem I have on my low table.

I was a little concerned by the way the hinge flexes when pressure is applied to the laptop area. I don't think there's any way that the weight of any laptop I've seen would cause the hinge to flex too far and break, though. However, the Ergo-Tilt is covered by a 5-year warranty, so you'll probably be covered if you do have a problem with the hinge.

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The Ergo-Tilt stand is designed to fold up fairly flat so you can carry it in your laptop bag. I carry my laptop in the Cocoon Kips Bay bag for the 13" MacBook Pro, and the Ergo-Tilt is far too big to fit in my bag.

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You'll notice that the Ergo-Tilt is vented. Like many laptop stands, the Ergo-Tilt says it will help keep your laptop cooler. The stand doesn't have any fans that require power from your laptop battery. It is a passive cooler that simply allows airflow under the laptop, and the vents are designed to allow the cooling air to reach the bottom of the laptop itself.

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I put the cooling claims to the test using the same method I used before. I used the MagicanPaster app from the Mac App store to measure the CPU, battery, and disk temperatures to quantify the cooling function of the stand. I used the MagicanPaster app to see the internal temperatures of my laptop as I used it in normal conditions. I don't use my laptop under carefully controlled testing facility conditions. I do use it in an air-conditioned room. I do a lot of surfing, photo editing, word-processing, emailing, and the like on my laptop. I am not a gamer. I started out with the laptop just sitting flat on my laptop table. I never took a temperature reading immediately after waking up the laptop. I would wait until I had been using the laptop for more than an hour before I took a temperature. After a few days of collecting temperatures with no stand, I placed the laptop on the yellow Ergo-Tilt stand and collected temperatures during use just as described for the no-stand period. You can see from the data (above, click for a larger view) that there is no clear evidence that the stand cools the laptop during use.

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I also ran a flash test to see how the stand cooled while my laptop was being used at heavier load than normal. There were no golf games I could use like in my earlier test, so I used the Flash Stress Test at the Munsie Games website. The stress test exercises your computer by displaying a lot of images on your screen in a 30-second burst. I started by testing with no stand. I took a starting temperature reading, then I ran the test two times, immediately back-to-back, then re-checked the temperatures using MagicanPaster. I waited about 30 minutes (with the laptop in sleep mode) while the laptop cooled down, put it on the Ergo-Tilt stand, took a starting temperature, then ran the flash stress test just as before. Again, I don't see any strong evidence that the stand keeps the laptop running cooler.

I found the Ergo-Tilt laptop stand elevated my laptop screen to a good viewing angle and kept my wrists at a comfortable, straight angle when I used it on a standard-height table. I didn't find any cooling benefits, but you might find it more effective if you laptop tends to run hotter than mine does normally or if your laptop has cooling vents on its bottom. You should be able to fold up and take the Ergo-Stand along with you in your laptop bag, so you can type comfortably where ever you are.
source: The Gadgeteer

Scout Extra Small Laptop Bag from STM

We've reviewed STM bags before on The Gadgeteer, and we found them to be sturdy, well-made, and sized to fit your gear without wasted space. STM is now offering the Scout Extra Small Laptop Bag that's designed for the 11″ MacBook Air but will accommodate most 11″ laptops. The Scout has high-density padding and a felt lining to protect your gear. The laptop compartment has a Velcro closure, and there are pockets to hold charging cables and other small gear. There's even an interior slip-in pocket that can hold an iPad. The bag closes with a secure buckle, and there's a strap pad for comfort. eBags in the US is offering both the black and the olive Scout Extra Small bags for $50.99 now – that's a 15% savings. Check the website for other retailers.
source: The Gadgeteer

Apple MacBook batteries hacked to burn or explode

We know that computers can be broken into by hackers for malicious purposes, but who would've thought that laptop batteries could be broken into as well? At the Black Hat security conference next month in Las Vegas, a security researcher named Charlie Miller will be giving a demonstration on how to hack into and control the microprocessor of a MacBook battery.

According to Miller, “These batteries just aren't designed with the idea that people will mess with them. What I'm showing is that it's possible to use them to do something really bad.” Apparently once the controller for the battery has been compromised, it can be manipulated to the point where it is dead or “bricked”, and there even is a possibility for a fire or an explosion to be caused by placing malware on the chip.

Similarly damaging cyber attacks have been proved possible on much larger systems like generators, or other parts of the power grid.

Normally people aren't worried when it comes to cyber criminals - the worse they can do is corrupt your data or use it without permission (which is bad enough). If what Miller says is true, then we might have to worry about our computers exploding on us in the near future (oh great). Hopefully new security measures will be taken to prevent such occurrences from happening.
source: Ubergizmo

New Timbuk2 Laptop Backpacks

From Timbuk2 are three brand spankin' new laptop backpacks. From left to right they are the Amnesia ($89), the TRACK II ($79) and the Superbad (regularly $60, currently on sale for $49). All made of ballistic nylon, all with lotsa smart organization features and all available in a multiple color schemes. Which one's your favorite?
source: The Gadgeteer

Keep Your Laptop Safe with TechSafe

If you use your laptop in public a lot, you'd probably benefit from having a means to secure it against theft. Griffin offers the universal TechSafe Cable Lock System that uses the laptop's hinge as the attachment point, so it will work equally well with all laptops. You slide the patented hardened steel LockBlade through the hinge – which Griffin says is the strongest part of the laptop, then you attach the TechSafe Cable Lock to the LockBlade and a table leg. If there's not an easy way to attach the cable to a piece of furniture, you can use the optional Anchor Clamp. The TechSafe Cable Lock System is available at the Griffin online store. The Cable Lock is $29.99, and the Anchor Clamp is $19.99.
source: The Gadgeteer

GadgiT-Mat Laptop Mouse Platform

If you're the type that spends long hours using a laptop, then perhaps the track pad on the laptop may not be the most ergonomical solution for you. There are also probably some users out there who just in general prefer using a mouse over a track pad, as a mouse tends to be faster and more precise. The downside is that due to the portability of laptops, the use of a mouse would require a flat surface, which may not always be possible. That's where the GadgiT-Mat Laptop Mouse Platform will probably come in handy.

It basically acts as an extension to your laptop, with a clamp that clamps onto your laptop, and all you would have to do is slide the platform into place. Naturally laptops come in various sizes and thickness, but the clamp is said to be able to be adjusted to varying levels of thickness.

It also comes with a gel pad for you to rest your wrists on, to prevent strain, and because it is elevated, it does not block access to your DVD drive or USB ports. If that sounds like something you would be interested in having as an accessory for your laptop, the GadgiT-Mat Laptop Mouse Platform is currently retailing at 20 GBP (about $32).
source: Ubergizmo

Levenger Soul Skin Cover for Moleskine Notebooks

I'm on a Moleskine kick lately, and I found that Levenger has a beautiful leather cover for the pocket-sized Moleskine notebooks. The Soul Skin cover is only available in black. The cover is held closed by a pair of loops that can accommodate a pen up to 5x8″ thick. The Soul Skin is $75; you can add initials to the front for $6 more.
source: The Gadgeteer

MSI's SteelSeries keyboard-equipped GT780R, GX780 gaming laptops now available

Mobile gamers that need to move around here and there, rejoice! MSI managed to turn a few heads back in April by building a gaming laptop around SteelSeries keyboard with its GX780, and it's now announced that both it and the higher-end GT780R model are available with a list price of $1,550 and $1,750, respectively.

In addition to that multicolor backlit keyboard, both models pack a 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 display, a Core i7 2630QM processor, a pair of USB 3.0 ports (plus three USB 2.0), 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive.

So what's the difference between the two? The big one is GeForce GTX 560M graphics with 1.5GB of GDDR5 RAM on the GT780R, compared to a GT555M with 1GB DDR5 of VRAM on the GX780.

Hit up either Amazon or Newegg if you're ready to place an order (both seem to have knocked $100 of MSI's price).
source: 2DayBlog.com

Normancies offers aluminum reinforced laptop bag

If you tote around your laptop a whole lot, it pays to invest in a good laptop bag – preferably one which is water resistant as well as reinforced. Normancies is offering their latest aluminum reinforced laptop case that makes up the handle, while offering protection on its sides. Surely this is not Samsonite suitcase class protection, but the double clamshell design allows it to hold up to a 15″ laptop, not to mention all the bits and pieces that accompany it including the plethora of chargers, drives and accessories. As for the removable strap, you might want to run a few tests on it with differing weights just to be on the safe side, in case it removes itself due to being overweight. No idea on pricing as at press time, but since it hails from Finland, it ought to cost a pretty penny.

Source

Logitech Touch Lapdesk N600 For Laptops

The Logitech Touch Lapdesk N600 is not an ordinary laptop heat pad. The device has a retractable 5-inch multitouch trackpad and media functions buttons, which are wirelessly connected to your laptop via Logitech’s unify USB dongle. The Touch Lapdesk N600 heat pad should be able to fit in a backpack or a messenger bag.