Stories about: Sharper Image

Hoping to ride a recent surge in movies and TV shows filmed in 3-D, Acer Inc. plans to release a notebook PC this fall equipped with a 15.6-inch 3-D screen, according to a report.

Sony's BDP-S500 is the company's latest Blu-ray player to hit the market, geared for enthusiasts. Superior audio performance is the selling point for this model, alongside the already stellar video performance delivered by Blu-ray. In addition to the standard array of features, such as full 1080/24p playback, and DVD upscaling, the S500 also includes the capacity for uncompressed Linear PCM 7.1 surround sound, as well as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. Alongside support for BD JAVA (which allows access to bonus material), the BDP-S500 is a high-end and very well rounded Blu-ray player.

If you liked the Archos 605 we reviewed recently but felt the asking price was a little steep, the Archos 405 digital media player may be for you.

BenQ's new CP220 data projector promises a number of attractive features for corporate presenters, but falls short of expectations. Designed for the mobile professional, this XGA (1024x768-pixel) unit weighs around 2kg with the supplied softcase and cables, and offers a claimed brightness of 2200 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 2000:1 - which are pretty impressive figures for a product this small.

The final link in a great PC is the monitor. You can have the best graphics card and the fastest processor around, but an abysmal monitor can cripple your system. With the 19 inch MultiSync LCD90GX2, NEC has brought to an excellent monitor to the market that blasts forth high quality images with near flawless precision.

The hybrid style TV tuner allows you to watch analog as well as digital TV reception. While you cannot watch the two receptions simultaneously, you can easily switch between the analog and digital channels using your Favourites channel list.

Adding a new monitor can buy you more desk space, a larger screen or better image quality. Back To Basics shows you how to connect and set yours up properly.

Futuremark Corp., the developer of the benchmarking software 3DMark03, has retracted accusations of cheating it leveled against graphics chip vendor Nvidia Corp. over modified software drivers on Nvidia products. However, it remains opposed to Nvidia's techniques and is not reinstating the original benchmark results.

The movie A Perfect Storm features 200-foot waves created with 3D graphics software. Imagine those waves streamed over the Internet to your PC.

How will the next advances in computing affect your life and work? The horizon is crowded with possibilities, from polymorphic viruses to wireless everything. Here's what's in store - we think.