This post was written by Ellen Rocklin
Mobile phones, low-cost fax machines, cutting edge laptops and other gadgets can now allow the home office to be almost anywhere, even in your kitchen. Hewlett Packard Inc.’s IQ 775 TouchSmart, costing $1,599, has finger-friendly features that make it easy to use while inhaling a sandwich. The 19-inch widescreen display is a touch screen, which allows you to navigate through your Web browser and applications with a fingertip. Moreover, the unit’s keyboard and mouse are wireless, as is the remote control, which is used with the built-in high-definition TV tuner, FM radio and video recorder.
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Mitel® has introduced a suite of desktop and mobile unified communications clients and announced an affordable telecollaboration solution that extends telepresence. The expansive Mitel unified communications (UC) portfolio is packaged under a role-based software licensing approach that simplifies the deployment of unified communications while addressing the different user needs within an organization. The newly announced unified communications products are Mitel Unified Communicator® (UC) Express, Mitel Unified Communicator® (UC) Advanced, Mitel Unified Communicator® (UC) Mobile and Mitel TeleCollaboration Solution. Clients, smaller branch locations and home office workers can be included in full telecollaboration sessions or audio-only participation.
Buffalo Inc. announced the launch of its’ LinkStation Quad, which provides large, secure and remotely accessible storage. The new LinkStation Quad allows consumers to share multimedia files and other digital assets securely from any computer on their home network. All with the peace of mind as this storage box is empowered by RAID technology. LinkStation Quad comes with a massive storage of 1TB, 2 TB and 4 TB offering the same great features and protection that Buffalo’s award-winning NAS devices are known for.
ClearOne has announced that Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC) Communications Solutions has named the CHAT 150 Group Speakerphone as a recipient of a 2007 Product of the Year Award. The CHAT 150 is a group speakerphone designed for the executive office, small conference room, or home office. The product, which has a sleek design with a large loudspeaker and three microphones for 360 degree audio pickup, connects to telephones, PCs, and video conferencing systems for superior wide-band audio communications.
ZyXEL Communications, Inc. today has announced it will demonstrate its technological expertise in access and digital home solutions at the TelcoTV 2008 conference. ZyXEL will showcase the power of ‘ZyNERGY,’ the explosive synergy that occurs when broadband access, home connectivity and digital apps devices are designed and built by the same vendor. ZyXEL will feature live demonstrations, at its TelcoTV booth, for IPTV and connected home environment. The first “home demo” will have a high-speed ADSL2+ connection streaming Internet, IPTV and telephone service. Two rooms shown will include a living room and a home office.
On TechRepublic, Bill Detwiler mentioned that network security is only as good as its weakest link, which is often a user’s home office Wi-Fi network. According to him, IT managers must examine their exposure to unsecured Wi-Fi networks and take steps to mitigate any risks, such as helping users protect their networks, implementing a good remote access policy, and addressing any compliance issues.
On PCMAG.com, M. David Stone shows a way to select a proper inkjet printer for home office. Stone says that some printer models are meant for home use, some are aimed at offices, some are meant to print nothing but photos, and some are designed for mobile printing, complete with batteries. Most inkjets are meant as personal printers or, at most, shared printers for printing a few pages per day. The vast majority are small enough to share a desk with the rest of your home or home-office set up. According to Stone, almost any current inkjet can print photos that at least match the quality you’d expect from your local drugstore. You can also count on almost any inkjet to print graphics well enough for both internal business use, like printing PowerPoint handouts, and home use, like printing party invitations. Pick carefully, once again, and you can have output quality a graphic artist would be happy with.
Minneapolis-based Best Buy said that it has gained 1.5% market share in the U.S. as compared to the year-ago quarter, with key gains in TVs, computers, video games and mobile phones. Best Buy’s home-office business showed the largest increase, 9.3% in comparable U.S. store sales, and now accounts for 31% of total revenues, up from 29% last year. Notebook computers and mobile phones grew at a double-digit percentage, while comparable store sale declines were seen in printers, landline phones and computer networking products, according to the company.