LifeBook Concept Combines Camera, Smartphone, Tablet and Notebook

We have featured a number of different concepts here on Geeky Gadgets for combining devices together, and Asus have taken the idea mainstream with the Asus Padfone. Which combines a smartphone and tablet together into one unit to share processing power and features.

Designer Prashant Chandra has taken the concept one stage further and incorporates , a camera, smartphone, tablet and notebook in to one device. Enabling them to all to share features and processing power and be charged and synced at the same time.

The notebook doesn’t have a keyboard of its own but uses the docked tablet as a touch screen input device. Also when the camera is docked it doubles as a web camera and automatically transfers your photographs to the main notebook and syncing.

When the tablet is docked with the notebook it can also be switched from keyboard mode into a dual screen notebook allowing users to use the tablet as a sketch pad. The smartphone docks in to the front of the notebook providing extra processing power and battery life when required.

Unfortunately the system is still just a concept at the moment, but with companies like Asus already combining smartphones and tablets together, we probably don’t have long to wait for mainstream solutions to start to appear in stores.

Japanese Creates Device That Shuts People Up

It’s such a bummer to get stuck with a person who doesn’t know how to shut up. If only there’s a way to shut them up without hurting their feelings (or punching their faces. Haha!) A pair of Japanese researchers just might have the answer.

Kazutaka Kurihara from the National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology and Koji Tsukada from Ochanomizu University were the brains behind this device they coined as the “SpeechJammer”

It takes the form of a gun and you point it at the person’s mouth to commence peace and quiet.  It works by recording the person’s voice through a directional microphone. It then adds a 0.2 second delay and fires the recorded speech back to the loquacious speaker. The brain needs instant feedback to continue speaker. Hearing a constant echo of their voice disrupts with this system and brings the “target” to a sudden halt.

In a paper describing their invention, Kurihara and Tsukuda emphasized that communication maybe an important medium to resolve conflicts, but too much of it may add fuel to the fire.

The SpeechJammer is confirmed to shut up even the loudest chatterboxes. It is an oversized gun that looks like it can wipe your memory out. Just pointing the monstrosity that is the SpeechJammer is enough to get a shock. Add in a sneer and evil laugh and you don’t have to turn it on!

The SpeechJammer may be the best in stopping speech, it has no power of stopping that annoyed person you just pointed a weird gun at. Try staying at most 30 feet away just in case.

Leaked Microsoft Office 15 Trailer Hints At Cloud And 365 Web Support (video)

A quick 30 second video has been published from part of the leaked roadmap for Microsoft’s upcoming Office 15 software package. Although short the new Office 15 video reveals glimpses of both 365 and SkyDrive integration, which are expected to be part of the new Office suite of tools.

The Microsoft Office 15 video, which you can view after the break has been published by Rafael Rivera of Within Windows, and shows how Microsoft sees users integrating with documents in its new suite, enabling users to access documents “wherever you go … so it’s easy to pick up where you left off.”

With a Windows 8 tablet set to be released sometime in the next year, the new integration within Office 15 is likely to try and compete with Apple’s iCloud offering and documentation syncing features.

Microsoft Office 15 is currently under development with a public beta arriving in the summer, and a final release expected to launch sometime in 2013. As more specific information is released regards the new Windows 8 tablet or Office 15 we will keep you updated.

Microsoft Introduces 3 Windows 8 Editions : Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT

Today Microsoft as announced three editions of its new Windows 8 operating system: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT. The plain Windows 8 version is the official product name for the next x86/64 editions of Windows, and PC users will have two editions to choose from Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.

Microsoft explains that for many PC users Windows 8 will be perfect, but for more advanced features Windows 8 Pro has been created. To bring a broader range of Windows 8 technologies, to tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals.

Windows RT is the newest member of the Windows family, and has been created for devices powered by ARM Processors. Microsoft explains:

“Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT, which we unveiled in September and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds.”

For more details on the new Windows 8 operating system editions, jump over to the Microsoft Blog post for a comparison.

24ct Gold iPad Will Cost You $5,499

The only person I can see buying this 24ct Gold 3rd generation iPad is a contemporary Bond Villain named Gold Tablet, but if you have the money and want one for yourself, Gold & Co. is offering some for sale.

Looks like it will be made available only in stores in Dubai, London and Hong Kong. The first unit has been auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. I hope your pockets are lined with gold to pay for it though.

This blinged out tablet will cost you $5,499 for the 64GB WiFi + 4G model. The company is also offering gold plated iPhone and Blackberry devices if you want some gadgets to go with this. I would be too afraid to use such an expensive device myself.