Tag: peripherals

Article

Logitech made so much money during the pandemic it could afford this Super Bowl ad – The Verge

Video

Logitech Super Bowl ad – Click or tap to play in YouTube

My Comments

In North America, the NFL Super Bowl is the penultimate final match for American “Gridiron” football. This also has the half-time entertainment with some big-time stars performing but it is also seen by the TV stations as the most valuable TV show there. It is thanks to many people watching it wherever they can on their TVs and this same football show ends up as a showcase of the best TV commercials that Americans have seen.

Most years I have highlighted and commented on consumer-technology ads that have appeared in this advertising showcase, incase you were overseas or were at a Super Bowl viewing party but missed that ad while reaching for that chicken wing or dipping those chips in that special dip. For example I had cited an ad for Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller with its focus on inclusive gaming.

This year, Logitech had joined the Super Bowl advertising showcase with an ad highlighting their current computer-peripheral product range in a creative context. Logitech is one of those brands I value due to their consistent use of Bluetooth as a wireless-connection option for all of their wireless input devices rather than just the dongle-based wireless approach. As well, the development of Darkfield technology has impressed me due to the ability to use suitably-equipped optical mice on glass surfaces.

Logitech had made so much money during 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus plague. This is due to them selling computer peripherals like mice like the MX Anywhere 3 Bluetooth mouse I have reviewed, keyboards and Webcams for us to equip our home offices with. For example, a lot of these devices would have been used to build out a desktop workspace for that laptop as mentioned in this HomeNetworking01.info article. Some of the pundits were evens saying that Logitech could even produce and run a Super Bowl ad on the back of their profits of these sales.

The Super Bowl ad carved out a message about determination in the face of what may be perceived as logic. This may be due to Lil Nas X (Wikipedia article) and his life including coming out as gay and hitting out against homophobia in hip-hop music, or fusing country-and-western music with elements of the hip-hop style especially rapping.

The vision in the ad underscored the use of a wide range of Logitech input devices like mice, styluses and keyboards with differing computing devices for creative purposes. There wasn’t any highlighting of certain products within their latest product lineup but it was about showing the whole lineup working together.

It is showing a distinctive direction for tech-focused advertising where the technology is for use by everybody no matter who they are, along with the idea of running these campaigns during key sports events where everyone would be watching.

Article

Fingerprint readers like what this Fujitsu laptop is equipped with are now available at a reasonable price for your existing computer

Best fingerprint scanners that let you use Windows Hello on older PCs | Windows Central

My Comments

I have reviewed a significant number of laptop computers, usually business-grade laptops, that have come with integrated fingerprint readers. This is a feature that is becoming common with premium and business-grade laptops but is also showing up on premium-grade smartphones and tablets.

Here, this allows you to scan your finger to log in to your device, with it able to be used as an additional authentication factor or as the only authentication factor. During my tenure with the various fingerprint-reader-equipped laptops, I set things up so that I log in to these computers using my fingerprint and this provided an effectively simplified but secure login experience to the system and online services like Facebook.

But you can have this with your existing Windows computer thanks to add-on fingerprint scanners that are reasonably priced. Similarly a fingerprint-reader attachment may be the answer if your have a computer with an integrated fingerprint reader but this has failed or has compatibility issues with Windows 10.

Previously, purchasing a fingerprint scanner for your desktop or existing laptop was about buying a piece of overpriced hardware pitched for larger enterprises who care about their security. As well, there was the risk of compatibility issues with these devices and the operating system.

Now these reasonably-priced devices called out in the Windows Central article are designed to work out of the box with Windows 10 especially with its class drivers and Hello simplified-login functionality. In most cases, these devices are a single-piece device that plugs in to the host computer’s USB port. This can work well for most laptop users and could work well with a desktop computer if you use a USB hub or a directly-connected peripheral that has USB hub functionality and at least one USB port flush with its outer surface.

The BIO-Key EcoID device exists on the end of a USB cable which would be a boon for desktop users but may be considered as something that gets in the way for laptop users. It also has the one-touch scan setup which is a similar user experience to what happens for smartphones or recent-issue laptops like the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 convertible Ultrabook.

All of these USB fingerprint readers listed in the article are available through Amazon with most of them retailing for between AUD$30-AUD$45 per unit. At least it is a way to set up your existing Windows 10 computer for one-touch secure logon without needing to fork out for a business-grade laptop. You also then have that same level of security if you bought a business-grade laptop with this feature but you want to equip your desktop PC or gaming rig with this level of security.

Article

HP Intros The First Wi-Fi Mouse For Your PC | eHomeUpgrade

From the horse’s mouth

HP Introduces Wireless PC Accessories to Enhance the Computing Experience

Click here to play YouTube video

My Comments

This mouse is the first to use the Wi-Fi technology as a “personal area network” i.e. to use a network technology to connect peripherals to a host computer. At the moment it requires the host computer to run Windows 7 and implement the “virtual network adaptor” technology in its Wi-Fi chipset.

Furthermore, the host computer needs also to run a device-monitor applet supplied by HP with this mouse. This whole functionality could be improved through the use of code being integrated in Windows 7.

This mouse is expected to have a 9 month battery life which is meant to be longer than with devices that run current Bluetooth technology. I would see that as a coup for Wi-Fi when it comes to applications ranging from mice and keyboards to other “sensor and control” applications like barcode readers used in business; remote controls or health-monitor devices. As well, if the chipsets used in this mouse are implemented in smartphones, PMP / MID devices (iPod Touch, etc) or tablet computers, this could help with improving device runtime when they are used with Wi-Fi networks.

As far as the software is concerned, I would like to have HP avoid “reinventing the wheel” for Wi-Fi mice, keyboards and similar peripherals by making use of “class drivers” that have been defined for USB or Bluetooth human-interface devices.

There is one question that could be asked about this device as in whether it could work over the regular wireless network using the network’s router or access point and sending the data back to the host computer via that local area network, rather than the host PC’s wireless adaptor being virtualised as an access point. This may be of concern with people who run a desktop computer that doesn’t have integrated Wi-Fi but is connected to a the network via Ethernet or HomePlug and this network has a Wi-Fi segment serviced by a wireless router or access point.

A similar setup has been achieved with the myRemote Android app which converts an Android smartphone in to a mouse or remote control for a computer. This one uses the regular wireless network and requires knowledge of the host computer’s IP address and that computer has to run a monitor program downloaded from the myRemote developer’s Web site.