A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. ‘House’ for instance, is feminine: ‘la casa.’ ‘Pencil,’ however, is masculine: ‘el lapiz.’ A student asked, ‘What gender is ‘computer’?’ Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether computer’ should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men’s group decided that ‘computer’ should definately be of the feminine gender (’la computadora’), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women’s group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine
(’el computador’), because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can’t think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

The women won.

Crumpler has to be the one of the most unique companies I have ever encountered. Just a visit to its web site will leave you wondering what you’ve just gotten yourself into. Clicking any of the links may make many blush and rush to turn down the volume in their cubicles at work. I won’t even mention the chain on the main page and what happens when you pull it. (Okay, I will. It flushes a toilet!) The company is obviously one that prides itself in having fun while making some killer bags. My press swag prize was some itty bitty matches. Ya, matches!

I was privileged enough to be able to talk a bit to Bianca Dillion, Crumpler’s brave face for media relations, at this years Macworld Expo. She showed me the many different bags Crumpler has to offer (you can see them on a “normal” web site at its store) and the variety of tasks each bag can hold (forgive the pun.) Unlike other companies with boring names like “Road-warrior” or “Trail King”, Crumpler names its product line with gusto such as “Tony Blair”, “Albert Stash” and the “Harry Board” bag. If that’s just too odd for you, then you’ll want to look at the Squirrel line, mate.

If you noticed an English theme here, one of the founders, Dave, comes from Great Briton and has brought a bit of home back to the Aussie based company. Started 12 years ago in Melvin, Australia, by Steward Crumpler, Crumpler desired to make a tough bag that just looked different. He did not want to produce just another bag that screamed, “Look! I’m carrying a laptop!” and after a few minutes in the Crumpler booth, I can tell you he has succeeded.

At one point of my interview with Bianca, someone walked in and asked her if the straps of Crumpler bags would rip with “really heavy stuff in the bag”. Without asking what this guy was carrying — or why anyone would carry such weight — she told him without even a single bead of sweat falling from her brow that Crumpler bags have a lifetime warranty and it would replace any damaged bag if it happened. When I questioned her about her confidence in the bag, she told me that one method of testing the bags is to put it, “On the back of a 4 x 4 and drag it” all over the place in the dry dessert heat of Down Under. Bianca again reiterated that Crumpler desire is to sale tough high quality bags. Period. Well, and with style.
You can tell that every bag Crumpler makes is well thought out. No bag is just another bag at Crumpler. From the crazy naming scheme to the bright colors, Crumpler bags stand out as something different. I don’t think Crumpler doesn’t have a bag in its mix that wouldn’t fit somebody’s need. From a basic bag for your laptop to one that could carry your entire office nicely, I just couldn’t stop being impressed by what I saw. Without doubt, Crumpler bags are just plain sweet!

With the degree of quality and style Crumpler is putting in its product line, it won’t be long before US cities become just like Melvin, Australia. Everyone will have a Crumpler on their back or shoulder.

This month, ViewSonic launches four new value-priced displays that further enhance its position as a leader in display technology innovation.

“These latest displays reflect ViewSonic’s ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of the small business and education markets,” said Jeff Volpe, vice president of marketing, ViewSonic Americas. “Our VA Series of displays deliver the features and performance to make the most of a customer’s technology budget.”The four new displays include the 19-inch VA916 and VA926, traditional 4:3 displays, the 20-inch VA2026w and the 22-inch VA2226w - both widescreen displays that bring panoramic viewing for multiple documents and HD video content to the desktop. The dramatic increase in viewing area on the widescreen allows users to navigate between multiple windows and applications in less time and with greater ease, expanding virtual desktop space without sacrificing physical desk real estate.

All displays are Windows Vista™ certified, and incorporate a stylish, thin-bezel design and a clean cable management system. Each display also includes additional features: Read the rest of this entry »

NVIDIA and LG Electronics have recently announced their brand new line of LG Z1 notebook computers which will be equipped with Microsoft’s Windows Vista and the NVIDIA Preface Personal Media Display (PMD). Preface is used to enable Windows SideShow, which gives consumers access to all their favorite things, right on the notebook lid. SideShow can be enabled even when the computer is asleep or powered off, allowing users to see their media playback, calendar, email, slideshows of their favorite pics, all on the notebook lid. The new technology allows the operating system (Vista) to drive displays and NVIDIA’s Preface lets users link to the data/programs they want displayed.

One of NVIDIA’s general managers, John Milner, said this about the new notebooks equipped with Preface technology: “In the consumer electronics market, the line between work and entertainment devices has become increasingly blurred. The LG Z1 with NVIDIA Preface technology allows consumers to get more from the notebook experience—they can be more productive throughout their workday and enjoy personal media along the way.”

The LG Z1 looks pretty slick, what with it’s glossy black exterior and white keyboard. It comes with 1GB of DDR2 memory, an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, a 12.1 inch widescreen display, and of course the secondary screen embedded in the lid, equipped with Preface media platform.