One of Avram's favorite sayings is, "We're in the business of interesting, not good." This is an important distinction that makes his view of the tech journalism industry far more fun. Often times we discuss products that are unique and strange, but not necessarily things that are great. It's important to know that there are products out in the wild that are bad ideas, poorly made, security or privacy problems, and more. With a focus on the interesting, Avram helps to bring some of those products to light, pointing out some products that should definitely be skipped and some that you should consider.
This is certainly an interesting product idea. Think of it as an air purifier that is built into your computer monitor. The theory is that your monitor can pull double duty, as both a part of your computer and a part of your in-office health regiment. Built into the very large monitor box are fans and filters that suck in unclean air, clean it, and let it back out.
Obviously, in this era of heightened attention to airborne contaminants, this is a product idea that businesses might consider. However, there is a lot of question around the concept. First, we don't spend our whole day aimed at a computer screen, so much of your outbound air is going to be missed. Second, we've all trained ourselves to aim away from a computer monitor before coughing or sneezing as to prevent the screen from getting spotted and gross. Third, there is no scientific evidence that the concept actually accomplishes its goal.
It's important to note that the company that was pitching the product idea is not manufacturing it. They do not produce monitors, and they do not produce filters. Instead, they are looking to license the idea to monitor manufacturers.
Another interesting product idea is the holographic PC case. We've seen holographic fans before, including from our CES 2017 interview with KONO. But, this is the first time we have seen the technology applied to PC cases. Essentially, the case is able to show images, animations, and videos floating in the middle of nowhere. Depending on the PC case configuration, you can even get an animation to come out of the case, using another LED fan on the outside.
This feature is the obvious extension of the RGB trend in PC cases. Instead of just having animated lighting, you can literally show real motion. And the floating images make it even cooler. The cases are expected to hit the market later this year, and we can't wait.
Not everything is interesting - some are functional and fantastic. Intel announced a new set of Alder Lake processors - a total of 50 new models for desktop PC and laptops. The company is really focusing on trying to regain some of the lost ground over the past few years. Not to be outdone, AMD also announced new hardware - AMD Rembrandt, which is a new integrated graphics chip for Ryzen 6000 processors.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.
