Auravision EluminX

The military had the technology first—don’t they always?—for use “where computing efficiently at nighttime or in low-lit environments is crucial for survival.” Whatever. Now you too can keep working on that term paper, or fighting vicious aliens in foreign lands, without keeping that harsh overhead light on.

The Auravision EluminX keyboard is a slim, sleek keyboard that glows a pleasant aqua-marine blue visible only in low light situations. It’s fully compatible with Windows 95 and upwards, of course. The keys are easy to type on, but the click made when pressed is a bit loud. Is a glow in the dark keyboard crucial to your survival? Hardly. Is it fun? You bet. Read the full review on PC Magazine's Web site.

Blazing Printers

If your work environment is like most, you have a handful of fax machines (with various phone numbers) scattered around the floor, ink jet printers in offices, monochrome workgroup printers in common areas, and two or three copiers, which probably break down on a regular basis. You've got reams of documents coming into the organization, important records to archive, forms stored near a fax or copy machine, and a steady stream of e-mail.

Fortunately, a single multifunction printer (MFP) neatly folds all this technology into one handy, network-accessible location. An MFP combines a monochrome or color laser printer, a scanner, a copier, a fax machine, and, if the unit is enterprise-oriented, a hard drive for storing documents sent from any PC on the network. Read the whole story at PC Magazine.

Show Report: Gates Outlines Pervasive Computing Roadmap

Keynote speeches are often boring—they sound more like product sales pitches than discussions of industry trends. Microsoft, though, usually spices things up with clever videos and other flourishes. Gates' keynote at the Microsoft Mobility Developer Conference 2003 was no different, starting with a hilarious parody of the VH1 "Behind the Music" series ("Behind the Technology"). This history of the computing industry, from DOS to digital devices, included guest appearances from the rap star formerly known as Puff Daddy, who discussed his failed "Puff Daddy Loves DOS" album, and from former president Bill Clinton, who counted off the slow but steady growth of the Internet. "On my first day in office there were 50 Web sites. On my second day there were 51. On my third day there were 52. On the fourth day there were 52. But it was a Sunday."

On a more serious note, Gates painted a picture of a future in which people will own several different devices, running various version of XP. The devices would include PCs, laptops, Pocket PCs, and smartphones. The Tablet PC is an additional device that he feels will have a separate niche. While Gates is obviously taken with devices, he suggested that tablets should connect not just over LANs, but over WANs, through GPRS or CDMA 1xRTT PC Card modems. Read my full show report on PC Magazine's Web site.