My Top 3 Technology launches of the moment

3 - XBoxOne

Friday the 22nd of November will see Microsoft’s XBoxOne hit stores.  The price tag is just under 600 dollars and you can’t play your Xbox360 games on it but you can bet there will be plenty of people grabbing one on launch day.  Along with games, the XBoxOne will have plenty of TV, music and video on demand options plus things you expect to find on your computer like Skydrive access and Skype.  See Xbox.com.au

2 - Playstation4

Microsoft may have beat Sony to launch by a week for their new console however the Playstation 4 costs 50 dollars less.  The downside is that if you didn’t already pre-order one you may struggle to actually find a Playstation 4 console to buy before Christmas.  Like the XBoxOne, the Playstation 4 won’t play the previous console generation of games...so don’t throw your PS3 out yet.  See Playstation.com.au

1 - Western Digital My Cloud service

Unlike other cloud storage services WD’s ‘My Cloud’ is actually a internet connected hard drive that lives under your roof but can be accessed from wherever you happen to be...at work on your tablet device or smartphone.

It’s an interesting alternative to things like dropbox for people who like to know exactly where their data is being stored.  More info HERE.

Samsung launches Tablet device for kids

It’s not uncommon to see kids playing with their parents smartphone or tablet device so Samsung has decided kids need their own Tablet and have just launched one called the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids.

It’s a 7inch tablet device based on the popular Galaxy tablets but it’s bright yellow with a soft orange bumper to make it easier to hold and maybe to cushion the fall if dropped...so it looks like something for kids but it’s what's inside that counts.

The device has a pre-set kids overlay mode that includes pre-loaded content like games, e-books and educational apps plus there’s access to a special kids store online...which only parents can access with a PIN.

Interestingly the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids can also be flicked across to ‘grown ups’ mode and be used like a normal android tablet.  It costs $299 and you can get more info HERE.

Computer Vision Syndrome

Speaking of staring at screens earlier this week I spoke to Dr. Jim Kokkinakis from The Eye Clinic Sydney about a condition called Computer Vision Syndrome.

If like many people you sit in front of a computer all day, or are constantly looking at a smartphone or tablet device some of the health issues as a result of this could be eye strain, fatigue, headaches, migraines and even temporary vision impairment.

The main cause of this is of course lifestyle and work pressures but also the flicker and blue LED light which is emitted from computer screens - these are things you don’t see but are demanding on our eyes.

Dr. Kokkinakis suggested regular breaks from your screen is a great way to combat this problem but there is also a technological fix - screens that are flicker free and have modes to reduce glare and blue LED light also.

Computer monitor Manufacturer Ben Q has just released a range of screens with these ‘eye gonomic’ features. Get full details HERE.