Smart glass technology allows for the control of light by switching from clear to shaded or completely opaque, depending on how strong the incoming light is and how dark you want to make the room. In other words, it alters the amount of light transmitted through typically transparent materials. The same technology found in smart glasses can be integrated into windows, partitions or other transparent surfaces and can be used in multiple sectors such as architecture, interior design, auto, offices, retail windows and consumer electronics. A smart glass, also called light control glass, switchable glass or privacy glass, can be of two types: active, when changeability requires an electrical charge, and passive, when it doesn’t require that. There are a few types of active switchable glass technologies and common applications: Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal glass (PDLC)—seen in privacy partitions in various industries Suspended Particle Device glass (SPD)—windows that tint to shade Electrochromic Device glass (ECD)—coated windows that slowly tint for shading Passive smart glass technologies include: Photochromic glass—eyeglasses with coatings that automatically tint in sunlight Thermochromic glass—coated windows that change in response to temperature How Does it Work? Smart glass managed through electricity allows users to control various forms of light by switching from opaque to transparent, allowing for dynamic light control. PDLC is most commonly used for indoor applications. The technology can be optimized to maintain its properties outdoors as well. The technology behind this type of active smart glass contains liquid crystals, a material that shares characteristics of both liquid and solid compounds, which are dispersed into a polymer. PDLC switches glass from dimmable degrees of opaque to clear in milliseconds. If you want privacy, projection and whiteboard use, PDLC is ideal when it’s opaque. The film limits visible light, but doesn’t...

The world has three major personal computing platforms: Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux kernel-based. Though there is no reliable way to know the exact usage share of each of these operating systems, there are estimates. A recent stack overflow web developer  survey says that usage among English speakers is broken down as follows: Microsoft Windows – 52.02 percent; Apple macOS – 26.2 percent; Linux kernel based – 21.7 percent. Despite benefits as an independent, open-source platform, Linux is the orphan child. Unlike Apple, which is dedicated to making sure hardware and software work in sync, and unlike Windows’ licensing fees and requirements to ensure that hardware providers come up with proper drivers and support, Linux users can go through hoops to get running on different hardware. The usual method to get Linux on a computer typically involves digging for information on multiple forums, using how-to-guides and hoping that at least one other member of the community has experienced the issue that you’re facing. You’re probably familiar with this scenario: desktop Linux user buys a Windows laptop, wipes the hard drive and installs Linux on it. Afterwards, he realizes that he is on his own, with no support from the laptop manufacturer. That’s the life of a Linux user— solitary as a trade-off for safety. This segment of users has seen an ever-rising interest from manufacturers—Dell has been selling Ubuntu versions of their XPS laptops for a few years now, as has System76 and Lenovo. More recently, the KDE community in collaboration with Spanish laptop retailer Slimbook launched their very first KDE laptop. Their goal is not (just) to make a lot of money, but through its homogenized hardware to bring Linux to more users. KDE is an international team cooperating on development and distribution...

Asus might have stolen the spotlight at Computex 2016 when it presented the ZenBook 3, a new laptop that combines ultra-thin design with powerful specifications. Yes, it is envisaged as a direct rival to Apple’s latest MacBook and we must say, on paper it looks great! The ZenBook is great portability-wise, weighing just 2 pounds and measuring just .46 inches at its thickest point. And this is pretty impressive, as what it hides under the hood is not easy to huddle into such heaped space. The aluminum device comes in three extremely shiny colors: Quartz Grey, Royal Blue and Rose Gold, making a bold statement in this sea of more mute-colored notebooks. Moreover, the ZenBook brings back the spun metal finish, in case you missed it. The ZenBook’s display features a 12.5-inch screen coated in Gorilla Glass 4 with ‘only’ Full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels at 176ppi—slightly larger than the 12-inch screen of the MacBook, but less sharp than Apple’s 226ppi device. However, it looks like Asus was able to slim down the bezel with the screen now covering 82 percent of the laptop’s front. The slender frame though, hides some serious hardware. The device comes with several configurations on offer, with the entry-level model equipped with a low-voltage Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of memory and 256GB of on-board storage available at $999; the high-end version comes with Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD and sells for $1,999; what more could you want? Perhaps more ports besides that one Thunderbolt USB Type C port? Asus claims that the ZenBook 3 offers nine hours of battery life and has this ability to recharge to 50 percent capacity in under one hour. The battery is rated at...

The future of computing, in Microsoft’s vision, is way beyond the mouse, keyboard, and touchscreen. Will this extraordinary vision of personal computing be strong enough to walk side-by-side Apple and Google? Time will tell. Let’s take a look at Microsoft’s pitch. Many had given up hope when picturing Microsoft’s future in the world of OSes, after the launch of 8 and 8.1.  But the vast majority of us has at least one device running on Windows OS, typically a PC or laptop. The press event which took place last week in Washington made spectators wonder: is this really a Microsoft conference? It was indeed Microsoft, and it made 2015 be the year that science fiction becomes real. Windows 10 will arrive in fall 2015 as a free update to Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 and will run on phones, tablet, laptops, on a massive conference-room TV, and a mind-blowing holographic headset.  Opening the session, Joe Belfiore reminded attendees what the company showed off last September regarding Windows 10. Then, news started flowing. Cortana Enters the PC Platform The witty Cortana has outgrown the Windows Phone platform and now finds a home in  Windows 10, aiding with the system’s search features. She sits nicely right next to the Start button on the desktop’s taskbar, able to perform any basic trick she does in the Windows Phone, whether she’s asked vocally or via text. Thanks to Microsoft’s cloud-based Bing brains, she is able to advise whether or not you’ll need a coat the next day by checking the forecast. She can dig on your local machine, OneDrive account, and even your business network, to find files or respond to commands through natural language queries: Belfiore asked her to find some specific PowerPoint slides and to show...

The world was expecting the new Windows 9, but it seems that arithmetic is not the strategy used to name the Microsoft OS. The company decided to jump straight to 10 and unveiled the new operating system recently in San Francisco. It will become available next year; the early presentation aimed to involve customers in the development process through a Technical Preview available for download. The first thing that catches the eye in the new Windows 10 is the Start menu. It’s divided in two columns; the left one has the traditional Windows 7 design that displays the familiar list of pinned and recent applications, the search box, and the power button for shutting down or restarting the PC. The search box has Windows 8’s features – it includes results from Bing and the Windows store; there is also a separate Search menu next to the Start button that displays trending topics, also from Bing. The right column is a customizable and resizable live tiles-based menu. Windows 8 Metro apps can now also open in a windowed mode on the desktop, not entering into a full-screen mode by default. This change has been originally demonstrated at Build. Moreover, the modern Windows 8 can be used side by side with the standard Windows desktop app. The combination gives the new interface a sense of the new, but also stays familiar. Microsoft added a Task View button on the taskbar which, when triggered, displays a multitasking view very similar to Apple’s OS X Expose feature. From here, multiple desktops are available, something Windows always needed. Yet, this is another feature that had as source of inspiration rival operating systems OS X and Linux/Unix. Still, it’s not identical, as Windows 10 has incorporated its productivity-focused snap views....

Back in 2010, the blogosphere discovered and publicized a hidden feature in Windows 7 it coined “God Mode”.  It appears this feature had existed long before Windows 7.  I often see tech tips, for Windows or otherwise, with limited value or that are unique to solving rare OS issues.  This feature doesn’t expose any new feature in Windows, but does provide incredible utility by providing access to all your Windows customization settings in one convenient folder, presented in a well-organized fashion.  No more frustrating perusing of Windows help forums or calling your tech-savvy friends in an attempt to find that hard-to-find Windows setting. I’m late to the party on discovery of this feature, as it was widely published back in 2010.  Checking with colleagues in the tech field, none of them had seen this before.  Perhaps you missed it, too.  With that in mind, here’s how, in a matter of seconds, to create your God Mode folder.  For those IT professionals concerned about a feature termed “God Mode”, there is no new Windows features or settings exposed through this trick, other than the trick itself.  It is harmless but incredibly useful. Here we go: 1)  Right click on your Desktop 2) Create a New Folder 3)  Rename the folder:  GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} 4)  The folder icon will now change:                   5)  Double click the new folder.  Enjoy. It appears this works with Windows 8 as well. Get more details in a CNET instructional video. Ina Fried, the author of the CNET article, had an exclusive interview with Steven Sinofsky, the President of Windows at Microsoft until last month.  In that conversation, Sinofsky divulged that many more GUID shortcuts exist in Windows.  We’ll leave you to discover those yourself. ...