CRE supports many post-production and animation professionals working in 3D, with such high-tech tools as render farms and mass storage. And, of course, other specialized professionals – architects, engineers, product designers, landscaping contractors – need to see their concepts in three dimensions. Where is this all headed? Let’s take a look.

Special uses

New 3D technology helps meteorologists envision weather formations, physicists study subatomic particles and doctors examine tumors and other conditions. However, despite 3D graphics looking great and being available on most consumer PCs now – and notwithstanding rumors of 3D coming to an iPad rental – there are few applications driving adoption of 3D in the average business, and the apps that do exist are very specialized.

Of course, existing applications evolve and new ones are introduced. High-end applications like Alias/Wavefront Maya and NewTek LightWave are behind the 3D characters and effects for TV and movies, while 3D tools like Rhino from McNeel & Associates power product design for furniture, autos and other consumer items. You need real power to run these, but there’s also a growing number of low-end 3D tools that can run on basic PC desktop computer rentals. Meanwhile, companies are learning to use 3D technology in different ways.

Keys to general acceptance

The continuing evolution of realism, interactivity, ease of use and image quality over the next few years depends, naturally, on advances in CPU speed, memory and monitors – from plasma display rentals to LCD/LED models. This is true for online as well as “display” uses, such as inviting conference attendees to your exhibit booth with a 3D presentation on an all-in-one multitouch display PC. For 3D technology to succeed beyond a few niche markets, however, the following issues need addressing:

Cost: Low-end 3D creation is now fairly affordable, with software for simple 3D work and acceleration cards for aging PCs costing under $100. Plus, 3D libraries like Turbosquid.com sell 3D models inexpensively.

Ease of use: 3D image creation can be difficult with the high-end apps, but low-end ones are as simple to use as other (2D) consumer-level graphics programs. Still, new users need to learn the terminology, tools and workflows.

Demand: It will take some time to discover all of 3D’s uses, but for now the daily business practices in most firms simply don’t require an additional dimension – success is difficult enough in two dimensions!

With a single call or e-mail or a short visit to our Quick Rental Quote form, CRE Rentals can help you with any number of dimensions.

Microsoft unveiled its new Surface Table at January’s CES, the first upgrade since its 2007 debut. Although fine for a single-user PC, the 2.9GHZ AMD Athlon II X2 may be a bit sluggish while processing media files from multiple people and input sources. The CPU is not as capable as those in CRE Rentals’ high-end computer rentals, and may be replaced before production ramps up in the next several months. But the concept? Wow!

New Table with new apps coming

The new unit, made by Samsung, has a gorgeous, 40-inch, full-HD LCD display like state-of-the-art LCD monitor rentals. Reviewers have noted that the people in the Microsoft promo spots look a bit cramped standing around it. Still, there’s a bit more room up close now, since unlike the original Vista-based model, the new Surface Table doesn’t require connecting a mouse and keyboard to complete the setup.

Surface Tables now use Windows 7 (and supports 64-bit computing), so the entire experience, from setup through use of all available and potential applications, is touch-driven. The Tables are now about half the original price, making them affordable as interactive solutions as well as graphic arts production aids. The new Surface 2.0 Software Developers Kit (SDK) ships later this year, and the next development phase is all about third parties coming up with the requisite “killer apps.”

Surface Table magic show

Amnesia Razorfish has said goodbye to the antiquated “send and receive” procedure for file transfer with Surface Table software named Amnesia Connect. It uses a natural, gesture-based interface – like iPad rentals for instance – so tablet and smart phone users can move digital content between devices easily. How?

Content is transferred to the Surface Table with a single swiping gesture on a smart phone or iPad. With the same motion, it can be sent to another device – but before it finishes the user will get a live preview like an X-ray going through to the Surface display. (check out the video).  Amnesia says using its product with the Surface Table “promises a range of new possibilities,” and the company believes people will soon use their digital devices – from tablet PC rentals to phones and iPads – for fast, safe “commercial transactions for both physical and digital content.”

When you need to know about the latest, greatest solutions – to the same old problems, or new ones – our experienced Account Executives are the folks to contact. Send an e-mail, make a call or fill out our Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll explain the best strategies for taking care of business. Fact is, our business is helping you take care of yours!

Robot teacher

The ReCon Rover 6.0 promotes logical thinking in kids (plenty of adults could use a refresher, too) and the more they learn, the more of the Rover’s behavior they can control. Using the same technology as in CRE’s LCD monitor rentals, the unit’s bright LCD screen shows all the routes programmed with its 10-button keypad and directional buttons.

The Rover can negotiate obstacle courses in a room full of iMac rentals, carry small items, stand guard and go on missions (with 10 routes in memory at once). It is equipped with LED headlights, microphone and speaker, caterpillar tracks, a “third wheel,” a cargo bay, a “ReCon go home” command and sound effects. In addition to included sounds, there is memory space reserved for four more (like this cool sound).

Indoor/outdoor flying

Radio controlled (RC) devices are nothing new, and helicopters are quite popular. The latest advance is voice control, and the aptly named Voice Control Helicopter that recently hit the market follows five commands: start engine, fly higher, fly lower, hold an item and turn off upon landing. A standard joystick remote control turns it right and left, while a ceiling sensor prevents in-home crashes.

New Mac Pro rentals, of course, have powerful speech command capabilities built in for doing serious work more easily. RC copter makers want to make it easy to have serious fun, too. Thus, the Voice Control Helicopter understands commands in English, French or Spanish, while another copter from Japan needs some commands in Japanese and others in English. Get set for more innovations from this industry.

Party lights for Jedi Knights

If you want a unique touch for a party, consider Illoom glowing balloons. There are LEDs built in, so you just pull a tab before blowing them up for über-cool lighting effects. In a room full of computer rentals with glowing plasma rentals, the balloons would complement the lighting nicely – another instant workplace party recipe. And there’s more to the Illoom balloons than a choice of colors, such as pumpkin and ghost images for Halloween, and others for different holidays and purposes.

Make sure to have fun to balance your hard work, but when you need to blow through a production bottleneck, or put on a great show with our soup-to-nuts convention rentals, we’re ready with everything you need. Call or e-mail our experienced Account Executives, or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and let’s get it done.

The National Automobile Dealers Association will hold its 2011 NADA Convention & Expo at Moscone Center in San Francisco from February 5-7. Thousands of new vehicle dealers – plus retailers, automakers and industry leaders – will be there at the most important event in the automotive industry. Exhibitors need to stand out or be lost in the crowd, so  audiovisual rentals and other attention-grabbers should be part of your plan.

Do you have a product or service that targets this industry? Your customers are going to be there as well as your competitors and potential partners. So, it is vital to put on your best show with an interactive presentation displayed on a touchscreen LCD monitor rentals.

Since exhibiting at NADA brings you into personal contact with more auto dealerships than any other venue, you want to make a memorable impression. Letting people “touch their way” through presentations on Sony VAIO L all-in-one computer rental will engage them at your booth, while interactive kiosk rentals placed elsewhere will present your message while capturing information from potential partners and customers. With CRE, you have ‘em covered, coming and going!

RSA Conference USA 2011, coming to San Francisco’s Moscone Center from February 14-18, is the most comprehensive gathering of information security professionals. Attendees will learn about the newest security technologies, get updated on new best practices and gain insight into the security challenges facing businesses today. If you market a product or service to this industry, you can make a big impact with CRE convention rentals tailored to your needs.

The RSA Conference USA 2011 is the ultimate way to connect with security pros from around the globe. They will come from everywhere looking for solutions to the latest security risks, and if you have one of CRE’s plasma rentals you can really wow them. With simple computer programs you can control a multi-monitor setup (even a “wall”), so a few plasma screens or a mix of them and some LCD monitor rentals can make your exhibit the most eye-catching of all.

Consider holding a breakout session with one of CRE’s Audience Response System rentals. You can get immediate input as well as valuable feedback for later use. With CRE’s array of convention rentals you can achieve whatever effect you want.

At CRE Rentals, we are constantly thinking of how we can best serve your needs. We are always ready to equip you to blast through any production bottleneck or put your best foot forward at a convention. Call or e-mail an experienced Account Executive, or fill out the Quick Rental Quote form, and we’ll set you up with the right equipment, at the right place, at the right time and the right price – right away!

Panasonic VT25 3D plasma TV

Others manufacturers are still working to make 3D TV an affordable reality, while Panasonic is already shipping their VT25 plasma. A flat-panel HD TV, its 3D capability still requires special glasses.  Not ready for 3D, yet? CRE rents  HD plasma displays.

Eyeglass monitors

Various industry analysts speculate that Apple has been developing eyeglass monitors (“wearable screens”) since at least 2008. In addition to video feeds and navigational features, wearers can choose to block or view their immediate surroundings. There are already some models out there that you can wear while using our iMac rentals, but CRE won’t carry such products until standards are solidly in place.

LPD technology

A company named Prysm has developed what is called a laser-powered phosphor display (LPD) that uses lasers instead of electrons. Richer blacks, high-definition (even that “3D-capable” resolution we mentioned) and low power consumption are among the major benefits, which would take on the same form factors as LCD monitors and LED screens (from tiny to giant, in other words).

CLARO Holoscreen

This technology is going on five years old, and is in constant refinement. Images projected to the transparent display appear to be suspended in air. Already compatible with today’s DVD players and game consoles, the economies of scale should bring the price down in the near future.

Gestural interfaces

Gestural interface systems track the user’s finger and hand movements in front of a screen, or on a handheld device. Researchers at Microsoft and MIT predict that gestural interfaces will appear on mobile devices and desktops in (once again) the “near future.” When Apple goes this route, you can bet CRE will carry whatever replaces the Apple Cinema Display rentals.

Whether you need extra computers for a demanding digital workflow, or a range of convention rentals to put your best foot forward at a conference, CRE is here with the right solutions at the right time – right now. Fill out the online Quick Rental Quote form and we’ll get you the latest technology gear. That’s what we do!

Computers and electronics

China’s economy has grown at breakneck speed for the last 15 years, with the growth rate for the first two quarters of 2010 being downright supersonic. Electronics, computer and communications firms are well represented among China’s top 100 firms, about 30 of which have annual revenues over $1 billion. The largest, named Legend Holdings – the firm that bought IBM’s Lenovo laptop lines – had almost $18 billion in sales for 2006, the most recent year for figures.

The Haier Group, Midea Group, Hisense, Panda Electronics and Huawei Technologies are a few of the names you may already know. If you don’t, you soon will, as they make everything from components to consumer goods, and are already making waves. Huawei, for example, makes routers and networking equipment, and is one of Cisco’s main international rivals. Other Chinese firms are at the forefront of both R&D and production of touchscreen panels, the kind used in the new HP all-in-one computer than CRE now carries.

The new Japan?

From the 1950s through the 1980s, Japan was America’s chief economic rival in certain core industries like computers and semiconductors. A slew of books were published with various predictions of just how fast the Land of the Rising Sun would leave the U.S. in the dust. In 1987, Japan was selling American firms 1MB memory chips for about $400. (If you were to max out the RAM on one of CRE’s iMac rentals at that price, it would cost you $6.4 million for 16GB.) In the late 1980s, newspapers reported economic gloom and doom for the U.S. and proof of Japan’s ascendancy. A decade later and Japan’s economy was toast.

Japan squandered all the headway it made in the 1980s and 1990s by strangling its own economy over the last 15 years or so. As the Japanese started their long slide, China was still mainly an outsourcing destination, for getting your widgets mass produced at a good price. Since then, however, China has grown into a nation full of entrepreneurs, researchers and innovators, and everyone knows it: Apple, Oracle, IBM and every other forward-looking U.S. firm has one, three or half a dozen Chinese partners or vendors.

What next?

On the practical level, expect more and more digital gear to be manufactured (and designed) in China. Before long, Chinese firms will likely be supplying CRE with some of its LCD monitor rentals, and providing American consumers with the digital gear and gadgets needed for both work and play. Who says? In July of this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that total annual growth by the end of 2010 would be 3.3% for the U.S. and 2.4% for Japan. The same report predicts a 2010 growth of 10.5% for China.

CRE recognizes a good performer when it sees one, whether it’s an industry, a product or a process. Whether you need top-performing Mac Pro rentals or the extra digital horsepower of AJA Io HD rentals, contact our experienced Account Executives or fill out the Quick Rental Quote online form. We are top performers, too, and when you need our support and expertise, you’ll get our very best, very fast!

Anything that affects your firm’s long-term plans and ongoing operations is called “a strategic consideration,” like the 2009 buzz phrase “going mobile.” New technologies always fit that description. No matter what industry you are in, you must start factoring new technologies into your strategic planning now. You must determine how to approach each of the top five new business technologies for 2010 that are presented here (in no particular order). We start with a “big buzz holdover” from 2009.

1. Cloud computing

Here it is again, waiting to be crowned As Important As The Wheel, which proponents insist will occur any day now. It does look promising, as cloud computing promises to deliver a huge menu of IT options to cost-conscious companies (and everyone else, eventually). Fact is, with an XServe rental from CRE you could create a cloud or two of your own, as well as educate your employees on the change that’s “right around the corner.”

2. Client computing

“Virtualization” means using computing applications in such a way that hardware and operating system (OS) considerations are not deal-killers. Companies need to look at everything from device specifications, ownership/support of hardware and software selection to management structure and security. Getting a powerful desktop rental can help you discover the difference between running your current, aging hardware and the new generations of Macintosh and PC computers, especially in terms of the new Internet standards heading your way.

3. Flash memory

Flash memory is increasingly important for storage solutions. The kind of semiconductor memory device found in USB “thumb drives” and digital camera cards, flash memory is smaller, sturdier and faster than hard drives. Flash memory will come to dominate embedded systems, personal electronics and mass storage, and laptop rentals will include units with solid-state flash memory soon after they hit the market. Flash memory provides advantages in space, heat resistance, power consumption, ruggedness and speed.

4. Advanced analytics

A variety of analytical tools help companies investigate alternative scenarios and manufacturing/marketing outcomes. Fixed rules and inflexible policies are being replaced by informed decision-making based on “the right information at the right time.” Since advanced analytics provide overlapping, real-time alternatives and predictions, not just dry data, it may take a widescreen LCD monitor rental to keep everything in front of you at once while you make some very important decisions.

5. Mobile applications

Some 1.2 billion people around the world will be using devices capable of truly interactive, mobile commerce by the end of 2010. In an environment where mobility is converging with wireless and the Web, a huge number of new applications will pop up. There are already almost 100,000 programs for the Apple iPhone and Google-ized Droid, even with the high prices and unique coding for each device. Newer software programs will operate on both mobile computers, like tablet PC rentals, as well as a range of mobile systems – netbooks, phones, PDAs and even portable media players.

Did we miss any technologies that should be watched? We’d love to hear from you.

This past year, for computer lovers, was as good as it gets. While every year sees new inventions and further refinements of existing products, 2009 was a landmark year in many ways. From the new MacBook models that CRE now rents to new display technology and “wireless everything,” 2009 was a big year.

Laptops have gotten more powerful while getting lighter. Leaving aside the new netbooks, subject of a future blog, the laptop sector has made big strides in power, heat dissipation, battery life, displays, and connectivity. The year started off with dual-core processors limited to the MacBook Pro laptop rental and PCs, and ended with quad-core processors available at the high end of some lines.

Desktops have changed in terms of power and ports. Apple dropped the original FireWire 400 connector for FireWire 800 (backward compatible with an adapter). USB is king of the hill for connections, with USB 3.0 right around the corner promising another serious speed bump. Ethernet? Faster. Phone modems? Disappearing. Hard drive capacities are into the terabyte (TB) range and no one gets a PC with just “a gig of RAM” anymore. Even low-end PCs now come with 2-4GB of RAM. Powerhouses like CRE’s quad- and eight-core HP computer rental can have up to 32GB.

LCD Displays – Seeing is believing

Computer users can thank display manufacturers for their less-strained eyes. The LCD and LED-backlit monitors look better, use less power and emit less radiation. Plasma monitor (rentals) are still tops in the largest sizes, while the Apple Cinema Display 24-inch LED monitor is what every post-production pro wants under the tree this year.

Look, Mom, no wires on technology rentals

Yes, it was a “wireless” year, for sure, and not just in terms of Web browsing at the coffee shop. The mouse, your phone, the printer, your TV – everything is hooking up with everything else by radio, Bluetooth, WiFi and (it seems) smoke signals, too. It’s not just  tablet PC rentals that provide portability with connectivity. Your phone, its headset and your office all-in-one have all lost their electronic umbilical cords. This coming year, watch for wireless recharging of these devices.

If you want to know what else to watch for in 2010, keep checking our blog. We will  feature tech trends in 2010, laptop and desktop guides, a netbook report, gadget updates and other problem-solving, trend-spotting news. In the meantime, when you’ve got work backed up and no time to waste, remember that CRE is here to solve your problems with just the right tools.  Contact us or fill out the Quick Rental Quote, and an expert Account Executive will take good care of you. That’s what we do!

The “near future” of imaging will find everything from the Web to the latest movies being enjoyed in more places, with amazing resolution all the time, while video will be following powerful trends emanating from a handful of major players and intriguing developments from a few smaller ones. Some of the prime movers in both fields-Samsung, Apple, Sony, the “New Asian Tigers” of China, Korea and Vietnam, and, interestingly, Google, which bought On2 Technologies in August-are, in fact, looking to move in multiple directions.

The post-conference reports are in from such important video/imaging conferences as DisplayWeek, and pre-conference press releases are already promoting such upcoming ones as the 6Sight event. The consensus at the end of 2009′s third quarter is that there are four particularly exciting R&D areas right now on the imaging side of things. On-demand printing, new synergies among and between camera phones and social networking, 3D imaging and displays, and the increasing dependence on amateur photographers by print and Web publishers all have industry-defining, even paradigm-changing, potential.

Ready for 3DTV?

This year already, FujiFilm demonstrated an amazing new consumer 3D camera (and viewer, too) while many other firms continue working on a broad range of new video and imaging product ideas. The technologies involved reach from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, which is dramatically demonstrated by the fact that a filmmaker and author, Lenny Lipton, is the driving force behind RealD (formerly StereoGraphics Corp.), a pioneer of “electronic stereoscopic display” technology.

In such industry groups as the 3D@Home Consortium, early adopters and the developer (“geek”) community are very excited about imminent production of 3D content—which wouldn’t be the case without some good inside information on various ways to display it. This is the way momentum builds, the kind that will ultimately lead to 3DTV.

In addition to pushing the boundaries of on-demand digital printing, many firms are putting a great deal of money and energy into electronic ink, digital paper and flexible displays. Today’s displays, like the LCD monitors that CRE rents, are so exacting that it is hard to imagine how “new and improved” will look. The answer is “real,” in case you haven’t seen a new OLED display yet.

OLED panels are supremely expensive now, of course, but costs come down quickly on new technologies-and the technologies discussed here will have literally hundreds of applications and will change the world in ways big and small. The Fast-Fold Da-Lite screen that CRE rents is state-of-the-art today, but just imagine 4½-by-8 foot presentation screens that roll up into portable tubes. Combine flexibility with electronic ink, and you get magazines whose pages refresh with news updates delivered by WiFi. It’s all coming.

Video everywhere, all the time?

Camera phones, YouTube and computers with built-in Web cams have contributed to today’s “video everywhere” environment. With the “big bucks,” movie studios and TV producers could always do special effects work, but not on “a desktop.” Since the advent of the PC in the 1980s, there have been consumer-level image editing software programs, like Digital Darkroom (in grayscale, yet), for everyone to use.

Now the software is both affordable and powerful. The waiting time was due to the lag in low-cost and efficient digital still cameras and camcorders. The first camcorders used analog tape, featured in a famous but short-lived “Beta vs. VHS war,” and even the first digital models in the 1990s used digital tape. This meant a lot of extra work to get the footage into the computer, where small hard disks and slow processors made even the best applications hard to use.

Fast-forward a few years into the current crop of fast, huge storage systems, like the RAID arrays from CRE, and cameras have closed the “power gap” with the software. Meanwhile, video capture has come to cellphones, cheap wireless minicameras and—on Wednesday, September 9, 2009—to the newest iPod Nano. With the ongoing development of Flip HD cameras and other capable devices at stunningly low prices, the title of “videographer” will be available to anyone with $79 to invest.

Leading the way have been the professional animators and post-production pros, many of whom are CRE customers, using systems like CRE’s PowerMacintosh G5 with Kona card to ply their trade. They, too, should see increased demand for their services from millions of new filmmakers who have been coaxed into creativity with less costly, less daunting, less finicky cameras, but don’t know how to use an AJA Io HD system, such as CRE rents to production pros, to produce the final theatrical releases.

If you need some extra oomph in your production department, from high-powered PCs and Macintosh models to additional studio-grade Apple Cinema HD monitors, you don’t have to see into the future. You just have to count on CRE’s proven past to know that one Quick Rental Quote form, e-mail or phone call gets you plugged into what you need—not tomorrow, but today.

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a big, big deal, each and every year, for all kinds of individuals and companies. Many firms, of course, debut their latest and greatest products at CES, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For many high-tech types, including quite a few of CRE’s great customers and colleagues, the build up to the event is just as important.

Artists, animators, marketing managers, filmmakers, videographers, printers, banner makers and webmasters are hard at work for almost the entire year that passes between the end of one CES and the official beginning of the next. Some of our customers rent the AJA Io HD systems to make trailers, commercials and looping booth-display reels. A lot of cutting-edge art gets produced on CRE rental systems, in case you didn’t know.

Other customers will rent a HD plasma or a full projection system, screens and other technology for their premier display space. Still others make sure their representatives have WiFi-capable tablet PCs to take notes, check schedules and capture names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers of new prospects.

The build-up begins for CES

Before and during every CES, a variety of events are held that are ostensibly for members of the press alone. The fact is, with the evolving definition of “media” and “publication,” representatives of Macintosh User Groups have talked their way into these events. You can, too, if you work at it a bit. With just a little amateur detective work, you can get information that can save (or make) you money. Here’s how…

Building up toward the 2010 International CES, to be held January 7-10, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will hold three important events. There are enough clues in the press releases about these “media meetings” to get any tech-lover excited about the “hot” areas of interest, and the build-up starts off with a bang.

From kick-off to game time

At “CES Unveiled@NY,” part of the CES New York Press Preview, media reps, bloggers and tech industry analysts will get sneak previews of products that will be grabbing headlines next January. “CES Unveiled@NY” takes place Tuesday, November 10 at New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion. This event signals the official start of the CES promotional season, and is the one that you want to hear about for any new-product clues or confirmation of the “Apple’s going to CES” rumors.

The two days before the CES officially starts, a trio of events will set the stage and prime the pump. The “State of the Consumer Tech Industry and 2010 CES Trends to Watch” will take place at The Venetian at “CES Minus Two,” meaning January 5, 2010. CEA analysts will clue in the assembled press and pundits to the mix of market signals, consumer behavior and industry trends behind the technology set to bow at the 2010 International CES. This event can also hold important “stealth” info for you if you are looking to upgrade laptops or replace an LCD monitor with a newer, better, less expensive model.

Another presentation on January 5, “State of the Global CE Industry,” is not so much about technology as it is about the countries with today’s fast-growing economies and evolving middle classes-like the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) that are poised to take the lead in the next decade’s CE revenue surge. This session is about global CE market trends, so it won’t help you much with a decision about whether to upgrade your desktop computers.

Getting close now!

Similarly, “CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the International CES” is held on January 5, and is where the media gets an “official” sneak peek at the actual, on-the-floor CES product debuts. This is where the press learns about the Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase honorees—both Apple iPods and H-P office equipment have been winners—all before the show officially opens. “Press Day” is on opening day, January 6, and is a must-attend event media to get the major product and news announcements. Press Day wraps up right before the pre-show CES keynote address.

Once all the rumors are sorted out into products that actually showed up and others that remained “vaporware,” you can get back to figuring out where your company may need to expand, contract, hold steady or move forward. While you’re waiting for the more problematic tech issues to shake out before committing a good chunk of change to new equipment, CRE is here to keep you busy and productive with the computing power, presentation prowess and office efficiency you need every day. Whether you need an Xserve Quad Xeon 64-bit network server to pick up the pace, or just want to check up on that Mac 10-inch MultiTouch Tablet rumor, contact our experienced Account Executives or request a rental quote online.