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The iPad 3 Is Coming… Really!January 12th, 2012Sure, Apple will continue to upgrade its Macintosh line in the coming year, with the next changes in the iMac likely to be with the display (as well as a cosmetic facelift). The potent Apple portables, with the MacBook Pro rental at the top of the food chain, will probably get some “evolutionary” refinement, but no major changes. So what insanely great changes are coming up this year? Apple’s 2012 strategy The real action at the Cupertino company in 2011 was with its iOS devices, which will continue to be the firm’s big newsmakers in 2012. One thing we know: iPad rental will have a “3″ at the end of its model name. It seems pretty clear that Apple’s big-ticket product in the first half of 2012 will be the iPad 3, with the iPhone 5 debuting in the second half of the year. We will take a look at the iPhone in an upcoming blog – the iPad 3 is the first order of business this year.
Despite the proliferation of mobile devices like tablet PC rentals, Apple will doubtless continue to rule the market in tablets (and smart phones). There are literally dozens of iPad-centric sites, but the original is iLounge, and its recent coverage of iPad 3 rumors (and others) is cautious and thankfully un-hyped. Where was iPad 2 weak? The iPad 2 added some potent new features to the original model, but still failed to live up to several expectations. The dual-core A5 chip was a bona fide improvement, but both cameras in the iPad 2 are somewhat underwhelming compared to some competitors. Not for long. All this will change with third iteration of the iPad, which will likely feature an A6 processor and new, high-definition cameras, probably the same ones that will end up in a revamped MacBook rental line, too. When the new iPad does launch, it will probably cannibalize sales of the iPad 2. However, this gives Apple the opportunity to place its legacy model in the mid-range tablets market, currently topped by Amazon’s new $199 Kindle Fire. Despite a great deal of speculation about Apple introducing a “mini” version of its hit tablet, or putting the iOS in a downsized MacBook Air, but there has been no evidence of this being seriously considered. CRE Rentals stays abreast of technology and supports all your important work, from intense post-production tasks with an AJA Io HD to conference breakout sessions with our first-rate trade show convention rentals. Our expert Account Executives will respond swiftly to your call or e-mail, or you can speed things along even faster with our Quick Rental Quote form. When you’re ready, we’ll be here to help! Technology in 2011: The UpsideJanuary 3rd, 2012It’s too early yet to decide what 2011 will be most remembered for, in the culture at large or its individual niches. For those of us in the technology niche – and the growing portion of the public that follows early adopters – there was plenty to like about 2011. Smarter smartphones Apple’s iPhone 4S is still a generation or two ahead of its rivals, a growing number of which are getting quite good, like the Samsung Galaxy and Nexus. The iPhone’s dual-core chip (which also powers our iPad rental) and camera technology, front and back, are both much improved. What sets it apart, though, are two future-is-now features: (1) its revamped antenna, which has markedly improved connection rates and call quality on both AT&T and Sprint networks, and (2) Siri, a talking voice-control system that starts out good and learns to be, well, insanely great. Lighter laptops Netbooks arrived a few years back and seemed to define a new form factor for lightweight laptops: low-power CPUs, limited RAM, a few gigabytes of flash storage, WiFi, pygmy-sized keyboards and a low price. Manufacturers stepped up, however – Apple with the MacBook Air, Sony with its VAIO line, Samsung with Series 9 – and brought Grade A design, power and style (at higher prices, naturally). Still, as with the iconic iMac, Apple sets the standard. Bottom line for the Air: The 2011 makeover brought a big power boost, it does Windows, the 11- and 13-inch screens are gorgeous and a 15-inch version is rumored to be in the works. iPad, tablets and apps In 2011, the “Year of the Tablet,” the second generation Apple iPad arrived with impressive new features, including the fabulous iOS 5 software. But it’s the several hundred thousand fun, productive and/or useful apps that make it numero uno. No other pads or tablets, not even our tablet PC rentals, have the iPad’s extensive library, and if you’re a “creative” type there is really no alternative. For less demanding people, however, a growing number of new tablets – Android no-names, the very good Samsung Galaxy Tab and, in particular, Amazon’s new Kindle Fire – will gobble up all the TV episodes, movies, music, YouTube clips, e-books and other media you care to consume. Need for speed…USB3.0 and Thunderbolt Another set of technologies, the protocols for connecting digital devices, kept improving throughout 2011. USB 3.0 on new PCs operates at 4.8Gbps and the new Thunderbolt bus, featured on the Mac Pro and other new Apple computers, runs two 10Gbps channels simultaneously. Apple’s previous high-speed connection, FireWire 800, is less than one-tenth as fast as Thunderbolt and not bi-directional. If you want to move in a new direction, CRE can help. Find out how new technology can help you blast through production bottlenecks, or how our event production rentals can help you make a dramatic impact at your next conference. Contact us by phone or e-mail, or use the handy Quick Rental Quote form. We’re here, ready to help! And don’t forget to check out Thursday’s blog, Technology in 2011: The Downside. Who’s Using 3D and WhyDecember 8th, 2011
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. Top 5 Creative Uses for the Mac miniNovember 17th, 2011Although Apple does not capitalize the model name “mini,” the smallest Macintosh has still earned a reputation as “the little Mac that could.” Although it is always a generation behind in the CPU department, both G4 and Intel minis are popping up in some interesting places. Here are the top five creative uses for the Mac mini.
1). Network storage – Soon, every office (and home) will need a central hub for storage, so Network Attached Storage (NAS) is going to proliferate. A new iMac would be overkill, but the Mac mini is ideal, with both wireless remote access and Gigabit Ethernet for heavy transfers. Post-production pros require our Xserve RAID with its swift 2Gb Fibre Channel interface, but small-to-medium sized businesses can do well with the mini. 2). Videoconferencing – With a little effort, you can connect an iSight camera and a DVI-to-S-Video adapter to the mini and use a TV set for videoconferencing. You can use it for business, or set it up with a wireless ADSL router and Apple Remote Desktop and run it remotely for less-techie colleagues. You could also insert an iPad rental into the mix as a remote control with the right apps. 3). Office automation – For post-production, you need a potent Mac Pro. But even the “lowly” mini makes a great office automation server. One of the first (and best) basic automation programs is Indigo, and the new version supports both Insteon and X10 devices. 4). Media hub – You can configure the mini as a media server, connecting it to something like our LCD touchscreen monitor rental. Add the Mac’s “cover flow” interface for instant access to music and movies, then enjoy! You can set custom schedules for different playlists based on time of day, weather, etc. 5). Conversion strategy – After upgrading to a new Mac, some mini owners have given their little Macs to parents, siblings or friends to replace Windows PCs. Once they use a Mac, many “PC forever” folks make the change (yes, it’s a two-way street). Minis of any vintage are capable computers if you know their limits (forget gaming and complex 3D work, for instance). Honorable mentions • You can attach a Firewire drive to a mini and use it as a file server for storage/streaming of HD video. Even an old G4 won’t break a sweat. • Presenters can use minis for Power Point presentations, and by attaching a digitizer tablet they can demonstrate solutions right inside Power Point. Great idea! Here’s another great idea: Call CRE when you need the right solution, right now. From trade show convention rentals to the latest and greatest high-end technology, we’re the one-stop shop. One call, one e-mail or one short visit to our Quick Rental Quote form, and you are ready to knock down those obstacles and get the job done! First Look: Will iCloud Reign?October 27th, 2011Although you can use it as an remote archive, Apple’s new iCloud service that debuted on October 12th is not primarily for storage. It is made to keep your data synchronized among your iOS devices and computers (Mac, PC). After it’s set up, you can work on your iPad rental and know that the document will instantly be ready for editing on any synced device. Transferring files by e-mail or USB flash drives is on the fast track to obsolescence.
How iCloud works First off, iCloud doesn’t work without the latest OS X Lion update, 10.7.2, and the latest iTunes update, 10.5. For better iCloud integration, Safari also got a bump to 5.1.1. Pages, Numbers and Keynote – the iWork programs that run on every Macintosh, from the cutting-edge laptops to the mighty Mac Pro – now sync documents via iCloud. Contacts, Calendar and Mail data also updates automatically on multiple devices. Just as importantly, iCloud also stores device settings, apps, screen layouts, ring tones and text messages, so all your vital data comes with you when you upgrade devices. The new Photo Stream lets you download up to 1,000 photos for 30 days without counting against your storage total (see “What’s the deal?” below). Third-party apps can also leverage iCloud services, and it’s vital to remember that iCloud is “open territory” where tablet PC rentals running Windows are free to roam, too. Future blogs will update you on the features developers implement for their various iCloud products and services. What’s the deal? You get 5GB of iCloud storage for free, and iTunes music, e-books, apps and Photo Stream pics do not count toward your total. Your iCloud real estate will be populated by documents, application data, mail, non-Photo Stream photos, settings and other information. You can buy more storage for annual fees of $20 (10GB), $40 (20GB) and $100 (50GB), but Apple’s customer research indicates that 5GB of storage should be sufficient for most people. There are numerous variables – the size of your Camera Roll, how many documents you carry around, how much application data you’re amassing, etc. – so you will have to figure out what works for you. iTunes Match confuses There is a possible point of confusion with iCloud, and that revolves around iTunes integration. When you buy tracks from iTunes, they are automatically synced to your devices and don’t count toward your free storage total. However, if you want to sync music that was not purchased from iTunes, the privilege requires paying $25 a year for the separate iTunes Match service. CRE, like Apple, is all about “value added” and excellence. From Audience Response Systems (ARS) to high-end digital gear and Xserve for that new post-production project, we’ve got you covered. One simple call or e-mail puts an experienced Account Executive on the job for you, while a couple of clicks gets the ball rolling with our Quick Rental Quote. We’re ready with solutions for whatever challenges you face! E-Waste Primer for CaliforniaOctober 25th, 2011With the advent of the computer era, and the ongoing miniaturization of circuitry, the world is fairly awash in electronic “stuff,” and it’s cheaper to replace many devices than fix them. So we throw away tons of electronic waste (e-waste) including TVs, monitors, laptop and desktop computers, printers, cell phones, faxes, copiers, etc. Even today’s iMac is tomorrow’s e-waste. Government at all levels has taken steps to deal with the issue. As CRE is headquartered in California – among the states that lead in eco-friendly initiatives – we will focus this e-waste primer on the Golden State. Overview If electronic waste is disposed of in landfills or illegally dumped, it could introduce toxic matter into the ground water and otherwise pollute the environment. Also, with limited landfill area available, it is basic good sense to reduce, reuse and recycle what we can. With these matters in mind, What should I do with e-waste? E-waste is collected for free at L.A. County Household Hazardous/ Electronics Waste Collection Events that are scheduled every weekend throughout the year. Various cities, including the City of Los Angeles, also operate centers for the public. Most services are available at no charge to residents. There are currently six permanent HHW collection centers in the County. If your electronics are still usable, you can list them on LACoMAX, the County’s materials exchange website, or donate them to charity. Some charities, notably Goodwill, even accept broken-but-repairable electronics like obsolete computers. (If you buy instead of rent laptops, you’ll be giving them yours every couple of years, too.) In addition, you can contact your own City’s recycling department to learn of other programs. To find a recycler in L.A. County, use the DWP’s Smart Business Recycler Locator or check the databases maintained by CalRecycle (particularly useful for businesses). Here are the links: • LACoMAX materials exchange website • The DWP’s Smart Business Recycler Locator • CalRecycle database listings • Erecycle.org – another great resource Remember the three Rs • Reduce waste – buy only what you need, use only what you buy. CRE’s business model is green at its very core, as our entire inventory – from event production rentals to high-tech production gear – is available without making large capital outlays. We’re “sharing the wealth” tech-wise and reducing unnecessary consumption. • Reuse what you have – by giving useful items to friends or charity. • Recycle things – when they’re no longer useful to anyone. CRE is your one-stop shop for high-end post-production gear, convention rentals, computers, office equipment, audio/visual support – everything you need, for everything you do. Call or e-mail an expert Account Executive, or use the Quick Rental Quote form, and get exactly what you need for what you do! Engage Customers with Touch TechnologySeptember 29th, 2011Yankee Group analysts estimate that Apple Stores earn about $5,000 per square foot, surpassing even Tiffany’s $2,700 figure. Among the reasons for their success? The stores are totally “touchy feely.” Touchscreens abound while self-paced intros and other multimedia programming pull buyers ever deeper into the “Apple Universe.” At your next trade show or conference, you too can engage customers with touch technology. Whether you equip your trade show booth with an LCD touchscreen monitor rental, or use one in combination with ipads or tablets, the hands-on approach is a winner with customers everywhere.
Why use touch technology? Visitors to your trade show booth will be (a) people you invited or (b) passersby motivated to stop. They need some sort of business solution, and your product or service may be it. How do you engage them? Set up your touch-enabled devices so that you can capture trade show prospects with a plasma display rental running an animated invitation or video. Or, showcase touch-to-learn presentations, sales collateral materials or technical papers installed on iPad rental, tablets or touch-enabled monitors. It is easy enough to connect a Mac Pro to touchscreen monitors, but what if your product is PC software, what do you do? CRE has an all-in-one multitouch display PC that is perfect for you. And don’t forget, if you have a tangible product (or an intangible, like software, in a tangible box), people will want to “touch” that, too. Tips to engage customers Once you get people’s attention, you have to deliver a good show. Here are some tips: • Trade show visitors complain about leaving booths feeling “unimportant.” You must be personally proactive and not simply rely on trade show convention rentals and equipment to do the whole job. • Your presentations and interactive marketing tools are not just visual. Sound design is critical, so get your creative folks to find the right sound effects, dialog and background music for the effect you seek. • Finally, don’t forget that you can rent interactive kiosks that are touchscreen-equipped, as well. These are handy for capturing contact information in places you can’t be. You want to create a smooth, flowing process: Capture passersby, use your touch-enabled tools to let them “try before buying,” turn them loose at their own pace – then be on hand to answer any questions. Want to learn how to use touch technology at your next trade show or event? Call or e-mail an Account Executive who can walk you through all the “touch” tools we carry. If you know what you need, use the Quick Rental Quote form right now! The Growth of Webcasting | SimulcastingSeptember 27th, 2011“Webcasting” delivers a media file over the Internet, or “streams” it, sending the same content to hundreds, thousands, even millions of simultaneous viewers. Like radio/TV broadcasts, the media can be live, recorded or both. As technology progresses and prices fall, the growth of webcasting As opposed to the government-delimited radio/TV spectrum, the Internet has enough bandwidth to accommodate plenty of webcasters. While today’s biggest ones are major media operations that “simulcast” their content, the most exciting thing about webcasting for businesspeople, especially marketing pros, is how easy, inexpensive and effective it can be. A “Must-Have” Technology Businesses have gleefully adopted the new technologies of the Internet Era as they have appeared. When the graphical layer of the Internet we call “the World Wide Web” launched in the early 1990s, having a website soon became a must. A series of other must-have technologies followed and, in fact, today’s iPad rentals are one of the most-wanted must-haves ever. Right now, though, webcasting/simulcasting is the latest “big thing.” Webcasting is already being used quite extensively in firms large and small for presentations, annual meetings, e-learning (class simulcasts and “webinars”) and other communications activities. With potent CRE computer rentals for the media and webcasting duties – and everything from microphones to mixers to capture the “sights and sounds” of the event, courtesy of our audio visual rentals – we’ve got you covered. Marketing Benefits Simulcasting adds viewers around the world at very low cost. If you use CRE for your convention rentals, and plan to do a breakout session, we can help you simulcast it over the Internet. Major convention keynote speeches – and events like Sting’s upcoming appearance at Oracle OpenWorld 2011 – have been simulcast for several years now, but costs are now low enough for everyone. The webcasting experience of Cisco, a major technology leader, is instructive. Adding webcasting to its annual event in 2009 was “a big risk,” or so the execs thought. The result? There were 10,000 at the live event, and another 5,000 remote attendees, over half of whom were first-timers. Better yet, between a quarter and a third of those remote attendees attended the annual event in later years. Cisco’s experience changed the way this already-successful company did business. With live audiences, you can use CRE’s Audience Response System rentals to elicit real-time feedback. With a webcast, you have free reign to make it as interactive and collaborative as you want. The options are as numerous as the opportunities in this exciting era of “broadcast democratization,” and CRE can help you every step of the way. Call or e-mail an Account Executive, or use the Quick Rental Quote form, and get your show on the road – and simulcast it, too! Impressing Conference Attendees, Part 2September 22nd, 2011Yesterday, we dealt dealt with pre-conference promotion and exhibit preparation (check out the post: Impressing Conference Attendees, Part 1) Today, CRE Rentals covers promotion at the conference itself, in addition to the vitally important follow-up after the show.
Promotion at the conference • Sponsorships and participation – If you can arrange to lead a conference session under the aegis of the host organization or company, it positions you as an expert in your field. Although you would not promote your services in these settings, you will benefit from priceless word of mouth. If you use projector rentals for a presentation, it would be acceptable for you to have your logo or business name at the bottom of the images – but be discreet. • Giveaways – Consider freebies for visitors to your booth. People do like logos, especially on useful little items like key rings, sticky notes, fridge magnets and such. Do not be cheap. It is better to have nothing at all than a penny mint or plastic wristband. Naturally, be frugal, too. Outfit your conference team with MacBook Pro rentals and your giveaways can be digital, and you can deliver them to other Mac users with OS X Lion’s new Airdrop feature – over WiFi or peer-to-peer. • Brochures and business cards – You can never bring enough of these. If you run out… never mind, it’s too horrible to contemplate. An updated business card with all your contact info is always the #1 thing on experts’ lists of “what not to forget to bring to the convention.” Don’t be shy about spreading them around, either. • Touchy-feely togetherness – LCD touchscreen monitor rentals are great for engaging and impressing booth visitors, and you can customize any number of approaches to lead them to the right conclusion about your product or service. With a printer hooked up, booth visitors can print a variety of materials themselves. This guarantees they’ll leave with contact info for your firm. Post-conference follow-up This is the “forgotten step” in many conference marketing strategies. It is important to follow up with everyone whose contact information you captured – at your booth, or with strategically placed interactive kiosk rentals – and it is also important to revisit your original invitation list. Since many firms do zero follow-up, you will impress conference attendees with your attention to detail – and your attention to their company! You can use post-conference reports available (for a fee) from the association hosting the event to identify other contacts. “Sorry we missed you at GlobalWorldCon 2011,” you could say, then steer the recipients to your website. CRE has a full range of convention rentals, and decades of experience helping firms impress conference attendees. One call or e-mail is all it takes to get a knowledgeable Account Executive on the job for you, and a couple of minutes is all it takes for you to get what you know you need with our Quick Rental Quote form. How can we help you? Emerging Display TechnologiesSeptember 8th, 2011If you haven’t said “goodbye” to the cathode ray tube (CRT), it may soon be too late. The tubes are goners, displaced first in the 1990s by the technology in our plasma rentals, then by LCD screens that continued the trend toward lighter, flatter and less power-hungry. We are already in the midst of a surge in screens like CRE’s LCD touchscreen monitor rentals, but there are new ideas on the horizon promising screens that are flatter, lighter and more energy-efficient still. The next big thing
Kodak developed the first OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays in 1987. As opposed to older technologies, the screen’s individual display elements emit their own light, meaning no separate lighting source. Ditching the light source makes OLED displays lighter, thinner and more energy-efficient. Future desktop displays, TVs and even laptop rentals will start to feature these OLED displays once the price starts its downward trajectory. Since these displays are still new, they’re still expensive. The first appeared on mobile phones, quickly becoming standard equipment in the high-end Samsung models as well as phones from Nokia, Google and others. Rumor has it that the upcoming iPhone 5 will have the technology. From OLED to… ? Phones, TV screens and monitors are only the beginning. It won’t be long before CRE’s iPad rentals and other tablets feature OLED screens. In fact, Samsung has already announced plans for an OLED-screened tablet. Industry analysts see OLEDs as the next “big thing” and sales should take off in the next year or two. Of course, OLED is not the only game in town, not by a long shot. These other display technologies will be vying for dominance in a hustling, bustling market: • Super LCD (SLCD) is another challenger for that screen dominance. It offers improved color fidelity and screen contrast than previous LCD panels, but uses more power than AMOLED. • AMOLED (active matrix organic light omitting diode) is, as the name suggests, one of the related display technologies being built off the success of OLEDs. • Super AMOLED (SAMOLED) is the result of Samsung combining a touch panel with the top glass layer of an AMOLED display. The first panel specs suggest a form factor similar to CRE’s tablet PC rentals. Less material between the screen colors and your eyes means better images at every resolution. Speaking of resolutions, we can help you resolve all your workflow challenges and digital dilemmas. Need gobs of storage for that video project? Consider our Ethernet disk RAID rentals. Need an interactive kiosk rentals for a trade show lobby? Got you covered. One call or e-mail is all it takes to put an experienced Account Executive on the job to help you find the right solutions. If you already have it figured out, use the handy Quick Rental Quote form. |
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California passed its 
continues in dramatic fashion. After being adopted at first for continuing education and other niche uses, it is now an important tool for corporate management teams.
