CES 2012 Overview: It’s Thin, Mobile, and Cloudy

January 10, 2012

Being a gadget hound, I’ve been ogling over the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show like an eight-year-old with a Toys “R” Us catalog before Christmas. The show is used to showcase the way technology is heading, and this year there is a clear message: Consumers don’t want to stay stationary.

The biggest buzz-word of the show seems to be “Ultrabook.”

What is an Ultrabook? Well, tablets have taken off because their super-thin form factor and instant-on abilities makes them a perfect way to get on the Internet instantly. The iPad and the Kindle Fire sold millions over the holiday season for this reason, but they do have limitations. Tablets are notoriously cumbersome for typing, touch screens have accuracy problems, and slow processors can mean weak performance. Ultrabooks address this by taking a high-end laptop, squashing it down to tablet thickness, adding some nice features like an aluminum case and an extra long-life battery, and you have something that makes both laptop and tablet owners turn their heads. Large desktop workstations are quickly going the way of the 8-Track Tapes and Console TV’s because people are demanding uninhibited portability.

Vizio's 14" Ultrabook. Look for similar products from Lenovo, HP, Acer, and Toshiba.

Portability, and more importantly, mobility is key. Cloud services are being introduced left and right, and there is a need for more convenient ways to access them. The idea of cloud services is using the Internet as a gigantic hard drive, where all of your tools, files, and applications installed. All that’s required is some kind of screen to view them. Gone are the days of having to go to a specific room, sitting at a specific desk, and using a specific computer to read your email or create a document. Cloud applications work exactly the same on any device, being a Smartphone, tablet, or 8 year-old desktop PC. This new-found freedom opens a lot of interesting options for today’s workforce.

TOAST.net foresaw this mobile revolution, which is why so many of our services are integrated with cloud services. Google Apps , Managed Antivirus , Online Backup , and other services are designed to be used when you need them, not when your computer is handy. There’s a sense of accomplishment when you’re able to edit sales figures from your phone while sitting in a car waiting to pick up your son or daughter from school. There’s a sense of security knowing you can get to your important documents from your home laptop because your office PC is on the fritz. Most important, there’s a sense of empowerment knowing you are fully in control of your information rather than your computer.

CES 2012’s underlying theme this year may be mobility, but the underlying theme is something more basic that people have wanted since the dawn of the Information Age: control.

< Older Post Newer Post >

New Business Broadband Plans!

By Mike Pawlecki • March 31, 2021

TOAST.net is excited to offer 4 new Business Broadband plans

New Fiber for Business Plans!

By Mike Pawlecki • March 11, 2021

TOAST.net is excited to announce 3 new Business Fiber Plans

New Residential Fiber Plans!

By Mike Pawlecki • January 12, 2021

TOAST.net has added two new residential Fiber Internet plans!

Switch to Universal Pricing

By Mike Pawlecki • August 14, 2020

This coming Monday, Aug. 17th, we will be switching to universal pricing -- one price for all DSL speeds (around $65) and one price for Fiber (around $90). So if anyone is thinking they could use one of our basic service plans, now's the time to order. For example: DSL - 12 Mbps for $43.95/month - Great for seniors on a fixed income. Plenty of speed for surfing the web, checking email, and streaming for 1 or 2 TVs. Fiber - 60 Mbps for $45.00/month - Awesome solution for just about any household. Note that fiber is a new technology and only about 20% of the country can get it. Check your address to see what service you qualify for and order by Sunday, 8/16/20! This is your last chance to lock in the speed and price of a great DSL or Fiber plan before they are grandfathered!

Google Meet

By Mike Pawlecki • May 20, 2020

Google Meet is now free for everyone. Check out TOAST.net's blog that tells you more about Google Meet usage at your home or office.

Work from Home (part 2)

By Mike Pawlecki • May 1, 2020

Google - Meet Meet is video conference software, similar to Zoom. To help businesses, schools, and people around the world navigate remote life, Google is making Meet free for everyone with availability rolling out over the coming weeks. See Google's blog post for details. SolarWinds - Take Control You may need to run applications off your PC or server at the office. In that case, SolarWinds makes makes an easy-to-use application that allows home users to remote desktop to their PC in the office. It's secure and doesn't require special hardware, a static IP, or VPN. We're offering this software free of charge for 90 days. Please contact us if interested.

Work from Home

By Mike Pawlecki • March 20, 2020

This week we've taken quite a few calls from companies asking how their employees and staff can work from home (WFH). We're happy to offer several WFH solutions to help organizations mitigate health risks to employees and customers. TOAST.net understands how important it is to keep your employees connected, productive, and safe during this unprecedented pandemic. Here are the services we have to help your business through this difficult time : Business Portal is a 'home page' for your browser that improves communication and efficiencies within your organization. It's a private Intranet that features company news, announcements, links to vendors and cloud apps, an employee schedule, and more! We offer this at no charge to our customers. Visit https://start.toast.net Google's G Suite - TOAST.net is an authorized reseller of G Suite, a cloud-based collaboration tool featuring Email, Calendar, Chat, Hangouts (video conferencing), and Drive. You can create files, documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with just your browser (no software to install) and share these with fellow workers, customers, and vendors. More info Remote Desktop - an easy-to-use application that allows home users to connect to PCs in the office. It's secure and doesn't require special hardware or a static IP. We're offering this free of charge for 90 days. High-speed Internet for Home - We provide residential Cable, DSL, and Fiber Internet service . So you can pay for your employee's Internet connection on your business invoice. Please contact us if you're interested in any of these services. B est wishes to everyone to stay healthy, safe, and upbeat as we socially distance ourselves for a quick end to this situation. Note: Our customer support team continues to work their regular hours. We operate support teams in multiple locations and, while there may be some disruption at certain locations for a limited time, overall we do not expect any significant change in access to support.

Cut The Cord With Unlimited Data

By TOAST.net Internet • January 28, 2019

In the month after Christmas, we’ve seen a high demand for our Internet service with unlimited data. Much of it is from people wanting to use their new streaming device (Fire Stick, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, etc.) to cancel their expensive cable TV service. This is commonly referred to as “cutting the cord.”

Fiber Expansion

By TOAST.net Internet • December 17, 2018

TOAST.net is pleased to announce fiber Internet service in 12 new metro areas:

Start Page Updates

By TOAST.net Internet • December 12, 2018

Moved Facebook link from top bar to the Popular Sites section. Added Yahoo Finance to the Personal Finance section. Yahoo Finance is one of the largest business news web sites in the United States by monthly traffic.