Overwhelmed by all the technology coming your way? Let us help you get a grasp on what’s happening and give you a glimpse of what’s to come:

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Tablet Devices
The tablet personal computer market is exploding. In 2010, there were more than 30 new models available. This year, in addition to standard devices like the iPad 2, Playbook and HP Slate, look for full-color combo e-reader/tablets, such as the NookColor, which offers features such as built-in Wi-Fi for access to the Web and social media. (Read more about e-readers here.) With the O2 Joggler, a virtual calendar and messaging device, you can watch videos, get weather reports, check headlines, text message and listen to your favorite Internet radio station. And this year, Google will launch Honeycomb, the first mobile system software optimized for tablets that can be upgraded.

Smart Meters
Smart meters are advanced utility meters that allow you to manage the energy usage in your home, by day, season, time or appliance remotely from your kitchen countertop. With energy costs rising and more people pledging to lower their carbon footprint, smart meters are bound to gain in popularity.

Mobile Devices
The usage and selection of mobile devices is ever-expanding. Secure, fast checkouts from a mobile device will give consumers the option to purchase as they continue to shop. In the grocery store, computerized grocery carts mounted with high-tech video consoles will provide shoppers with suggestions and advice as they peruse the store. Another new mobile device-related technology is wireless charging pads, which charge devices without annoying cords or plugs.

Cost-Saving Technologies
As companies strive to save money, they will look to virtual desktop infrastructure and cloud computing. These technologies eliminate the need to purchase software licenses and hardware for new employees and locations in favor of using a service for software and server space.

Here at Go East, we use “in the cloud” Google Docs and billing software, both of which allow access from anywhere via the Internet. If you have multiple Internet-accessing devices at home, you may want to look into a personal cloud: online services and software that work together to help users access, organize and share information.

Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi direct offers a new way for devices to communicate directly with each other without having to connect first to a conventional Wi-Fi access point.

If I had to pick the device I’m most interested in, it would be the tablet. I like the idea that it’s portable and larger than a smartphone, not to mention the multitude of ways it can be used: e-mail, shopping, social media, games and books. I would never be bored or out of touch.

Here’s hoping that some of this new technology will help keep us all better connected, make life simpler and perhaps save us some money in 2011!

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Most if us are familiar with the green benefits of composting:

• It reduces household trash (20 to 30 percent can be composted)
• It keeps kitchen and garden waste out of landfills, which generate
methane gas and contribute to global warming
• It reduces kitchen wastecan odors
• It produces free, organic-rich compost

Now you can find innovative composters and stylish kitchen composter
pails that won’t compromise your aesthetics.

The tumbler style composter is great for urban and patio use. Simple to use, it contains the compost and is animal-proof.

I also found a number of attractive, functional kitchen composter pails
that come with odor-reducing filters:

• The Bamboo Kitchen Compost Pail
• The Stainless Steel Compost Pail
• The Countertop Compost Keeper

And you can compost more than you might think: paper napkins, paper towel cores, coffee filters and virtually any food item with the exception of meat and dairy. By putting meat wrappers and bones directly into the outside garbage can, and by recycling, I can go a week or more without taking out the kitchen trash. You can also save money: some garbage haulers give a discount if residents put out only one can a week.

Interested in learning more about composting? Read on!

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My 19 years at Go East (formerly Century Graphics) allow me to look back and marvel at the design evolution that has taken place with the onset of the digital age. Keylines with wax and color breaks, the typesetter and stat camera have all been replaced by the personal computer, laser printer and PDF proof.

The Internet has created a world-wide audience, a global appreciation for digital design. With powerful software, graphic designers can quickly make changes, allowing for seemingly endless creative possibilities. All these “bells and whistles” have to be used with restraint of course, with regard given to the basic elements and amount of time it takes to do good design.

I’m grateful for the many opportunities and ever-evolving career I’ve had at Go East, and to Ric and Tim, who have always looked ahead and provided the training and technology necessary to be successful in the graphic design industry.

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