"All I Want For Christmas Is A Dongle" as seen in The Magdalen

ALL ALL II WANT WANT FOR FOR CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS ... ...

Is A Dongle It seems 2017 will be the year of ultra-thin gadgets, and also the year we all get extension cables for everything…

Including other extension cables! With the release of the new MacBook Pro from Apple (and also the release of the iPhone 7), there is a definitive trend of removing ports from our everyday tech: inviting us to use it differently for the first time in many years. Our previously loved ports, like the USB port, suddenly seem less relevant when you consider how much technology has advanced: we have more storage in our devices than ever before, and if that’s still not enough, you can have unlimited cloud storage - allowing you to access your entire digital life in one place: anytime, anywhere. We’re also plugging in fewer devices to charge them: our batteries are higher capacity than before and despite our constant usage of the devices, they still outlast the passing of the day. And what about computer mice? Well, with everything being touch screen, do you really need a mouse, or is force of habit simply tempting you away from new experiences in favour of the old-fashioned?

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Technology

The Year Of Touch - Everything

The Passing Of Vine

Touch panels will be huge in the New Year: from Apple’s

Low-quality, on-repeat videos might just become a thing

multi-purpose Touch Bar, to fingerprint sensors which are

of the past. With Vine’s 6 seconds of fame being officially

becoming ever more common in phones - 2017 will be

over, this could see the end of short videos as the trends

the year touch technology really kicks off! Who needs

move towards video filters and special effects: perhaps

physical buttons? It’s all about haptic feedback: the

making Snapchat’s hold on social media video stronger.

feeling of touching a responsive button when in fact, you’re touching a solid surface. Take the Lenovo YOGA

But perhaps, the trend of 360 cameras will finally take

Book: it’s a fully touchscreen, convertible laptop with no

over: with Facebook encouraging 360 videos to be

keyboard; it’s two screens or one screen, full size, or half

posted and viewed through the site itself as well as the

size, a laptop or notebook - you decide. With the keyboard

app - a definitive step towards bringing virtual reality

on, it feels just like you’re pressing actual buttons; but it’s

directly to the palm of your hand. Though arguably,

a sensory illusion, a simple flicker of light in the shape of

Samsung are ahead of the curve here; the Gear VR and

a familiar object.

Gear 360 camera are fully compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Edge 7 and other Samsung devices, introducing users to the future every step of the way.

WE’REDECLUTTERING DECLUTTERINGOUR OUR ‘ ‘WE’RE LIVESAND ANDMINDS MINDS’ ’ LIVES

Even over this last year alone, we’ve said our farewells to many amazing pieces of technology, and all the changes we’ve seen come about have been influenced by our attitudes and preferences. We don’t notice we’re doing it,

We’re moving towards a trend of silence. No clunky

but companies out there do, and they adapt, and give us

keyboards. No wires on earphones to fall and bash

what we want before we even know we want it. I cannot

against the screens of our phones. No noisy styluses to

wait to see what 2017 has in store.

tap away on tablets. But most importantly, no loud disks.

Everything is solid state - there are no moving parts in our devices because it’s slower; and we don’t want slow, we want fast, we want instant. Why would you wait two seconds when you can wait fractions of seconds? It

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makes all the difference.

This silence is changing the way we work. A workplace is no longer a cluttered desk: it’s a single device. Your entire

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workstation, in one slimline glass and metal masterpiece like the Microsoft Surface Studio. We’re decluttering our lives and minds. And it even comes with entirely new gadgets. The Surface Dial: an innovative multi-purpose tool for performing many menu-selector functions, thats bringing you closer to technology than ever before.

It brings the functionality to you, no mouse, and no breaking eye contact with your screen, just everything you need, directly in front of you. It is definately an immersive experience, allowing you to work without ever even feeling like you are working.

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