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The problem with your computer's display is largely a problem of real estate, the fact that despite any 3D graphical magic happening on screen, your computer screen can't easily escape its two-dimensional boundaries.

Virtual desktops step in to maximize your screen's surface area by multiplying the number of desktop environments at your disposal and then organizing them so you don't lose track. Like Firefox and Internet Explorer's tabbed browsing, virtual desktop managers often organize your multiple display screens in tabs or slides that surface when you click.

You'll find plenty of virtual desktops in the CNET Download.com library, … Read more

Even though so many people were left un-wowed by Vista, Microsoft's latest announcement is sure to elicit some excitement.

Five years in the (very secretive) making, the Surface Computer is a tabletop system that allows users to interact with digital media in some truly remarkable ways.

CNET News.com's Ina Fried has video of the system in action, viewable below.

Surface Computer users can fingerpaint digitally, resize and interact with photos and videos, and even "digitize" some real-life events, such as splitting up a restaurant bill and researching wines. The Surface Computer can recognize some real-world … Read more

Prada's phone is as close to the iPhone as you'll get. Everything is done with a tap of your finger. There are essentially no buttons to work with.

Once you get beyond how this looks, though, you'll face up to a major cell phone decision: do you really--I mean REALLY--like this feature? In my case, it's starting to feel like a "no." There's something to the tactile feel of a standard cell. Even with a flat panel (think Razr), you still get a feel for the numbers you're dialing. Not so here. … Read more

Rarely will you find a phone that sends you on a spiral, but this one does. You buy it for its style, look and innovation. For that, it gets an 11 on a scale of 10-point scale.

The dilemma arises when you must decide whether it's more important to have the most eye-catching cell phone available or if you want one that's easy to use. Rarely will you find a phone that sends you on a spiral, but this one does. The Prada phone is somewhat awkward. There are only three buttons in front, yet often you'll … Read more

Like many other TV makers, Sony has been working on screens made with organic light-emitting diodes for some time to produce paper-thin displays as well as save energy. But ratcheting up the competition even further, it just unveiled what it calls the world's first flexible version.

The company claims to have developed a new technology that uses plastic instead of glass to make OLED screens that can actually bend (hopefully without breaking), according to Pink Tentacle. Its 2.5-inch prototype weighs only 1.5 grams--that's 0.053 ounces for the metric-challenged among us.

There's no specific product … Read more

Digital tablets are great, especially now that they've come down to relatively reasonable prices. But what if you don't have room on your cramped desk for yet another external device like Wacom's "Bamboo"? Navisis claims to have the answer with its "Laptop Tablet," which the Korean company says can turn any screen into a tablet with software that calibrates the pixel-point location of its stylus, according to Gizmag.

The sensor device, which is expected to retail for about $130, looks something like a clip-on Webcam that can be attached to the edge of … Read more

At first glance, the recently updated and curiously named Kleptomania is the textual answer to SnagIt and other screen capture programs. Yet the more text I attempt to translate with this interpreter, the more it seems that Kleptomania has more of a compulsion to overstate its own abilities than "steal" text embedded in the screen.

Not that the attempt isn't worthy. I, too, have wished that a screen capture could isolate the text from the JPEG or BMP image as easily as my eye does. As Kleptomania's developers explain, computers interpret screen images as pixels, not as meaningful text, and therefore reproduce screen captures as images. Kleptomania's technology aims to "read" the text, comparing contrasting shapes to 234 fonts in its character library.… Read more

SnagIt is great for taking screenshots of your PC, but why should stationary users have all the fun?

After all, handset screens may be smaller, but are they any less worthy of digital capture? If you're still using your digital camera to take said screenshots of your Windows Pocket PC or Smartphone, it's time you discovered Screen Capture, a free, friendly app you can load from your PC that takes stills of your mobile screen. Unlike other screenshot programs, you open Screen Capture before shooting your image and close it when you're through, jumping from the program … Read more

If you've ever found yourself lusting after a workstation with multiple monitors or other multi-tasking command centers, wait till you get a load of this futuristic creation from Microsoft. The "DigiDesk" literally turns your desk into a desktop with a dual-pane workstation that features touch-screen surfaces to control everything from documents to workflow, according to SlashGear. Alas, it's only a prototype, which the guy in the video says is one of just two in existence. We applaud the concept, but we're still waiting to take it even one step further, throwing entertainment into the mix … Read more