It seemed as Intel executives and company spokespeople really had no idea what was going on with the anticipated chip. The release date for Ivy Bridge was constantly changed and the amount of manufactured chips was always different. That has all seemed to fix itself with a little time, as an announcement is expected this week for the release of Ivy Bridge, followed by the staggered release of the chip.

So has everything settled down with Intel? Not exactly. Sales reports were released, and even though Intel’s sales did decrease in the first quarter of 2012, they still hit right around the projected target. Maybe they are gaining their footing back on the financial ladder.

Actually, Intel is used to massive revenue and breaking their projected profits quarter after quarter. But after their solid first quarter, the upcoming release of Ivy Bridge and the possibility of a smart phone release, Intel has upped the ante and estimated that the second quarter of 2012 will show greater gains.

Even though everything seems to be evening out and Intel has a few projects under their belt that will definitely aid in boosting profits, one still has to wonder what’s really behind the fall in sales in the first quarter. Is it simply due to the normal after-holiday sales decrease or did the flub behind the Ivy Bridge release take its toll on Intel’s stability?

The only way to really answer this question is to watch what happens in the near future. The second quarter 2012 sales will tell whether the release of the two projects boosts sales as expected, or if Intel has other problems. Hopefully they hit the mark in sales and investors can stop worrying so much.

With these worries in mind, the average computer user has either turned to using a media storage website or using removable media, such as writable disks, USB drives or external hard drives. But with the recent shutdown of some large media storage websites, users have unexpectedly lost their precious information.

So the easiest, smartest option would be to turn to removable media storage. But, exactly what is the safest way to protect those special pictures and files?

The answer may be the new ioSafe Solo G3 external hard drive. Not only does this new device allow you to back up and store your files, but it also protects against physical elements, such as fire and flood, and boasts several impressive hardware specifications.

This cool-looking device is built to work fast and quietly. It connects via USB 3.0 and has no fans, enabling the silent operation. The ioSafe Solo G3 can be purchased with between 1 TB and 3 TB of storage, giving even the most advanced user generous storage options.

Even though it works fast, runs quietly and can protect against several electronic and physical threats, the ioSafe Solo G3 does have a few questionable specifications. First, and maybe not so important to some people, the device weighs about 15 pounds. That’s kind of bulky!

Second, and most important, the device only contains one drive. This brings us back to the original problem of device failure. What happens if your ioSafe Solo G3 drive fails? Well, thankfully, the device includes a year’s worth of protection (and $2,500!) for the rare need to recover lost data.

So even though it seems there really is no fail-proof way to protect your electronic data, using an external hard drive (preferably one that protects against fire and flood) may give you the best odds. After all, you never know when an accident can happen!

When people hear about the privacy changes and how no one really likes it, it’s too easy to just jump aboard the same ship without looking into what is really going on. What surprised me (kind of) is learning that Google has about 60 different services ranging from Gmail, maps, shopping, Google+ and many, many others. So when someone uses these many services, they end up signing into or creating a new profile for one or more Google area. That gets pretty tedious.

So to help eliminate a lot of overlapping information, Google is basically combining all of your accounts and account information into one place. Well that sounds okay, but it’s kind of hard for me to remember what personal information I used when I signed up for one of the services 7 years ago! What will other people be able to see?

Not only is your personal information being combined, but Google is also planning to keep tabs on your browsing history to create a more personalized experience. That doesn’t sound so bad either, but users beware! Now, Google has always done this, as do many other search engines. But with the combination of their services, many of their websites will change to show you more relevant information.

Some people really don’t care about these changes while others may close their accounts and leave entirely. However, even though some people are upset over these changes, it is now possible that the new policy breaks a European law! Apparently, the consolidation of a user’s many accounts and personal information under one large privacy policy isn’t enough to fall under the requirements of Europe’s Directive on Data Protection.

The privacy policy will not give users the option to opt-out of specific services, worrying many people. In fact, France’s authorities contacted Google to ask them to delay the privacy policy roll-out due to concerns with the legality of the switch.

However, Google ignored the request and the new change took effect just as planned. So who should really be concerned? Make sure your private information stays private and you carefully track what information is being used from your computer.

One of the gadgets that was predicted to be developed is so popular, it makes me wonder – this wasn’t available five years ago? The ultra-thin laptop. It seems as though almost every computer company has come out with at least one laptop that is an inch or less thick and weighs less than all of the other competitors. But one of the specs HP made a point to mention is that these ultra-thin laptops would boast a virtual keyboard. While I’m sure this is in the development stages somewhere, virtual keyboards don’t seem to be very popular with laptops this year.

A second gadget that hit right on is the tablet computer. These devices are so common and really seemed to become extremely popular within the last year. Different companies are following this trend and trying to be the top dog with HD touch displays, large app markets and useful tools.

So two out of six isn’t horrible. Right? But, the other four are right on the horizon, I’m sure. One of the four is a device-charging shelf. Plug in the shelf and set all your battery operated devices on top to receive a charge – without the use of any wires. Pretty cool! But it seems to me that you can buy small mouse-pad-like versions of these in the store to charge some cell phones.

The last three may not be available yet, but some similar devices have been created and displayed at tech shows recently — a digital screen that can be rolled up like a poster and stored away, a watch that syncs all of your devices and keeps the data on your wrist and a pen that stores written words internally instead of using ink.

The three devices that aren’t really available yet don’t seem too far off. It seems like every day someone is coming up with new ideas and products that haven’t been thought of or seen yet. Maybe these last three will be created soon – and who knows what will come in the next five years!

But it seems as though one of Intel’s products, the new Ivy Bridge processor, may not be released as soon as first thought. In September 2011, reports suggested that Intel planned to include the Ivy Bridge processor in some computers and servers in as early as March 2012. But soon after that announcement, another announcement was made holding off on the new processors until April.

The Ivy Bridge processor has many desirable features, including the ability for consumers to get better computer performance out of a chip that is the same size as its predecessors. The internal workings of the chip include smaller transistors, allowing more circuits to fit into the chip – increasing the power and performance, but with the same small size.

However, only the working power of the chip is increased, as the consumption power of the Ivy Bridge processor is decreased. Because of the integration of Intel’s new Tri-Gate transistors, the processor uses little power while the computer sits idle.

Although these features are definitely appealing, it seems as the most anticipated feature is the chip’s ability to handle graphics. With more speed than ever and a redesigned graphics display, the Ivy Bridge includes an L3 cache and can support some serious graphics.

Sounds good. So when can I get my hands on one of these? No one seems to be sure yet. Now that March and April are right around the corner, many people are questioning Intel’s production plans. An interview with an Intel executive stated that the chips will not be available in April – the date has been pushed back again into June.

After the interview, Intel made an announcement to give us a little more insight into their Ivy Bridge production plans. The chips are only being pushed back a few weeks. The production and sales are being staggered to help finish off the sales of old laptops containing the Sandy Bridge processor.

But have no fear — it is promised that once production and sales begin with the new Ivy Bridge chip, the production rate will dramatically increase.

Depending on the Internet speed of your provider and the type of hardware you own, Wi-Fi connections can already be pretty fast. The fastest most common Wi-Fi speed available is currently 802.11n, which can handle a maximum net data rate of about 600 Mbit/s. The new Marvell chipset will introduce the possibilities of a new super speed, referred to as 802.11ac. This new Wi-Fi may be able to handle up to 1 Gbit/s – almost double the currently popular speed.

With their hands already in several different products and tech categories, Marvell is now trying to bring all devices this higher speed. But are people looking to increase Wi-Fi speeds or are they moving toward mobile technology? While it’s no doubt that Marvell could lend their expertise and hardware devices to more mobile devices, it seems as though right now they are mostly integrated into home office and home entertainment devices.

There will always be a market and use for Wi-Fi communications, but how big will that market be? It is still quite popular and many homes and companies use Wi-Fi to connect computers, printers, servers and game systems. Of course, it will also take more for Internet Service Providers, especially the smaller ones, to be able to handle the higher speeds.

This will obviously take a while to become the “new standard” – as Marvell is hoping for. Especially because different Wi-Fi products may not be fully compatible with each other. This has happened once before – when the 802.11n products were first being introduced. But I’m thinking it will take longer this time around for 802.11ac to become the new norm in Wi-Fi. More people are using mobile phones and tablets – along with Internet access directly from a mobile service provider. Until Marvell can get its foot into the mobile industry’s door, it will take a while.

Adaptation with the economy and technological trends force companies to reassess the way they build and sell products. As well as the decrease in hard disk production, the increase in popularity of mobile devices also plays a large role in company changes. So we may understand why companies need to change, but where do they go from here? How do they know which risks to take?

HP is reportedly working on new kinds of tablet computers that may be ahead of the game, compared to other competitors. First, the different devices are slated to include the new Windows 8 operating system, which hasn’t been released yet, but is highly anticipated. These new devices will be released somewhere around the holidays in 2012, which also works great for raising fourth quarter company profits.

But out of the three presented tablets, only two of them can be considered tablets. The other models is being called a hybrid – designed to be somewhere between a tablet and a laptop. With no definite specifications released, I’m really not sure what features it will present to link it to a laptop, but this is something that hasn’t really been seen yet.

Although Windows 8 is definitely a nice selling point, the internal hardware also has something to offer. HP has apparently partnered with Intel and Qualcomm to provide chips for the three devices. Intel will lend its Clover Trail Atom processor to one of the tablets and the hybrid device while the other tablet will presumably run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor.

So this is the leap that HP is taking. I’m sure there are other projects and software products in the works, but so far, these devices may be the most promising for the company. It isn’t necessarily far-fetched by any means, but it’s definitely interesting watching the steps that different companies take to save their revenue and profits.

That’s why it’s never a surprise when someone puts together some new device or invents something that works differently. This always happens. But, it’s pretty impressive when companies take a device that really hasn’t changed much over the years and vamps it up.

Two new types of hard drives are currently in the works. They are still pretty simple devices, but most devices simply can’t function without a hard drive. But with everyone wanting devices that look sleek and expensive and do almost anything, the hard drive logically needs to change to fit into the smaller devices and manage data better.

Hitachi introduced a new powerful hard drive that will be added to smaller devices that need more power. This sleek disk drive is only 7mm thick and about 2.5 inches long. But despite its size, it operates almost silently and only has one platter instead of two. The single platter doesn’t slow it down though – it still works at about 7,200rpm and offers up to 500 GB of storage! Like I said — pretty impressive for a little guy.

On top of the new Hitachi hard drive, other companies are also developing hybrid drives, which are aimed to better fit into smaller products, operate smoothly and bring down the overall price of the device. The hybrid hard drives are a combination of a typical hard disk and a solid-state disk drive. The solid-state drive does not move, but works with the typical hard disk to store data.

While the hybrid disk drives aren’t exactly considered top of the line, they do work well and are pretty small. They are usually integrated into ultrabooks and other small devices. Because these devices are usually pretty popular, mostly due to their looks and portability, installing a hybrid disk drive helps bring down the price to a more reasonable level.

So, it’s evident that tech companies need to keep up with the times of change, and obviously projects and devices are in the works. It’s always interesting to see the new changes that come with updated hardware and the way they will change our world.

So why would someone purchase an expensive, high-quality device and not consider the type of SD card used to store their media? The basic, cheapest SD cards either don’t have much room for storage or don’t have the capabilities to store high-quality content. But it seems that when you purchase a new device, you’re so worried about making sure the device itself is up to par, you don’t put much thought into the storage options.

Fortunately, some companies are revamping SD and microSD cards to give consumers a better quality option. The cheap cards will always be out there, and let’s face it – they’ll always be popular because of their price, but they really don’t have much to offer besides basic limited storage. This may be all that the basic or novice user needs, but for someone who is serious about storage and protecting their media, it may be worth investigating some new options.

Tech companies Samsung, Monster and SanDisk have recently created SD and microSD memory cards that are built tough and meant to do some serious storing. They boast some great specs offering memory between 2 GB and 32 GB with the options of HD, Full HD and Full SDHC. The read and write speeds are also impressive, offering a read speed up to 24 MB/s. Sounds pretty good, but what makes these new cards really stand out?

Well, have you ever dropped your SD card in a puddle? How about running over your card with your vehicle? Well, maybe you haven’t necessarily done those things, but for anyone that worries about doing those things – worry no more! These cards aren’t just fast, but they are durable!

Reportedly, Samsung’s new SD and microSD cards can be fully submerged in water for 24 hours, be smashed under 1.6 pounds and withstand some serious magnetic power without being damaged.

Still want to buy a cheap card? Actually, the price isn’t so bad either. A 2 GB card starts at about $10. But that doesn’t mean you should throw it to the bottom of the pool or throw it under your car tire. Although, you could…

You know those cool glasses that the Terminator uses to identify objects in the beginning of the second movie? Those were pretty cool and the concept didn’t even seem real back then. But Google may be bringing those glasses to life.

Google reportedly will have a prototype of these glasses to be released by the end of 2012. Speculations suggest that the glasses will be able to connect to the Internet and offer information based on your GPS location and/or what activities you are partaking in.

These glasses will be built to blend in and look like a pair of typical sunglasses. A few small buttons on the side will aid in communication and settings, but the majority of selections will be done by simply moving your head.

Sounds pretty high-tech and definitely worth trying out, but how popular could this be? I don’t know many people that would actually use these regularly, or more realistically, more than once or twice just to try them out. Is there really a need for this kind of device? So many smart phones and portable devices already offer GPS based technology and Internet access on the go.

It also makes me wonder what kind of accidents these glasses could cause. We have all heard the stories about people falling into manholes or running into lamp posts while texting and walking. Imagine walking straight ahead, but really paying attention to the lens of your sunglasses instead of the sidewalk.

And, you know someone is going to wear these while driving! It’s kind of a no brainer, but there are people out there that don’t realize something is hot even though it just came out of the oven. It isn’t hard to figure out that these glasses could easily cause distractions while behind the wheel, but someone will do it!

Although these really sound like a cool device and something from the future, what possibilities do these glasses truly hold? What would the average user do with these glasses on a daily basis? Is our world ready for this?