Information Wants to Be Free
We like to support the little guy. The inventor, the ideas man, who comes up with something and just works and works until it becomes reality. The small business where the president is also the secretary, the PR team, and the design group.
Today’s gadget, the Pertelian LCD screen, is just this sort of invention. It’s the sort of thing you might think of when you’re playing too many video games, and you really wish you could check your email without leaving the game. Alt+Tab doesn’t always work and sometimes can make your computer crash, but quitting out of Quake or Counter-Strike just really isn’t an option.
Eureka! An external LCD screen that you plug in via USB and that can check your email, show sports scores, work as a stock ticker, etc. Brilliant!
Maybe. It’s a fairly simple idea that they are aiming at serious gamers, which is why their introductory text reads: “With the next generation Pertelian you will never have to leave your game again while staying connected to your friends.” Brokers and investment professionals might find it interesting, but many of them have multiple monitors or Blackberrys or many other ways to get the information. If you are part of the serious gamer niche, you might very well enjoy Pertelian- it’s hackable, well-supported, Mac and Linux compatible.
The backlight works well, though we’ve grown accustomed to better detail on LCDs. The cord is plenty long enough, and the software is mostly easy to use. The biggest complaint we have is that controlling the Pertelian can be annoying- it doesn’t have any buttons, so you setup hotkeys. But there is often a delay, and in addition it can be quite frustrating to read email on a small, scrolling screen.
Nonetheless, we salute you, gamers with ideas! $70 isn’t bad at all- for those who need their information a little bit more free.
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