Journalists and bloggers spend a vast majority of their days locked in front of their computers, so it is vital or at least preferable that they use a machine that is not only user friendly but makes the daily grind as easy possible to cope with, ensuring they conclude their slog with work that ticks all the required boxes. I was invited to the swanky launch of the HP Touchsmart a few weeks back with a handful of fellow bloggers from around the world, we were united in intrigue to see how this machine could revolutionize they way we deliver our articles images and videos to our followers….. Here is what I have found thus far….

At uni, I had a hermit lifestyle forced upon me, particularly during dissertation time, tucked away in my room glued to my boxy PC while housemates chatted, cooked dinner, watched TV (Deal or no Deal) while they beavered away together on their laptops.
Post uni when I could afford to I treated myself to a laptop, a Mac Book Pro no less. The life changing purchase confirmed my previous realization that obtaining and using the correct technology can aid and improve your work endlessly and in turn contribute to a more desirable mood during the activity.
One of the major advantages with the new laptop was that it is always (internet connection willing) ready and easy to hold video conferences via skype/aim, which successfully reduces the amount of wasted hours traveling and costs of phone calls. Heartache was also lifted now I was able to make non work video calls to the copious amount of friends who had fled GBs grey shores for the attractive lifestyles of australia, LA etc. This was just one of many perks the Mac gifted me over the PC.
My love for the sleek silver Mac is yet to dwindle so I was interested to see if my loyalty could be affected when returning to a PC, that said the HP Touchsmart is no ordinary machine….

While I have tired of the 3D gimmick at the cinema, touchscreen technology is still something that ignites that kid-like excitability, the buzz you get when playing with a new toy, it still feels wonderfully modern and novel. I often feel, just for split moment that I am a character in a sci- fi movie using some super high tech gadget to locate enemies or alien beings, and this is a feeling I enjoy immensely!! Gimmick is one of the words that should be used when describing this particular computer, but this is not necessarily a negative. There are numerous fun/silly features that makes the computer thoroughly entertaining to use, but there are a few occasions where the fun features affect its ability to completely meet my work needs…..

I have had lots of fun using the Webcam feature, you can lose hours distorting your face into various horrific mutations, my friends and I were in tears of laughter after a session the other day. For work its features will add interest and humour to my blog posts too. While recording a video post there are various fun things that can be added to the capture, like a comic book style onomatopoeic words, kisses, thumbs up etc, you can talk whilst being on fire, getting drenched in rain or even as Barrack Obama…… yes really. It has a very easy to use feature when you can send your webcam captures straight to your Youtube account, this works very smoothly. The only problem I have discovered, which might just be me not working out how to do it yet, is when wanting to edit multiple videos together using the Video editing HP software. After trimming the videos and putting them in a running order, you are then forced to use one of their ‘styles’, Extreme for instance. This then automatically puts music and sounds on your video, scrolling text and graphics to gives it an overall theme. More often that not I want to simply put the videos together, perhaps merged by a transition, without the added over the top hooha, but as yet I have no been able to turn off the style part of the editing process. There are similar difficulties with adding music to the video where there arent enough options to tinker with volume and where the music comes in and such. The only slightly negative discovery is that you cannot use the camera feature of AIM on PC’s, but this isn’t something unique to this model, thankfully Skype is still fine.

At the launch event Designer Project Runways Emilio Sosa showed us how he used the Paint feature to create fast design drawings, which allow him to do work he would have previously given a Graphic Designer to complete. I was really excited to try my hand, at this (literally). With the ability to use different materials to draw with be it marker pen, spray can you really can create some great artwork, it just requires a bit of practice to get used to the Touchcreen function, thankfully any mistakes made can be irradiated when you are sent back a step with a simple click. I have found this really useful to personalize photos, my dragging them in from where they are stored in the HP Photo section and then using my handwriting to write amusing notes referring to the images, add titles or decorate in an arty fashion. This will be used a lot on this blog from now on……so see if you can spot it!

After a long period of insomnia I moved from my ‘compact’ and ‘bijoux’ ( claustrophobic/cluttered) bedroom to the much larger spare room, which had previously existed as a den/entertainment room, in the hope that the added space would aid my sleep pattern. This was meant to be temporary fix, but almost a year on the double sofa bed, large TV and the less tormenting nights that followed has meant that the den has well and truly lost its original identity. The arrival of the HP has given me the kick up the bum needed to make the dreaded move back to the box room, with the Touchsmart being the main attraction of the new and improved entertainment room. After a few weeks of playing around, the main attractions is its large clear monitor which is perfect to watch DVDS on, and the music library which allows you to scroll through the album artwork to find the song you desire, use the search facilities, or to create playlists to make sure the mood of your party is exactly what you desire, be it bangin’ or chilled. But to sound very untechnical…. it just looks pretty cool!! I think its functionality as an all round entertainment system is one of its major selling points, its sound quality and movie/music capabilities make it the perfect accompaniment to a party or gathering, its aesthetic being an added bonus. You could even document your nights in as you can guarantee your mates will all want to have a pose on the Webcam and use the touchscreen technology which is still a relatively rare thing to have at home!

Due to the nature of my work , where I may have to blog from a hotel room, from a train ( or most commonly from my bed) my Mac will always be my primary machine for work, that said the HP will become a much valued and useful addition. I’m going to spend next few weeks exploring further, adding some more programs, the priority being more professional video editing one, and will see how easy it functions from the PC. I will report back, but in the meantime enjoy the video blogs where I use more of the crazy webcam features……

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