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Asus ScreenDUO auxiliary desktop display previewed
Although Windows Vista has been scrutinized in just about every aspect imaginable, Asus threw out a clever deviation to Microsoft's SideShow functionality when it unveiled the ScreenDUO-equipped desktop motherboards. Unlike SideShow on a laptop's auxiliary display, this bundled in module connects directly to Asus' motherboards and includes the firm's own proprietary software to offer up useful extras on your handheld screen that Gates and Co. aren't likely to supply. The kind folks over at TechReport were able to give us a first-hand look at the stylish display, and also offered up a few suggestions of how it's best utilized. The unit itself measures about 4- x 2.5- x 0.75-inches, rocks a 2.5-inch QVGA screen, a directional pad, rear kickstand, USB port, and several buttons placed along the top and front. It was noted that Asus' software catered more towards desktop needs, and rather than providing easy access to "things like email," it offered up customized iTunes / media player controls, calendar views, photo viewers, Outlook contact lists, RSS readers, hardware monitoring applications, etc. Interestingly, the ScreenDUO was dubbed less like a secondary display and more like a "secondary interface," and while the initial list of widgets are respectable, the company's future support of the display will likely make or break its usefulness -- but honestly, where's the touchscreen support, Asus?
Asus intros SideShow-ready motherboards
While CES graced us with laptops aplenty touting SideShow capabilities, Asus is bringing the secondary display love over to the desktop realm with its latest lineup of motherboards. The M2N32-SLI Premium Vista Edition and P5B Premium Vista Edition each come Vista-ready and support Asus' own ScreenDUO technology, which "provides a second display panel to enable the user to conveniently view important information without having to start up the PC." Users purchasing the boards actually get the secondary display in a bundled package, but there's no word on if (or how) you can connect your own screen in the future. Nevertheless, the boards also feature AI Remote, AP Trigger, TPM support, and the firm's Accelerated Propeller to reportedly "shorten boot times and program initiation" while in Vista. Asus is lookin' out for both the Intel and AMD camps, as the M2N32-SLI provides socket support for AMD Athlon 64 FX processors, while the P5B plays nice with Intel's Core 2 Quad chips, and although pricing information isn't readily available, these mobos should be hitting shelves shortly to coincide with the Vista release.[Via 64-Bit-Computers]
