CES 2014 - Thermaltake always puts on a good showing at CES and 2014 is no exception. Earlier this week I got the chance to stop by their suite and check out some of the new and exciting products we can expect to see in 2014. Shannon Robb spent a few minutes walking me through several new cases, PSUs, and even some new cooling hardware.

The new Core V71 chassis is one of the cleanest PC chassis I have seen at CES this year, and is definitely an excellent choice for anyone wanting to build a rig destined to be heavily liquid cooled, or anyone needing a large amount of storage such as a server, or gaming box. Thermaltake also showed off some upcoming water cooling components including a new reservoir and pump combo along side a pump-less reservoir, and a complete line of compression fittings.

Almost 70 percent of consumers in the United States suffer from digital eye strain from continuous use of electronic devices, according to The Vision Council. As casual consumers become more comfortable with devices like smartphones and tablets, it seems there is major concern that digital eye strain will become more prevalent. The term digital eye strain explains two or more hours using a device with a digital screen - and includes dry, red and irritated eyes, fatigued eyes, blurred vision, headaches, and back, neck or shoulder pain.

"Digital eye strain has become a large concern for the vision community," said Ed Greene, The Vision Council CEO, in a statement. "Fortunately, the optical industry has made great strides in the past year to develop lens technologies that can best address the causes of digital eye strain. Like other glasses we rely on to read and see clearly, computer glasses are transforming the way we look at computer and handheld devices."

For better eye health, the "20-20-20" rule: After every 20-minute duration, take a short 20-second break while looking at something 20 feet away. When reading text or looking at a particular screen, either increase font size or zoom in.

CES 2014 - AMD is using CES 2014 to show off its new Nano PC, which is powered by the company's Mullins APU. AMD's Nano PC is a super small PC that sits on, or under your TV, and is capable of running Windows 8.1.

The Nano PC, even at its tiny size, features a camera, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and DockPort connectivity, as well as a 256GB SSD for storage. The Mullins APU is capable of driving the Nano PC without a problem, with reports stating that the tiny PC can play FIFA 14 at 1080p without a problem. We have a mini breakout box that provides USB and HDMI so that it can push the Nano PC's output to your TV.

Unfortunately, AMD won't be selling these Nano PCs direct, but instead will be offering them as a prototype to other manufacturers as a new HTPC/thin PC device.

Speaking to Australia's national newspaper, The Australian, Samsung representatives at CES have revealed that the oft-rumored quad-layer Blu-ray format--double the current standard, which could hold upwards of 100GB--will be revamped in preparation for the release of 4K Blu-ray discs by the end of the year.

Shunting aside the holographic standard and other tech prototypes, the 4K Blu-ray standard would seek to provide the world with the likely last physical home video format. In doing so, production costs could be kept down by manufacturing on current gen production lines, with a little tweaking.

Samsung revealed that the format is "good to go", save for the Blu-ray Disc Association having not selected which codec will be utilised. The current leading Blu-ray codec, AVC H.264, would seem to indicate it would be a good bet that the newer H.265 codec will be chosen; however, in recent times, numerous competitors have emerged, promising even more efficient encoding and other abilities.

CES 2014 - During today's visit with Acer, we got the chance to check out a new Windows 8 tablet as well as a new Chromebook that are being released in 2014. Acers new Iconia W4 appears to be the budget-friendly Windows tablet to consider in 2014, while its new Chromebook is the on-the-go consumers dream device.

Acers new Iconia W4 tablet features a ultra-sharp 1280x800 8-inch IPS display that is directly bonded to the protective glass which provides for a true HD experience while providing almost 180 degrees of viewing angle. A 4th Generation Intel Atom Clover Trail processor is on board and running at 1.8 GHz. Imaging duties are handled by a 2-megapixel front facing camera as well as a 5-megapixel rear shooter. A full copy of Windows 8.1 is onboard and includes a copy of office. The W4 felt quick, snappy, and overall felt like a very high-end tablet. The W4 retails for $329 for the 32GB version and $379 for the 64GB model.

While the C720 Touchscreen Chromebook has been out for a few months, Acer has expanded the line to include new colors, including a sleek, new MoonStone while color that is both ultra modern, and stylish. The entire chassis is white, giving the device a consistently stylish look from any angle. A touch enabled 11.6-inch HD LED back-lit display is present and features 10-points of touch sensitivity. The MoonStone White version will be available to the US market later this month at a pricing point of $299.

CES 2014 - This morning we got a chance to stop by the Digital Storm suite and check out their new Bolt II hybrid Steam Machine. Robert Wall, senior technician for Digital Storm gave us a full rundown of the new hybrid Windows and Steam OS system in the video below.

The Bolt 2 Steam Machine that was demoed featured an purpose-built custom case that is able to pack everything into a nice and tidy small form factor footprint. Processing power is handled by an Intel i7 4770k CPU along with 16GB of Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM. An NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780Ti handles the GPU duties while a Corsair H100i dual fan unit keeps the CPU running nice and cool. Air flow and lighting are controlled via Digital Storm's proprietary lighting and cooling module, and further adds to the uniqueness of this unit.

Power is handled by a normal ATX PSU up to 700W in size, and a pair of 30mm fans are installed to ensure no stagnant pockets of hot air form inside the chassis. Surprisingly the Bolt II is about as silent as a PC can get. While in the suite, I was unable to notice any noise at all coming from the device that was running under the flat-screen TV. Digital Storm says that the Bolt II will be priced from $1500 up to $2500 depending on component choices and features.

Video eye company Vuzix will beef up its M100 smart glasses by including the company's proprietary Nuance Communications voice recognition software. The M100 Google Android-powered wearable display glasses won't need a data connection or software update for the new embedded voice software. Simple voice commands can be used to control and navigate the M100 menu system, opening the door to better user interaction. The software will be available with the Vuzix M100 2.0 OS release set for later this year.

"Vuzix is focused on delivering powerful wearable technologies to the industrial, medical and prosumer markets," said Paul Travers, Vuzix CEO, in a statement. "By integrating Nuance's voice technology into our M100 platform, we've given our customers even greater flexibility in the way they can use our smart glasses to solve issues that challenge their business."

The consumer market is seeing tremendous interest in wearable electronics, such as smart glasses, but it's the enterprise that could lead to wider adoption. Companies now realize the importance of staying on the technology forefront, so don't be surprised to see wearable electronics everywhere.

CES 2014 - There aren't many thin gaming notebooks on the market outside of the Razer Blade, but it looks like GIGABYTE's new Aorus series will take care of that. GIGABYTE's Aorus is the company's new PC gaming hardware brand, which has started off with a new gaming notebook.

The Aorus X7 is a 17.3-inch gaming notebook which features Intel's Core i7-4700HQ processor, two NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPUs in SLI, up to 32GB of RAM, a pair of 512GB SSDs and the storage is backed up by a 1TB mechanical HDD. All of this arrives in chassis that is just 0.9 inches thick, with two fans, four vents and five thermal pipes doing everything they can to keep GIGABYTE's Aorus X7 cool.

Connectivity wise we have dual HDMI ports, a mini DisplayPort and VGA socket that will drive up to three more monitors from the Aorus X7. GIGABYTE has provided some anti-ghosting keys, dedicated macro buttons on its backlit keyboard, a Killer NIC networking chip, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi to wrap things up. We should expect the GIGABYTE Aorus X7 to ship in March, with prices falling between $2,099 and $2,799.

CES 2014 - We all know Lenovo has some of the best notebooks on the market, but it has just refreshed its X1 Carbon notebook at the Consumer Electronics Show 2014 that is currently cranking along in Las Vegas.

The refreshed Thinkpad X1 Carbon offers a carbon fiber-constructed chassis, which weighs in at 2.8 pounds. Something unique that Lenovo has done with its X1 Carbon is provide an Adaptive Keyboard, which the company claims "dynamically adjusts based on the software or application being used to highlight the most relevant keys". The 14-inch display is of the anti-glare variety, with Lenovo offering up a 1600x900 or 2560x1440 resolution.

Lenovo has provided a rapid-charge technology, which will provide 80% of the total charge in under an hour, on top of a nine-hour battery. The pricing on the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon isn't bad, starting at $1,299. The refreshed X1 Carbon will be available starting at the end of the month.

CES 2014 - The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014 typically brings about joy for consumers and most companies, but Intel confirmed it would rename the McAfee Security brand. John McAfee, founder of the company that he later sold, now has a name of infamy bringing forth rather negative name recognition. Beyond John McAfee's wild personal issues, including a global search, wild spending and obscure blog posts, Intel is clearly interested in just moving forward.

It was just two years ago that Intel said there were no plans to change the McAfee name, but Intel wants to alter the company's public perception. In addition to a name change, product packaging and marketing will also reportedly be revamped.

During the Intel keynote, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said his company will provide mobile security to smartphones, tablets, wearable electronics, and other mobile devices. Intel will release additional details related to the company's free mobile software for smartphone and tablet owners later this year.