Hot Computer Hardware Companies To Buy For 2015

America's energy boom is creating a lot of hype around the possibility of energy independence. Unfortunately, reality may not live up to the hype. The chances that we will be able to cut ties with the global oil market are very slim, so we will continue to do business with foreign countries to import oil for the foreseeable future.�

Crude oil is a very intricate global commodity, and the type of we're finding doesn't meet the optimal range for refineries in the United States. Ultimately, this means that even if we're able to produce more oil than we're able to consume, we will still need certain types of oil to make our operations run smoothly. Besides, if we can buy oil from another country for less than what it costs to make it, then why not?

Tune into the following video for the conversation with Fool analysts Joel South and Michael Olson as well as Fool.com contributor Tyler Crowe, as they discuss the myth of energy independence and why the complexities of the oil market will hamper any chances that it will happen.

5 Best Small Cap Stocks To Buy Right Now: IceWEB Inc (IWEB)

IceWEB, Inc. (IceWEB), incorporated in 1994, manufacture and market unified data storage, purpose built appliances, network and cloud attached storage solutions and deliver on-line cloud computing application services. The Company�� customer base includes the United States government agencies, enterprise companies, and small to medium sized businesses (SMB). The Company has three product offerings: Iceweb Unified Data Network Storage line of products, Purpose Built Network/Data Appliances and Cloud Computing Products/Services. In October 2013, IceWEB Inc completed its acquisition of Computers and Tele-Comm, Inc. and KC-NAP, LLC of Kansas City (collectively CTC).

IceWEB Unified Data Storage line of products

IceWEB is a provider of Unified Data Storage solutions. Its storage systems make it possible to operate and manage files and applications from a single device and consolidate file-based and block-based access in a single storage platform, which supports Fibre Channel SAN, IP-based SAN (iSCSI), and NAS (network attached storage). A unified storage system simultaneously enables storage of file data and handles the block-based I/O (input/output) of enterprise applications. One advantage of unified storage is reduced hardware requirements. The IceWEB Storage System is an all-inclusive storage management system, which includes de-duplication; unlimited snapshots; thin provisioning; local or remote, real-time or scheduled replication; capacity and utilization reporting, and integration with virtual server environments.

Purpose Built Network and Data Appliances

Purpose Built Network and Data Appliances are devices, which provide computing resources (processors and memory), data storage, and specific software for a specific application. The primary appliance products that IceWEB has built have been centered on a single large business partner, ESRI Corporation. IceWEB and ESRI have collaborated to create ultra-high performance IceWEB/ESRI GIS systems tha! t allow customers to access data with speed. ESRI Corporation takes responsibility for marketing to their customers and business partners, via their worldwide sales and consultancy organization.

Cloud Computing Products and Services

Cloud computing products and services consist of cloud computing services and cloud storage appliances. IceWEB provides IceMAIL, a packaged software service that provides network hosted groupware, e-mail, calendaring and collaboration functionality. Online services were expanded to include IcePORTAL, which provides customers with a complete Intranet portal and IceSECURE a hosted e-mail encryption service. Originally such hosted services were referred to as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Such services, hosted across the Internet are commonly referred to as Cloud Computing. A cloud storage appliance is a purpose built storage device configured for either branch office or central site deployment, which allows the housing and delivery of customer data across not only their internal networking infrastructure, but also to make that data available to employees or business partners securely via the Internet (often called the cloud).

The Company competes with EMC, Network Appliance, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM, Compellent Technologies and Isilon.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  So far the brewing recovery effort from IceWEB, Inc. (OTCBB:IWEB) has remained off most traders' radars. That may be about to change, however. That's why you may want to go ahead and take a speculative plunge on IWEB now, on faith that the clues we're seeing now will indeed end up as they're suggesting.

• [By Peter Graham]

  What�� the Catch with Dephasium Corp? According to various disclosures, transactions of $2k, $2.5k, $3k, $4k, $7.5k, $12.5k and $15k have or will occur to mention Dephasium Corp in various investment newsletters. Dephasium Corp has been getting plenty of off and on attention for a couple of months now, but what�� been pretty strange is the company issuing a press release to announce that an unidentified third party, without the DPHS�� approval, has listed its shares on the Boerse Berlin Stock Exchange. The press release warned that this could be the first salvo in a ��ignificant naked shorting attack directed at the Company��given that the Berlin exchange is one of few stock exchanges in the world that allows listing and trading of a company's stock without the consent or authorization of the company being listed in order to facilitate short-selling. A quick look at Dephasium Corp�� financials reveals no revenues; net losses of $10k (most recent reported quarter), $17k and $11k plus net income of $388k; and $51k to cover $9k in current liabilities at the end of March. In other words, Dephasium Corp isn�� making money but someone else is trying to make some from it.

  IceWEB, Inc. (OTCBB: IWEB) Seems to Be Making Progress

  Small cap IceWEB is a provider of Unified Data Storage appliances for cloud and virtual environments, as well as the highly secure, scalable IceBOXTM BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Private Digital Cloud Solution. On Friday, IceWEB fell 8.57% to $0.0320 for a market cap of $9.01 million plus IWEB is down 54.3% over the past year and down 81.7% over the past five years according to Google Finance.

Hot Computer Hardware Companies To Buy For 2015: Crossroads Systems Inc (CRDS)

Crossroads Systems, Inc. (Crossroads), incorporated on September 26, 1996, provides, develops and markets patent pending products that provide online access to data archives through tape-based archive storage solutions that replace disk-based storage devices at a fraction of the cost, enabling businesses to change the way they approach their long-term data archiving needs. It ships the following products to these markets: StrongBox, Read Verify Appliance (RVA) and SPHiNX.It is focused primarily on the StrongBox solution. During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2012(fiscal 2012), the Company introduced itsCrossroads StrongBox product, a network attached storage (NAS) solution based on tape for long-term archive data.

The Company�� products include StrongBox, which offers a NAS storage solution focused on low cost, data archive with built in data protection; SPHiNX , which provides data protection from the desktop to the data center, functioning as a virtual tape library to ensure holistic data protection; ReadVerify Appliance (RVA) proactively monitors tape media and the overall health of tape drives, and Fibre Channel (FC) Storage Bridges and Storage Routers offer connectivity and protocol conversion from the FC Storage Area Network (SAN) to Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) tape and disk storage device interfaces.

StrongBox

StrongBox offers organizations the ability to archive their valuable corporate data assets without disrupting their architectures at a fraction of the cost of existing disk-only based solutions. The StrongBox solution is a shared file storage system, which stores the files on open standard LTFS physical tapes. The StrongBox system also provides the necessary data protection, data security, and online access of files required in a customer�� active archive environment. StrongBox addresses and expanding market providing a solution to customer problems. Regardless of size, no business can afford to keep decades old content on s! pinning disk due to its acquisition cost, but more importantly, the cost to continuously power the disk array and pay maintenance on the physical hardware. Additionally, disk arrays are only supported for three to five years requiring wholesale replacement multiple times over the life of the data. StrongBox enables this click and open access stores the information on reliable, scalable tape media. The StrongBox manages and verifies the data and auto-migrates the files over time as new higher-capacity tape drives become available.The Company�� offerings to the market through hardware appliances.

SPHiNX

SPHiNX provides complete disaster recovery capabilities for mid-range server, open systems and the desktop host environment and is designed to scale easily to grow with a customer�� business. As a primary repository for data center backups, SPHiNX can be used as secondary tiered storage for replicated data to meet disaster recovery requirements. As a disk-based data protection solution, SPHiNX maximizes reliability and improves backup and restore success rates by eliminating associated drive or media errors. SPHiNX offers flexible functionality as a virtual tape library for rapid, reliable data recovery with reduced data loss and minimal downtime. SPHiNX is delivered via a dedicated appliance with hot swappable drives and redundant power supplies to ensure high system availability.

With SPHiNX, backups can be streamlined for improved performance, and restores are exponentially faster than using traditional tape drives. Multiple host systems can be secured and connected to SPHiNX as a shared resource for several systems or partitions with multiple backup streams supported from any single system. With immediate access to stored data, SPHiNX drastically reduces recovery time to meet increasing stringent recovery time objectives and recovery point objective requirements.

SPHiNX provides the ability to replicate backups remotely by syn! chronizin! g data copies over a wide area network (WAN) between a local SPHiNX and one or more remote SPHiNX systems, which can reduce offsite storage or eliminate tape handling altogether while enabling immediate access of data. Cloud computing, data center consolidation, hosted disaster recovery and other IT trends have created a need to move more data remotely at higher speeds. SPHiNX provides WAN acceleration options to maximize data transfers, providing scalability, network efficiency, security and bandwidth control. SPHiNX provides an option to encrypt data in compliance with regulatory and company security policies. With SPHiNX, you can encrypt data as it is stored or wait for idle times if faced with short backup windows. SPHINX can also completely offload the encryption algorithm processing by passing a generated key to a physical tape device equipped with a hardware encryption chipset. SPHiNX is sold primarily as a branded offering in our VAR channel in the United States and Europe. Additionally, SPHiNX is sold by OEM partners as a co-branded or rebranded product line for tape backup replacement or augmentation.

ReadVerify Appliance

The Company�� ReadVerify Appliance (RVA) validates the integrity of tape backup systems and provides an easy to use, real-time way to monitor, track and report on the performance, utilization and health of tape devices and tape media. Providing visibility into the causes of incomplete or failed backups, RVA helps customers address media and hardware issues before a catastrophic failure threatens their data and business. RVA monitors tape backups and reports cartridge and drive statistics collected during backup operations. Automatic alerting and reporting provides critical information on impending media or drive failures, overall utilization and performance of tape media and drives. RVA uses built-in reporting for load balancing and to proactively address media and hardware failure. RVA provides a method to diagnose a degrading backup environment a! nd correc! tly identify root cause.

Using RVA, tapes will not be disposed of until they truly reach end-of-life. It also sold through OEM partners who co-brand or rebrand RVA as a product sale or as a service offering. In addition to providing a library monitoring service, with the Archive Verify feature Crossroads or its partners can provide a service built around analyzing a customer�� existing archival tape store to ensure the data written to tape can be read back.

Fibre Channel (FC) Storage Bridges and Storage Routers

The Company�� Fibre Channel Storage Bridges and Routers provide connectivity and protocol conversion from the Fibre Channel (FC) Storage Area Network (SAN) to tape and disk storage device interfaces. Its bridges provide value by extending the useful life of SCSI storage resources and aggregating device ports to save on switch port expenses. They are simple to deploy via either rack or desktop, manage using command line interface (CLI) or Ethernet interface options and support with field updateable firmware. Its bridges are designed to add reliability to SANs by detecting and tracking path readiness and network event errors and reporting configuration issues and conflicts. The Crossroads��Storage Bridge and Router product line is mature, having been developed and sold since the Company�� inception.

The Company competes with IBM, Quantum, Cache, TSI, Falconstor Software Inc. and EMC.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake Mann]

  Looking to 2015, I will be watching Crossroads Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CRDS) closely as their StrongBox tape library offering has started experiencing growth, coupled with their IP assets (both '972 and non-'972 portfolios). Further, I will be watching ICTV Brands Inc (OTC: ICTV)'s new product offerings and how DermaWand fairs internationally as well as in Rite Aid stores nationwide...

Hot Computer Hardware Companies To Buy For 2015: Synaptics Inc (SYNA)

Synaptics Incorporated is a developer and supplier of custom-designed human interface solutions that enable people to interact with a range of mobile computing, communications, entertainment, and other electronic devices. The Company focuses on the personal computer ( PC) market, primarily notebook computers, including ultrabooks, the markets for digital lifestyle products, including mobile smartphones and feature phones, the tablet market, and other select electronic device markets with its customized human interface solutions. The Company generally supplies its human interface solutions to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers through their contract manufacturers, which take delivery of its products and pay the Company directly for them.

The Company provides custom human interface solutions for navigation, cursor control, and multimedia controls for many of the world�� premier PC OEMs. In addition to notebook applications, other PC product applications for its technology include peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, and monitors, as well as remote control devices for desktops, PCs, and digital home applications. Its solutions for the PC market include the TouchPad, the ClickPad, the TouchStyk, and dual pointing solutions. The Company�� tablet includes the ClearPad Series 7. In August 2012, it acquired Pacinian and the Video Display Operation of Integrated Device Technology, Inc.

TouchPad

TouchPad provides a method for screen navigation, cursor movement, and gestures and provides a platform for interactive input for both the consumer and corporate markets. TouchPad solutions offer various advanced features, including Scrolling, Customizable tap zones, performance of entertainment, productivity, and media tasks, tapping and dragging of icons, and device Interaction. The Company�� TouchPad solutions are available in a variety of sizes, electrical interfaces, and thicknesses.

ClickPad

The Company�� ClickPad introduces! a clickable mechanical design to the TouchPad application. Its ClickPad is activated by pressing down on the internal tact switch to perform a left- or right-button click and provides feedback similar to pressing a physical button. The latest version of ClickPad features ClickEQ, which is a mechanical solution.

ForcePad

The Company's ForcePad is a thinner version of the Company's ClickPad, which introduces a new dimension in control through the addition of variable force sensitivity. ForcePad is designed to provide consistent performance across OEM models through its design intelligence and self-calibration features.

Dual Pointing Solutions

The dual pointing solutions offer a TouchPad with a pointing stick in a single notebook computer. Its dual pointing solutions also provide the end user the ability to use both interfaces interchangeably. The Company has developed two solutions for use in the dual pointing market. Its first solution integrates all the electronics for controlling a third-party resistive strain gauge pointing stick onto its TouchPad PCB. Its second dual pointing solution uses its TouchStyk and offers the OEM integration. The second solution is a completely modular design, allowing OEMs to offer TouchPad-only, TouchStyk-only, or dual pointing solutions on a build-to-order basis.

TouchStyk

The Company�� TouchStyk is a pointing stick interface solution for PC notebooks. TouchStyk is an integrated module that uses capacitive technology similar to that of its TouchPad. TouchStyk is enabled with press-to-select and tap-to-click capabilities and can be integrated into multiple computing and communications devices.

NavPoint

The Company�� NavPoint solution offers TouchPad functionality for small form factor devices in accessing and managing content in handheld devices through navigation controls. It also includes short- and long-distance scrolling features, tapping, and mouse-like cursor navigation.

ClearPad

The Company�� ClearPad touchscreen solutions consist of a transparent, thin capacitive sensor, which is a discrete sensor, that can be placed over any display, such as an liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light-emitting diode (OLED). Its ClearPad Series 3 can provide full-time tracking of ten or more fingers simultaneously and features stylus support and support for various sensor configurations, including discrete sensors, sensor-on-lens, which includes sensor electrodes patterned on the bottom of the glass cover lens; on-cell, which includes sensor electrodes patterned on the display glass, and in-cell, which includes sensor electrodes patterned inside the LCD glass.

The Company�� ClearPad Series 4 products combines its capacitive multi-touch technology with a device�� display driver in a single-chip solution delivering advanced display noise management and capacitive sensing performance. Its ClearPad Series 7 products are designed for large touchscreen market for products more closely related to clamshell notebooks, slates, tablets, and similar devices. The Company�� ClearPad Series 7 products include single-chip touchscreen solutions and multi-chip touchscreen solutions designed for devices, such as gaming applications.

FlexPad

This capacitive sensing interface is mounted beneath a mechanical keypad, and allows the keypad surface to be used for advanced scrolling and navigation features, character entry, and advanced gesture input on handheld devices. With navigation functionality similar to a touch pad, FlexPad offers interface and industrial design differentiation.

ClearButtons

The Company�� ClearButtons product is an extension of its core capacitive sensing technology that has been used in TouchPad solutions for notebook PCs, mobile smartphones, and feature phones. ClearButtons is a sensor that can be mounted under plastic, providing OEMs with integration and design options for scrolling and b! uttons.

TouchButtons

The Company�� TouchButtons product provides capacitive button and scrolling controls for an interface solution designed to replace mechanical buttons. Button arrays and ScrollStrips can be programmed to perform various functions, such as controls for multimedia, display and device settings in notebook PCs, multimedia keyboards, MP3 players, digital photo frames, monitors, and other digital lifestyle products. TouchButton interfaces are designed for integration under the plastic face of a device, allowing for a sealed, durable, and thin design, which can be coupled with light emitting diode (LED) animation.

ThinTouchTM

The Company�� ThinTouch, is a design technology that delivers a full keyboard solution that is 40% thinner than traditional keyboard solutions. ThinTouch provides design architecture that facilitates backlighting.

Proximity Sensing

The Company�� proximity sensing technology enables users to interact with consumer electronics without touch. With this technology, sensors in a device, such as a notebook PC, mobile phone, peripheral, or digital photo frame, sense the presence of a user�� hand to activate a function, such as illuminating LEDs for discoverable buttons or waking devices from power-saving mode.

Dual Mode

The Company�� Dual Mode-enabled TouchPad interface allows a user to switch between cursor control and icon-based control on the TouchPad surface. In default mode, a Dual Mode-enabled TouchPad provides the same cursor control for on-screen navigation as a standard TouchPad. When the user taps on a launch icon located on the TouchPad surface, control icons illuminate on the TouchPad surface.

ChiralMotion Gesture

The Company�� ChiralMotion Gesture technology can be applied for continuous circular motion to initiate precise and fine-tuned scrolling on any two-dimensional input surface, such as its TouchPad and ClearPad solutions. ChiralMoti! on Gestur! e technology is suited for small handheld products, such as feature-rich mobile handsets, personal navigation systems, and personal media players that require easy access for entertainment, music, and other digital files.

Synaptics Gesture Suite

The Company�� Synaptics Gesture Suite (SGSTM) provides users with an intuitive way to interact with their notebook computers. SGS was developed by analyzing the most common workflows from entertainment activities, such as viewing photos and listening to music, to productivity activities, such as accessing e-mails and presentations. SGS represents a portfolio of gestures available on its interface solutions. These gestures are compatible with a range of Microsoft Windows and Linux applications. Gestures in the market include Pinch, Rotate, ChiralMotion Scrolling, Two-Finger Scrolling, Three-Finger Flick, Three-Finger Down, and Four-Finger Flick.

Enhanced Gesture Recognition

Synaptics�� Enhanced Gesture Recognition is a suite of ClearPad gestures included in its firmware. Customers can easily enable SingleTouch gestures, such as Tap, Double Tap, Press, and Flick; DualTouch gestures, such as Pinch and Pivot Rotate, and multi-finger gestures for ClearPad directly from its touch module firmware. No additional ssoftware is required on the host processor to implement these gestures.

Dual Mode for TouchPad

The Company's Dual Mode-enabled TouchPad interface allows a user to switch between cursor control and icon-based controls on the TouchPad surface. In default mode, a Dual Mode-enabled TouchPad provides the same cursor control for on-screen navigation as a standard TouchPad.

The Company competes with Alps Electric, Elan Microelectronics, Atmel, Cypress and Melfas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Brian Pacampara]

  What: Shares of Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA  ) climbed 11% today after the touch-screen technologist raised its outlook for the current quarter. �

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Synaptics Inc. (SYNA) �surged 18% to $78.34 on moderate volume after the touch-screen company said it had agreed to acquire smartphone- and tablet-display driver company Renesas SP Drivers Inc and raised its forth-quarter revenue outlook to a range of $300 million to $310 million.

• [By jaggom]

  In January, chip creator Synaptics (SYNA) was being scorned on the Street after blended second-quarter results, and was the subject of a downsize by Oppenheimer because of its high valuation. Slice to the present, and Wall Street analysts now anticipate that Synaptics will hit $100 from its present levels of around $60.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  You got me there
  In these specific use cases, Apple simply can't compete. Short of calling up Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA  ) and incorporating the company's ClearPad technology and its 3D-Touch capabilities, the iPhone will never know when you're about to touch it. Apple used to tap Synaptics for iPod click-wheel sensors, but that was a long time ago. The Samsung design win has given Synaptics a nice pop, since the GS4 is bound to bring in abundant unit volumes.

Hot Computer Hardware Companies To Buy For 2015: Makism 3D Corp (MDDD)

Makism 3D Corp., incorporated on May 4 2010, is a three dimensional (3D) printer manufacturing company. The Company produces consumer and professional grade 3D printers. The Company�� flagship product, branded as the Wideboy family of printers, offers packaging designed to fit any office or professional space.

Its 3D printers utilize British and German engineered components. Its printers are assembled in Cambridge (United Kingdom).

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Udovich]

  Although the subject of a recent market correction,�3D printing and 3D printer stocks like�3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD), Stratasys, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS), ExOne Co (NASDAQ: XONE)�and Makism 3D Corp. (OTCBB: MDDD) largely remain hot, but what strategy should investors and/or traders alike take moving forward? Just consider the following latest news about the 3D printing industry or�3D printer stocks:

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Well, as it turns out, the snake that bit L&L Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:LLEN) and Sovereign Lithium Inc. (OTCMKTS:SLCO) didn't end up biting Makism 3D Corp. (OTCMKTS:MDDD). And in retrospect, that's probably how it should be. Indeed, the fact that MDDD didn't even come close to suffering the same fate as SLCO or LLEN did may be the biggest assurance Makism 3D fans could hope for that the company is everything it says it is.

• [By John Udovich]

  We are two trading weeks into the new year and the 3D printing sector along with 3D printer stocks like ExOne Co (NASDAQ: XONE), Stratasys, Ltd (NASDAQ: SSYS),�3D Systems Corporation (NYSE: DDD) and Makism 3D Corp (OTCBB: MDDD) have been printing their share of red ink for investors���despite the fact that 3D printing got� plenty of attention at�last week's�Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas while the�broader stock market rally has largely held up. With that in mind, here is the latest 3D printer stock or sector news you need to be aware of: