Tag Archive for 'about'

TiVo Will Offer Disney Movies, TV Critic as Downloads

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on May 29, 2008
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On the heels of The Netflix Player by Roku announcement and in the face of rumors about Blockbuster preparing to announce its own set-top box for streaming videos, TiVo is inking some deals of its own.

TiVo subscribers will soon be able to download movies from the Walt Disney Studios to broadband-connected TiVo DVRs directly from the TV. Subscribers will also be able to receive recommendations for TV shows from the Chicago Tribune and have them automatically recorded.


Downloading Disney

TiVo will make Disney titles available to rent through an agreement with Disney-ABC
and CinemaNow. The companies will offer the movies for a 24-hour period in standard definition, with many also available in high definition.

“Adding Disney movies really delivers on TiVo’s promise to offer the best television entertainment experience with unlimited content choices that are easy to navigate across broadcast, cable, and broadband using one device, one remote, and one user interface,” said Tara Maitra, vice president and general manager of content services at TiVo.

The service will be available to all broadband-connected TiVo Series2 and Series3 subscribers later this year. TiVo offers more than 30,000 titles through Amazon Unbox, Music Choice and more than 50 other content providers. The company recently announced that TiVo subscribers will be able to access YouTube videos directly on a TV via the TiVo DVR this summer.


TV Critic Comes to TiVo

TiVo this week also announced a partnership with the Chicago Tribune to deliver the recommendations of the newspaper’s TV critic, Maureen Ryan, directly to subscribers’ televisions while TiVo automatically records the recommended shows listed in the newspaper’s TV grids.

Ryan’s authoritative and popular print and online column, The Watcher, has made her, according to the entertainment trade publication Variety, one of the TV industry’s “favorite (or most feared)” newspaper TV critics. TiVo subscribers will also be able to download…

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Despite Bill Gates’ Comments, Windows 7 Due in 2010

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on May 27, 2008
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This spring, as the technology industry raised ever-louder complaints about Windows Vista, Bill Gates amped up expectations for the next version of the operating system, referred to simply as Windows 7. Speaking in Miami in April, the Microsoft chairman said, “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version,” and then went on to extol the virtues of Windows 7, including “the ability to be lower-power, take less memory, be more efficient, and have lots more connections.”

Gates talked about Windows 7 as being a much-improved platform for gaming, connecting to mobile devices, interacting with the Internet and synchronizing files between computers. All that led to speculation that businesses could sit out Vista — and wait until the release of Windows 7.

While it’s still not clear what Gates meant by his “next year” comment, Windows chief Steven Sinofsky told CNET that the release is scheduled for January 2010, putting the new version on a three-year development track, compared to the six years it took to release Vista.

Asked directly about Gates’ comments, Sinofsky refused to bite, simply reiterating the 2010 time frame: “We’ve been very clear, and will continue to say, that the next release of Windows, Windows 7, is about three years after the general availability of Windows Vista, and we’re committed to that, and we’ve signed up publicly to do that.”

Better Communication

While Microsoft has traditionally talked up Windows versions far before their actual release, the Windows group has been far quieter under Sinofsky’s rule than under predecessor Jim Allchin. That’s not unrelated to the experience with Windows, he said.

“The reactions that we’ve had to some of the lessons learned in Windows Vista are really playing into our strategy of getting together a great plan for Windows 7, and working with all the partners in…

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Robot Grasshopper (Video)

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on May 23, 2008
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Robot Grasshopper

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=ADiHexd3UcY

This tiny little robot weighs only 7 grams and can jump 1.4 meters (3.3 feet) straight up into the air. That is 27 times its own height. Here is a video clip of the robotic grasshopper in action:

These jumpers could be fitted out with tiny sensors to explore rough, inaccessible terrain or to aid in search and rescue operations.

“This biomimetic form of jumping is unique because it allows micro-robots to travel over many types of rough terrain where no other walking or wheeled robot could go,” explains EPFL Professor Dario Floreano.

“These tiny jumping robots could be fitted with solar cells to recharge between jumps and deployed in swarms for extended exploration of remote areas on Earth or on other planets.”

Read more about the robot grasshopper over at EPFL.

(Live Science via BotJunkie via Prylfeber)

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In Wi-Fi Arena, a Middle Ground Emerges on Free and Paid

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The battle between free and paid wireless Internet access is starting to look like a draw. Or more accurately, a third variation is winning: a combination of the two.

Travelers want to log on everywhere at no charge, while hotels, airports and coffee shops are looking for a way to pay for their Wi-Fi networks as visitors increasingly use greater amounts of bandwidth.

The compromise that is emerging is to offer both free and paid options, with the free services increasingly requiring something in return, like viewing an advertisement or signing up for a loyalty program.

“Our position is, give the user a choice,” said David Blumenfeld, a senior vice president with JiWire, which publishes an online directory of free hot spots but also sells ads displayed on public Wi-Fi networks. “It’s not an argument about free versus paid,” he said. “It’s free and paid.”

Starbucks is probably the biggest example of that model. In February, the company announced plans to switch to AT&T from T-Mobile as the Internet provider in its U.S. stores.

When AT&T takes over, customers who use their Starbucks card once a month will get two hours of free Wi-Fi access each day. Otherwise, that same time period will cost $3.99, or $19.99 for a monthly unlimited access plan.

Sanja Gould, a spokeswoman for Starbucks, said its Wi-Fi users typically spent an hour logged on. So, she said, the company views two hours of free access as a “meaningful benefit” for customers who buy a Starbucks card.

In other words, loyalty has its benefits, and these days, free Internet access is one of them.

Omni Hotels, which used to offer free Wi-Fi, switched to a dual pricing model about 18 months ago. Now, guests at the U.S. chain can get free in-room wireless access by signing up for Omni’s Select Guest program, an option…

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Apple Inks Latin American Partnership Deal for iPhone

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In another step in the worldwide march of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, the top mobile phone operator in Latin America said Wednesday that it has inked a deal to bring the multimedia gadget to more than a dozen countries starting later this year.

America Movil SAB, controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, said it plans to bring the iPhone to all of its Latin American operations but didn’t offer more details about the arrangement, including whether it would be the exclusive iPhone provider in the targeted countries.

Apple has so far struck exclusive deals for the iPhone with AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom’s Orange wireless arm in France.

The company plans further expansion later this year through the partnership with Mexico City-based America Movil, which boasts 159.2 million subscribers in 16 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

A spokeswoman for America Movil said the company had no further comment beyond the short press release announcing the partnership.

In the past couple of weeks, Apple has also signed deals with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell the device in Canada; Milan-based Telecom Italia SpA to sell the iPhone in Italy; and Vodafone Group PLC, the world’s biggest mobile company by sales, to sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey.

The announcements are all important steps for Cupertino-based Apple as it looks to expand sales of the iPhone, the combination iPod-cell phone-Internet device that went on sale last June in the U.S.

But many consumers in countries where Apple has not struck iPhone deals with mobile operators are using them already. They’re using “unlocked” iPhones that have been modified to work over any cellular network, a sign of the growing worldwide demand for the phones that has also irked Apple, which has…

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Web Site Flap Prompts Alaska Democrat To Give Up House Race

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A Democratic congressional candidate abruptly dropped out of the race Wednesday and said a former campaign worker was linked to an Internet smear aimed at a rival.

Jake Metcalfe said he had known nothing about a scheme to redirect Internet users searching for fellow Democrat Ethan Berkowitz to bogus sites intended to harm Berkowitz’s candidacy. But he added, “It appears that a former campaign worker was involved in these acts, and I condemn them.”

Metcalfe, former chairman of the Democratic Party in Alaska, said he takes responsibility and apologized to Berkowitz on Wednesday.

The disputed Web sites contained variations of Berkowitz’s name but were not associated with the candidate’s campaign. When users clicked on the Web sites, they were directed to pages that attempted to portray Berkowitz as a privileged California liberal or to gay cultural sites in San Francisco.

“I made a mistake by not taking these allegations more seriously from the beginning,” Metcalfe said.

Berkowitz said Wednesday it is time to move past the Web site flap. Married with two children, he has roots in San Francisco but has lived since 1990 in Alaska, where he has served as a prosecutor and legislator.

“I think it’s time to close a chapter and go back to what we should have been doing all along, which is talking about the direction the state is taking,” Berkowitz said.

Metcalfe’s former campaign manager, Dana Krawchuk, claimed that his political adviser Bill Scannell talked about such a scheme last year in front of her and Metcalfe.

Scannell has denied establishing the fake Web sites but he resigned last week, saying the allegations were hurting Metcalfe.

Metcalfe said Wednesday he had not determined that Scannell was behind the ruse.

“I’ve talked to Bill. Bill denies it’s him, but the evidence shows he may have had something to do with it,” Metcalfe said.

Metcalfe said he…

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Hackers’ Posts on Epilepsy Forum Cause Migraines, Seizures

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Computer attacks typically don’t inflict physical pain on their victims.

But in a rare example of an attack apparently motivated by malice rather than money, hackers recently bombarded the Epilepsy Foundation’s Web site with hundreds of pictures and links to pages with rapidly flashing images.

The breach triggered severe migraines and near-seizure reactions in some site visitors who viewed the images. People with photosensitive epilepsy can get seizures when they’re exposed to flickering images, a response also caused by some video games and cartoons.

The attack happened when hackers exploited a security hole in the foundation’s publishing software that allowed them to quickly make numerous posts and overwhelm the site’s support forums.

Within the hackers’ posts were small flashing pictures and links — masquerading as helpful — to pages that exploded with kaleidoscopic images pulsating with different colors.

“They were out to create seizures,” said Ken Lowenberg, senior director of Web and print publishing for the foundation.

He said legitimate users are no longer able to post animated images to the support forum or create direct links to other sites, and it is now moderated around the clock. He said the FBI is investigating the breach.

Security experts said the attack highlights the dangers of Web sites giving visitors great freedom to post content to different parts of the site.

In another recent attack, hackers exploited a simple coding vulnerability in Sen. Barack Obama’s Web site to redirect users visiting the community blogs section to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s official campaign site.

The hackers who infiltrated the Epilepsy Foundation’s site didn’t appear to care about profit. The harmful pages didn’t appear to try to push down code that would allow the hacker to gain control of the victims’ computers, for instance.

“I count this in the same category of teenagers who think it’s funny to put a cat in…

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Joint Sprint, Clearwire Network Could Boost Consumer Power

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Sprint Nextel Corp. has finally rounded up the financial backing it needs to build a faster wireless network. But for consumers and the electronics industry, speed may be the least important thing about the new network.

Though specifics are scant, everything points to the new network breaking with the current model of the U.S. wireless industry, where carriers both operate the service and sell the devices that use it.

Right now, when you buy a Sprint phone, you use it on the Sprint network, and Sprint picks the applications, like TV services, that come with the phone.

Sprint has indicated the new network will be run on an “open access” basis, where anyone with a compatible device can connect it.

If everything works well, this could lead to a proliferation of cell phones, Web tablets, computers, TV set-top boxes, GPS devices and gadgets we haven’t even dreamt of. Manufacturers will be free to make gadgets that can ride on the network, without striking a deal with the carrier first.

Rather than buying a cell phone with a monthly minute plan, you could be buying a device that gives you unlimited use of voice-over-Internet services like eBay Inc.’s Skype.

“That’s the real power of having this open access — it unleashes innovation,” said Bob Williams, who tracks telecommunications for the Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports.

For example, Nokia Corp., not Sprint, will be selling the first portable gadget that’s likely to be available for the network. It’s a Web tablet that looks like an oversize iPhone and costs about $500.

You’ll buy it without a contract, and when the WiMAX network is available, the device will tell you, much like a laptop will alert you when Wi-Fi is available. You’ll then have the option to sign up for an Internet plan through the Web browser.

There could be…

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24ct gold iphone Solar Star edition

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on April 30, 2008
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I’d just received a mail from Goldstriker about their new released 24ct gold iphone Solar Star edition. Its design plays a major role in the ‘Elite choice’ collection designed by Goldstriker’s very own Stuart Hughes. Alright that’s cool, the front bezel and the rear logo are struck with 24 carat gold. The white may look ordinary for you but it’s not that ordinary as you think as it is finish in the exact color match of the Lamborghini Gallardo’s Balloon white. It’s going for £750, order one at Goldstriker.

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Yet Another 3D Display, But Do We Really Want It?

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on April 29, 2008
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puredepth.jpg

Be honest. Do you really care about 3D displays? It’s a Sci-Fi staple, sure, but I can think of only one real use for it, and I’ll call it holoconferencing. Having a real hologram instead of a fuzzy Skype webcam video would make videoconferencing much more natural, but for entertainment purposes, 3D is more of a gimmick. Adding a z-axis to a movie makes for great monster shots, but would it add anything to, say, There Will Be Blood?

History is littered with attempts to add a third dimension: the humble Viewmaster, green and red Anaglyph images and the venerable TomyTronic. The trouble is, they all rely on special viewers to create the 3D illusion. PureDepth’s new Multi-layer Display (MLD) is no different, although it takes an interesting new approach. Two or more LCD screens are layered and share the same backlight. Much like the parallax effect in 8-bit video games, or a depth-expanded set of cartoon cells, the separated layers add the third dimension. Add in some fancy programming and PureDepth says it achieves “remarkable and eye-catching results for static images and even more so with full in-motion video sequences”.

PureDepth, who already announced a collaboration with Samsung to build a giant 3D display, is now planning to add MLD to cellphones. The fruits of this should show up this year and will predictably be targeted at gaming. But will anybody buy them?

Product page [PureDepth. Thanks Kyna!]

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