THE CONNECTED HOME TECH BLOG
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF HOME-TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND VIEWS PAUL THURROTT
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[1/2/2006]
Dead or Alive 4 Ships
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
When Microsoft's Xbox 360 launched late last year with 18 game titles, one game was conspicuously absent: Tecmo's eagerly-awaited Dead or Alive 4. Well, fear not, fans of violent fighting games with anime-type graphics and undulating digital breasts: Dead or Alive 4 is now available, bringing the total number of Xbox 360 game titles to a whopping 19. Dead or Alive 4 is very similar to its predecessor, with hyper-realistic yet cartoonish graphics, three new fighter characters, all new environments, and online play. Is it a good game? I guess that depends on where you're coming from. But expect the adolescent-to-teenage...
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[1/2/2006]
Intel Rebrands Itself
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Microprocessor maker Intel will reveal a rebranding of its corporate image this week at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The company is ditching its logo for a new edition and even dropping its decade-old "Intel inside" catch-phrase for a the new "Leap ahead" marketing term. The rebranding comes as Intel is set to replace its Pentium M microprocessors with a new line of Core microprocessors that will ship in both single-core (Core Solo) and dual-core (Core Duo) variants. Intel is also set to launch its ViiV plaform for media center-compatible PCs. And let's not forget Apple Computer: Rumors are that Intel is actually...
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[1/2/2006]
XM Radio Goes HD
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Satellite-radio service provider XM Radio is set to launch a high-definition (HD) version of its service called XM Radio HD Surround. This new offering will provide 5.1 channels of surround sound, and will be accompanied by special channels that output only in surround sound. Naturally, you'll need new XM-compatible hardware to receive the XM Radio HD Surround content, but a variety of hardware makers will show up with new gear. Given that most satellite-radio content today is notable only for its tinny-ness, it's interesting to see XM making such a huge leap ahead in audio quality. I'm sure that will make up for the fact that Howard Stern...
LAST COMMENT
I guess that (along with Sirius huge "Howard-driven" sales upswing) accounts for the dirt cheap sale...
Seth Emerson -January 04, 2006
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[12/27/2005]
Digital TV Switch Due in 2009
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
On February 18, 2009, the United States will switch to all-digital TV broadcasts, forever shutting the door on the analog past. That deadline was finally finalized by the US Senate last week after several months of haggling by TV networks, which have been trying to push the date back since the digital TV switchover was first proposed. The change means that the small minority of US households that still receive TV signals via over-the-air antenna broadcasts will have to update their systems with a digital tuner in order to continue enjoying Matlock...
LAST COMMENT
Why :'( , why can't we have analog...
opcode -December 28, 2005
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[12/27/2005]
Seagate Buys Maxtor
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Storage maker Seagate last week purchased Maxtor, another major storage player, in a blockbuster deal worth $1.9 billion. The newly combined company will be the number-one hard drive maker, leaving just Western-Digital to offer up any competition. What will this mean to you, the eager hard drive buyer? Not much, at first. But Seagate's purchase of Maxtor will eventually result in lower prices. And if you're into trivia, consider this: Seagate was the first company to ever market a hard drive for...
LAST COMMENT
While I have used good hard drives from Seagate, Maxtor, and Western Digital (including my first 10 ...
Bob Janoske -December 28, 2005
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[12/27/2005]
Microsoft to Introduce Xbox Live Diamond Card
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Just in case you're not geeky enough, Microsoft will unveil a free new Xbox Live Diamond Card in January that rewards Xbox Live Gold subscribers with a set of entertainment-related bonuses for being a member. With the Diamond card, for example, users can get discounts at stores, restaurants, and other retailers around the United States. Right now, we know that Ticketmaster, Cambridge Soundworks, Timberland, and McDonald's are on board, but Microsoft says that hundreds more will be announced next year. But I think I know the real reason Microsoft is offering this card: In order to get it, you need to update Microsoft with your current mailing...
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[12/27/2005]
Dell Set to Release 30" LCD Display
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
As of this writing, the single sweetest computer display you can get without mortgaging your house is Dell's 24" 2405FPW, which boasts a 1920x1200 HDTV-compatible resolution and a sweeping widescreen vista for your computer experience. But Dell is set to do this 24" marvel one better, and this new display will officially topple Apple's too-expensive-for-99-percent-of-the-population 30" Apple Cinema HD Display. In January, the company will unveil its 30" 3007WFP, which, like the Apple display, will boast 2560x1600 resolution (!). But unlike the Apple, you won't have to sell your kids into slavery to buy the thing. Sounds like a...
LAST COMMENT
Well, you successfully took a stab at Apple by suggesting that Dell's display would be cheaper, but ...
Dave -December 28, 2005
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[12/19/2005]
It's Official: Xbox 360 Is a Flop in Japan
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Microsoft had big hopes and dreams for Xbox 360 in Japan, given the cold shoulder its predecessor got in that tiny nation, dominated as it is by Sony and its PlayStation 2. Well, cast aside those hopes, Microsoft, because it's official: The Xbox 360 has completely flopped in Japan. After selling just 326,000 Xbox 360 units during the launch period last week, Microsoft set the kind of record it never wanted to set. Xbox 360 actually sold fewer units during its launch even than the doomed original Xbox did, as that prior console sold 556,000 units when it launched in Japan 3 years ago. Likewise, Microsoft was able to sell only about 30 percent...
LAST COMMENT
why don't they just send the remaning xbox 360 over to usa and then they will sell the rest of the x...
brandon -December 19, 2005
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[12/19/2005]
Finally, Verizon Gets a Decent Smartphone
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
As a Verizon Wireless customer, I'm pleased that the service has the best coverage and voice quality in the United States, which is important when you travel as much as I do. But Verizon's Achilles Heel has always been its phone selection. The wireless carrier is slow to adopt leading-edge phones and offer its customers anything better than "buy one phone get one free" bargain-basement crud. That's going to change, if briefly, in early 2006, when Verizon will finally begin offering a Windows Mobile 5.0-based Smartphone, the Treo 700w. Expect the new Treo to be EVDO-compatible, with a 1-megapixel digital camera, 64MB of RAM, Secure Digital...
LAST COMMENT
I just want a PHONE that works. I don't need all this other crap. Verizon does have the best coverag...
Jeff -December 21, 2005
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[12/19/2005]
Dell Recalls 35,000 Laptop Batteries
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
There's nothing quite like watching your laptop battery overheat and burn down the house, but then Dell's recent laptop battery problems aren't quite that severe: They've only damaged tabletops, floors, and other personal effects, according to the company. That said, Dell is recalling 35,000 laptop batteries that were manufactured between October 2004 and October 2005, and replacing them with versions that don't run so hot. The batteries were made for various Latitude, Inspiron, and Precision mobile workstation machines, and you can find out more on the Dell Web...
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