THE CONNECTED HOME TECH BLOG
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF HOME-TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND VIEWS PAUL THURROTT
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[5/24/2006]
Apple, Nike Combine Sneakers with iPod
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Here's an odd but interesting combination. This week, Apple Computer announced a new iPod add-on called the iPod Sport Kit. Once you have the complete set—an iPod, the add-on, and a sneaker-based sensor—you can work out and get data on your progress in real time. The software provides voice-based information, including training data and even inspiration if you seem to be falling behind in your workout. (I'm imagining something like, "Let's move it, fatty!") Furthermore, a new Nikeplus.com Web site can track your workout progress over time, so you can see how far you've come. Not too...
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Name (required): -May 29, 2006
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[5/24/2006]
New Webcams on the Way for Windows Live Messenger
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Creative, Logitech, and Microsoft all announced new Web cameras this week for Windows Live Messenger (WLM), Microsoft's currently-in-beta instant messaging (IM) solution for Windows. The Creative unit is particularly interesting, with a 1.3-megapixel video camera capable of 5-megapixel still images and a background-noise-canceling microphone setup. It looks like a decent buy for less than $100, and if you're looking to take advantage of WLM's new Voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities, it's not a bad way to...
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Name (required): -May 24, 2006
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[5/24/2006]
New SPOT Watches Available... For Some Reason
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
I think it's fair to say that Microsoft's SPOT watch initiative hasn't exactly resonated with users, due largely to the gargantuan sizes of the watches, which has forced the company's partners to market them only to niche watch markets in which large watches are a way of life (think extreme sports). Well, SPOT 2.0 is on the way, and watches based on the new version will sport "more ergonomic" designs, color screens, and other features. Note to Microsoft: If these things aren't demonstrably smaller, you need to just give it up. I think the market has already absorbed as many enormous watches as it can...
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Note to Microsoft: You need to just give it up. Period....
Jack -May 24, 2006
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[5/24/2006]
Dell Copying Apple's Retail Strategy
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
PC giant Dell is taking its first tentative steps into retail, emulating the path blazed a few years back by Apple Computer. The company will open two retail stores—one in Dallas and one near New York City—where it will offer consumers a chance to get hands-on experience with Dell computers, notebooks, widescreen TVs, and other products. But unlike Apple, Dell won't stock merchandise at its stores. Instead, the company will continue to use its direct-ordering system and let customers purchase products online from the stores. Dell also has more than 160 product kiosks at malls and airports around the United States, but this move...
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Didn't Gateway try this a few years back with their Gateway Country stores? It wasn't successful for...
Stavros -May 24, 2006
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[5/16/2006]
Creative Sues Apple
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
It's certainly true that Apple Computer took a bit of, ahem, "creative license" when it designed the iPod almost two years after it tried to create an alliance with Creative for—surprise, surprise—portable MP3 player technology. After getting the cold shoulder from Creative, Apple did its own thing and created the iPod. There's just one problem: Apple's "own thing" looks a lot like Creative's, and now that Creative has finally been granted the UI patent it applied for over five years ago, the company is suing Apple. At stake: Creative would like US courts to stop Apple from selling the iPod, and it's seeking unspecified damages....
LAST COMMENT
UI Patent = Bogus Crap. Mosaic and Netscape must be kicking themselves for not patenting the Browse...
Dave -May 18, 2006
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[5/16/2006]
Apple Launches iBook Replacement, Finalizes MacBook "Family"
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Apple Computer finally replaced its PowerPC-based iBook line of notebooks (and, curiously, its 12" PowerBook) with a new line of 13.3" widescreen notebooks creatively dubbed the MacBook. The MacBooks, which "complete the MacBook family" along with the 15" and 17" MacBook Pros, come in white and black variants and feature dual-core Core Duo processors, glossy screens, curious chicklet-like keyboards, and built-in Web cameras. Reasonably priced between $1100 and $1800, the MacBook line of notebooks weigh just 5.2 pounds and are as sweet-looking as any iPod. I'm smitten. I'll take mine in white, thank you very...
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[5/16/2006]
First HD DVD Player Underwhelms
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
The reviews are in, and HD DVD is off to an inauspicious start. Toshiba's first HD DVD player, the HD-A1, is a monstrous brick of a machine with a molasses-slow 50-second boot-up time (yes, seriously), a horribly designed remote control, and a bizarre range of error messages. But there's no getting around it: HD DVD playback is truly awe-inspiring. I have to wonder, however, what Toshiba was thinking with the player's case. When Microsoft said HD DVD was the VHS to Blu-ray's Betamax, I'm pretty sure it didn't mean that Toshiba would design a device that looks like it was made in the Betamax era. All that's missing are two huge rotary knobs....
LAST COMMENT
This is a technology best to stay away from until A) it matures, and B) the format wors end. Is ther...
KA -May 17, 2006
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[5/16/2006]
Here Comes MTV URGE. Who Cares?
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
This week, Microsoft finally released its latest Windows Media Player (WMP) version, alongside a brand-new online music service, MTV's URGE, which this time, seriously, is going to offer competition for Apple's dominant iTunes Music Store. OK, nobody really believes that, but surely URGE offers something the other services don't. Let's take a look. It has a la carte downloads for 99 cents, just like everyone else, check. It has two subscription offerings, just like Napster, check. It offers high-quality 192Kbps songs, just like Napster, check. It integrates with WMP and more than 100 devices (but not the iPod), just like Napster, check. And...
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Who cares? Not me. I don't care about any of the download services. In fact, this is also another ex...
Thumbs down -May 17, 2006
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[5/10/2006]
E3: Microsoft Unveils Halo 3, Xbox 360 Accessories and Services
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
At the E3 video game conference on Tuesday, Microsoft announced the game we've all been waiting for, Halo 3, which will ship in 2007 for the Xbox 360. The company also announced a slew of unique Xbox 360 titles that are due in time for the holidays, including Gear of War and Fable 2, and noted that there will be more than 160 Xbox 360 game titles by the end of 2006. Xbox 360 gamers can also look forward to a ton of new hardware accessories this year, including a wireless headset, an HD-DVD player, the Xbox Live Vision video camera, and a 256MB version of the Xbox 360 Memory Unit. Finally, Microsoft also revealed that...
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[5/10/2006]
E3: Sony Unveils PlayStation 3 Pricing, Configurations
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
This week, Sony surprised everyone with exorbitant PlayStation 3 pricing: The base unit will cost a whopping $499, or $200 more than the Xbox 360 Core System. Meanwhile, a higher-end unit will cost—get this—$599, or $200 more than the complete Xbox 360 bundle. For those prices, both units get a Blu-ray optical drive and a motion-sensitive wireless hand controller; the low-end unit gets a 20GB hard disk, and the high-end version upgrades you to a 60GB disk, Memory Stick, Secure Digital (SD) and CompactFlash (CF) inputs, Wi-Fi capabilities, and a single HDMI output. However, Sony is reneging on a number of PlayStation 3 promises:...
LAST COMMENT
Considering what you are getting in the bundle I think the PS3 is well priced. I am not at all conce...
Aleks -May 10, 2006
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