THE CONNECTED HOME TECH BLOG
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF HOME-TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND VIEWS PAUL THURROTT
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[3/13/2006]
Sony to Ship Media-Friendly PSP Revision in Time for the Holidays
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Responding to customer demands for a version of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) that is better configured for watching recorded TV shows and movies, Sony will reissue the PSP later this year in a new configuration that includes 4GB of internal storage. Today, PSP users have to put up with the Memory Stick Duo slot, which requires expensive add-on memory cards, if they want to increase the PSP's storage allotment. The new PSP will also include an integrated camera, according to reports. It's about time, but I'd also like to see a larger hard disk-equipped version with 60GB or 80GB of...
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[3/13/2006]
Microsoft Kills EFI Support in Windows Vista
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
If you're reading that headline and wondering what the heck it means, you must have missed the deflated sighs of Intel-based Mac users everywhere. Last week, Microsoft quietly revealed that it wouldn't be supporting the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), a BIOS replacement for modern PCs. EFI is used in all of Apple's Intel-based Macs, so many people (including myself) had expected to be able to dual boot between Mac OS X and Windows Vista on those machines. Now, that state of nerdvana is no longer possible, so most people will probably return to their previous plan: Using PCs but lusting after...
LAST COMMENT
Who would want a Mac? PC's Rule!...
Whatever -March 15, 2006
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[3/13/2006]
Cingular, T-Mobile Halt RAZR Sales
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Citing a bizarre bug in a batch of bad phones, two of the United States' largest mobile carriers, Cingular and T-Mobile, have stopped selling Motorola's hot RAZR cell phone. First introduced in 2004, the RAZR has sold more than 12 million units and is known for its edgy style and thin form factor. But a curious bug in GSM versions of the phone (i.e., those versions that are sold only in the United States) has had mobile carriers fuming since earlier this month. Finally, both Cingular and T-Mobile had to stop selling the phone while they figured out which ones were bad. Motorola says it hopes to begin selling the phones again in the United...
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Your Comments (required):...
Name (required): -February 07, 2007
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[3/13/2006]
Internet Coughs Up Details About Covert CIA Agents, Facilities
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
When a high-ranking White House official outed CIA operative Valerie Plame as payback for her husband's lack of support for the Iraq war, it was big news, and it's still not clear whether the blame lies with "Scooter" Libbey, Karl Rove, or even Vice President Dick Cheney. But that unsolved mystery pales in comparison with what the Chicago Tribune says it was able to find on the public Internet. Using nothing more complicated than widely available Web resources, the newspaper discovered the identities of more than 2600 CIA employees, many of whom are covert agents. Additionally, the paper identified two dozen secret CIA facilities....
LAST COMMENT
Isn´t it time already to expose all these people who live in war-games scenarios?
Make them look at...
Luis Rego -March 14, 2006
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[3/8/2006]
Hack A Mac: University Briefly Puts Up OS X Hack Contest
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Complaining that a previously reported successful Mac OS X hack attempt was "woefully misleading," Dave Schroeder of the University of Wisconsin put a Mac mini on the Web this past Monday and challenged hackers to break in. However, after pledging to keep the Mac online through Friday, Schroeder pulled the Mac offline Tuesday, stating that "the test [had] illustrated its point" because the Mac had not been hacked. However, even Schroeder admitted that his short-lived test didn't actually prove the Mac's resiliency, as it was really just a test of the Apache Web server's security capabilities. Because Mac guys aren't as used to being hacked...
LAST COMMENT
While I agree that Apple's users benefit from its smaller base when it comes to virus and other mali...
Bob Barker -March 08, 2006
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[3/7/2006]
Lackluster New iPod Accessories Only an Apple Fanatic Could Love ... Or Buy
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Apple Computer promised "fun new products" at a special launch event last week. Well, at least they got the "new products" part right. The company introduced a couple of pretty boring iPod accessories, including an overly expensive boombox called the iPod Hi-Fi, which doesn't actually include an iPod, making its name a bit suspicious, and an overly expensive leather iPod carrying case. After several years of exciting product announcements, Apple was bound to bomb at least once, but no one really saw this coming. What happened to the iPod AV with full-length movie download service we were expecting?...
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[3/7/2006]
Verizon Customers Can Program TiVo Through Phones
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Digital Video Recorder (DVR) pioneer TiVo announced a partnership with Verizon that will result in Verizon customers being able to schedule TiVo TV recordings from their cell phones. The new service, called TiVo Mobile, will go online mid-year and will likely be offered on other carriers as well. However, it could come with an added cost, although TiVo isn't admitting that just yet. You know, I thought it was annoying when people talked in cars and configured custom ring tones. If I catch anyone scheduling American Idol through a cell phone, I might just...
LAST COMMENT
Does Verizon charge you $13.95 a month for the service? Oh, I forgot, that's TiVO. HA!...
Siegel -March 08, 2006
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[3/7/2006]
Apple Launches Intel Mac Mini with Price Increase, Integrated Graphics
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Last week, Apple Computer continued its transition to Intel microprocessors with the release of the new Mac mini, which looks and acts identically to the old PowerPC-based Mac mini that Apple was previously selling. There are just a few problems. Whereas Apple used to be able to sell the mini as the "sub-$500" Macintosh, the new Mac mini comes with a base price of $599, or about $100 more than the model it replaces. Worse, the new version includes an integrated graphics controller that steals memory away from the system. That means virtually all Mac mini customers will need to pony up some more money as well, because we all know 512MB isn't...
LAST COMMENT
Helen Keller still wants one...
Jobu -March 08, 2006
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[2/28/2006]
Blu-Ray Launch Coming in Late May
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
After years of talk and an abortive attempt at aligning with its rivals in the HD-DVD camp, Sony and its partners will launch their first Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Disc (BD) software titles in late May. Samsung will be first out of the gate with Blu-ray hardware, followed by Sony and Pioneer. BD movies that will ship on May 23 include 50 First Dates, The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, A Knight’s Tale, The Last Waltz, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and XXX. What, no Hudson Hawk? More BD titles are expected throughout the remainder of the year, Sony says, with prices...
LAST COMMENT
Let 'em swim in a sea of unsold media. Consumers are too smart to fall prey to this 80"s version of ...
Southpaw -March 01, 2006
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[2/28/2006]
iPod Co-Creator Helps iPod Competitor
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
One of the people responsible for the iPod UI (and no, it wasn't an Apple Computer employee) has jumped shipped to rival MP3 maker Samsung to help that company create an alleged iPod killer. Paul Mercer, a cofounder of the company Pixio, which designed the iPod UI for Apple, has helped Samsung create its latest MP3 player, the Z5. Due in March, the Samsung Z5 will feature a UI that rivals that of the iPod for simplicity and ease of use. However, unlike the iPod, the Z5 includes killer battery life (a whopping 35 hours) and—sigh—works with Microsoft's lackluster PlaysForSure initiative, and not with the iTunes Music Store. So,...
LAST COMMENT
I don't find the iPod's characteristics in the UI superior to other MP3 players at all. I much pref...
Bob Janoske -March 01, 2006
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