THE CONNECTED HOME TECH BLOG
YOUR DAILY DOSE OF HOME-TECHNOLOGY NEWS AND VIEWS PAUL THURROTT
|
|
[2/6/2006]
Apple Faces iPod-Based Hearing Loss Lawsuits
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Apple Computer is facing at least two lawsuits that claim the company's iPod MP3 players contribute to hearing loss. Aside from the notion of common sense, the issue appears to be that Apple doesn't provide any warnings in its iPod packaging that listening to music with the device at loud volumes for long periods of time can permanently damage users' hearing. According to one lawsuit, iPods are "inherently defective in design and are not sufficiently adorned with adequate warnings regarding the likelihood of hearing loss." As a sufferer of tinnitus, I can corroborate the fact that iPods and other MP3 players can contribute to hearing loss:...
LAST COMMENT
Turning up music to loud thru headsets have been available for how long? 40, 50 years? I say slap t...
Joe -February 08, 2006
|
[2/6/2006]
Dell Discontinues Hard Drive-Based MP3 Players
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
After getting pummeled in the MP3 market for 3 years, computer giant Dell has opted to stop selling its hard drive-based Dell DJ products. According to the company, the Dell DJs just couldn't steal market share from market leader Apple Computer. Dell will continue to sell its flash RAM-based Dell DJ Ditty devices, however. "We saw an opportunity to streamline and consolidate our portfolio," a Dell spokesperson said. "We made a decision to transition from the hard-drive products to flash players at the beginning of this year." Fear not, Dell fans. Dell continues to outsell Apple in the computer market by a factor of almost 9 to...
LAST COMMENT
although I would buy an ipod vs adell DJ to a 9:1 ratio we must realize that dell still offers flash...
ki829 -February 07, 2006
(Article Rating:  )
|
[2/6/2006]
Opera Gets All Widgety
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
This week, browser maker Opera—yes, it's still around—announced a new beta version of its flagship product, the eponymously named Opera Web browser. Opera 9 beta 2 will include a new feature called widgets, which frankly aren't all that new if you're familiar with technologies such as Desktop X, Konfabulator, Apple Dashboard, or the Sidebar feature in Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista release. Essentially a set of HTML-like gadgets that run in a unique run-time environment, these widgets provide functionality such as a clock and other related utilities. Earth-shattering? Not really. But in a bid to differentiate itself from...
LAST COMMENT
Eponymously named? Redundantly repeated? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)...
Maggie Mc -February 08, 2006
|
[1/30/2006]
ABC Prepares for Super Bowl HD Extravaganza
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Football fans are already quite familiar with HDTV presentations, but this year's Super Bowl will be the most impressive HD event of all time, with multiple camera angles, dozens of HD commercials, and the largest worldwide viewership ever. Indeed, SuperBowl XL (40) will be one of the most technologically advanced events ever, with the possible exception of Bill Gates' last birthday party. The HD cameras used at the event are all outfitted with Canon's latest image-stabilization technology, for the most stable possible image. They're also going to include amazing zoom capabilities, providing viewers with in-close action shots that will...
LAST COMMENT
It will be a welcomed change to have more of the commercials in HD as well. Not because I care to se...
Brian -February 01, 2006
|
[1/30/2006]
TV Studios Raking it in with iTunes TV Show Downloads
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
According to a JPMorgan Chase analyst, TV conglomerates are winning big with the iTunes Music Store, which now offers individual TV show episodes for $1.99. Shows such as Lost and CSI generate about 57 cents in advertising revenue per viewer on TV, but generate a whopping $1.44 per episode when purchased from iTunes. "There is a growing realization by content producers, distributors, and buyers that they will able to generate more revenue across a spectrum of wireless digital broadband devices and platforms than has ever been possible in an advertising-dependent model," the Hollywood Reporter notes. This new model, in which...
LAST COMMENT
Since I have not yet used iTunes or viewed any of this content I don't know if these episodes are co...
DrJoe -February 01, 2006
|
[1/30/2006]
Nintendo Preps DS Lite
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
While Nintendo is working away on a new GameBoy design, the company also recently confirmed that it will soon update its Nintendo DS handheld game machine with a new model dubbed DS Lite. The DS Lite will feature a smaller form factor than it predecessor and be available in an iPod-like white enclosure; the company says both of these factors led to the new name. Like the original DS, the new model will play all GameBoy Advance and DS titles, and will utilize a two-screen, clamshell design. It should ship to Japan in March and to the United States later this year. No word yet on...
MAKE A COMMENT
|
[1/30/2006]
Xbox 360 Holiday Sales ... As Good as They Could Have Been
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
It's still hard to know how Microsoft's Xbox 360 fared during the holidays. Stung by a parts shortage and an ill-advised near-simultaneous launch in its three biggest markets, Xbox 360 could have sold much better. On the other hand, it was the number-one most requested tech gift of the holidays, and if Microsoft can ramp up production, the company should sell a ton of Xbox 360s this quarter. According to the software giant, it sold 1.5 million Xbox 360 consoles in the previous quarter, far fewer than the 3 million it originally projected, but still on track for 4 to 5 million by the end of June 2006. Of those 1.5 million consoles, 900,000...
LAST COMMENT
The comment about attach rates is very misleading. Most stores were only selling the Xbox 360 is "m...
Dean -February 01, 2006
|
[1/23/2006]
Disney Buys Pixar
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
This week, Disney and Pixar reached a $7.4 billion blockbuster deal in which Pixar will become part of Disney, and Pixar (and Apple) CEO Steve Jobs will become Disney's largest shareholder and a member of the Disney board of directors. Pixar, of course, is the maker of such fine computer-generated films as The Incredibles and Toy Story, and to date, all its films have been distributed by Disney, which, of course, was a one-time innovator of animated movies. What's most interesting about this potential deal is that it would firmly place Steve Jobs atop Hollywood's mogul list, as he would at least partially control at least two...
LAST COMMENT
Wise move. Michael Eisner just about destroyed Disney's animation department with a string of lousy ...
JS -January 25, 2006
|
[1/23/2006]
Steve Jobs Zings Michael Dell
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Apple CEO Steve Jobs had some choice words for Dell CEO Michael Dell last week when Apple's stock price surged and, at least temporarily, made Apple a bigger company that PC leader Dell. At issue were statements Mr. Dell made a few years ago, when then-struggling Apple suggested that Jobs should simply sell off the company's technology so that its shareholders could retain at least some value. In an email message to employees, Jobs took Mr. Dell to task. "It turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future," Jobs told them. "Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and...
LAST COMMENT
i saw a vacancy from connectedhomemag. on a paper and i want to apply but i cant find it on the webs...
PHILIP KING -January 24, 2006
|
[1/23/2006]
Apple Rips Off Yet Another Ad
- Posted by: Paul Thurrott
Apple Computer is frequently praised as an innovator, but I've often pointed out things in its products that were stolen wholeheartedly from the competition, such as the UI for the iPod and the Fast User Switching feature in Mac OS X. It turns out, however, that Apple doesn't just steal technology. It also steals advertising. Last year, Apple got in a lot of trouble for ripping off a Lugz ad in a surprisingly similar iTunes ad featuring Eninem. This week, the company is in trouble again, for the same reason: It's new ad about Intel chips in Macs is almost identical to a music video by the band called The Postal Service, and that band is now...
LAST COMMENT
I am very disappointed with the constant need for "Monopolistic Type Competitors" to steal or fabric...
Allison Broome -January 25, 2006
|
|
