Obama, technology and the future - Part Two

Hopefully you all read the first post on President-Elect Obama, technology and the future (if not, it is here) in which I started addressing what Obama’s election means for the world of tech. Having looked at how Obama will work for an open Internet, I will now delve into Obama’s plans for a connected democracy and infrastructure.

The first thing that Obama has promised to do is to create a more transparent government, a policy that has probably been prompted by the manner in which the Bush administration has been very secretive. He will attempt to do this by “creating a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for America’s citizens” through the use of technology. Presumably, this will be done by extensive use of the Internet, as well as other technology such as mobile phones, as shown in the selection of Joe Biden as his second man.

Secondly, he will attempt to bring government into the 21st century by using technology to reform the way in which the government works. One of the most obvious example of this is the appointment of the US’s first CTO, or Chief Technology Officer. The CTO (who has yet to be named) will be in charge of ensuring that the government stays in line with 21st Century technology as well as working with chief technology and chief information officers. Another of the CTO’s priorities will be to increase broadband penetration, something Obama has criticized the Bush administration for.

That last point is part of the final major point in which he will work to deploy a revised infrastructure will will keep the US in the modern age. In the same way every American has phone connections, Obama hopes to instigate a program to install broadband connections to all Americans regardless of economic or social status.

In all these policies are (so far) incredibly beneficial to Americans, will help to restart the economy, and boost the technology orientated sector. Look out for part three for more policies and an insight into the future.

Source [barackobama.com]

RevisionG4? Taking a look at the Revision3 shake up

If you’re a fan of online video, you’ve probably heard of Revision3. Plenty of people are calling the company “RevisionG4” in light of the recent changes.

Primer

If you’re unfamiliar with Revision3 here’s a quick primer: The company started as a vehicle to produce podcasts like thebroken, systm, and Diggnation. Many new shows followed and lots of familiar faces were added to the mix. Those of us who missed TechTV were comforted with the arrivial of Revision3 along with TWiT.

The shake up

Recently, there have been big changes over at Revision3. Cancellations of shows, distribution deals dropped and personnel changes.

Shows canceled

The following Revision3 shows are no longer in production:

• Pixel Perfect: A Photoshop tutorial program hosted by Photoshop master Bert Monroy.
• Pop Siren: a show aimed at women covering pop culture hosted by Sarah Lane
• Internet Superstar: an interview program where hosts Martin Sargent and Jay Speiden talk with people who are Internet famous.

Officially, there really is no reason Pixel Perfect was canceled. The other two shows apparently “never really found their audience.” The shows have not been retired to the Revision3 Show Archive just yet, but that is a matter of time.

Other changes

More changes occurred recently. Revision3 had been distributing non-Revision3 shows such as Wine Library and Epic Fu. Revision3 will no longer distribute these shows. These programs had a life before Revision3 and will probably continue on their own.

Some new faces are gone and some familiar faces from TechTV no longer have the same association with Revision3. Heather Frank, Sarah Lane, Glenn Mcelhose, Martin Sargent, and Jay Speiden were all let go from their jobs. Sargent and Mcelhose are supposed to have some kind of new roles with Revision3.

Backlash

The Revision 3 blog post announcing the changes has over 200 comments, most of them quite unhappy with the lineup change. Plenty of folks have some choice words for CEO Jim Louderback echoing statements from a particular “Internet Superstar” promo.

Revision3 must be quite aware of its intensely loyal fanbase. They’ve never shied away from open discussions on their forums or the comment section of their blog. They knew there would be a backlash. Why would they take such a step if they were going to be met with such resistance? It’s really quite simple.

RevisionG4?

The fact is Revision3 is a business. The shows that were cut must not have been producing sufficient returns to continue production. It’s as simple as that. Pushing a show that just does not have an audience after quite a test period just doesn’t make sense.

Shows take time to produce. From coming up with show ideas, to shooting, to editing, to posting the shows online with their RSS feeds – all of these things take a tremendous amount of time and energy. Sometimes hard decisions have to be made.

Revision3 has investors that expect a return. Venture capitalists are not in the business of just giving away money with no expectation.

Opportunity

Revision3 hasn’t turned into RevisionG4. G4 took TechTV and made it FUBAR. G4 didn’t just fire talent, they changed the entire format of the network. Revision3 is still producing plenty of tech programming.

When TechTV finally dropped, TWiT and Revision3 were the new places to find the shows you wanted. Right now, anybody can fill the void left by the departure of PixelPerfect, Pop Siren, and Internet Superstar. It’s easy to grab some screen capture software, a camcorder, and some editing software to put together new shows if you want to.

Are you going to fill the void? Do you think Revision3 sold out? Sound off in the comments.

Read [Revision3 Blog]

MySpace Music logoLook out Apple, there could be a company in town with a player to kill the iPod. In all seriousness, MySpace might enter the MP3

In the last few years there has been an influx of fun/pointless/interesting/small/useful USB powered devices, and you will be hard pushed to find something you can’t power using USB. However, amid the rubbish that you can find (like the USB powered fragrance oil burner) there is occasionally one that is genuinely interesting, and this is one of them.

For those of you who think science is cool and wish you had a microscope or who just like looking at small stuff, the USB Microscope is for you. Although perhaps designed for the younger generations, people of any age can have fun looking at anything under a microscope, and in pretty good quality too. It has a resolution of up to 1600x1200 which is not bad and looking at a screen definitely beats looking into a tiny hole. Naturally, there is a pretty good zoom.

The zoom is in fact 200x, which gives you incredibly detailed images of the microscopic world. This microscope allows for stills and also videos to be taken. Unfortunately, the resolution for the latter will in all likelihood be capped at 640x480. All in al,l this is a pretty neat gadget that any aspiring scientist should have, although there is one major drawback…

When you start getting bored of looking at plants and dollar notes, you will find yourself moving onto your own body, and no matter how clean your hands are they always look repulsive after being magnified 200x. And kids? Let them loose on this and you may find your free 2GB online storage will be filled of horrible pictures of cuts and scars—not nice! But I have to say this is definitely worth the $90 price tag.

Source [EverythingUSB]

MySpace to create an MP3 player?

Look out Apple, there could be a company in town with a player to kill the iPod. In all seriousness, MySpace might enter the MP3 player department, a place where Apple’s iPod has dominated for quite a while now.

At the Web 2.0 Summit meeting on Thursday, MySpace co-founder and Chief Executive, Chris DeWolfe, shed some light on the fact that MySpace could develop a music player, but nothing is set in stone.

MySpace has used music a lot to make their site bigger and bigger. Many small (and large) bands use MySpace as a way to share their music. They even launched a new service, called MySpace Music, which works with popular music labels including Sony BMG Music, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

With this agreement, MySpace is able to offer more services such as music streaming, music and ringtone downloads, ticket purchases, video streaming, and other music merchandise. Since they already offer so much music related content, it would kind of make sense for MySpace to pursue the portable music player industry. However, DeWolfe also added that, “Right now, we’re just focusing on the service.”

An interesting point that DeWolfe adds is:

“If anything, we’ll be accretive to iPod sales as people use MySpace Music to download more music and videos for their iPods. Unless we develop a device.”

If they truly believe all their content being downloaded are making people buy iPods more, then maybe they would develop a player so people who download their music buy their player as well. Now, I can’t say I agree with MySpace making a player because their primary niche is the social networking industry and MySpace Music. For them to create an actual player, it sounds just as crazy as Apple making a social networking site.

Read [Reuters]

Vodafone to offer Dell Inspiron Mini 9 for free, but with a catch

Quickly following the announcement of the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 earlier this month, Vodafone made their own announcement about the upcoming availability of a subsidized model that was expected to be available “in late September.”

At the time the details were light, and pricing was still unknown. The latest addition to this story comes as a little bit of good news and some bad news. First with the good news, Vodafone users will be able to get the Mini 9 for free with a two-year agreement at £25 (around $45 US) a month. So far it sounds good, but this is where the bad news comes in: the data plan only offers 1GB of transfer per month.

Sure, most users tend to use quite a bit less than what they actually believe they are using, however 1GB is really low. Personally, I would rather opt to pay for the Mini 9 and just have a data plan on the side as opposed to the bundle. Sure, it may be a little more expensive that way, but at least I would not be limited to just 1GB of transfer.

Via [Reg Hardware]

So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Gadgetell posts for the week of September 14, 2008

Been busy? Haven’t caught all of the great Gadgetell news this week? No problem! Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Old Facebook dead, users forced to use new Facebook
  “ Users logging into Facebook today will be hit with a surprise - old Facebook is gone, and so is the little link in the upper right-hand corner which, for the past few weeks, allowed users to…” MORE »
• Pay to bid? Meet swoopo.com
  “New to the US market is swoopo.com an auction site, but not one like you know and hate love like eBay. No, swoopo is a very different and interesting concept. The price you pay is the cost of bidding plus the ending final…” MORE »
• 3M MPro110 Handheld Projector coming very soon
  “ We at Gadgetell have covered 3M’s Projector for the cellular phone at the beginning of the year, and it appears that 3M has already gone into production and is planning to release the…” MORE »
• Zune 120 hits the store shelves early, Zune 80 price drops
  “ Even though the new Zune 3.0 firmware is set to be officially released on the September 16, a Wal-Mart in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania already has the new Zunes on sale. Thanks to a recently surfaced image, we…” MORE »
• GPhone vs iPhone: Google playing favorites?
  “Two things happened to me yesterday that I believe are related: I read tons about T-Mobile’s GPhone and I searched in vain for a decent Blogger iPhone App. The GPhone is looking pretty slick: touchscreen and a slide out screen revealing…” MORE »
• Dell Inspiron Mini 9 begins to ship, enters customers hands, gets unboxed
  “ Thanks to the magic of the Internet, we can pretty much guarantee that just about every big tech product that is released will be showcased online in the form of multiple unboxings. Overall, these can be a way to make you slightly jealous if…” MORE »
• Crossover Chromium brings Google Chrome to Mac/Linux
  “Codeweavers, the company behind the commercial aspect of the WINE project, has released a Mac and Linux version of Google Chrome after only two weeks since the debut of the Windows version. It isn’t a “real” release by any means. The company even…” MORE »
• Sprint’s HTC Touch Diamond now available
  “ As expected, Sprint has officially added the HTC Touch Diamond to its lineup. As of this posting, the Diamond is just available online, but retail availability is expected to begin soon, possibly as early as…” MORE »
• T-Mobile adds the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 for pre-register
  “Please check out the comment at the end of the first paragraph. T-Mobile seems to be moving forward with the release of the BlackBerry Pearl Flip…” MORE »
• T-Mobile to unveil Android on September 23
  “ The latest information about the upcoming release of Android has T-Mobile making an official announcement on September 23. The Android-powered HTC Dream is expected to be available in late-October, however that is still…” MORE »

Ugly no more on Facebook with this download

Let’s say you are trying to attract potential dates on your social networking site and for some reason, you photograph poorly. We’ve found software that claims it is the solution for you. Portrait Professional allows those non-skilled in Photoshop access to some filters that can remove wrinkles, whiten teeth, change eye color, hair color, etc. Save yourself an explanation of why you look nothing like your Facebook photo when you use your photo and this software for about five minutes.

Yeah, but I kinda know Photoshop

As a self-taught Photoshop junkie, I can accomplish just about most of what is offered in Portrait Professional. The difference then? It would take me a couple of hours to accomplish what they do in about five minutes. Don’t get me wrong, my Photoshop work would probably look better, but not by that much. And since my time is worth over $200 an hour (looking at you, new Editor Iyaz), this software could save you a bundle.

Try before you buy

I tried the free download and while I love try before you buy, the inability to save what you’ve invested tweaking this and that on is a bummer. Once the software opens, you are greeted with a gray/black UI that was pretty intuitive to use. You select a file and begin answering questions about your subject like whether your subject is male or female. Then on to marking where the eye corners are, mouth corners, eyes, hair, you get the idea. Pretty soon, you’ve mapped the face out and then Portrait Professional’s filters begin their work.

Barack, one fine looking candidate

I picked a photo of Obama I just happened to have. If you haven’t figured it out, the actual image is on the left and the touch up version is on the right up above. OK, perhaps I should have spent more than five minutes on it, but you can see that the wrinkles are smoothed, blemishes attended to and scandals thoroughly banished to another realm. What I really liked is the ability to tweak every filter they used via a slider. Makes working on the photo very easy and very intuitive. This is how you want your software UI to work. Well done indeed.

My end result wasn’t that great (I think because I want to see real life blemishes in a candidate - but that is a another story for another day), but the company’s website has a gallery. First before I give you link, a word of caution: the before pictures may scare you. I joshed there should be a Halloween soundtrack accompanying some of them. Just mouse over to see the “befores.” Stay away from the couple: yikes!

The good, the bad, and the but

Now, I’ve said some nice things about the software, here comes the “but”—it is $79.95 to own this software. That price seems a bit high to me (yes, I know how much Photoshop costs) but when great sites like picnikand others offer free online editing, I just don’t see it. Don’t get me wrong, I think the software works well, but unless you are doing a lot of photo touch ups, I am not sure their site is going to be ring up customers. Except to visit that freaky gallery!

Try the demo and let us know what you think: [portraitprofessional.com]

Wall Street woes may mean trouble for mobile phone makers

The nightmare on Wall Street may become one for mobile phone makers and providers as well. The financial markets have long provided them with their most profitable customers, but with over 12,000 workers already out of a job and the possibility of tens of thousands more joining them, tough times could be on the horizon. Experts say RIM, the makers of the ultra popular Blackberry, could be especially hard hit. Palm, HTC and HP also stand to be affected.

Demand is already slowing in the U.S. due to the credit crunch and poor housing market. Cell providers have tried to compensate by offering deeper subsidies on their high end handsets, but if predictions come true, it may not be enough. RIM sold nearly 6 million Blackberries last quarter and is preparing to roll out their much anticipated Blackberry Bold, and that seems to have RIM feeling confident they can ride out the storm.

“No matter how much economic challenge there is, how many people do you know that have given up their mobile?” RIM’s co-chief executive Jim Balsille said on Thursday in Mumbai at the launch of the BlackBerry Bold smartphone in India.

He does have a point. Cell phones have gone from a luxury item to a must have for most people, and they have and will probably continue to be willing to make sacrifices to keep them. RIM’s success in expanding their popularity beyond the business world will also help them, at least for now. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if the prepaid phone industry gains a boost in sales over the next quarter.

Read [Reuters]

Helio Ocean 2, first clear images released

At this point, it is not a secret that the Ocean 2 will be coming. We have already seen the FCC approval come way back in March, and even saw a leaked and blurry shot show up a few months later in June. But sadly, up till now, we have not seen any real quality images of the upcoming device. Now, courtesy of the FCC we have a few shots and not only do they show off a good amount of detail they are also nice and clear.

The Ocean 2 is not expected to hit the market until sometime in January of 2009. But the good news is that aside from these nice images, we also have a few new details. Obviously, from the pics you can see that the Ocean 2 will retain the same dual slider design as the original Ocean which gives you a numeric keypad along with a full QWERTY keyboard so you can show off your texting skills. Otherwise, it is expected to feature a QVGA display, 2-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, EVDO 3G, a microSD card slot, full HTML browser and a touch sensitive navigation pad.

It is interesting to note that in these images the Ocean 2 still retains the Helio branding, of course with the finalization of the Virgin Mobile/Helio merger one cannot help but wonder if the Helio logo will make the final retail version. Continue reading to check out a few more of the FCC’s Ocean 2 images…

Read [FCC] Via [SlashPhone]

Verizon says “soon” for the Blackberry Storm

Watch out iPhone, there’s a Storm on the horizon. Soon to be released by Verizon, the Blackberry Storm just may give the popular iPhone a run for their money.

Originally rumored to be called the “Thunder,” the name became the more powerful “Storm.” And the name just may fit. The device features a 3.2 megapixel camera that takes both stills and video (the iPhone’s 2.0 megapixel camera can’t do video unless you jailbreak it). The Storm also has turn-by-turn navigation (nope, iPhone doesn’t). Want to swap out batteries? The device formerly known as the Storm has a removable battery (sorry, iPhone. We know your users have to go to Apple).

The touchscreen is supposedly a little thicker than the iPhone, but it also has the bare bones control panel. Just four buttons on the bottom. According to an internal Verizon briefing sheet, the Storm will have an “innovative ‘click’ touch screen for smooth, precise text input”. Nice.

Verizon has an exclusive deal to sell the Storm, although no real details are released yet, for price or date. They just say “Soon”.

Via [freep]
Product link: [Verizon’s Storm Page]

Casio’s newest performance shooter, the EX-FH20

Casio is making this case: Every time you press the shutter button, your camera captures just one moment.  But was it the right moment?  For far too many of us, the answer is usually no.

Last January at CES, you might recall my excitement for the Casio EX-F1, a fantastic $999 shooter that captured still images at 60 FPS (frames per second) and movies at 1,200 FPS.  The benefit of this kind of speed is capturing *the* moment.  Not the one where your kid closed his eyes, not the one where you can’t tell if they hit the ball, but the very instant it happened.  It is like an instant recall in photo and video form.

The marketing team at Casio printed the 60 frames they took with the FX1 of a skateboarder doing his thing and put up the pictures for all to see.  In that one second, you could see some great shots and the other 58 or so were what I normally end up with: missed moments.  The FX1 could almost be considered a time machine allowing you to go back and pick the right moment.

Casio has done it again with the new EX-FH20, a camera that brings us the very same technology (albeit at just a slightly slower FPS: 40 for stills and 1,000 for movies) for a remarkable $599.  To appeal to a broader market than the F1, the FH20 is slightly smaller and lighter and features a single function button to make things easy.  The release date for this camera is some time in October.

With a 20x optical zoom, the 9.1 megapixel FH20 also features the same pre-recording feature of the FX1 that captures images before you press the button.  Yes, the camera will record frames before you press the button, allowing you to capture the right moment.  Other features include anti-shake, night filming, and 720P HD video recording capabilities.

Company site [Casio] 

HP intros larger TouchSmart all-in-one PCs, the IQ804 and IQ816

It was only a couple of months ago when HP released the first two models of the TouchSmart all-in-one PC, the 22 inch IQ504 and IQ506. Upon introduction of their TouchSmart line, HP received some negative feedback.  In particular, some wanted a bigger screen and a more powerful PC.  HP has responded by releasing two bigger models, the IQ804 and IQ816 TouchSmart PCs.

With these two new models, HP has increased the LCD sizes of these PC’s from 22 inches to 25.5 inches with 1900x1200 resolution.  At this resolution, you can watch full HD content at 1080P.  The high-end IQ816 boasts an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M video card, an illuminating keyboard, VESA wall mount capability, hardware-encoded TV tuner, four digitally-amplified speakers and a Blu-ray drive.  The IQ804 has all the features of the IQ816 except for the Blu-ray drive.

Both the HP IQ804 and IQ816 belong to the new HP IQ800 series all-in-one TouchSmart PC series which is being touted to deliver a new level of home-theater entertainment. HP will start shipping the IQ804 on October with an SRP of $2100 and the IQ816 on September 21 with an SRP of $1900.

Read [HP News Release] Via [Gizmodo]

Egoman announces new MP3 player, the MP810RSTX

Back in April, you may remember Egoman’s MP810RSTD-43, which is a similar PMP to Egoman’s newest device, the MP810RSTX. At first glance, you’re probably thinking “what a weird name for a MP3 player” and I agree. I’m not sure why it doesn’t have a normal name, instead of a random assortment of letters and numbers. The MP810RSTX, which first debuted at IFA 2008, bears many similar features as the older model.

Even if it is similar to the older model, it still comes with some cool features such as a 4.3 inch GPS-esque touch screen, microSD memory expansion, TV out, FM tuner and supports many formats including the popular ones like MP3, AVI, and FLAC. In addition, if you are a fan of the lesser known formats, you will be pleased to know that it also supports formats such as RMVB and APE. Unfortunately, no word on internal memory storage, release date, or pricing. Hopefully, it will be available soon and for a reasonable price. Also, let’s hope they give the next Egoman PMP a memorable name and not just a serial number.

Read [Aving] Via [PMP Today]

3M MPro110 Handheld Projector coming very soon

We at Gadgetell have covered 3M’s Projector for the cellular phone at the beginning of the year, and it appears that 3M has already gone into production and is planning to release the MPro110 sooner rather than later. 

The MPro110 would be the first projector marketed exclusively for cellular phone usage.  The projector itself is an LED lamp that is able to project a 640 x 480 image with a 50-inch diagonal on any appropriate blank wall.

These images are adjustable with a thumb wheel. Popular Sciencerecently tried the MPro110, and they reported that images could be “discerned from up to 11 inches across.” However, there were certain scenes that were “downright indiscernible”. 

In case you are wondering, displaying video footage is possible.  If you would like audio to go along with your video, your only option is to bring your own external speakers. The projector also lacks a fan which suggests the unit runs quiet and will probably not get too hot since the lamp is LED-based.  You can try it out for yourself in two weeks when the MPro110 hits the market at a price of $349. 

Read [Oh Gizmo!] 

Nokia tries to patent writing on the back of digital pictures

Nokia has filed a patent that will allow a user to digitally write on the back of digital photos.  The patent allows a user to “flip” your picture over and label it.  This label can be written on a keypad, or, if your camera device has some sort of stylus, you can write on them just like a photo print. 

This patent has just been filed, so it is not known when it will be approved.  Something tells me that cell phone giant Nokia will probably find a way to get this program into the hands of the consumer and into one of its cell phones as soon as possible.  Once it does work, it will probably look something like a photo-viewer on the iPod.

It reminds me of the days when Polaroid used to have Instamatic film.  It really helped to have the photographer write on the front or back of the photo, just so others would know when, where, and possibly what the pictures are all about.  It sure worked to help Guy Pearce’s short-term memory loss problem in Memento. 

However, when you have digital photos, which take no time to develop, it is difficult to write on them.  I know that when I take photos on my digital camera, I don’t go out of my way to label them in any way.  I just look at the pictures in a photo viewer and use what I need.  I could wait until I developed the pictures, but will I remember what the subject was by then? 

Perhaps Nokia’s new process will help digital photographers everywhere record their memories easier. 

Read [New Scientist]

Social networking with the dead?

Plaxo loves to email me with “39 people you know did more than you this week” or something like that.  Soon, “3 people you know have died” could be the subject line of the next email you get if tributes.com has anything to say about it.  By combining social network features with old standard obituaries, tributes.com hopes to hold onto the stories of our lives.  The site opens to the public September 23rd and has Jeff Taylor (the man who started Monster.com) behind it, so you know he is swinging for the fences.

The site will store 300 word obits for free or multimedia remembrances for $80 per year or $300 for an unlimited placement period.  No word on if you can save your own to be used at a later time. 

The social networking here is a bit creepy.  Soon you’ll be able to upload your address book, in case someone assumes room temperature, you will be among the first to know.  You can set up email notifications based on zip codes, military units, last names and lots more.  I can imagine a lot of people being afraid to open their inbox, or a twinge of fear racing down your spine at that email notification “ding”.

And what is up with the candle in the site’s logo?  Birthday candle or seance candle?  Either way, spooky.  I half-expected to hear ghost noises come out of my speakers when I brought the site up.

Rumor has it, old people love the obituaries; so this has a good shot at making it.  I often wonder if Alan Alda is still alive, so this site might be of some use to me.  But, in my book, success doesn’t make it any less freaky.  Ignorance is bliss and Alan Alda can continue to make documentaries forever.

Site [tributes.com] via [NYTimes]

3 lessons from the Best Buy/Napster deal

You’ve probably heard aboutBest Buy‘s aggressive move today to grab Napster.  Clearly leveraging their position as a retail giant, Best Buy hopes to cash in on content going into those players it sells.  But there is more to it than just linear logic.  Take these for example:

It’s illegal?  I’ll buy it.

Today’s new marketing technique: build something illegal that kids love.  Get busted.  Come back a “lite” version of yourself (the kids all know your name, so why not?).  Then sell out to a big company.  It is pure genius when viewed in the rear view mirror.  It has me thinking what can I do that is illegal?

Heads up, Apple.

Brian Dunn, president and COO of Best Buy, was quoted as saying, “over time we hope to strengthen our offerings to consumers, who we believe will increasingly seek devices and solutions that enable them to access their content wherever, whenever and however they want.” To me, this says we will be hawking our own sleek devices sold as a complete deal, just like iPod and iTunes, out of every enormous blue and gold building we’ve got.  Make it pretty and easy to figure out and they just might sway some folks, especially if they keep the cost down vs. Apple.  Appletell’s Josh Holat liked the Napster store a while back.

Music is for suckers

You’ll note in the quote above, Dunn also says “content”, not music.  He means just that—more than music.  Dave Morrish, EVP of connected digital solutions at Best Buy says, “"We can foresee Napster acting as a platform for accelerating our growth in the emerging industry of digital entertainment, beyond music subscriptions.” Did you hear that Netflix?  Here comes Napster movie rentals.  Again, all they have to do is build a decent store and keep the hardware cost down (or better yet, include the hardware for free) and consumers will sign up.  This is the right deal at the right time.

The deal for $121 million offered by Best Buy really works out to $54 million after Napster’s assets are taken into account.  Not a bad price tag for 700,000 subscribers and all the properties.  This could shape up to be a good fight for Apple. 

Read [channelweb]

Verizon expands FiOS TV coverage in New York

Verizon is bringing its FiOS TV service to a new part of New York.  What part?  They are coming to that hotbed of television watching, the Buffalo area.  It seems like the strangest places get to experience new technologies first.  After New York City, Buffalo is the largest city in New York State with over a million people in its greater metropolitan area. 

Of course, Verizon is throwing together some deals so they can hook people into their FiOS service for the long haul.  Their deals include some premium channels for free for a limited time as well as potential savings on DVRs.  Even more interesting is that Verizon is offering more HD channels than Time Warner Cable, the dominant cable provider in New York.  This should provide a bit of competition in the television market of the Buffalo area.

Verizon will be offering “up to 100” HD channels, but no timetable was announced as to when that number will be reached.  The service itself is rolling out throughout the area over the next couple of weeks.  FiOS TV comes bundled with Verizon’s FiOS Internet service and telephone service.

Read [Verizon Press Release] 

Dell Inspiron Mini 9 begins to ship, enters customers hands, gets unboxed

Thanks to the magic of the Internet, we can pretty much guarantee that just about every big tech product that is released will be showcased online in the form of multiple unboxings. Overall, these can be a way to make you slightly jealous if you really want a product and cannot afford one. However, they are also a great way to see “real world” comparisons and give you a better idea of what exactly you are purchasing.

So without any further build up, the latest item to begin unboxing ceremonies is the Dell Inspiron Mini 9. Just like any good unboxing video, this offers a few comparisons showing off the Mini 9’s true size. Overall, things seem to be looking good with some quick first impressions that it is a “solid, well-made, light netbook with a very good, albeit glossy, screen.”

In the meantime enjoy the video…

Via [GottaBeMobile]

Build 3D models with this Google SketchUp competitor

Free 3D modeling software 3DVIA Shape 2.0 was released today.  3DVIA Shape is a program that allows users to create 3D models.  The software integrates with an online community at 3DVIA.comso users can share their models created with Shape.  If you have no idea how to use their software, 3DVIA has a bunch of helpful tutorials available. 

This software is a competitor to Google SketchUp.  SketchUp also allows users to create 3D models and is available as a free download for Windows and Mac users.  3DVIA Shape software is only available on the Windows platform and its minimum requirements include Internet Explorer 6 or Firefox 2.0. The 3DVIA Shape software cannot be used unless a user creates an account with 3DVIA.com.  Both Google and 3DVIA also offer pro versions of their programs.

Software programs like this are great for designing that perfect home or your dream ultra-portable netbook or PC mod.  I have played with both pieces of software and they initially seem alien, but eventually their interfaces become second nature.  You can see 3DVIA’s interface on the right.  3DVIA is a welcome competitor to the free 3D modeling world, but requiring a user to create an account just to use free software is a bit strange and will probably hurt its adoption by users.

Read [3DVIA Press Release ]

Navigon intro’s the “competitively” priced 2000S GPS

Navigon has been pretty busy this month, they have already introduced a few new models with the latest being the 2000S. The features of the 2000S seem to be very similar to the recently announced 2200T minus the free traffic updates for life.

The 2000S features a 3.5-inch display, 375MHz Atlas III AT642D-XAC processor, SiRF GRF3i+ GPS chip with InstantFix II, 64MB of SDRAM, 2GB of flash memory and a microSD card slot. The 2000S also offers the standard array of Navigon specific features which include text-to-speech, Reality View Pro, Direct Help, Lane Assistant Pro and Speed Assistant. In addition the 2000S is nice and portable measuring in at 3.8 x 2.9 x 0.7-inches, which should prove useful when you are outside your vehicle.

The Navigon 2000S is going to retail for $199 and is expected to be available in retail stores and online this October. Overall Navigon seems to be getting to a better and better price point, which should only help to put their name in the heads of more customers.

NAVIGON Launches NAVIGON 2000S GPS Navigator 
Delivering an unmatched experience that goes beyond the basics, the NAVIGON 2000S becomes the benchmark to beat in its class 

CHICAGO, September 15, 2008 — NAVIGON, one of the world’s leading and fastest growing providers of navigation products and solutions, today announced the NAVIGON 2000S GPS Navigator. Designed to provide a robust, easy-to-use navigation experience at a competitive price, the NAVIGON 2000S goes beyond the basics with key advanced features not offered by competing products in its class. NAVIGON’s trademark Reality View Pro™, Lane Assistant Pro™, and advanced text-to-speech are among the product’s most innovative features designed to enhance the navigation experience. 

Ultra-thin and portable, the 3.5” NAVIGON 2000S is powered by NAVIGON’s next generation software which supports incredibly fast route calculation times and very simple destination entry, on average requiring fewer clicks than any other GPS product to enter a destination. The NAVIGON 2000S goes far beyond a typical entry-level device by delivering many advanced and exclusive features that define the NAVIGON experience.  It sells for $199 (MSRP) in the U.S. and hits store shelves and online retailers in October 2008. 

“With the 2000S, our goal was to bring NAVIGON’s trademark features to a new, accessible level,” said Andreas Hecht, NAVIGON’s President for the Americas. “The 2000S delivers an experience consumers have grown to expect from NAVIGON products with meaningful features, stylish design and performance that are unmatched in its class.” 

Features that Matter 

The NAVIGON 2000S features include: 

Reality View Pro™. NAVIGON takes its trademark feature one-step further with the second generation of Reality View—Reality View Pro™. Never miss an exit again with more coverage in more places. Reality View Pro displays photo-realistic 3D views with actual road signs and lane guidance for virtually every highway interchange and exit that drivers will encounter. 

Lane Assistant Pro™. Helps drivers prepare to make an upcoming exit or turn by providing clear visual lane guidance. NAVIGON’s second generation of Lane Assistant provides a lane map complete with arrows and actual road geometry. 

Advanced Text-to-speech. Spoken Directions with Street Names lets drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road with advanced phonetic text-to-speech technology that ensures proper pronunciation of street names. 

Fast Destination Entry. The latest generation of NAVIGON software makes entering and finding information very easy, on average requiring fewer clicks than any other GPS product to enter a destination. NAVIGON’s SmartSpeller feature helps guiding through the entry process.  

High Performance. NAVIGON’s new software platform delivers our most responsive interface to date and supports incredibly fast route calculation times. 

DirectHelp™. Help is a click away with this DirectHelp, providing instant driving directions to and contact information for nearby hospitals, police stations, roadside assistance, and pharmacies. 

Instant Fix GPS. With NAVIGON’s new Instant Fix GPS receiver (SIRF InstantFixII Receiver), the NAVIGON 2000S triangulates global position in a matter of seconds and is minimally affected by urban canyons and tall trees. 

Ultra-thin, portable and stylish. Less than ¾” thick, the NAVIGON 2000S is compact enough to users anywhere whether travelling the world or the local neighbourhood. 

NAVIGON FreshMaps. Keep your NAVIGON 2000S as accurate as the day you bought it with NAVIGON’s FreshMaps accessory, providing up to 12 map updates for three years for $79.99 (MSRP). 

Also with: 
- Speed Assistant 
- Multi-Destination Trip Planning 
- Automatic Standby Feature 
- Favorites as POI

Sprint’s HTC Touch Diamond now available

As expected, Sprint has officially added the HTC Touch Diamond to its lineup. As of this posting, the Diamond is just available online, but retail availability is expected to begin soon, possibly as early as later today. All things considered, it is kind of nice to order online and have it shipped to your door anyway. The phone features are the same as we have come to love and expect, it even has that rumored red backside. Otherwise the Sprint branded Touch Diamond will have a “regular” price of $549.99, but that can be lowered to just $249.99 with a $200 instant savings and a $100 mail-in-rebate. Keep in mind that lowered price also requires a two-year agreement.

Product [Sprint]

Helio Ocean 2, still coming in 2009

The follow up to the Helio Ocean, appropriately dubbed the Ocean 2, has already graced the FCC, and has even been leaked in a live action video. Of course, the video was quickly pulled down, but it remained as an (above) image. However, after Virgin Mobile USA purchased Helio, that release seemed to be up in the air.

Well, the good news is that the Ocean 2 will still be released. According to some details coming from Virgin, it is a “work in progress” and will be hitting the market sometime in 2009. Sadly, other than the leaked image that shows off a dual slider handset, the details are still light. So far we can see the backlit Helio logo on the top of the handset which is new, but otherwise the specs are limited to just a few rumored details that include a touch sensitive navigation pad and 3-megapixel camera with video recording capability.

The release of the Ocean 2 is definitely good news for any remaining Helio subscribers. This transition seems to have been a good thing overall as there have been few changes other than the introduction of more minutes on select plans and the addition of Virgin Mobile apps into the Helio download store. So with a little good news, bad news the Ocean 2 is still coming, but sadly we cannot give you any more than 2009 as of now. Of course, as always when we find out more you will be the first to know.

Via [SlashGear]

Sony Reader now available at Target

The Sony Reader seems to have found a nice way to get an edge over the Amazon Kindle. While they may both be good devices, it is hard to really think that they are really hitting the mainstream market. However, it seems that Sony may soon be changing that fact with the introduction of the Sony Reader into Target stores. As of now, the Sony Reader PRS-505 is available at Target at both retail locations and online. The Reader retails for $299.99 and for a limited time will come with a coupon for a copy of “The Other Queen” by Philippa Gregory.

Also as you would expect, in addition to the Reader, Target will also be stocking a complete line of accessories to include prepaid cards for the book store, extra USB cables, power adapters, as well as book lights and covers. I would not say that this will make the Sony Reader the clear winner in the ebook market, but it certainly will help to put them in the minds of some non-geeks. Up till now, it seemed that Amazon and its Kindle had been pulling ahead thanks to the always available bookstore, but the battle for ebook supremacy may come down to the retail market and a nice end cap display.

Product [Target]

Old Facebook dead, users forced to use new Facebook

Users logging into Facebook today will be hit with a surprise - old Facebook is gone, and so is the little link in the upper right-hand corner which, for the past few weeks, allowed users to return to the familiar layout. Facebook’s owners have decided that no trace of the old Facebook should be allowed to survive, and now all Facebook users are forced to use a new, more scattered layout. Gone are the familiar columns and boxes, replaced with floating sections and tabs which must be navigated to find links which were previously fully visible.

Facebook’s owners claim that, of the over 40 million users, 30 million users would willing use new Facebook back when the option to also use old Facebook was offered. In the official Facebook Blog, the new Facebook Project Manager Mark Slee posts a glowing report of how wonderful and successful the new Facebook layout is - calling it the best one so far. He acknowledges that some people will be “uncomfortable” with the change, but says they’ll be won over eventually.

A massive backlash has occurred because of the change. Regular Facebook users have invaded the Facebook Developers forum, which is normally only for Facebook developers, prompting the Facebook Platform Team to create a forum devoted to user feedback. Many groups have popped up to protest the permanent change. I Hate the New Facebookhas over 890,000 members, Petition Against the “New Facebook” has over 1 million members and 1,000,000 Against the New Facebook Layout has over 1.2 million members as of 1pm CST, September 12, 2008. A petition has even been started at Petition Online, and it has received over 83,000 signatures so far. To compare - a group supporting new Facebook, called1,000,000 Against Petitions Against the new Facebook! had only 12 members as of 4:16pm CST, September 12, 2008.

I’ve found new Facebook makes my life more difficult. I’ve had to go to an actual application’s page to completely remove it, and edit all my other applications to undo new Facebook settings. My XKCD feed no longer works, so I can’t see the latest comic on my profile. Bumper Stars,Superheroes and Scrabble Beta won’t show in my profile, and when I view my application list, it doesn’t immediately show - I have to hunt through tabs to find them. In addition, applications I have removed still show up in the Wall Permissions section, and the Bumper Sticker application shows up in my feeds filter, even though I have never used that application.

I used to love visiting Facebook, and I’d recommend it to longtime friends who weren’t on a social networkings site. I won’t be doing that anymore, so long as new Facebook is the only option.

Read [Courant.com] Also Read [ZDNet.com] Also Read [Facebook Blog] Site [Facebook] Site [Facebook Developers Forum]

Zune 120 hits the store shelves early, Zune 80 price drops

Even though the new Zune 3.0 firmware is set to be officially released on the September 16, a Wal-Mart in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania already has the new Zunes on sale. Thanks to a recently surfaced image, we can now see that at least this Wal-Mart has begun selling the Zune 80 for $198, which is $50 cheaper than what it used to sell for and it shows the new Zune 120 for $250. In addition, the Blue Zune 16 was also said to be in stock, however, it is not pictured above. Well, it looks like some stores have manged to get the new Zunes, as well as drop the price of the older Zunes. Let us know if you spot any cheaper or new Zunes in stores near you.

Via [Engadget]

Toshiba launches the Satellite NB105 netbook, but only in Mexico

The netbook market is growing every day, and another competitor in the race is the Satellite NB105 from Toshiba Mexico. The NB105 features consist of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor along with 1GB RAM and a 120GB hard drive. In addition it has Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity for all those who want to take the Internet on the road. Other features include an SD memory slot, as well as three USB 2.0 ports. All of this is packaged with an 8.9-inch display with a 1,024 x 600 resolution. As for pricing and availability, currently its expected to hit Mexico sometime in the first week of November but as of now pricing information has not been announced.

Read [FayerWayer] Via [jkkmobile]

Eizo C T-One is both a mouse and remote control

I think all of us have used our laptops while in front of the television, and so we use two controllers: a mouse and a remote control. Now, there is a way to have two controllers on one device.

The Eizo C T-One is a wireless mouse that comes with nine TV remote control functions including power, channel up/down, volume up/down, broadcast switching, input switching, and even picture-in-picture. This mouse/controller has a range of about 10 meters, and operates on the 2.4GHz wireless band. The C T-one is powered by two AA batteries, and it will power down after 30 minutes in order to conserve power. These two batteries will last about three months.

So far it looks like it will be retailing for ¥12,600, or around $120 US, and although it is scheduled to be available today, we could not find anything about a US availability.

Read [impress] Via [Engadget]

RIM announces Slacker Radio, MySpace, Microsoft Live Search coming soon to a BlackBerry near you

RIM has recently announced some upcoming new apps that will soon be available for the BlackBerry lineup. Personally some of this new support it not really all that exciting, but everyone has their personal taste and I am sure others will be a little happier than myself.

First up, I will lead off with the one I am most excited by, well at least if I were a regular BlackBerry user anyway, of course this could possible entice me to pick up a BlackBerry Curve of Bold as a secondary device. Anyway the app is for Slacker Radio and the nice part with this service, is that unlike some other streaming radio services this content will be cached on your device meaning you will not need 3G to get a good listening experience, of course an external storage card will most likely come in handy. As we told you about in our recent Slacker Radio review you can opt for the free service or the premium service which will set you back $7.50 a month. This should prove to be very nice for those lucky enough to have an aux-in jack on their car stereo.

Anyway moving on, the last two apps, while I am sure they will be appreciated by some are a little less than exciting for myself, they are MySpace and Microsoft Live Search. The Microsoft Live Search app seems to be a strange addition, especially since the BlackBerry has had decent Google apps for quite a while, of course I suppose its always nice to have more options available. The last app that is upcoming will be MySpace and will allow users to do much of what they can on a regular browser to include finding and adding new friends, responding to friend requests, status and mood updates and even using the built-in camera to shoot, upload and share pics while on the go. The MySpace app will also include the full messaging features which will include commenting and bulletins.

Read [RIM] Read [RIM] Read [RIM] Via [Laptop]

MSI offers up the professional-looking PX200 notebook

MSI has unveiled a simple and yet professional-looking notebook dubbed the PX200. Featuring an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Intel PM45 Express Chipset, the MSI PX200 offers an elegant minimalist design in an ultra-lightweight magnesium alloy casing and is packed with features that suit mobile professionals needs including wireless connectivity and a must-have feature which is long battery life.

A quick rundown of the MSI PX200 features would give us a 12.1-inch TFT WXGA (1280 x 800) display, ATI Radeon HD3450 3D Graphics Card, fingerprint reader for data security, HDMI output, AI Array Mic, 2.0-megapixel webcam, up to 320GB of hard drive space, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth and a Super DVD Multi Drive.

Unfortunately, we will have to wait for a further announcement as to when the MSI PX200 will be released and how much it will cost us.

Read [MSI News] Via [Fareastgizmos]

SlingPlayer Mobile officially makes it way to Symbian UIQ devices

Sling Media has announced the long awaited support for Symbian UIQ based devices. Sling Media is really making some headway into the mobile world, now offering the newly announced UIQ support, along with support for Windows Mobile, Pocket PC, Palm and Symbian S60 devices. Hope fully we will see the iPhone and BlackBerry support come soon.

Anyway, getting back to the Symbian UIQ, according the the details on the SlingMedia website they are offering support for the W960i, P1i, P990i and G900i all of which are Sony Ericsson handsets. To grab the mobile client just click the download link below, this download will allow for a 30-day trial, after which you will have to purchase the full version to keep using it. The full version will set you back $29.99, but after a 30 day free trial, I would think that most people will find it will worth the expense.

Download [SlingPlayer Mobile]

MSI unveils the 17-inch GX705 gaming notebook

How do you satisfy the demand of video gamers for powerful, robust and graphic-enhanced mobile gaming notebook? MSI seems to know how and so it has assembled a 17-inch LCD monitor, a Geforce 8600M GS 3D card, colorful W, A, S, D gaming button on the keyboard, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Intel PM965 Express chipset and christened it as the MSI GX705 gaming notebook.

In addition to those features, the MSI GX705 also offers long battery life, theater-class bass speakers, four track audio recognized by Dolby Surround. wireless connectivity and a theater-class bass speakers. Other features of the GX705 gaming notebook include a 250GB hard drive, DVD SuperMulti drive, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Certainly those are top notch features perfect for the requirements of hard-core gamers who prefer to do their gaming chores on a portable machine rather than a desktop powerhorse. Pricing and release dates for the MSI GX705 are still unannounced though.

Read [MSI News]