In just the past few months:

Netflix has struck more deals with more and more CE partners, now offering on-demand movie streaming capabilities through both the XBOX 360 and TiVo set-top DVRs.

Blockbuster has teamed up with 2-Wire to create their own set-top receiver, where customers can stream rented movies instead of getting them on disc by mail or in one of their stores.

Sling Media, creator of the Slingbox, let loose the SlingCatcher and Sling.com web portal. SlingCatcher lets Slingbox owners watch their home cable or satellite box on other TVs around the house, or over the web at a remote location. Sling.com is a lot like Hulu, poised to offer on-demand TV and movies to a PC web browser and (eventually) their SlingCatcher set-top. Uniquely Sling, it also offers an online SlingPlayer app that let's Slingbox owners watch their own TV right on the site.

Speaking of Hulu, they

We're but mere days away from our turkey feasts, and that can only mean one thing - Black Friday, the kickoff of the holiday buying season and craziest retail shopping day of the year, is almost upon us.

Given the current economy, it couldn't come quicker. If your budget for Christmas gifts has shrunk along with your 401k, then it may be a good idea to take advantage of the deep discounts and great in-store sales while you can. 

If you're looking to shop the door busters on Black Friday, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of your local newspaper tomorrow and Thursday to get all the store fliers. Start circling the products you're interested in and planning your strategy.

If you're an online junky, like me, there are a number of resources available online to see all the good deals. Our friends at Retrevo have put together a pretty nifty

Over the last year, I've watched several friends develop severe cases of what I'm calling 'iSyndrome.' Not sure what that is? It's a disease... a terrible, awful illness with the horrible side-effect of making everyone you know hate you. Sounds serious doesn't it?

iSyndrome targets a small, but rapidly growing segment of the population - iPhone owners. If you or someone you know owns an iPhone, listen up.

The iPhone is cool. It does a lot of neat things like let you check your e-mail, catch up on news, post to twitter, play games, surf the web, and even just mess around with. The problem is that iPhone usage can become addictive, eventually leading to iSyndrome, which is a severe case of iPhone addiction that leads to several physical, mental, and social problems. 

How to tell if you or an iPhone user you know has iSyndrome

iPhone user:

• experiences pain or soreness in neck from constantly looking down at their iPhone.

Apple's business model is built on strict control of their products, both hardware and software based. It's the reason why the iPod is so tightly integrated to iTunes, and why you can't install their OS on whatever computer platform you wish (though there's a company called Psystar that's pushing those limits right now).

However, Apple's rediculous, unfair actions against Podcaster is making me wonder why they bothered opening up the iPhone to developers in the first place. 

The short story is that not long ago, a developer came up with an application called Podcaster that let the iPhone pull down podcasts directly over the air. Apple rejected the application from hitting the AppStore, claiming that encroached something that Apple's iTunes software already did (which it didn't). Today, screenshots of Apple's next iPhone firmware hit the scene, and Apple's version of Podcaster is present.

In my opinion, that's complete BS.

I understand the reasoning behind the Feds decision to breakup the AT&T monopoly, and on January 1st of 1984, AT&T's local operations split into seven independent Regional Bell Operating Companies (you've heard the term 'baby bell' right?).

Since then, the telecom industry has slowly been playing a game of renaming, mergers, partnerships, and takeovers. In fact, what was left of AT&T after the breakup and a failed business segway into computer systems, ended up getting purchased by one of their own spin-offs.

For a fascinating look at what's happened to the telecom industry since the big break up, check out this Family Tree of Telecommunications Companies over at neatorama.com. You may be surprised who owns who, and if you're like me, chuckle after seeing some old logos that you used to pay bills to.

Any surprises there? Anything missing? Post your thoughts in the comments.

In the blogosphere, on YouTube, and anywhere else PC and Mac users share the same space you'll see and endless barrage of "mine is better than yours" posts from those who claim to be Mac or PC.

In recent weeks, Microsoft has kicked off an aggressive marketing campaign intended to change user perception about Windows, and Microsoft in general. Apple has been dominating the advertising wars over the last few years, and their long running PC Guy and Mac Guy skits have been seen by almost everyone at this point. Microsoft is now firing back, and we've seen three distinct flavors of perception changing, debate raging campaigns come out of Microsoft.

The Mojave Experiments

Starting with the 'Mojave Experiement,' Microsoft seemingly sat users down in front of a Vista computer, but told them it was their next in-development OS. After many users exclaimed how great it looked, they were told that what they were using was Windows Vista... commence candid camera-like shock and awe. It's been clearly stated by users that these

Today at Apple's "Rock Live" Event in San Fransico, Jobs and Co. took the opportunity to debut the iPod lineup for the holiday selling season, as well as highlight some additional updates and goodies for the juggernaut's existing products like iPhone 3G and iTunes.

Before you take to heart the numerous reports of how "underwhelming" Apple's announcements were, it's important to keep in mind that Apple is held to a much higher standard of expectation. Granted, what Apple had to talk about today hardly justified an entire event. Thank goodness Jack Johnson showed up to play a tune at the end to fill some space. It wasn't underwhelming; it wasn't overwhelming... more just 'whelming.'

At the end of the day, you have a slight refresh of it's two larger iPod products, a redesigned Nano, and a feature of considerable 'genius' value if it works.  Pepper in an update or two, make a ridiculous challenge to Nintendo and Sony, and end the event with a music act. Event done.

In a press release today, Comcast announced they have partnered with Nintendo to offer a free Nintendo Wii to new Comcast Triple Play subscribers who sign up for service between today and August 17th. However, don't let them fool you. It may be a "Free Wii," but it will really cost you a little less than $400 in the end.

Funny story, it just so happens I signed up for a new Triple Play package last week (I'm moving to a new area, and they're pretty much the only game in town for now). In fact, it hasn't even been installed yet. After reading the press release, the first thing I did was call Comcast. Between "no free Wii" and "Free Wii" I'll take the freebie every time. 

After being connected to a customer service rep, I explained I just signed up for a Comcast Triple Play package, and that I read today they're offering a free Wii as an incentive.

There's been a lot of activity in the mobile web browser game since Apple's iPhone completely redefined the web experience on a handheld. For the Windows Mobile user (like me), there isn't much out there that works like the desktop browsers. Opera Mobile has been one of the few decent ones (far better than Mobile IE), but still nowhere near the iPhone. I normally wouldn't complain, but Opera Mobile isn't free like Mobile Safari; I expect more from a paid product.

Opera has been stroking the buzz machine since they previewed their newest version of Opera Mobile some months back. It first appeared pre-loaded on the HTC Touch Diamond, but WinMo users with different hardware have had to wait to get their mittens on it.

Today they've finally unveiled Opera Mobile 9.5 Beta, their newest mobile web browser for Windows Mobile 5/6 touch screen devices.

I just installed it and ran it through its paces. Not to spoil it for everyone, but my best advice is to wait a few more builds. This thing is too buggy for primetime. However, there are a few good things to say.

Microsoft will be significantly changing the way the XBOX 360 looks. No, not the outer physical form factor. We're talking about the dashboard here, the software you interact with when you power on the console. A lot has changed since our pals at Redmond shipped the first 360 thanks to numerous updates that has brought a full marketplace, TV, movies, casual games, better streaming media support, and lots more. So much, in fact, that the current dashboard, your gateway to browse all this stuff, has added enough dizzying blades, drop downs, and other menus that it was getting painful to use.

Shown for the first time yesterday during the E3 video game expo in LA, Microsoft's new design will make your dashboard go from hardcore business to teddy bears, fluffy bunnies, and Nintendo-esque Mii-like avatars.

Before:

After:

And you know what... I like it.

Don't get me wrong, I too think Microsoft is in the copy room with a half working Xerox machine and bag of quarters. The 'Me'crosoft avatars definitely took a page from Nintendo's book; except I think they're more realistic than the cartoony Mii figures.

With the enormous amount of media coverage regarding Jobs' latest wonder toy, you probably already know the newest version of Apple's iPhone hit stores today. If you're not the type to read the 15,000 different reviews on it for every teeny, tiny detail, here's everything you need to know in this 2 Minute Overview and Review Roundup.

iPhone 3G Goes 3G (though you probably guessed that one)

The major difference between the original and Apple's latest iPhone is the inclusion of a 3G radio (hence the name), moving from AT&T's aged (and slower) EDGE network to their faster 3G service. This allows the iPhone to download data at speeds 2 to 3 times the original based on current reviews, but with the drawback of increased power usage and shorter battery life.

Form Factor

On the form factor side, iPhone 3G is largely similar to the first, but with a slightly fatter profile. Initial reviewers have complained about the

No doubt you've accumulated hundreds, more likely thousands, of these little digital wonders since the CD hit the big time in the early 80s. First conceived in the late 70s to store digital music, the Compact Disc went on to become the de-facto standard to store and distribute software and games for the personal computer.

The process for making the Compact Disc is actually quite interesting. If you've ever wondered how the CD goes from raw materials to your CD player, click the play button below.

There it is - fourty thousand dollars of pure electric, plug-in driving. Is it surprising to see such a high price from one of the most hyped cars in a long, long time? While it's far beyond the thirty thousand dollar price tag that Chevy has been hoping for, I'd venture to say it's still not that bad all things considering.

After evaluating user comments around the net, it's become clear that people have lost all sense of reason and reality. This is not the time to complain about the price... at least not yet anyway.

Sure, few people are going to race to the dealership to purchase a fourty thousand dollar car. I get that, and I would venture Chevy does as well. The Volt is not the average family communter car destined to replace the Honda Civic sitting in everyone's garage, and I don't think it was ever intended to be. Everything from the styling to the first year limited production schedule says otherwise.

File this in the "wacky but true" folder...

After months of scouring both web and retail stores, evaluating and trying tons of different products, I finally found a suitable holster for my HTC Hermes (aka AT&T 8525). However, I didn't find it at a cell phone store, consumer electronics chain, or specialty web store. And believe it or not, it turns out the best case for my mucho-expensive high-tech modern cell phone would only cost me less than ten bucks on sale.

The BucketBoss brand cell phone holster was found merely by chance, tucked away a bin next to screwdrivers and drillbits at a local Menards (a midwest hardware/home improvement chain). The packaging makes it almost too easy to dismiss, given the photo of a construction worker/type person sporting the holster. Based on the phone shown in the photo (looks like a Nokia 5110 or something similar), I'd say this case was designed for what was considered

Yesterday, HP Announced the successor to the TouchSmart, a touch friendly, kitchen computer released well over a year ago. Boasting an attractive (albeit slightly odd) design and touch capable widescreen LCD monitor, the quasi all-in-one TouchSmart turned out to be great seller for HP.

While I have always given iMac props in the all-in-one looks department, HP may just have a cooler looking, sleeker design (only 2.6 inches thick!) with the TouchSmart 2... but your opinion may vary. Not only do I think it looks nicer than the iMac, but it continues to offer the unique, kitchen and family friendly touch screen interface.

At 22" you'll need a fairly large size kitchen to put it in, but the innards have been improved enough to warrant placement in any area of the home. Under the hood of both different models in the new lineup, you'll find a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 processor, DVD burner, built-in webcam, 500GB hard drive, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300M HD graphics card, and 802.11n Wi-Fi adapter... enough PC for most folks at any level. The only difference between the two trims is the inclusion of a TV tuner, which you may or may not need.

The biggest problem of being a cheapskate gamer is that by the time I get to a game, it's already yesterday's news. I just can't fork out $60 for every good looking new release that comes down the pike (and there are a lot of good looking games these days!). No doubt you'd see more video game reviews here in my blog if I thought I could talk about a game when its still fresh. It often takes months for games to hit the $20 rack.

There are those games, however, that force me to bend the rules a bit. New Zelda games are one, but if they continue to be locked to Wiimote wavin' I'll probably pass going forward. I'd easily shell out full price for Fable 2, a game I've been looking forward to for a while (and probably one of the biggest reasons I bought a 360).

Another day, another annoyance to complain about. This particular issue isn't related to gadgets, but e-mail is now one of the (if not THE) primary form of communication among individuals, and without technology, it wouldn't be the case.

Those in a corporate enviornment have no doubt encountered the e-mail read receipt, and probably send some or all messages requesting one yourself. Home users may not have ever had to deal with them since not all e-mail clients, particularly in the free online services, support them.

So what is a read receipt? For those who have never seen one, read receipts are a form of e-mail tracking. Quoth the Wikipedia:

"E-mail tracking is useful when the sender wants to know if the intended recipient actually received the e-mail, or if they clicked the links. However, due to the nature of the technology, e-mail tracking cannot be considered an absolutely accurate indicator that a message was opened or read by the recipient.

If you're one of the millions who didn't heed our warnings about buying into the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war, and ended up making the wrong choice, you may be getting a little medication to help ease your pain. Those who purchased an HD-DVD Player or XBOX-360 add-on drive at Best Buy before February 23, 2008 will automatically receive a $50 gift card good towards anything in the store.

"At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers’ frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other," says Brian J. Dunn, president and COO for Best Buy. "Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs."

Some may look at the $50 gift cards as a token gesture, considering that HD-DVD playback devices sold between $180 and $500 until

Months back it was uncovered that premium home and professional speaker manufacturer M&K Sound would be making a return under new ownership... after being closed for over a year. Today, it looks like M&K may be looking to make their return in the near future thanks to a tip by member FIG here in the TechLore Community.

mksoundsystem.com went online today, and appears to be M&K Sound's new website. Earlier in the day, the site wasn't there, but several search engine caches had started to reveal quite a bit about what was going on behind the scenes.

Most importantly, the new site shows which M&K products the new ownership is bringing back. The lines currently listed include:

• Most of the classic M&K 150 THX Series
  • S-150THX (main speaker)
  • MP-150 THX (on wall version of the S-150THX)
  • SS-150THX Tripole Surround Speaker
  • MX-250THX (Powerful dual 12" push-pull sub)

A few months back I gave Toshiba some advice on how HD-DVD could win the format war. Perhaps it was too little, too late, or it was sound advice that fell on deaf ears. Either way, Toshiba has packed up camp and announced it will no longer be manufacturing or marketing HD-DVD players, and ending the long format war once and for all.

It's estimated Toshiba sold over one million HD-DVD players and three-hundred thousand personal computers with HD-DVD drives. Painful as it may be for early adopters, there will be no rebates, refunds, or credits toward Blu-Ray devices for anyone that bought in to HD-DVD early.

What brought the demise of HD-DVD? Though a full autopsy may be in order to find the detailed answer, I chalk it up to three things:

1. Sony's move to build Blu-Ray playback into the Playstation 3 paid off. Even though the PS3 hasn't been the hottest selling game machine, you can't argue that the 10 million plus units in the market didn't affect software sales some. Had Microsoft, an HD-DVD supporter, built HD-DVD into the XBOX 360 from the beginning instead of making it an add-on a year later, things certainly could have been different.