Mind Over Matt'er - All Entries
News That Made Me Smile: The Return of M&K Sound
For those who know a little about my background, I spent well over 10 years in electronics sales at a variety of places. Of those, my job at a high end audio/video retailer and installer was where I got to eat, breathe, and practically swim in home theater equipment... definitely my favorite segment of the consumer electronics industry. I'll save that piece on why I love home theater so much for another day, but I will share with you the best news I've heard in months... M&K Sound is supposedly coming back. For those unfamiliar with M&K, I'll say this. They make some of the best speakers I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Actually, I should say "used to make some of the best speakers." February 22nd of this year was a sad day... M&K's founder Ken Kreisel closed the doors of the renowned speaker company. Exactly why... More »
Last Post: October 11, 2007 1:30 PM by Larry Dillon
When Is the Right Time to Buy? - Holding Off on the Latest Gadget
It's happened to everyone... that gut-wrenching, horrifying feeling you get when the shiny new gadget you JUST bought a month ago drops in price or is replaced by something better. Look at iPhone owners. You can't tell me those that picked up 8GB iPhones at $599 didn't feel a bit used when Apple lowered the price to $399 only 2 months after it was launched. Sure, that $100 in-store credit helped soften the blow, but no doubt everyone probably wishes they had waited those few months before buying. It's the story of the early gadget adopter , and those on the cutting edge of technology often get bum deals and beat up on their electronic purchases. I usually try to purchase with a bit of caution, but even I still get taken from time to time. It wasn't all that long ago I picked up a new Premium XBOX 360,... More »
Dish Network Purchases Sling Media
This just in from the "out of left field" department... It was only a short time ago that Sling Media publicly revealed they have been working with DirecTV on their new SuperCast NFL service, only to announce today that EchoStar Communications (owner and operator of the other major US satellite TV provider) has just acquired the company for roughly $380 million dollars. Sling Media just announced that EchoStar Communications has struck a deal to acquire them for cash and stock options valued around $380 million combined. If you don’t know who EchoStar is, they own DISH Network®. DISH Network® offers a premier line of industry-leading Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and hundreds of video and audio channels as well as the most national HD and International channels in the U.S., Interactive TV, Latino and sports programming. DISH Network also provides a variety of package and price options including the lowest all-digital... More »
PS3's Virtual 'Home' Delayed
Bad news for PS3 owners... Looking forward to setting up your new digital digs in the upcoming "Virtual Home" world coming to the Playstation Network? Well real-estate still isn't for sale, and it won't be for a while. In another embarrassing blow for Sony, the much touted "Virtual Home" has been delayed until Spring 2008 according to Kazuo Hirai's keynote address at the Tokyo Game Show today. What a way to kick off your first major public appearance as the new chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment... by announcing a delay. "Home" is supposed to be an online virtual world similar to Second Life, but exclusive to Playstation 3 owners. Sony has been very vocal about the kinds of things people can do in this virtual world, including things like create a custom virtual "you", setup your own apartment (complete with furniture, knick-knacks, and other digital gear), and a variety... More »
Slingbox Clip+Sling: New Feature Coming to Let Users Share TV
Brandon C. over at our sister site, SlingCommunity.com, went digging through patent application documents and unearthed tons of never-before-seen details and images about the upcoming Clip+Sling TV sharing feature headed to Slingbox! "We've been hearing about the upcoming "Clip+Sling" feature for quite some time now, though relatively few additional details have been released since the CES show in January. The basics have been covered pretty well (read Clip+Sling Video Demonstration with Brian Jaquet and Matt Whitlock's (me!) Interview with Jason Hirschhorn to get up to speed), but what we haven't known is how it's going to really work. Today some of those "finer" details about Clip+Sling are starting to come to light thanks to a bit of one-on-one time with the patent application information on the program. I've learned a ton of information, and who better to share it with than a site filled with crazed Slingbox fans? In this... More »
Last Post: September 23, 2007 10:25 PM by Brandon C.
SanDisk's New Sansa 'Clip' and 'View' - Take that Apple!
No doubt Apple is the king of the hill when it comes to MP3 players, but SanDisk keeps climbing the totem pole everytime a new model hits the Sansa product line. So, with Apple announcing new iPods the other day, it's not surprising that SanDisk would follow suit with a few new surprise products of their own. And holy cow do they look pretty nice... SanDisk is getting a bit smarter with each product they launch, and is now really focusing on their strengths and previous successes with each new release. They're never going to compete with Apple on the touch screen front (at least not anytime in the foreseeable future), and probably wouldn't have much success going after full size players like the iPod Classic. Where they have created a name for themselves is in the ultra-compact and compact flash player market with excellent products like Sansa Express and... More »
Last Post: September 12, 2007 1:02 PM by Jeff Block
Apple Preps for Holidays - New iPods and Price Cuts
Leave it to our old friend Steve Jobs to walk out on stage and tell everyone what they wanted to hear... almost. Everyone was expecting some new iPods, and Jobs and Co. are releasing three new models for the holiday season, plus some new colors for Shuffle. On top of that, new features and some price moves were announced... all good, but no doubt it's going to irritate those that have just bought iPhones. iPod Nano First on the list is Nano, which is getting a total redesign for the 07-08 holiday season. Gone is the super-slender tall design of yore, as Apple decided Nano would be better after some weight gain. It's not actually heavier than the original, but it is wider and shorter... hence the "fatty" references it's been getting. Other specs include include a 2-inch, QVGA, 320 x 240 screens that is (supposedly) 65-percent brighter than previous... More »
Last Post: September 10, 2007 8:34 AM by Jeff Block
10 Things I Can Do That iPhone Users Can't
I've been using my new AT&T 8525 for about 3 weeks now, and all this time I've been learning what I can do with my phone while getting used to the quirks of owning a PocketPC/Phone hybrid. I mentioned in a previous post that I was thinking about buying the iPhone, but decided to pass on Apple's Kool-Aid in favor of Microsoft's. So far, I'm glad I did, because (as of right now) I can do these 10 things that iPhone owners can only dream about, and I have to say, some of these things are pretty darn basic... 1. Watch my home TV with SlingPlayer - Consider me a social outcast, but I don't care about YouTube Videos. With SlingPlayer Mobile I can watch my home television programming ANYWHERE. Enjoy those episodes of lonelygirl15 you crazy YouTube lovin' iPhoners, I'll be over there watching real television. 2. Install a... More »
Last Post: September 5, 2007 1:40 PM by Jeff Block
AT&T to Clamp Down on Data Leechers?
The tech-savvy among us have been tethering our laptops through data enabled phones to AT&T's (formerly Cingular) data network for years. The concept of tethering is simple, attach your phone to your laptop via Bluetooth or direct connection, and make a connection to the provider's data network so you can browse the web and send e-mail with your laptop from anywhere. AT&T allows this practice on their top-tier data plans (starting at $59.99 per month), but users with smarts have been able to tether with unlimited data packages as low as $19.99 for years without any problems or additional charges. Cellular providers have been getting wise to the practice for some time now, and have slowly been crippling phones to prevent users from dialing in without permission and upgrading their networks to catch data leechers tethering their laptops at lower packages. Crippling a phone typically means disabling the DUN (dial-up... More »
Last Post: September 3, 2009 4:59 PM by JasonK
Is the World Ready for a Google Phone?
History is repeating itself in an odd way, but this time Apple isn't the one in the limelight. After a year of hype, Apple managed to make a moderately successful entrance into the mobile phone space; a market filled with cutthroat competition that's near impossible to casually enter. Now rumors are flying that another huge name in the web 2.0 world, Google, is about to do the same... maybe even bigger. What is the search engine turned juggernaut up to? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is sliding a prototype handset under the noses of cell phone makers and service providers, a move that no doubt means the masterminds at Google Labs thought of something cool. I'm not confident that Google has what it takes to design anything near as slick as the iPhone, but I bet Google's would be more functional. Still, I'll hold judgment until I... More »
Why I Chose the AT&T 8525 over the iPhone
A few weeks ago, I eluded that I would be talking about my latest phone purchase; a topic that's fun since everyone has a cell phone these days. With so many different options out there in both smart and generic phone varieties, I found this purchase more difficult than any of my previous phones. Prior to this purchase, all my phones had been of the "regular cell phone" variety, with a long streak of owning three Sony Ericsson phones. My trip to phone bliss started with the original Ericsson T68, which shortly after turned in to the T68i when Sony and Ericsson merged their mobile handset divisions. It was one of the first to offer a color screen, and even included Bluetooth. From there I picked up a T160 bundled with T-Mobile service, and while I was very pleased with the phone, the lack of high speed data forced me... More »
Last Post: August 3, 2007 5:03 PM by kabari
Wii: Gaming Genius or Fitness Fad?
In the day following a report of stellar earnings, Nintendo's stock soared , rocketing it to a lofty, new position as Japan's fifth largest company by market value. That's right; Mario and Pokemon are worth more than Honda Motors. That's a little scary, but illustrates something that's been on my mind lately. Will Nintendo's seemingly golden touch last? I like the Wii... I really do. It's fun, simple, and entertaining. However, as I've played it, I get the feeling that the momentum around Nintendo's latest home console can't last. I know; I'm out in left field compared to everyone else. But perhaps everyone else is so caught up in the hype that reality hasn't yet sunk in. The real question isn't whether or not Wii will flop in the long run; I think it will enjoy a much better run than the GameCube, and there'll be enough compelling games to... More »
Last Post: August 16, 2007 12:42 PM by DAFoxFL
iPhone - Let the Attacks Begin
Apple's Mac OS X computers may not have a strong enough user base that the evil-doers on the Internet want to bother writing exploits and spy-ware, at least compared to the infinite number of Windows based computers. Why write code for millions of computers when you can write for billions? However, Apple may soon find itself in the hacker spotlight thanks to the success of the iPhone . Word has it, that security experts in Baltimore said they found a "flaw in iPhone handsets that can be used by attackers to access private data stored on it". The security firm has set up a website showing a video demo of the exploit. Fortunately, detailed instructions on how to reproduct it are not provided. Since iPhone's debut a few weeks ago, hackers and experts have been looking for any hole they can find to unlock the iPhone for other networks. Finding... More »
Last Post: July 23, 2007 9:56 PM by Brandon C.
The Movie Theater Experience
"Dinner and a movie", probably the most common entertainment outing for veteran and new couples alike. In fact, heading out to see the latest summer blockbuster is the one thing that people of all ages, from the youngest youngster to the most senior... senior, will agree is a great time. Except me. I stopped going long ago. I get strange reactions from people when I tell them I never go to the movies anymore. The wide-eyed, somewhat bewildered look doesn't change from person to person. I'd know it anywhere, and it never really goes away either. Even my closest friends, who know I practically never head out to a theater, will always ask me what I thought of some new popular flick. But the looks change from bewilderment to disappointment after a time, realizing that it will be months until I can talk about and share in that experience. Would... More »
Last Post: April 13, 2009 4:21 AM by dodycp
Micro SD - A Marvel of Modern Tech
I've seen a lot of gadgets in my day, even some of the coolest technologies ever made. Suffice to say, it's great when I pick up something that makes me think, "Wow." That happened to me today when I received the new memory card for my phone. I've got plenty of devices that take SD cards, and to me, there's nothing special about them. However, my new cell phone is the first device in my arsenal that takes Micro SD, a miniturized version of the SD card that's one of the most popular flash memory formats. I've seen Micro SD cards online before, and I never really gave them a second glance. However, when I opened the package to my new storage card, I was taken back by how tiny these things really are. Yet what really knocks my socks off is that this little piece of plastic holds a... More »
Sony's Redesigned PSP Underwhelms
The PSP train wreck continues for Sony. I've said it before (and I'll say it again), the PSP is successful when viewed only by the number of hardware units sold. When viewed from any other perspective, be it software sales, UMD movies, music, video, and pure customer satisfaction, it's a flop. So what do you do when something is broken? You fix it, right? That's just what Sony tried to do. However, the latest series of hardware fixes in this "newly designed" PSP doesn't address what wasn't working for the flailing handheld in the first place. Don't get me wrong. A slightly slimmer profile, less weight, better D-Pad, front facing speakers, top mounted Wi-Fi switch, and new colors are all great things, but it doesn't solve the problems that have been facing the PSP since day one... a massive catalogue of 90% crappy games. The best fix Sony could make... More »
Last Post: April 5, 2008 12:12 AM by Pick001
Welcome to Mind Over Matt'er
Greetings all! Let me be the first to welcome you to Mind Over Matt'er, my personal technology blog where you'll be sure to find the latest insights, news, opinoin, grumblings, projects, and a whole lot more. For those who don't know me, let me share a little about myself. I'm 26 years old, and reside in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. I've logged over 10 years of expereince in the consumer electronics industry, and even more if you count the days of gadget tinkering and video games in my youth. Today I manage the TechLore website, along with SlingCommunity , DroboSpace , and the new Monster Community . So what will you find here? Well... just about everything. I do some pretty nifty tech projects when I get bored, and often try to see what I can put together with older gadgets from yesteryear that I pick up used from... More »
Last Post: July 23, 2007 11:17 AM by Vicki Schmitz
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