TechLore - Zatz Not Funny

...And an iPod Touch or Three

ZatzNotFunny — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:08:34 GMT

Per usual, Christmas with my family was a CE lover’s dream. Among the gifts given and received: 1 Slacker G2 (to replace the one I had to give away ) 1 Skooba checkpoint-friendly laptop bag 1 Asus Eee 1000HA (okay, I bought it for myself right before X’mas; it’s a tax write-off) 1 Logitech diNovo Edge keyboard 1 PS3 console 2 Garmins and a TomTom 3 iPods Touch Sadly, not all of them came home to my house, but a healthy number did. As for the iPods, we were not unique in our gift giving. The iPod Touch was one of the hottest selling items on Amazon this season, and a huge jump in App Store purchases proves the new gifts were put to good use. Why the mainstream popularity? Aside from the obvious portable music/video access, I have a theory that a lot of adults who used to steal their kids’ Gameboys to play Tetris are discovering the iPod as an “adult” portable gaming machine. Wurdle, anyone? So far the gadget I’ve spent the most time with has been my new Asus . The Eee is delicious after lugging around my >15″ Dell for the last two years, and...

Satellite Radio's Dilemma ($$$)

ZatzNotFunny — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:47:53 GMT

The New York Times is out with a piece on Sirius/XM’s quest for cash. While subscriber numbers and revenue have been growing at a very healthy clip, the company is heavily burdened with debt - which they’re finding difficult to refinance at favorable terms in the current economic climate. And bankruptcy is on the table . While I represent the tech vanguard, rather than the mainstream, the Times did cite my defection (and questionable taste in music) to Internet radio as one of Sirius’ challenges… as they prepare to spend $250-$300 million on another satellite launch: Dave Zatz [...] was an XM subscriber but dropped the service after his favorite channel, Chrome [...], was dropped. Now, he says, he streams Pandora, a popular Internet radio service, through his iPhone while driving. âThe price is right and you can get whatever music you like,â he says. Related Stories: Dave Dumps XM (Again) XM & Sirius To Merge (Maybe) 48 Hours Of Sirius Internet Radio Free

iPhone Apps of the Week

ZatzNotFunny — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:11:31 GMT

With the holiday season news slowdown and calm before the CES storm, we may be posting slightly off center from our typical ZNF coverage these next few days. And, while we don’t generally offer a whole lot of mobile tech conversation, I’m clearly a phone junkie. So, here are my top three new iPhone apps of the week: USA Today First up is the USA Today news app. Although a (relatively) late entrant to this category, compared to say the New York Times and Bloomberg, USA Today is easily the best of the bunch for general info. While the number of stories may be limited, the range of topics plus sports scores and customized weather make it a keeper. It’s also quite sprightly, compared to the frustratingly slow (still) New York Times app. HP iPrint Photo HP’s released a free application that locates any networked (HP) printers and makes your iPhoto pics available for 4×6 printing. This clearly doesn’t replace desktop software, however it’s a promising proof of concept. And printing from mobile devices isn’t new by any means… I remember beaming addresses from PDA to laser printer,Â via IR, years ago. But what this says to me is that...

Digital Media Bytes

ZatzNotFunny — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:33:45 GMT

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: 2008 HDTV Year in Review Thereâs been a whole lot of HDTV activity this year, and with only a few days left in 2008, I think itâs a good time to take a look back. All in all, it was a big year for HDTV. And 2009 promises more of the same. Ultimate Guide - the Winter 2009 TV Season Wanting to know when that show from the Fall season is returning? Or maybe you’re curious about what new shows are starting January - March? The Winter 2009 season will soon be upon us so, I have compiled the complete guide for you. The A - Z Movie Meme Last month Blog Cabins started a pretty cool meme where he lists his favorite movies A - Z. Since Iâve been slacking off on my posts for the last few months, I wanted to go back and share my own list with you. Motorola Predictions, the New Set-Top to Handset Service, and More In an ongoing series of executive interviews to wrap up the year, I spoke recently with Motorolaâs John Burke on some of the most important milestones for the...

The Flip MinoHD Giveaway - Start '09 in HD!

ZatzNotFunny — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:02:38 GMT

After weeks of playing with the Flip MinoHD , it’s time to give someone else a turn. The kind PR folks have agreed to let us give away our review unit to one lucky ZNF reader. My initial take on the MinoHD was that the difficulties of dealing with huge file sizes made the upgrade from an SD camcorder not quite worthwhile. But HD is addictive. The more videos you take in HD, the harder it is to go back to looking at SD clips. I’m still not willing to give up the AA battery advantage of the Flip Ultra , but if the Ultra gets an upgrade, I may have to as well. In the meantime, you know the drill. Leave a comment saying you’d like a shot at the MinoHD (US residents only- sorry!), and one winner will be selected at random this weekend. Related Stories: X’mas Lights in HD with the Flip MinoHD Flip Goes HD, Adds FlipShare Software Flip Mino vs. Flip Ultra

DISH DTVPal DVR and Verismo VuNow Shipping

ZatzNotFunny — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:07:11 GMT

Folks who pre-ordered the DISH Network DTVPal DRV or Verismo VuNo may be receiving some pretty exclusive holiday cheer this week. The DTVPal DVR ($250) is dual-tuning high definition DVR designed to record digital signals solely via antenna (OTA, ATSC), without requiring an ongoing TiVo-esque service fee. While interest in this product has been extremely high, early reports are a bit mixed . High quality visuals, though two reports of “pulsating” anomalies and timers (recordings, too?) seem to be scheduled via time slot, rather than content title. Guide data quality is dependent on the thoroughness and technology utilized by local broadcasters. However, this is a live platform and at least two initial customers have reported receiving firmware updates when connecting their unit over Ethernet. The compact VuNow media streamer comes in two flavors, a standard definition “PoD” ($99) and an HD variant ($149). In addition to the requisite YouTube access, VuNow also aggregates a variety of other web video sites into a searchable interface. Through the addition of your own USB or network storage, local video, music, and graphics can also be enjoyed. Unlike that other diminutive $99 box , WiFi is not built-in - although wireless capabilities can be...