Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Moneual I*magine HTPC Looks Purdy, Steals Out Hearts

11:00PM Charlie White | This little orb is a Moneual I*magine home theatre PC, packed with a Cure 2 Duo 2.2GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, HDMI output and a 500GB hard drive for all your fave music or movies. The big draw here is the design, a matter of taste but we think it’s beautiful. We also like the responsiveness of that touchscreen, and are told that if you trick the PC’s innards out with an ATI 2400 XT graphics card, it can play back 1080p. Look for it in March for $US1999. [Moneual] More »

Images of the iPod Frozen Popsicles Don’t Excite Our Tongues But Tickles Our Ears

10:30PM Jesus Diaz | Remember that Unilever promotion that is giving away 10,000 iPod shuffles frozen inside $1 fruit popsicles? Well, we got the pictures of how it actually looks inside: More »

Erotic Wall of Undulating Subwoofers

3:20PM Brian Lam | The North hall of CES is like a different planet. Car culture dominates geek culture here, but you still find weird things like this mini wall of 7 inch Kicker solo-baric L7 subs. They were outputting a low roar that felt like a massage or subtle brush against my skin when I leaned in close. I wouldn’t say it was erotic, but I wouldn’t say that it wasn’t erotic either. More »

Microsoft’s Brainwashing Children’s Book: Mummy, Where Do Servers Come From?

2:30PM Noah Robischon | “Mummy, Why is There a Server in the House?” is a children’s book dedicated to “Helping Your Child Understand the Stay-At-Home Server.” At first we snarked at this over-the-top marketing propaganda. But then it made us crap our pants with laughter. More »

FCC Chairman Kicking Cable and Wireless Ass in 2008

12:36PM Matt Buchanan | The initials F-C-C don’t usually engender excitement, but at least according to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, it’s ground zero for most of the broadcasting, wireless and high-bandwidth landline innovations we’ll see in the next couple years. Martin spilled on everything from the 700MHz auction to a rumoured DirecTV/Dish network merger. (Seriously.) They covered a lot of stuff, here’s the Cliff’s Notes: 700 MHz auction and analog-to-digital TV switchover • Martin says the neat stuff he saw at CES last year led in part to the 700MHz auction open-access rules • He thinks it’s “possible” we’ll see 700MHz devices within a year—which is why the “hard” analog cutoff date of Feb. 19, 2009 is important • Speaking of, the cutoff date is engraved in frickin’ stone, people—no extensions • He has no interest in “any particular company winning,” just wants someone to make the minimum bid that would enforce open access • Regarding big bidder Verizon, Martin said it “may win” the auction (Freudian slip?) • Since poor broadband penetration in rural areas is the main reason we’re so far behind Asia, the 700MHz will serve as a good bridge, and might even become the new broadband platform Cable • Neither Martin nor CEA chief Gary Shapiro have any love for cable—no wonder the FCC’s been reaming them • “We’ve seen a significant decrease in prices” in everything the FCC regulates except cable—that’s gonna change • It is “critical” that consumer-electronic devices are able to attach to cable networks and do two-way communication without a set-top box (i.e., two-way CableCARD is mandatory) • Proposed pay-per-channel cable is a “real market solution” to cable sucking balls and “I’m doing everything I can” to make it happen • Independent content providers such as NFL Network need to be able to get their shows on cable Comcast’s Alleged Blockage of BitTorrent • He’s going to investigate it (FCC investigates “all complaints”) and make sure no one is being blocked from access in a “discriminatory way” • If a company engaged in “reasonable network practice” for traffic management they should be honest about it Satellite Radio and TV • The FCC will look at XM and Sirius merger proposal “soon,” but “isn’t sure” it’ll clear all the hurdles—awaiting on Department of Justice • Regarding a potential, but by no means proposed, merger of DirecTV and Dish, he doesn’t know whether the XM-Sirius thing would set a precedent; at the bare minimum they’d have to enforce the same price protection XM and Sirius are proposing Broadband Penetration • “We’ve done some very significant steps over the last three years” toward increasing the options for broadband—in particular letting telcos get into IPTV so they’d invest in fibre optic pipes; busting up cable apartment contracts, etc. • Wants to redefine the term “broadband” to higher speeds—200Kbps is not broadband and people are getting hosed DRM • “We need to make sure that consumers have fair use, reasonable expectations” that they can “copy things and use them themselves” which is “not only fair but important, and we need to continue to protect that.” • “I do believe that fair use” and protecting what “consumers are able to do in their home on their devices” is the “guiding principle,” and that’s a “reasonable and fair” expectation In sum, more openness, more competition, more consumer protections—in theory. It could be a great year for us across the board at the expense of closed industries, particularly cable and wireless. I actually feel like the government is working for us for a change. More »

Super Cute iRiver Wing UMPC Is Also Super Tiny

12:30PM Matt Buchanan | Scale is everything: We knew iRiver’s Wing touchscreen UMPC was seriously compact, but didn’t know just how small it was. It’s still a complete prototype—you’re looking at dumb plastic, and the top half even sorta fell off the hinge—but we convinced them to pull it out of the glass case so we could do a quick sizemodo. We just hope it actually comes out at this size. More »

Reviewed.com’s CES Rap Sums Up This Week Nicely, I Think

12:08PM Adam Frucci | Honestly, at this point, after so little sleep, I can’t tell whether or not this is a brilliant, hilarious take on CES or the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, as even if I wasn’t delirious with exhaustion I’d think a guy trying to rap with a mouthful of champagne was pretty hilarious. Hit the jump for the full lyrics. More »

Guitar Hero Guitar CES Craptacular

12:00PM Sean Fallon | Guitar Hero is wicked popular so it is not surprising that numerous companies here at CES are piling on the guitar controller bandwagon. It is also not surprising that many of these controllers blow goats. In case you were unsure, hit the gallery and lay your eyes on the “Shredmaster” and the “Shredmaster Jr.” In fact, the only guitar that seemed to be worth a damn was the PS3 Frontman guitar that plays nice with both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Anyway, we spent a good deal of time rounding up the suck, so the least you can do is enjoy it. More »