Got less than $100 in the Gadget kitty right now? You’ve got your choice of gadgets today and tomorrow. First up, Kogan’s selling off its USB recording set digital set top box for $29 as a Friday special. You could plug that set box into the tiny but inexpensive Dick Smith 15-inch $99 TV. If mobile’s more your thing, Gus over at Lifehacker notes that Aldi’s got the Huawei Ideos U8150 on sale tomorrow for $59.99, including $35 worth of call credit. [Kogan and Dick Smith (via Buckscoop) and Lifehacker]
Either way, you’ll struggle in store trying to pronounce the DFTA52DAB’s title. More »
Telstra’s attempt to take over the loungeroom will take its next big step forward tomorrow with the official launch of the T-Box, their IPTV-enabled PVR. More »
Back in March, Telstra said they’d be launching 100Mbps cable in Melbourne. Today, the Big T announced that they’d be flicking the switch on December 1, as well as confirming details on the T-Box. Not to be confused with the T-Hub, this one’s a DVR! For TV. More »
Last week, Spokane-based engineer Adam Chronister posted a Youtube video, where he cracked open a government-subsidised DTV converter box, only to find a hidden camera. Turns out, the whole thing was a hoax.
Boxee, makers of fine open-source media centre software, apparently couldn’t go anywhere at CES without someone asking them to build a set-top-box. Now they’re asking you if they should go through with the plan.
The government has been handing out $US40 DTV converter coupons left and right—so many, in fact, that they may reach their $1.34-billion budget cap before the transition happens February 17th.
Come December 31st, 2013, people like you and me can expect quite a few tech support calls from family and friends. Because that’s when the last analog TV transmission will be switched off, moving us into a glorious age of digital-only TV entertainment.
But what about all the people out there who don’t know a tech-savvy young person to make their TV work? How will they cope with plugging in a digital set-top box to their old analog CRT TV? Apparently, only 42 per cent of households have a digital-ready TV in the house.
Fortunately, the Government understands that there are people who won’t be able to upgrade to digital because they are either a) Unable to understand the potentially confusing cabling between a STB and a TV; or b) Too poor to be able to afford the purchase of a digital set-top box. More »
