Recent Comments:
Foxit's eSlick ereader now supports EPUB, puts Kindle to shame {Engadget}
Nov 6th 2009 7:32AM epub... kindle.. http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/04/savoury-native-kindle-epub-a.html
The kindle is still the best reader out there (I have several). I really don't get the point of the nook as the minimalist approach is what works for me and I would suspect anyone that wants to read. The incorporation of these other elements is simply a distraction from reading. I have about 80 books on my K2 (all read) and all of them are shared with my wife (for free). It works for us. It comes down to access, selection, and convenience, which the kindle does just fine right now. When (if) amazon could open up its library we might see some competition, but until then...
First MoCA 1.1 cable set-top-box gets certified {Engadget HD}
Oct 27th 2009 10:26PM PQoS is not DRM, it is simply traffic prioritization to ensure that your video streams do not starve for bandwidth by raising its priority above your normal traffic.
Gyrobike's Gyrowheel stabilizes a kid's first bike without the training wheels {Engadget}
Oct 4th 2009 9:04AM Get the child a bike that fits first, too many parents get a bike that is way to big thinking they will grow into it. The first bike should be one that allows them to easily reach the ground with both feet (flat footed). Make sure it has HAND brakes, coaster brakes are about the dumbest invention ever, it does more to confuse the new learner than anything else. Then take off the pedals. Let them get the feel for just gliding, and the fact that they can put their feet down to stop. Then concentrate on braking, then turning in circles, then gliding to a stop, when that is under control then put the pedals back on. I have taught many kids to ride, within an hour of their first time on the bike they can usually glide pretty conifidently, some kids get it within a few hours and are pedaling on their own the same afternoon, some take a little longer but always much, much faster than the kids that learn with training wheels.
Sony single lens 240 fps camera is great for 3D (& 2D) sports {Engadget}
Oct 1st 2009 8:12AM While this will create a 3D image it will feel unatural as the perspective is forced by the angle of the mirrors rather than natural through eye separation. This technique has been used in borescope (inspection scopes) to give some sense of perspective but has limited application as the achievable separation is limited. It would for instance probably work better on a basketball court than on football field except in limited situations.
Toshiba Satellite T100 series of thin-and-lights receive Windows 7 nod {Engadget}
Sep 29th 2009 7:37AM The CULV series from intel is based on the core 2 processors, in other words it is a step up from the atom processor and bridges the gap between netbook (atom) and full laptop. IOW it should be noticeably faster than an atom but don't plan on running any serious games on it. You would be buying this for its portability and long battery life.
The Popcorn Hour C-200 media streamer makes its way into the wild {Engadget}
Sep 19th 2009 11:36AM For the cost of a few minutes of your time and a download, you could be running YAMJ (yet another movie jukebox) and have a great looking interface on the A110, and I think on the A100
http://omertron.com/pch/YAMJ_Latest
With a bit more ambition (not much more) you can be running a combination of NMTserver and YAMJ
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ithiel/nmt/index.html
Don't be fooled by the default skin on the NMT site, you can run almost any YAMJ skin ( http://omertron.com/pch/taxonomy/term/92 )
WD TV-2 spruces up Western Digital's already attractive media player offering {Engadget}
Aug 16th 2009 9:43AM "Brian @ Aug 16th 2009 3:06AM
You're joking right???"
Gigabit is very important. Primarily for fast forward/rewind and initial buffering of content. As it is today, startup on the fast ethernet devices (popcornhour) is variable and ffwd is limited to 2x. It wouldn't hurt the interactive experience to have support for gige either.
ProfessorKaos:
You put media on a server somewhere, typically a drive share on some computer. Often there is a piece of server software which serves up or creates web pages which host your content, showing you the album covers or movie posters associated with your content. On your TV you browse either graphically or through a list of titles and selecting a title starts your movie (or album or pictures).
If you want to see some examples of it being done right check out the networkedmediatank forums at www.networkedmediatank.com or yamj / NMT server software at http://www.xs4all.nl/~ithiel/nmt/index.html
This is running on a popcornhour quite well. The metadata (actors/directors/etc) are all pulled dymanically from various websites and the web pages you browse are completely interlinked. You can for instance select a movie, click on its director, and it will show you the rest of the movies that you have which are from the same director. This works for actors, studios, etc..
There are lots of projects like thsi out there that are avaialble that use a PC as the playback device but to me they are not nearly as flexible from an installation standpoint, or as low power as either the popcornhour (www.popcornhour.com) or it seems, this new WDTV box.
Engadget's recession antidote: win an HP TouchSmart IQ527! {Engadget}
Jul 30th 2009 1:55PM ok
Engadget HD's recession antidote: win a Netgear MoCA Coax-Ethernet adapter {Engadget HD}
Jul 29th 2009 8:18PM Fixing the economy:
Addressing unemployment, green housing, green construction, and social awareness in one fell swoop.
Require ALL new houses to come with a 1kw/h of power for FREE 24/7 by 2018 and LIMIT overall power use to 2Kw/h peak utilization through tiered pricing (10x normal price). This will be possible through green construction, enforcing new rules/specifications for appliance manufacturers, and generally increasing the social awareness of the average consumer. The power source will have to be green, and each area of the country will be forced to develop localized, most efficient (best practice) methods for generating that power be it through solar, wind, geothermal, solar storage, whatever or any mix of any and all. The subsidy for this will come from local government and the local power companies (who have been posting record profits). Failure to subsidize this will result in huge operating tariffs for the local energy suppliers and limits on costs to consumers, forcing them to comply.
This project will force the general construction company to think, act, and in general be more green, creating a knowledge economy around green lifestyles. The appliance manufacturers will be forced to re-think how and when their appliances use, store, and in some cases, generate power (co-generation or thermal exchange). The general consumer will be forced to a higher level of green awareness and into a new lifestyle through the stick and carrot of higher tier prices for over utilization of natural resources and essentially zero cost if if they stay within their free energy guidelines.
This will decrease unemployment, essentially building a new industry around green living that will span many sectors from manufacturing to design, and construction. It will have its greatest impact on the portion of the workforce that needs it the most (the low middle class to middle class).
This will create new industries where there were none before, essentially forcing large companies who have sat around complacently doing as little as possible to meet energy star guidelines and force them into high gear. This will in turn spur innovation, employment, and investment into the greening of industry.
This will create an awareness unlike any other campaign. It will reach the social concious of home buyers and anyone in their circle of acquaintences and it will most effect that portion of society which will have the longest retention (new home buyers, younger, more socially concious) for their new found awareness.
Thats my 30,000 foot view of fixing the economy. It can happen now, it will affect us for both the near term and the long term, and its just 'a good thing' (tm)
Just an Earthling
This crash exercise
Engadget's recession antidote: win a GigaPan Epic Imager! {Engadget}
Jul 24th 2009 6:08PM Sounds like fun. Would love to use it to capture pics of nature trails where we live
