Archive for the ‘Blogs’ Category

Dell Inspiron Mini 12 Review [Review]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is a bit confused. It packs an Intel Atom processor, which makes it a netbook. But it also has a 12-inch screen, which exceeds our definition of what a netbook can be. On one hand it’s a natural evolution of the genre in an ever growing screen size arms race, topping the 10-inchers like a razor company adding another blade. On the other, the Inspiron Mini 12 reaches a size and pricepoint that makes it comparable to far more capable systems from Dell in the same pricerange.

But rather than focus on philosophy, I’ll say that the Inspiron Mini 12 feels better than any netbook I’ve used to date…even if it cheated a bit in the process.

Design
The build of the Mini 12 is excellent. Even with the extended battery, it feels light and easy to toss around. But it’s more than the weight that makes it so comfortable to carry. Its bottom has a sandpapery texture, which grips a hand with confidence.
You’ll also notice that the side profile is tapered along the bottom edges. I don’t know that it makes any difference in how the computer actually rests on a table, but it looks nice enough.
The Mini 12’s keyboard is still not full-sized, but it’s adequate to feel comfortable and satisfyingly clicky. Meanwhile, the trackpad does leave something to be desired. The texture is simply off to me, simultaneously smooth and bumpy, it almost feels like a skin rash. The right and left mouse buttons below tend to recess when pressed more than any laptop I’ve ever used. It’s and off-putting sensation at first, but I grew to appreciate the mechanical feel.
As for the screen, it’s a luxury to use. The experience is completely different than an 8.9-inch display that you find in most standard netbooks nowadays (including own Dell’s Mini 9). There’s decent color, solid contrast, and sharp 1280X800 resolution…but just moderate brightness. The max setting was just adequately bright, which considering the fact that LCDs fade with time, is something to keep in mind—especially if you like to fry your eyes like I do.

The biggest surprise of the testing had to be how cool the system ran. The bottom didn’t heat my lap at all, feeling only lukewarm to the touch. I can only assume that the larger case mixed with a low wattage processor dissipates heat very well. However the engineering worked out, I’ll take it.
But if there was one thing I would change, it would be the charging and power light. It sits on the hinge in a prominent position that you can see even when closed, but it’s far too dim, and it’s viewable from a very limited range of angles. Put it this way, for the first day I had the system, I thought Dell had omitted this light altogether.

Ultimately though, it’s just a nice looking machine that feels great to put yours hands on, a far cry from the humble original Eee and something you’ll be proud to pull out at board meetings and pretentious coffee shops alike.

Function
So here’s the rub: While I love the Dell design, the hardware/software combination has slowed the Mini 12 to barely usable levels. The model I tested was the $550 base system with a 1.33GHz Atom, 1GB of RAM and 40GB hard drive. That system should be alright for XP (though we’d love to see a 2GB RAM upgrade option), but it’s just not enough to power Vista. And you can only buy the system with Vista.

The system crawls with constant multi-second stalls, and effective multitasking is pretty much impossible. Sadly, there’s not much more to say on the topic. Simple mental math tells us that this system shouldn’t be running Vista as it skirts the minimum requirements of Home Basic, and our real world testing shows us the same thing. Of course, Vista alone doesn’t mean you should pass over the Mini 12. Just expect to reinstall the OS with the purchase and come to terms with the fact that your paying licensing rights for an OS that you won’t use.

Battery Life
I tested the battery life through MPEG4 video playback with the default processing settings and the screen at max brightness (max, to me, is the ideal viewing brightness).

Base 3-cell Battery - 1 hour, 20 minutes
Extended 6-cell battery - 4 hours, 2 minutes

At a glance, this 12-inch Dell system looks to about as power efficient as the 10-inch MSI Wind, though it loses about 20 minutes on the 3-cell battery (we’re guessing through a combination of more computational rigorous testing methods and a larger screen). Keep in mind that if you expect to hang out around a plug, the AC adapter is quite light, lacking any big power brick to speak of.

Back to Square One
Without opening the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 box, I would have expected exactly what I encountered—a solidly built system that shouldn’t be running Vista. But even loaded with XP, and even in the $600 configuration that we’d recommend (1.6GHz Atom, 60GB hard drive, 1GB RAM and 6-cell battery), the system still begs the question of value. A slightly smaller, equally powered MSI Wind will run you $350. And you can get a slightly bigger Core2Duo Dell laptop for $600 easy.

It’s true. From a performance standpoint alone, there’s almost no question that the Dell Mini 12 isn’t “worth it.” But if you don’t want to squint at a screen yet you still want a system that breaks the 3-pound barrier, then it’s hard not to be a little infatuated with the Mini 12. Just rip Vista off that thing as quickly as possible. [Dell]


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Dealzmodo: 15 Cheap Blu-ray Players as Low as $200 [Dealzmodo]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

There’s no question that Blu-ray is still not as inexpensive as DVD, whether you’re talking about the players or the discs themselves. But prices have come down in time for the holidays, especially if you’re willing to settle for an early generation model or a refurb.

In fact, we have a list of 15 Blu-ray players that don’t go for $300 or under just on Black Friday; they go for that little every day if you’re willing to do a quick online search. Here are all 15 models, many with links to decent deals if you’re too exasperated to search yourself.

Magnavox (NB500MG9)
MSRP: $298
AVG $220

Panasonic (DMP-BD30)
MSRP: $499.95
AVG $250

Panasonic (DMP-BD35)
MSRP: $299.95
AVG $200

Philips (BDP7200)
MSRP: $399.99
AVG $240

Samsung BD-P1000
MSRP: $999
AVG $200 at low end

Samsung BD-P1200
MSRP: $799
AVG $200 at low end

Samsung BD-P1500
MSRP: $399
AVG $250

Sharp BD-HP2OU
MSRP:$399
AVG $250

Sharp BDHP21U
MSRP: $349.99
AVG $250

Sony BDP-BX1
MSRP: $499
AVG $290

Sony BDP-S300
MSRP: $499
AVG $250

Sony BDP-S301
MSRP:$499
AVG $230

Sony BDP-S350
MSRP: $399
AVG $250

Sylvania NB500SL9
MSRP: $349.00
AVG $200

Sylvania NB501SL9
MSRP: $289.99
AVG $220


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RebateStatus.com Files For Chapter 11, Your Rebate May Be Affected [Rebates]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

One of the nation’s largest rebate processing firms, CPG (RebateStatus.com) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. What does that mean for you? Well, if you happened to mail-in a rebate form with a company that CPG works with, your check may be in limbo because they don’t have the money to cash it. At this point, exactly how the situation will be handled is unclear—but there are a few things you can do to get things under control. Dealnews is recommending that anyone who has a rebate check or is expecting one not cash it because it may bounce and result in an NSF fee. Instead, you should hang on to it until more details become available (this goes for rebates that have not been submitted as well). If you are not sure whether or not your rebate is invovled, a partial list of affected companies is available after the break.

Partial list of companies that have dealt with CFG in recent months:

Acronis Software
ACTIVSION
Advance Auto Parts
Antec
AVG
Bed Bath & Beyond
BIC Corporations US - Shaver Division
BFG
Bridgevine
Canon
Citibank
costco
Fujitsu
Home Depot
Logitech
Motorola (Surfboard cable modems)
Natures Earth Products
Nero
Panda Distribution
Pandigital
PC Tools
PriceGrabber
Rosewill (Newegg house brand)
Samsung
Smith Micro Software
Tabletops Unlimited
TrendNET
Westinghouse
XFX
ZeroTherm
Zyxel

Naturally, the best way to tell whether or not you are affected is to head on over to rebatestatus.com and check on your submission. You may also want to try and call any of the numbers listed on your rebate form on the off chance they can provide more information. I would expect an official announcement from CPG (or something from the company you purchased the item from) with details on how to proceed sometime in the next few days. [Dealnews and Fatwallet and Tampa Bay Business Journal Thanks Luis!]


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Gmail Themes. That’s Totally Ninja.

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Apparently a lucky few Gmail users had a “Themes” tab pop up under settings. No longer do you have to suffer through the boring-if-functional standard Gmail interface for the 16 hours a day that you keep the page loaded. Try “Ninja” instead.

Thanks for the tip Dan.

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The Tech Specs of HD Netflix Streaming [Streaming]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Hats off to Netflix. Without really being prompted, they’ve released their HD encoding/streaming specifications for the world to see. The company revealed that they originally considered a WMV3 (Windows Media Player 9) codec running at 4000kbps and 5500kbps, but opted instead for a similar Microsoft codec, the VC1AP running between 2600kbps and 3800kbps—which should provide a better experience for those of us with lower bandwidths.

While Netflix offers 24fps movies in their native frames per second, their other content peaks at 30fps. The company researched the 60fps content found on Blu-ray discs, they realized that they’d be better off reserving that sort of quality for another era. Good call.

While it’s a bit unfair to compare bitrates across codecs, Vudu’s premium HDX material is still the top dog in streaming, supplying encoded rates ranging between 9Mbps and 20Mbps. Then again, most of us can’t watch that footage in real time. [Netflix via CNET]


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Tweetag: Tag-Based Search For Twitter

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Erick recently wrote:

We all know how tagging makes the Web a richer place (by tapping into people’s desire to categorize things and share those categories, ad-hoc though they may be, with everyone else). Tagging brings a bottoms-up order to the Web by making information more searchable and thus easier to find. Now it is time to start tagging the world. The real world.

Enter Tweetag, a brand new way to search Twitter, or ‘browse the Twittosphere’ as they put it. The app, like most Twitter-related applications, is fairly simple: you enter a tag, and Tweetag will show public Twitter messages that contain that particular keyword, but more interestingly also a list of other tags that are related to it.

This allows you to filter down Twitter’s constant stream of 140-or-less-character messages intuitively. Take for instance a query for ‘obama‘: you’ll see all tweets contain the President-elect’s first name, and you can simply filter it down by adding other keywords to the URL or clicking an associated tag, e.g. ‘obama/youtube‘. In addition, Tweetag features tabs which allow you to filter down Twitter messages containing links, questions and @replies.

The Tweetag homepage also displays the 40 most frequent tags, so you can easily get an idea of what’s hot on Twitter in a way similar to what Twitscoop, TwitBuzz, TweetWire and other services are all about. It’s also a great way to track conversations around a given topic, say the earthquake in Indonesia from last weekend.

Twitter recently acquired Summize, whose technology currently powers Twitter Search, and it wouldn’t take them all that much time and effort to build something similar on top of it. Until they do, you can use Tweetag to monitor specific keywords and find out what’s hot on the popular micro-sharing tool in just a few seconds. Tweetag even boasts their own API which allows you to integrate their results into a blog widget or third-party applications.

At first glance, Tweetag is merely a feature, not a business. The creators insist however that have a way to monetize the service as a B2B tool, and that they are currently raising funding to make that happen.

By the way, if you’re not into Twitter, check out this WordPress plugin the guys behind Tweetag have created for tag-based filtering of comments: Commentag.

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BuildingPorn: The Dubai Skyline-in-Progress [Architecture]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

The Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world, is at 160 stories and counting, with the tower due to be complete next September. But it’s not the only tower under construction in Dubai, not by a longshot. No, the city appears to be sprouting up from the ground like a bunch of weeds, with as many cranes as buildings. And now, The Big Picture has nearly 30 amazing shots of the city in transition. Hit the jump for another of my favorites and then head over to The Big Picture for the rest.

[The Big Picture]


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GazProm Media Completes $15 Million Acquisition RuTube, The YouTube Of Russia

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Russia’s media conglomerate, Gazprom Media, is now the proud owner of video-sharing site RuTube. This deal has been in the works since at least June, 2007 and is believed to be in the $15 million range.

RuTube is the YouTube of Russia. Or, rather, it wants to be. According to comScore, YouTube is actually the YouTube of Russia. In September, RuTube attracted 2 million unique visitors in Russia, versus 2.9 million Russian uniques for YouTube. RuTibe is seeing some nice growth, though. It has doubled its audience since June. (All caveats about comScore estimates apply here. Their numbers for Russia should be looked at as indicative of the trend rather than as absolutes).

TechCrunch reader Andrei Taraschuk, the founder of UMapper, translated the following Russian press story about the deal into English for us:

Gazprom-Media completed the acquisition of video service RuTube. The news came today from TNT – Teleset (TNT-Telenetwork) is the largest television network in Russia. According to sources inside TNT, RuTube is going to be headed by TNT’s Michael Ilitchev.

Ilitchev told Lenta.ru that RuTube will continue its focus on three main areas: video service, online video hosting, media platform. Down the road RuTube might expand its services to brands like RuTube movie, RuTube sport, RuTube music, RuTube news, RuTube humor.

Ilitched pointed out that RuTube founders will continue their involvement in RuTube from the technical side. The rest of RuTube team will continue as subcontractors to support, develop and host the project.

The exact acquisition amount is yet unknown.

It took Gazprom-Media over a year to purchase RuTube. Gazprom-Media announced their acquisition plans back in June 2007, the legal (purchase) process was started in March of 2008. Russian newspaper Kommersant (Коммерсант) wrote that Gazprom-media valued RuTube at 15million USD and had plans to become primary shareholder. It was expected that after the acquisition, RuTube will start hosting videos from TNT and other media properties of Gazprom-Media.

RuTube is the biggest video hosting service in RUNET (Russian internet). According to Gallup, in September 2008, RuTube had over 4mln visitors. Over 5,8 had watched videos.

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Insidious New SEO Ad Product Will Be Hard For Google To Detect (Updated With Google Response)

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

New York-based advertising firm MediaWhiz, never one to worry about gray areas when it comes to advertising, has launched a new product today called InLinks.

It’s fairly straightforward - advertisers who want their sites associated with specific keywords simply buy ads. Links to those sites are then added to publishers sites whenever those words pop up in content. These aren’t ghost links like Kontera and others include in content - they’re full blown links without any notation (like a nofollow) that they are advertisements meant primarily for SEO juice.

Content sites are paid a flat rate per month per ad sold. I’m trying to get more details now from the company, but there is more on this here and here.

Update: Google’s Matt Cutts emails:

Google has been very clear that selling such links that pass PageRank is a violation of our quality guidelines. Other search engines have said similar things. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also given unambiguous guidance on this subject in the recent PDF at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2008/03/P064101tech.pdf where they said “Consumers who endorse and recommend products on their blogs or other sites for consideration should do so within the boundaries set forth in the FTC Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising and the FTC’s guidance on word of mouth marketing,” as well as “To date, in response to this concern, the FTC has advised that search engines need to disclose clearly and conspicuously if the ranking or other presentation of search results is a function of paid placement, and, similarly, that consumers who are paid to engage in word-of-mouth marketing must disclose that fact to recipients of their messages.”

Oh, but you say your blog isn’t in the U.S.? Maybe it’s in the UK? Then you’ll be interested in
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20081277_en_5#pt11 which covers unfair trade practices and specifically mentions “Using editorial content in the media to promote a product where a trader has paid for the promotion without making that clear in the content or by images or sounds clearly identifiable by the consumer (advertorial).”

But you’re not in the UK? I believe many of the unfair commercial practices directives apply through Europe, e.g. http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/rights/index_en.htm to prohibit misleading or aggressive marketing.

The reality is that accepting money to link to/promote/market for a product without disclosing that fact is a very high-risk behavior, in my opinion.

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Pocket Jockey iPhone Game Simulates Horse Racing In Most Suggestive Way Possible [IPhone Apps]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Pocket Jockey simulates those carnival games where you have to propel your horse down a via any manner of hammer-bopping, ball-rolling or water gun-squirting—only here, the idea is to actually jump up and down like a horse’s gallop. A firm slap to your own hindquarters (riding crop optional) delivers an additional boost via accelerometer detection. If you still have questions on how this whole thing works, why not let two lovely and tech-savvy ladies demonstrate for you in video form. The scene is on a bed and it may involve assorted panting and gasping, but yeah, it’s probably SFW.

If you’re still with us, Pocket Jockey will run you 99 cents in the App Store. [Pocket Jockey (iTunes Link)]


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Windows 7 Touch Control Makes Media Center Interface Awesome [Windows 7]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Visiting Microsoft’s Media Center posse in Redmond, I just caught a glimpse of the Windows 7 Media Center interface with integrated touch control (no third-party software) on an HP TouchSmart. All I can say is, I’ve always loved the MCE user experience—it really is a highlight of Microsoft design—but adding smooth touch interaction makes it even better. The only thing missing here is multitouch, but I’m told that’s coming. Check out the vid. [Windows 7]


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Windows 7 Touch Control Makes Media Center More Awesome [Windows 7]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

Visiting Microsoft’s Media Center posse in Redmond, I just caught a glimpse of the Windows 7 Media Center interface with integrated touch control (no third-party software) on an HP TouchSmart. All I can say is, I’ve always loved the MCE user experience—it really is a highlight of Microsoft design—but adding smooth touch interaction makes it even better. The only thing missing here is multitouch, but I’m told that’s coming. Check out the vid. [Windows 7]


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Konica Minolta Working on Thumbdrive-Sized Projector [Projectors]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

It appears that Konica Minolta will take mini-projector one-upsmanship to the next level with a new device that measures about 1.6 inches long, .79 inches wide, and only .3 inches thick—roughly the size of a smallish thumbdrive. When all is said and done, Konica believes that this new projector will be able to throw 20-inch color images in XGA resolution at distances of about 20 24-inches away from the screen and use less than 1-watt of power while operating. Unfortunately, the device will not be ready for public consumption for another 2 or 3 years, which opens up the door for another company to one-up their one-up. [Nikkei-subcription via Crunchgear via ComputerWorld]


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Study Reveals Students Blame Gadgets For Their Missing Homework [Dogs Vindicated]

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

A recent survey of British teachers has revealed that students are relying more and more on tech-related excuses to explain their failure to hand in homework. Traditional excuses like “the dog ate it” have given way to gems like “the computer crashed”, “the internet was down”, “a printer failed to work” and “work was deleted by accident”. Apparently, students believe they can slide one by older, less tech savvy teachers this way—and the teachers admit that they are more likely to fall prey to this tactic. However, as the following list of the top five worst excuses will illustrate, some students shoot themselves in the foot by taking things waaay to far.

Top five worst tech-related excuses according to the survey:

•My dad’s computer was hacked by the Russians and they stole my homework.
•A burglar stole my printed-out homework along with the computer.
•The PC exploded when our dog went to the toilet on it. (Still blaming the dog!)
•I accidentally tipped a bottle of cider over the computer and it broke.

Remember kids—keep it simple because simple is believable (fade to “The More You Know” graphic).[Telegraph via Fark Image via Itchmo]


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Ian Rogers On The Death Of The Music CD Business: “I Don’t Care.”

Nov 19, 2008 Blogs, Technology

We’ve written a lot about the death of the recorded music business, but in a keynote address to a music industry conference a couple weeks ago Topspin CEO Ian Rogers sketches out a different future. Rogers, the former head of Yahoo Music, correctly points out, as others have before him, that it is not the music industry that is dying. It is the CD business.

And as far as the CD business going the way of the dodo, with sales of physical CDs declining and the growth of digital sales not making up the difference, his response is:

I don’t care.

The lamenting we read in the press is not the story of the new music business. Continuing to talk about the health of the music industry on these terms is as if we’d all been crying about the dying cassette business in 1995. The difference is that when we moved from cassette to CD the winners were the same (big companies who owned access to cash, distribution, and marketing) and the definition of winning was the same (more units sold for these big companies).

As I’ve been saying for years, the physics of the media space have changed and you shouldn’t expect the winners or even the definition of winning to stay constant, so simply looking at how iTunes replaces CDs doesn’t tell the entire story.

I see news about the health of the music industry as defined by the stock price of WMG or quarterly earnings of UMG, Sony, and EMI every day. What I don’t see, apart from a few articles on Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, is an update on how the world is changing from the artist point of view. But I tell you, when I talk to managers and artists they feel it, they feel an ability to take their careers into their own hands, to redefine what success means for them, and that is the emergence of the new music business.

He argues that what will replace the current hits-driven music industry is a broader middle class of artists that can support themselves using the Web to promote their music, shows, and merchandise. Rogers illustrates his argument with two examples of artists who distribute their music through Topspin and are making more money than they would under the traditional system.

The first example is David Byrne and Brian Eno’s new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. By distributing digitally and keeping most of the profits themselves, the gross revenues of the album matched what they could have expected to get as an advance from a music label within the first 50 days. The second example is a lesser-known artist in his twenties, Joe Purdy, who has sold 650,000 tracks on iTunes and was able to buy a house from the proceeds.

Rogers concludes:

Digital sales don’t make up for physical? From the artist perspective they certainly can, and quickly. David and Brian keep the majority of the profits, and (via Topspin at least) are paid within sixty days of the fan purchasing (no wait for recoupment and complex royalty accounting). When your costs are low your royalty rate high and your channel direct, the marginal profitability from the artist perspective can be far different than in the old model, to be sure.

And where the mass-marketed approach was low-margin from the artist perspective, the target-marketed approach can be much higher margin (which is how Joe Purdy buys a house on his iTunes sales). Topspin believes there is an entire middle class of artists for whom the system hasn’t worked in the past who will be empowered by this new model.

Again, there are only two players in the music business that matter at the end of the day: the artists and the fans. The rest of us . . . either add value today with a compelling service or we die. And I’m perfectly happy with that.

Rogers is right. The music industry needs a bigger middle class of artists. It also needs more people like Rogers trying to create that middle class.

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