-
Verizon enV Successor Is No iPhone Wannabe
Tweet Share on Facebook March 31, 2008 Comment (3)Verizon Wireless today introduced an awkwardly named new phone that looks promising: the "enV(2)." It's a clamshell model by LG with a full QWERTY keyboard inside and large screen inside, with a second screen on the outside. Verizon calls it the successor to the first-generation enV that was introduced last year.
But wait. Something's familiar here. I thought I wrote about the enV's successor when I did a piece on the Voyager. The Voyager was similar if a bit slimmer than the original enV, though it replaced the frontside keypad with an iPhone-like touch-screen.
Ah, there sits the difference. The officially dubbed enV successor, the enV(2) keeps and enlarges the frontside keypad instead of turning it into a touch-screen. So now Verizon offers a choice between keypad with the enV(2) and touch-screen with the Voyager (don't call me an enV!).
-
Women Like Tech That Adds Time Control
Tweet Share on Facebook March 31, 2008 Comment (1)Women are outracing men in adopting some technology, especially gadgets and services that offer scheduling convenience, according to a recent survey.
More women, for example, are streaming shows from TV network sites—15 percent, compared with 11 percent of men. Women also use their digital video recorders, like TiVo, more often than men, about 9.3 times a week vs. 8.3 times. DVR-owning women with kids watch 56 percent of their TV after it has been recorded, versus 42 percent for men.
Men still dominate many tech categories, including video downloading and console gaming. But about as many women as men are playing PC games, as well as networking socially and shopping online. And women over the age 40 who are "empty nesters" outshop men, with 64 percent of them making online buys versus 58 percent of men.
The survey came from about 2,000 interviews with online women conducted by analysts for Solutions Research Group, which tracks consumer attitudes on entertainment, media, technology, and leisure.
-
Getting Cash for Old Tech Gear
Tweet Share on Facebook March 28, 2008 Comment (5)Recycling old electronics is the right thing to do. Getting bucks for them is better. Too bad craigslist or eBay seem too much hassle for a three-year-old laptop.
So I was intrigued to hear about services from Circuit City, and now Best Buy, that offer to buy back my old gear. Not cash, mind you, but they'll send gift cards for their respective stores. Without much fanfare, the two chains started working with an outfit called Dealtree. Sure enough, the trade-in price offered by both chains was the same. Look for the "trade in" listing at the bottom of their home pages.
-
Why Wireless and Powerline Networks Fail
Tweet Share on Facebook March 28, 2008 Comment (1)Many of us have noticed that the microwave oven can interfere with our wireless home networks. It happens to me on the weekend, when I'm casually surfing the Web or uploading photos while sitting in the kitchen with a laptop. I'll stick in some microwave popcorn and—poof!—no Internet connection.
So now Donna, my sister-in-law, reports that she runs into interference with her powerline network that sends Internet data across her in-wall wiring. It happens when she uses a countertop popcorn popper.
Experts will say it has to do with radio frequencies—the appliances are sending signals into the air or across the wiring at wavelengths that interfere with the data.
I think it's the popcorn.
-
Adobe Moves Photo Editing Online
Tweet Share on Facebook March 27, 2008 Comment (2)Adobe went live today with its free photo-editing and storage site called Photoshop Express. The site looks promising, with the biggest range of editing options I've seen for any online service.
You can do the basics, like get rid of red eye, crop, and rotate. Or you can dive in to adjust white balance and hue and try to "pop color," which switches one color's hue with another. Not sure when I'd ever use it, but it was fun to play with.
All of the tools also offer a quick snapshot of six different levels of applying the adjustment. That makes it easier to decide how aggressively you want to apply a change—say, saturating or dimming colors.
The site offers 2 GB of free storage, and it partners with other sites such as Facebook and Photobucket to edit photos stored there.
Photoshop Express seemed to operate more slowly today than I would have hoped. But it is technically a beta test, and first-day demand was probably high. We'll have to check back in a week or two.
-
Can BitTorrent File Sharing Also Save Comcast?
Tweet Share on Facebook March 27, 2008 Comment (1)First, Verizon said it would embrace file-sharing networks rather than fight them. Now Comcast, the nation's biggest cable company, is joining the love fest.
Like Verizon, Comcast says that cooperating with BitTorrent and other file-sharing services could ease congestion on the Internet. Some Internet providers have complained that video hogs using the file-sharing networks could clog the Internet.
That Verizon joined hands with file sharing probably forced Comcast to do the same. The two companies compete for broadband customers in many markets.
Comcast also felt pressure from the government. The top Internet regulator recently rapped Comcast's knuckles for throttling BitTorrent downloads and has threatened new rules to govern how Internet providers can manage their networks.
Oh, please, no, Comcast said in its release today: "Both BitTorrent and Comcast expressed the view that these technical issues can be worked out through private business discussions without the need for government intervention."
-
Slipping Past the Journal's Online Rules
Tweet Share on Facebook March 27, 2008 Comment (141)Tired of waiting for Rupert Murdoch to make all of the Wall Street Journal's content free? Wait no more, says Farhad Manjoo at Salon.
You can get most of the Journal's stories, even many of those hidden behind its subscriber wall. Just look for links to the pay-for articles from other sites, such as Digg and Google News. That is, get the headline of a Journal story and do a search on Google News or Digg. Then click on through.
I've tried it. It often works and doesn't seem to raise ethical issues. The Journal obviously welcomes traffic that comes from those other sites. But Google News and Digg don't pick up every Journal article. Manjoo also has an answer for that: Download a piece of software that tricks the Journal site into thinking you're coming from Google News or Digg.
It's a bit deceitful, Manjoo concedes. But he says it's no worse than handing a cashier an expired coupon. Manjoo says it's no transgression to dance around the Journal's "useless and flimsy" curtain. I'm not so sure.
-
Can BitTorrent File Sharing Boost Verizon?
Tweet Share on Facebook March 14, 2008 CommentVerizon is making nice with the peer-to-peer networks. That might seem a surprising turn for the telephone company, whose Internet pipes are getting jammed with video downloads, many across file-sharing networks. But Verizon has its motives.
Other broadband companies, notably cable operator Comcast, have throttled file-sharing networks. The peer-to-peer programs like BitTorrent allow users to share music and—more important to Internet providers—huge video files across the Internet. Comcast and other providers fear the video hogs, both legal and illegal, will clog the Net.
From one perspective, Verizon's approach is at least a case of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The company teamed with researchers to find more efficient ways for the P2P networks to operate. That would reduce the demands on Verizon's network.
But wait—there's more. Seems Verizon itself might want to use P2P networks to distribute its video. Verizon is now selling a package of cablelike channels in many markets through its FiOS network.
Verizon knows that a few companies, notably Vudu, are already using P2P networks to stream beautiful video over the Internet—and more efficiently than Verizon or the cable networks.
I love the irony: The bad boys of file sharing just may save Verizon, and the Internet.
-
Digital TV Broadcasts and Analog Cable
Tweet Share on Facebook March 14, 2008 CommentConcerns are mounting that many TV watchers won't be ready for the switch to digital broadcasts in February 2009. But a number of people have asked what happens to customers who get their analog signals through cable.
They shouldn't worry. The government is requiring that cable systems make sure their analog customers can continue to watch local broadcast stations, at least through 2012.
Many cable systems want to convert all their channels to digital. The efficiency of digital signals, which require less bandwidth, means the cable companies can add more channels on the same wires. That means more room for pay-for premium channels, HDTV, and overall better service.
But the Federal Communications Commission says that if a cable system converts to digital, it must provide analog customers with a converter box. Those converters would be similar to the boxes that digital cable customers now use on their analog sets. They're also similar to digital tuners that broadcast customers will need for their old analog sets.
Some private estimates say 40 million U.S. households still get at least some of their TV through antennas hooked up to analog sets. The government says just about as many get analog signals from cable companies.
That's a lot of homes still using analog signals. But at least half of them shouldn't need to do anything, for now.
-
New Canon Cameras Seem to Be a Yawn
Tweet Share on Facebook March 13, 2008 CommentI'm a fan of Canon's digital cameras. We now own our second digital ELPH, which is Canon's line of subcompact cameras. So I watch with interest as Canon introduces new models, including three this week.
I'm relieved. I feel no compelling urge to upgrade.
Basically, they look like more of the same. The SD890-IS ($400) adds a 5x zoom, which is a good bit of engineering in a subcompact. More zoom is better than the 3x in our camera, which has been the standard fare. And all three models take 10-megapixel pics, which is a nice step up from the 7 megapixels in our model.
The SD890 and SD790-IS ($350) share a new dial, and the SD770-IS ($300) is slimmer but with a better battery. Oh, and the SD790 also gets new buttons.
That's about it. They have none of the new "smart camera" features that automate photo taking and are the rage among competitors, such as Nikon and Casio. Canon says it has improved antiblur tech (primarily the "image stabilization" that accounts for the "IS" in model names) and face detection.
Judging from my reaction, the Casio execs are on to something when they say cameras need added smarts to woo upgraders. Is Canon resting on its laurels?
Or maybe the company is concentrating on quality and usability, which don't get enough attention. And I'm just another featuritis-infected consumer lusting after bells and whistles.
advertisement
Follow U.S. News Money
Like Us On Facebook
advertisement
Subscribe
U.S. News Weekly
An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
