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Swords Rattle Over Palm Pre and Apple iPhone
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2009 Comment (15)Apple and Palm took jabs at each other over tech included in the Palm Pre. During Apple's earnings call last week, COO Tim Cook responded to a question about the Pre's multi-touch technology:
I don't want to talk about any specific company. I'm just making a general statement that we think competition is good. It makes us all better. And we are ready to suit up and go against anyone. However, we will not stand for having our IP ripped off and we'll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal. I don't know that I can be more clear than that.
Palm responded last week to the Digital Daily blog:
Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space. If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.
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Is Windows 7 Better Than Apple Mac OS X?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2009 Comment (32)Reviews so far of Windows 7 seem remarkably good, and the software is still in beta testing. It shouldn't be too great a surprise. I'm not the first to suggest that Windows 7 seems a cleaned-up version of Vista, much like the successful Windows XP was to the clunky Windows 2000.
Even David Pogue at the New York Times, a huge Mac fan, wrote glowingly of the successor to Vista
But I've not seen praise that tops that in today's Digital Home blog by Don Reisinger:
...after using the beta (a term I use lightly, since this so-called beta is better than anything Microsoft ever shipped as Vista "Gold"), I can say with the utmost certainty that Windows 7 isn't only the best operating system I've used in the past decade, it might be my favorite of all time. And as a person with four Macs staring me in the face as I write this, that's something I never thought I'd say.
He cautions that Microsoft could still screw things up. Features in Vista's beta disappeared in the final code, and problems arose:
Regardless, the Windows 7 beta provided me with an unparalleled experience. From install to surfing the Web, it's fantastic.
I don't usually mess with beta software. But I'm going to find time to try Windows 7.
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SEC Reportedly Studying Disclosures on Apple CEO Jobs
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2009 CommentAs if nosy reporters and complaining investors weren't enough, federal regulators may now be studying Steve Jobs's illness. More specifically, the SEC is reportedly looking into what and when the company knew about Jobs's still undisclosed ailment.
Maybe it's worthwhile, considering Jobs appeared to reverse course within a couple of weeks. But I'll be more than surprised if anything comes of this.
Short of subpoenaing Jobs's doctors (can they?), the company's responsibility would depend on what the Apple CEO disclosed to the company and its board. And I've already discussed how we shouldn't expect him to disclose much, particularly amid what might be a shifting and elusive diagnosis.
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Audio: Wireless Charging Seems a Bit of Magic
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2009 Comment (1)Wireless charging systems on display at the Consumer Electronics Show appear ready for market after years of development. When they arrive later this year, special mats and device adapters will use magnetic induction to trickle electricity to cellphones, digital cameras and portable media players.
Wireless Charging: Magic at the Consumer Electronics Show
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I described the tech as a bit of magic in an interview this weekend with WTOP.
Even the new Palm Pre smartphone promises to come with an optional wireless charging system. Palm wasn't discussing prices, but other systems would start at about $150 for charging one device and another $30 or $40 each to add others.
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Analyst Says All Flat-Panel TVs Will be Green by 2014
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (1)Green is quickly sweeping flat-panel TVs. About 20 percent of flat-panel displays, such as LCDs and plasmas, had eco-friendly features in 2008, says DisplaySearch. That will surge to more than half in 2011, and by 2014 will be 100 percent, the analysts predict.
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Relax: Digital TV Now Looks Certain to be Delayed
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (8)There is little question now that the digital TV deadline will get delayed. Instead of Feb. 17, broadcast stations will have until June 12 under the leading proposal in Congress.
Congress seems anxious for the delay, President Obama has supported it, and the few pockets of industry opposition are melting. Telecom giant Verizon reversed itself and now supports the date change. Verizon won an auction for some of the spectrum that will be freed by moving TV broadcasts to more efficient digital signals.
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Philips Stretches Widescreen TV Wider
Tweet Share on Facebook January 20, 2009 Comment (8)Your widescreen flat panel is so yesterday. Philips has unveiled its Cinema 21:9 set, which stretches today's TVs like a piece of taffy. It's designed to minimize the black bars that sit atop and below movies that are shot for the wider screens in movie theaters. Today's HDTVs typically have measurements in a ratio of 16:9.
No price or other details yet on the 56-inch set. Also unclear is when we'll see it in North America, where Philips has abandoned the TV market and licensed its name to Funai, another manufacturer.
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Many Still Want Apple CEO's Scalp, or Pancreas, or Liver
Tweet Share on Facebook January 16, 2009 Comment (2)Day 3: The Web is still filled with calls for Steve Jobs's scalp, saying the Apple CEO hasn't been forthcoming about his health problems. Bloomberg went in a different direction, calling yesterday for his pancreas. Or today it's his liver, saying Jobs is considering a liver transplant.
I'm surprised that anyone is surprised by the mystery. Jobs has turned corporate secrets into an art form. His ability to launch surprises is central to his marketing genius. Apple has vigorously pursued anyone who leaked its secrets.
No one should expect Jobs to be forthcoming about the most intimate of confidences -- one's health. I'm sure he's getting focused legal advice about what he has to reveal. Which isn't much, apparently.
Sam Diaz at CNet's Between the Lines had one of the more reasoned discussions about privacy versus the public's right to know. He also has an ongoing poll, where Jobs' right to privacy is endorsed more than 7-to-1.
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Circuit City's Exit a Loss for Consumers
Tweet Share on Facebook January 16, 2009 Comment (6)Circuit City gave up on getting a buyer and will liquidate its stores. It's a sad day for 30,000-plus employees. It's also a bad day for consumers, who lose the major competitor in keeping prices down at Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer.
To add insult, even a fire sale might not bring an early deals. The Consumerist reported that liquidators bidding on Circuit City are notorious for first raising prices.
I'm not that sorry to see management and the shareholders who backed them get wiped out, as is now expected. Circuit City tried to survive by firing its senior sales staff in early 2007. Shopping at Circuit City was never the best experience and got worse. I had faint hopes a new and smarter owner might emerge, but not sure anybody smart would launch a major retail venture these days.
Buyers could still nab some of the prime locations and keep them operating, maybe even under the Circuit City banner. The owners of TigerDirect bought the CompUSA name and some locations at the graveside of that chain, another that I was sorry to see go.
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Wii Tops Charts With Multi-Generation Appeal
Tweet Share on Facebook January 16, 2009 CommentThe Wii game console blew past competition last year like a winning skier on its balance board. NPD Group says Nintendo sold 10.2 million of the consoles in in North America last year, or more than the combined sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3.
Our house is swept up in the trend, having bought consoles for both sets of our parents. They expressed interest in the Wii before we brought it up. That was a new one: They've not pined for a game console before. They're part of a bigger movement, reports Bloomberg:
Last year, 26 percent of people over the age of 50 played video games, up from 9 percent in 1999, according to the Entertainment Software Association, a Washington-based trade group. The figure is expected to rise because of the games’ growing popularity with seniors, the association said
You can bet most of those seniors are on the Wii. Plus, our boys are even more enthusiastic about visiting grandma and grandpa.
