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Some Of the First Independent Footage Of the Playbook

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 04:56 AM PST

Our strange cousins at Engadget accosted RIM CEO Jim Balsillie who then showed them this quick run-through of the RIM Playbook and some footage of floating fish. How excited are you for this device, even though it will probably be a failure?

Hulu Shaves $2 Off The Monthly Price Of Hulu Plus, Will Refund Early Adopters

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 04:49 AM PST

Hulu has formally launched its premium online video subscription service Hulu Plus after a preview period. Pleasant surprise for those who are interested: the monthly subscription fee has dropped from $9.99 to $7.99, a 20 percent price cut. Pleasant surprise for those who already signed up for Hulu Plus: early adopters will get a credit for the difference from the $9.99 preview price to be applied automatically to their next billing cycle. Starting today, all new subscribers to Hulu Plus will also receive a 1-week free trial.


Sharp And Panasonic Finally Ready To Sell Smartphones Worldwide

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 03:03 AM PST

To say Japanese cell phone manufacturers are late in jumping on the smartphone bandwagon would be an understatement. In Japan, the iPhone eats their lunch, and internationally, things look even worse. In fact, Sharp, Panasonic, Kyocera, Hitachi and other makers have basically stopped selling phones of any kind outside Japan years ago. But now two of the biggest players in Japan, namely Sharp and Panasonic, seem to be ready to enter the smartphone market - and on a worldwide level. Read the rest on MobileCrunch.


Panasonic To Start Selling 103-Inch 3D Display For $100,000

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 02:09 AM PST

Are you a fan of big displays, and maybe 3D? And do you happen to have $100,000 to spare? Then the TH-P103MT2 might be something for you, a 103-inch plasma screen Panasonic announced [JP] today for the Japanese market (yes, that’s the retail price). It’s based on a 103-inch TV showed back in 2008 (the TH-103PZ800), but this new model comes with 3D on board.

The monster screen features full HD resolution, a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1 (native), and four HDMI ports, but do not expect speakers or a tuner here. It’s sized at 2,412×871×1,748mm and weighs a whopping 321kg.

In Japan, Panasonic will start accepting orders from tomorrow (no word on international availability at this point). Oh, and you have to add transportation and set up costs to the $100,000 price tag, Panasonic says (they throw in one pair of 3D glasses though).

Daily Crunch: Step Into The Body Shot Edition

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 12:00 AM PST

Vudu Now Available On The PS3

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:34 PM PST


It really is that simple (if you’re in the US).

Download the app (it’s free) and start watching movies (they aren’t free).

Sony Announces HandyCam NXCAM, An E-Mount Super-35 Sensor Camcorder

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 06:57 PM PST


Sony will be showing off a new Handycam tomorrow, the NXCAM. It’s a “for professional” camera that uses E-mount lenses (we’ve seen them in the NEX series and Sony’s last interchangeable lens Handycam, the VG10) and has a Super-35-sized CMOS sensor. Beyond that and some format info, there really wasn’t much announced.

One good thing, though, is that 24/25p support is being pledged right out of the gate. Hopefully they won’t gimp it — Sony loves them some AVCHD and 24/25p will be H.264/MP4, and there may be quality differences. At any rate, it’s better than the VG10, which from what I understand only shoots interlaced. That’s some weak sauce. No pricing information now, but Sony said the new camcorder would be available in mid-2011.

It’s a nice-looking thing, and not having multiple sensors or too many built-in features could keep the price sane. I’m going to guess… $3500. We’ll see how accurate I was when the camera gets priced in six months or so.

[via Akihabara News]

Using The Kinect To Make Any Surface Multi-Touch

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 05:29 PM PST


Today in the Department of Kinect Hacks, we’ve got an official-looking hack showing off how you can use the Kinect (and its open-source drivers, of course) to turn any flat surface into a multi-touch trackpad or projected Surface.

It’s pretty straightforward, really. The Kinect looks at the scene in 3D, you establish a plane and boundaries for the interaction area, and boom, multi-touch.

This little demo was put together by a seasoned interactive surface team, Patten Studio, from whom I hope we can expect to see an open demo app of this thing.

[via Reddit, where they're getting good at catching these little experiments]

Surprise! Wii Speak Microphone Discontinued

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:19 PM PST


It appears that the Wii Speak microphone we saw debuted at E3 2008 with the new Animal Crossing hasn’t seen the interest Nintendo hoped for, and has been discontinued. I probably could have told them that in the planning stages and saved them some money. Now the question is: will the Vitality Sensor share the same fate?

The Wii Speak mic never really made a splash, probably because, I don’t know, the entire point of the Wii is having fun with people in the same room as you? Even if such an accessory were necessary, wouldn’t it be better to use the microphone in the DS or something? Give me a break!

Ah well. It’s just Amazon that’s showing the device to be discontinued, so maybe I’m wrong. But I still thought that thing was a goner from the start.

[via GoNintendo]

2011 Infiniti M37S: The Limit As Car Electronics Approach Infinity

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:17 PM PST

We all knew that one kid that grew up getting everything he wanted. You know, the one that was always first to get all the cool electronics. Jealousy sets in, especially during the holiday season when all the other children begin asking their parents why they aren't as loved. A response something like "spoiling never gets anyone anywhere" usually follows, or that being the first isn't necessarily the best. Later, I learned this when my PlayStation still worked years down the road.

It's easy to see that throwing comforts and amenities isn't simply the answer to success or happiness. And as in-car electronics approach infinity, we see that one automaker is taking the similar approach of my childhood friends’ parents—Spoil 'em.

Pounds of Package

When spec-ing out an M37, you already start with a decent amount of standard tech, such as intelligent key with push button start, HID lights, power folding mirrors and telescoping wheel, XM and USB audio, rear camera, Bluetooth and Homelink. Go for the $3,000 Technology Package and you add a beta adaptive cruise control, the Eco Pedal that slows down acceleration with reverse pressure on the driver's foot when the go force is too strong. For sportier handling, active trace control is included in the tech package — a genius track-inspired software program that optimizes front brake pressure during turns dependent on steering angle. Also, blind spot and lane departure warnings and interventions are the first of its kind in the M, where the car will actually brake the opposite side wheels to which a slight veer is occurring, bringing the car back onto the road — this is a neat idea, but we learned that it didn't work too well.

The next package to be added was the $2,000 Sport Touring Package, which added a 16-speaker Bose, Forest Air™ system, and power rear sunshade. The Bose system was okay, but there really hasn't been much improvement in Bose's sound quality in a while. Forest Air™ was pretty neat; a seemingly gimmicky option that became well appreciated. The system acts more like nature in that it blows air at an inconsistent rate similar to breathing, eliminating that annoying air in the face feeling.

Adding to the extensive list is the $3,650 Sport Package. This is a must-have for this car, but it’s also something of a catch-22. The 20-inch wheels make up a large part of the M's beauty, but then the car suffers from a loud cabin, harsh ride and tram-lining on rutted roads — but without the 20-inchers, the wheels look like they came off a Honda Civic. Then there's the $3,350 Premium Package, it adds the 8-inch touchscreen navigation with XM traffic and weather and Zagat reviews, voice recognition, Bluetooth streaming audio, 9.3GB music box, cooled front seats and a heated steering wheel.

Buttons, Buttons, who's got the Buttons?

Start counting all the buttons on just your fingers and you'll end up needing more friends than the car can hold. While many can appreciate an upfront view of every big/little button, the layout can be overwhelming and ugly. The ergonomics of the buttons were so-so; some made sense (climate controls), while others drove us crazy. Like the location of the audio controls: the power button kept getting hit by our knees, and most of the other buttons were in the way of the shifter, requiring an eyes-off-the-road navigated reach. What bothered us most was the location of the rotary dial, which didn't work for some actions, including scrolling through XM stations. It’s easy to mistake the drive mode selector for a rotary dial, as that is the location is most other cars. It were these little things kept us asking, "who thunk that?" The correct button to scroll XM stations was found a few days later.

XM traffic and weather was used at least once a day, especially so because the entire week was full of severe weather alerts. Voice activation was awful at first, correctly guessing less than half the time. That is, until a training session was performed to better acclimate the car to my voice. Still it didn't get one single name in my phonebook right, which meant it was time to work out those delts again.

Now for some of the safety systems listed above, I'll have you know that the car does not drive itself and trying make it do so will put you in a ditch. Instead, get caught texting while driving over the center line and the system might pull you back and notify you of being a nincompoop — though next generations should be better. And, if you’re one of those who like all the nanny stuff turned off, don’t worry, it comes disabled from the factory.

Drive it like you stole it

There is no doubt that the M37S is a screamer — especially in its sport attire, which comes with the love em/hate em 20-inch wheels and performance tires, 4-wheel active steering, sport suspension, sporty looks, rev-matching paddle shifters and sport brakes—ours were even better thanks to the R SPEC brake pad option.

Driving the M is a treat for a driver, carving corners feels so good and don't expect much in the over/understeer department because the stability software is excellent — the interface guy could learn from the stability guy. The brakes are strong and you can have a lot of fun dancing around corners with the 330-horsepower high-revving engine. Our favorite thing to do was downshifting and gassing and hearing the cat-like 3.7-liter VQ scream. It sounds that good.

The M has what is called a Infiniti Drive Mode Selector, which is one of those dials that is supposed to control the feel of the car. We only noticed a change in the transmission. In ECO mode, the car was very slow. You really have to push hard if you are trying to make a left turn in traffic.

Rides like a roller coaster

This was the consensus from four out of five passenger seat rides. Most complained of sickness during heavily trafficked city driving. They blamed the harsh ride, loud road noise and jerky transmission. It was only bearable, apparently, in ECO mode. It is one of the only vehicles my friend didn't want to ride in.

The ride in the M needs to be better. If not for those passengers, then for the sake of the driver relationships. It seems to suffer from an imbalance between sport and comfort.

Overly M-bellished

A few more months of thought — and possibly different interior designers — could have had the M leading its class in terms of in-car experience, but instead it gets schooled. The menu structure is terribly lame and there are so many times we are caught saying, "if they just (….), it would have been much better." It's the details, it's always the details. Sure, after being acquainted to the car, it became a bit easier, but the interface still felt antiquated. And not in the way that it's so bad that you'd rather just drive and not be distracted, its in the way that simple tasks you need are just annoying and uneasy.

There are some really great things about Infiniti’s new M, surprisingly it is a very fun-to-drive car with great looks, but the interface between man and computer gives off a senior citizen feeling. It’s that reason alone that we can't help but consider the M anything more than a hot freshman.

Specs and Pricing

  • Base Price: $46,250
  • Total Options: $13,215
  • Total w/ dest: $60,330
  • 330 HP
  • 270 ft-lb torque
  • MPG 17.3 (combined)
  • 4-year/60,000 mile warranty

Is 3D Support Coming To TiVo? What Does That Even Mean?

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:35 PM PST

Maybe something got lost in translation here, but the British English on this Virgin Media product page for the upcoming TiVo seems to state that their box will be 3D ready. Well, my mid-Michigan English reads that as if TiVo is getting something new. Sigh. Now I’m confused.

Virgin Media,

Our new TiVo® box will be HD and 3D ready, allowing you to get closer to the action

I’m probably reading too much into this, but that statement seems to say that Virgin Media’s TiVo will launch with some new fangled 3D support. Could this mean that Netflix and the other streaming services built-into TiVo are about to get 3D content. Maybe. Or it could just be marketing speak for broadcast 3D like ESPN3D and Discovery 3D, which doesn’t require anything extra to work. So yeah. Sorry for [potentially] wasting your time.

Microsoft Exec: Better Buy Kinect This Week If You Want One For The Holidays

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:42 PM PST

On stage during "The New Geography Of Gaming" panel at Web 2.0 Summit, the topic of conversation between Bing Gordon, Activision's Robert Kotick and Microsoft's Don Mattrick focused on how amazingly engaging today's games. A key talking point was plastics vs. not plastics i.e controllers (or guitars in the case of Activision's Guitar Hero) vs. the gesture and spoken command control interface of the newly launched Microsoft Kinect.


RIM CEO Jim Balsillie To Steve Jobs: ” You Don’t Need An App For The Web”

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:41 PM PST

Research in Motion CEO Jim Balsillie may still be smarting from the fact that Apple passed it in smartphone market share last quarter. Steve Jobs made a point to rub it in during Apple's most recent earnings conference call: ""We've now past RIM, and I don't see them catching up to us in the near future." Asked what he would say to Jobs if he were present today at the Web 2.0 Summit, Balsillie shot back: "You finally showed up." The implication being that RIM practically invented the smartphone category and is not going anywhere. Balsillie went on to contrast the Blackberry approach to Apple's when it comes to web apps. There may be 300,000 apps for the iPhone and iPad, but the only app you really need is the browser. "You don't need an app for the Web," he says, and that is equally true for the mobile Web.


A Visit To the Montblanc Factory

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:31 PM PST

Our buddy Ariel visited the Montblanc plant where they make some of the nicest – and most ridiculous – pens in the world. These things are apparently handmade from stem to stern, allowing the ostentatious and foolish to brandish writing instruments that cost more than vials of natural pituitary gland extract.

Ariel is obviously much kinder to the whole operation than I am and it’s fascinating to see old world craftsmanship writ large. The entire process, from nip to case, is lovingly documented by Mr. Ariel’s sexy camera.

A hardcore enthusiast will located more detailed information, so I will layout the most impressive parts of the process and provide some visuals for you to see (refer to the media gallery in addition to the images located in this article). What impressed me was just how much hand effort was involved in the making of each nib. The basic shapes are made via machines, but all the detail work, fine shaping, and polishing are done by hand with dedicated equipment.

The actual tip of a Montblanc fountain pen nib is not in gold like the rest of it is. Gold is a relatively soft metal that would quickly wear after being dragged on paper. So Montblanc melts a special (and more expensive than gold) metal allow to the tip of each nib. It is then shaped and polished to give it that iconic fountain pen tip look.

via Luxist


New Casio Green Slim Projectors Hit 3000 Lumens

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:00 PM PST


Casio has upped the lumens on its Green Slim projector range, and changed… as far as I can tell, nothing else but the price. But hey, with HD resolution, a nice form factor, and now a full 3000 lumens, there isn’t too much they really need to change.

They come in two flavors and resolutions, as they did before: 1280×800 or 1024×768, and with or without USB/wireless connectivity. They all have laser/LED hybrid lighting with a life estimated at 20,000 hours.

The specs of the high-end XJ-A255V can be found here, and the rest are in this list — look for the ones with 3000 lumens. To be honest, you can probably save a bundle by just getting the 2000-lumen ones and dimming the lights a bit more, but who am I to tell you what you should buy?

Codemasters Joins Growing List Of Companies That Hate Pre-Owned Games

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:30 PM PST

The second half of GameIndustry.biz’s interview with Codemasters’ Rod Cousens has gone up (the first had discussed the success of F1 2010, and he shines light on the dark practice of retailers selling pre-owned video games. You’ll recall that publishers are pretty fed up with the likes of GameStop for buying used games for pennies on the dollar, then selling those games onto people for pure profit. Video game publishers see none of the second-hand money, so they’re like, "Hey! This stinks!"

THQ may have gone overboard with its criticism of gamers who buy second-hand games, but it’d be very hard to at least not be sympathetic to their situation. (Then again, does anybody care when Ford doesn’t see any money when you buy a used car? Nuance is hard!) Whether or not that justifies EA’s Project $10, I don’t know.

I also don’t see why you’d be a used video game unless the game is out-of-print. Does it make any sense to walk into GameStop and buy Modern Warfare 2 for a whopping $5 off the new price when Amazon has a seemingly endless supply of new copies for just those $5 more?

But Codemaster’s solution is rather disappointing:

t’s not inconceivable to say that we send out a Formula One game that’s not complete – maybe it’s got six tracks. Then they have to buy their next track, and you follow it around the world. When you turn up in Abu Dhabi you have to pay for the circuit, and whatever the changes are to the cars that are put through. That, I think, would deal with a lot of it, and also address the pre-owned

Now, if Codemasters were to sell that game for, say, $20, then I’d be fine with that. If you’re only going to sell one-third of a game (the F1 season next year will have 20 races) then you should only be able to charge one-third of the price. Go ahead and charge $3 per additional track, but please do not think of charging full price for a crippled game, then charge even more for the DLC. That would be bad.

But I fully trust Codemasters to opt for my idea, sell the game at discount, then charge for each additional DLC track. I’ve no problem with that.

But something Cousens said was spot-on: why are the retailers being such jerks? Why are they being so antagonistic about selling pre-owned games? It’s not like they’re providing some tremendous service that can’t be replicated elsewhere. EBay says hi, right?

All the more reason to embrace digital distribution. Good Old Games just made Baldur’s Gate 2 available for $9.99. How can retail top that?

Nox Finally Gets Around To Releasing Its Scout Headset

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:00 PM PST


It was way back at E3 that I saw newcomer Nox Audio’s first gaming headsets, the Specialist and the Scout. I reviewed the Specialist shortly after, and pronounced it excellent. The Scout has apparently had some production issues, since it’s taken five months to come to market, but it’s now available to purchase.

It costs $80, which puts it in company with stuff from Klipsch and all those guys, so it better do something to justify its cost. I mean, it may have the world’s smallest send/end button:

And its little flaps are supposed to create a better seal on your ear, but will the sound quality be up to snuff? We’ll find out soon, I should have a pair next week and I’ll let you know. Hold your horses until then, you hear? Y’ALL HEAR?

Boxee Box Review: A Media Device Teetering Between Awesome And Odd

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:15 AM PST

Short Version
The Boxee Box is here. I unboxed the device yesterday and have spent pretty much every moment since poking around and I’m impressed. It’s not the mind-blowing experience you get from the desktop app, but the dead-simple setup compounded with the clever dual-sided remote makes for a superb user experience.

It’s still Boxee at the core and that’s all that matters. The Boxee Box brings broadcast shows along with web video to your HDTV through the magical Internet tubes. Disney, News Corp, NBC Universal, CBS, they all work – not through Hulu but Fancast, and this is could be a problem (more on this later). People love Boxee because it is one of the best options for watching any sort of video on your computer. The program is the heart of many HTPCs. Sadly, the Boxee Box isn’t a true, ready-made Boxee HTPC. It’s still worth your time, but don’t expect to replicate the same experience of Boxee installed on an HTPC. That said, it is without a doubt the best stand-alone media streamer on the market and will only get better.

Video Review

Features:

  • Intel Atom Platform
  • RF QWERTY remote included
  • 802.11n Wireless built-in
  • Extensive file format support
  • $199 street price
  • Product Page

Pros:

  • Plays all sorts of media file formats
  • Beautiful interface
  • Works with online content (right now at least)

Cons:

  • Sluggish at times
  • A major feature set could be disabled by media companies

The Boxee Box is Boxee in a box

As soon as I turned on the Boxee Box, it hit me. This is different than the PC version. Well, it looks and feels slightly different. The interface is slightly retooled to better fit within the 10-foot interface rules, but the result makes it feel either a bit dumbed down or less cluttered — I have decided which yet. Either way, the it feels super-sized in a way. Unlike the desktop version, which is smooth as TCBY yogurt, there’s an itsy-bitsy bit of lag on the Boxee Box. It’s by no means a deal breaker or even annoying, but it’s not nearly as fluid as the PC version.

The difference between the desktop and standalone platforms is very noticeable in the available content area . Hulu’s self-described evil overlords clearly hate consumers and so the Boxee Box is forced to use Comcast’s Fancast site instead. This creates two problems in that there isn’t an HD button on Fancast, meaning the video quality is poo, and two, there simply aren’t as many programing options. But this might not be Fancast’s fault. Select The Office on the Boxee Box and one episode is available. At least it’s the latest one, but there are 11 episodes available through the desktop Boxee. This trend continues with How I Met Your Mother with only two episodes available on the Boxee Box with six on the desktop version. There are three Family Guy episodes to the desktop’s nine and so on. At least Star Trek Enterprise and MacGuyver are available in their entirety on both platforms, but don’t expect to get caught up on any modern show.

The amount of available shows on the platform is impressive even if they only have a few episodes each. Download the Boxee desktop and then imagine the same amount of shows with less episodes each. That’s the Boxee Box. Now, as long as the shows are available on Fancast.com, you can watch them.

Back to The Office example. Clicking on the one available episode launches the Fancast page in the Boxee Box browser where you’re free to navigate to the other available episodes. This says that there’s a good chance more episodes will be added to Boxee interface in time. Navigation is a bit of a pain though, as the Boxee remote doesn’t have a touchpad or any sort of natural controller scheme besides a 4-way navigation pad. It’s a bit hokey, but at least it works. Can’t say that for Google TV although the two platforms could end up in the same sinking boat.

Hulu doesn’t work on the Boxee Box like it does on the desktop platform. Fancast does, but the powers that be could shut off that feed just like they did on the Google TV leaving the Boxee Box somewhat dead in the water. Big media will decide the Boxee Box’s future. The $9.99 a month Hulu Plus service is launching on the platform shortly, but the subscription-based service (with the same video ads) only offers a tiny fraction of the free, ad-supported library. This is the one area that should make potential buyers pause. Will the Boxee Box work the same way in a month that it does today? Even Boxee doesn’t know that.

Long time Boxee users turned Boxee Box owners are screaming right now in the official Boxee Box forums. The latest software update moved the focus from local content to online content. I see their point, too. It’s a few extra steps to reach content storied either locally on an SD card or on a network share. However, the Boxee Box is just a few days old right now and the company is no doubt taking in all the feedback and will likely retool somethings in future releases. The UI could really use some user customization options overall anyway.

Local playback support

Great news, everybody: The Boxee Box plays everything. Well, where everything means the audio and video from every .AVI and .MKV along with a bunch of other files I tried. Boxee always had great file playback support, mainly because it relies on mplayer. I can’t find anything it won’t play, really. MOV, *Check* – FLAC, *Check* – OGG, *Check* – Full ISOs, *Check* – M2TS, *Check*!

The networking is either done through direct network browsing over Samba or through UPnP servers. It can’t be easier. Multiple file locations over a few computers? No problem. You can add them all. Once you select your file sources, the Boxee Box scans and adds the content to the library. It even adds artwork, relevant info and sorts by genre if it can find it. This is a real family-pleaser.

Playback is awesome too. I experienced nearly zero lag or jitters playing even 8GB MKVs wirelessly. Only Blu-ray ISOs and one particular high bit-rate 8GB MKV of A Christmas Carol gave me any issues at all. That very same file crashes my Seagate media streamer during the opening credits though so I’m marking this up as win for the Boxee as the file only stutters a bit. This is where the Boxee Box will make you smile. Not only does it play nearly everything. It does so with ease and zero effort from the user. No searching for codecs or file conversion software. Just select and enjoy.

So with the complete codec support and fancy automatic album artwork, it’s easy to put the Boxee Box at the very top of my recommended streamer list. The pretty UI puts it above even the WD TV in my mind since they have the same file support. No longer as your household’s nerd do you have to install random media jukeboxes on your media streamer so your family isn’t forced to use the ugly list view found on so many media streamers. Plug in the Boxee Box, show it where you store your files, and it does the rest.

Local network playback is gamble, it seems to me lately. Devices either play everything, like a WD TV or Popcorn Hour, but the interface often looks like it was made by a committee — or the interface is slightly better, like with Google TV, but the playback is done through transcoding and DLNA servers. That often means you’re going to spend long hours trying out new servers and transcoding settings only to find you’re missing some random audio codec. There’s none of that mess with the Boxee Box as it does both direct network browsing and DLNA/UPnP through a legit interface. Win Win Win.

Watching web videos on your HDTV is never going to look great. Sorry, the videos are simply compressed and presented with a smaller screen in mind. Still, the content is free, which trumps video quality in my book. Some web videos look better than others, but most of the Fancast-provided videos are subpar.

Content from local sources look great, though. 1080p or 720p files play without hesitation but the color levels seem a bit off. The blacks are a touch grey. Most users probably won’t notice, but load up a favorite video and you’ll probably see what I mean. If you’re savvy, you can set up a color balance preset on your TV to correct for this, but that’s asking a lot when the other parts of the device are so simple and family-friendly.

Yeah, it has apps

Boxee does apps right. Instead of launching directly into the Apps like Google TV, they live in their own little category, relaxing until you call upon them. The Boxee Box ships with 131 ready to be installed, but there are only a few notable ones here. Pandora forces you to activate the service via your computer before it will start-up, but it’s worth the 2 minute hassle. 3D spectrum analyzer visualization, pretty artwork, a clever sidebar interface. It’s about the best implementation of Pandora out there. I’m not a Pandora user — I pay for rdio.com and love it — but this Pandora app is wonderful. You should know about YouTube Leanback. It’s the same thing here, but the QWERTY Boxee Box remote actually makes it useful and fun. Just start typing on the keypad to search and play. HD videos play just fine with no lag or jitters. Flickr forces you to the web where you must activate the service in your user settings. While you’re there, you may as well turn on Facebook, Twitter, and others. Boxee is all about sharing after all. But once the Flickr setting is activated, the app launches and brings your photostream to the Boxee Box. It’s not nearly as fluid as viewing pics off of a local source, but the experience is satisfying enough that users may just log into here rather than locating photos to share on networked devices.

The rest of the apps are standard fare. There’s a Revision 3 app that works a lot like all the others, a channel for The Onion, MLB, Vice, Vimeo, and TED along with over a hundred more. Two biggies are missing right now though: Netflix and Vudu. Both, however are on their way and will only add to the available streaming content on the Boxee Box. Even Hulu Plus should hit the system shortly, but the $9.99 a month service leaves much to be desired in the available content department.

The sinking box

Oh, the form factor. Hate it? No, I don’t hate it, but it annoys me that I can’t stuff it in my office AV rack. I can’t even stick it with my living room equipment controlled remotely through an RF universal remote; the Boxee Box doesn’t have an IR power command for remote powering options. It really doesn’t fit in my whole AV scheme. But I think that’s by design.

The Boxee Box is designed, both inside and out, to be a showcase piece. The glowing Boxee icon, the sinking box design, the lack of IR — it all says, I want to be shown off. The good kids at Boxee created a wonderful device and they want you to display it.

Well, great, but in my house, all of my AV equipment is stored 15 feet below my living room HDTV in a basement room, which keeps everything away from sticky kid’s fingers and prying eyes. It’s wonderful in that there’s zero chance my kids can touch any of the equipment. This setup won’t work with the Boxee Box. I would have to put the Boxee Box on the TV stand, run an HDMI cable to the TV, a TOSLINK cable down to the receiver below and then setup a macro on my universal remote to switch everything. It’s a needless hassle. [Update: see comments below. The Internet somewhat solved this issue although I still feel it's silly that an IR sensor is not simply built-in. Perhaps that will be in version 2]

It’s still an impressive nettop though. Inside is an Intel Atom CE4100, which was selected over the NVIDIA dual -core Tegra T20 for codec support. This platform allows the Boxee Box to process even H.264 1080p60 streams. The front-end isn’t slip-’n-slide smooth, but it’s still nice and I didn’t experience any issues with media playback, which is the most important thing anyway.

The remote works great, although version two should have some sort of orientation markers to better distinguish the top from the bottom, and backlighting on the tiny QWERTY keypad would be absolutely genius. The RF range is impressive and I can get about 40 feet away and still operate the Boxee Box. The dual-sided form factor sound strange in theory, but it never felt weird using or hold it. The keypad isn’t in the way when you’re using the navigational pad. It’s a good remote.

Should you buy it?

$200 seems about right. Any less and the hardware would be compromised and any more, fully-powered HTPCs start to look attractive. The Boxee Box plays all sorts of locally-storied files, there’s online support through various media sites and hundreds of apps. The family will love the experience.

Post launch, Boxee Box isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot more polished than Google TV and I can’t find any deal breakers or even significant  downsides to delay your purchase. If you’ve never used Boxee before or are coming from a WD TV, Popcorn Hour or even an Apple TV new or old, you’ll absolutely love it and I can’t recommend it enough. However, current Boxee or even XBMC users should probably wait a bit to see if the software matures to the same point as the desktop version.

There is this business with Hulu, Fancast and the media companies though. There’s a good chance that these companies will simply disallow the Boxee Box from reaching their online content like they did for Google TV. However, unlike Google TV, the Boxee Box is a fantastic local media streamer with tons of media apps that are out of reach from big media. The Boxee Box wins in so many segments that my strong buy recommendation holds true even if one like broadcast media streaming gets cut off or restricted. Buy it and you’ll enjoy it. The Boxee Box is one of those rare consumer electronics that’s actually satisfying to use.

Report: China Hijacked 15 Percent Of The World’s Internet Traffic In April

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:10 AM PST

"What happened to the traffic while it was in China?" That’s what McAfee vice-president Dmitri Alperovitch wants to know, and by extension what I’d like to know. I mean, I won’t lose sleep over it, but I will casually think about it for the next hour or so. What am I talking about? Oh, you know, what could well have been the largest hacking in the history of the world.

It all went down in April. It’s alleged that China’s state-controlled telecommunications company, China Telecom, HIJACKED~! a solid 15 percent of the world’s Internet traffic. What exactly China did with that traffic, nobody knows.

Did they collect the traffic accidentally? Did they collect it merely to see what things today’s 15-year-olds are talking about in Seattle?

Or was it something far more sinister?

Nobody knows. Flat out, nobody knows.

The attack sounds like a man-in-the-middle attack. You (A) try to visit a site (CC) but end up going through a third-party (B) in the process. B passes the data onto C, and A is none the wise.

Apparently this type of thing happens fairly regularly, but never to the degree that it happened here. Think about it for a second: 15 percent of all Internet traffic. That’s 15 percent of the world’s e-mails, instant messages, files traded, etc.

The story smells of China-bashing, but it’s certainly interesting nonetheless.


16 Months Later, Say Hello To Google Voice For The iPhone. It Was Worth The Wait.

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:05 AM PST

Over the past few years, there has been no shortage of developers complaining about how long Apple has taken to approve their iPhone applications. But few have waited as long as Google for the Google Voice application. But today brings great news: the wait is over. Yes, the app is real, it's approved, and it should be live at this link. The official Google Voice for the iPhone is here. And it's wonderful. Yes, it was even worth that insane wait.


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