HP today announced a "significant step toward bridging the differences between the two competing high-definition (HD) optical disk formats." The company said it is proposing two new technologies to be part of the next-generation standard.
The company said it has formally appealed to the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) to include the technologies – mandatory Managed Copy and iHD – as part of its format specification. Both technologies are currently supported in the competing HD-DVD format, which has Microsoft's blessing. Blu-ray is supported by Sony and was recently criticized by Bill Gates as being "anti-consumer" because of its copy-protection scheme.
HP's said its move "reflects HP's desire to ensure that customers are not forced to choose between competing HD formats for DVDs." The company said is has determined that Managed Copy and iHD will address the fundamental technical needs of the PC and help create a seamless experience throughout the digitally connected home.
What is managed copy? According to HP, unlike with today's conventional DVDs, this feature allows consumers to make legitimate copies of their HD movies and enjoy this content around the home or across their network. Making this feature mandatory will ensure a consistent consumer experience across all next-generation DVD content, HP said.
What is iHD? "Next-generation HD movies will provide a level of interactive experience well beyond that of today's conventional DVDs," HP said. "iHD technology provides a broad foundation to enable new interactivity with standards-based development tools and technologies. It will provide consumers with enhanced content, navigation and functionality for HD films. Furthermore, Microsoft plans to implement iHD support in its Windows Vista operating system, which will help ease implementation and provide a cost-effective solution for consumers."
"HP is committed to delivering rewarding consumer experiences, and we see format compatibility as critical to making technology accessible and easy to use for consumers," said John Romano, senior vice president, Consumer PC Global Business Unit, HP, in a prepared statement. "As a leader in the development and promotion of the Blu-ray Disc format, HP expects these moves to help ensure that the format provides the best possible experience for customers."
According to TechnoRide.com (currently housed at PC Magazine), the state of Missouri is working on a plan to monitor your every movement on the road, or lack of movement specifically, by tracking the location of your cell phone.
The state is positioning it as a tactic to help its state traffic agencies effectively monitor current levels of traffic. For example, if the state can somehow figure out you're on the highway traveling at 65 MPH, and all of a sudden, you slow down to 30 MPH; the assumption will be that you are caught in traffic. Then, electronic road signs will broadcast the traffic conditions to drivers that are traveling in your direction, and possibly suggest a detour route. (Of course this is an overly simplistic scenario.)
Sure, it sounds like a great idea, and I'm all for avoiding traffic. But, it's a very scary proposition that the government wants to track your location by using your own cell phone signal. According to this article on CNN, the tracking information (e.g., your location at various points throughout the day) is stored in an encrypted format and is destroyed daily. But can we be sure? Also, since there's no legal precedent set here, what happens if a government agency issues a subpoena for all records which contain your location (perhaps on an ongoing basis)? Could these records then be used against you in a court of law?
Why can't Missouri use sensors embedded in the roads, like other states? This is a frightening violation of privacy.
If you think Microsoft has given up on the PC as a serious gaming platform you're wrong. At least if the announcement of an Xbox controller for Windows ($39.95) is any indication. This isn't to say your PC will totally mimic the console experience, but PC users will have access to the same control device used with the Xbox 360 (whose controllers will also be PC-compatible). Microsoft says the availability of the Windows XP controller will make it easier for developers to create cross-platform games. I say it will make it harder for PC users to get their work done.
The two new Xbox 360 units, meanwhile, are scheduled to be in stores on November 22.
DeviceForge.com reports that Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. this week began marketing a technology that inexpensively adds face recognition to camera-equipped cellphones. Oki's "Face Sensing Engine" (FSE) "middleware" decodes facial images within 280mS on a 100MHz ARM9 processor, and can restrict access to mobile devices by recognizing their owners, the company says.
What I wonder about this technology is whether it will recognize my face at night. Or will it first have to blind me with a blast from a built-in electronic flash? And will it recognize me immediately after the airbag in my Explorer has smashed my nose into the right side of my face? Or will Oki say that's what OnStar is for? Afterall, when the airbag deploys OnStar immediately dials for help, regardless of how bad you look.
Ok, so this isn't really about new gear, but Oliver Rist, our buddy at MSN, turned us on to this interesting piece of news out of England. Apparently, there's going to be a new Doctor Who spin-off, entitled Torchwood, debuting on BBC3 late next year, that will be aimed at the "adult" crowd and hit the air late at night.
In case you have any doubts as to the show's content, the boss of BBC3 said, "The people have affairs with one another. There will be sex and swearing, I assume. I'm quite relaxed about that." (According to this article.)
Hmm. Maybe "turned us on" isn't the right phrase to have used in the lead for this post, considering the old Doctor Who crew wasn't so ... how do you say ... remotely attractive. Although "turn" is the right word, but it'll be directed toward my TV, and the direction will more than likely be off. Although, if the show lasts long enough to hit BBC America, I may tune in just to see what a porno Doctor Who would look like.
You can take J.LO out of the Bronx, but you can't take the Bronx out of J.LO. The same goes for digital camcorders. Just follow my lead.
JVC decided to design their latest camcorders much smaller and lighter by substituting removable media (i.e. miniDVD discs, DV tapes, and media cards) with a hard drive. That's not a typo either, guys. The Everio GZ-MG30 camcorder is one of three models with a hard drive. It comes with a 25X optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and allows for more than seven hours of shooting time in its highest quality.
Okay, that's wonderful. But the camcorder is missing one thing: the viewfinder! So, lets recap. JVC strips all types of removable media but removes an important feature! I mean, think about it. Once winter hits and the snow starts falling, the reflection off the sun isn't so great on the eyes. How are we going to see what we're filming?
I'm speaking for all the gadget-savvy ladies out there. If you haven't heard what Nokia has in store for us, then you're in for a real, fashionable treat.
Nokia will be coming out with the L'Amour Collection--a line of fashionable cell phones. According to Gizmodo.com, the first model is the very slim Nokia 7380 ($600) that comes with a 2-megapixel camera, an MP3 player, and get this--an etched mirrored surface with a keyless dial! I'm not THAT into myself, but having a mirror on a phone could be cool.
Then there's the 7360 ($300) with a VGA camera, stereo FM radio, and comes in yummy coffee brown and warm amber colors.
Lastly, the 7370 swivel phone ($450, shown here) comes with a 1.3 MP camera, stereo speakers, and leather faceplates (wow!).
Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to allow myself to be that much more trendy by getting one of these! They'll go perfectly with my Autumn wardrobe (wink, wink).
What happens when you mix a retired Softie's pocket change and a scientific obsession with food? Well, if you're former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, you might create the "best-equipped-in-the-universe" kitchen, replete with everything from a Pacojet to a Thermomix, ultrasonic homogenizer, and tank of liquid nitrogen; not to mention a profile in the New York Times Magazine food column this past weekend (registration required).
"You could say I'm this retired nerd torturing food in his kitchen, but I'm trying to keep it as natural as possible," Myhrvold said. "All this fancy equipment is just to better control what's essentially in the food."
Reader Bill Cleveland of Frederick, MD, wrote to recommend the PowerLinc Controller, a $69.99 USB device that serves as the control center (along with your PC) for the automated home. "I have had this device for over a year now, and it works flawlessly," Bill wrote.
Here's what the SmartHome site says about the product: "The PowerLinc Controller is a stand-alone home automation interface for controlling lights, appliances, heating/air conditioning systems and alarm systems. This module is just like our PowerLinc USB Interface but adds on-board memory so timers and macros can be downloaded without the need to leave your computer up and running. This home automation interface uses a computer's Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection for downloading timer and event macros."
Tired of stuff sliding off the dashboard when you make a turn? One moment your sunglasses, phone, or iPod is sitting happily on the dash. The next moment you are steering a turn with one hand while trying to catch the glasses/phone/iPod with the other as it goes sliding across the dash. Clearly, this is not a safe way to drive, though many people seem to perform this maneuver quite regularly.
When I run into one of these folks (usually as a passenger--yikes!), I head over to RadioShack and drop $6.99 on a Sticky Pad. This device is piece of a rubberized plastic. about 6x4 inches in size, that self-adheres to the dash (no adhesives or magnets) and provides a safe spot for small items to rest.
The Sticky Pad material naturally adheres to small items, plastics especially. But, it works without leaving a residue on anything! It's saved my phone more than once.
Over time, the Sticky Pad loses its stickiness. When that happens, peel it off the dash, take it inside, wash the pad with dish washing liquid and water, towel dry, and return it to the dashboard. I am sure these don't last forever, but I've never had one go bad on me, either.
The illustration shows a Sticky Pad sold by C.Crane in their catalog, but this or similar products are widely available in electronics and auto parts stores. There is even a special white Sticky Pad to match the iPod.
Bill Gates says Sony's Blu-ray HD DVD format is "very anti-consumer" because of its protection scheme, explaining why Microsoft isn't supporting it. Here's what Microsoft's Chairman and Chief Software Architect told the Daily Princetonian (yes, a college newspaper) in a very interesting sit-down interview last Friday:
DP: There has been a lot of debate about the next generation Blu-ray and HD DVD technologies in recent weeks. It seems more and more companies are backing the Blu-ray standard. The current debate seems to harken back to the Betamax vs. VHS format war in the 1970s and 80s, where Betamax was ostensibly the superior technology yet it did not gain wide acceptance. Why is Microsoft not backing Blu-ray today — a technology that many consider to be superior?
Gates: Well, the key issue here is that the protection scheme under Blu-ray is very anti-consumer and there's not much visibility of that. The inconvenience is that the [movie] studios got too much protection at the expense [of] consumers and it won't work well on PCs. You won't be able to play movies and do software in a flexible way.
It's not the physical format that we have the issue with, it's that the protection scheme on Blu is very anti-consumer. If [the Blu-ray group] would fix that one thing, you know, that'd be fine.
For us it's not the physical format. Understand that this is the last physical format there will ever be. Everything's going to be streamed directly or on a hard disk. So, in this way, it's even unclear how much this one counts.
The interesting thing for me is Bill's almost offhand prediction that Blu-ray will be the last physical format. He may be right, though it think we are still some time away from having streaming content and hard drives replacing trips to Blockbuster. It will no doubt happen, but not until home networks are more common and broadband speeds have increased to the point that downloading a HD DVD can happen quickly. That sounds like five years or more to me.
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