Windows 7 has been out for a couple of weeks now, and it's both received largely glowing reviews and sold up a storm
compared to its predecessor, Vista. But we've been hearing some
rumblings about the 64-bit version of the OS not being compatible with
some devices. PCMag.com's editor-in-chief, Lance Ulanoff, reported that
it didn't recognize a Sony DCR-TRV140 camcorder he tried to plug in.
It's been common knowledge for a while now that 64-bit versions of Windows require digitally signed drivers, so mismatches aren't unheard of, but given the traction 64-bit gained during the Vista years, it's kind of surprising.
We'd
like to find out the scope of this, and you can help us out. If you've
had trouble getting any of your hardware to work with 64-bit Windows 7,
leave a comment on this post and tell us what sort of device you tried
to connect and what happened when it didn't work.
Best Buy is teaming up with Sonic Solutions to provide customers on-demand access to streaming movies and TV shows.
Best Buy will embed Sonic's Roxio CinemaNow technology on a number of devices, like web-connected TVs, portable media players, PCs, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes, and mobile phones. This will include a variety of manufacturers, Best Buy said, but the store did not reveal any specific companies at this time.
The multi-year agreement allows Best Buy to license Sonic's technology to make its on-demand digital content delivery a standard feature on connected devices. As part of the deal, Best Buy purchased an undisclosed number of Sonic common stock.
When the service is in place, Best Buy customers can buy or rent from the CinemaNow catalogue, which includes access to new movies, TV shows, independent films, and older catalogue films. Some of those movies will likely be available on the same day as their DVD release, Best Buy said.
Both companies said they also plan to work with movie studios on "new service and content offerings" but did not elaborate.
On Tuesday, Monster Cable held a mini-conference to discuss the future of connectivity, including its bread and butter, HDMI cables.
Monster representatives told me Friday that the company has also announced the next step in its collaboration with Hewlett-Packard, although the details have yet to hit the Monster Cable Web site.
The original partnership was launched at this year's Consumer Electronics Show; now, it has come to fruition.
The HP Monster partnership includes a number of cables, as well as a few of its GreenPower power-extension solutions. The full list is after the jump.
Do Microsoft's new storefronts look eerily family to you? The company's new mall-based retail locations seem to have taken more than a few aesthetic and spiritual cues from Apple's successful stores.
The company opened up its first location in Scottsdale, Arizona this week, and PCMag sent a photographer with a last name rather similar to our own consumer electronics managing editor. You can check out a slideshow of the company's new Windows 7-centric location at PCMag, Surface computer included.
Microsoft opened up a second location in Mission Viejo, California, to what was apparently a rather enthusiastic reception. According to the OC Register, over 1,000 people crowded into the Orange County Mall, in an attempt to check out the new store.
Maybe it had something to do with the gift bags that Microsoft was handing out, which included a $25 Zune Pass gift card and lip balm, among other MS swag. Times are tough and lips are chapped all over, I guess.
If you want an eco-friendly bag that can protect your laptop as well as the environment, check out the Eco Casual Tote by Mobile Edge for Her. The tote, which can fit laptops up to 16 inches, has a natural cotton exterior and a color-accented satin interior lining. In addition to the tan color shown above, the tote comes in black, chocolate, and blue; also included is an optional extra-wide shoulder strap.
The 17.5- by 14- by 7-inch tote has a detachable phone pocket made of the same satin interior fabric, and a removable computer compartment that converts to an all-purpose tote. Inside the bag, there's plenty of room on both sides of the laptop compartment for personal items and accessories.
For more storage, the Casual Tote features two large, deep pockets on the outside and one has additional smaller pockets on the inside for all your personal items and accessories. On the side of the bag is a hidden mesh pocket for your water bottle.
Some things never change--especially at at Sony. The company is recalling a whopping 69,000 AC adapters over concerns of short circuiting and shock hazards. The announcement comes a year after the company recalled some 100,000 notebook battersa and nearly half a million notebooks.
So far no incidents have been reported in the US, and none of the incidents that have been reported outside the country have resulted in injury. The recall applies to adapter number VGP-AC19V17, which shipped with Vaio models VGC-LT, VGC-JS240, VGC-JS250, VGC-JS270 and VGC-JS290. All of the units shipped after September 2007.
The company is also recalling the following docking stations: VGC-LT, VGC-JS240, VGC-JS250, VGC-JS270, and VGC-JS290. If you need more information, you can call Sony at (877) 361-4481.
Monster Cable occupies its own specialized niche in the technology industry: some swear that the company tempts nervous, uneducated buyers into paying for expensive audio/visual cables that they really don't need. Beyond the hype, however, should be a realization that this is a company built on the need for bandwidth.
On Tuesday, Monster held what company executives billed as a "technology demo event" talking about the future of connectivity. A good deal of it was background on HDMI 1.4, and its bandwidth requirements, together with so-called "4K: resolutions that are coming down the pipe.
I found a couple of points noteworthy, however: Brad Bramy, director of marketing for Silicon Image, predicted the 2010 and 2011 would be the year that the mobile and CE industries would begin to converge, offering the possibility that some of the 1.4 billion phones on the market would join some of the 160 million portable devices (such as camcorders) and offer HDMI out.
For plenty of folks in the tech community, this week was all about Windows 7, sure, but Apple has never be one to be outshone. Earlier this week the company launched refreshes to much of its hardware line, including new versions of the Macbook, iMac, and Mac Mini. The company also introduced the hyperbolically-named Magic Mouse.
Apple sent along a number of these products along for review in the PC Labs. Over at PCMag, you can check out the recent reviews of the Macbook and iMac. We've also got some exclusive hands-on video with those two devices and the brand new Magic Mouse after the jump.
It's the kind of geeky solution that makes a gear lover's heart beat faster: Atdec, an Australian company, has released the Visidec Focus Notebook Tray, which not only holds your notebook off the desktop and at a comfortable angle, but can also hold an external monitor. Position the arms however you want for maximum productivity and flair.
The tray can hold notebooks up to 18 inches with a maximum weight of 17.5lbs, and it's vented for proper cooling. It also has a no-slip surface and a tilt range of 25-degrees. If you only want the notebook tray, that will run you $199. Adding a second tray for a monitor costs and extra $129. The Website notes that they'll be available soon, but doesn't say when. Beauty doesn't come cheap, as we all know, but a $20 version of this holder from Ikea would definitely be welcome.
Alongside refreshes to the its Macbook and Mac Mini lines, Apple today made yet another attempt to get the whole mouse thing right, with the Magic Mouse. The latest Mac mouse follows the not especially well received Mighty Mouse and its much-hated predecessor, the single button Round USB "hockey puck" mouse. According to Apple, the new Magic Mouse is "the world's first multi-touch mouse."
The mouse doesn't feature physical buttons, instead relying on touch, taps, and swipes. As Apple puts it, "the mouse itself is the button." Users can scroll and flip through Web pages and photos, and can click or double-click anywhere on the mouse's surface. The mouse also utilizes laser-tracking for increased efficiency without the need of a mousepad.
The Magic Mouse is Bluetooth-enabled and is customizable via Apple System Preferences. Users must have Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later and the Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0.
The new mouse ships with new versions of the iMac or can be purchased separately for $69 from the Apple Store. It's available now.
If you're looking for a laptop bag that doesn't look like a laptop bag, check out Mobile Edge's Sumo Laptop Purse. This bag, which can hold laptops up to 15 inches, is made from quilted black ballistic nylon with pink stitching on the outside and includes soft leather shoulder straps. The interior of the 14.5- by 10- by 1-inch Laptop Purse is lined in fabric featuring the pink and white Sumo logo.
Also inside is a padded corduroy compartment for your laptop. The purse give you plenty of storage space for other items, including two zippered pockets in the front for your MP3 player and phone, a large zippered pocket inside, and four other different-sized compartments that can be used for cords and accessories.
You can ditch your mouse if you pick up the Adesso SlimTouch Bluetooth keyboard. That's because this ultra-slim model includes a touchpad, helping you save desk space. It's also a great choice for a living room keyboard, if you've got your TV and PC connected, since there's no cord and since mice don't work that well on couch cushions.
This model, also known as the WKB-4000BB, has Bluetooth 2.0 with a 100-foot range (you'd better have a big screen if you're that far away). It offers quiet scissor switch keys, a touchpad with two buttons, and runs off two included AAA batteries. The upper-left corner includes an on/off button for saving energy. This keyboard works with Windows 7/Vista/XP and lists for $129.99.
Livescribe has announced new Pulse smartpens, which digitally capture and sync handwriting and audio and make me wish I was still in college taking notes. Options now include 4GB and 2GB versions in a new titanium color. The $199.95 4GB model holds 400 hours of recorded audio, and will be compatible with Livescribe's upcoming Application Store when it launches later this year; the 2GB model rings in at $169.95.
The company also unveiled the Pro-Pack bundle, aimed at business professionals. It includes the 4GB Pulse smartpen in an exclusive black color, an A5 starter notebook, a leather carrying case, handwriting-to-text conversion software, and the company's Pro Charging Cradle, which looks like an ink well and charges the Pulse from a USB port or power outlet. The Pro-Pack bundle costs $249.95.
Let's face it, stealing office supplies is really a gateway to more serious crimes. It starts with pens and staplers; the next thing you know, you and your spouse are being arrested for stealing $23 million from your corporate employer.
A North Carolinian couple have been arrested over a scheme that defrauded Cisco's SMARTnet to the tune of $23 million. According to the company, Mario and Jennifer Leigh Harmon Easevoli concocted a scheme to ship replacement parts to businesses in eight states.
Using fake names, the couple allegedly filed fake claims for the parts, later selling them to other businesses. Jennifer Leigh Harmon Easevoli then reportedly bragged about the claim via Classmates.com, writing:
For those of you who knew me and doubted me - I made it, and I made it big ... I am bigger and better than you thought I could be. I am more successful than I could have dreamed and I have had a great time all the while.
Logitech likes to announce its products in bunches. Yesterday brought a Unifying Receiver kit; today brings the Gaming Keyboard G110. I love the customizable backlighting on the G110: you can make it red, blue, or any shade of purple. Controls let you vary the intensity of each color to make a custom shade. That's something I'd love in my regular keyboard, although it's meant to help gamers find the right keys in dark rooms. The keyboard also includes headphone and microphone jacks, as well as mute buttons.
For customization, gamers will get 12 programmable G keys with three macros per key. Automatic game detection lets you create separate custom G key profiles for every game you play.
The Gaming Keyboard G110 is available for pre-order now for $79.99 and will ship in November.
Mixx It
Digg It
Stumble
More...
