DaniWeb IT Discussion Community - Cellphones, PDAs and Handheld Devices

News Story I'm in love with an eight megapixel Android

newsguy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:31:59 GMT

Now that's what I call an Android phone. Actually, that's what I call an Android phone that might just kick some iPhone ass.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 social networking phone is Android powered and feature rich. How rich? Well, how does 1GB RAM plus 16Gb of flash storage and a stunning 8.1 megapixel camera that comes complete with a geo-tagging function strike you?

That's on top of the 4" (854 x 480, 262,144 color TFT) touch-screen and GPS, and WiFi, and Bluetooth of course. OH, and not forgetting the Qualcomm Snapdragon, a 1GHz system-on-chip that you can also find inside the new Acer Liquid phone.

And, of course, there's the all important Android inside. This time working with the Sony UX layer for social networking. The new UX platform, as I understand it, throws a new UI on top of the Android OS which will integrate and sync a variety of social networking and comms media content. From what I can tell it would appear to be the Sony take on the HTX Sense UI.

There will be UX specific apps coming, although they are in short supply right now. So far you get a unified comms management app called Timescape which supports Twitter and Facebook as well as your email and text message services. Plus there is another called mediascape which integrates media content for playback from sources such as YouTube and PlayNow.

Expect the Xperia X10 to arrive early in the new year, with Japan getting first dibs on the sexy 8 megapixel Android.

Attached Images

xperiax10.jpg (75.2 KB)

Mobile Hardware

m.sohail — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:03:23 GMT

Dear sir,
please tell me how to solve a nokia 1100 charging fault?

News Story How to Dump AT&T in 30 Seconds

EddieC — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:21:34 GMT

If you're yearning to break free from Apple-sanctioned iPhone carrier AT&T (and you don't mind trading your warranty for the privilege), then reach out and touch George Hotz. The iPhone hacker yesterday posted a video showing an iPhone call on T-Mobile, and Wednesday is expected to post the code that made it possible.

Hotz, who goes by the hacker alias GeoHot, drew attention earlier this year when he posted "purplera1n," a so-called "jailbreak" for iPhone 3GS (OS 3.0) that lets the phone run code other than that expressly authorized by Apple or purchased at the AppStore. The hack was quickly made ineffective by Apple when it released OS 3.0.1.

While undeterred, Hotz skipped OS 3.0.1 when he went to work on blackra1n, which targets iPhones running OS 3.1.2 (including the third-generation iPhone Touch, but that one needs to be tethered). According to an Oct. 11 blog post announcing the release, Hotz claims that blackra1n can jailbreak an iPhone about 30 seconds.

His latest work, blacksn0w, will allow such jailbroken devices (running baseband 05.11.07) to be used on any GSM network. The 17-year-old told CNN in an interview that getting his iPhone to work with T-Mobile was what got him started on this project in the first place.

Arduino and wireless module

rudasi — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:54:15 GMT

Hi,

Im working on a robotics project and was wondering if anyone new any tutorials on how to setup an arduino to take input from a wireless module. I was thinking there would be a pin on the wireless module which is an output pin and I just have to connect it to the rx/tx of the arduino? Am I on the right track?

Thanks

my new keyboard won't work! >.<

rethion — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:50:59 GMT

my rabbit recently ate my keyboard wire, so i bought a new keyboard. btw, this is in regards to my desktop dell dimension 5150, running on windows xp os.

anyways, here's the problem: i cannot type anything at the log in screen and i can't move my mouse. i CAN however get into the bios page where the keyboard works perfectly (least i know f2,f8 and f12 work!). Also, my mouse is working fine on my dad's laptop.

i've been looking for a solution for quite some time now, but i haven't found a problem like mine yet.. was wondering if anyone could help?

the stats are: New keyboard, USB port, (And yes, the keyboard works when i plug it into other computers)

i don't have a place to plug a ps2 connector in my desktop.
my mouse works fine on other computers, but does not work on my desktop.

my computer was working fine before the rabbit-eating-my-keyboard incident, but now with the new keyboard, i can't type anything in.

lastly, because i can't type or move my mouse, i'm stuck at my login 'welcome!' screen..

haaalp pls!! >.<

Acer 4732Z on XP or Win7 ?

sylstain — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:18:42 GMT

Does anyone has experience using winXP and win7 on Acer 4732Z laptop ?

I want to make sure all drivers and peripherals are working on XP and win7 before I buy this laptop

oh' brother MFC-290c scanner/printer problems

1bbb — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:16:44 GMT

So,....I bought this Brother multifunction printer/scanner/copier/fax MFC-290c that does quite a nice job. It was marked waaaaaayyyyy down. Now I know why-ha. I can't use my Voip with it. It must be

on a separate line - no splitter. My computer and fax will not work at the same time. One will always kick the other offline - usually I lose the internet.

That is no big deal. The problem is it has somehow permanently disconnected my landline I had plugged into the back on my desktop (computer) and no matter what I've tried I can't seem to

reset it. Any suggestions? I can't get it to work on my surge protector or my wireless router either. The phone does work everywhere else and no problems with my DSL when Fax is not

connected. Its like I burned something out or something desperately needs to be reset. Heck!!!!! I've tried everything.

Second problem, wireless laptop won't reset to use the router like we had it before either.

Third problem, my softphone does not/has never worked. I've tried several but always has some type of problem not covered by their tech support/unable to determine what my problem is.

Do you think these are related and what should I do? Thanks!!

ps: does anyone know of a good copy (or clone) program, free, that would only take a couple of seconds (ha) to copy (clone) my 160GB drive (entire computer + all settings, docs, etc. thanks!!).

Product Review Kitsound X5: An iPhone vibrator everyone will want to play with

happygeek — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:58:45 GMT

It's just small enough to fit into your pocket, uses a specially developed high-tech gel and vibrates like crazy. But this latest must have addition to the iPhone accessories cupboard is no sex toy: this is the Kitsound X5 Surface Speaker, and oh boy does it pack a satisfying punch.

The trouble with most portable speakers is they are either not actually portable, as in not pocket-sized unless you happen to be wearing a pair of MC Hammer trousers, or not actually any good. We've all heard the idiots on the beach or in the park with their tinny little travel speakers pumping out about as much bass as my mum playing a kazoo.

The rule of audio thumb being, of course, that the bigger the speaker the deeper the bass it will provide. Which does not bode well for pocket-sized speakers, now does it? One technological concept which attempted to get around this limitation was the surface speaker. Any number of these have popped up over the years and I've tried a few of them. They all apply the same basic premise, that you attach the speaker unit to a flat surface and the resonating of that surface adds the size and thus the bass to the sound. Unfortunately, while some have been a disaster and others have been OK, none have actually managed to deliver on the promise of a true take it anywhere and put it on pretty much anything to get blown away by the bass portable speaker.

Until now, that is.

I've just spent a couple of weeks in the company of the Kitsound X5 Surface Speaker which, frankly, I'm not happy about having to give back now the review period is over. Damn it, I might actually have to go and shell out £40 and buy one of these things - and that only applies to less than 5% of the gadgets I have ever reviewed. So what has grabbed my attention and loosened my wallet in this case?

First of all, the Kitsound X5 is reasonably small at 160 x 60 x 27mm and weighs a just 194g. So that sorts out the portability issue, this one definitely is pocketable although it's more jacket friendly than a trouser item to be fair.

Then there are the looks, which are distinctly not the usual plasticky pocket speaker affair that you might expect. what you probably were not expecting was this small rubberised black brick with a glossy black top (complete with square holes in a depleted Space Invaders formation) and a squidgy bottom. It actually looks really rather cool, in a minimalist kind of a way. I like that. A lot.

Especially when you plug it in and ramp up the sound from your iPhone, or iPod, or pretty much any MP3 player or laptop for that matter. Nobody was expecting the Spanish Inquisition and nobody was expecting this harmless looking little device to blow the bloody doors off either!

The secret is twofold: first there is the patented high-tech SFX GEL AUDIO layer on the bottom of the speaker, developed in the UK to amplify the sound through any item with a natural resonance; and then there is the item upon which you plop the Kitsound X5 itself.

Which is where the fun really starts as you explore your surroundings to see, or rather hear, which items produce the best sound and the biggest bass kick. Hold it against a large window and you'll be blown away, try a desktop or the fridge door and you'll be surprised. I cannot start to tell you how amazed I was to hear the sound coming out of my toilet when my 11 year old son tried it on the toilet seat lid!

I have listened to music through a biscuit tin, saucepan, car roof and even a hollowed out tree trunk and been pleasantly surprised with not only the real depth of bass and lower midrange (what one of my colleagues described using the audio engineering technical term of 'well fat man') but also the balance provided by a second hidden speaker covering the upper midrange and higher frequencies. The frequency response is 40Hz-20KHz in case you wondered.

All of which is as much use as a one-legged man at an **** kicking party if the battery runs out after 10 minutes or you need to carry a supply of Duracells around with you in another pocket. Thankfully, the Kitsound X5 has the power side of things covered by using a built-in Lithium Ion 700mAh battery which promises 20 hours of continuous play from a single charge and delivered 17.5 hours on test here, which is actually still pretty impressive.

In the box you get a bunch of mobile phone and MP3 device adaptors, and I am reliably informed these will mean it can work with most LG, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson phones as well as your iPhone and iPod or any MP3, laptop or device with a headphone jack. There's a hard case which is nice for suitcase travel but not really designed to be trouser friendly, oh and a USB charging cable to keep the battery going.

If there was anything that could be classed as a downer for the Kitsound X5 it would have to be that at low volumes the sound is marred by the noise of the vibrations as it uses the resonance of whatever it is sitting upon at the time. Of course, the answer to that problem is simple: ramp up the volume and pump up the bass!

The Kitsound X5 is available now from the likes of Amazon or Play, costs around £40 ($65) and if I were giving it points out of ten would earn a well deserved 9.

Attached Images

kitsoundx5.jpg (132.5 KB)

News Story German Book Publishers Cool to eBook Market

Techwriter10 — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:13:46 GMT

In a story this week by German news magazine Der Spiegel, I was surprised to learn that German book publishers are actively avoiding the eBook market, fearing it will eat into their print publishing business, instead of seeing it as an obvious new market for consumers to read their books.

eBook Market Slow to Grow in Germany

For now, the eBook market in Germany is lagging far behind the US and other countries where eBook readers are being sold. In fact, according to numbers cited in the article, 10,000 readers have been sold in Germany. Recent projections have the Kindle selling 1.2M units in the US in the 4th quarter of 2009 alone (and that's just one manufacturer). German readers bought just 65,000 eBooks in the first six months of this year compared with some estimates that have Kindle owners buying 600,000 ebooks per *week*.

This is partly due to the way that Germany regulates its publishing industry keeping book prices artificially high in an effort to protect authors, publishers and small book sellers in a highly competitive marketplace, and partly because German publishers want to keep the prices of eBooks high.

To that end, eBooks are only made available only after the paper back version of book has hit stores, and then, unlike the US where the eBook is sold for a fraction of the cost of the hard cover version, German eBooks are sold at the cost of the cheapest printed version, not exactly making it an attractive buy to the average German consumer.

Why Fear the Future

The whole approach seems rather silly to me because the eBook market represents just another way to market and sell the book. eBook Readers remain too costly for most consumers to buy their books in this fashion, and as I've written in the past, unless they come down substantially, it's likely eBooks will remain a niche market for the foreseeable future. That said, there is a market there and to ignore or to quash it, makes little sense to me. If the idea of these pricing strategies is to protect the publishing business, then it doesn't make sense to cut off a market that could contribute to the revenue stream for author and publisher alike.

Exploring the Lower Costs

Yes, eBooks cost less than their paper counterparts, but there is a corresponding lower cost of production for a digital copy. There is no printing involved, eliminating the need to run expensive presses and to roll trucks (and planes) to distribute the books to a network of book sellers around the world. This would seem to increase profit margin by eliminating a substantial part of the cost of producing the printed work, and therefore justifying the lower cost.

Regardless, eBooks aren't likely to completely eliminate the market for print any time soon. There will always be people who prefer to hold the printed work in their hands, and publishers can encourage this market by creating special print versions. For German book publishers to try and limit a market that could help publishers and writers make additional money seems to be missing a substantial opportunity, and carrying their desire to protect the industry a bit too far.

Wireless messaging

smarty_t2 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:24:47 GMT

Is there a device that is connected through a pc and sends sms to cell phones in a particular range...My teacher has asked me to make a project on it and i cant find such device....Can someone help me with this problem....I want to know the details of any such device..By details i mean, its working, including its circuit.....
Please someone help...
Thanks

Packard Bell Notebook

kiranpvsr — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:06:18 GMT

Is it a good idea to purchase a Packard Bell Laptop.
Can anyone tell me about the processor performance etc..

Following is the configuration.

Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor.
250GB Hard Drive
4 GB RAM, 1MB Cache.
4 Hrs Battery Life.
Price: 400£

Thanks in Advance.

Programming Keyboard IDEA

bhjwizard — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:58:24 GMT

how do i change my keybord settings> USB KEY to alter AOA... puzle hmm

News Story Dell Cell Phone Would Face A Steep Climb

Techwriter10 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:22:50 GMT

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Dell plans to build its own cell phone running Google's Android operating system, and release it some time next year. It's worth noting that Dell has tried to get into the gadget business before. They made a couple of failed stabs at the MP3 player market. They also tried a PDA back in the day. None of these attempts made much of a dent in the market. That's why I'm wondering why they think they can succeed in the crowded cell phone market.

Partnering with AT&T

The announcement includes news that AT&T will distribute the phones, which like the iPhone, will boast a touch screen, but even though Android phones have gained in popularity, if for no other reason than the sheer number of them, they will be competing at AT&T with some fairly heady company including Apple and Blackberry, not to mention the very nice Samsung Propel. I've been curious about Android phones for some time, and up until recently they were only available from T-Mobile and Sprint. There are also plans for Verizon to offer Android phones very soon. That AT&T now has at least one in the works certainly makes sense, but is Dell the right partner?

Apple Didn't Make Phones Either

It's worth pointing out that before the iPhone, Apple was famous for computers and MP3 players. They had never delved into the phone market, yet they've done extremely well by any measure. So there is a precedent for a company that hadn't made cell phones having great success in the market (and with AT&T as exclusive partners to-boot), but Apple's Apple and Dell's Dell and I don't see the success being matched here. Dell makes decent, low-cost computers and they've done very well doing that. They've never been able to duplicate that success in the device market.

Need a Homerun to Work

They can make a phone of course without my permission. Last time I checked, Michael Dell didn't confer with me over business decisions, but if they hope to make any dent in the crowded US smart phone market, they better hit a home run first time out. There can be no bugs. The interface has to be flawless. The display has to be sharp. The case has to be elegant. The price has to be low and they have to market it aggressively and intelligently. They need to get a few very key players on their side. They need to leverage social media channels. In short, they have to do everything right, and even then, there is no guarantee they will succeed.

As an AT&T customer, and pretty much stuck there because of the nature of my family plan contracts, I'm happy to see more competition. I'm also thrilled to see an Android phone, but I'm just not convinced that Dell is the company to deliver the goods. Still, I would happily be proven wrong and to see them develop a killer phone that took the market by storm. I just don't believe that's going to happen.

News Story Amazon launches Kindle in UK

GuyClapperton — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:09:41 GMT

It's official - Amazon is finally going to bring the Kindle e-book reader to countries other than the US, including my own UK. Thing is, there are going to be issues.

The first is a practical one. In the absence of any specific announcement to the contrary, we're all going to be ordering the American version and importing it for the moment. American readers might shrug and ask what the problem is as long as we can get the voltage right and recharge the thing. Well, yes, up to a point, kind of, and other half-hearted agreement; but if this thing carries an American sim card then guess what, we're going to be hit with international data roaming charges every time we download a book. Amazon is going to have to clarify this if it isn't the case, or amend it with deals with local carriers if it is.

If there is an issue then you have to ask why release internationally before those carrier deals are in place, and I may have an answer. Rumour has been rife for many months that Apple is ready to release some sort of tablet computer, which will act as a media/entertainment machine. Apple, you'll recall if you're outside the US, has done a brilliant job of blocking Microsoft every time there appeared to be a gap in the international market for the Zune media player. There'd be a new iPod, a new iPhone, something to block the gadget market completely just when you'd swear the time was right for a European Zune. If analysts are right and Apple is going to use the next MacWorld Expo to launch something that will do so much more than act as a reader, then it's going to block the New Year market and pull off the same trick again. Amazon had better make the best of the Christmas market before it emerges because the standalone reader could be a dead duck within months.

That logic holds good only if you regard Apple as the ultimate marketing big-bad, and there have certainly been signs of a tide turning against the company. But past history suggests you don't underestimate Steve Jobs and co's ability to create whole new product categories and leave the mass market with the impression that they're the first. The Amazon launch, in which non-Americans have to order kit from the US and are promised there'll be a more localised experience sometime, looks rushed and maybe forced; I can only think of the one reason why this should be so.

Bluetooth Mouse?

virtualmisc — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:13:12 GMT

Is there a bluetooth mouse available?

microphone

zaxspeed — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:01:30 GMT

Hy!
I have A4TECH headphones with mic, and mic.don"t work.I tried another mic. and it is the same thing.On pc is win xp.
Please help and thank you!
Sorry, my English is not so good!

News Story Who's Going to Develop an Ideal Academic eBook Reader?

Techwriter10 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:12:21 GMT

On the face of it, you would think eBook Readers would be perfect for an academic setting, but according to a post on Engadget this week, Princeton students participating in a pilot program were unhappy with the Kindle DX's feature set, particularly ones essential to students such as annotation and highlighting. Given that eBook Readers at some point will be relegated to niche devices (if they aren't already), you have to think that the academic setting would be *the* perfect niche, and that means that one of the eBook manufacturers is going to have to step up and develop a product specifically geared to the needs of this market.

Why Academics?

Let's face it, text books are heavy, expensive and they use a lot of trees. They are also require frequent updating, forcing reprints and quickly making the paper versions obsolete. If a student could carry one light-weight device with all of the texts, hand-outs and homework, it would be make life so much simpler for them. Of course, there would need to be some cloud-based updating and backup because you know that some students would inevitably lose the device. The feature set should also include solid annotation and note-taking tools, the ability to highlight text and access related materials in online libraries and on the web. None of this is beyond the reach of the current state of technology, so it begs the question: Why hasn't someone created a device like this?

What do Students Want?

IREX, which just last week introduced a new eBook reader to the market, has been studying the academic market, and IREX’s North American CEO, Kevin Hamilton says, they have learned that students have very specific requirements including:

Quote:

Students strongly preferred a larger screen that more closely resembles the size of a textbook.
Students said that the readability, weight and size of eReaders are strong, but that battery life and the speed of turning pages need improvement.
Students strongly preferred reading on an eReader rather than a laptop / netbook.

Who's Going to Meet Demand?

Hamilton understands that the lack of note-taking ability is a problem, one they plan to address in the their latest offering in the first quarter next year. "The IREX DR800SG will have note taking capabilities available via an easy firmware upgrade in Q1 2010 and our other eReaders have had this feature available for years." He adds, "Our business eReaders are very popular among attorneys, academics, etc. because they allow a user to make annotations while reading. This will surely spill over to the U.S. market as we implement the note-taking capabilities on the IREX DR800SG."

The long-rumored Apple Tablet is also set to take the market by storm at some point and you have to believe that that it will come equipped with all of the features that students and business people alike would want. One thing Apple usually gets cold is usability, and I can't imagine they aren't watching and making adjustments to market needs. Meanwhile, you have to wonder why Sony and Amazon aren't taking this part of the market more seriously and giving students what they want out of the gate.

These devices will only carry so far as pure book readers. They have to do more and the academic market is one that is ripe for the picking. At some point, one of these players (or perhaps one we haven't seen yet) needs take advantage of this market because I think it's going to be substantial.

News Story Toshiba not quite in Netbooks

GuyClapperton — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:14:21 GMT

Toshiba has launched a new selection of notebook computers - but they look rather like Netbooks. Priced at the upper end of the cheaper notebook market (and the exact cost will depend on your territory, let's just say they're starting at £429 in the UK) they're called the CULV satellites - that's Compact Ultra-Low Voltage to you.

They're nice looking machines and they're bound to do pretty well alongside heavier competitors. But they're full of contradictions. They are single core processors but the company decided Atom processors weren't going to be good enough. They're powered up to handle serious applications, the company says, but you're never - no, seriously never - going to want to edit multimedia or something on a 10.1in screen. It's just not going to happen.

The really baffling element is that these are for consumers rather than professionals. If someone says to a professional, OK, you can hook this up to a larger monitor and it'll have enough oomph to handle the serious work but remain seriously portable, or you can put an external DVD drive on if you want, that's one thing. If you say it to a consumer, and try to explain the single core/dual core thing to them, they're going to get bewildered.

Toshiba knows this, it had the misfortune to be selling televisions when high definition started (so things were HD ready, or they had full HD, or true HD, it still makes my head bleed to think about it) and now they have no option but to sell laptops in an equally complicated manner. It's genuinely not their fault, Intel has the market for chips all but sewn up.

I'm anticipating a lot of confused customers in the superstores. And the fact that these look so much like Netbooks isn't going to help.

News Story How the music copyright debate turned into a copywrong farce

happygeek — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:24:48 GMT

When singer Lily Allen posted a passionate plea for people to stop illegally sharing music files, and started a dedicated blog where fellow pop stars could voice their concerns over the 'theft' of their work, you might have been forgiven for thinking it would just turn into the usual bunch of rich kids moaning about how unfair it was that they couldn't buy a second Ferrari this year. However, it quickly got much more interesting than that, thanks to a large dose of double standards on the part of Allen herself.

The trouble with setting yourself up as some kind of industry spokesperson when the debate is as explosive as the music sharing one, and proffering support for a three strikes and you are out law, is that you have to be pretty damn sure of your position. While there is certainly a goodly amount of honesty, passion and common sense in what Allen says on the subject all of that pretty much disappeared up the wazoo, hidden by a smokescreen of her own making. Allen lit the match by seeming to forget that copyright and intellectual property rights apply outside of the glitzy music business. It would appear that the 'It’s Not Alright' blogger rather unfortunately posted a message to kick the whole debate off which, while explaining that copyright infringement is a bad thing, itself infringed the copyright of the person who had actually written most of it and the news site where the cut and pasted paragraphs had originally been published. There was no hint that the first half of the message had been lifted entirely from the Techdirt site, nor that it had been written by someone else; no link back to them, no credit, nothing. Not only that, but as was quickly pointed out, the site also contained images of newspaper articles scanned and reproduced as entire pages.

No wonder supporters of file-sharing, journalists and other independent observers quickly piled in to accuse the singer of displaying a bad case of poor judgement and double standards. It almost seemed like the 'we work hard to create music, don't steal it' argument was existing in a bubble where other creatives and their work were not seen as valuable or worthy of equal protection.

To make matters worse, when the inevitable criticism started to hit the fan, Allen responded not with hands up in horror at such a glaring faux pas but instead with an apology that seemed to border on the 'it was a mistake, I've done nothing wrong' kind of argument that you might hear from, oh let's see, someone accused of music file-sharing. Allen posted a rebuttal, largely in shouty upper case text, which read

Quote:

"I THINK ITS QUITE OVIOUS THAT I WASNT TRYING TO PASS OF THOSE WORDS AS MY OWN, HERE IS A LINK TO THE WEBSIITE I ACQUIRED THE PIECE FROM. Apologies to Michael Masnick.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090914/0348436181.shtml"

The spelling mistakes are hers, not mine, dear reader. I note that she used the word 'acquired' rather than stole, funnily enough.

I would imagine it would be a different matter if Michael Masnick, the author of the copy that appeared on the site, were to post Lily Allen music clips on his site without crediting her as the artist, or posted those clips at all for that matter.

Also, funnily enough, that message is no longer available. Nor are any of the others that were posted to the Lily Allen blog either by Allen herself, fellow musicians such as Gary Barlow and Mark Ronson amongst others, or any of the people who commented either supporting or criticising her position. The blog has vanished, closed down by Allen it would appear according to her Twitter postings as "the abuse was getting too much."

All of which helps to perfectly illustrate just what is missing from much of the file-sharing debate, and that would be reasoned thought. There is far too much knee jerk reaction on both sides of the argument and not enough people prepared to think before they post. Only when the two camps can sit down and debate rationally will a reasonable solution emerge, and emerge it must if the music industry is to survive the business evolutionary stage it has found itself at in the 21st century.

News Story Netbooks next?

GuyClapperton — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:10:32 GMT

This week I went to an annual press launch in London. Called PlayBite, it's not half as salacious as it sounds, just a group of companies that share the same PR company (also called Bite, you can see where they're going with this) exhibiting stuff.

There were a few gadgets coming out - mostly 'same stuff as before only smaller and faster' (which is the trend after you reach a certain age in this game) - but the interesting thing for me was the number of new Netbooks on the market. One exhibitor in particular told me they weren't getting any demand at all for notebooks because everyone was buying the lighter device.

So, does this mean the death of the traditional notebook? I kind of hope not. I like having a full-blown PC (or Mac in my case) with me when I'm out presenting because you can do other things, you don't get mobile data costs because you need to get at information you already own, you can do proper work.

And yet there are so many free access points on my travels that I do wonder whether I'm just being illogical and justifying a handsome-looking Mac laptop because, well, it's shiny, which gives me an emotional attachment to it but which doesn't actually deliver benefits other than image (and when you're 44, going grey and overweight, the shininess of your laptop is only a token gesture in that direction).

I'm inclined to try and cope without it for a while - just take a netbook out with me and see whether I actually miss the full-blown laptop. The only thing is I'm a little nervous - the laptop's a matter of months old and I'd hate to find out I'd spent that much on something I didn't need!

News Story Microsoft Ads Mess with Fuzzy Zune HD Feelings

Techwriter10 — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:27:59 GMT

Yesterday Microsoft launched the long-awaited Zune HD. By all reports, this is a pretty nice device with a large 3.3 inch OLED screen with HD video and HD radio playback. As a media player, it offers access to a limited App Store and a very nice $15 all-you-can-eat monthly music subscription service. It looks like Microsoft put a lot of thought into the design, and at the very least, I wanted to get my hands on one at Best Buy and take it for a spin. Yet in spite of these unusually fuzzy feelings for a Microsoft product, our friends in Redmond found a way to undermine them. Ars Technica reports that Microsoft has chosen to run pre-roll ads prior to launching its handful of free apps. Seriously Microsoft? Ads? Really?! What are these people thinking?

Zune Hasn't Been the Biggest Success

If you've followed Microsoft's foray into the MP3 player market, the results to this point haven't been pretty (as I wrote in my most popular post ever: Zune and iPod: The Tale of Two MP3 Players), but the Zune HD with its sexy redesign has some serious potential. It's reasonably priced and according to this review from CNET provides a very nice user experience. I found the original Zunes to be clunky looking, but this one looks sleek and cool like somebody would really want to own one.

Do You Need a Few Extra Bucks?

Given the time and thought, the company obviously put into this new product, the ads make little sense to me because people generally hate ads, and they really, really hate pre-roll ads. It's going to make people upset that Microsoft has chosen to roll an ad in exchange for a free app. I know, it's free, and maybe they *can* make some money here, but the question is *should* they? I don't think so. Last I heard, even with this economy, Microsoft was a cash-rich company. Don't forget they were ready to pay $44 billion for Yahoo! at one point.

I really don't think they have to nickel and dime their customers in this instance for a few bucks in ad revenue. It undermines the company's credibility (yet again) and there's no good reason to do it. Do they have a right to do it? Absolutely. Is it smart? Not really.

Why Kill The Good Will?

I'm just one blogger. I'm sure there are people who don't give a rat's pattuti that Microsoft included the ads. In fact, I'm not Microsoft's target market, and I'm probably not going to buy a Zune HD no matter how nice it might be. I've already got an iPhone and I don't need another device to run apps or play media. I know that the ads probably won't be a deal killer for most people if they want this device, but they sure were a good buzz killer, and Microsoft needs all the positive vibes it can get right now.

News Story The Zune goes HD

GuyClapperton — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:48:02 GMT

It was surreal to read today that Microsoft's Apple iPod killer, the Zune, has gone all high definition. That's to say that the new version announced today will have high-def capacity. Reaction has been positive; connect it to a TV and it'll be great, everyone's going to want one.

Well, tough, if you live in Europe. Because it's not launched over here.

And I don't just mean the high definition version isn't around. We in the UK and as far as I'm aware (happy to be corrected of course) elsewhere in Europe are a Zune-free zone. Microsoft simply hasn't issued them here.

There is of course the question, why on earth not? The answer appears to be that there's been some brilliant brinkmanship by Apple. Yes, I know Microsoft claims it's all about finding the right moment but we don't really believe all that hooey, do we? Apple, with a series of manoeuvres and iPhone or iPod releases, has ensured that it would put any Microsoft launch right into the shade as soon as it released anything.

It's an object lesson in how to trap your opponent into a corner, but there's actually more to it. This whole situation tells us that Microsoft doesn't have the confidence in the Zune as a competitor to Apple - I honestly can't see any other reason not to go ahead and release it.

So that's Microsoft, apparently not confident enough to release what should be one of its star consumer products. I do wonder whether they'll release it in January, although best guess is that's when Apple will release its tablet.

Will we ever see the Zune in Europe, high-def or otherwise? We might, but Microsoft had better hurry up and issue it while we still care.

News Story Are eBook Readers Moving Beyond Books?

Techwriter10 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:20:13 GMT

When interface guru Jakob Nieslen reported on the Kindle 2 usability last March, he pointed out it was great for books, but not much other content. Why is this significant? Two recent reports suggest that the eBook Reader could move beyond a simple device for reading books, and could become so much more.

In one instance, Apple has released a multimedia "eBook" into the iTunes store. In the other, news reports on Friday suggested that Time, Inc could be working a new Reader for the purpose of distributing their magazines. Suddenly, this market is looking even more interesting.

Time Keeps On Slipping Into The Future

A report on NBCBayArea.com on Friday, quoting an internal Time, Inc. presentation, suggested that the company is hard at work on an eBook Reader that could be available by the end of the year. This means that a high-profile publisher is attempting to get in on the ground floor of a developing market, rather than waiting to react to it, as the publishing industry has done for the last 15 years.

One key element of the memo as I saw it, was this sentence: "Whoever defines the interface wins." This is consistent with Nielsen's work, who believes that interface design and usability is the key to success for any device. The question remains whether the fact they understand this can translate into a device with high usability.

Another interesting nugget in the report was word that Time is not keeping this to themselves, but are in talks with other publishers. This suggests that Time would like to build a device that would be *the* Reader for magazine subscribers. It's an idea, if true, that has a lot of potential and could help revive a sagging publishing market.

Apple Introduces Multimedia eBooks

Meanwhile, ReadWriteWeb reports that Apple has released a comic book and song in a Deluxe package similar to the ones I reported on last week in Apple Brings the Digital Album to iTunes. This particular package combines a comic book along with a song and, according to the RWW report, includes lots of extra goodies like alternative album art, a video on how the package was made and much more. It weighs in at an impressive 400 MB.

Could this type of packaging be the future of eBooks? Rather than simply transferring the paper book to the Reader, could it include much more ancillary materials including author interviews, alternative endings and so forth? This is a much more intriguing possibility than simply giving customers something they can buy on paper in a new format.

This approach could also bode well for another eBook Reader sweet spot, text books. Today's students want the book along with PowerPoints, related PDFs and other materials. Imagine a multimedia text book package available on a Reader device like the Kindle. That could transform the market because it would provide all of the course content in one convenient device, and possibly mean lower-costs for text books.

For now, these approaches appear to be nothing more than speculation, but if they come to pass it could take the eBook Reader device to another level, and that could also make it more attractive to buyers looking for an experience they can't get on paper.

News Story Time for the SexBox 360 and PornStation 3?

happygeek — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:27:25 GMT

If it wasn't bad enough that someone is filing for a trademark to cover an adult-oriented games console called a SexBox, the world's largest adult entertainment company is seeking approval from Sony to turn its entertainment console into a PornStation 3.

Silican Xtal Corp, a San Jose based integrated circuit manufacturing company, has filed a trademark claim with the US Patent and Trademark Office for a SexBox. The filing refers to a "Video Gaming System Console comprised of computer hardware with unique user controls which plays interactive Adult Only rated video game software titles." I cannot imagine that the Microsoft lawyers will be taking this one laying down, considering how close to an Xbox a SexBox sounds. Indeed, the filing itself even talks about playing these adult content games through interactive adult communities and multiplayer online games. Considering that Microsoft does not allow such adults only content games, and we are not referring to 18 rated violent games but rather ones with a very explicit sexual content, you have to imagine it will fight this one all the way. If successful it could bring a whole new meaning to Red Rings of Death I guess.

Meanwhile, the largest adult entertainment (that's porn to you and me) company in the world, Vivid Entertainment, is apparently trying to convince Sony to allow porn content to be made available on the PS3. In an interview, Vivid boss Steve Hirsch argues that as long as "age verification is in place that (Sony) feels comfortable with we see no reason why adults shouldn't be allowed to access adult movies on the Playstation 3."

You might imagine that such a move stands as much chance as that SexBox trademark application being accepted, but there does seem to be a precedent albeit a Japanese only one. Apparently, Sony has allowed Blu-ray quality HD adult movies on-demand via DDM.TV in Japan only. So if PlayStation porn is OK in Japan one wonders why it will not be elsewhere in the world.

PPC file privacy

SAZAR — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:31:48 GMT

Can someone view files on your Pocket PC over the Internet?

News Story Sony PS3 Slim shrinks in size and price

happygeek — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:48:09 GMT

Don't get me wrong, I'm a great fan of the PS3 but not for the gaming which, when compared to the Xbox 360 is in a totally different league in my opinion. But when it comes to the actual hardware, well, the PS3 wins every time. Not only is it of a far higher quality than the Xbox 360, and if you don't believe me then ask those people who when surveyed revealed the Xbox 360 has a failure rate of 50 percent compared to just 10 percent for the PS3, but it also has Blu-ray. Truth be told, when I first bought the PS3, on the day of release, the Blu-ray player was the deal clincher. You just could not buy a player for anywhere near the asking price, and getting a games console thrown in for free seemed a decent offer. Of course, there was always a slight niggle that I had got it wrong and the HD-DVD would win out and I'd have to invest in an Xbox 360 and add-on player for my DVD's.

Little did I know I would, indeed, end up investing in a 360 but not for the now deceased HD-DVD format support but simply because the games I wanted to play were appearing on the Microsoft platform rather than Sony's.

Of course, many others would appear to have had similar feelings and the PS3 has been struggling to match the Xbox 360, and the Wii, in terms of sales and market share. Surprisingly, given what a great deal getting that Blu-ray player was a few years back, the price has been the deal breaker for Sony.

The PS3 has proved to be simply too expensive when compared to the other consoles in the marketplace.

At long last Sony Computer Entertainment appears to have not only realised this, but decided to do something about. No, not reduce the price of the PS3 but rather introduce a new and cheaper version of the console in the shape of the PS3 slim.

Just as the PlayStation 2 before it saw the introduction of a slim version to boost sales, so the PlayStation 3 has perhaps inevitably followed suit. According to SCE president and CEO Kazuo Hirai, the PS3 slim is some 36 percent lighter and 32 percent smaller than the original PS3 but retains the Blu-ray player along with a 120GB hard drive.

So just how much has the price slimmed down? The answer is by a none too shabby US $100. On sale, we are told, from September 1st, the PS3 slim will cost $299 in the US and £249.99 in the UK.

News Story Nintendo patents bouncy cushion controller

newsguy — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:57:57 GMT

I love a good patent story, I love my Nintendo Wii and I love bouncy cushions. However, it is a rare thing to be able to write a news story which covers all three. Yet it would appear that Nintendo has, indeed, filed a European patent for a bouncy cushion for the Wii. The actual patent refers to an inflatable air cushion or other seat, and comes complete with a special pocket for your Wii Remote in order to detect your movements and a Nunchuk can be used as reins. Did I mention that this particular bouncy cushion doubles up as a horseback riding or vehicle driving simulation device? Actually, it seems the bouncy cushion can be many different things as the patent also talks of using the Nunchuk as a lasso, sword or even for raising a balance hand in bucking bronco or bull riding. I quite like the bit where Nintendo talks about the cushion simulating elephants or dolphins, or how about dragons and giant eagles. You've got to love the imagination of these guys. There's even talk of it being a magic carpet controller...

Motorola T720 Ringtones

KarenW — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:33:32 GMT

I have an old Motorola T720 with some ringtones and a game that I'd like to transfer to my EnV3. Any ideas on how to accomplish this? Bitpim won't recognize the phone.