Universal Remotes

Om Malik has a great post today on the future of remote controls and their role in our smart homes. I like the idea of a knowledgeable device — one that can be easily configure itself based on what you have, across a variety of connection options (wifi, ir and bluetooth) and can of course is smart enough to go beyond the basic scene management of today’s higher end pieces.

You probably know about Crestron and AMX which are used in high end custom installations for home theaters and conference rooms as well as homes with advanced Lutron lighting scenes and room based music and video.

Om points to the Harmony Remote, whose parent Intrigue was just acquired by Logitech . I’ve been admiring the Harmony system as a possible contender to replace my aging Philips Pronto. The nice thing about the Harmony as Om points out is that it can be easily programmed through USB and your computer. You download the devices you have into the remote and it can take care of the work from there. Want to watch a movie, press movie and the TV changes to Video, your electroncs shift inputs and the DVD player starts up as the lights dim. This is also possible with the AMX and Crestron systems, but not without an expert to program them for you.

Once we have a system that can discover what you have at home, connect itself to the net via your home network and download the device options and auto-configure itself for some standard scenes we’ll be really happening.

I think this is a ways off for many reasons. First, we are still waiting on a standard connect option for AV equipment. HDMI vs DVI… once things settle on how they are connected perhaps we’ll be able to get these devices to communicate who they are to our networks. Plug and Play Home Theater is a critical step to achieve in the development of smarter, yet simpler homes that can all be maintained and controlled with the Smart Remote we all crave.

AutoFill

AutoFill is a form you fill out once and then save the resulting link as a bookmarklet so you can use form auto-fill in browsers without the function. Works in Firefox, Camino, Safari and I would imagine any other browser you want.

Sony’s Connect Music Offers Little Value

The Washington Posts’ Rob Pegoraro is pretty critical of Sony’s continuing mistakes in digital music…Hard to blame him, this sounds like a painful system to use, even if the price is right on the players and media. Why bother?

But the store’s advertised selection of “more than 500,000” songs is missing a concert stage’s worth of major artists — to name a handful, Missy Elliott, Norah Jones, the Replacements, Liz Phair and Los Lobos. Even some of Sony’s own artists are largely absent: Connect’s Bruce Springsteen collection consists of a measly nine albums, not counting a few re-releases.

The tool you must use to download and manage your purchases, Sony’s Sonic Stage (Windows 98 SE or newer), is a bloated, bug-ridden beast of a program. It ploddingly searches through the store’s catalogue as if it were a card catalogue, while its space-wasting interface requires constant scrolling within its own window. It can’t copy CDs in MP3 format, and it defaults to storing music in an invisible, deeply buried sub-directory.

Connect permits an unlimited number of transfers to portable players — except for songs from Warner Music Group’s labels, which are restricted to three transfers. Ever.

Similar control-freak behavior ensues when you move purchased songs to the other two PCs you’re allotted at any one time: Those copies lose all their transfer and CD-burning permissions. Sony says an upcoming software update will restore transfer rights, but not disc burning, to those copies.

A Question for Spammers

Does sending multiple copies of the same message get a better response or open rate?

There must be some logic as to why I sometimes get a dozen of the same message at once. It’s interesting to note these when I scan messages caught first by Spam Assassin and then by Spam Sieve in my spam folder. I can’t understand what the purpose is other than an phone book attack on a domain which certainly plays a role.

I’ve got images off so I know I’m not sending anything back when I review these… Many times I’ll get several at once all to the same name, though not usually me, just another open address I’ve got on my domain for various purposes.

Camino

Camino creeped back into my dock and has made a good impression. I don’t even recall the last time I used it though I know it was certainly pre-Safari…

Camino brings much of what’s to like about Safari and Firefox, but combines things into it’s own deal. Rendezvous bookmarks are easy to access and external links open in new tabs (yes!) plus the Keychain is supported for passwords. The bookmark management is excellent and the bookmark bar allows for multiple lines so instead of trailing off, you can have a second line added for quick access.

No keyboard shortcuts to access bookmarks (that I can find) and form auto-fill seems to be missing at least as a shortcut, but I’m going to give it a good shot at replacing FireFox for now.

massive amounts of spam

When I suddenly get close to 4000 (3935 actually) messages at once, I have to just delete them. If you sent me one and it ended up there, you lose. No way I can possible be expected on any level to manually sort that much crap.

If you don’t read my blog, well then you just think I’m a jerk for not replying right away.

New Yahoo Search Shortcuts

Too bad I use Google for 99.9% of my regular searches… still good to know anyway.

Yahoo has rolled out some new search engine shortcuts, according to Search Engine Watch. The move, perhaps in response to recent similar actions by Google, continues to grow Yahoo’s list of shortcuts, which can be found on this page.

The new shortcuts include encyclopedia lookup, synonym finder, hotel information and traffic reports.

[The Unofficial Yahoo Weblog ]

Digital Photo Gallery Howto

Operation Gadget points to an arcticle on O’Reilly on setting up a Digital Photo Gallery with MySQL, Sendmail, Perl and ImageMagick. To me unless you just really want to do it yourself, this is way more work that you need to even consider. I’ve been happily using Gallery and the excellent plug-in for iPhoto, iPhotoToGallery, which lets me export directly from iPhoto into my web Gallery. It’s simple and quick. Once you setup the style and prefs in the Gallery app, you are good to go.

Automated Web Photo Galleries with iPhoto and Perl by Mike Schienle — If iPhoto is working nicely as your digital shoebox, but you want to automate the process of creating web galleries for your own server, here’s a nifty setup using Sendmail, MySQL, and Perl. Mike Schienle, who specializes in task automation for a living, shows you the system he designed for his wife, who is an avid photographer.

Indeed no free lunch…

Unfortunately it seems the answer to this question might actually be yes. Not all the time, but certainly when it might be convenient for either political or competitive reasons…

A free 802.11G router really might just be too good to be true…

Could Comcast use that new combination cable modem/802.11g wireless access point they’re carrying from Linksys to snoop around on their subscribers’ home networks? [Engadget]

You want fries with that?

I hear you man, but Steve Jobs seems to be thoroughly against streaming services believing that consumer want to own their music, not rent it. Perhaps the iMix addition is a taste though and if enough people take part, Apple will get that people want even more interaction with the music. For now though if you like iTunes and the iPod, you need to appreciate the island you are on. I like it… it’s a beautiful island. 😉

Of course, I love all of these services. But I don’t want 10 digital audio services. I want one. For now, its iTunes. So I want iTunes to integrate Rhapsody-like streaming, Mixmatcher-like playlist sharing, Musicmobs or TuneCircle-like social networking. That’s what Apple needs to do for me. [A VC]

Mossberg on GMail…

I don’t agree with the thinking here…

If you run a virus checker, it scans your messages. If you use email from your employer or school, they can scan your mail (and actually read it too), but GMAil seeks only to find relavent ads to send you based on context. The search is happening in an automated sense courtesy of the Google OS. I agree it might be creepy, but from what I understand of the Gmail UI (no account yet) it’s in a place that is obviously not your message, which will certainly avoid any advertorial issues or “paid inclusion” BS.

I think the key detail in all the Gmail hubbub, is that it’s free. Financially free… anyway. If you choose to use it, you accept the terms. If you don’t want it, there are other options (yahoo, hotmail etc…) who will also conveniently scan your mail…

There’s a catch, however. Google intends to run ads down the side of the e-mail messages in Gmail, just like it does in its search results. And, just as on the search pages, the Gmail ads will be triggered by key words in the body of the text — in this case, the text of your e-mail. So if I get an e-mail that refers to, say, a kind of product, I might get an ad for a store that sells that product.

The problem here isn’t confusion between ads and editorial content. It’s that Google is scanning your private e-mail to locate the key words that generate the ads. This seems like an invasion of privacy. Google notes its scanning will be done by computers, and that these machines can’t understand the e-mails and are just looking for specific terms. And the company notes that nearly every e-mail anybody receives is already scanned by computers looking for spam or viruses.

These are logical points, but the proposed system is still a little creepy, and it has the potential for big problems if the content scanning were ever misused by Google. Google might also be forced to use such content scanning in the service of government subpoenas or court orders that might apply to years’ worth of its customers’ e-mails. [WSJ.com]

Time Warner HD DVR Delayed

I just got off the phone with Time Warner and they have pushed the release of the HD DVR back to at least the third quarter. It’s not actively in the system — at least according to the lovely customer service rep I spoke to. I doubt this means they are considering the Moxi box for now, but hey you never know. It most likely means there are some software issues on their network that still need to get sorted out.

Semacode

I think the jury is still way out on this… Remember the cue cat? Not sure once you pass the gimmick phase that there is any staying power here… I’d love to be wrong, but only time will tell.

Semacode is about as cool an app as I’ve come across and a confirmation of my ongoing belief that the handset is so much more than a telephone–the underlying assumption of MobileWhack itself–and is better thought of as an interface between the online and offline worlds right in your back pocket. [MobileWhack]

Operation gadget comes to a very similar conclusion

Moxi Will Fail

Doc Searls points to an article on TV Predictions (quoted below) that says the Moxi will fail, and notes that the author, Phillip Swann thinks TiVO will succeed. Doc actually thinks TV will fail… which is not something I’m going to get into yet.

With regard to TiVO… In my opinion, TiVO is failing. They established the market for DVRs (along with Replay… though where are they now??) but have lost their lead, even though they are the established name for what a DVR is. The current growth in the marketplace is coming from cable and satellite installed boxes for a variety of reasons, but mainly based on 2 factors…

Cost and Ease of Install – There is no upfront cost to the consumer for a box from your cable company. It gets installed by the cable guy unless you’re a DIY type and can pick one up at a local office.

These boxes are also simpler than TiVO. They offer no predictive features, which I know uber-fans of TiVO think make the boxes less attractive, but to the average consumer, that would just go to waste. The marketing for these boxes is quite simple and direct. In NYC, Time Warner has done a solid job keeping the message focused on the basics (which people get) pause, ff, rw and of course time-shifting (though they never call it that). I’ve seen some nice spots on cable (of course!) and as bill inserts each month.

TiVO could be taking a similar path — though they would have to pay for the TV media and most likely would not get access to do bill inserts. That does not mean that traditional direct marketing ideas don’t apply. I’ve mentioned this quite a few times here (feel free to search). They need to educate, not entertain so people know first what it is and then that it’s not a big deal to set-up and use. Once people use TiVO (or any DVR) they love it, the trick is getting them to shell out…

Back to Moxi… Moxi is the next generation of what is happening in the set-top box world. It can serve as more than just a DVR, performing media center functions so hopefully the cable companys will go slow, or at least keep it simple. I don’t live in a Comcast market so it will be tough to see directly what they are up to… I believe Moxi can succeed. If I was them, I would lead with the advanced DVR stuff and follow-up at install and via welcome communications (mail or email linking to an educational web site as well as a special channel on TV with similar content) with the rest of the features. Home networks and media serving are not basic concepts and need to be treated with care for the mass consumer markets.

The average TV viewer does not understand new technology. Not only that, he fears it. He’s afraid that if he buys a new gadget that he will never fully understand how to use it. Afterall, he’s still confused over why his VCR clock is still blinking “12:00.”

The fear of the unknown (technology) is a major reason why the DVR has failed to reach a mass audience. Many consumers believe that it’s difficult to install and use. So, why bother when you already have a VCR to record your favorite shows? (Even though many people don’t understand how to program the VCR, they do know how to hit the “Record” button.)

For the DVR to ultimately succeed, DVR services must create the perception that the technology is simple to use — and it’s an improvement on the existing product (the VCR).

So, enter the Moxi Media Center. The receiver is stuffed with so many features that it will only create more confusion and fear in the average household. Viewers will perceive Moxi as a jumble of technologies that don’t really address a specific need or desire. By trying to be everything, Moxi becomes a whole lot of nothing.

If Moxi was marketed solely as a DVR or even a home networking device, then it would have a chance; viewers would eventually come to understand the product’s purpose. However, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for cable operators to clearly communicate what Moxi does — and why anyone should care. In fact, it’s almost laughable that anyone would think that it will succeed, under current conditions. [TV Predictions]

Steve Jobs’ IMix

I caught that Steve’s mix as well when I first checked out the new iTunes… seems like it might be. The resume link at the end of this one is worth a quick read. 😉

Is Steve Jobs posting iMixes to Apple’s iTunes music store?

This iMix, A Few of Steve’s Favorites, looks suspiciously Jobsian. It runs to his taste: Dylan, Cash and Joni Mitchell. Suspiciously, it has garnered 4,600 votes; far more than any other I can find. Smell a rat?

Update: Patricio Lopez writes, “I was going through the item on Steve Jobs’ playlist, and wondered what would happen if you put that username after the homepage.mac.com domain. Here’s what I got: Steve’s Resume. [Cult of Mac]