Category: gadgets and technology

For a company that has long flexed its muscles and built a reputation on being first, Sony is now in the awkward position of having to play catch-up. [New York Times: Technology]

David Galbraith has a bunch of great ideas for how a TiVo or other PVR box should work that turns all the existing business models on their heads. I especially like the attempt to create very personal one-on-one advertising that actually benefits people. Although I’m generally an opt-out kind of person, I welcome beneficial advertising and do request catalogs from time to time. Modern day PVRs do have the ability to market products to you, yet no one so far has taken personalization to that level yet.

[PVRblog]

Interesting stuff… One thing I’ve been thinking of lately is a change to the list of recorded programs. I’d like to see a multi-level list so that instead of seeing more than one listing for the same show you would instead could activate the program to see what episodes were recorded and saved at the moment. If you record a number of daily or even weekly shows the list screen can get a bit longer than you might want to deal with. By consolidating the episodes of each show under a single item, you could more easily browse and select what to watch.

This looks like a winner… a 1+ MegaPixel camera and an expansion slot – at least rumored… I wonder when it will happen. The T630 is not even really here yet and this is a nice step beyond.

We’ve finally caught our first glimpse of what appears to be the rumored Sony Ericsson T650. We’ve captured a few frames from a video advertisement for Sony Ericsson that shows the T650 for a couple of seconds. You can watch the video yourself. [Mobile Burn]

Nice commentary from Russ on Palm’s pending moves in the Smartphone space… [Russell Beattie Notebook]

And this time from SF Bay Guardian writer JH Tompkins. While it states the obvious, the juicy and laughable bit is at the very bottom of the story. “Rhapsody is so much better than iTune that they should scarcely be mentioned in the same breath,” Real.com staffer Matt Graves said. Good lord, what are these guys from Real smoking these days. If anyone, and I mean anyone how has downloaded anything from Real.com with less than three clicks, please get in touch with me. I mean wow! making a claim like HP is as cool as a Powerbook. Nevertheless it is still a great article, worth reading about the cultural and social implications of what I have dubbed, IPoddery. [nthoctave]

I’ve wanted a bluetooth mouse since seeing the Apple device and getting a machine with bluetooth built-in, but the Apple mouse left me wanting more as it only has one button. I love the idea of a wireless mouse and have actually been using a Kensington PocketMouse Pro Wireless which uses a USB dongle to transmit an RF signal to the mouse. This works nicely (and is a great mouse) but still Bluetooth seemed like the ultimate.

I’ve seen two possible models, one from Microsoft and one from Logitech. In my research, they both seemed to be only Windows compatible which seems odd, given that they are just mice afterall… though both come with USB cradles that charge the mice and serve as bluetooth hubs for the rest of your computer set-up. In my case, Bluetooth is built-in so I felt I could get away with using just the mouse without the cradle (other than charging) if my computer would recognize the device.

Fortunately Apple has a great Bluetooth set-up utility which lets you pick the type of device and then automagically pairs the two if possible. Once I figured out how to get the mouse in auto-discovery mode (you just press the connect button on the bottom for a sec) my laptop was able to find and set-up the mouse, even properly recognizing it as the Logitech MX 900. Not too bad considering this is not a supported device.

The only issue now is getting some Logitech software to install so I can program the mouse properly and make real use of the extra buttons. There are actually quite a few packages to choose from but so far none seem to work. The latest version of mac software simply does not see the MX 900. I can still use the mouse, the second button and scroll wheel as well as the small scroll buttons on either side of the scroll wheel. These scroll at a much slower rate than the wheel… There are two other buttons by the thumb (think they are designed for Volume… or anything else you want to program them for) which I can’t get going as well as another button on the top which I was actually successful in activating Exposé.

I miss the chording (two button commands) from my Kensington which I used frequently for a quite “enter” while computing… but for now I am quite happy with this mouse. Hopefully Logitech will come through with some real compatibility.

This time officially supporting Palm OS…

Good Technology has announced the next version of its GoodLink software and service. GoodLink 3.0 aims to extends enterprise data and applications to smartphones and connected PDAs. GoodLink 3.0 supports multiple devices, carriers and operating systems, all from a single server. [PalmInfocenter]

“According to the Consumer Electronics Association, some 3.1 million prepackaged systems – five speakers, a subwoofer and an audio-video receiver – were sold last year, nearly triple the number sold in 2000.”… [Panbo]

According to this article at PCPro, Sony is investing in G5s…. which is very interesting as it means that the Cell will not be their own concoction (but rather G5 PPC) of silicon. With Microsoft on board as well for the XBox I wonder what the future could hold for computers in general. Is RISC finally starting to get the action ? [MacSlash]

This is an interesting bit considering the quote recently coming out of Europe saying that Palm was looking at other operating systems to run on its devices… like Symbian.

PalmSource is expected to announce a new OS strategy that could put the PalmOS on more mobile phones, including more consumer level models. [MobileTracker]

As had been previously discussed here… this one is back and redhot. If true, it should be most interesting to see whether the G5 can give the “Sony Cell” (for the PS3) a real run.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Microsoft plans to use three IBM-designed PowerPC G5 chips in its next-generation Xbox video game console… [MacMinute]

palmOne is now denying that they are planning an upgrade to the forthcoming Palm OS 6 for PDAs that are currently running on Palm OS 5… [Gizmodo]

The FCC has given Samsung permission to release in the U.S. the i505, a Palm OS smart phone. This will include a “flip and twist” screen, an SD slot, and a camera. [Brighthand]

A spokesperson for palmOne declined to confirm that his company is working on an upgrade that will allow some current handhelds to move to the next version of their operating system. [Brighthand]

Ultra wideband technology will have enough bandwidth to take the ‘cable’ out of cable TV, its touters say. It might also be used for transferring images from digital cameras to computers. [Wired News]

Great News (if true) on the Palm front. Though I have a feeling a new cooler device will woo me from my T3…

New information received by PalmInfocenter indicates that palmOne is currently testing a Palm OS 6 upgrade for select current palmOne handhelds. Devices with Flashable ROM with enough room to spare to fit the new OS,shouldbe able to be upgraded. [PalmInfocenter]

In an interview with a Swedish publication, palmOne’s Head of Europe, Vesey Crichton, has made several remarks which are certain to raise a few eyebrows among Palm OS diehards. Conducted during a recent European tour made by Crichton, the interview leaves little doubt that palmOne is considering alternative operating systems for use the company’s mobile devices, although Crichton is not quoted directly on this.

Expressing his fascination for Nokia’s operating system and in particular its interface, Crichton also said the Finnish manufacturer has unresolved issues with data synchronization – a widely held opinion.

Among the most important qualities for a platform, Crichton listed ease of use along with the ability to synchronize tasks, sporting a well-developed calendar, contacts database and to-do list. Also, Crichton said that a good choice of applications would have to be available, but that Palm OS was indeed “not viewed internally as a religion”. [infoSync]