[This baby] looks very cool. Too bad it will be longer (guessing a year) until something like this can be used in an SD slot instead…
BlackBerry on a Palm
This is really fantastic news… While devices will not likely be ready to use this for some time (hopefully before the OS 6 rollout in 2004) it will finally provide a serious email machine option. The more I think about the Blackberry, the more I like it, but then I remember I am a Palm guy. I can’t give up the benefits of Palm just to have email like that, knowing that the rest of the software is not as good, not too mention it does not even sync with my Mac.
Research in Motion plans to license the email technology it uses on its BlackBerry devices to companies making Palm handhelds.
Read
[Gizmodo]
HDTV set-top box + DVR + cable modem from Motorola
This sounds like a winner… just wish Time Warner was mentioned in the article to give me some hope this baby might come to NYC. I would really like an HDTV PVR…
New digital set-top box from Motorola that combines an HDTV cable box with a digital video recorder and cable Internet modem. One thing, though. The DCT6208 “only” has an 80GB hard drive, which can’t possibly store that many hours of high-definition television programming.
Read[Gizmodo]
Back on AvantGo…
It has been about 2 years since I used AvantGo since they do not support Mac OS X. If you have the right device you can sync directly to the server rather than using the computer. The trick is getting the files onto your palm since the install only comes as an .exe file for Windows. I tapped a friend who was kind enough to install the software and extract the three files you need to get going.
If you are not sure what AvantGo is imagine having a nice set of bookmarks and the content from the sites in your pocket. It’s offline browsing/reading, though the app does support online browsing as well. I have found the browser to be quite good, comparing nicely to the (NetFront) browser Palm has built into the Tungsten series.
I am using the OS 5 beta and so far it is very impressive. The color and hi-res functions are really nice. It is easy to quickly fill the free 2MB you are allotted and I am considering the $19.95/yr. to enable up to 8MB of reading. While Plucker certainly works and is completely free, it is also a bit of work to get it going and to update each time. Using the built-in wifi connection, I can update my 2MB allotment in less than a minute. This is perfect as you walk out the door for the subway or to catch a flight…
The beta files were last updated on March 26, 2003. They have been working extremely well for me and I would recommend this to anyone with an OS 5 Palm device. You just need to bring your own connection. I’d be interested in hearing how those with other Tungsten devices might be doing syncing over bluetooth which should work well also.
Record with the Gen2 iPod?
Certainly seems like it is coming… Check out this post (and picture!) over at iPoding…
It’s been a “busy” weekend…
Let’s just say I’ve been a bit pre-occupied…
Please don’t screw me with something that will instantly make me regret this tomorrow, Apple.
Legend’s new Pocket PC Phone
Whether you like PocketPC or not (not…) this is a very good looking phone…
Legend, one of the biggest PC manufacturers in China, has a new Pocket PC Phone coming out next month that has a real keypad that folds out rather than the virtual keypad that’s found on models from T-Mobile, Siemens, and Samsung.
Read[Gizmodo]
Satellite Radio Gains Ground With Right Mix of Partners
In recent months, growing numbers of investors and analysts have concluded that satellite radio companies just might succeed. [New York Times: Business]
Palm’s Tungsten C turns up on eBay.
This is one of those internet moments…
Someone on eBay is selling what looks like to be the Tungsten C, a new handheld from Palm that hasn’t even been announced yet and that’s supposed to come with built-in WiFi. Looks like it’s the real deal (or an incredibly elaborate fake), and the bidding is already up to $800.
Read[Gizmodo]
Japanese firm buys Sonicblue units
Home entertainment company D&M Holdings says it won a bankruptcy court auction for the ReplayTV digital video recorder and Rio MP3 business units. The winning bid: $36.2 million. [CNET News.com Personal Technology]
Sputnik releases Linux-based WiFi AP
sounds good… if we ever move to a space too large for my Airport this would be the way to expand the network.
Dave “Technorati” Sifry and Sputnik have released their first Linux-based, commodity hardware WiFi access point. The Sputnik AP is self-configuring, secure, and open to hacking — based on Seth Schoen’s Bootable Business Card Linux distro. Sweet.
Just set up a Sputnik Central Control installation anywhere within your network, and then start plugging in Sputnik AP 120s right into your LAN. The AP 120s autoconfigure themselves, seek out Central Control, and automatically implement a wide range of security and management features, like dynamic firewalling, SSL-based user authentication, usage tracking, and policy routing. Central control allows administrators to easily set up and configure the captive portal, manage users, monitor AP usage, and generate reports. Gone are custom MAC address tables or per-AP configuration – and when you want to cover more area, simply purchase more AP 120s and plug them into your LAN.
News Corp wins in the race for DirecTV
CBS Marketwatch is reporting that media giant News Corp. has bought 19.9 percent of Hughes Electronics for 6.6 billion dollars in order to gain control of DirecTV and its 11,000,000 subscribers. GM will retain a minority share in Hughes. (via AudioRevolution)
Are you a geek? Do you travel…
Are you a geek? Do you travel often? Don’t you wish there was a way to find out whether a hotel in your travel area offers broadband? It’s Geektel, a listing of hotels that offer… [Mr. Barrett]
Traveling with and without Broadband…
While on Vacation I did a complete shutdown (the reason there were not any posts) followed by an excessive amount of travel for business… In that time I saw many differences between what hotels offer the traveler for access.
In Cancun Mexico, you can get a wireless net connection at the Ritz Carlton hotel for a staggering $30 per 24 hours. I really did find this to be a shocking price. You can get almost get month of access for that amount!
When I arrived in SoCal the Doubletree hotel offered a wired broadband connection for FREE. You just have to register on their proxy page and you are good to go.
In Park City Utah at the Canyons resort there is only a standard phone connection and there was actually no desk in my room to work on. The business office could supply a connection on one of there systems at rates of about $5/hour.
The Houston, Vegas and Salt Lake City Airports did not have any wireless access that I could find. In Irvine at John Wayne Airport, you can find a T-Mobile connection (near the Starbucks at the food court) but it was absolutely not allowing connections the day I was there two weeks ago.
It is amazing who and where it is gotten. The traveling and connected person really needs to do a bit for homework in advance in order to be sure of connectivity options. More and more clients have secure networks (as they should) which make it impossible to just plug-in and do your thing. I guess this certainly makes a wireless device like a Blackberry pretty attractive to maintain a connection with the office.
More new Palm Rumor info
According to rumors posted in Brighthand’s Discussion Forum, the Palm SG is developing a model that looks like the Tungsten W but includes built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking. It is also supposed to have 64 MB of RAM and Palm OS 5. Like the Tungsten W, it will have an integrated keyboard. Reportedly, there is a listing in the inventory database of a major electronics retailer for a Tungsten C which will sell for $500.
What is more important a bluetooth PDA that can talk to my phone (if it had bluetooth) and laptop while also enjoying WiFi access OR a PDA that can only connect via GPRS? If I had the phone bit, this would be a non-issue…I am assuming that Bluetooth is in there of course.
SONICblue to declare bankruptcy?
It looks like SONICblue, the maker of ReplayTV digital video recorders, the Rio line of MP3 players, and whole bunch of other audio and video gadgets, is about to declare bankruptcy. Trading has already been halted in the stock. Not sure how this affects anyone with a subscription to ReplayTV’s monthly service, or whether this is a sign of things to come for TiVo.
[Gizmodo]
This sucks. Just a result of regulation and legal bullshit blocking a great company. I always really liked ReplayTV and thought very hard about buying one before I purchased my TiVO, but the MPAA lawsuit scared me off. I guess I was not alone…
Turn your computer monitor into a high-definition television
New box from ViewSonic that lets you hook up to four A/V components (like a PC, cable box, DVD player, VCR, video game console, etc.) to the same computer monitor. But the real lure here is that the NextVision N6 HD Video Processor has a built-in TV tuner and also accepts high-definition TV signals.
Read
[Gizmodo]
I feel that I want this, but I have no idea why…
Sony, Philips push home networks
Sony and Philips aim to bring MP3s and digital video to the living room with new networked home entertainment products. [BBC News | TECHNOLOGY]
Sony for some silly reason decided that their product would only connect to their PCs while the Philips product seems to have some potential. They both connect to your TV and relay signals from your computer or if you buy the Philips, directly from the net. Sony available soon, Philips in Q2.
Researchers develop ultrafast Internet protocol
Caltech computer scientists have developed a new data transfer protocol for the Internet fast enough to download a full-length DVD movie in less than five seconds. The protocol is called FAST, standing for Fast Active queue management Scalable Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The researchers have achieved a speed of 8,609 megabits per second (Mbps) by using 10 simultaneous flows of data over routed paths, the largest aggregate throughput ever accomplished in such a configuration. More importantly, the FAST protocol sustained this speed using standard packet size, stably over an extended period on shared networks in the presence of background traffic, making it adaptable for deployment on the world’s high-speed production networks.
The latest Panasonic’s E-Wear device
It has a 2-inch LCD screen. Will it be good enough for “Six Feet Under” fans?
When docked in its cradle and connected by cable to my TV, the gizmo easily records a full episode on a 128-megabyte memory card.
Check this Business 2.0 article for more details.
A last word on pricing: Panasonic e-wear SV-AV30 is available for $300 to $400, depending on the models.