bitbucket.kylewelsh.com

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Apparently TiVo sent around an email notifying its loyal overpaying customers that it's shutting down the TiVo Rewards program on May 28th of this year. This won't matter to the vast majority of TIVo customers, no no, this decision only screws the company's staunchest word-of-mouth advocates. You know the kind, the alpha geeks obsessed enough with the company's products to others spend their time zealously recommending it to friends and family in the hopes of spreading the premium DVR experience (and earning some points while they're at it). Shutting down the program is one thing, but expecting the most loyal segment of TiVo's cutomer-base to turn in their points before the next series of hardware comes out is beyond lame and decidedly un-TiVo.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Technology

An anonymous reader wrote to mention that IBM has unveiled a new prototype chip that can transmit data at up to 8 TB/sec, or about 5,000 high-def video streams. While this might not be entirely amazing, the fact that they did it using the same amount of juice required to light a 100-watt lightbulb, is. "The resulting total bi-directional data transfer rate is 300 Gb/s, nearly doubling the performance of a version IBM introduced last year. Compared to current commercial optical modules the transceiver provides 10-fold greater bandwidth in 1/10 the volume while consuming comparable power, IBM said."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Technology

Are you a single Googler with some pull at YouTube? Looking for love some raunchy sex? We could have the girl for you. Check out this Craigslist posting from a classy lass with a problem. Can you...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Technology

An anonymous reader writes "The Consumerist is reporting that one unlucky individual had to send his Xbox 360 in for repairs. The catch is he had spent a great deal of time getting signatures and artwork on the outside of the console from notable members of the gaming industry. He specifically asked and even sent a letter along with his console requesting that the outside of the case be returned intact. When he got it back it was once again, plain white. Assuming that this is a genuine claim, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the missing/cleaned case Microsoft should at least apologize to the guy."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Technology

Filed under: Features, Misc. Gadgets

Ariel Waldman contributes Movie Gadget Friday, where she highlights the lovable and lame gadgets from the world of cinema.

Previously on Movie Gadget Friday, we traveled across war-torn galaxies in the 1978 version of Battlestar Gallatica. Moving forward a few years to 1982, we'll take a look inside the computational arcade culture of TRON. Saturated with neon suits and Pac-Man blips and bleeps, the sci-fi cult Disney film has achieved pop culture status over the years.

The ENCOM Digitizing Molecular Laser
Using a matter transform sequence and a grid matrix, the ENCOM Digitizing Laser is able to transport physical matter into a digital space. The laser is able to lock on a target and dismantle the molecular structure on a cubic grid. When used for its original intentions, the molecules remain suspended in the laser beam. However, the Master Control Program is able to deviate this sequence into transporting the restructured molecules into a digitized computer game world where TRON resides. The molecules can then be shifted back safely into the physical world by selecting the run mode through the laser system. Surprisingly, the only side effects the laser has on humans is minor disorientation and temporary memory loss. Phew. More after the break.

Continue reading Movie Gadget Friday: TRON

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Technology

Filed under: Wearables

Oh sure, we've seen gadgets used as motivational tools before, but Sega Toys is apparently banking on you not being a hothead. Otherwise, you just might fling its Body Trainer headset from your dome as soon as you hear "please exercise a little bit harder" over your incessant panting. Nevertheless, those with oodles of self-control may actually benefit from having a personal trainer (of sorts) in their ear while working out, and by monitoring the wearer's heartbeat via a sensor, it can blurt out messages at the appropriate time to help users through their session(s). Reportedly, this nifty exercise buddy is set to launch in Japan this April for ¥5,775 ($54), and while we've no idea if this thing is destined for US soil, we can definitely see it being used more so for its musical abilities and less for its steadfast encouragement.

[Via CNET]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Technology

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Technorati To Launch Blogger Advertising Network  —  Through a variety of sources we've confirmed that Technorati is making plans for a major shift in its going forward strategy, and is also considering a number of corporate development transactions.  —  First, they've been pitching venture capitalists on another round of financing.

Technology

Josh Catone / ReadWriteWeb:
35 Ways to Stream Your Life  —  It's a pretty good bet that if you're not making a Twitter or Facebook application, you're probably making a lifestreaming application.  Okay, so not everyone is into lifestreaming, but it is one of the hottest areas for development out there …

Technology

Jeremy Jaynes, considered one of the biggest spammers in the US was sentenced to nine years in prison for violating a Virginia anti-spam law. As part of his appeal, Jaynes claimed that the anti-spam law itself was unconstitutional, as it violated his right to free speech. It would appear that argument hasn't worked out, as a somewhat divided Virginia Supreme Court has ruled against him, upholding the conviction. It does raise some interesting first amendment questions -- but most spamming activity involves so many other things that could be considered illegal (such as computer trespass, identity fraud, false advertising, etc., etc., etc.) that you would think spammers could be convicted on charges that have little to do with free speech issues.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Technology

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The judge in the Wikileaks case has dissolved the injunction against Wikileaks, which means that it can get its .org domain back. He defended his prior ruling because it was based on the pittance of information the bank and registrar had provided him, saying 'This is a case in which we had a (dispute) with named parties, and the parties were duly served. One of which properly responded and came to this court with a proposed settlement in this lawsuit... Nobody filed any timely responses to the court's order.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Technology

While a bunch of consumer groups have come out in favor of keeping the internet neutral, a bunch of civil rights groups are taking the opposing view. However, the reasoning is hard to follow, as it doesn't make very much sense: "The effective prioritization of P2P traffic would represent an altogether new type of 'back of the bus' second-class status for our speech on broadband networks -- and ought to be resoundingly rejected." Actually, it's the use of traffic management that would create a second-class status for some traffic. Preserving network neutrality does exactly the opposite -- making sure all packets are treated equally. What the groups seem to be saying -- incorrectly -- is that by not using traffic management, P2P traffic is prioritized. That's not true. It's treated equally with any other traffic.

It's completely fair to argue that treating all packets equally doesn't make sense -- as many have. However, to claim that treating all packets equally somehow makes some traffic "second-class" is an outright misrepresentation. No one denies (perhaps other than these civil rights groups) that traffic management is all about officially making certain kinds of traffic second-class. They just argue that this is necessary and reasonable. The filing by these civil rights groups is simply backwards.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Technology

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

We know, we're getting tired of Apple Blu-ray rumors as well -- they're right up there with refreshed Cinema Displays in terms of rumor persistence -- but until Steve and the gang actually shove a drive into a machine we're stuck with them. The latest says that Apple is actively pressing Sony for slot-loading BD-R drives but quality control issues are gumming up the plan. Reportedly, this latest ho-hum MacBook Pro refresh was to feature BD-R drives, but all Sony could muster up were Blu-ray / DVD±RW drives, which Apple refused. That seems a little odd, frankly -- now that the format war is over and the competition's already shipping mid-range laptops with slot-load BD-R drives, you'd think Apple would want to cash in that Blu-ray Disc Association membership card with whoever can supply the drives. As always, we'll see when we see -- it's gotta happen sometime, right?

[Image courtesy of dadako.com]

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Technology

The Streisand Effect is getting a bit more coverage these days. After the Associated Press mentioned it the other day, I got to sit down and talk with Robert Siegel for today's "All Things Considered" where we discussed The Streisand Effect starting with the Wikileaks case and moving on to some other cases where the Effect clearly made an appearance. If this keeps up, maybe we can look forward to a day when lawyers think twice about trying to force perfectly legitimate content offline.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Technology

Filed under: Cellphones

Quite frankly, the traditional Jawbone headset is pretty stylish as is. Nevertheless, Yves Behar has somehow managed to make it even sexier with the creation of the Love To Talk family. This trio, which will reportedly be made available "in a very limited quantity," consists of a gold Sweet Talk version, black Dirty Talk edition and white Trash Talk model. No word on a price nor where to actually find one outside of the totally shady black market, but feel free to take a closer look at each in the read link below.

 

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

---

Technology

Fans of green technology will undoubtedly be glad to hear that MSI has developed a working concept design that utilizes Stirling Engine Theory to power a motherboard fan. Instead of conventional...

Technology