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Archives For August 2010

Kinect.Me brings Theme Park Experience to your PC

August 26, 2010

The team is hard at work preparing for the November launch of Kinect for Xbox 360.  One of the exciting things is consumers can now try Kinect for themselves at local events worldwide.  One of the cooler features of Kinect-enabled games is that many of them will take photos or video when you’re playing – the equivalent of getting your picture taken on Space Mountain at Disneyland.  At the end of Space Mountain you get to see your picture at a kiosk at the exit and then get the keepsake.  The Kinect marketing team recently launched Kinect.me, a website where after experiencing Kinect at a local event, you can type in an ID, get your picture and share it out via Facebook, Windows Live or other social networks.  Even if you don’t have an ID, you can find pictures from consumers who have chosen to share their Kinect experiences with the world.  Pretty neat stuff using Silverlight and Deep Zoom. 

Want to try Kinect yourself?  Select your country and click “Follow Tour” on the website.  You can even RSVP for a local event.

In Devices, Diversions, Family, Gaming, Silverlight, Tech, Television, Uncategorized
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Netflix now available on iPhone and iPod Touch

August 26, 2010

Now you can catch up on Seasons 1-3 of Dexter wherever you are.  Get it from the app store, streaming via 3G and WiFi

In Mobile, Movies, Tech, Television , , , , ,
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Will we get a little FaceTime with QuickTime?

August 25, 2010

When Apple announced FaceTime for iPhone 4, I couldn’t help but notice the similarity in name.  FaceTime seems like a great idea provided you have two people who both have iPhones and both have WiFi connections.  But what about people with Macs and/or Windows PCs who want to video chat with a friend with FaceTime?  Surely there’s an app for that?

Well, not really, at least so far.  That got me to thinking – what if the expected FaceTime application is on its way?  What’s the best way of rapid distribution?  QuickTime immediately comes to mind.  QuickTime is primarily about video consumption, but it’s also about video creation with the QuickTime Pro set of features.  It’s been bundled with iTunes for some time now.  It’s lightweight enough to support chat features as a merging with iChat.  iChat used to be called iChat AV, but do you really need three separate apps that all play video?  What if QuickTime were to be reborn as the universal video client for consumption and creation? Hmm…

In Rich Media, Tech
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The HDMI Cable Scam

August 23, 2010

MSNBC’s Gary Merson posted an article this weekend regarding some of the outlandish claims made by HDMI cable manufacturers.  Picture a generation ago, when telephones were largely corded to a wall, an industry popped up claiming their telephone cord could give you improved sound and frequency response.  And it only costs 23x more than your standard telephone cable. Sound crazy?  That’s the scam happening with HDMI cables today.  Required to connect current generation HDTVs to set-top boxes, DVD, Blu-Ray, and PC-based devices, HDMI was heralded as a solution to the up to 5 cables you used to have to connect for audio and video.  It’s all in there, in a neat little package.  But retailers count on HDMI cable profits to boost margins on HDTVs and other equipment and have a nasty habit of working with cable manufacturers to confuse consumers with tech speak on the packaging – the higher the number, the better the quality right?  Tip #1: Ignore the claims of better Hz performance and do a little comparison shopping of your own.

To quote Gary:

Only two types of HDMI cables are included in the HDMI licensing spec: “Standard” (aka category 1) or “High Speed” (aka category 2). The latter is required to assure the cable passes 1080p signals (including 3-D), which is the highest bandwidth video signal available now and for the foreseeable future.

Tip #2: Buy Online.  Let’s say you need a 6ft cable to go from your cable box to your HDTV.  You go to “Best Mart” and they offer you a 6.6′ cable ranging in price from $229.99 to $29.99.  You pick the $29.99 cable thinking you avoided the ripoff right?  Wrong.  Best Mart just played to your sense of immediacy, of frustration the equipment manufacturer didn’t include the cable.  The retailers know this because the same quality cable can be had for $3.83 online from sites like Monoprice with extra length to boot.  At these prices, it makes sense to buy a few to keep around the house for when CE purchase “gotchas” happen to you or your friends.



In Devices, Tech, Television
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Top 5 Things I want to hear at Gnomedex 10

August 20, 2010

Today kickstarts Gnomedex 10 – the annual confab put on by local entrepreneur and CNN Tech correspondent Chris Pirillo.  Kind of like TED but more tech, Gnomedex has been an annual must-attend event for years and this may be the last one.  Alas, I made plans to take my son to the Oregon International Airshow this weekend and won’t be able to attend.  So here are the Top 5 things I would want to hear at Gnomedex:

  1. Someone ask Tom Nugent, co-founder of LaserMotive if he’s related to Ted Nugent.  I’m certain someone will do this.  I’m also pretty certain a laser-powered Skynet drone will suddenly appear and attack the person who asks him.
  2. Matt Inman, because I eat The Oatmeal every day (e.g. Today, Yesterday, and Tomorrow).
  3. Anyone who presents after Violet Blue. Poor Jason Barger – something tells me that the audience is going to need a smoke break after Violet’s presentation.
  4. Barbara Evans uncork a bottle of Domaine Romanée-Conti on-stage and pour half out for her “Homies” to the horror of the audience.
  5. Charles Brennick give away an Xbox 360/Kinect bundle.  Charles runs Interconnection.org, a non-profit organization that refurbs PCs for donation to underserved communities worldwide. (Disclaimer: I am on the Board of Directors for IC)

Here’s to hoping this isn’t the last Gnomedex so I can plan better.  Can’t attend in person like me?  Check out Gnomedex online at www.gnomedex.com.  Congratulations to Chris and have a great show.

Update: Jeff Barr has some great mind maps of the sessions at Gnomedex here.

In Blogging, Diversions, Gnomedex, Tech , , ,
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