DigitalTrends has a wrapup of the Best Speakers for your PC. My personal favorites are the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 – we took these through their paces in Windows Media and they were well received, even among the audiophiles.
Archives For Devices
I have another addiction beyond digital media – BBQ and Grilling and yes, there’s a difference. BBQ is generally speaking cooked “slow and low” over smoke with chicken, pork, ribs, and brisket being the most popular types/cuts of meat. Grilling is done fast and over direct or indirect heat and cook time is generally measured in minutes vs. hours for BBQ. Both are experiencing a renaissance in interest as well as technology. From BBQs that tweet on Twitter, to decidedly low-tech solutions with big taste results for the casual gas grill owner.
Background
Hello, my name is Sean, and I’m a BBQ addict. My journey started in college when I learned what good BBQ is about going to school in-between Kansas City and Texas. Then, in 1998 after finding mass-market BBQ in Seattle, I started buying Lloyds vac-packed, pre-cooked and sauced ribs and bringing them to friends’ parties (cringe). This was the low point in my addiction. From there in 2000, I started reading up and playing around with an electric smoker. After seeing my electric bill, I moved on through multiple smokers and grills – propane, natural gas, charcoal, and lump all have seen time in my “pit”. In the past four years, I’ve really taken delight from feeding our friends throughout BBQ season from Memorial Day to Labor Day here in the states and have helped to organize a local event. But the reality is I grill and BBQ year round – Prime Rib roasts for Christmas, Turkey for Thanksgiving and everything in-between.
A few friends have suggested I compete in local BBQ competitions and I’m flattered. These weekend-long events often involve cash purses up to $10,000 – not bad for a weekend of camping and cooking in a parking lot. I’m not really equipped to do this and figure I’m still backyard quality. Then a few weeks ago, a friend signed up to become a Kansas City Barbecue Society certified Judge and suggested I do the same. There we met 75 other people like us, all looking for the best BBQ the area has to offer. As a result, I ended up judging the NW barbecue Championship last weekend, ate some great BBQ, and learned a lot throughout the experience. I’m still learning, but have set my sights on a new prize – judging in the Kansas City American Royal Invitational with a $30,000 purse which draws over 300 teams and 60,000 people each year.
Grill Tech Essentials
Here’s my list, just in time for Father’s Day and open grilling season. I’ve also included links to some of my favorite products to aid in discoverability. Many of these items you can find at local outlets as well.
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Outset QS77 Stainless Steel Wood Chip Smoker Box Aluminum foil will work in a pinch, but the best approach is a dedicated smoker box. Fill with wood chips (not chunks) that you’ve soaked in water for roughly 30 mins. Then put this on your grate or directly on the burner of your Gas grill and infuse chicken, ribs, steaks etc. with great taste. |
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Charcoal Companion Cabernet Wine Soaked Oakwood Chips Smoke imparts a distinctive taste and can really open up the flavor of any meat. The challenge is pairing the right wood smoke with the right meat/marinade/rub. One of my favorites and most versatile is oak wood. It’s not overpowering and you can find wineries and distilleries that run their oak wood casks for aging through a wood chipper. Wine barrels impart a stronger secondary “flavor profile” than Jack Daniels or others. |
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Splash-Proof Thermapen Instant Read Thermometer This one is a must-have and worth every dollar for any cook who takes food safety seriously (and you should). NSF-certified and calibrated, it instant reads the temperature of just about anything. I use it for testing doneness of chicken, pork, tri-tip and even boiling water and grate temperatures on the grill. |
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Pre-Seasoned 15 Inch Cast-Iron Skillet Cast iron is incredibly easy to use on the grill or campground and get a bad rap for being difficult to clean. I’ve been really happy with the Lodge Logic pre-seasoned skillets and found them to be the opposite – just scrub with water and once dry, throw a little cooking oil on a paper towel to re-season. Awesome for fajitas, veggies, bubbling cheese dips in a smaller skillet and everything in-between. |
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Hot Handle Holders/Mitts If you’re getting the skillet, be sure to get these. I made that mistake only once grabbing a hot handle. Easy to use, not much more to say about this one. |
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Weber’s Way to Grill: The Step-by-Step Guide to Expert Grilling A great how-to guide and cookbook, you don’t need to own a Weber in order to learn from this book and time-tested recipes.  |
These are just a few suggestions, and don’t forget the fire extinguisher.
The Next Stage: Improving the Outdoor Kitchen and BBQs on Twitter
This summer I’ll be working on improving my outdoor kitchen, getting more organized and trying new products and recipes. In my next piece I’ll go to the extreme end of the geek BBQ spectrum with the latest rage – a computer-controlled BBQ system that tweets status of your cook on the Web.
Also if you’re in the area, be sure to check out the PNW Eggfest happening next weekend, stop by and say hello.
Ed. Note: This is a departure from my usual sporadic musings. Please feel free to share topics, questions, or feedback on whether this is of interest as a topic here or a separate blog.
Last week while driving into work I heard a local rock station Radio DJ talking to a call-in listener who was chastizing his “fanboy” status of the iPod/iPad. “You know, there are other operating systems out there too, not every device is an Apple iPod/iPad”, the caller complained. “Android is a great operating system and you should talk about it more”. While I will spare the details of how the caller passionately corrected the DJ that the iPad can’t read Word documents (it can), the thing that struck me was the next exchange where the DJ kept asserting that he’s aware of “Droid” and has talked about “Droid phones” as a category. The caller tried to correct both the DJ and his co-hosts that the OS is “Android” – they never caught on and just as adamantly were referring to the category as “Droid”. The caller then hung up in frustration.
Therein lies the brand challenge. Last year, when Verizon decided to brand their phones “Droid”, it added a cool cache. They also took a deep departure from the happy family ads by going very dark in their ads – missiles flying, creepy robotic hands moving at accelerated speeds, all contrary to traditional marketing and signaling their desire to appeal at least initially to the core with “speeds and feeds” type marketing. But by merely concatenating the Android name, they’ve created confusion in the marketplace. I’ve always wondered how Google would let them do this?
Well, the answer may be in the fine print itself. The term “Android” isn’t new – according to Wikipedia, the term was first used by St. Albertus Magnus in 1270 and was popularized by the French writer Villiers in his 1886 novel L’Ève future. The term “android” appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature human-like toy automatons. Google has a trademark filing on Android which has also been challenged.
So what about “Droid”? Interestingly neither Verizon or Google owns the Droid trademark – it’s owned by a third party – Lucasfilm. Right on the Droid website it says:
“DROID is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. and its related companies. Used under license.”
Yes, if you look at the fine print in the ads, the “Droid” term is licensed and used with permission of George Lucas. Now Verizon could be brilliant in their approach – everyone loves cute little R2D2 right?
Many companies have made confusing branding decisions, I’m not debating that point but as seen in the media and conversations with those outside the tech elite, it’s confusing for consumers. Take the marketing websites where you find topline billing of not one, but three equal brands: “Verizon | Google | HTC”. Do consumers call it a Verizon Droid, a Google Droid, or HTC Droid phone or correctly referred to as “Verizon bar Google bar HTC bar Droid phone?
Lastly, there’s the master brand challenge. Verizon recently released multiple Droid phones, by multiple manufacturers. From Verizon’s site:
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Droid by Motorola
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Droid Eris by HTC
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Droid Incredible by HTC
Yet the main “Droid” site linked from search engines and Verizon’s site on refers to the original. Buy an accessory there, and will it work with the Eris or Incredible? Every other Android phone listed on VZW’s site starts with the name of the manufacturer. Is Droid a marketing alliance?
So what’s in a name – Android, Droid, Droid by Motorola, or Droid | Google | Motorola | HTC. In a recent conference, Motorola’s co-CEO repeatedly referred to the Droid franchise. Larry Dignan, the author of the ZDNet article whom I’ve read and respected for years notes, “Motorola has to diversify from the Droid franchise or it’s completely dependent on Verizon’s marketing.” Does the same hold true for Android from “Droid” or does it even really matter? Either way, consumers are living in a Brand of Confusion.
(Comments are my own, not necessarily representative of my employer, and infer no rights.)
Microsoft Tag is an interesting barcoding technology that works with your mobile phone for instant access to information, websites, videos, phone numbers, and more. Smaller than QR codes and capable of embedding more information into a branded image. All you need is a small client app available for many major cameraphones on the market (yes, even Android & iPhone). To-date, over 20M magazines in the US have been printed with tags and in publications including Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Tribune, and TV Guide to name a few. Worldwide, over 1 Billion tags have been printed!
While I’m not directly affiliated with the Tag team, we’ve seen great response as an implementer of Microsoft Tag. My team has used Microsoft Tag with clients on campaigns on Xbox LIVE, in-store, and around the Web including big names such as Wal-Mart and Porsche for the launch of the Panamera 4-door sedan. In fact, some of you may have found Microsoft Tag graffiti inside the new hit-game, Alan Wake. The goal behind Microsoft Tag is simple – remove the steps to get at the content you want, where you want it. In our cases, we’ve focused on free downloads – wallpaper, ringtones, videos and similar mobile add-ons. In a recent campaign, over 85% of those snapping the tag engaged with the mobile site and downloaded content to personalize their phone.
Here’s an overview video:
The new release also adds new features, including improvements to the Tag Reader, a new Heat Map report, and availability of the Tag Reader in Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish and Simplified Chinese. Also, Tag’s basic services will now be offered free of charge. Anyone can build a tag, and embed it in your business card, your website, or however you like.
Congratulations to the Microsoft Tag team on their launch – you can get it for yourself at http://tag.microsoft.com or via mobile at http://gettag.mobi
Update 1: Updated # of printed tags to $1B worldwide based on video.
Update 2: Additional coverage on the Microsoft Blog here. Techflash has also covered here.
Note: All comments are my own and may not reflect those of my employer. This is a living position so I retain my right to edit and note the edits below as the conversation evolves.
For years when I worked on Web video and audio technologies from Xing MPEG, to Progressive Networks and RealNetworks, Windows Media and beyond, Jan Ozer was one of the most unbiased and critical analysts of subjective video quality during his tenure at PC Magazine, and more recently at Streaming Media.com. Jan just posted his comparison of H.264 to VP8 and his results should start to refine the conversation around the future of video formats as Adobe, Apple, Google, Microsoft and the MPEG LA set their positions for the next decade. But before we get into the details, a quick primer on Video codecs, their impact on the Web and beyond.
Why do Codecs Matter?
Let me start by saying no reasonably consumer should need to think about video codecs. Video should just work and quality should be good to great depending on the screen. But for companies whose business models depend on the economics of video, the stakes are very real as you consider cost of compression in time, hardware requirements, and licensing costs. Nearly all video compression formats today use perceptual methods to compress video into a “lossy” form by throwing out information the human eye isn’t likely to notice – not too dissimilar to how MP3 or JPEG images work today. These methods are governed today by patents.
The reason we can enjoy great HD video quality and streaming video over the Internet today is really due to three things:
- Improved methods for compressing video and audio
- Faster processors to crunch large volumes of math representing the video & audio
- General acceptance and adoption in the industry (a long way of saying the vaunted “Ecosystem” word).
But to a consumer, the real value of implied or implicit standards in video is: “Just make sure I can watch it where I want, on what I want.” Put another way, “Make it good enough, make it work”. That’s where things start to break down.
A Brief History of a Decade of Web Video
A decade ago, three video formats battled it out – MPEG, Windows Media, and Real Video for postage stamped video delivery. Each was instrumental in establishing the underpinnings of delivering video over the Web. In the past 5 years, the quick maturation of Web video disrupted the marketplace with Flash promoting VP6, a technology Adobe had licensed from a smaller company called On2. Other codecs were available for Flash, but VP6 offered a better quality and cost structures. The explosion in popularity of Web video sites such as YouTube benefited from the dual ability to create their own branded video players and experiences on top of Flash and Flash Video on basic Web servers.
Meanwhile, MPEG and other codec technologies were absorbed into the emergent H.264 video standard. Adobe, Apple, Microsoft, and others announced support for H.264 which is managed by a patent pool and licensing group called the MPEG-LA, LLC of which many companies including my employer are a member. MPEG LA assembles patents for most consumer electronics-based digital video in the market today including those used in DVD and Blu-Ray, satellite and cable TV and receive royalties for their work in lieu of creating and promoting their own formats.
But others continued to work on their own format. On2 continued to plug away on their video codecs with primary licensor Adobe benefiting until being acquired by Google last year for their VP8 video codec. What is VP8 you might ask? Google also announced intent to release VP8 as WebM – an open-source, royalty free alternative to H.264 for use in HTML5 – the next-generation standard for Web browsers.
So a decade later we have H.264 (MPEG) and WebM (VP8) vying to be the de-facto video standard for the next-generation Web browser standard and beyond. For professionals, the dimensions they will evaluate on continue to be the same: Quality, Cost, and Reach.
Quality: When is it “Good Enough”?
The key value proposition for a codec provider a decade ago was who could deliver smoother, bigger, more TV-like video over the Web. Each company strived to show how their video was better than the competition at delivering VHS, DVD, and later HD quality at a fraction the size. But when does the video quality become “Good Enough”? One could argue we’re approaching these limits already. As Jan Ozer found in his recent evaluation of H.264 and VP8:
“H.264 still offers better quality, but the difference wouldn’t be noticeable in most applications.”
Based on Jan’s first evaluation, it sounds like VP8 is “Good Enough” in terms of quality. More studies will need to be done but on face-value, the key points of differentiation have already shifted away from video quality to other dimensions of cost and reach.
Cost: What is the definition of “Free”?
In the past two years, the industry has seen rapid adoption of H.264 as an HD-ready alternative for consumer electronics and web-based experiences. Many articles have been written regarding the pros/cons of the H.264 licensing terms which I won’t rehash here. What’s different is Google’s approach. With WebM they look to provide a free,royalty free route for licensing WebM and offering it up as a part of HTML5.
Reach: The Three Waves of Adoption
Next, you have industry adoption/reach. Generally speaking, video formats seen three waves of adoption:
- Client Software – PC and/or Mac, new video formats today are first tested and proven for encoding, playback, and distribution via software encode/decode. This is why certain video formats today eat up so much CPU – they run in software only.
- Servers & Solutions – Again, an offshoot of software, but here we see enhancements such as ability to deliver live content as well as on-demand from a server-type solution. Integration partnerships ramp, solution providers and integration specialists for industries from video distribution to advertising support and you start to see Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) adopt the format en masse.
- Hardware Adoption – The last step is burning the format into silicon and/or enabling special software at the hardware level to accelerate at each point in the value chain: Creation/encoding, Distribution, and Client Playback. This is the point at which you see everything from mobile phones to set-tops able to reasonably play back a format. Five years ago, a newer PC
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laying H.264 video would have pegged the processor; today’s latest smartphones can play it without issue. This because the device includes dedicated circuitry to decode the video while being conscious of things such as battery life.
Each of these waves are increasingly essential for any provider to play in. The latter represents maturity. Google has announced new hardware partnerships for Google TV that will offer hardware accelerated support for WebM “later”. H.264 is further along in its maturity and adoption curve.
Where the Players and Lining Up
If you look across the landscape, the top players here are Adobe, Microsoft, Apple, Google and MPEG LA – and each has expressed their opinion on the matter. So where do they stand?
Adobe – has announced they will support VP8/WebM in an undated future release of Flash Player.
Microsoft – will support choice of formats in Internet Explorer 9 and Silverlight . Dean Hachamovitch recently posted the official response:
“When it comes to video and HTML5, we’re all in. In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video as well as VP8 video when the user has installed a VP8 codec on Windows.”
The Silverlight team also recently affirmed their position in a recent blog post.
Apple – So where does this leave Apple? Steve Jobs recently responded to a customer mail noting:
“All video codecs are covered by patents. A patent pool is being assembled to go after Theora and other “open source” codecs now. Unfortunately, just because something is open source, it doesn’t mean or guarantee that it doesn’t infringe on others patents. An open standard is different from being royalty free or open source.”
Google – pretty clear considering they’re behind VP8/WebM and use H.264 today. Some in the industry ask will Google force all YouTube video to WebM, putting pressure on Apple and others to follow?
MPEG LA – MPEG LA is reportedly investigating VP8/WebM in the interest of building a patent pool.
For those of us in the industry, more interesting times ahead, but this script feels a little like a Bill Murray film where we’re the weather man. Will hardware vendors be fast or slow to adopt VP8? Will industry professionals adopt one or both, or wait and see?
What do you think? Feel free to post here or email me at sean at seanalexander.com (fixing the at).
Update (05/23/11 7:30pm) – PC Magazine’s David Murphy also has a good recap though I think he’s oversimplifying the number of profiles that would be used in real-world use.
Photo: Fight for your Mind, by just.Luc on Flickr via Creative Commons license.
