Flickr Backup - A Java Download Utility for Flickr

Cross-platform, open-source utility to download your Flickr photos on any computer.

Just great!

The $100 laptop moves closer to reality

http://beta.news.com.com/2100-1044_3-5884683.html

By Mike Ricciuti
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: September 28, 2005, 8:55 AM PDT

"The proposed design of the machines calls for a 500MHz processor, 1GB of memory and an innovative dual-mode display that can be used in full-color mode, or in a black-and-white sunlight-readable mode. The display makes the laptop "both an electronic book and a laptop," he said.

One display design being considered is a flat, flexible printed display developed at MIT's Media Lab. Negroponte said the technology can be used to produce displays that cost roughly 10 cents per square inch. "The target is $12 for a 12-inch display with near-zero power consumption," he said."

"The machines, which will run a version of the Linux operating system, will also include other applications, some developed by MIT researchers, as well as country-specific software. "Software has gotten too fat and unreliable, so we started with Linux," he said.

For connectivity, the systems will be Wi-Fi- and cell phone-enabled, and will include four USB ports, along with built-in "mesh networking," a peer-to-peer concept that allows machines to share a single Internet connection."

Samsung Readying Messaging Phone

Phone Scoop
Date Posted: May 19, 2005, 2:28 PM
Source: FCC

"[...] new Samsung messaging phone with a QWERTY thumb keyboard. The Samsung SGH-D307 [...] The device has a dual-flip hinge similar to the Motorola MPx, allowing the phone to be opened like a typical clamshell to place calls, or horizontally for typing. [...] features of the D307 include quad-band GSM, EDGE high-speed data, Bluetooth, an internal antenna, and an outer caller-ID display."

Eagle Broadband Announces New PVR Functionality for Existing IP5000 Standard & High-Definition IP Set-Top Boxes

Broadcast Industry News Headlines from broadcastbuyer.tv

"Eagle Broadband has added advanced, full-featured personal video recorder (PVR) functionality to the company's advanced, MediaPro IP5000 set-top boxes that deliver dual tuner, dual streaming PVR in standard and high-definition formats for the residential IPTV market."

"Capable of supporting a variety of leading middleware and video-on-demand systems, the IP5000 platform delivers advanced content system security and digital rights management (DRM) needed by a wide variety of industries, such as telco, hospitality, enterprise, and government markets. Available in MPEG2 format, the IP5000 also supports the new MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video compression standard."

beblu launches its small, sleek and stylish media centre systems

SourceWire | Press Releases
27-09-2005

"The beblu media system is powered by the new VIA EPIA Technologies SP13000 with a digital media chipset for smooth DVD and TV playback. Also included is 512MB of DDR400 RAM and a 200GB Seagate drive providing quick and quiet storage of over 160 hours of recorded television (approximately 2,500 hours of music). A 150W quiet power supply provides ample support for any number of devices and components while still remaining quiet. Also included is a Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T tuner card supporting both Freeview and Digital Radio."

Portable audio recorders review

http://module-records.blogspot.com/2005/09/portable-audio-recorders-review.html

Module-records blog about electronic music

"You are a DJ or a live performer and you want to record on the fly your set.
Okay, but no recorder device in the booth, or this antique and dust-full tape recorder : better than nothing but of course you don't have tape.
So you really need your own and very portable digital recorder.

Best of all is a .wav recorder with analog and digital input, there are not many devices that can do that. Most of cheaper portable recorders on the market use flash memory and Mp3 compression.
Also a lot of flash and HD Mp3 players can Record in Mp3 format."

Google Picasa 2.1

Actualité - New Dimension FR
Par 1for-matik le 20-09-2005 @ 12:31

"La principale nouveauté de la version 2.1 est l'internationalisation de l'interface !
Oui, Picasa est en français maintenant"

I-Mate JasJar @ Dave's iPAQ

http://davesipaq.com/articles/imate_jasjar_review.html

"Pro's
Beautiful VGA display
Simultaneous voice and data
Keyboard
Windows Mobile 5
USB
Video Conferencing
Swivel Screen
Great Software Add-Ons
Backlit display on keyboard

Con's
Poor case
Battery
Weight
Voice Software - Its ok but I wish Microsoft would bundle Voice Command"

Dontbuyjunk - the personalized product comparison site

"Do you find yourself asking questions like:
"Which Flash-based MP3 Player has top notch sound quality and battery life?"
Before, there was no easy answer. Now, there is."

La Y.E.S. Box protège et partage vos données

Xavier Regord
Micro Achat 01net
le 19/09/2005 à 14h55

"[...] peut accueillir deux disques durs Serial ATA [...] deux ports Gigabit Ethernet [...] 3 ports USB 2.0 [...] Les deux disques durs installés peuvent être configurés en Raid 0 (mode Stripping pour des performances accrues), Raid 1 (mode Mirroring pour une sécurité des données accrue) ou en mode JBOD [...] 429 € TTC, sans disque [...]"

Opening the Zetera box

http://weblog.infoworld.com/thestoragenetwork/archives/003782.html

"One of the hottest things I ran into this year comes from a startup company in California, Zetera, and is a completely new twist on networked storage.

I mentioned Zetera in two of my Storage Insider columns, in February
when they first left stealth mode, and in June, when they made a joint distribution agreement with a storage software company, DataPlow.

Why am I mentioning Zetera again now? Because Netgear is about to launch Storage Central SC101, the first product based on that technology, actually the combined technologies from DataPlow and Zetera, and I have one in my lab for an early peek."

Preview: Acer Aspire L250

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/6162.html

By Jørgen Sundgot, Sunday 18 September 2005
infoSync World


"AMD Athlon 64 3400+ processor, accompanied by 512 MB RAM - expandable to 4 GB"

"the 160 GB SATA drive of the Aspire L250 delivered blazing access speeds at 7,200 RPM"

"ATI Radeon Xpress200 with 128 MB of VRAM"

"Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11g and an abundance of ports. These include four USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire port mounted in front; four rear-mounted USB 2.0 ports adjacent to yet another FireWire port; two PS2 ports; DVI; VGA; S-Video and Composite connectors both for video in and out; and 5.1 channel audio courtesy of line in, line out and SPDIF coaxial - as well as something as unusual as a Parallel port."

"spacious wireless keyboard with a built-in pointing device"

Camera phones will be high-precision scanners

16:12 14 September 2005
NewScientist.com news service
Duncan Graham-Rowe

"Using the new software with a 1-megapixel camera held at least 20centimetres away, an A4 sized page takes about 3 to 5 seconds to scan. This produces between 21 and 35 images which the software merges together to extract the text and record any images."

O2 Xda Exec

13 Sep 2005
Sandra Vogel
TrustedReviews

"3.8in screen at 640 x 480 pixels"
Class 10 GPRS, Wifi, Bluetooth Smartphone
2 cameras
SD Card slot

Gizmo – A free phone for your computer

Looks good: cross-platform, SIP-based, IM and voice.

"# It’s free!
# Free calls to all Gizmo users.
# Free Voicemail and Conference Calls.
# Super clear call quality.
# Inexpensive add-ons that let you make and receive calls from any mobile phone or landline."

Very Cool Network Storage From Netgear

Today @ PC World
Posted by Yardena Arar
Monday, September 12, 2005, 07:08 AM (PST)

"We haven't tried out Storage Central yet, so be aware that I'm waxing enthusiastic based on a demo. Stay tuned for the reality test!"

T-Mobile glimpses MDA III successor

By Jørgen Sundgot, Monday 5 September 2005
infoSync World

"[...] the device will harbour a 240 x 320 pixel display with the ability to natively rotate the screen in a landscape orientation courtesy of its operating system, which will be Windows Mobile 5.0. This will let users easily align the screen with the thumbboard of the device, also this oriented in a landscape fashion.

To support quad-band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, the device will also offer GPRS and EDGE for high speed data transfers, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 802.11b for shorter-range connections. Also present is a 1.3 Megapixel digital camera, with the device slated to be part of T-Mobile's new web'n'walk range of devices, which come pre-loaded with the mobile version of the popular Opera browser to allow for on-the-fly reformatting of web pages to a small-screen friendly viewing experience. [...]"

I O Data AVeL LinkPlayer2, Networkable HD DivX DVD Player

Posted on 07.31.05 @ 11:47 pm
By David Ponce
OhGizmo!

"The point here is this: networkable DVD player with HD Divx and WMV playback."

picotux - the smallest Linux Computer in the World

http://www.picotux.com/

"The picotux 100 is the world's smallest Linux computer, only slightly larger (35mm×19mm×19mm) than an RJ45 connector."

Laptop Overclocking

http://www.laptoplogic.com/resources/guides/11/1/1/

"Computer overclocking is a popular "underground" activity practiced by many computer enthusiasts who are looking for more computer performance. However, since overclocking generally raises heat and power consumption, it is considered a bad idea to overclock laptops. Regardless, if done correctly one can overclock a laptop to obtain a substantial increase in performance with little to no side effects."

Samsung Phone Offers Wireless Broadband, But It Has Drawbacks

http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20050623.html

June 23, 2005
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG

"Starting today, Verizon Wireless will introduce in the U.S. the first Microsoft-based smart phone with a built-in keyboard that is about the same shape, size and weight as the Treo. This new phone, the $599 Samsung i730, has one major capability the $399 Treo lacks -- the ability to surf the Web and to send and receive email at broadband speeds."

Device Profile: Aeronix Zipit instant messenger appliance

http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT8107883197.html

Linux Devices
Jul. 14, 2005

"Aeronix used Linux to build a $99 instant messenger appliance aimed at keeping kids from tying up the family PC while chatting with friends. Naturally, hackers soon appropriated the device for other duties, such as remotely controlling/monitoring Sony's Aibo robot."

T3 - Elonex Artisan LX Media Centre PC

http://www.t3.co.uk/reviews/general/general/elonex_artisan_lx_media_centre_pc

"PRICE £1000

Windows Media Centre 2005
Pentium 4 3.0Ghz
512MB RAM
200GB hard disk
Dual digital tuners"

SiliconBeat: AlwaysOn's Tony Perkins to launch GoingOn

http://www.siliconbeat.com/entries/2005/07/18/alwaysons_tony_perkins_to_launch_goingon.html

"As a member of Perkins' existing AlwaysOn site, you'll be able to expand your AlwaysOn profile with a personal page and a bunch of new tools. Within that same page, you'll be able to pop up the profiles of people you're interested in contacting, or, yes, dating -- and as we understand it, GoingOn wants to be able to do that seemlessly from other sites, including Friendster, Tribe and so on. It will apparently let you post blogs, photos, video to multiple networks and outside sites, too.

We haven't played with it yet, but the idea of full interoperability with member profiles of other sites is interesting. The others have been fairly closed; GO's platform will be an open standards platform.

We're not sure how they'll pull it off. Being interoperable is not entirely new. That's the vision of SXIP, a Vancouver company we last mentioned here. They sell a product that allows the same user name/password info to be used across many networks. SXIP is trying to get it adopted as a Net-wide standard. The only problem, we're told, is that it hasn't taken off, that very few people have bought it. So if Friendster/Tribe et al aren't using it, how will this work? Maybe GoingOn can jump-start it somehow. SXIP is still a young company. There's also Ping, of Denver, which does something similar."

Bystander Photojournalism Steals The Spotlight in London Coverage

http://pdnonline.com/pdn/newswire/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000977263&imw=Y

"Pick-ups, the term that wire services and picture agencies use for photos they get from bystanders, are nothing new. Notable examples include images of the Concord crash, the explosion of the shuttle Columbia, and some of the images (including video) of last December’s tsunami in Asia.

Picture agencies scour aggressively for pick-ups, with hopes of finding exclusive photographs they can fetch high prices for in bidding wars. Until now, agencies and wire services have used mostly physical canvassing to find the pictures. For instance, they call every witness they can identify and locate, or they stake out airports or other gathering points where witnesses are likely to pass by."

Wired News: Never IM in This Town Again!

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67789,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1

By Cyrus Farivar
02:00 AM Jun. 13, 2005 PT

"Instead of displaying simple "away from my computer" messages, Hollywood buddy lists now overflow with come-ons, from "need work" to "wrapping up shoot." Producers hiring for a new production can tell at a glance who's available now, who's not and who might be free in the near future.

"Ninety percent of my work is given to me through a pop-up (chat window) on my desktop," said Simon Foster, 32, a freelance production coordinator living in Santa Monica, California."

Single-chip DVD recorder handles two tuners: News from LSI Logic Europe

http://www.electronicstalk.com/news/lsi/lsi201.html

News from: LSI Logic Europe
Edited by: Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 8 July 2005

"Dual encoding allows DVD recorder manufacturers to offer market-leading features such as the simultaneous digital recording of two TV programmes while viewing live playback of one of the selected channels; an increasingly popular feature found in today's high-end digital set-top boxes."

"The DMN-8653 supports video encoding in MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 formats, as well as DivX certified encoding, which allows up to 12 hours of record time on a single DVD or hundreds of hours onto the HDD."

Mobile GMaps - Google Maps on your mobile phone!

http://www.mgmaps.com/index.php

"Mobile GMaps is a free piece of software that displays Google Maps and Keyhole satellite imagery on Java J2ME-enabled mobile phones or other devices."

OQO Model 01 Hits UK

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1491

"Bluetooth and b wireless"

"1GHz processor, 20GB hard drive and 256MB RAM. Firewire and USB ports are naturally part of the package"

Hush's M[mmm] Series

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1510

"What the Hush specifically brings to the party is silence. There are no fans in the system and heat is conducted away via a heatpipe to the aluminium case. The case itself is 13mm thick to guard against vibration and a dainty 90W power supply is all that is required to power the whole system."

Google Video: la première brique d'un service de vidéo à la demande?

http://rss.zdnet.fr/actualites/internet/0,39020774,39237131,00.htm?xtor=1

Par Estelle Dumout
ZDNet France
Mardi 28 juin 2005

"Ces vidéos peuvent être visionnées en partie, là où le mot-clé recherché apparaît, ou en intégralité. Pour les lire, il faut toutefois télécharger un logiciel spécifique, baptisé "Google Video Viewer" (GVV). Il s'appuie sur le lecteur multimédia open source VLC, développé en France par des étudiants de l'Ecole centrale de Paris (lire leur réaction sur le blog Ecosphère), dans le cadre du projet Videolan. GVV ne fonctionne qu'avec Internet Explorer 5 et les versions plus récentes, et Firefox pour Windows."

"[...] Peter Chane, directeur produit chez Google Video: «Nous voulons bâtir un système qui permet de distribuer et de monétiser via Google n'importe quel type de contenu»."

La Freebox prend une longueur d’avance sur les autres « box »

http://www.01net.com/article/282373.html

"Le service, totalement gratuit pour les abonnés de Free, a pour nom Freeplayer. Il ne fonctionnera qu'avec les versions les plus récentes de la Freebox (v3 et v4). Le FAI est pour l'instant resté discret sur les capacités exactes de ce service. Il devrait fonctionner avec un répertoire de fichiers multimédias stocké à un endroit précis du disque dur du PC."

"Le tout fonctionnera une fois installé sur l'ordinateur un logiciel du nom de Freeplayer. Un « développement maison » qui est une adaptation d'un des lecteurs multimédias les plus complets du moment : VLC Media Player, capable de lire la plupart des formats (DivX, Mpeg-4, AVI...), à l'exception de Real. VideoLAN Client (VLC) a aussi la particularité d'être un logiciel open source français. Il a en effet été initialement développé par VIA Centrale réseaux, un club informatique de l'Ecole Centrale de Paris. Un de ses principaux contributeurs travaille d'ailleurs actuellement chez Free."

Il manque encore l'enregistrement en MPEG4, le partage de fichiers entre amis, et la visioconférence, mais on s'approche du boîtier de communication parfait!

LIVEdigitally » The Baddest A$$ External Hard Drive Enclosure

http://www.livedigitally.com/?p=166

Live Digitally is enthusiastic about the Netgear Storage Central, and so am I.

At last! An affordable Raid and network-enabled disk enclosure! Real soon now!

Acer Aspire L200 : un nouveau PC Mediacenter

http://www.clubic.com/actualite-20740-acer-aspire-l200-un-nouveau-pc-mediacenter.html

AMD Athlon 64 3200+
512 Mo
SATA 160 Go
graveur/lecteur DVD-RW double couche
Radeon X300 PCI-Express

Tuner TV / TNT
DVB-T/VGA
S/PDIF
USB
FireWire IEEE 1934
WiFi 802.11b/g
Ethernet 1 Gbit

Microsoft Media Center 2005

Conversate

http://www.conversate.org/

"Conversate lets you create instant online discussion spaces. It's simpler, faster, more polite, and less annoying than group emails."

Telephony Battle: Open Vs. Proprietary

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1823596,00.asp?kc=EWRSS04069TX1K0000701

eWeek
By Caron Carlson
June 6, 2005

"Telephone companies are steadily becoming more serious about open-source systems, said Mark Spencer, president of Digium Inc., in Huntsville, Ala. Digium, the creator of Asterisk, an open-source PBX, as well as gateways, media servers and application servers, this week will roll out an echo cancellation card that allows for some processing to be offloaded."

Indian firm unveils low-cost Linux-based PCs

http://news.com.com/2100-1042_3-5701552.html?part=rss&tag=5701552&subj=news

"The new machine, called Mobilis, is powered by Intel's XScale PXA255 200/400MHz processor and has 128MB of SDRAM, the company said. It features a 7.4-inch VGA LCD screen, roll-up keyboard, touch screen with stylus input, six-hour battery life and a case that opens up as a desktop stand, Encore said. The machine weighs 750 grams, or about 1.6 pounds.

Another version of the device, Mobilis Wireless, comes with an integrated keyboard. A third version, the Sofcomp, is an ultra-compact desktop that works with a regular monitor, the Bangalore-based firm said."

Skype se lance dans la visiophonie sur Internet

http://www.indexel.net/1_20_4121___/Skype_se_lance_dans_la_visiophonie_sur_Internet.htm?origin=900

Indexel 30/05/2005

""Nous testons ce service en interne et prévoyons de le lancer en version beta avant le fin 2005", explique Niklas Zennström, le PDG de Skype."

Peerflix Introduces Social Networking to Peer-to-Peer DVD Trading Service; New ''My Friends'' Feature Provides Unrestricted DVD Trades With Friends...

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050511005315&newsLang=en

"Another benefit of the new features is to allow members and their contacts to share their "DVDs I Have" and "DVDs I Want" lists. "By sharing their lists, members can find out which movies their friends have already watched, how well they liked them, and which ones they want to see next," said Danny Robinson, co-founder of Peerflix. "What differentiates Peerflix's take on this community exchange is that we enable members to actually do something useful with this information. For example, they can request that friends mail their DVDs to them with one click."

"My Friends" also allows unrestricted trades between friends. Peerflix uses "Peerbux" as the internal currency that balances the trades within the network by assigning relative values to each title. This ensures that users contributing new releases and hot titles to the network get recognized accordingly and can receive DVDs of equal value in return. "Our members have told us that they'd be willing to generously trade their DVDs with friends and family without getting Peerbux in return -- what are friends for after all?" said McNair. "We've added the capability to do just that, so our members can trade with friends and family even if they do not have Peerbux in their account.""

DMC Store - DMC 500

http://digmind.com/store/index_500.html

100GB, $399

"Its internal battery provides over 20 of hours of play on a single charge, and its USB 2.0 interface allows for data transfers of any kind at lightning-fast speeds.

The DMC Xclef 500 also features an FM Tuner with encoding (so you can record as you listen), a voice recorder with built-in mic, and a 1/8" line-in jack so you can record from any audio source at up to 320 kb/s.

In addition, the DMC Xclef 500 offers astonishing sound volume and quality, with 10 mW/channel of clean RMS power (we won't dupe you with trumped up "peak output" values), very low harmonic distortion, and a host of sound contouring options, making it the perfect addition to your home or car stereo system."

Flickr People Finder

http://krazydad.com/gustavog/poster/finder.html

M-Audio Hush Hush Products, Interesting, very interesting.

http://sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=2137

SonicState 20-Apr-05

"Flash Tracker
# In a quiet corner of the impressive M-audio stand, were a couple of interesting gems. First up was the Flash Tracker, a dimunuitvie hand-held recorder, using Compact Flash and Micro-drive as media, it sports (according to preliminary specs): 2x TRS mic/line jack inputs
# 48V phantom power
# 3.5mm jack mic in with 5V power for electrec and back condenser mic
# SPDIF input
# 3.5mm headphone out
# RCA stereo out
# USB 2.0

The unit really is palm sized and something that we are certainly lusting after. Unbelievably, this unit will be capable of 24-bit 96kHz recording and no doubt some popular compressed formats, we'll have to wait and see - this is the only one there is for now. Stay tuned for more details."

Le fabricant de smartphones HTC débarque en France

http://rss.zdnet.fr/actualites/telecoms/0,39040748,39217131,00.htm?xtor=1

ZDNet.fr - Actualités
Par Eric Le Yavanc
Lundi 11 avril 2005

"Jusqu'à présent, toutefois, il était assez difficile de se procurer un de ses appareils sans qu'il soit personnalisé pour un opérateur. Désormais la filiale française de Qtek – la marque commerciale du fabricant HTC – proposera la gamme complète des smartphones et des assistants personnels (accompagnés de leurs accessoires) à son catalogue."

Ourmedia

http://www.ourmedia.org/

"What's the big idea here?

The idea is pretty simple: People who create video, music, photos, audio clips and other personal media can store their stuff for free on Ourmedia's servers forever, as long as they're willing to share their works with a global audience.

Ourmedia's goal is to expose, advance and preserve digital creativity at the grassroots level. The site serves as a central gathering spot where professionals and amateurs come together to share works, offer tips and tutorials, and interact in a combination community space and virtual library that will preserve these works for future generations. We want to enable people anywhere in the world to tap into this rich repository of media and create image albums, movie and music jukeboxes and more."

torrentocracy

http://www.torrentocracy.com/

"Torrentocracy (pronounced like the word democracy) is the combination of RSS, bit torrent, your television and your remote control. In effect, it is what gives any properly motivated person or entity the ability to have their own TV station. By running torrentocracy on a computer connected to your television, you not only become a viewer of any available content from the internet, but you also become a part of a vast grass roots media distribution network."

Wired News: The Need for Feed(s)

http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,67152,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2

"Ferguson said publishers fall into two camps. Those who view syndicating headlines as a revenue opportunity and are setting up RSS feeds, and those such as Agence France-Presse who are worried about controlling how and where their headlines appear.

While these publishers "have their heads in the sand" about online news, Ferguson said, they are missing out on providing a useful service to readers for the viewing of content.

Newspapers have been bleeding subscribers for the past decade as readers increasingly go online for their news fix. Between 1994 and 2003, the percentage of adults who read a newspaper during the week dropped by 12 percent, according to the Newspaper Association of America. The total circulation of daily newspapers also decreased every year during the same time period."

Linux on A Laptop: A Tinkerer's Journal

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=10206

"Linux has gone a long way from where it was just a few years ago in terms of laptop installations, ease of use, application choice, and maturity. I am but one of the living proofs that using Linux both professionally and personally is not only making sense but is also a joy. The breadth of applications that are available and their quality is a great testament to the Open Source movement which Linux has helped to pioneer. The fact that amazes me so much is how smooth the experience of installing and using Linux on a laptop. Despite some to-be-expected rough edges, it has exceeded all my expectation and I am actually proud to show my laptop to my Windows running colleagues and be able to debunk the myths that Linux is not useable on the desktop (let alone on a laptop)."

Video takes off in social software land

http://socialsoftware.weblogsinc.com/entry/1234000927038967/

The Social Software Weblog
Posted Apr 5, 2005, 12:53 PM ET by Barb Dybwad

"The recent launch of Ourmedia as an entirely free web host repository and community for citizen video (as well as audio), as well as the advent of tools such as the ANT RSS video aggregator (Mac desktop client) and the web-based videoblogger aggregator Mefeedia (which also adds a folksonomy component) seem to herald video’s arrival on the social software scene in a big way."

Cell Phone with Built-in Projector

http://www.physorg.com/news3505.html

PhysOrg
March 24, 2005

"Siemens researchers have developed a cell phone featuring a built-in projector system. A laboratory model was presented at CeBIT 2005 in Hanover. The system makes it possible to project a complete keypad or display onto a surface. With a special pen, users can write on the virtual keypad and operate the phone’s functions."

Ever need to phone 7,000 people at once?

http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5630918.html?tag=nl

Published: March 22, 2005, 5:49 PM PST
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

"Mostly, customers only use it to contact a few people, but it can push out 7,000 to 8,000 messages. "You can do as many as you want, but it takes more time," Cohen said.

The service costs about $4,200 a year for 50 contacts. Send Word Now has approximately 100 customers."

LOGIC Supply VIA EPIA SP13000 Mini-ITX Motherboard

http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/305

$259.00

"Please note SP boards will be available mid April"

Pod2Go: The Ultimate iPod Sync Application

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9906

RSS/RDF news, Weather, movies, stock quotes, lyrics, text, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Safari bookmarks and stickies, backup, launcher, scheduling syncs.

Videur de mémoire, le Tripper Mini

http://www.akihabaranews.com/news_9293.html#

"Vous en avez marre de vous balader avec 2 tonnes de Comptact Flash ? Eh bien il existe un demi-milliard de solutions pour cela, et voici une nouvelle version d'un HDD autonome (avec un HDD de 1.8") qui pourra donc vider vos CF lorsque vous êtes OTG (On The Go)"

Grande-Bretagne: Skype accessible gratuitement par accès Wi-Fi

http://rss.zdnet.fr/actualites/internet/0,39020774,39210132,00.htm

ZDNet UK
Vendredi 4 mars 2005

"Au Royaume-Uni, un accord passé avec le fournisseur d'accès Wi-Fi Broadreach Networks va permettre aux utilisateurs britanniques de Skype d'accéder gratuitement au service lorsqu'ils se connectent à un de ses 350 hot spots. La plupart sont situés dans les grandes gares britanniques."

Face-recognition security comes to mobile phones

http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS7172421600.html

"Okao is available for embedded Linux, Symbian, BREW, and ITron, but not for Microsoft Windows Mobile or Windows CE. The footprint size is 450KB of Flash (and 1.5MB for the reference image) and the software requires a minimum of 370KB of RAM."

Shuttle Zen XPC ST62K: Finally, a Quiet SFF PC!

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article139-page1.html

SilentPCReview.com
February 8, 2004 by Ralf Hutter and Mike Chin

"A new smaller, quieter SFF barebones PC using just one 80mm fan and an external fanless power supply."

The hundred-buck PC

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=11203

RED HERRING
January 29, 2005

"The founder and chairman of the MIT Media Lab wants to create a $100 portable computer for the developing world."

People’s PC, for $300 only

http://www.gigaom.com/2005/02/28/peoples-pc-for-300-only/

Om Malik
February 28, 2005 1:23 pm

"[...] HCL has just launched a sub-$300 computer [...] The PC is called EzeeBee Pride, [...] A 1GHz processor (either from Intel or AMD), a 30 GB hard disk, 128 MB RAM, a 15-inch colour monitor and even a 52 x CD ROM drive. [...]"

AMD's PC to increase online world / Low-end Internet model would assist emerging countries

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/20/BUGK29CIVB1.DTL&type=business

"[...] It will cost $185 just for the computer, and $249 for both the computer and a 15-inch monitor.

The PC contains the chipmaker's Geode microprocessor, an inexpensive line of chips for smaller devices like personal digital assistants and other handheld computers.

The machine, about the size of a Kleenex box, contains a 10-GB hard drive, 128 MB of memory and a 56k modem. [...]"

3GSM World Congress coverage: photo review of HTC Universal (aka T-Mobile MDA IV or 3G SPV)

http://www.msmobiles.com/news.php/3584.html

msmobiles.com
February 14, 2005 [Pocket PC phone]

Motorola phones to call on Wi-Fi, VoIP

http://news.com.com/2100-7351_3-5575684.html?part=rss&tag=5575731&subj=news.7351.20

Published: February 14, 2005, 12:12 PM PST
By Ben Charny
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

"The world's No. 3 handset maker plans to add Internet phone software from Internet telephony provider Skype to a select number of Motorola phones that link to the Internet using short-range, high-speed Wi-Fi networks."

Start-up offers Web conferencing on the cheap

http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5575923.html?part=rss&tag=5575731&subj=news.1012.20

Published: February 14, 2005, 2:02 PM PST
By Alorie Gilbert
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

"Convoq also introduced on Monday a free two-person version of its service, called ASAP Express. Like its Pro version, the free service incorporates text chat, voice conferencing, video and presentation sharing. The company bills it as a "personal Web conferencing system" for students and professionals."

T2e with SP13000

http://www.tranquilpc.co.uk/T2e_SP13000.htm

No fans, EPIA SP13000, 1.3GHz C3, VIA CN400 chipset.

MacCentral: EyeTV update adds MPEG-4 for EyeTV 200, ConvertX

http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/02/07/eyetv/index.php

By Peter Cohen pcohen@maccentral.com

"A recent update to Elgato's EyeTV Personal Video Recorder (PVR) software for the Macintosh enables Elgato's EyeTV 200 and Plextor Corp.'s ConvertX PVR for the Mac to record video using hardware-based MPEG-4 encoding. Previously the devices were capable only of recording using the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 standards. EyeTV 1.7 is a free upgrade, and also subtitling support and Clear QAM support for certain models of EyeTV hardware.

The EyeTV 200 is a FireWire-based video interface for the Mac that features a 124-channel cable-ready TV tuner and composite, S-Video and stereo audio input connectors. You can use it to record your favorite TV shows or to do analog to digital video conversion from VCRs or other sources."

Napster Ignites Consumer Launch of World's First Portable Subscription Service

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050203/lath045_1.html

Press Release
Thursday February 3, 6:00 am ET

"LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS - News), the biggest brand in digital music, announced today the consumer release of its groundbreaking Napster To Go technology and the unveiling of the new Napster 3.0. Napster To Go, the world's first portable subscription service, lets consumers move an unlimited amount of songs from Napster's million plus catalog to compatible MP3 players for one, low monthly fee of $14.95."

Axentra's Net-Box One

http://www.mini-itx.com/news/76712871/

mini-itx.com
January 26, 2005

"The Net-Box One is described as a 'Multifunction Server Appliance', acting as a network and internet-based email and file server, with combined router, access point and firewall functionalities. At the heart of this versatile little device is of course a Mini-ITX board running Linux, and a rather nice web-based interface - the 'OEone platform'."

New Sony NW-HD3 Network Walkman plays MP3s

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5721.html

By Jørgen Sundgot, Monday 17 January 2005
infoSync World

"Equipped with a 20 GB hard drive and measurements minute enough to compete with Apple's popular iPod mini, the NW-HD3 Network Walkman will support both the ATRAC3 and MP3 formats. To come in five colours, the NW-HD3 relies on a non-exchangeable Lithium Ion battery to power it for up to 30 hours, and connects to computers via a USB 2.0 interface."

infoSync World : New PMA400 PMV from Archos doubles as PDA

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/5706.html

"New to Archos' line-up, however, is the introduction of integrated 802.11b Wi-Fi connectivity which will enable the PMA400 to connect wirelessly to networks. This comes in addition to the unit's support for Ethernet, as well as USB 2.0 for exchanging data with other devices. Also supported is USB Host capabilities, which enables other USB mass storage peripherals such as digital cameras, hard drives and also keyboards to connect to the PMA400."

"In addition to its personal media viewer capabilities, the PMA400 also offers a wealth of PDA functions due to being powered by the Linux-based Qtopia platform. Applications include an e-mail client with support for POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP protocols; an Internet browser by Opera; support for the Mophun gaming engine; and a full compliment of Personal Information Management applications. Also, the PMA400 will come with software to synchronize PIM information with Microsoft Outlook."

D-Link MediaLounge DSM-320 review by PC Magazine

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1750282,00.asp?kc=PCRSS02129TX1K0000530

By Bill Howard

"For about half the price of a Windows Media Extender device that only plays on a Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 PC, you can handle music, photos, and video with the affordable D-Link MediaLounge DSM-320 ($199 direct). Early versions had a number of minor but frustrating glitches. The current models are better, but not perfect, and installation has improved."

Videos Quick, Easy and Automatic

http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,66231,00.html

By Katie Dean
02:00 AM Jan. 11, 2005 PT
Wired News

"While the idea to combine BitTorrent and RSS isn't new, Cherian said his program is less complicated than others and doesn't "demand computer enthusiasts' knowledge.""

DVD-quality video over the Net?

http://news.com.com/2100-1033_3-5513651.html?part=rss&tag=5513651&subj=news.1033.20

"EdgeStream unveiled on Wednesday a new television set-top box that uses its proprietary IPTV software platform and can, according to the company, deliver DVD-quality, on-demand broadcasts over the Net."

Faux File-Sharing

http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops-pcs/media-centers/faux-filesharing-028904.php

Gizmodo

"What consumers want—an out-of-box way to share and transmit files between different storage media and computers (and users)—is exactly what manufacturers don't want to give them, but they'll tease us a little."

D-Link i2eye DVC-1100 Wireless VideoPhone

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1747317,00.asp

"Video quality was best at 256 Kbps, which could pose a problem for lower-bandwidth DSL but should not be a problem for many cable modem or DSL services. Quality at 128 Kbps was acceptable.

You configure the unit with the included remote control via on-screen configuration screens from the comfort of your couch. The DVC-1100 model we tested connects to your network using either an Ethernet or wireless connection (it works with any Wi-Fi–compliant 802.11b/g access point or router). An external microphone port and phone port can be used to improve audio quality."

2Wire.com: MediaPortal

http://www.2wire.com/?p=11

HD and SD Satellite Television Receiver
Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
Digital Media Server

A/V Interfaces:
DVI-I/RGB output
HD component video output
Composite video/stereo audio out (RCA)
S-video out (4-pin mini-DIN)
Coax RF out (F)
Optical digital audio out (Toslink)

Optional Drives:
Optical: CD/DVD RW
Hard Disk: 80-250 GB Capacity

Other Interfaces:
Ethernet (RJ-45 10/100 Base-T)
Wireless (802.11b/g Wi-Fi)
USB host ports (front and rear panel)
IR receiver (external)

TiVo Untethered and Ready to Go

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66152,00.html

Associated Press / Wired
02:56 PM Jan. 02, 2005 PT

"No longer confined to TiVo digital video recorders in the living room or bedroom, subscribers will be able to transfer their recorded shows to PCs or laptops and take them on the road -- as long as the shows are not specially tagged with copy restrictions. That's also the case for pay-per-view or on-demand movies, and some premium paid programming.

Users also will be able to copy shows onto a DVD -- soon after but not immediately at the service launch, company officials said."

Streamlined Cable TV in a Card

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/30/technology/circuits/30stat.html?ex=1262235600&en=0c9133c88d6aeea3&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

Streamlined Cable TV in a Card
By DAVID POGUE
Published: December 30, 2004

"[...] the CableCard, a small metal card (a so-called PC card, actually, like the ones designed for laptops) that slides into a slot on the back of many new high-definition TV sets from nearly every manufacturer. The CableCard's simple mission is to eliminate your cable box. The card stores all the account information that used to be monitored by the box, like descramblers for your movie channels - a bit of circuitry miniaturization that's about 15 years overdue.

Life without a cable box is blissfully simple. The cable-TV cable from the wall plugs directly into the TV. You change channels using the TV's own remote control. (Both the box and its remote go back to the mother ship. Incidentally, getting rid of the box makes an especially big difference when it comes to smaller screens, like kitchen-counter TV's.)

Losing the box frees up one power outlet on your wall, one valuable input on the TV and one component's worth of space in your equipment rack or wall unit.

Furthermore, if you ever move, you won't have to learn how to use a new cable company's box. You'll operate the same TV using the same remote in the same way.

Eliminating a detour through the cable box also spares your video signal an analog-to-digital conversion or two. As a result, the picture may be noticeably clearer and sharper (depending on which box you had and how it was wired to your system)."

The BitTorrent Effect

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bittorrent.html

By Clive Thompson
Wired Issue 13.01 - January 2005

""All hell's about to break loose," says Brad Burnham, a venture capitalist with Union Square Ventures in Manhattan, which studies the impact of new technology on traditional media. BitTorrent does not require the wires or airwaves that the cable and network giants have spent billions constructing and buying. And it pounds the final nail into the coffin of must-see, appointment television. BitTorrent transforms the Internet into the world's largest TiVo.

One example of how the world has already changed: Gary Lerhaupt, a graduate student in computer science at Stanford, became fascinated with Outfoxed, the documentary critical of Fox News, and thought more people should see it. So he convinced the film's producer to let him put a chunk of it on his Web site for free, as a 500-Mbyte torrent. Within two months, nearly 1,500 people downloaded it. That's almost 750 gigs of traffic, a heck of a wallop. But to get the ball rolling, Lerhaupt's site needed to serve up only 5 gigs. After that, the peers took over and hosted it themselves. His bill for that bandwidth? $4. There are drinks at Starbucks that cost more. "It's amazing - I'm a movie distributor," he says. "If I had my own content, I'd be a TV station.""

Marantz PMD660 Hand-Held Field Recorder

http://www.musicgearreview.com/article-display/1345.html

Press Release

"The rugged PMD660 is a solid-state recorder with easy one-touch digital recording to cost-effective Compact Flash media cards. Uncompressed WAV files can be recorded at 44.1 or 48 kHz, and high quality MP3 files can be recorded in mono (at 64 kbps) or in stereo (at 128 kbps). Using a standard 1 GB Compact Flash card, the PMD660 can record over 1 hour stereo and 3 hours mono of uncompressed audio, over 17 hours of stereo MP3 and almost 36 hours of monaural MP3 audio."

La télévision, le véritable impact du P2P

http://www.internetactu.net/index.php?p=5731

InternetActu
Par Cyril Fievet le 16/12/2004

"En France, la disponibilité depuis peu d’un utilitaire, eD2K History, destiné à suivre l’évolution des fichiers les plus demandés sur le réseau eDonkey, montre clairement un lien entre la diffusion d’un film à la télévision et la popularité du fichier correspondant sur le réseau P2P. Après un passage TV, les demandes du fichier augmentent significativement, parfois d’un facteur deux ou trois, comme le souligne Ratiatum, qui propose une interprétation du phénomène : “Internet devient un véritable substitut au magnétoscope” (d’autres interprétations sont néanmoins possibles)."

Freeview fans buy up second boxes

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4094931.stm

"Some 56% of British households, or 13.9 million homes, now have some form of digital TV"

The End of TV as We Know It

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/start.html?pg=7

By Frank Rose
Wired
Issue 12.12 - December 2004

"Combine VoIP, truly high-speed broadband, and totally on-demand TV - and you've got such a compelling proposition that the Bell companies figure the only way to survive is to do likewise."

Blog Torrent - Simplified bittorrent by Downhill Battle

http://www.blogtorrent.com/

'Blog Torrent is software that makes it much easier to share and download files using the bittorrent protocol. Blog Torrent is easy to install on your website: we don't use MySQL so installation is as easy as uploading a folder to your web host, and all administration happens in the web interface."

Hot television

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/technology/article.jsp?content=20041129_93836_93836

Macleans.ca
MICHAEL SNIDER
November 29, 2004

"Why is a TV executive so agitated about online pirates? Because he, like most media honchos, has seen the scary numbers indicating that the next big craze in illegal file-sharing is not music, not movies, but television. High-quality digital copies of popular shows such as Desperate Housewives, The West Wing and, well, pretty much anything else on the tube are available online a few hours after they air, many in high definition. Pirates with HD-ready TV sets can enjoy these shows in widescreen format and in better picture quality than what regular cable provides -- no need to spring for satellite feeds or specialty channels. All they need is a high-speed Internet connection, a modicum of computer know-how, a little patience -- and a willingness to risk a lawsuit."

Hush E2-MCE - Silent Media Center PC

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=874

Fanless
2.8GHz Pentium 4
ATI Radeon 9600
512MB DDR
200GB SATA
DVD+-R/RW writer
WiFi

Front:
two USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire ports, headphone and speakers jacks, IR receiver

Back:
two PS/2 ports, two serial ports, a parallel port, four USB 2.0 ports, a network socket, line-in, line-out and microphone ports
optical and coaxial S/PDIF ports, two more audio outputs for 5.1
DVI, D-SUB, S-Video

Spare PCI slot

Is 'Fair Use' in Peril?

Technology Review: Is 'Fair Use' in Peril?

Technology Review
By Eric Hellweg
November 19, 2004

"Do you like fast-forwarding through commercials on a television program you’ve recorded? How much do you like it? Enough to go to jail if you’re caught doing it? If a new copyright and intellectual property omnibus bill sitting on Congress’s desk passes, that may be the choice you'll face."

Sigmatek X-Bay

http://www.sigmatekcomputer.com/products.php?p=xbay

"Caractéristiques générales :

• Disque Dur 2.5'' de 20, 40, 60 ou 80 GB
• Interface USB 2.0 compatible USB 1.1 (PC & MAC)
• Télécommande InfraRouge

• Formats Vidéo compatibles : MPEG 1, 2 & 4 : DivX 3.xx, 4.xx, 5.xx, Xvid
• Formats Audio compatibles : MP3 de 32 à 320Kbps CBR & VBR.
• Formats d'images compatibles : JPEG (jusqu'à 4 Mo)
• Compatible sous-titres de DivX

• Stockage de données sur Disque Dur USB (Compatible PC et Mac)
• Firmware évolutif, mises à jour téléchargeables sur ce site
• Affichage Multi langages
• Compatible fichiers SMI (Synchronized Multimedia Interface)"

"Connectique :
Sortie Stéréo Jack et SPDIF
Sortie Vidéo
Port USB 2.0"

Music rebels seek to tame P2P

http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5453788.html

Published: November 16, 2004, 4:00 AM PST
By John Borland
CNET News.com

"[...] Napster creator Shawn Fanning, whose new company, Snocap, has spent the last year building technology designed to identify music on file-swapping networks and turn free song trades into purchases. The company plans to emerge from stealth mode by the end of the year and has already secured licenses to the song catalog of the Universal Music Group."

"Fanning's apparent conversion offers more than a hint of historical irony. As a young renegade, he was ordered by courts in 2000 to begin blocking trades of copyrighted songs on the original Napster service, which ultimately shut down a year later, after the company's filters proved unwieldy.

The Snocap system, which identifies songs in order to extract payment, carries at least the mark of that original court order--and might arguably be seen as its fruition."

Former Microsoft exec joins open-source project

"http://news.com.com/2100-1046_3-5453259.html?part=rss&tag=5453259&subj=news.1046.20

Published: November 15, 2004, 12:48 PM PST
By David Becker
CNET News.com

"CAC Media, a New York-based company that sells software and services for set-top boxes and other media devices, told CNET News.com that it has hired Nat Brown as its chief technical officer."

"The first device to run on the company's software, the MediaReady 4000 receiver from Video Without Boundaries, is set to ship early next year and combines video recording, music playback and other living-room functions."

Dual Wi-Fi, 3G phone ships in Japan And DoCOMo's handset uses Linux

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19683

The Inquirer
By Tony Dennis: Monday 15 November 2004, 11:00

"Using its Passage Duple system N900iL users will be able to make VoIP calls over the corporate wireless network or switch over to 3G when they have left their offices. Since the N900iL's browser can be used both inside and outside the office, users always have access to Interent mail and documents saved on intranet servers. Instant messaging between N900iL handsets on a wireless LAN is also possible.

Thanks to the use of SIP, when calling internally across the wireless LAN, a caller can see status information (ie confirm if the called party is available, off-line, in a meeting, on a business trip, etc). The handset's battery last longer for VoIP calls – 160 minutes versus 140 minutes on 3G."

Review of Akimbo Internet Media Digital Video Recorder

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0%2C1558%2C1725189%2C00.asp

"Now comes a new kid, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, with a new idea: deliver paid, premium video services over Internet broadband connections. Akimbo, a startup headquartered in San Mateo, California, wants to take advantage of the rapid increase in broadband households to deliver premium television content to the home. This isn't something you do with your PC--though the Akimbo is eyeing the PC as a future platform. Rather, it's in the form of a player that's connected to your home entertainment rack. Think of it as a DVR (digital video recorders) that's connected to the Internet, rather than to cable TV or a satellite service."

"Pros:
Content delivery over the Internet; easy offline control of your subscriptions; fascinating specialty content.

Cons:
Limited content overall, even when the currently advertised content comes on line; modest visual quality.
Summary:

Akimbo is cool, more for its promise than its current offerings. But it's a fine adjunct to your existing entertainment system, particularly if you want some of the specialty content.

Price:
$229; $9.95 basic subscription; some content pay-per-view."

Photos: Pocket-size PCs

http://news.com.com/Photos%3A Sony%27s pocket-size PC/2009-1044_3-5446449.html?part=rss&tag=5446449&subj=news.1044.20

"The 1.2 pound Sony Vaio U is powered by a 1.1GHz Intel Pentium M 733 processor, 512MB of RAM, a 20GB, 1.8-inch hard drive, Wi-Fi and Microsoft's Windows XP Professional operating system."

TiVo hacks flourish

http://news.com.com/TiVo hacks flourish/2100-1041_3-5447461.html?part=rss&tag=5447461&subj=news.1041.20

""TiVo is missing some tremendous opportunities," said Riley Cassel, a programmer who last year released a popular, unauthorized extension called MFS_FTP. "There's no technical reason you couldn't watch TV across the Net...Of course, the problem is that the same software can be used to broadcast HBO or Discovery HD, so Hollywood would go nuts.""

Media Center 2005 initial impressions

"http://blog.giantchoad.com/blogtonia/2004/11/media_center_20.html

Sparktoblog!
Friday, November 05, 2004 at 11:02 PM

"The front has several fold down panels to hide the various ports and sockets (two USB 2.0, CF, SD, Memory Stick, RCA inputs, S-Video in, and a 1394 port)"

"The back of the unit is really the impressive part if you ask me. It's the first PC to offer the number of output options that the HP z545 Digital Entertainment Center offers. The z545 offers full 7.1 out (both RCA pre-amps as well as an optical port for hooking up to powered receivers), S/PDIF, composite video out, S-video out, Component video out, DVI video out, a VGA port, four USB 2.0 ports, and another FireWire port."

"One neat gimmick that HP added was the “Personal Media” drive. It's basically a USB 2.0 portable hard drive with a docking station inside the front of the z545. It lets me put 160gb of my data on a drive that's contained within the unit, but then take it out easily and bring it over to a friends house to show him my media."

ZyXEL Prestige 2000W

http://www.zyxel.fr/products.cfm?action=detail&lang=f&area=6&art=ZY%2DP2000W

Téléphone mobile LAN sans fil 802.11b (11 Mbps)
Version SIP 2 (RFC 3261)

Will the Networks Promote TiVo "Permalinks"?

http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/2004/11/08/will_the_networks_promote_tivo_permalinks.php

Corante
The Importance of...
November 08, 2004

"Let's say I want to recommend that you watch Meet the Press tomorrow (which is what Rick Klau is doing). I can post a reference to the show and the time, but now I can also create a hyperlink that allows TIVO owners to click on the link and immediately be brought to a screen where they can program their TIVO (via the Internet) to record that show."

e-Lets Bare Bone Desktop PC Slated for mid-November Release

http://www.akibalive.com/archives/000576.html

AkibaLive
November 08, 2004

"e-Lets (Japan), will start sales of its new Be Silent Mt6600 bare bone desktop PC with Transmeta Efficeon TM8600 processor in mid-November. The size of this amazingly small desktop computer is 204x197x75mm with a weight of only 2.6kg. The memory is expandable to a maximum of 1GB, using a single 200 pin DDR-SO-DIMM slot. The computer has one slot for a standard 2.5 inch hard drive. The price is currently listed as open price, however most retail managers expect the computer to sell for around ¥92,400. The Be Silent Mt6600 comes with a built-in Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 slots, a D-Sub 15 pin port, a serial port, a parallel port and two PS/2 ports."

Grouper

http://www.grouper.com/

"Grouper is a new Windows based application that allows users to share their personal media within private groups. Grouper uses P2P technology connecting you directly to your friends’ hard drives where you can share large files in a safe, encrypted environment. Grouper is a simple install and requires no firewall reconfiguration."

Review: BuffaloTech Fully Customizable NAS shell (Kuro Box)

http://www.tomsnetworking.com/Reviews-171-ProdID-KUROBOX.php

"The Kuro Box (KB) from Buffalo Technology (actually a new division called Revolution by Buffalo) is being marketed as a 100% open source based Network Storage Appliance that can be easily extended. The Kuro Box ("Kuro" is Japanese for "expert" or "specialist") is the the first in a line of products aimed at VARs, resellers and just plain folks who like to customize their own computer gear."

Web TV Start-Ups Show Programs Outside the Box

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/washpost/20041028/tc_washpost/a2165_2004oct27

"Akimbo has raised more than $12 million in venture capital for a service it hopes will do for Internet movies what Apple's iTunes did for digital music. Trouble is, the service requires you to buy a $230 box and doesn't offer much video yet -- only about 300 programs out of the more than 2,000 it plans to put online by the end of the year. It's not exactly on-demand, either; you have to download each show from the Internet to the Akimbo box before you can watch it.

The box contains an 80-gigabyte hard drive for storing up to 200 hours of programs. It plugs into your Internet broadband connection (via cable or DSL) and TV. Shows are copy-protected, so you can't move them to portable devices or share them online. Akimbo does make downloading painless, though, with a well-designed programming guide that appears on the TV screen and lets you select shows with a remote.

Akimbo has signed deals with 60 content providers so far. Not everything is included in its $10 monthly fee; some channels carry a premium and others are pay-per-view.

Many of Akimbo's content providers also are signing up with rivals, such as Dave Networks Inc., an Atlanta firm that plans to release a new service on Nov. 15. DaveTV is among several firms trying to use peer-to-peer technology to accelerate downloads and reduce transmission costs."

Come to Daddy

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20041028.html

October 28, 2004
Come to Daddy
How Ken Schaffer's ME2TV (or Something Just Like It, But Cheaper) Will Change Television Forever
By Robert X. Cringely

"But what blew me away this week when I saw a demo of TV2ME in Schaffer's cluttered New York apartment was the quality of the image. Sending live TV over the Internet is a very difficult thing to do, especially over distances like that from Moscow to New York. There are live TV feeds from Moscow available today, and they look terrible no matter how much bandwidth you have. But Schaffer's feed, running at an average of 384 kilobits-per-second, looks like TV. When you change channels to any of the 60 or so on the Moscow cable system, it takes about 10 seconds to rebuffer, and then you have TV. Amazing!

To put this achievement in perspective, I have running in my home in Charleston both Windows and Linux-based PVRs that play through Hauppauge Media MVP set top boxes. This is a Hauppauge WinTV250 PVR capture board running on a fast AMD system with half a gig of DDR RAM and a 125 gig 7200-rpm disk drive. All components are matched and from the same manufacturer, all video encoding and decoding is done in hardware, network connections are all Ethernet, AND I CAN'T WATCH LIVE TV OVER THIS NETWORK. I can easily access my vast collection of pre-recorded Dragon Tales, Caillou, and Arthur episodes, but live TV bombs out even though I'm capturing and sending at two megabits-per-second over a two-hop network no more than 60 feet long.

Ken Schaffer, on the other hand, is capturing at 384 kilobits-per-second using hardware encoding only on the sending end (the receiver is software-only) and he can watch perfectly viewable television that has run through 20+ hops from Moscow or Bangkok or any of a number of other cities where he has friends and customers.

Given that he has no way of guaranteeing Quality of Service, I think this performance is amazing. But given his track record, I can't discount the demonstration. Like his wireless mikes, Schaffer attributes the quality to how he preprocesses the video signal before it enters the MPEG-4 encoder chip. I don't know what he does, but it seems to work."