The Digital Home

In a move that some have called "groundbreaking" and I have called "a disgusting attempt at trying to look cool", Verizon Wireless has announced that it will be opening its network to "any apps and any device...that meets a minimum technical standard."

What a waste of valuable editorial space. Why is this even news? Does anyone actually believe that Verizon Wireless has become the cell phone industry's latest (or is it first?) good guy? I certainly don't.

One of the more laughable parts of this story is Verizon's insistence on its new service becoming the haven "small device manufacturers and developers" have been waiting for. For some reason, I can't quite grasp why this is true.

In order to get your device or app on the Verizon service, you'll need to send it to the newly created $20 million test lab Verizon has set up and the company will need to approve it for use on its network. Also, it'll need to meet certain technical standards, which could mean it simply needs to light up and make noise, or it could mean it'll need to fly to Mars if it's not made by a well known firm.

To make matters worse, Verizon has yet to announce how it will accomplish this newly devised system and if you've been keeping score, this company that's trying so hard to be "open" has yet to join Google's Android Open Handset Alliance. That seems a bit odd, doesn't it?

But I digress. The real story here is not that Verizon Wireless has announced something without any real details, the real story is the fact that Verizon exemplifies everything that's wrong with the cell phone industry -- it's a place where common sense is thrown out the window and customer loyalty and respect have never existed.… Read more

After trying to stay away from social networking for as long as possible, I've finally bitten the bullet and succumbed to all that pressure I received on TWiT this past week. I am now, officially, a proud member of the Twitter community. I thought this day would never come.

Anyway, feel free to follow me, add me to your friends list, whatever you do on this thing. And while I'm at it, you might as well add me on del.icio.us and Pownce too.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/donreisinger

Pownce: http://pownce.com/donreisinger/

Del.icio.us: … Read more

After sifting through a host of reviews calling Nintendo's new Super Mario Galaxy game "one of the best Mario adventures yet", I decided to head down to my local Gamestop and pick up a copy.

Now, it should be noted that I have played each and every Super Mario game dating back to Super Mario Bros. and have always been a fan of the series. In fact, to this day, I still consider Super Mario Sunshine to be one of the better games in the Mario franchise. Further, Super Mario 64 was simply a marvel of its time and easily one of the best experiences I've ever had gaming.

But after playing through Super Mario Galaxy for the past week, I simply don't get all the hype surrounding the game. Is it a good game? Sure. Is it a great game? No.… Read more

Just wanted to let everyone know I was on This Week in Tech with Leo Laporte again this week.

Please check it out here and let me know what you think.

File this one under the "I have no basis for my opinion but I'm going to spew it anyway because it may jumpstart my sales" department. File it under the "convention of fools" department while you're at it too.

According to the Carphone Warehouse -- one of the UK's leading retailers of cell phones and services, sales of camera phones will eventually overtake digital cameras and will ultimately lead to the digital camera's demise.

To prove his point, the company's CEO had the following to say: "It's not all about megapixels. There is high consumer demand for gadget convergence - one all-purpose device to replace cameras, MP3 players and PDAs. The next stage in the evolution of the mobile phone is taking the mobile device beyond talking and texting to fulfill this demand."

Hold on, it gets even better: "The digital stills camera is a disappearing breed, in particular at the lower end of the market. Camera phones are much more convenient for capturing spontaneous shots ? people want to be able to take pictures when they want and where they want. The stand alone DSC may not be extinct yet but there is a chance it will join the VHS video tape, the Cine-film recorder and even the film camera as a technology of the past. The photographic market is changing rapidly and the digital camera's position within it is not assured."

Maybe I missed the memo, but this guy is kidding, right? He can't be this foolish. Shall we take a look at why Carphone Warehouse's CEO may take the prize for the dumbest statement made in the past month?… Read more

On a day where people give thanks for all of those things or people they cherish, I thought I should do the same. But instead of giving thanks for my HDTVs or digital camera, I wanted to take this moment to thank you -- the reader.

For those of you who may have come late to Digital Home, this site started back in June with not one reader. Since then, Digital Home has grown exponentially (I can't discuss exact figures, but know that traffic is extremely high for a site with only four full months under its belt). And … Read more

With Amazon's decision to become a hardware company and release an e-book reader, for some odd reason, the Internet has been abuzz discussing the possibilities of this "grand device."

In fact, a number of people are already calling it the future of book publishing and they expect it to supplant ink and paper.

Sure. Keep telling yourself that.… Read more

Vodafone chief Arun Sarin called the iPhone "a pretty poor experience" in a recent interview. And while I have to do everything I can not to laugh, I can't help but think this comment is the byproduct of one thing -- jealousy.

If you've been following overseas iPhone carrier news, you probably know that Vodafone wanted to be the exclusive iPhone carrier in the UK and its German unit is currently in a courtroom battle with rival T-Mobile and has actually convinced a judge to ban the sale of iPhones because it's 'unfair.'

What a clown. Sarin wants us to actually believe that the iPhone is a "poor experience" just because his company isn't carrying it. Is it just me or does this sound like a fifth-grade recess discussion between two children who are debating whether or not lunch was really that good.

Nice one, Sarin. Not only do you sound petty, you make your company look even worse.

Let's look at the facts before we called the iPhone "a pretty poor experience". Shall we?… Read more

Has it finally happened? Has Sony finally found the solution to its year-long Playstation 3 problem? It certainly looks that way.

According to the company, Sony has cut its software development kit prices in half to $10,250 in North America, $8,600 in Japan and $11,250 in Europe. And while this may not mean much to some, to me it indicates a startling change of course by a company that had heretofore lost sight of what is important in this generation.

And although I've beaten on Sony quite a bit on Digital Home, this change in policy -- namely, price reduction -- could spell trouble for both Microsoft and Nintendo.… Read more