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One-third of us copy DVDs

Yeah, I know, it hit me as a surprise too. However, that's one of the findings found in a recent Consumer Home Piracy market research study carried out by Futuresource Consulting and sponsored by Macrovision.

The study was done in May 2008 in the U.S. and the U.K. with the sample size of more than 5,000 people. As it turns out, one-third of all the respondents in both countries admit to having made copies of prerecorded DVDs, on average about 13 titles each, in the last six months, up from just over a quarter of respondents … Read more

Brother releases professional class multifunction inkjet printer

Brother's newest inkjet multifunction printer, the MFC-6490CW is a milestone for the company--it's their first color inkjet that can print, copy, scan, and fax on 11 inch by 17-inch tabloid sized paper. This is also the first in a new line of "Professional Series" printers that accommodate the creative and innovative consumer.

The printer will have ports for direct printing from USB flash drives, PictBridge compatible ports, and external multimedia cards. In addition, the MFC-6490CW is also wireless and includes a built in auto-document feeder, dual paper input trays, and a four ink cartridge bay. We'… Read more

Datto: Off-site backup made easy

Recently in a blog about hard drives with built-in disaster protection, I mentioned that off-site backup could be time-consuming and inconvenient. I wasn't entirely right.

The name is Datto and it's the realization of an idea of a network-attached storage (NAS) device that automatically syncs its entire content to a remote server so that you have an off-site backup copy in case of disaster.

Datto's NAS devices come in two sizes: 100GB and 500GB, which cost $399 and $500, respectively. However, that's just for the devices; you'll have to also pay an annual fee for … Read more

Featured Freeware: M8 Multi Clipboard

Beneath this clipboard manager's deceptively drab exterior lays a smart set of clip-management tools. Rather than holding one clip at a time, as the Windows Clipboard does, M8 Multi Clipboard can hold up to 25 items.

If you want to save a particular clip, you can store up to 25 in a single group. From there, you can create up to 100 clip libraries, with each of those holding 100 groups. The libraries, groups, and clips can be renamed for better organization, and it's easy to move or copy clips from one group to another.

The program's … Read more

Xerox updates its Phaser series, adds 5 laser printers

Xerox officially added five new models to its line of Phaser laser printers today, and I had a chance to speak with a product manager over at Xerox to get the scoop on the new product offering (Phaser 3100, 3250, 3635, 3600, and 5500).

While none of these new printers include built-in wireless, a feature that's been growing in popularity (Xerox sells a separate wireless network adapter for the 3600 series), we're still excited to get a few of these MFPs into the lab for some heavy-duty testing. Let's take a peek at some of the models … Read more

Cut Copy, 'Hearts on Fire (Joakim remix)': Free MP3 of the Day

Just when you think you can't possibly stand to hear another electronic group that dances coyly over the line between indie and club culture, Cut Copy comes along and slices that notion to bits. The trio born from DJ Dan Whitford sound like Americans shopping in hot Paris record stores and blaring their selections over crackling amps with infectious excitement.

Selling duplicate content

When it comes to Internet retailers, getting found in search results is often just as important as the right location is to brick-and-mortar retailers. When a big part of online success comes down to words, why settle for selling what everyone else is?

All retailers, no matter what their channel of choice, often sell the same products as at least some of their competitors. If you are a big enough fish, you can command enough power to at least obfuscate that fact . . . different product names, model numbers, etc. -- of course the underlying product is often still the same, anyway. Ever wonder how some retailers offer those huge pricing guarantees if you find the same product elsewhere at a lower price -- much easier to do when you have your own guarantee with the manufacturer that no one else can carry that same model.

But online retail is a bit more challenging, because aside from brand loyalty or being at a convenient location, the difference is often about search results . . . obtaining those highly coveted top rankings for the right searches. I began our duplicate content discussion by focusing on the duplicate content filter or penalty topic and the challenges of external content duplication. What better way to bridge the gap from external to internal, or on-site content duplication, than by talking about sales copy.… Read more

DRM: it's like those zombie movies

You know those movies where you think they've killed the last zombie and then the hero turns a corner and here comes a whole new crop of them sprung fresh from the graveyard? That's how it feels with DRM in the last couple of days. First, the New York Times' Bits blog leads with a questionable assertion from an NBC exec that Microsoft is considering building some sort of content-filtering into the Zune which would block transfer of non-approved video. (I know, this isn't quite the same as DRM, but bear with me.) Then RIAA exec David Hughes claimsRead more

Where blazers, T-shirts, and flip-flops are great

EPISODE 81

Natali Del Conte, star of CNET's hit show Loaded, joins the boys of the 404 to talk about Jeff's visit to see Shigeru Miyamoto, digital copy of Juno, and movies coming up this weekend.

Listen now: Download today's podcast