polling

Update, June 10, 2011: CEA President Gary Shapiro responds

The Consumer Electronics Association recently commissioned a poll that found that fewer than 8 percent of US households use over-the-air broadcast as their sole means of receiving television programming. This number has been descending, according to the CEA, since 2005.

It is the CEA's position that because fewer and fewer households are getting their TV from over-the-air (OTA), the wireless spectrum used for these broadcasts should be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

In other words, do away with free over-the-air broadcasts as we know it.

While it's true … Read more

This week, KingMax announced a 64GB MicroSD card that puts the equivalent of two and a half Blu-ray discs in a container the size of a thumbnail.

The range of sizes and formats available in memory cards these days is mind-boggling, with jaw-dropping 128GB SDXC options slowly slipping into the mainstream.

Just trying to imagine what I would put on a 64GB (or higher) storage card to feel like I'm really taking advantage of it is difficult. Some easy candidates come to mind, such as RAW images and PSD files with dozens (or even hundreds) of layers, HD movies, entire discographies, and so on. But will the average person ever use all of the real estate in a high-capacity card? It's hard to say. Regardless, as manufacturers continue to inflate these cards, smaller capacities will become more inexpensive, which is great for the consumer.

If you were to buy a memory card today, what size would you choose and why? Sound off in our poll, and be sure to elaborate in the comments section on how size matters to you. Does more storage space just mean empty space to you? Or will you just get lazier about cleaning off old data? Is there even such a thing as large enough? … Read more

We've witnessed a fascinating evolution in computer hardware during the last couple of decades.

Through the mid-'90s and up until very recently, most of you either owned a laptop or a desktop--or both.

Desktops were critical for work, school, and gaming--a dependable workhorse and the first computer experience for most. Laptops then became a staple for many, especially when the devices became cheaper, more powerful, and infused with longer battery life.

Many of you remember when PDAs hit the scene; they were rather clunky in design and had somewhat arduous to use operating systems. And you can't forget about the meager battery life and expensive data charges.

Evolution swept up the mess. And now we're on the precipice of a dual-core smartphone becoming the norm with access to thousands of apps that can do just about anything. Wireless data is affordable and fast and is often easily available. … Read more

When I first signed up for a PlayStation Network account years ago, never did it occur to me that my personal information would end up in the wrong hands. A wide-scale breach of a major game network of that size had never really happened before. Gamers safely played under a digital umbrella--now an illusion--of a secure network, thinking Sony was large, powerful, and had the resources to thwart any attack.

Then down came the rain--hard--and washed the illusion away.

The next blow, should it happen, could prove to be one of the worst public relations disasters to ever strike a consumer electronics company. Hackers say they have access to some of Sony's servers and plan to publicize all or some of the information they can copy from those servers. This may include consumers' credit card details. (A source tells CNET that this group of hackers claims to have access to Sony's servers, which are different from the servers already hacked to expose more than 77 million user accounts.) … Read more

Do you own an Android-powered smartphone or tablet? If so, how's your battery life?

I ask because based on what I've heard from others and experienced myself, it's atrocious. And I'm wondering if it's symptomatic of the Android platform as a whole, or just the nature of modern-day mobile gear. Cast your vote in our poll, then meet me below for more discussion.

As I noted in a recent BNET post, "The dirty Android secret no one's talking about," I first encountered battery issues with the Virgin Mobile Samsung Intercept. Out of the box, it couldn't last 24 hours--even with e-mail sync and other battery-consuming tasks disabled.

Rather, I'd start the day with it fully charged, and by late afternoon it would be dead. Thankfully, freeware app JuiceDefender made a huge difference, allowing me to go a full two days without AC assistance.

Then I updated the OS from 2.1 to 2.2 (Froyo), which I'd heard was much better at power management--and battery life actually got worse. Now, once again, I'm lucky to get 24 hours.

Last week I had the opportunity to review Samsung's Galaxy Tab Wi-Fi, which I found to be excellent overall--until the next morning, when I woke up to--wait for it--a dead tablet. The aforementioned JuiceDefender helps a little, but ultimately the Tab is seriously hobbled by its battery. And I am seriously disappointed.… Read more

Google's Android Market is rapidly approaching what once might have been unthinkable. According to a new report by market research firm Distimo, the Android Market is poised to surpass Apple's App Store in the number of overall available apps within a few months.

Friends and foes of each operating system have filled countless comment threads and forums with arguments over which company has the better apps, supporting devices, and overall experience. Regardless, should Google eventually boast the biggest mobile app store, Apple will no longer be able to brag that it has the largest kingdom.

Then you have other avenues for acquiring apps, such as the Novia Ovi Store, BlackBerry Appworld, and Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, all of which have grown progressively but not explosively. They all face increased pressure to succeed as Apple and Google continue to dominate the app world.

Is the matter simply quality vs. quantity, or just a numbers war? It's fair to say most people probably only use a dozen apps on a smartphone consistently, anyway.

So what's your favorite app store? Elaborate in the comments.… Read more

As you may be aware, Sony's PlayStation Network is down in the dumps. To make matters worse, there is no clear timetable as to when the service will be back online, which is causing great frustration in the gamer community. The timing couldn't be any worse as the weekend approaches.

This isn't the first time a wide-ranging issue has affected the PlayStation 3. An error that completely stopped many versions of the console from functioning around this time last year tested the patience of many, only to be resolved a day later. This time, the error is further-reaching and potentially more disastrous for a company that is already being criticized to the nines.

As the hours and days roll by and gamers are unable to connect to the PlayStation Network, voices tend to get louder. A quick peek on Twitter reveals anger from all over the globe. Gera Rodriguez (@gerarz) tweeted, "Nada como estar de vacaciones con playstation network caido #Psn #epicfail," which loosely means his time off is less enjoyable without being able to play his PS3. And epic fail.

Another user, Eimear McClenaghan (@_Eimear) wrote, "Playstation network isn't working. #wtf somebody come fix it pls." Drew Jones (@drewjones24) simply stated his mood, with "Playstation network is pissin me off." Other tyranty tweets can be found by simply scanning the search string "PlayStation Network" on Twitter.

Sony has yet to get back to us specifically about how it'll reimburse PSN Plus members for the outage. What do you think, if anything, the company should do to compensate for gamers' trouble? Vote in our poll at left. … Read more

PC shipments aren't what they were, with companies like HP, Dell, and Acer reporting disappointing year-over-year sales for the first quarter of 2011, surprising some, like research firm Gartner.

At the same time, tablet sales are exploding, so it seems easy to blame the fall of PC sales on things like iPads.

But it could also be the economy. It's no secret that right now there just isn't as much money going around as some would like, which can affect the sales of PCs indirectly; when consumers buy less Coke, for example, Coke may put off spending money, which can mean putting off computer upgrades for workers.

We're not saying that's what's caused the falloff in sales, but we're not saying it's the iPad 2 or other tablets (though likely not the Xoom) either. In fact, we're not saying anything, instead we're just giving options. This is the Friday Poll, after all.

So now we must ask: Why do you think PC sales have dipped this last quarter? The iPad 2? Other tablets? The economy in general? Or are we finally at the point when most people now see secondhand computers as a cheaper, good-enough option?

Weigh in by voting in the poll on the left, and if we've missed something, you'll let us know in the comments, won't you?… Read more

When I was younger (25), my mother would often take away the power cord to my computer monitor because I was on the Internet too much.

The eventual rule was that I could only use the computer for two hours every day. That eventually lessened my urge to get online and got me spending more time outside.

This week, a 75-year-old woman hunting for scrap metal in Armenia destroyed a portion of the cable that feeds the Internet to her country and neighboring Georgia. Nearly 12 hours passed before the issue was resolved, and it left two countries (and millions of residents) without the Web for hours. One wonders what all those people did with their free time without the ability to check Facebook and Twitter every other minute.

I can't even imagine the Internet completely going out in the U.S. The consequences could be devastating financially, and even the online trolls might have to emerge from the shadowy depths of their basements after a couple of hours. Anonymous wouldn't be so...anonymous anymore. Single-player games would get unprecedented play time.

So how would you react if the Internet went down for nearly half a day? … Read more