ray

Get a Samsung Blu-ray player with Wi-Fi, apps for $45

Still renting, buying, and/or owning movies on shiny silver discs? Believe it or not, I suspect most people are doing at least one of those.

And shiny silver discs require a shiny-silver-disc player, hence today's deal. Until the clock strikes midnight (ET), and while supplies last, Daily Steals has the refurbished Samsung BD-E5400 Blu-ray player for $45 shipped. It sells new for $99.99.

Update: Looks like it's sold out.

Like any good Blu-ray player, this one features built-in Wi-Fi, and can stream from a handful of services: CinemaNow (is that still a thing?), Netflix, Pandora, and … Read more

HP Chairman Ray Lane steps down

Hewlett-Packard Chairman Ray Lane is giving up his post as the company initiates yet another board shakeup. Lane's tenure featured a few massive debacles.

Ralph Whitworth, a shareholder activist, will be a stand-in until a replacement is named. Lane will stay on HP's board, but John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson will step down.

The moves, initially reported by The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and others, represent another shakeup for HP's historically dysfunctional board. But CEO Meg Whitman and the company had to do something following a series of missteps.

First, there was the HP acquisition of … Read more

PowerDVD 13 brings improvements in both performance and playback

Don't let its name fool you; Cyberlink PowerDVD may sound like a name that's stuck in the past, but it's a media player and library manager that goes beyond just standard disc playback. Instead, PowerDVD 13 aims to distinguish itself from the premium media player crowd with features like "TrueTheater" enhancements, presentable media browsing, and customizable playback tools. To wrap it all up, PowerDVD also aims to rope all your media devices into one experience.

Installation is the standard shindig: Cyberlink takes about 360MB of space and leaves a light footprint. And like any good … Read more

Cyberlink PowerDVD 13 review

Don't let its archaic name fool you; Cyberlink PowerDVD may sound like a name that's rooted in history, but it's actually an innovative media player and library manager that goes beyond just standard disc playback. In fact, PowerDVD 13 aims to distinguish itself from the premium media player crowd with features like "TrueTheater" enhancements, presentable media browsing, and customizable playback tools. To wrap it all up, PowerDVD also aims to rope all your media devices into one connected experience.

The installation process is standard: Cyberlink takes about 360MB of space and leaves a light footprint. … Read more

Razer Edge takes PC gaming to new level

CNET Update levels up:

The Razer Edge isn't your typical tablet. This Windows 8 PC gaming tablet is a unique hybrid device thanks to its various accessories. But for a high price, not every feature is high-end. Get a taste in the video above, or dive into the full review here.

Also in the tech news roundup:

- Google Maps updates with live transit data in NYC, D.C. and Salt Lake City.

- The Google Play Movies and TV app on Android shows actor info from videos you're watching. (Amazon is doing the same with its X-Ray feature.) … Read more

Amazon expands X-Ray actor bio feature to TV shows

Curious about what other shows feature the actress playing Lady Grantham on "Downtown Abbey"? Kindle Fire users can now find out instantly using Amazon's X-Ray feature.

The e-commerce giant today said it has expanded its X-Ray for movies feature to TV shows, providing real-time access to actor bios when watching a show. Just tap on the Kindle Fire screen while watching "Downtown Abbey," for example, and a drop-down menu of the actors appearing in the current scene appears. Viewers then can select whichever actors they're interested in to see their bios. X-Ray draws its … Read more

The 404 1,235: Where we charge you just for browsing (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Jeff's review: Using Appetize at a concert.

- The end of "just browsing:" Australian store charges $5 browsing fee.

- How the P2P era of SEO-baiting, intentionally mislabeled MP3s changed our taste in music.

- Hollywood embraces the Tweaser on Vine.

- T-Mobile finally gets the iPhone.

- T-Mobile launches 4G LTE network.… Read more

View movies files, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs with Aurora Blu-ray Player for Mac

Working with different types of movie files and disc formats, including Blu-ray, can be a challenge using native Mac programs. Aurora Blu-ray Player for Mac allows users to play movie files, DVDs, and Blu-rays from one application with good quality.

Available as a free trial version that places a watermark on Blu-ray playback, the full, unrestricted version costs $39.95. The trial version allows unrestricted use of movie files and DVDs. While the program only took up approximately 30MB of space, the download and installation took approximately 30 minutes, despite the high-speed Internet connection used. Once this completed, the actual … Read more

Best Windows 8 laptops with optical drives

If your laptop shopping list includes a touch screen, SSD storage, or even NFC, finding a new system shouldn't be hard. But if you're still tied to your optical discs and need a DVD or Blu-ray drive, that's another story. This once-ubiquitous feature is hard to find in new Windows 8 laptops, largely restricted to older models that have had Win 8 slapped onto them and to a handful of larger desktop replacements.

As laptops continue to get thinner, a charge led by ultrabooks and the MacBook Air (and the MacBook Pro with Retina Display), I suspect we'll see fewer and fewer optical drives.

Slot-loading drives are easier to fit into a small chassis than tray-loading ones, but like Ethernet ports, optical drives may become an added cost that PC makers feel most shoppers can live without, thanks to online gaming, music, and movie services, and the growth of cloud computing.

Since the launch of Windows 8, we've reviewed only a handful of laptops that include optical drives. The list below gives our favorites, and a few that weren't quite as warmly received.… Read more