Amid the recession and layoffs, there are some glimpses of employment hope and opportunities to help you make informed decisions on what technology to spend money.
Sony Electronics and Comcast announced Sunday that they have partnered to open a unique retail experience in Philadelphia. The store is named Sony Style Comcast Labs and will serve as a place where consumers can learn about emerging technologies and experience new digital devices.
The co-branded retail store and technology lab, which opened to the public March 16, showcases the latest innovative products and services from both companies and previews future Comcast technology, products, and services.
A Sony Style retail store
(Credit: Gizdomo)Examples of future technologies that Comcast unveiled to Philadelphia consumers for the first time include "The Future of High-Speed Internet" and "The Future of Home Phone Service."
The former offers the experience of Internet surfing and downloading at 100Mbps, about 20 times faster than regular existing cable connection. To put this in perspective, at this speed you can use up Comcast's 250GB ration in about 40 hours.
The latter, on the other hand, shows of what you can do with the future enhanced cordless telephones. Obviously, they can do a lot more than just place calls; they also handle e-mails, IM, text messaging, and access to Yellow Pages.
As for Sony, the new Sony Style Comcast Labs feature the best of Sony's electronics. Sony's current showcase includes Bravia HD LCD televisions, Vaio PCs, dSLR and Cyber-shot digital cameras, Handycam camcorders, and PSP and PlayStation 3 game consoles. Emerging technologies such as organic light-emitting diode TVs are also shown.
Comcast will also showcase all of its products and services from voice to video and Internet, and it will demonstrate how they work together seamlessly for the consumer.
The Sony Style Comcast Labs is located at the base of the Comcast Center in Philadelphia.
The Remote App puts control of iTunes--or Apple TV--in the palm of your hand.
(Credit: CNET)We've had a few minutes to play with the Remote App (download) for the iPhone. The (not surprising) verdict? It's an easy must-have for any iPhone or iPod Touch owner who enjoys listening to music at home.
Once you've upgraded your iPhone (or Touch) to version 2.0, just go to the App Store and search on "remote." (Amazingly, that--not "iRemote"--is the program's official name.) You can download it straight to the phone over a Wi-Fi connection (tap the word "free" on the upper right corner), and it auto-installs, adding a new icon to your home screen.
... Read moreSAN FRANCISCO--The blogosphere is likely exploding with feedback to Apple CEO Steve Jobs' Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address Monday, including his introduction of the new iPhone 3G with GPS and a low-end price of $199.
But we thought we'd go old-school and get some real-life response from real-life developers outside Moscone West, where the conference is taking place this week.
No one was surprised by Jobs' announcements, but they were plenty excited, especially about the lower iPhone pricing, which they say will help get the device into more consumers' hands. They were also excited about Apple's new iteration of its .Mac service, MobileMe--although the name certainly didn't roll off their tongues.
Click the link below to hear interviews with Scott Klauminzer of Seattle, Ralf Mandt-Rauch of Germany, Guy Horrocks and Layton Duncan of New Zealand, Stefan Seiz of Germany, and Claudine Beaumont, who works for The Daily Telegraph in London.
AUDIO
Geek on the Street: Steve Jobs keynote
What WWDC attendees thought of the Apple CEO's iPhone announcements.
Download mp3 (2.37MB)
In March, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced an upcoming system for downloading third-party applications for the iPhone. At the Worldwide Developers Conference on Tuesday, he brought a parade of developers onstage to show off exactly what those new apps can do.
The apps range from monkey slinging to medical imaging and should be available sometime in early July (along with the iPhone 2.0 software required to run it), according to Apple representatives. Follow the jump to check out demos of each of the applications announced during the keynote speech. We'll update this post with more video demos as they come.
... Read moreGadget retailer The Sharper Image plans to close all of its remaining stores, its new owners announced Sunday.
The company expects to sell $50 million in inventory as it shutters 86 stores across the United States, joint owners The Hilco Organization and Gordon Brothers Group said in a statement.
The group, which purchased the gadget retailer's assets in a bankruptcy auction Thursday for $49 million, said it has developed a licensing strategy for wholesale, retail, direct-to-retail, e-commerce, and catalog businesses.
The Sharper Image filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, with plans to shut about half of its 184 stores and reorganize. The San Francisco-based company said it had lost more than $135 million since early 2005. The company put itself up for sale in April.
(Credit:
Napster)
Probably the biggest piece of digital music news to come out of CES 2008 was that Napster was planning to offer its complete catalog of more than 6 million tracks in the unprotected MP3 format.
On Tuesday, with the launch of version 4.5 of the software and store, that announcement becomes a reality. Although digital music stores such as eMusic, Amazon MP3, and even Napster itself already had MP3s on offer before this point, the collective catalogs of all three didn't even come near the volume of tracks you can find in the entire Napster library. All four major labels and thousands of indies are represented in the store, and every track will be available at the standard 99 cent price point.
Napster's Web-based store with the online media player window open.
(Credit: Napster)In addition, Napster's Web-based store, which is all that is required for MP3 purchases and downloads, is compatible with every operating system. And--of course--the MP3s can be played on any MP3 player, portable video player, or music cell phone. Currently, 95 percent of the catalog is encoded at 256Kbps, which is reasonably high-quality for an MP3, and each track comes with hi-resolution album art (at least 1,000x1,000 pixels). Although Napster has quite an international presence, the MP3 store will only be available to U.S. residents for the time being.
Napster will continue to offer its online and To Go subscription services for $12.95 or $14.95 per month, respectively. The music associated with a subscription will remain in the protected WMA format with the time-out capability.
The company did make some improvements to its online interface. It now features a "liquid layout," which resizes everything within both the store and media player windows when you adjust the size of either window. Napster has also improved its download management system so that users can better view what has been purchased already and whether it was ever downloaded after the purchase.
Sadly, because of label restrictions, Napster will not be offering any type of trade program for customers who have a library of DRM-protected WMA files that they purchased a la carte. However, the licenses on those files will continue to be supported by the service, so no need to worry about a repeat of the MSN Music scandal. At least not for now.
This is the Genius Bar at Apple's new retail store on West 14th St. in New York. Does Apple have a bright idea for re-creating the interpersonal retail experience in a virtual world?
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News.com)
A patent filing by Apple is prompting speculation that the Mac and iPod maker could be getting ready to open up Apple stores in the virtual realm--perhaps in Second Life.
On Thursday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple titled "Enhancing online shopping atmosphere," filed in September 2006. The PTO's action was first noted by the Mac news site MacNN.
Judging by the patent application, the company apparently is looking to do more than just spruce up its own Apple Online Store. Rather, it seems interested in creating a whole new experience for consumers looking to buy its products via the Web.
In dissecting the application, MacNN picked up on a number of clues that portend a commercial undertaking of the sort that have been popping up in the virtual world Second Life in recent years. And indeed, even a quick reading of the PTO document makes such an assumption quite plausible.
First this, from the Background of the Invention paragraph:
(O)ne drawback of online shopping is that the experience can feel sterile and isolating. Customers in such an environment may be less likely to have positive feelings about the online shopping experience, may be less inclined to engage in the online equivalent of window shopping (e.g., will not linger in front of a display), and may ultimately spend less money than their counterparts who shop in physical stores.And then this, in Detailed Description, after Apple has titled a hypothetical visitor to the online store "Alice":
Other visitors to the site are represented by human shaped icons such as icon 118. Both Alice and one other visitor (118) are currently viewing the main page of the Acme website. They are represented by icons in entryway 120 accordingly. Other visitors are viewing other portions of the website.
People shopping at a site like Amazon.com, Zappos, or Store.apple.com don't get to see others while they're browsing and buying. On Second Life, by contrast, the core experience is all about seeing the avatars of other participants.
And Second Life is no stranger to commercial endeavors or the incursions of high-tech companies such as IBM. It's worth noting again, however, that the Apple patent application was submitted in 2006, during the first wave of corporate interest in what virtual worlds might offer to a profit-minded business.
So do take a deep breath before concluding that this is a done deal. As Wagner James Au says on the GigaOm site--while also noting that "when a Second Life user built an unofficial Apple Store last year, it generated tremendous buzz (as the 270K views of this YouTube video suggest.)":
So does this mean Steve Jobs is going to show off his avatar in a virtual Apple store at the next big Mac show? Possibly, but even with my pronounced Second Life bias, I'm more than a touch skeptical. Companies file all kinds of patents that go unused, as a way of preemptively staking out territory.
Sony wasn't kidding when it said the next PS3 system update was coming in mid-April. Just in time to take the edge off tax day, the version 2.30 of the PlayStation 3 system software is now available for download. As revealed last week, the software update adds DTS Master Audio decoding (to deliver the best audio from compatible Blu-ray movies), as well as a major overhaul of the interface for the PlayStation Store (as explained in the Sony video walkthrough shown above).
The question is: what do you think? Does the DTS upgrade make the PS3 an even better Blu-ray player? Does the PlayStation Store makeover finally put Sony's online offerings on par with Xbox Live? Is all of this irrelevant compared with the forthcoming releases of Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4? Let us know what you think.
(Credit:
CNET)
Sony has announced the details on the next PS3 firmware update--version 2.30, coming mid-April--and the big news for home theater fans is that the PS3 is getting onboard DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding for Blu-ray movies. Home theater fans have long lamented that the PS3 could not decode the new DTS soundtracks at their highest resolution, especially since movie studios like Fox have opted for DTS-HD Master Audio on many Blu-ray releases. Without getting too technical, DTS-HD Master Audio offers 7-channels of lossless audio at 96K sampling frequency and 24-bit depths--which means that the sound sent to your receiver should be identical to the studio master.
While some sticklers will point out that the PS3 can't output Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in bitstream format, it's definitely a non-issue. Decoding the audio at the source is actually better than having the ability to bitstream high-resolution soundtracks, since it means even people with older HDMI-capable receivers can enjoy the high quality audio. Sure, your receiver won't light up the pretty DTS-HD Master Audio logo, but who cares--you still get the same great sound.
We have ranked the PS3 as the best Blu-ray player for quite some time, and this only sweetens the deal. Almost all of our major complaints have been addressed, except for the fact that it still doesn't work nicely with a universal remote. Some diehard home theater fans will cringe at the idea of using a game console as their main disc player, but they should get over their hang-up as the PS3 is currently the best Blu-ray has to offer and it also happens to be the cheapest. And you can play high-def games and stream music, movies and photos.
The new firmware will also include a much-needed overhaul to the PlayStation Store. The official PlayStation Blog posted a walkthrough of the new store, and we have to admit it looks pretty good. Check it below.
Tech blog Ars Technica says they've got their hands on an internal Apple memo that shows iTunes has topped Wal-Mart Stores in total global music sales.
The data in the memo cites a report from the month of January conducted by The NPD Group, a market research firm. NPD's numbers show the iTunes Store leading overall music sales for the first month of 2008 with a 19-percent share, followed by Wal-Mart with 15 percent, Best Buy with 13 percent, and Amazon with 6 percent.
The NPD Group, which reserves certain data for paying customers--like Apple, Wal-Mart, and others--and more general results for publication in the press, isn't taking ownership, but it's not exactly denying the numbers in the report either. NPD spokesman Lee Graham told CNET News.com he "can't comment on or confirm the information because all of that was based on a leaked memo from Apple."
Wal-Mart has long been the leader in global music sales, but Apple opening up a lead isn't a huge a surprise, as it's been on a roll lately. Most recently, the iTunes Store passed Best Buy to take up the second-place spot, according to an NPD report released in February.
