July 16th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | 
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I woke up today and the sun was shining, and I’d like to think I had something to do with with it. Internet radio is still standing, at least for now.
Months ago I signed a petition to save internet radio, sent emails to my congressman, performed ritual rain dances in hopes that I could always listen to one of my favorite internet radio “stations”, Pandora. This morning I am happy to report that my Explosions in the Sky station is working just fine.
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July 16th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | 3 Comments
“MusicPal” is a new WiFi-enabled Internet radio from Freecom. Designed to be an updated version of the kind of portable radio you might have in your kitchen or by your bedside, the device can access over 5,000 Internet radio stations, stream music from your PC or Mac, as well as operate as an alarm clock. But, perhaps most interestingly, news headlines and whether reports (pulled in via RSS) can be displayed on the device’s LCD screen.
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July 13th, 2007 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | 1 Comment
Here’s a summary of the week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.
Before we begin this wrapup, I want to welcome our new writer, Daniel Langendorf. Dan will be a regular contributor here on last100, and brings a wealth of experience, both as a journalist and as someone who has spent over 10 years in product design and development. He’s currently studying for a master’s degree in fine art at the University of Texas (in the arts and technology program), where he also teaches a class on emerging media and communications.
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July 13th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV, Video show of the week | 3 Comments
This is a new weekly feature where we’ll be reviewing an online video show or podcast every Friday. It’s our goal to introduce interesting content for all of our cool digital lifestyle devices, including iPods and PSPs, Apple TV, Windows Media Centers, gaming consoles, TiVo, even cell phones.
I’m giving Steve Gillmor a mulligan on this one.
Steve Gillmor, the irascible technology journalist of ZDNet fame (and others), has finally returned to the podcasting airwaves with a wonderfully-named show called “Bad Sinatra,” only this time he’s wielding a camcorder, not a microphone.
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July 13th, 2007 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | 12 Comments
A recent patent application by Microsoft describes a mechanism whereby Zune users are paid for sharing songs. Currently the company’s digital audio player has the capability to wirelessly swap music with other Zune owners, with the restriction that any shared song can only be played a maximum of three times. After which you’re given the option to buy the track from Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. In a move designed to encourage sharing — and in turn, sell more music — Microsoft proposes paying users a percentage of revenue from sales generated through tracks they’ve shared.
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July 12th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | 3 Comments
Back before digital, I carried stacks of cassette tapes or CDs, even a boom box once, so I could listen to music when I traveled. Now that the digital age is here, the cassettes and CDs have been replaced by mp3s and an iPod (or two). Something, however, is still missing.
I couldn’t carry my entire record collection with me then, and I have more than 80 gigs of music now, so no matter what I’d leave music home. Inevitably I’d want to listen to a Miles Davis disk from the ’70s and not one from the ’50s that I brought with me.
If you use iTunes to manage your digital music, it’s now possible to have your entire collection — every scrap of music in your Library — available to you or your designated friends using a simple application known as Simplify Media.
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July 11th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Other | 3 Comments
First the news: During its press conference at E3 today Sony introduced a new PSP, which looks like the first PSP, except it’s 30 percent lighter and 19 percent slimmer. (Engadget gallery.) What’s “new” is a video output that allows you to play PSP games, movies, photos and other PSP applications on your television.
The new PSP will be available in September in original black, an ice silver color, and a Star Wars Battlefront special edition (as displayed by Chewbacca himself). The unit will cost $199.99.
Now the hmmm item of the day: Sony showed a version of PS Home working on a Sony Ericcson cellphone (Gizmodo story). It’s not 3D, but it does have communication and chat features working on the phone. It can automatically send photos you take in the real world and place them into PS Home’s 3D environment like a picture on a wall in your apartment.
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July 11th, 2007 | Posted in Other | 1 Comment
The introduction by Nintendo of the Wii Zapper and the Mario Kart Wheel at E3 today was great for gamers, but what struck me during its press conference was the fabled game company’s continued, relentless assault into our living rooms and turning everybody into gamers.
Nintendo contends this is a conclusive turning point for the video game market, the moment where video games stand alongside television, movies, and music as a staple of entertainment in our homes. A few statistics, as seen through Nintendo eyes:
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July 11th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | 31 Comments
This is the first article by Mack D. Male, in a two part series, exploring Microsoft’s Internet TV strategy. Mack is the author of Windows Media Blog and mastermaq.
Television over the Internet, better known as IPTV, is a small but growing segment of the very large market for television products and services. Gartner predicts the number of IPTV subscribers will grow from 3 million in 2005 to 50 million in 2010, creating huge opportunities for technology vendors. However, there’s more to the story than simply moving the signal from traditional broadcast and cable networks to Internet networks.
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July 11th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | 4 Comments
At last night’s opening keynote speech for the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Jeff Bell, Microsoft’s VP of Marketing for the Xbox, made a number of Internet TV-related announcements. The major, and longed after news, is that Video Market place, which enables users to download paid-for television shows and movies to the XBox 360, will finally launch in Canada and Europe by the end of the year. Bell also revealed that Xbox Live currently has more than 7 million members, and that content sold through the Video Marketplace has brought in $125 million of revenue.
The second big announcement is that, as of today, Disney content will be available on Xbox Live.
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