last100 » ZNF

Zatz Not Funny: Android set-top box, 3 iPad questions, Google headed to DISH

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:24:04 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Dave Zatz: As it turns out, it does look like Google aims to conquer the television with a dedicated offering. And why wouldn’t they take their open source platform and ad serving business to a larger screen?

Three Apple iPad questions

Dave Zatz: Computerworld put together a list of 15 iPad mysteries, some now answered, but they failed to address my three biggies. Keeping in mind this will be a shared device.

Bigger than a smartphone, smaller than a laptop

Mari Silbey: Do we need another device to add to our smartphone and laptop arsenal? Maybe, maybe not, but there are now a gazillion gadgets trying to squeeze into that middle window.

Google headed to DISH set tops

Dave Zatz: Seems the blogosphere got itself into a bit of a lather upon learning DISH and Google were collaborating on set-top box functionality, including search and YouTube video. But anyone who follows DISH/EchoStar shouldn’t be entirely surprised…

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Zatz Not Funny: Living with the Android, One year with my Eee PC, Boxes of the year, Apple’s purchase of Lala

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:56:21 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Living with the Android

Dave Zatz: After several weeks of surfing with living with the Android, I’m comfortable declaring any build 1.5 or higher as a suitably modern, powerful mobile OS that will meet the needs of most.

One year with my Eee PC

Mari Silbey: It was right about this time last year that I bought my Asus Eee 1000HA. It was my first netbook, and I fell in love with the price and portability. Now here it is a year later, and I have a more nuanced perspective on my little black book.

The Boxes of the Year

Dave Zatz: With the last holiday shopping weekend of 2009 upon us, it’s probably time to list my favorite home entertainment boxes of the year. This list is by no means exhaustive, these are just some of my faves – top picks, suitable for mainstream audiences and geeks alike.

Apple acquires music streaming service Lala

Dave Zatz: Regular readers may recall that I’ve been pining for a subscription-based iTunes music service. And, perhaps, Lala is the missing link to make it happen.

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Zatz Not Funny: FlipShare TV, Netflix on PS3, Roku, Slacker

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:13:52 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Introducing Cisco’s FlipShare TV

Dave Zatz: Recorded video, accessed on a computer via FlipShare software, is wirelessly streamed via the FlipShareTV USB stick to the small FlipShare TV set-top box.

Roku Adds Hardware, Pandora & Flickr On Tap

Dave Zatz: Roku expands their digital media streaming hardware lineup. Joining the $100 HD Roku box, is a new lower-end SD unit ($80) and a slightly higher-end Roku HD-XR model ($130).

Netflix Streaming Arrives on PS3 Next Month

Dave Zatz: By way of the official Playstation blog, we learn that those Netflix surveys did indeed foreshadow the end of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 streaming exclusivity. Beginning next month, Netflix-subscribing PS3 owners will be treated to instant video streaming from their gaming console.

Slacker Gives Up On Dedicated Hardware (G2)

Mari Silbey: I love my Slacker G2 device, but apparently too few other people are buying the hardware to make it a profitable endeavor. The company is shutting down production.

[@davezatz Great job at covering some significant announcements that I've not had time to report on, and a scoop too!]

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Zatz Not Funny: Squeezebox app store, AppleTV with Blu-ray?, EyeTV iPhone app, Verizon hub discontinued

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:02:28 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Squeezebox embraces app store phenomenon

Mari Silbey: Logitech is introducing an App Gallery that will organize all of the Squeezebox service options in the now-familiar “App Store” format.

Question of the day: AppleTV with Blu-ray?

Dave Zatz: After reading rumors of new Macs with integrated Blu-ray drives for the umpteenth time, I posed a query to my Twitter followers: “Would you buy an AppleTV if it had a Blu-ray drive, too?”

EyeTV releases placeshifting iPhone app

Dave Zatz: EyeTV, the OS X DVR software and television tuning/encoding hardware provider, receives a companion iPhone app today.

The Verizon Hub has been discontinued

Dave Zatz: The Hub was designed to be both an Internet-connected widget station and serve as the household VoIP hub with a bit of PIM functionality thrown in to sweeten the deal.

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Zatz Not Funny: Microsoft Zune HD, DirectTV NHL streaming, iTunes Home Sharing, and more

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:18:03 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Are you sure you want that new Zune HD?

Dave Zatz: I’ve been tracking Microsoft’s hardware refresh as well, but given the capabilities of current flagship smartphones, I just don’t have a place (or pocket) in my life for a portable media player (PMP), web tablet, or gaming device that doesn’t integrate ‘cellular’ connectivity.

Mapping television online

Mari Silbey: Having trouble keeping up? Don’t worry. It’s only going to get more chaotic and confusing for a while. But if I can ultimately watch my shows anywhere I go, I can live with that.

DirecTV is THE service for NFL fans

Dave Zatz: DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket Super Fan package isn’t inexpensive – we’re talking like $400. But it’s hard to argue with the coverage. Access to pretty much every game – on television, PC, and iPhone.

Not quite sold on iTunes Home Sharing

Dave Zatz: Home Sharing, introduced within the refreshed iTunes 9, allows you to copy purchased iTunes content amongst five authorized devices in your home. However, Home Sharing does nothing to overcome the single iTunes Store account limitation.

Video streaming box announcements of the week

New video streaming set-top boxes from Netgear, LG, and Sony.

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Zatz Not Funny: Apple and AT&T’s anti-competitive ways, TiVo’s patent trolling, Windows Media Center, and more

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:17:19 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Apple and AT&T’s colluding, anti-competitive ways

Dave Zatz: I’m calling BS on their FCC responses. I pay $30/month for data access. And it seems to me that Apple and AT&T are collaboratively and selectively blocking apps that could compete with their own service offerings.

New tech still on tap for 2009

Mari Silbey: Here are four enabling technologies to watch out for in the next four months. This tech may not be sexy, but it’s guaranteed to make those shiny gadget toys work better, smarter, faster.

TiVo loses more customers, sues AT&T & Verizon

Dave Zatz: TiVo’s quarterly call was a bit more dramatic than usual. While they continue to lose customers and innovate at a very unhurried pace, TiVo seeks a repeat DISH Network performance in going after AT&T and Verizon for infringement. Basically, TiVo’s current business model appears to be ad sales and patent trolling.

Should Media Center be decoupled from Windows?

Dave Zatz: I believe packaging Media Center with the Windows operating system definitely was not the correct decision. I understand the reasons MS did it and I agree it might have helped in making some more aware of Media Center, but locking in the development of a true HTPC product cripples that software due to the extremely long, drawn out product update cycles.

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Zatz Not Funny: 5 suggestions for Roku, Netflix coming to iPhone and Wii?, Of course Apple’s anti-competitive, and more

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:08:16 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

What’s next for Roku? 5 suggestions

Dave Zatz: At $99 the Roku’s in impulse purchase territory – it’s hard to go wrong. Having said that, as an owner and a guy who follows this space, I’ve got a few suggestions for the Roku team (and their partners). Enable some of these, and I’ll pick up a box for every room.

Netflix Streaming to iPhone & Wii?

Dave Zatz: We’ve seen the Wii pop up as a potential Netflix streaming video destination on a few occasions – what we don’t know is the period of gaming platform exclusivity Microsoft currently enjoys with the Xbox 360.

Of course Apple’s anti-competitive

Dave Zatz: Of course Apple’s anti-competitive. They’re savvy business people, protecting their turf. But, are they (or AT&T) breaking any laws with the iPhone app “approval” process? The Wall Street Journal reports that the FCC’s launched an inquiry with letters out to Apple, Google, and AT&T.

TiVo enables custom Video Podcast feeds

Dave Zatz: I know I’m not the only one who’s been holding out for this… TiVo has enabled us Series3/HD owners to specify custom video podcast RSS feeds which aren’t found in their (growing) directory of web video.

Congrats to Vudu, lands on HDTVs

Dave Zatz: Despite sluggish hardware sales, two rounds of layoffs, and flirting with disaster, a shift in strategy along with a rumored cash infusion, Vudu has landed some interesting licensing deals. It looks like LG HDTVs will be the first to stream Vudu video on demand.

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Zatz Not Funny: American Film Institute takes video online, TiVo on Twitter, Best Buy, Seagate Replica review

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:50:08 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

American Film Institute

American Film Institute takes video online

Mari Silbey: Not only has much of the AFI collection never been seen before, but the Institute is allowing online visitors to embed clips in their own sites.

TiVo on Twitter

Dave Zatz: TiVo is leading the way… when it comes to Twitter (and FriendFeed) and I’ve compiled a list of TiVo folks worth following.

Best Buy in the Digital Content Biz

Mari Silbey: It’s interesting to watch a retailer trying to expand its business model in the digital world. Beyond that, however, it’s fascinating to see how the digital living room is evolving. Best Buy is throwing itself into the ring with the likes of Blockbuster, Amazon, and Netflix, but also with cable, telco, and satellite operators.

Hands-on with the Seagate Replica

Dave Zatz: For a hundred bucks, I don’t think you can go wrong – a sleek, quiet, and cool drive with thought-free backup software.

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Zatz Not Funny: Boxee, DTV transition, Squeezebox, and more

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:41:59 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Dicussing Boxee on TechVi

Dave Zatz: Last night, Ben Drawbaugh (EngadgetHD) and I discussed Boxee’s recent news with Randall Bennett of TechVi.

Fallout from the DTV Transition

Dave Zatz: It’s been two weeks since the digital television switch was universally flipped in what’s effectively a government spectrum fundraiser.

Hands On with the Sungale Widget Photo Frame

Mari Silbey: I’ve had something of an obsession with Wi-Fi photo frames ever since eStarling brought the first one (disastrously) to market. So naturally I jumped at the chance to get my hands on the new Sungale touch-screen, Wi-Fi, widgetized photo frame – colloquially known as the ID800WT.

New Logitech Squeezeboxes on the way

Dave Zatz: It’s been quite some time since the Squeezebox Duet and Squeezebox Boom Internet audio streamers hit the shelves in 2008. And word on the street indicates Logitech will be refreshing their lineup in short order.

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Zatz Not Funny: Jailbreaking the iPhone 3.0 OS, Palm Pre review, SlingCatcher, and more

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:15:27 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Jailbreaking the iPhone 3.0 OS

Dave Zatz: In pre-announcing the iPhone 3.0 OS and providing preview software builds, Apple intended to give developers a leg up in producing/updating apps. Fortunately, it also gave the unsanctioned “iPhone Dev Team” enough time to get some of their jailbreak and unlocking apps ready fairly close to the official launch.

Pre Impressions from a Palm Fanboy [guest post]

Steve Lunceford: After picking up Palm’s new Pre smartphone on launch day roughly a week ago (and spending over six hours to do so), I thought it’d be fun to run through some early thoughts on the device given my long history with Sprint and Palm products. (I worked on Sprint’s PR team for nearly a decade, leaving in 2004.)

The SlingCatcher Fire Sale

Dave Zatz: Less than a year on the market, the SlingCatcher’s entrance fee has dropped more than 50% from retail launch pricing of $300 down to a rock bottom $130. I can only assume sales are horrible.

The XM Sirius iPhone app arrives (Do you care?)

Dave Zatz: Several months after crushing StarPlyr, XM Sirius has gotten around to launching their own streaming iPhone client.

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Zatz Not Funny: Hulu on Roku?, Sling.com and Mac OSX streaming, XBox 360 gets social, sharing digital media legally

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:54:46 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

Hulu content headed to Roku?

Dave Zatz: After talking to Roku, Playboy has concluded “Hulu support is coming” to the $99 set-top box. Could this be the cable freedom Holy Grail we’ve been awaiting?

Sling.com enables OS X Slingbox streaming

Dave Zatz: While there seems to be a resurgence of Slingbox haterade, EchoStar isn’t sitting by idly. as promised back at Macworld, Sling.com has enabled OS X Slingbox streaming… via Safari 3 and Firefox 3 web browsers using a lightweight Java plugin.

Sharing digital media (legally)

Dave Zatz: Traditional supply, demand, production, and distribution rules don’t transfer cleanly from the analog world to a wired marketplace hawking digital goods. Other than an artificially lower resale value, what’s the difference between a ‘used’ ebook and a ‘new’ one?

Xbox 360: Welcome to the Social?

Dave Zatz: Tons of news out of Microsoft’s E3 keynote… The two primary themes revolve around enhanced social connectivity and expanded methods of physical interaction.

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Zatz Not Funny: The future of Windows Media Extenders, Wolfram Alpha, new Bluetooth gadgets, and more

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 25 May 2009 12:49:13 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny…

The future of Windows Media Center Extenders

Dave Zatz: Bad news for Windows Media Center fans these last few days, as we’ve received confirmation from both Linksys and HP that they’re discontinuing their extender lineups.

What exactly is Wolfram Alpha?

Dave Zatz: I was pretty surprised test driving the now-live Wolfram Alpha to learn it’s not really a typical search engine. Where Wolfram Alpha really seems to excel is in providing cleanly formatted company profiles (e.g. TiVo v. Netflix) and census-type data.

Network DVR vs. Remote-Storage DVR

Mari Silbey: Glen Hardin of Time Warner Cable recently wrote a comprehensive article on the 2008 ruling in favor of Cablevision’s right to offer network-based DVR services. In it he uses the more precise term Remote-Storage DVR (RS-DVR) rather than Network DVR (nDVR) to describe the technology Cablevision has proposed. Is the difference in jargon critical? Actually, yes.

Dave’s New Blueteeth (Jawbone, Solar)

Dave Zatz: What I hate most about Bluetooth devices is ending up with yet another gadget to charge. Frequently requiring a proprietary cable and, along with that, needing another free jack or port to juice it up. So it’s not that the first gen iPhone has a nearly worthless speakerphone (it does), but the promise of wireless charging that led me to LG’s solar-powered Bluetooth speakerphone.

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