Archive for May, 2008

Roku delivers first Netflix set-top box

by Steve O'Hear

May 20th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | CommentsNo Comments

When Netflix teased us last month with news that it had secured three more set-top box partners in addition to LG, we speculated as to who they might be. “It’s our bet that we’ll see Netflix compatibility added to a number of media streamers, such as those produced by D-Link and Linksys”, we proclaimed with confidence.

Close but no cigar.

Today Netflix announced that Roku, best known for its line of networked audio players, has become the first company to offer a dedicated set-top box designed to bring Netflix’s ‘Watch Now’ Internet TV service to the television.

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PlayStation 3 games can now offer YouTube uploads

by Steve O'Hear

May 19th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV, Other, Social | Comments1 Comment

PlayStation 3 games can now offer YouTube uploadsIt’s no secret that we’re fans of the PlayStation 3. And with the news that Sony’s next-generation console will now offer game developers an easy way to integrate YouTube uploads, we’re gushing once again.

By taking advantage of YouTube’s recently updated API and tools, Sony has added support for the video sharing site to its Software Development Kit to allow developers “to create games that enable direct upload of in-game video captures to YouTube”. While a few titles on both Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s XBox 360 already offer the ability to save game replays and share them over the Web, it’s the first time that a games console has offered YouTube support as a built-in and officially supported developer feature.

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Google prepping more iPhone-native apps

by Steve O'Hear

May 19th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments4 Comments

Google prepping more iPhone-native appsWith Apple set to roll out the next major software update for the iPhone, and with it official support for third-party applications, it will come as no surprise that Google is busy prepping some new wares. “We expect to have applications at Day One”, Google’s vice president of engineering, Vic Gundotra, tells Macworld.

Even before the publicly available Software Development Kit (SDK) announced in March, Google had partnered with Apple to produce two of the iPhone’s flagship applications: Google Maps and a native YouTube client.

So what can we expect next from Google? While Gundotra didn’t give many clues, he did say that the company is eager to take advantage of native access to Apple’s device.

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Weekly wrapup, 12-16 May 2008

by Steve O'Hear

May 18th, 2008 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | Comments1 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.

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Competition: Win a HP HDX Dragon 20inch notebook

Internet TV news

HBO offers six shows on iTunes; even with higher prices, savings are considerable

For the first time Apple is allowing variable pricing for content on iTunes in the United States. Six of HBO’s most popular shows are now available for purchase on iTunes, ranging from $1.99 to $2.99 an episode. In the past, Apple has been so adamant about fixed pricing that NBC decided to pull its shows from iTunes at the end of last year after a loud, public dispute over, in part, variable pricing demands.

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Win a HP HDX Dragon 20inch notebook; name your top five digital lifestyle products and services

by Steve O'Hear

May 16th, 2008 | Posted in Other | Comments1,393 Comments

Please note: the competition is now closed. The winner has been announced.

The 31 Days of the Dragon giveaway continues, and today it’s our turn.

To qualify for a chance of winning a top of the line HP HDX Dragon Entertainment Notebook loaded with features and software — 20.1″ display, Intel Core 2 Extreme x9000, 4GB of Ram, Blu-Ray drive and lots more including a good few games and Blu-Ray movies to get you started (total retail price approx $5,000) — you’ll need to do the following:

  1. Leave a comment on this post listing your top five digital lifestyle products and/or services. They don’t need to all be products you own, and they could be digital lifestyle services you use, but they must all be currently available. It would also be useful to add in brackets what they do (see example below).
  2. Make sure you leave a working email address in the ’email’ field of the comments form.
  3. You may only enter once.
  4. If you are the winner and based in the U.S. you must be willing to file a tax return form with Buzz Corps who are administrating the competition. However, they will issue a check to offset the taxes in the U.S. relating to the prize.
  5. After seven days from this post, the winner will be chosen randomly from all complete entries.
  6. Our decision is final and we reserve the right to change the rules if there has been an omission on our part or we suspect unfair conduct on the part of an entrant.

As an example, my top five current digital lifestyle products and services are:

  • iPod touch
  • BBC iPlayer (for iPhone/iPod touch)
  • PlayStayion 3
  • Zattoo (Live TV on a PC)
  • Pandora (Internet radio)

Good luck!

Other sites where you can still enter the Dragon…

09 May – 16 May www.thedigitallifestyle.com
10 May – 17 May www.digitalhomethoughts.com
11 May – 18 May www.windows-now.com
12 May – 19 May www.windowsconnected.com
13 May – 20 May www.geekstogo.com
14 May – 21 May bink.nu
15 May – 22 May www.mediablab.com
16 May – 23 May www.last100.com
17 May – 24 May www.labnol.org
18 May – 25 May www.notebooks.com
19 May – 26 May www.slashdotreview.com
20 May – 27 May www.neowin.net
21 May – 28 May www.geek.com
22 May – 29 Mau www.lockergnome.com
23 May – 30 May www.planetx64.com
24 May – 31 May www.thegreenbutton.com
25 May – 01 Jun www.istartedsomething.com
26 May – 02 Jun www.bleepingcomputer.com
27 May – 03 Jun www.hardwaregeeks.com
28 May – 04 Jun www.geeknewscentral.com
29 May – 05 Jun www.geekzone.co.nz
30 May – 06 Jun www.thetabletpc.net
31 May – 07 Jun www.gearlive.com
01 Jun – 08 Jun www.gottabemobile.com

Please note: the competition is now closed. The winner has been announced.

Just like version 1 of NBC Direct, version 2 will leave you screaming in frustration

by Daniel Langendorf

May 15th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments102 Comments

nbc directI screamed then, I’m screaming now. NBC Direct, version 2, still disappoints. It’s like NBC is working overtime to piss off its users, or at least force them to use its other online video service Hulu.

NBC opened a second beta trial of NBC Direct, its Web-based video-on-demand (VOD) download service. The new-and-supposedly-improved Direct is now powered by peer-to-peer content distribution from Pando.

NBC Direct, in the works now for nearly a year, is a free download service for NBC programs. It requires a software install (still Windows only); the shows expire in seven days and 48 hours after you begin watching; and include advertising. Direct was universally panned when version 1 debuted last November.

The panning continues.

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iSlsk brings filesharing to the iPhone and iPod touch

by Josh Catone

May 15th, 2008 | Posted in Audio, Mobile | Comments2 Comments

iSlsk brings filesharing to the iPhone and iPod touchSoulseek, which was creted by former Napster programmer Nir Arbel and visibly resembles early versions of Napster, is not one of the most popular filesharing apps. It doesn’t have the mainstream appeal of Kazaa or Limewire, nor does it garner the press attention of BitTorrent. And that’s all probably fine with its users, who tend to gravitate toward more independent musical fare. But Soulseek has done something the others haven’t — made the jump to the iPhone.

Developer Errrick created iSlsk, a new filesharing client for jailbroken iPhones that works with the Soulseek network, by basing it on open source versions of the client for the Mac. “I saw all the capabilities this little gadget had and then thought ‘why didn’t someone already do something like this?'” he told TorrentFreak.

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Apple working on Atom-based Internet tablet? Let's hope it's more open than the iPhone

by Steve O'Hear

May 15th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | CommentsNo Comments

Image Credit: AppleInsiderA long standing rumor that just won’t go away: Apple is working on a tablet computer of sorts. Only this time the source is Intel, no less, following comments made by the chip maker’s Manging Director for Central Europe Hannes Schwaderer.

Described as being a future member of the iPhone family, only slightly larger, the new offering will make use of Intel’s Atom processor, designed for a product category the company calls Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). However, while the Atom is certainly low-powered, delivering a very efficient power-per-watt ratio compared to previous designs, in it’s existing ‘Silverthorne’ incarnation it isn’t suitable for cell phones — suggesting that Apple’s new device will be significantly different to the existing iPhone and iPod touch line. Instead, think of larger, more tablet-like devices, or conceivably, anything all the way up to low-cost sub notebooks such as Asus’ Eee PC.

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Mobile OS wars heat up as Verizon joins LiMo Foundation, a Google-Android rival

by Daniel Langendorf

May 14th, 2008 | Posted in Comms, Mobile | Comments1 Comment

VerizonHere’s an interesting jab at Google and its mobile operating system Android: Verizon, the No. 2 U.S. carrier, is joining the LiMo Foundation because it has software and phones available, Google does not.

LiMo FoundationThe LiMo Foundation, representing Linux Mobile, is the lesser known of the mobile operating systems. There’s Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, supplying many makers of smart phones; Symbian, supplier mostly to Nokia; Qualcomm, supplier mostly to Verizon; upstart Google, and Apple. Then there’s Linux Mobile, slowly creeping along by adding devices mostly in Europe and Asia.

The LiMo (Linux Mobile) Foundation is a consortium of companies well vested in the mobile industry: Motorola, Samsung, LG Electronics, Vodaphone, NTT DoCoMo, and many others. Verizon is the first U.S. carrier to join the LiMo initiative, which now has 40 members worldwide.

The idea behind LiMo is to build a standardized, Linux-based mobile platform, which members can customize to meet their needs. For the most part, Linux Mobile is a competitor to Android, which is not yet available on any handsets. Linux Mobile is showing up on phones from Motorola, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, and LG.

Kyle Malady, vice president of network for Verizon, said in a conference call today that he expects Verizon to sell both regular devices and smart phones using mobile Linux next year.

“We expect that Linux Mobile will rapidly become our preferred operating system,” Malady said to The Associated Press [via The New York Times] . “As the development community looks at how best to bring new applications to the marketplace, they should check out LiMo and Linux Mobile first.”

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It's like Christmas in July: Google announces winners of Android Developers Challenge

by Daniel Langendorf

May 13th, 2008 | Posted in Mobile | Comments1 Comment

androidscannerSeeing the results of the Google Android Developer Challenge today was like being told what you’re getting for Christmas … in July. Worse yet, what’s under the tree is mostly socks and underwear.

Google announced the 50 round-one winners in the worldwide search for the best Android-developed applications. For using Google’s open-source mobile operating system, each winner will receive $25,000 to further fund their apps.

Also see: Android Developer Challenge I Winners Announced: Our Picks (ReadWriteWeb)

For a list of the winners, you can go to several places on the Web:

It’s not that the winners are unworthy and their applications unimaginative and useless. Quite to the contrary. These point to the future of mobile applications.

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