Posted by Anne B. McDonald | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 6:00 PM PT
One of PC World's correspondent, Erin Biba, poked the
Microsoft Origami device story with a stick today and here's what she says.
"Don't get too excited about the speculation surrounding Microsoft's possible update Thursday of a new handheld device called Origami. After the company began its
viral marketing campaign earlier this week, I talked to some analysts familiar with the project. The general consensus appears to be that, although the device appears to be real, it might not live up to all the hype.
{PC World Editor Danny Allen just sent a link to the ad agency video that purports to show the Origami in action:
go here to see it.)
"One analyst, who confirmed that rampant Web buzz claiming Origami is a large, handheld, Windows-like device is accurate--said that ultimately he believes that Origami will be a niche product, appealing mostly to women rather than a large audience.
"He said that it is unlikely Microsoft will reveal the full details of the product on Thursday: "Origami is a product, but the timing is what it is. It's not an iPod killer. (The frenzy is) the nature of stealth marketing, and people's imaginations get inflamed."
"And therein lies the problem. Imaginations are impossible to control, he said, adding: "If this goes on much longer (Origami is) going to solve the Iraqi war and save the whales." (Note ironic tone here, please!)
"Peter Pawlak, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, agreed: "Microsoft is trying to do some
viral marketing. We're not sure that's a great idea. . .when it finally comes out it's like the
Segway scooter--where are they today?"
"Matt Rosoff, also with Directions on Microsoft, told us his firm will not even be attending Microsoft's analyst meeting on Thursday in Redmond. The meeting, he said, will be run by the research department, "For us, research is interesting as an organization, but our customers are interested in stuff that's coming out in the next 18 months."
"So what does Rosoff think the research department will have to say? "It might be a reference design for an ultra portable computer. . .(or) some sort of new user interface." Ultimately, though, he believes the meeting "might be interesting, but it's not going to be a product announcement."
"The best bet right now for those still taking Microsoft's bait is to keep an eye on the marketing campaign as it develops. The
Origami site says updated info will be available on 3/2."
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 3:06 PM PT
If I thought I could make a mint clearing out my garage and putting those goods up for sale on the Web, I'd do it.
A host of gear here at PMA aims to make that easier by helping to deliver professional-looking shots of my junk, er, valuable antiques.
For one,
Casio is trying to entice the eBay jet set with its "For eBay" scene mode, which is included on the EX-Z600, EX-Z60, and EX-Z850 cameras (see more details on these cameras
here). Truth be told, this scene mode won't raise the bids on an old pair of socks (unless someone famous wore them), but it might make it easier to see the Virgin Mary on your grilled cheese sandwich.
It appears that the setting does nothing more than choose macro mode and an optimum size for eBay. A company representative said that size was 1600 by 1200 pixels, but that seemed awfully large to us. We hope the cameras actually resize closer to what eBay suggests on its site: 330 by 440 pixels.
No matter what your camera is doing, making your collectibles look good requires good lighting. We saw quite a few portable photo studios on the convention show floor. That is, a small lighting tent made of gauzy framed fabric that diffuses light coming through it, and a couple lights.
Photo Studio in a Box?Supersized from
American Recorder Technologies is a larger version of its original
Photo Studio in a Box.
The new box measures 30 by 30 by 30 inches, so it's overkill if you're selling jewelry, but a good fit for larger items. This new product costs $299 and includes the lighting tent, two 250-watt quartz halogen lights on stands, and a tripod.
However, when I saw it, the camera tripod felt rickety. I wouldn't trust a heavy camera on it not to shake when I pressed the shutter.
The better bet may be the smaller box, which goes for about $99, comes with two 50-watt tungsten halogen bulbs, and collapses to fit in a thin case about the size of a briefcase. The Supersized version will be available in April.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 1:56 PM PT
If you like buttons, you won't like Pentax's new Optio T10; it doesn't have any. Well, okay, there's a shutter button. To operate the controls of this $350 point-and-shoot, you use the 3-inch LCD as a touch screen.
In the quest to make the PC obsolete for image editing?and make simple point-and-shoot cameras more fun--the T10 includes a host of processing options, including the ability to copy a face from one photo and paste it in another. You can also write on your images using the included stylus pen. Here's the camera:
The 6-megapixel camera will cost $350 and ship in late March or early April.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 12:30 PM PT
Unibind is trying to entice consumers to make their own photo books rather than have a service like Shutterfly print them.
The new PhotoBook Creator is a machine that binds hardback or soft-bound books. You can use the included Arcsoft Collage Creator software, or a layout program of your choice to arrange your pages. The covers will cost about $6 and up, and do not come with the pages. You use the photo paper of your choice. Here's what the machine looks like:
This is a different approach to
Epson's StoryTeller book kits, which I found frustrating to assemble.
With PhotoBook Creator, you could bind double-sided photo pages, which is a plus. And, the hardback covers are more attractive than the cellophane covers that protect the covers you print with StoryTeller (which look like a library book).
Another alternative, if you're adverse to binding books or the initial investment in the binding machine, is company's My Books kits. A cover and two end sheets with adhesive strips cost $18. You staple the pages together and insert them into the cover. Once you adhere the pages in the binding, the staples are hidden by the adhesive strips.
If you prefer, a $28 kit will include Arcsoft Collage Creator and 20 sheets of double-sided glossy paper, though the brand of paper has not yet been announced.
The PhotoBook Creator will be available in mid-March. My Books will make its way to store shelves in April.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 11:50 AM PT
If you're looking for new angles to make your photos more interesting, you might consider a tripod that can stick to walls or the ceiling.
The
MonsterPod is a "viscoelastic morphing polymer tripod." A what? Let's just say it's a clump of goo held together in fabric with a camera mount that the company says will stick to just about anything. Here's a series of fuzzy photos from MonsterPod showing the tripod in use:
(Go to the Web site to see a better photo of the MonsterPod holding a camera on the side of a ski!)
Unlike beanbag tripods, this product's adhesive gives you a lot more options than just placing your camera on horizontal surfaces. I wouldn't trust it to hold an expensive, and heavy, SLR to the ceiling. But lighter weight point-and-shoots just might hold.
The MonsterPod comes in seven colors and costs $30. As of now, you can only get it from the company's Web site.
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 10:30 AM PT
Apple today introduced its Intel-based Mac Mini with Intel Core Solo (single processor) chip. Apple says that the single-processor Mac Mini is 2.5 to 3 times faster than the G4 Mac Mini. A Core Duo version (two processors) is 4.8 to 5.5 times faster than the G4 Mac Mini. The announcement was made at the usual Apple-style dog-and-pony show his morning in Cupertino.
Apple's added Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, DVI out, four USB ports, and analog and S/PIDF sound inputs and outputs. Also included: the Front Row media software (plus IR remote control) for controlling music, movies, and photos from the couch. This is the same remote and software combo that comes with the Intel-based iMac and MacBook Pro. Here's the new Mac Mini with its remote control:
Apple CEO Steve Jobs is now demo-ing how the Mac Mini can play another Mac's iTunes songs, view another Mac's iPhoto photos, play another Mac's videos (iTunes Music Store purchased and otherwise). This is doable as long as that other Mac is on the same network. This is through Apple's Bonjour (previously Rendezvous) network technology. The Mac Mini comes with Apple's iLife '06 suite of apps, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
(As usual, Steve is using great photography and music to demo these features. I'm feeling teary at the cute penguin sitting on surely melting Antarctican ice.)
The single-core processor with 512MB of memory, 60GB hard drive, and combo drive will cost $599. The dual-processor model with a 1.67-GHZ processor, 512MB of memory, and a SuperDrive (DVD writer) costs $799. They are available starting today.
Music
Apple also introduced the $349 iPod Hi-Fi, a home-stereo quality speaker set for the iPod. It's a three-driver system. On the top of it, there's a universal iPod dock connector, which Jobs says has an adapter for every iPod Apple's ever made. The set is white with a black mesh grill and can be battery-powered with D-sized batteries. Here's what it looks like:
The speaker set also has two 80mm mid-range speakers, a 130mm dual voice coil woofer, and a ported bass-reflex design. It works with the Apple IR remote. It has Auxilary and S/PDIF optical audio inputs. It goes on sale today. It's pretty. It's the same idea as the BOSE iPod stereo. Steve says he's getting rid of his stereo and going with this. Hmmmm.
After the presentation, the press went to a demo of the iPod Hi-Fi in a Apple mock living room. I stood next to Ernie Rideout, editor in chief of Keyboard Magazine, and we listened to several types of music using the system. The rock tracks sounded fine to me, but Ridout said the classical track "sounds a little squashed to me. I'm not hearing the clarity I was hoping for."
Aside: Apple sold its billionth song on iTunes Music Store. Some lucky kid in West Bloomfield, Michigan, won the billionth-song contest. Apple showed a TV segment about his winning. (We think that there was an orange bong on the table behind him in the broadcast, but I can't confirm that.) Also, Apple will sell $99 leather cases for iPods starting in mid March.
Is an Intel-based Mac Mini or the iPod Hi-Fi on your buying radar?
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 10:00 AM PT
LowePro's new CompuDaypack is made to hold a lot more than just your camera equipment.
It has a sleeve that holds a notebook up to 17 inches, an outside pocket for an MP3 player (with a hole that you can thread your headphones cable through), and multiple compartments for a PDA, memory cards, and other accessories.
The bag has a total of three compartments. The lower camera compartment hinges to ease access while on the go, and to keep camera lenses and the like from falling out. The backpack costs $99 and is shipping now.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Tuesday, February 28, 2006 8:40 AM PT
Sony announced two compact cameras here at PMA: the 8.1-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-W100 and 7-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-W70 (below).
Both models have a metal case and are available in black and silver. Both offer an eye-level viewfinder, a 2.5-inch LCD, and 3X zoom. And both Cyber-shots feature MPEG1 movie recording and have high light-sensitivity settings. The DSC-100 reaches ISO 1250; the DSC-W70 goes up to ISO 1000.
When a scene mode is selected, the LCD displays text explanations that guide users through other functions. When you select a resolution, a pop-up screen tells you the ideal print size for the setting. This feature can be turned off once you're better acquainted with the ins and outs of the camera.
The W100 (above) has 64MB of internal memory; the W70 has 58MB of internal memory. Both cameras use Memory Stick Duo media cards.
Both models will be available in April. The DSC-W100 will cost about $350, and the DSC-W70 model will cost roughly $300.
Posted by Dennis O'Reilly | Monday, February 27, 2006 6:50 PM PT
I'm no fan of TLAs (three-letter acronyms), so I will shed no tears at the ultimate demise of Microsoft's "MSN" moniker for its family of Web services. That's not to say that the new name, "Windows Live," is any more helpful in figuring out what (if anything) the various services under this umbrella term have in common. And rechristening its free MSN Spaces blogging service
Windows Live Spaces doesn't do much to explain Microsoft's Live strategy.
Just last month Microsoft announced
several new features for its blogging service, including the ability to add descriptions to the photos you post to make them easier for people to search for, and agreements with
Kanoodle and
Amazon for generating revenue by placing sponsored links in your blog posts. What does the name change have to do with these enhancements? As far as I can tell, not a darn thing.
So why the new name? Is Microsoft trying to shed its moldering MSN skin in favor of a shiny new coat of Windows Live marketing hype? Or will there actually be some real integration of the various Live services? At least for now, only the "MSN Spaces" name appears to have changed. Whether there's more change ahead, and how it will affect current and future users of the blogging service, are anybody's guess.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Monday, February 27, 2006 3:30 PM PT
Two new Sony cameras on display here boast a 12X zoom lens: the Cyber-shot DSC-H5 and DSC-H2 (below).
Both models offer a focal length of 36mm to 432mm (35mm equivalent). When zoomed in on far away subjects, the lens on both cameras has an optical image stabilization mechanism to help prevent slight hand movement of the camera from blurring the photo. Sony calls the mechanism Super SteadyShot. Also helping keep images crisp is the cameras' ability to reach ISO 1000. Both cameras are 7.2-megapixel models.
So what's the difference? The $500 H5 (above) has a three-inch LCD screen, while the $400 H2 has a two-inch LCD. The H5 will be available in May, and the H2 will ship in April.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Monday, February 27, 2006 2:30 PM PT
The $399 Fujifilm FinePix F30 battles blurry pictures with a very high sensitivity to light.
The camera reaches ISO 3200, which is unusual for a point-and-shoot model. The high ISO enables the camera to shoot in low light with a faster shutter speed than at lower ISOs. This makes it more likely that your photo will freeze moving subjects rather than have a blur of motion. The F30, shown below, is the successor to the F10, which reached ISO 1600.
The F30 also adjusts the intensity of its flash based on lighting conditions, the subject's size, and its position in the frame. The company claims the feature delivers more realistic skin tones.
The 6.3-megapixel camera has a 2.5-inch LCD, records video at 30 frames per second, and its zoom lens is 36-128mm (35mm equivalent).
More interesting is the camera's "Natural Light & With Flash" setting in which you take two photos in succession, one with flash and one without. This seems most appropriate for portraits, however, in the demonstration I saw of this feature, too much time lapsed between the two shots to truly deliver the same image twice--the subject had changed her expression and turned away from the photographer in the interim.
The F30 will be available in May.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Monday, February 27, 2006 1:01 PM PT
Nikon's new
CoolPix S5 and S6 cameras continue the trend toward more in-camera processing. Both of these slim point-and-shoots can automatically detect and fix red eye, recognize and focus on a person's face, correct the lighting in images with underexposed flash or too much backlighting, and select the sharpest shot from a series of 10 images.
Here's the S5:
Both models offer 16 scene modes, can record video at 30 frames per second with sound, and have an underwater mode for use with an optional waterproof housing (price not yet announced). Both cameras also have an in-camera slide show that plays accompanied by one of five music files installed in the camera, or you can use PictureProject software to use your own music.
The main difference is that the S6 offers WiFi connectivity; the S5 doesn't. The S6 has a 3-inch LCD, while the S5 has a 2.5-inch LCD. The S5 and S6 will be available next month. The S5 will cost $350; the S6 will run $450.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Monday, February 27, 2006 11:25 AM PT
If you shoot digital images in RAW format, and use editing software to reduce digital noise, you might consider using a third-party
application.
Sure, digital cameras that shoot in RAW format include software for converting images to other formats, such as JPEG, and noise reduction is a common feature of image editing programs. But using specialized software could save you time or deliver better results.
Pixamantec is showing at PMA a new version of its RAW conversion software, which runs on Windows 2000 or XP. RawShooter Essentials 2006 is the free version; RawShooter Premium 2006 costs $99, and comes with a 15-day free trial.
In the demonstration, the program was able to convert multiple images in the background, while still accurately displaying the edits being made to an image in the foreground. Workflow features include an easy categorization scheme, whereby simply pressing a number key tags the image being previewed.
The premium version has a feature for quickly making low-resolution JPEG proofs, horizon straightening, and
additional scene adaptive processing. Downloads are available here.
Imagenomic is demonstrating Noiseware 4, the latest version of its noise-reduction software. The standard version costs $26 as a standalone app, and $49 as a plug-in. There is also a freeware community edition, but it doesn't have the self-learning feature the standard and professional versions have: The software reads the EXIF data your camera generates, and, over time, learns the characteristics of different cameras and settings in order to create a default noise-reduction profile for each. Download the software here.
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Monday, February 27, 2006 9:29 AM PT
I'll be heading down tomorrow (Tuesday) to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. for another invitation-only event, so stay tuned for more coverage tomorrow.
The rumor mill is churning out speculation of a new Mac Mini or a new iPod. I'm guessing it's something iPod-related, but I have no idea.
What do you think Apple is announcing tomorrow?
Posted by Dennis O'Reilly | Sunday, February 26, 2006 9:01 PM PT
Lately it seems that Microsoft products get renamed more often than sports stadiums do. The latest example is the MSN Messenger instant-messaging client, which today is rechristened Windows Live Messenger.
The Windows Live Messenger beta is available by invitation only. Apply for
the beta program here. For more on Windows Live,
go here.
As I listened last week to a Microsoft executive talk about the new features in the new version, I struggled to separate the marketing hype from the real news. What's in a name?
Microsoft hopes the change will signify a closer link between its IM client and the other Web-based services in its Live contingent. A quick look at the Windows Live Messenger beta indicates that apart from the new Sharing Folders feature and a revamped voice platform, the changes from MSN Messenger are cosmetic.
That's not to say those two features won't be welcomed by the millions of current MSN Messenger users, particularly those who combine text messages with voice calls to their contacts. Windows Live Messenger now uses the more-robust Microsoft Real-Time Collaboration system for voice messages, which should result in clearer reception and fewer dropped connections.
And while it has never been particularly difficult to send files to your MSN Messenger contacts, the new Sharing Folders option updates the files you're sharing automatically, and it provides a visual cue when a file has been updated. You can also access the files in Sharing Folders when you're not connected to the Internet.
Even with these enhancements, Windows Live Messenger is much more like a point release than a completely new version of the IM client. Whether or not the program becomes an integral component of a soup-to-nuts Web services strategy from Microsoft is yet to be seen.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Sunday, February 26, 2006 5:11 PM PT
Today, Casio added three cameras to its Exilim line of slim point-and-shoots here at the PMA show in Orlando, FL.
The $400
Exilim EX-Z850 has a 2.5-inch LCD, offers aperture priority and speed priority modes, and an anti-shake feature to reduce blur in photos. The 8.1-megapixel EX-Z850 can take three flash photos in one second, according to the company, and has a soft flash mode for shooting up close. Here's what it looks like.
Using the high-power flash feature, the camera can illuminate objects almost 40 feet away. The EX-Z850 will be available by mid April.
Casio also introduced the $300
Exilim EX-Z600, shown below, a 6-megapixel camera with a 2.7-inch Super Bright LCD the company says is roughly three times brighter than the LCD on the EX-Z500. Like the EX-Z850, this model has an anti-shake feature and can take three consecutive flash photos in one second using the rapid flash feature. This model will be available in March.
Also new is the
Exilim EX-Z60. This 6-megapixel camera has a 2.5-inch LCD, anti-shake feature, the same rapid flash features as the other two cameras, and an easy mode that simplifies menus for beginners. Here's what it looks like.
This camera will be available by mid April for $250.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Saturday, February 25, 2006 6:53 AM PT
We expect to see some exciting new digital cameras at this year's Photo Marketing Association Show, being held in Orlando, Fla. PMA 2006 kicks off officially on Sunday, February 26, but some camera announcements have been made prior to the show. Below is an overview of new cameras, beginning with point-and-shoots, that we look forward to checking out and blogging about from the show floor.
Three companies are announcing cameras that are compatible with Kodak's EasyShare printer dock. The cameras include the very slim Nikon CoolPix S5 ($350), Olympus FE-130, and Pentax Optio M10 ($230), shown below. Each camera will ship with a dock insert and offers a 3X zoom. The CoolPix S5 is WiFi-compatible.
Kodak is announcing four new EasyShare cameras at PMA: the EasyShare Z612 ($399), a 6-megapixel model with a 12X zoom; the V603 ($300) and C643 ($250), both of which are 6.1-megapixel cameras with a 3X zoom; and the C533 ($199), a 5-megapixel model with a 3X zoom.
Fujifilm is introducing three new FinePix models: the 6.3-megapixel A600 ($249) with Super CCD, the 6-megapixel F650 ($349) with a 3-inch LCD, and the F30 ($399), a 6.3-megapixel model that boasts sensitivity up to ISO 3200.
In addition to the CoolPix S5 mentioned above,
Nikon also announced two 8.1-megapixel CoolPix models, the P3 and P4 cameras. Both models cost $450. The P3 offers WiFi connectivity; the P4 does not.
Pentax is unveiling three Optio cameras: the T10 ($350) and M10 ($230) are 6-megapixel models with 3X zoom, but the T10 offers a 3-inch LCD and more image processing options. The waterproof W10 ($300) is a 6-megapixel model.
Sony is announcing a total of six Cyber-shot cameras. The DSC-W50 ($250) and DSC-W30 ($230) are 6-megapixel models offering light sensitivity up to ISO 1000; the 7-megapixel DSC-W70 ($300) also reaches ISO 1000, while the 8-megapixel DSC-W100 ($350) reaches ISO 1250. The DSC-H5 ($500) is a 7.2-megapixel camera with 3-inch LCD, while the DSC-H2 ($400) offers 6 megapixels and a 2-inch LCD. Both cameras have a 12X zoom, offer up to ISO 1000, and have a noise reduction feature.
Vivitar is showing two cameras it announced last month: the Vivicam X30 and Vivicam X60. Both are 10-megapixel models. The X30 has a 3X zoom while the X60 offers a 6X zoom.
The SLR announcements promise to be as exciting as those of point-and-shoots. At PMA 2005,
Canon unveiled the Digital Rebel XT. This year the company is announcing the EOS 30D, a successor to the 20D. The $1399 30D has the same 8.2-megapixel CMOS sensor and DIGIC II image processor as the 20D, but incorporates some features in the more expensive 5D, such as a 2.5-inch LCD, spot metering, a shutter durability of 100,000 cycles, and one-touch direct printing. It should be available in March.
Posted by Eric Butterfield | Thursday, February 23, 2006 9:55 AM PT
Your local supermarket or drug store is likely the first place you'll see a new self-service photo kiosk that makes 4-by-6-inch prints. HP's Photosmart Express will appear in some Albertsons and Longs Drugs Stores, as well a few other retailers. You can upload photos from a memory card, mobile phone camera card, USB thumb drive, CD or DVD, and via Bluetooth. After using the touch-screen to select which photos you want, the kiosk makes an inkjet print about every 5 seconds. You can also upload images using HP's Snapfish online service, then initiate the printing at the kiosk by scanning a barcode you printed at home.
The company also introduced the HP Photosmart Studio for retail stores, which makes specialty items adorned with customers' photos, such as albums, calendars, posters, greeting cards, and the like. Up to 200 photos can be laid out automatically in templates so the customer does not have to place or crop any photos. The product makes color laser prints.
What kinds of prints would you make at a self-serve kiosk versus on your home printer or online?
Posted by Erika Ingvald | Tuesday, February 21, 2006 4:30 PM PT
Honestly, how many phones are you forced to juggle every day? How many phone numbers do your friends and colleges have to plug into their address book, just to get hold of you? And how much time and money does it cost you and your employer to handle all those phones and numbers? I have two U.S. numbers, four Swedish numbers, Skype and SkypeIn, all in all, eight entries. Guess how many handsets!
But now, as it seems, there is a solution:
Unlicensed Mobile Access or UMA phones that bridge two of the worlds? most ubiquitous wireless standards,
GSM and
wlan, designed for seamless voice and data connections between them.
Motorola introduced its first UMA phone a year ago,
Sony Ericsson also has one, and Nokia last week introduced its first, the
Nokia 6136, for Europe and the U.S. at the
3GSM conference in Barcelona.
Any of these gadgets might finally enable us to stick with one handset at home, in the office, and anywhere else.
The motivation to develop interoperability between Wi-Fi and cellular technology was triggered by the need in the U.S. market to have better cell coverage in homes, where service often is inadequate and Wi-Fi access can be used to complement the cellular service, Nokia director Olli-Pekka Lintula told me at a January seminar in Stockholm.
There is no carrier deal for the U.S. market to be announced here. But naturally there has been interest and discussion, Lintula informed me the other day.
But this could be the end of the road for pure VoIP companies, if telcos with big financial muscles use UMA-based phones to fight off upstart VoIP-only firms like
Vonage or
Skype, for that matter. The supposition is that these companies need to partner with telcos to access the cellular infrastructure but not vice versa.
Such partnerships already occur in Europe where Orange, one of the world?s largest telecom operators, will be the first to sell the Nokia UMA phone, for about $350.
But Skype last week clinched an important deal with mobile 3G phone operator
3 which says it will start to offer
Skype services across its networks later this year, aiming to increase its customer base.
Put it vice versa. This might be the end of the world for the traditional telcos instead, as IDC's VOIP analyst William Stofega explained to me. VoIP calls are generally much cheaper and render less or no income to the traditional carrier.
And this is especially powerful now, because I think VoIP networks are becoming the most ubiquitous, with Wi-Fi build-outs to cover whole cities. Where that happens UMA phones could seriously drain traditional companies.
One thing is for sure, we?ll soon see a huge battle, and hopefully we, the customers will be the winners.
By the way, you might wonder why I have four Swedish phone numbers? It's because I?m a Swedish reporter with this great scholarship, giving me the chance to work for PC World in San Francisco the entire spring. One task is to find ways to improve reporting on the innovations system.
Posted by Ramon G. McLeod | Tuesday, February 21, 2006 12:28 PM PT
Here's a fun site where you can find out what the #1 song on the Billboard charts was on your birthday or graduation day or any day that interests you from the last 66 so years. Check out
THE #1 SONG ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY website...
Posted by Andrew Brandt | Friday, February 17, 2006 12:18 PM PT
There are many reasons why the iPod is so phenomenally popular. You can tell Apple put a lot of thought into both its design and user interface. The iPod is easy enough even for non-techies to use, and all but the Shuffle models have a huge capacity--in many cases, enough storage space for your entire music collection.
Sadly, it ain't so with Motorola's SLVR V7, the second cellphone-iPod hybrid from this company. (The first was the
Motorola Rokr, which was widely panned.) Unfortunately, the SLVR, which is blissfully lighter and smaller than the unwieldy, chunky ROKR, continues to suffer from the tradeoffs and compromises necessary to squeeze (or in this case, cram) two very different devices into one piece of hardware.
That's not to say the ultra sleek SLVR (pronounced "sliver") isn't a quality cell phone. With a thickness of barely more than a centimeter (less than half an inch), the SLVR is about as thin as bar-shaped phones get. It feels solid, but is light enough to hold in your hand for long conversations. It's got a decent built-in camera (VGA resolution) that can record still or video images, ties in with three popular instant messaging networks, and can send and receive e-mail and SMS. Its full-color screen is bright and easy to read.
It also benefits from having rubberized, backlit buttons on the face and an uncomplicated button layout around the sides that puts every control within easy, one-handed reach. The SLVR uses a mini-USB port as its sole data connector: You use it to charge the phone and connect accessories, and to upload music, photos, ringtones, and other data into it from a computer. The phone uses a new, microscopic-small, removable 512MB MicroSD memory card to store music and files. Additional storage costs about $90, street price, for a 1GB card.
Unfortunately, a great phone does not necessarily translate into a great music player. The implementation of the iTunes music player on the phone was just one of the disappointments. On the unit we were sent, the interface looks familiar, but it felt slapdash: Menus didn't scroll smoothly at all, instead panning jerkily left and right, as though the phone's processor was taxed by this effort.
It's also probably a good thing that the SLVR only ships with a 512MB storage card. There's an arbitrary limit of 100 songs you can put on the phone, and uploading even that many took forever: The phone's use of the older, slower USB 1.1 interface meant it took over 34 minutes to upload the 434.5MB of data that my 100 songs required.
Because the SLVR lacks the iPod's distinctive controls, it lacks some of the iPod magic. Motorola's use of a ring-shaped direction pad (which only lets you click up, down, left, or right) means you don't have the fine control an iPod gives you as you run your finger around the circumference of a Click Wheel.
This lack of fine control was problematic when I wanted to adjust the volume. There are only seven preset volume levels from which to choose, and even the lowest volume setting was just a bit too loud for me. I'm willing to acknowledge that such a criticism is subjective, but, considering that an iPod user
recently sued Apple over the risks iPods pose to hearing loss, I don't feel like I'm going out on a limb here, griping about not being able to play it at a comfortably low volume.
Note to Motorola: I appreciate that it's hard to engineer a thin phone that has a standard, one-eight-inch headphone jack. But the compromise you made with the SLVR is silly: In order to listen to your music over headphones, you must connect a special dongle to the phone's mini-USB port with a headphone jack on the other end. The dongle looks extremely flimsy; I feared tearing it apart every time I unplugged my headphones from it. And what's worse is that you have to physically remove the dongle from the phone to make or answer a call.
The SLVR also has a thumbnail-sized built in speaker on the back of the phone, through which you can play music. But as you could probably expect, the sound quality is nothing to write home about--unless you write home often about tinny music reproduction with virtually no dynamic range.
The SLVR is sure to be popular with the jet-set and cool-kid crowd. But slapping the iPod user interface into a device does not magically bestow iPod magic on that device. For me, this phone-music player hybrid isn't worth the tradeoffs.
Posted by Anne B. McDonald | Friday, February 17, 2006 8:50 AM PT
Our friends over at
IDG News Service tell me that the
Wall Street Journal says that Amazon.com plans to launch its own Internet music service. I don't know all the details, but I think it would be good for Apple and iTunes to get a substantial rival. (By the way, IDG is our corporate parent, and the New Service is a bunch of hard-working reporters and editors stationed all over the world.)
For one, I'd continue to think that songs at 50 cents a pop is the price that is going to turn my wallet loose. I can't quite embrace 99 cents per song on a regular basis. Also, as an iPod mini owner, I'm dreaming of the day that Apple ditches its one-player, one-PC rule that drives me nuts--the music I want to pour into my player is NEVER on the PC I'm near. (I interact with three on a daily basis.) I'm talking about my own purchased CDs that I've ripped to get into the iPod.
However, the
Journal said that Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, plans to sell its own branded portable music players, and a subscription service that would offer deep discounts and preloaded songs to users of its music players. Oh great, another proprietary player.
Apparently Amazon is in advanced talks with four global music companies about a digital music service that could be launched as early as this summer.
The report also said Amazon may tap South Korea's Samsung Electronics to build its digital music player.
Amazon has discussed offering the portable music players free as part of a long-term subscription package, or selling them with preloaded music that could be swapped out for other songs during the course of the subscription, according to the
Journal.
Am I the only owner of a digital music player who would like my expensive hardware to have all access to all music and have it loadable from any computer--or at least any computer I regularly use? I'm happy to pay a reasonable price for this. And what's your sweet spot for paying for a song?
Posted by Dennis O'Reilly | Wednesday, February 15, 2006 9:01 PM PT
Microsoft will close the book on its
FrontPage Web-design program with the release of Office 2007, formerly known as Office 12, late this year.
Microsoft acquired FrontPage in the mid-1990s, and it soon outdistanced Adobe's PageMill and other popular low-cost what-you-see-is-what-you-get Web-creation tools.
FrontPage does serve as the foundation for two different Web-design programs: SharePoint Designer 2007, which is intended for organizations using the SharePoint server-based Web-development platform; and Expression Web Designer, which appears to be outside of the Office application family (it isn't included in any of the Office 2007 bundles, nor is it listed as a standalone Office app the way Project and Visio have been and will continue to be in the new release).
Two New Apps
Two other new apps debut with Office 2007: The Microsoft Groove 2007 collaboration program (formerly
Groove Virtual Office); and
Office Communicator Web Access, which enterprises use to secure instant messaging.
In fact, most of the new and enhanced features in Office 2007 appear to be designed for corporate IT departments. But then, the same was true of Office 2003, and Office XP, and Office 2000.
Apart from a little mixing and matching of the various Office 2007 versions (Student and Teacher loses Outlook but gains
OneNote, for example), few people outside of the IT department will notice many changes. That is, until they open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or one of their other much-used apps and see the new "ribbon" panel that replaces most toolbars and menus.
But those surprises await the release of the first public Office 2007 beta, which is still a couple of months away.
Posted by Alan Stafford | Tuesday, February 14, 2006 5:00 PM PT
A new
patch released today updates Pinnacle Systems' Studio Plus video-editing application to version 10.5. The most important thing about the update, to me, is Pinnacle's claim that the update makes the application more stable and reliable. That's because I
rapped Studio?s instability pretty hard in my recent review of it.
The patch promises faster boot times and faster performance, and Pinnacle says with it applied, Studio Plus will take up 35 percent less RAM. You can see a long list of improvements
here. However, the Pinnacle rep I spoke to said the crash-reporting tool that irked me mightily in the previous version is still there. He said it might go about its information gathering a little more quickly, but that?s it.
It?s not all just bug fixes, though--10.5 adds MPEG-4 output presets to make it easier to export video for a Sony PlayStation Portable or an Apple video iPod. You could export MPEG-4s with the previous version, of course, but the presets make the job easier--for example, by making the exported files conform to Sony?s wacko file-naming conventions.
Do you have any experiences with Studio Plus you'd care to share?
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Tuesday, February 14, 2006 10:30 AM PT
I spoke briefly this morning with Dave Russell, Apple's senior director of portables and wireless product marketing, about the MacBook Pro laptop with Intel Core Duo processor. The
MacBook Pro starts shipping this week and next with slightly faster processors than Apple previously announced.
"We could do it, so we did," says Russell, noting that processor speed increased but price didn't.
The $2499 model will ship this week with a 2.0-GHz processor rather than a 1.83-GHz processor. A built-to-order option accommodates up to a 2.16-GHz processor. The $1999 model will ship next week with a 1.83-GHz processor rather than the 1.67-GHz processor.
Apple's 12-inch and 17-inch pro laptops right now are still PowerBooks with the PowerPC G4 processor, and in fact, Apple's site still shows that you can get a 15-inch PowerPC-based PowerBook for $1999. (Not sure how long that 15-incher will last.) In any case, the 15-inch MacBook Pro differs from PowerBooks in a few ways.
Continue reading "Apple Bumps Up Processor Speed on the MacBook Pro"
Posted by Anne B. McDonald | Tuesday, February 14, 2006 9:17 AM PT
Our colleague at IDG News Service, Jeremy Kirk, reports that Microsoft has posted a second beta version of
Windows Defender, its free spyware-removal tool.
The program is in a name-change transition: Windows Defender initially was called Windows AntiSpyware. The new version may be
downloaded here.
Jeremy tells us that Microsoft says the new version has been redesigned with a simpler interface. Other features include a warning system that rates the severity of threats so the program is less intrusive for the user.
The program's scanning engine has also been tweaked to detect and remove more spyware, and the program receives automatic updates, the company said.
The Real-Time Protection feature now better monitors "key points" in the OS for changes, Microsoft said. Windows Defender Beta 2 will continue to run regardless of whether the user has administrative privileges, a change that ensures it continues to monitor the computer.
Beta 2 supports the Windows XP Professional x64 edition. German and Japanese versions will be available soon, according to the company.
Do you use Microsoft Defender? Are you happy with it?
Posted by Andrew Brandt | Monday, February 13, 2006 11:03 AM PT
Webroot, the software company that makes the SpySweeper anti-spyware tool, released its latest
State of Spyware report (free download) last week. The quarterly reports the company issues summarize the steady technological advancement of spyware makers and their progeny. The report is a wrapup of the worst stuff that happened in spyware in 2005. As you could probably guess, 2005 was the worst year for spyware--and the best year for cybercriminals--ever.
But one small detail in the summary really caught my attention. Apparently, some novel forms of spyware are so good at hiding themselves, that if your PC is infected with these particularly nasty beasties, you can no longer trust anything the PC tells you.
These new forms of spyware install themselves at the driver level, which give them a unique ability to "hide data, files, or actions." The report goes on to say that it's hard to remove spyware that installs itself at the so-called "Ring-0" level, because "no data that Windows returns can be considered reliable."
Great. So, suddenly my laptop is like Neo in the first
Matrix movie: Puttering along happily in Windows-land, blissfully unaware that beneath the surface lies a truer 'reality' that is much darker than the world it 'sees.'
I'll take the
Red Pill, please.
This brave new world of spyware has its "Agent Smiths" as well, because another increasingly common technique for spyware applications is to attack the anti-spyware forces arrayed against them. This evolution seems to parallel a trend that became common in many malicious viruses about five years ago, where one of the first acts of the virus on a newly-infected host was to look for and disable any of a long list of antivirus programs.
Especially pernicious are keystroke loggers, which capture your passwords as you type them and send them to criminals elsewhere. "Keyloggers are becoming more aggressive and are no longer content to evade [Windows]. Anti-spyware as well as other detection programs are now common targets," the report says.
The report also named the ten worst offenders in the world of adware and spyware. Notably, two of these notorious top ten purport to be anti-spyware tools themselves; Webroot's report labels these apps as "rogue anti-spyware": SpywareStrike and PSGuard both can install themselves on your PC without your consent; PSGuard also redirects your Web searches through its own search engine, and changes your home page, in some instances. Other notable rogue anti-spyware apps listed in the report include SpyAxe, SpySheriff, and WorldAntiSpy. The report also recounts
the FTC's recent actions to stop two US companies that were involved in distributing rogue anti-spyware.
(We detailed
some examples of rogue anti-spyware apps more than a year ago. Our advice for folks shopping for an anti-spyware solution is to stick to
the reputable products made by companies who have established their credentials through independent testing.)
The report also said that large corporations risk not only a PR nightmare, but also could violate one or more federal regulations if even a single PC on their network gets some sort of spyware infestation, and as a result companies are scrambling to contain infections quickly. Despite that, corporations reported a 9 percent increase in the detections of keystroke loggers on business PCs from October, 2005 to the end of the year. Enterprises are also falling victim to more sophisticated, targeted attacks, such as spear phishing and Trojan horse programs custom-built to attack a particular company's network.
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Thursday, February 09, 2006 11:59 AM PT
As you may know, the lucky soul who downloads
the billionth song on the iTunes Music Store wins a 20-inch iMac, 10 60GB iPods, and a $10,000 iTunes Music Card. (I wonder if that billionth song can be the Free Download Single of the Week.). This person also gets the warm, fuzzy feeling of knowing that Apple will award a music scholarship in his or her name. Consolation prizes: Apple will award a black 4GB iPod Nano and a $100 iTunes Music Card to people who download every 100,000th song starting right after the 950,099,999th song.
So what's your strategy for winning, folks? That song counter is ticking fast.
In other news: Yes, we heard the rumors of a February 22 Apple Event. No, we don't know anything about it. No, Apple isn't talking. No, we didn't get an invitation. (Did you?)
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Tuesday, February 07, 2006 12:20 PM PT
Microsoft today announced a timeline for the roll out of
Windows OneCare, its subscription PC protection plan with security, backup, and utility tools.
Commercial availability is scheduled for June 2006, and the annual subscription price will be $49.95.
Go here if you want to take a look at or download a free beta test of Window OneCare Live. The offer is good until April 30 but only for U.S. residents.
And the $49.95 annual subscription fee will cover as many as three Windows XP PCs, Brian Hall, group program manager with Microsoft, told our colleagues at IDG News Service. "It means that 98 percent of homes in the U.S. will be able to buy one subscription and be able to cover all of their PCs," Hall said.
The next major beta will be available at the end of February and will include Windows Defender, which was previously called Microsoft Windows
AntiSpyware. (We reviewed a version of Windows AntiSpyware in our "
Best Defenders" story.) This is the last major security component to be incorporated into Windows OneCare.
Windows Defender won't be fully integrated into the OneCare console in the February beta or in the June
commercial launch. Expect that to follow.
Microsoft will stop adding new people to the beta program at the end of April. The incentive to sign up before then is that beta customers get the first year of Windows OneCare for $19.95.
Symantec also just announced a similar subscription service,
codenamed Genesis, for launch by September of this year. Right now, Symantec gets a leg up on most other security vendors since its 90-day software trials are bundled onto desktops sold at major retailers. One can speculate that Microsoft will have similarly aggressive marketing plans, so it will be interesting to see which consumers go with which service.
Got a comment on Microsoft Windows OneCare?
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Tuesday, February 07, 2006 8:12 AM PT
Wow, my green iPod Mini just took another step towards becoming a calcified fossil. This morning, Apple announced a
new 1GB iPod Nano and dropped the prices on the iPod Shuffles.
The 1GB iPod Nano costs $149. It's the new entry-level model beneath the 2GB iPod Nano ($199) and the 4GB iPod Nano ($249).
Apple also dropped the prices on the iPod Shuffle. The 512MB iPod Shuffle costs only $69 and the 1GB iPod Shuffle costs $99. If every grade-schooler didn't have white ear buds before, they will now.
Now that more people will be listening to more iPods in more places, isn't it time for Apple to suspend the one-computer-to-one-iPod rule? By now, a critical mass of people have music and podcasts downloaded on multiple Macs and PCs and can't "officially" get all of them onto one iPod. I know, just get another one, but that's not the point.
Got anything to share on the iPod?
Posted by Edward N. Albro | Monday, February 06, 2006 12:55 PM PT
I always liked the theory of desktop search utilities -- just plug in a keyword or two and the software finds a file
wherever it resides on your hard drive. In practice, though, I find I seldom use them. Most searches seem to return
dozens of results and in the time it takes to sift through them, I could have just found the file in my folders.
Recently, though, I found a piece of shareware called
RecentX that has saved me lots of time digging through folder
heirarchies.
The $20 program provides a much expanded and improved version of My Recent Documents in the Windows Start menu. You
can set how many weeks of recent activity you want to see, search through the results and filter for certain types
of files. The program also has tabs for recent folders you've opened, applications you've used and web sites you've
visited. I find that 90 percent of the time, the file I need is one I've worked with fairly recently so limiting my
search results in that way makes it much easier to find what I'm looking for.
You can download the program for a free 30-day trial
here.
Posted by Erik Larkin | Monday, February 06, 2006 10:24 AM PT
Maybe it points to a too-orderly nature, but I don't like Firefox's habit of opening small new windows for downloads, extensions and the like. So when the Download Manager Tweak add-on stopped working with the latest Firefox upgrade I went searching for another that would at least put the download manager back in a sidebar.
I found the nifty
All-In-On Sidebar add-on, which puts all those extras into (yep, you guessed it) an easily controlled sidebar. The description says it's inspired by Opera's sidebar, and I'm lovin' it so far. So of course I'm sharing my happy discovery.
Are you an inveterate Firefox tinkerer like me? What are your must-have addons?
Posted by Anne B. McDonald | Friday, February 03, 2006 12:52 PM PT
Our compatriot Cathy Lu
told you about Motorola's new Slvr phone earlier this week in our
Digital World blog, but I thought you might enjoy some other photos of this sexy darling.
First, it really is a sliver. Here's a photo from the side:
And it's eating into Motorola's Rokr territory by being iTunes-enabled.
We weren't totally thrilled by the Rokr's music muscle--hope the Slvr has a better showing in our testing (it has the same 100-song limitation, however). Here's the Slvr with the iTunes interface showing:
The Slvr also has some other nice features: Bluetooth, up to 512 megabytes of expandable memory, and an integrated VGA camera with a 4x zoom and video capture and playback. Here's a photo of the back of the phone showing the camera lens.
If you must have one
RIGHT NOW, the Slvr is available from
Cingular Wireless.
Posted by Tom Mainelli | Friday, February 03, 2006 9:43 AM PT
Graphics cards with nVidia's speedy GeForce 7 series chips dominate PC World's frequently updated Power Graphics Card chart, but since their launch these GPUs have been strictly PCI-Express products. That changed this week when nVidia and its partners launched an AGP-based 7-series card called the 7800 GS.
The 7800 GS chip has a 375-MHz core clock, 16 pixel pipes, and six vertex shaders. Cards based on the chip will have varying memory speeds, but nVidia expects most of its partners to offer products with a memory speed of 600 MHz. The cards should appear for sale by Monday with a sticker price of about $300.
PC World hasn't tested the new card (our graphics test bed is PCI Express only), but the folks over at AnandTech have posted a good review.
My take: If you're determined to hold on to your aging AGP-based PC even longer--and you want to squeeze every last bit of performance you can from it--then a 7800 GS card is probably a decent investment.
Posted by Erik Larkin | Thursday, February 02, 2006 10:09 AM PT
This nasty worm, also called Nyxem.E or Blackworm, is set to bite today (and the 3rd of every month thereafter) and wipe out a number of different file types on infected computers, including .doc, .zip, and .xls files. It spreads by enticing people to open a supposedly risque email attachment, like Kama Sutra pics.
If you've been keeping your antivirus software updated--and you're not in the habit of clicking on suspicious email attachments--you're probably ok. If you don't have AV, or you want to be extra careful, Symantec has a removal tool offered as a
free download.
And F-Secure has a graphic of the world that shows
where infected PCs are likely residing--the U.S. doesn't look too good!
For some more info, here are three stories on this worm:
File-Trashing Virus Set to Strike
Microsoft Warns of File-Trashing Worm
Nyxem Worm Programmed to Erase Files
and here's a
Sophos entry with tech details.
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Thursday, February 02, 2006 9:45 AM PT
In Web time, this response is inexcusably late, but I wanted to hit you back with some notes from our review of the Intel-based iMac Core Duo, especially since I
asked you for questions. In addition to our own hands-on testing, we included Macworld's lab testing. For a more complete rundown of Macworld's testing,
click here. PC World's story will run in the April 2006 issue.
Universal apps run fast. Macworld's testing as well as my own confirms that you'll see speed improvements with Universal apps, which run natively on both the Intel and PowerPC processors. Right now, these are primarily Apple iLife apps, although the list is growing.
VersionTracker's Universal Application Resource Center is a good place to go to get news on new Universal apps. Apple also has a
list.
PowerPC apps take a performance hit. That's because they run through Apple's Rosetta translation software. Macworld found that Adobe Photoshop CS 2 and Microsoft Word ran more than twice as slow on the 2-GHz iMac Core Duo as on the 2.1-GHz iMac G5.
No news from Microsoft: Virtual PC 7 doesn't run on the Intel-based Mac and there's no news on when that might change. Microsoft Office 2004 does run on the Intel Mac under Rosetta. Macworld noticed some speed degradation, although it was just fine for my basic word processing needs. Amanda Lefebvre, marketing manager for the Mac BU, says via email that the move to universal binaries would likely impact Microsoft's schedule for the next version of Office.
Second-monitor support: The hubbub surrounding the software overshadowed this new feature. You can purchase $19 dongles that plug VGA and DVI monitors into the iMac and let you not only mirror the desktop on a second monitor but also extend the desktop across a second monitor (that's the new part).
Posted by Narasu Rebbapragada | Wednesday, February 01, 2006 3:19 PM PT
I am perpetually in search of bags and backpacks that carry my laptop, paper files, lunch, and gym clothes--all without sending me screaming to the chiropractor. Timbuktu's $70
Hayes Day Pack fits the bill. It has a smaller frame that's designed for women, though I imagine the Hayes wouldn't object to being worn by a similarly-built man.
The Hayes has two main compartments. The sturdy zipped area fits up to a 14-inch laptop, although the Web site says it fits a 15-inch Apple PowerBook as well. The outer-most pocket fits most everything else such as clothes, books, water bottles, sneakers, etc. It has little compartments for a cell phone, mp3 player, pens, and cables. I never use these kinds of pockets, but you might.
I wasn't wild on the color (mocha brown and baby blue), but there are some other options such as the one shown here. The only thing it wouldn't hold is my yoga mat, but that was kind of asking a lot anyway.
Got a laptop bag you swear by? Let us know.
Seems to me like the Palm is about the right size. And the best thing about it: it doesn't use any flavor of Windows OS!
the problem with tabletpc was ,its always compared to a laptop. while being very different in usage.
With a price tag under $800, it maybe just what i need for years.
Problem with pocketpc , or palm is , they arent real comps. most usefull software wont work on them.
Pocket pc is way too small, and software support is bad. It's really not a "PC", more of an organizer/mp3 player.