Jan
16
2007
|
Written by Kacey Green
|
|
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 |
ArsTechnica reports: 1/16
My family used to subscribe to Netflix, if I were a Netflix subscriber I'd probably use this feature to watch movies as my PC handles all of my multimedia (its a PVR.) If they had this service when my family was subscribing we probably would have used it to preview movies to watch in our living room. Its an interesting concept and I'm curious as to how Netflix plans to get the content to the living room in the future.
Netflix subscribers will soon get access to movies delivered over the Internet, finally allowing the company to live up to its name. For those with the bandwidth, this is a nice (and free) extra, but users with slow connections will want to stick with DVDs.
The new service streams movies to Windows PCs instead of downloading them first. This has the dual benefit of 1) appeasing content owners who worry that full downloads of their movies might be cracked and 2) providing instant gratification to customers in need of a cinematic fix. Netflix claims that, with the aid of a one-time browser applet download, customers can begin watching films within 15 seconds of clicking the "play" button.
Streaming high-quality video with little buffering requires a fast connection. Netflix says that its new technology throttles the streaming speed based on available bandwidth. Users will need a minimum of 1Mbps to watch films, but these will be far below DVD quality. 3Mbps connections are required to watch movies in their native resolution (no support is currently planned for high-definition content). With the increasing ubiquity of broadband, this should pose no problem for most power users, but plenty of 768Kbps DSL connections (and slower) still dot the landscape.
Kacey Green
www.GRLT.com
"Tech with a twist of lime!"
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 January 2007 )
|
Jan
16
2007
|
Written by Kacey Green
|
|
Tuesday, 16 January 2007 |
|
Jennifer Strange a 28 year old woman died after participating in a contest for radio station KDND 107.9 "Hold Your Wee for a Wii."
Well, it looks like a woman died in a radio contest trying to win a Nintendo Wii. The contest, called "Hold you wee for a Nintendo Wii," had contestants drink large amounts of water without being able to use the bathroom. Early reports suggest that the woman died of water intoxication. The contest was part of the Kidd Chris show, which seems to have just won the prize for Dumbest Radio Contest Ever. (The previous record holder was Opie & Anthony's "Sex for Sam 3," or "Son of Sam 3" as some people mistakingly call it.)
Would you put your life at risk for about $250? Feel free to leave a comment.
Kacey Green
www.GRLT.com/
"Tech with a twist of lime!"
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 January 2007 )
|
Jan
11
2007
|
Written by Kacey Green
|
|
Thursday, 11 January 2007 |
BetaNews reports: 1/11
I think it would be very useful if more cities would roll-out free WiFi coverage, hopefully none of the cities put ridiculous caps on their services. It would be even more useful the services cost less per month than the $22 Earthlink is asking for in Philadelphia.
After being selected to power Philadelphia's metropolitan Wi-Fi network some 15 months ago, EarthLink on Thursday made the first steps towards offering service by announcing it would allow for free access in the 15-square mile proof of concept area through January 21.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 12 January 2007 )
|
|
Jan
08
2007
|
Written by Kacey Green
|
|
Monday, 08 January 2007 |
|
 Robert McLaws over at the windows-now blog has unveiled a Windows Vista Cable Card compatible tuner. The devices are currently undergoing certification.
Robert McLaws blogs : 1/6
Last year at CES, Microsoft announced that with Vista Media Center, home users would be able to record high-definition television. Through OpenCable Receivers (OCURs) sold through system OEMs, you’d be able to plug a CableCARD into a box attached to your computer and record pristine digital cable, even in HD. AnandTech had a great article on them, even posting some pictures of an early prototype.
Well, I’ve been able to experience this system first-hand over the last six months, and this is one of the many Vista-related technologies that I’m really excited about. The OCUR name is gone, in favor of “Digital Cable Tuners”, or DCTs. The reason for the change was to bring the terminology in line with the existing analog products on the market for the last decade.
A couple weeks ago, Microsoft finally sent me two production units to play with. The hardware is final, and the firmware is undergoing certification as we speak. Microsoft has agreed to let me start talking about them, which I intend to do a LOT of. So, I meticulously documented the unboxing experience, and have posted a ton of pictures in the “Media Center” gallery (a couple of which are below).
I'm hoping I'll be able to put one of these in my home media server
shortly! There is some controversy over whether or not these will be
able to be installed by small OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)
or end-users.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 January 2007 )
|
|
Jan
07
2007
|
Written by Brandon M. Langston
|
|
Sunday, 07 January 2007 |
Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) announced the world’s first half-height HD DVD writer, providing high-definition video editing and content creation capabilities on desktop systems and media centers using this next-generation DVD technology. Like Toshiba’s slim-line HD DVD writer launched in 2006, the new SD-H903A provides read and write support for legacy formats, enabling users to enjoy existing CD and DVD material along with high-definition DVD content.
|
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 January 2007 )
|
|
Jan
04
2007
|
Written by Brandon M. Langston
|
|
Thursday, 04 January 2007 |
PC Magazine reports : 1/4
Could the HD-DVD vs Blue-Ray wars end with a whimper instead of bang? It sounds like a distinct possibility now that Korean-based electronics manufacturer LG announced that it will unveil the world's first dual-format high definition disc player next week at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. That's right, Blu-ray and HD-DVD living in perfect harmony.
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 15 January 2007 )
|
|
Jan
04
2007
|
Written by Brandon M. Langston
|
|
Thursday, 04 January 2007 |
|
The Washington Research Foundation is suing two of the world's
largest makers of mobile handsets for using Bluetooth technology, which
WRF [World Research Foundation] claims infringes its patents.
Computer Business Review Online reports : 1/4
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 January 2007 )
|
|
Jan
03
2007
|
Written by Brandon M. Langston
|
|
Wednesday, 03 January 2007 |
|
Betty
joined EarthLink in 1996 and oversaw the company's growth from a
regional ISP with 500,000 subscribers to a national service provider
with more than 5 million. He took a medical leave of absence in
November. Atlanta-based EarthLink released no other information on his
death.
"Garry was instrumental in building EarthLink into the company it is
today," company Chairman Robert M. Kavner said in a statement.
EarthLink said Mike Lunsford will remain interim CEO.
Prior to joining EarthLink, Betty served as CEO of Digital
Communications Associates Inc. — and was at the time the youngest CEO
of a company listed on the
New York Stock Exchange.
Betty, a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, began his
career at IBM Corp., and won the IBM President's Excellence Award in
1982 for his work on the original IBM PC.
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 January 2007 )
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next > End >>
|
| Results 17 - 24 of 44 |
Content Categories 
Gizmodo 
