Screenshot of Twitterific Application on my iPhone: This
is a screenshot of the new Twitterific Application installed
on my iPhone after I performed the 2.0 Firmware Update.
[ Screenshot: Dave Aiello on Flickr ]

I found a way to access the iPhone 2.0 Firmware in advance of the official release through iTunes. I decided to give the upgrade a try and liveblog it on Twitter. You can see the transcript of this on twitter.com/daiello.

I had complete success with the installation. I was able to install Epocrates Rx, Twitterific, and Evernote. The preceding links are to screenshots of each application on my Flickr account.

The most interesting feature addition I've found in the iPhone 2.0 firmware is in the Calendar. Calendar now shows which iCal calendar each event comes from. Here's a screenshot I posted to my Flickr account that illustrates this feature.

I would provide details on how to perform the 2.0 Firmware update yourself, but Apple has asked other websites to take down the information that they previously provided about where to get the firmware image. I have no interest in repeating information that Apple is actively trying to quash.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's been a lot of discussion on Mac-related websites about whether the iPhone 3G should support tethering to a laptop or desktop computer. For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, Wikipedia defines tethering as follows:

Tethering in cellular wireless is the connection of a non-mobile device (e.g. desktop computer, notebook computer, laptop computer), to a mobile device (e.g. cell phone) PDA like Palm Treo, Motorola Q, BlackBerry or Air Card for the purpose of wireless Internet access by the non-mobile "tethered" device.

Several phones already on sale on the AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint networks already support tethering. The unlimited data plan rates charged by the carriers for devices that support tethering are significantly higher than the proposed data plan rate for the iPhone 3G. As a result, some people who are planning to buy an iPhone 3G say that they will pay a higher data plan rate if they are allowed to tether their new iPhone to a laptop.

I don't think iPhone 3G owners would be happy with the performance of their iPhones if tethering were allowed. The reason is that tethering would consume a great deal more of the iPhone's power than most people realize.

I've made several trips from Trenton, NJ to New York Penn Station on the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor rail line over the past month. Each time I arrive in Manhattan, I am surprised that the battery level on my iPhone is low. The reason is that there are dead spots on the AT&T network that overlap the Northeast Corridor right of way, and the iPhone boosts its signal to stay connected when in those areas.

Continue reading "Why Tethering an iPhone 3G to a Laptop Doesn't Make Sense" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

I've seen a several tweets and articles today stating that Apple is advocating a Javascript-based Model View Controller framework for web development called SproutCore. Reports indicate that Apple based the MobileMe web application announced at WWDC on SproutCore and provided details on the framework in sessions at the Apple World Wide Developer Conference last week in San Francisco.

AppleInsider has a very good article called Apple's open secret: SproutCore is Cocoa for the Web that goes into some details about why Apple is so interested in SproutCore and why Apple may be switching some of the animation and special effects on its website to SproutCore from other frameworks like Prototype and Scriptaculous.

That article lead me to SproutCore - Feature Rich Javascript Framework, which says that SproutCore is a JavaScript implementation of the Cocoa framework commonly used in MacOS X application development.

This article in turn pointed to Cocoa for Windows + Flash Killer = SproutCore from RoughlyDrafted Magazine which explains why Apple would prefer to use HTML, Javascript, and CSS rather than Flash to implement rich internet applications on the web.

It's pretty clear from this article that Apple not only wants to avoid becoming dependent upon Flash or Silverlight so that it can control its own destiny, but that it wants to use a Javascript framework like SproutCore to build web applications that usurp some of the power of the Windows platform by making Windows less and less necessary. Check out some of the comments to this article if you want to really get into why Apple is making the strategic architecture bets that it is on the future of MacOS X.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Before I hit the hay on Friday night, I want to point out Jonathan Greene's blog article Nokia N78 - Feature Pack 2 and plenty to love. This is a great first look at the newest N-Series phone and includes a nearly 20 minute long video of him putting the N78 through its paces.

He has a lot deeper knowledge of the Nokia N-Series handset line than I do. I can tell this because he talks in depth about the new features in the N78 that stem from Symbian S60 Feature Pack 2. He explains that the software is more user-friendly than that which has been included on phones like the N95. He's right.

He also points out correctly that the N95 is intended for a technology-savvy person, while the N78 is aimed at someone who wants many of the same features but with fewer controls and complex options.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm late to the game of predicting when the next update of the MacBook Pro will be released, unless you count the fact that I waited until Steve Jobs made his Keynote presentation at MacWorld Expo in January instead of placing an order as an outright prediction.

I think the next update of the MacBook Pro will take place on the Tuesday after the Mac-related news and rumors sites stop predicting that the update will take place.

Having said that, I hope that the update is announced sometime between tomorrow and the end of February.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• The Complete Guide to iPhone Car Integration on iLounge.com: A great article that covers nearly every accessory for using your iPhone in the car without violating the laws requiring hands-free use of mobile phones in many parts of the USA. [ via TUAW ]
• MacBook Air review round-up on TUAW: "Ah, it is that magical time after an Apple announcement: the big media reviews are starting to roll in. As you might be aware Apple loans out new hardware to technology journalists to put through their paces.... The first few reviews are up, and they all pretty much say the same thing: the MacBook Air is really thin, and a great machine so long as you don't need the ports it doesn't have." Read the reviews anyway, if you haven't already.
• Junction Networks Well Positioned In Philly Burbs from VoIP Watch: Andy Abramson pointed out this cool little VoIP company called Junction Networks right up the road from me that I had never heard of. They provide SIP Hosting, Hosted PBX, and PSTN Gateway services. The Hosted PBX stuff is the easiest thing for me to get my head around. But who knew that these guys were out here (other than Andy)?

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

• Apple Releases a New "Get a Mac" Ad Co-starring a Football Referee on Apple.com: Pretty good attention to detail. The referee is wearing a white hat and a uniform that is very close to that worn in many college football leagues. What I would add to this is the referee turning on his microphone and speaking over the public address system. [ Seen on TV over the weekend. ]

• Andrea Jung Joins Apple Board of Directors on MacRumors.com: "Apple has announced that Andrea Jung has been elected to Apple's board. Andrea also serves as Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, board member of General Electric, and member of the New York Presbyterian Hospital board of trustees and the Catalyst board of directors."

  Why the CEO of Avon and why now? Speculation is that her board seat at GE will make her helpful in brokering an agreement with NBC Universal to bring them back into the iTunes fold.



• Break a Soda Habit with Better Water on Lifehacker: "Have a serious soda habit? Part of the lure of the stuff is the convenience and fizzy texture, not just the sugar content you can get from lots of other places. How-to blog TipNut details one writer's cheap, simple fix—giving water more appeal." My habit is Caffeine Free Diet Coke, so I don't have the caffeine or the sugar but I still have the soda fix. I just drink way too much of it.


• Chalet Doll House on BabyGadget.com: "...this Chalet Doll House from Plan Toys is like a breath of fresh air with its openness and lack of minuscule plastic parts. With movable staircases and skylights, this doll house comes completely furnished - sans family...." Nice looking, substantial, and modern.


• Philips Blu-ray Player BDP7200 on Ubergizmo: "The BDP7200 is Philips’ first Full Profile 1 compliant BD player that features Dolby® TrueHD and DTS® HD High Resolution Audio, multi-channel audio decoding and digital audio optical outputs. The BDP7200 supports 1080p at native 24 frames per second...." On display at CES.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Apple went ahead and announced an upgraded Mac Pro and an upgraded Xserve this morning. These announcements occurred one day after Intel announed 16 new processors based on 45nm silicon fabrication at CES.

I'm a bit confused by the timing of these announcements. It makes sense to release these new machines to the world as soon as possible since both the Mac Pro and the Xserve haven't been significantly upgraded in more than a year. But, why do this in advance of Macworld Expo? Is Steve Jobs going to have so much to demonstrate that these announcements couldn't be worked into his keynote?

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An article called What This Gadget Can Do Is Up to You really caught my eye today when it appeared on The New York Times website. This article describes the Neuros OSD Media Center, a sleek looking video recorder that looks like it could have quite a few immediate applications. What makes it most unique is the fact that its software is built on a number Open Source applications and the MPEG4 video standard. The article begins as follows:

“HACKERS, welcome! Here are detailed circuit diagrams of our products — modify them as you wish.”

That’s not an announcement you’ll find on the Web sites of most consumer electronics manufacturers, who tend to keep information on the innards of their machines as private as possible.

The Neuros OSD reminds me in some respects of the Nokia N800 and N810 Internet Tablets. These are all devices built on Open Source foundations that take a defiantly different approach to meeting customer needs in their space.

I've started talking about hacking the N800 here on Operation Gadget, and honestly hacking is the big attraction of these devices. I'd probably prefer Apple devices for day-to-day use, but I'd learn more from owning and trying to use a Nokia Internet Tablet and the Neuros video recorder.

Just like my friend Lionel is considering using a Nokia N800 as an alternative e-book reader to an Amazon Kindle, I think some people will be looking hard at a Neuros OSD Media Center as an alternative to an AppleTV.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

PVRblog pointed out that Steve Garfield is blogging about the Comcast deployment of TiVo software on their existing Motorola DVR set-top boxes. I found an article on Steve's site that includes a Ustream video tour of the Comcast / TiVo user interface. Overall, the experience looks similar to the TiVo Series I and Series II experiences that I've had in the past, although Steve is complaining in the video about speed and navigation issues.

I'm sure that there are more good articles on Steve's blog (offonatangent.blogspot.com) that talk about other aspects of the Comcast / TiVo experience. I haven't had time to read them yet.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A couple of friends of mine asked me to what I thought of the Amazon Kindle at lunch before Thanksgiving. I said that I was aware of it, that reviews and comments from blogs that I read had been more negative than positive, but I would keep my eye out for interesting articles and blog postings. Here are a few of the things I've found:

• Kindle can light up your life by Andy Ihnatko in The Chicago Sun Times: Andy points out that the secret sauce of the Kindle is that EVDO access via Sprint is free and the Kindle has a serviceable web browser. As such he thinks it's worth the $400 cost without regard for its usability as an e-book reader.
• Amazon Kindle: the Web makes Amazon go bad crazy by Cory Doctorow on Boing Boing: Cory Doctorow hates Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. Keep that in mind when you read his comments: "Mark Pilgrim has a great, incisive post about the Amazon Kindle e-reader that sums up almost all of the reasons I won't be buying it -- it spies on you, it has DRM (which means that it has to be designed to prevent you from modding it, lest you mod it to remove the DRM), it prevents you from selling or lending your books, and the terms of service are nearly as abusive as the Amazon Unbox terms (and worse than the thoroughly dumb-ass Amazon MP3 terms)...."

These comments are pretty much polar opposites of each other, with every other review falling somewhere in between.

My friends also suggested that I discuss another e-book reader called the Iliad from iRex Technologies. More on that product later.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Weekend Edition of The Wall Street Journal contained an interesting review of the Garmin Forerunner 305 and the MotionLingo Adeo. The author, Mark Schoofs took these fitness gadgets with him on trips to Kenya and Spain to help assess his level of exertion while running on widely varying terrain and conditions. This is a perfect way to use a fitness monitoring gadget.

I've owned a Garmin Forerunner 201 since 2004. This is a sturdy, well-designed unit that I think is made to be mounted to the handlebars of a bicycle. (See Dave's Cycling Dashboard.) Of the two gadgets that Schoofs reviewed, I would have expected that he'd prefer the Forerunner, which turned out to be the case.

The MotionLingo Adeo is a truly off-beat device. You wear it around your waist, and it plugs into your iPod so it can announce over your headphones how far and fast you've run. Think of it as a GPS device that plays a similar role to the Nike + iPod Sport Kit. Comparing the Adeo to the Forerunner, Schoofs said, "... {The} Garmin seems simpler {than the Adeo}. Adeo's belt clip wasn't always secure, and the device occasionally bounced out and fell. With the Garmin, I can see my pace whenever I want, not only when the preprogrammed voice decides to chime in. And I'm free from the earphone wire."

I've had a couple of devices like the MotionLingo Adeo, and I applaud MotionLingo for producing a ground-breaking product. But I'm not sure to whom I'd recommend the Adeo at this point. But the Garmin Forerunner 305 is a worthy training companion to the runner, cyclist, or multisport athlete.

I prefer a non-GPS device as my primary fitness monitor, but that's because so much of my exercise activity is inside of ice arenas where GPS is useless. If you are more of a year-round outdoor exerciser than I am, I'd strongly recommend the Forerunner 305

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Nokia Blogger Relations Program sent me a Nokia N81 8GB mobile phone on Thursday. This is a sharp-looking, piano black mobile phone with a screen that's about two-thirds the size of the iPhone. It's got a slide that exposes a standard Nokia 12-button keypad.

I'll try to publish a photo when I can find one or when I have time to take a reasonable photo myself.

The new features that I've found on the N81 8GB so far are the Multimedia Menu which provides a new navigation method to access multimedia content on the device, and support for N-Gage gaming including some special keys that are designed to make the gaming experience better.

The N81 8GB looks like a device centered around music, video playback, and gaming. It's less full featured in terms of still and video capture than the N95 and N93 that I've discussed previously. The camera on the N81 8GB has good dedicated controls, but "only" a 2-megapixel image sensor and no apparent zoom during video capture.

More on the multimedia capabilities of this phone in coming days.

I am so far in front of the U.S. launch of the N81 8GB that the N-Gage gaming site intended to support it hasn't launched yet. The site says it will launch in December, so I hope it will be ready within a couple of weeks.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While I was reading O'Reilly Radar, I noticed the article by Artur Bergman that discusses some of the developments at the iPhoneDevCamp over last weekend. The most interesting part of that article for me was the discussion of Safari's handling of calls to Google Maps:

Most offensive is, however, Apple's claim to integrate with Google Maps, which means Safari intercepts requests to "http://maps.google.com/" and sends them to the Google Maps application. No other high-end phone manufacturer even comes close to this level of arrogance.

I hadn't thought about the Google Maps Widget integration in that way before, so I decided to test the iPhone's behavior while trying to use my Google Maps Mashup RinkAtlas.com. RinkAtlas demonstrates the exact behavior on the iPhone that Artur is talking about. When you get to the point of generating directions to a hockey rink in RinkAtlas, we make a call to Google Maps and pass the two encoded endpoints. The iPhone redirects this request to the Google Maps Widget running locally.

I'm pleased to note that the Google Maps Widget handles all of the parameters passed correctly, including the ones where I spoof URI options to get around API calls that didn't exist when I wrote that part of RinkAtlas. I'll eventually (hopefully) get around to extending RinkAtlas to include the directions live on our site using the new Google Maps Directions API, but Artur's analysis is absolutely correct.

I'm not as upset as Artur is about Safari redirecting calls to the Google Maps website, but I can see how this wouldn't be ideal if the Google Map Widget ever fell behind in terms of its API support. I also know that Google talked extensively about how the ability to call specific versions of the Google Maps API was a feature that developers on the cutting edge should use. I think this approach has been undermined by Apple's interception of calls to the Google Maps Website.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Let's face a few of facts:

1. A lot of media outlets are going to publish articles designed to provoke FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) in the hearts of iPhone fans.
2. This is going to continue and grow in intensity up to and beyond June 29.
3. The motives for publishing this type of article are not all evil.

A great example of an article that spreads FUD but isn't entirely evil is the article called Companies Hang Up on Apple's iPhone published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal. This article claims that Apple is working to integrate the the iPhone into corporate email systems because IT management says that the iPhone isn't compatible with corporate email systems.

The truth of the matter is a bit different.

The Journal article pretty much says that the corporate email systems they are talking about are based on Microsoft Exchange. Exchange has the ability to support both IMAP and POP3 protocols, but support for these protocols was turned off by default in Windows 2003. Since a lot of people in corporate IT departments know little about non-Microsoft-centric infrastructures, many of them probably concluded that IMAP and POP3 are inherent security risks.

I sincerely doubt that Apple will make any attempt to integrate the iPhone by adding support for Good, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or any other middleware that's been blessed by the CIOs of major companies. This is because the iPhone is aimed at individuals, not corporate users. Making the iPhone acceptable to many corporate IT groups would require too much variation in terms of the hardware configuration and the software feature set.

John Gruber from Daring Fireball wrote a great piece that makes many of these same points. His coverage on that website of the reaction to this Wall Street Journal article is well worth reading.

When you read articles like this one that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, consider the writer's perspective. The writers of this article are general business reporters that sometimes cover the technology industry. This article wasn't written by someone at the WSJ like Walter Mossberg who has a complete picture of technology products and how to use them productively. General business writers don't write about how to solve problems, they point out potential problems.

There are still a lot of questions about the iPhone's real world capabilities. The ability to seemlessly integrate with Microsoft Exchange isn't one of them. If all the other usability and performance issues that may limit the iPhone's usefulness turn out to be non-issues, working around the limitations of Exchange will be well documented because thousands of iPhone owners will develop workarounds for every conceivable Exchange configuration. [ Paid subscription required to read most articles in The Wall Street Journal. ]

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

AkihabaraNews.com reports that several Chinese companies showed iPhone cases and other accessories at the Spring edition of the Hong Kong Electronics and Computer Fair. The show just ended on Tuesday in Hong Kong.

Too bad we couldn't all be there, because Hong Kong is a great city [ via Amazon.com Daily Blog ].

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you live in an upper middle class or an even more exclusive area, you probably have neighbors who have a Toyota Prius or other types of hybrid automobiles. Most people know that these vehicles can run entirely on battery power under certain conditions, and in that situation, are extremely quiet.

An article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal entitled Blind Pedestrians Say Quiet Hybrids Pose Safety Threat got me thinking about my own safety when riding my road bike in this area. How am I supposed to know that a hybrid isn't overtaking me on a two-lane road if it's running on battery?

According to the article in The Wall Street Journal, the noise level of a Toyota Prius when accelerating under electric power is 53 decibels, while a conversation at home is about 50, and an operating vacuum cleaner is 70. If there's a cross or a head wind while I'm riding, it often limits my ability to hear vehicles behind me anyway. Think of the difficulty of hearing a hybrid approaching from behind you in those conditions.

Since people without subscriptions to the Journal will have difficulty reading this story, I'll quote the real-life scenario that begins the article, so you can see the real threat that is posed to blind people:

... Michael Osborn, a blind marketing consultant from Laguna Beach, Calif., and his guide dog, Hastings, were in the middle of an intersection one morning last April when the yellow Lab stopped short. Mr. Osborn took the cue and halted -- just in time to feel the breeze from a car passing right in front of them.

"Half an inch and it would have hit us ... it wasn't making any noise," says Mr. Osborn, 50, who has been blind for 12 years. Witnesses say the car was a Toyota Prius, a hybrid vehicle....

My conclusion after reading this article and thinking about the implications for cyclists, runners and in-line skaters wearing their iPods, and for children playing near residential streets, is that the auto manufacturing and insurance industries and public safety agencies need to study the points made by the advocacy organizations representing blind people. I think they are on to something that will be a bigger concern to the general public in the future.

If you are a cyclist, are you concerned about hybrid vehicles passing you when you are riding alone? How are you protecting yourself? Does this concern affect group rides as well? [ Subscription usually required to read articles in The Wall Street Journal ]

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (1)

Step2Play is a game controller for the Sony PlayStation
that requires a young gamer to exercise while playing.
[ Photo: Oceana Trading ]

The BBC reported over the weekend that a British company called Oceana Trading has released a line of video game accessories that can be used to require exercise from kids who want to play video games. The Step2Play is an accessory for the Sony PlayStation that replaces a standard game controlller with a combination stepper and game controller.

The Step2Play is designed for people who weigh less than 150 pounds (68 kg), so it's clearly aimed at the kid segment of the gaming market. It appears to be sturdily designed. The unit itself weighs 19.5 pounds (8.9 kg).

I did a quick search around the Internet today to see if I could locate a retailer who is selling the Step2Play in America. So far I haven't found one. The company (that uses the tradename GymKids for this product line) appears to be marketing Step2Play and other exercise-oriented video game controllers direct to customers in the UK via the Internet. I'm not certain whether they will ship these products to the USA or not.

I've seen comments around the Internet about the Step2Play to the effect that products like it are a regrettable reflection on the sedentary nature of our society. I think video game accessories that require a level of physical activity are a fine idea, particularly if kids are not participating in organized athletics or spending a lot of time outdoors.

On the other hand, if you are a parent and haven't found an athletic activity that your child likes, you should keep looking and trying new things. Don't use gadgets like the Step2Play as a crutch.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Martin O'Donnell pointed out an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer stating that Microsoft's Zune player won't play content bought through services compatible with the Windows Media "PlaysForSure" initiative. That means Napster, Yahoo! Music Unlimited, MTV Urge, and RealNetworks Rhapsody, among others.

Martin called this a "shafting" for Microsoft's PlaysForSure partners, and I have to agree with him. Bryan Lee of Microsoft reportedly said that Zune would maintain a "peaceful co-existence" with the PlaysForSure partners. For sure, dude.

Is there any wonder why Dell got out of the music player business when it did?

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nike and Apple team up to create
a running computer that consists of
a pair of shoes, a motion sensor, and
an iPod nano.
[ Photo: Apple Computer, Inc. ]

On my son's birthday, Nike and Apple announced a collaboration that will initially allow a pair of Nike running shoes to talk wirelessly to an iPod nano. Over the long run they hope to expand the product line to include more products that bring fitness and entertainment together.

I would have loved to be there for this announcement because it was held in New York and because Lance Armstrong and elite marathoner Paula Radcliffe participated. I wondered how long it would take for Lance Armstrong's involvement in the New York Marathon to result in a marketing opportunity for one of his long-time sponsors. I guess this is the first.

What's cool about the Nike+iPod Sport Kit is that it will only cost $29. Nike and Apple both have other high margin products to sell you if you like the idea of using your iPod as a running computer.

Converting the nano into a running computer is a radical departure from the approach that Polar and Adidas are taking to equipment integration, and a lot of pretty serious runners could be swayed by it.

Technorati Tags: iPod nano, Nike iPod, running computer, fitness gadgets, Lance Armstrong.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

My wife Kathleen spent yesterday afternoon at our friend Jen Colangelo's house watching The Chronicles of Narnia on Jen's big, new plasma television. When she got home, Kathleen said the movie (which was played on a progressive-scan DVD player) looked "amazing" compared to movies on our old, analog, 480i TV.

All a progressive-scan DVD player does is transmit images in 480p, the so-called EDTV format, instead of 480i. This is a huge advance in picture quality, which becomes more obvious as the size of the monitor increases. That's why DVDs look so good on HDTV sets.

A new generation of DVD players with higher resolution than 480p is on its way. There are actually two competing standards: HD DVD and Blu-Ray. Both will offer the ability to project images to an HDTV at 720p or 1080i depending on the format that the producers chose for the movie. The questions for many home theater fans is, at what point do I upgrade to a more advanced DVD player, and which format should I choose?

Martin O'Donnell pointed out a syndicated article from The Los Angeles Times by David Colker where he reviewed the first HD DVD players from Toshiba and came away less impressed than he expected. Colker said, "unless you already have a high-definition television at least 40 inches in size, you won't notice much of a difference."

His recommendation to people who have not yet bought the HDTV set of their dreams is to invest the $500 that a first-generation HD DVD unit would cost in a bigger HDTV monitor. "In the time it takes to save up another $500, the price of HD disc players will probably drop and a pending format war may well be decided."

The article includes some surprising revelations:

• HDTV sets without HDMI component interfaces may not be able to display HD DVD movies at anything above 480i resolution.
• Smaller HDTV sets with HDMI don't benefit from HD DVD as much as you'd expect because the difference in resolution is a lot less obvious on small monitors.

The article barely mentions the fact that HD DVD and Blu-Ray movies are virtually impossible to get at the moment. Thankfully, HD DVD and Blu-Ray players are backward-compatible with standard DVDs, so if you did decide to spring for the new technology, you could replace the standard DVD player in the component stack.

Technorati Tags: home theater, HD DVD, Blu-Ray, HDTV, EDTV.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I always had difficulty identifying stars in the night sky when I went star-gazing as a kid, so I was intrigued when I heard about the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium-- a handheld device that lets you identify 6,000 stars, planets, and constellations as they appear overhead. It has the ability to display text and play audio descriptions, including the history, mythology, and other fun facts for the most popular objects in the sky.

The SkyScout works in several different ways:

• Aim it at a celestial body, and the SkyScout will identify it.
• Choose a body by name from the SkyScout's built-in-database, and blinking arrows in the viewfinder will guide you to the location.
• Run the "Tonight's Highlights" program for a customized list of the 20 best objects to view in the sky from your exact location on this time and date.
• Insert an SD card preprogrammed with a tour of the night sky.

Updates to the database can be loaded via USB connection to a computer.

The SkyScout should be available about May 29, 2006, but can be pre-ordered before then from Amazon.com. For more information, check out the manufacturer's website at http://www.celestron.com/skyscout/.

Technorati Tags: SkyScout, gadgets, telescopes, GPS gadgets.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft will delay the general release of Windows Vista until January 2007. According to the article, "Mr. Allchin {co-president of Microsoft's Platforms & Services Division} said that the major reason for this delay -- which amounts to several weeks beyond the original expected launch date -- is to give Microsoft more time to improve the "quality" of the Windows Vista. Specifically, he said Microsoft needs a few more weeks to test the security and other quality aspects of the product."

The announcement was made in a conference call with analysts late this afternoon.

I've never been to iterested in Vista because I think desktop operating systems other than Mac OS X are commodities. I have to admit that now I'm really intrigued. Who knows what will happen to the market for new Windows PCs now that consumers won't be able to get Vista for at least 10 months? [ Registration required to view most articles in The Wall Street Journal. ]

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A page one article in today's Wall Street Journal discusses the technological threats that are developing to the television industry's business model. One example given in the article is that Major League Baseball's MLB.tv video streaming service collected $265 million from 1.3 million subscribers last year, but still blocked subscribers from watching coverage of their own local teams over the Internet. The reason they did this is because any decrease in the likely audience for a game broadcast over a local cable or over-the-air channel reduces the amount that these affiliates are willing to pay for transmission rights.

The article goes on to point out that The Slingbox (a device that allows you to stream content from your television to your PC and other devices via the Internet) and the Video iPod are considered important new threats to the television industry's business model because of the ability they give owners to place-shift their viewing. Place-shifting is potentially a bigger threat to the television industry than time-shifting because place-shifting seems to reduce the viewer's reliance on a local television station. So, if you choose to buy episodes of Lost from the iTunes Music Store, the local ABC affiliate in your city would probably say that you've decreased the value of that episode to them and their local advertisers.

A lot of people think of themselves as the broadcaster's customer when they watch a television program, but this isn't the case. Access to viewers is a service that broadcasters deliver to their advertising customers.

A year and a half ago, Operation Gadget reported on the battle between the National Football League and TiVo over TiVo-to-Go. Back then, TiVo-to-Go was considered a potential piracy threat because the service was designed to allow up to 10 "affiliated devices" to receive stored content from the TiVo DVR. The thought was that the affiliated devices might not all be owned by people in the same family.

That debate took place before Apple shipped iPods with the ability to play back good-quality video. Now that the TV industry is sensitized to the notion of place-shifting, the loss of program value to the local affiliate would probably considered a bigger issue. [ Subscription required to read many articles in The Wall Street Journal. ]

Technorati Tags: Slingbox, MLB.tv, Lost, Video iPod, iTunes Music Store, TiVo

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Garmin is about to release the Garmin Forerunner 305, one of it's third-generation GPS-enabled fitness computers. The 305 differs from the Garmin Forerunner 205 in that the 305 includes heart rate monitor functions.

I haven't recommended the Forerunner 300 series in the past because I thought the Forerunner 301 (the predecessor to the 305) was less functional than fitness computers like the Polar S625x which can be used as a running or cycling computer with the proper accessories. The Polar S625x doesn't have GPS capabilities, but it does have a footpod for running speed and distance, and can use speed, cadence, and power sensors attached to a bicycle.

The major new feature of the Forerunner 305 is, in my opinion, the ability to interface with the Garmin GSC 10 wireless cycling speed and cadence sensor. This brings the Forerunner 305 into the same league as many of the Polar S-Series Heart Rate Monitors. Now the Forerunner 305 is a viable alternative to these Polar computers, if you do not already own a heart rate monitor.

Improvements in the 305 in comparison to the Forerunner 301 are the same as those discussed in the Forerunner 205 preview article on Operation Gadget:

• More compact, watch-like design,
• More sensitive GPS receiver,
• USB interface,
• Customizable screens.

The big issue with the 305 in my opinion is the current price. Is it worth a list price of $376 (which is already discounted somewhat by Amazon.com and others)? I can't be sure until I use one. I want to use it the way I use my Polar S625x, and log my workouts into Garmin's Training Center Software. Until I see how it stacks up against my favorite fitness gadget, the jury is still out.

Technorati Tags: Garmin Forerunner 305, Garmin Forerunner 301, Polar S625x, gadgets, fitness gadgets, heart rate monitors, GPS

[ via Machine Culture ]

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Garmin is about to release the Garmin Forerunner 205, part of the third generation of its GPS-enabled fitness computers. I've owned a Garmin Forerunner 201 for a long time and I love it. It's part of my cycling dashboard and I used it to map the course of the 2004 Tour of Hope DC Fundraising Ride, so I'm definitely going to recommend that you check it out.

The key features of the Forerunner 205 that are huge improvements over the 201 are:

• More compact, watch-like design,
• More sensitive GPS receiver,
• USB interface,
• Customizable screens.

I prefer the Forerunner 200-series (GPS-enabled fitness gadgets without heart rate monitor capabilities) because I also swear by my Polar S625x Heart Rate Monitor. As I said in the article Why Training Log Software is One of The Most Important Features of a Fitness Gadget, Polar Precision Performance software is just outstanding. Polar Electro keeps upgrading it and adding features. The Garmin software called Training Center has also improved a lot, but has not yet passed Precision Performance in my opinion. That's why the Polar S625x and the Garmin Forerunner 201 often ride together on my handle bars.

Technorati Tags: Garmin Forerunner 205, Garmin Forerunner 201, Polar S625x, gadgets, fitness gadgets, heart rate monitors, GPS

[ via Machine Culture ]

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

Janus Sandsgaard of Machine Culture pointed out that Adidas and Polar have released another video touting the forthcoming Fusion line of performance apparel and fitness gadgets. They include:

• Adidas adiStar Fusion Apparel which provides built-in fasteners for a Polar WearLink Transmitter.
• Adidas adiStar Fusion Running Shoe which accepts a Polar S3 Stride Sensor into its Torsion Midfoot structure.
• Polar RS800 Running Computer which looks like a hybrid of the Polar S625x and one of their adventure sports models, like the Polar AXN 500. The RS800 looks like the slimmest Polar running computer to date.

These produces have been under development for a long time. Polar and Adidas published press releases introducing the Fusion line in August 2005. I don't know when we will see these products in the USA, but I hope that they will start appearing during the 2006 running season.

Technorati Tags: Project Fusion, Polar, Adidas, gadgets, fitness gadgets, heart rate monitors

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)