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Pogoplug Adds Media Streaming and Active Copy Folder Backups

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:04:06 +0000

Big news for current and prospective Pogoplug users. The company today is announcing that the device will support music, photo, and video streaming to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (I’m waiting to hear back if it’s designed to work with any DLNA/UPnP enabled device – see response below). In addition, the Pogoplug can now be [...]

Add Your Favorite Web Apps to Windows Media Center

Alexander Grundner — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:34:22 +0000

Attached here is a how-to video showing how one can easily add their favorite web apps to Windows Media Center (Vista / 7) using Prism by Mozilla Labs and Media Center Studio (hat tip to halcion1). Note that for a better user experience you may want to track down web app interfaces that have been [...]

Watch Windows 7 Media Center Recordings Remotely with Remote Potato

Alexander Grundner — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:16:12 +0000

Remote Potato is a nifty little PC server app that allows you to browse your Windows 7 Media Center electronic program guide (EPG), manage recordings, and stream video from your home PC for playback via a web browser. Below is a demo of Remote Potato showing off its latest Silverlight powered interface that’s capable of [...]

JooJoo Sports a New UI Just Before Launch

Alexander Grundner — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:54:05 +0000

Love it. The underdog, Fusion Garage, is showing off a slick, new UI days before the JooJoo tablet launch exclusively to Engadget (ETA: March 25th). You can say the UI has been overhauled and refined from what everyone got a glimpse of a few months back on the development tablet. Gone are the ugly multi-colored [...]

Google Testing TV / Web Search on DISH Network Set-top Boxes

Alexander Grundner — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:52:16 +0000

No definitive word if Google is developing an Android-based satellite set-top box with DISH Network, but the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has been testing software with a small group of employees since last year that allows them to search DISH Network’s TV programming, get related web content to their queries, and create [...]

HP Introduces the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo WHS Add-In

Alexander Grundner — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:28:52 +0000

Own a TiVo? You may want to add a Windows Home Server from HP to the mix. HP has just introduced a new new add-in called HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo that allows TiVo owners to transfer shows to/from the HP MediaSmart Server, manage recordings, and watch stored recordings from any networked Mac or Windows PC [...]

Sony’s PlayStation Network Becomes the First Entertainment System to Offer HD Movies from All Major Studios

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:54:16 +0000

For those who don’t own a PlayStation 3, PSP, or PSP go yet, Sony has just announced some news that may make you want to jump onboard. According to Sony’s press release today, PlayStation Network (PSN) has become the first entertainment system to offer HD movies for rent or purchase from all the major Hollywood [...]

Freescale’s Sub-$200 Tablets to Be Compatible with Linux, Chromium OS, Android

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:12:02 +0000

Attached here is a video from Mobile World Congress 2010 with Freescale’s product manager of software development explaining that Freescale’s sub-$200 ARM (i.MX51 Cortex-A8) tablets will be compatible with just about any Linux distribution that supports ARM processors like Ubuntu, Chromium OS, and Android. And not only that… Freescale’s tablets are able to play Flash [...]

High Praise for the ‘Air Video’ iPhone / iPod touch Video Streaming App

Alexander Grundner — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:20:29 +0000

Joel Johnson over at Gizmodo has posted a glowing review of Air Video, a $3 iPhone and iPod touch compatible app that can stream videos from a server PC over a local area network via Wi-Fi or remotely over 3G. Besides the incredible price, Joel was impressed by how easy Air Video’s Mac OS X [...]

HP Slate Strikes Back

Alexander Grundner — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:33:39 +0000

Last night you may have caught Apple’s first iPad commerical during the Oscars — it wasn’t bad. But did you know HP posted their Slate commercial a couple days earlier on YouTube? Yeah, I didn’t either. I’m not even sure if it’s been broadcasted on TV yet. In any case, attached below is HP’s Slate TV commercial [...]

New Microsoft Courier Details Emerge

Alexander Grundner — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:46:11 +0000

A “trusted” Microsoft insider has informed Engadget that Microsoft’s upcoming Courier “Digital Journal” will make use of NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 graphics platform, be less than an inch thick, weigh just over a pound, will include a camera (location not specified), and will be no larger than a 5×7 photo when the book-like form factor is closed. Interestingly [...]

ZOTAC Intros the ZBOX HD-ID11 Intel Atom D510 / NVIDIA ION 2 Powered Mini-PC

Alexander Grundner — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:42:03 +0000

ZOTAC, best known for their HD capable mini-ITX motherboards, has added a new mini barebones HTPC to their relatively unknown mini-PC lineup. The ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID11 (MSRP $209.99) features the power combo of NVIDIA’s next-generation ION GPU (aka ION 2 / GeForce 9400) and Intel’s 1.6Ghz dual-core D510 Atom CPU on top of an Intel [...]

DSP Group’s Android DECT / Wi-Fi Home Phone Reference Design Has Me Drooling

Alexander Grundner — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:29:25 +0000

A couple years ago I set out to look for a wireless VoIP handset that I could use around the home. Unfortunately, I came up short on products that I would actually buy — most were simple Skype powered phones or SIP enabled phones with horrible UIs. The best bet, even today, has been to [...]

ASUS O!Play HD2 Set to Launch with USB 3.0

Alexander Grundner — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:30:30 +0000

It was just last month ASUS introduced the O!Play Air HDP-R3 media streamer. Now, ASUS is teasing CeBIT 2010 goers with the news they’re going to follow up that device with the O!Play HD2, a media streamer that will feature USB 3.0 (aka SuperSpeed USB) and “provides access to a wealth of cloud infotainment.” In [...]

TiVo Unveils TiVo Premiere (Keeps Fingers Crossed Customers Pay Attention)

Alexander Grundner — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:04:47 +0000

It’s been a while since anyone has heard a peep from TiVo. Well, now we know what they’ve been working on. Their new flagship product is called TiVo Premiere and it’s being positioned as “the one box to rule them all.” Ah, yeah… right. While the new TiVo Premiere (320GB – $299.99) and TiVo Premiere [...]

Get Ready for the ION 2 Generation of Nettops, Netbooks, and All-in-One PCs

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:30:15 +0000

NVIDIA, in conjunction with channel partners, are showing off some of their upcoming nettops, netbooks, and all-in-ones at CeBIT 2010. According to NVIDIA’s press release (attached below), next-generation ION (GeForce 9400) powered devices will make use of a new power saving technology called “Optimus“, which automagically routes high intensitity graphic application needs to the ION [...]

NETGEAR Intros the High-Performance HD Home Theater Kit and Universal Wi-Fi Internet Adapter

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:15:26 +0000

Looking for solutions to add 802.11n connectivity to your network enabled A/V devices like set-top boxes, HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and game consoles? Well, NETGEAR has just introduced two new products that have similar functionality, but specialize in what they provide. For starters, the High-Performance Wireless-N HD Home Theater Kit (WNHDB3004) is a plug-n-play solution (one [...]

ARCHOS Home Tablet Anyone?

Alexander Grundner — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:04:34 +0000

Archos has unveiled a unique offering [PDF] today that might very well get a lot of people’s attention. For a $179 you’ll soon be able to pick up the company’s new 7-inch widescreen mobile or 8-inch 4:3 table-top Android Home Tablet. You can think of the ARCHOS 7 Home Tablet as a budget version of [...]

Shuttle to Introduce the 1.3-inch Thick, ION 2, Barebone XS35 Mini-PC at CeBIT 2010

Alexander Grundner — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:17:38 +0000

It’s time to put that credit card back in your wallet, if you’re thinking about buying an HD capable nettop to function as your living room’s HTPC. Shuttle has just announced that they will be debuting the Shuttle Barebone XS35 Mini-PC, featuring Intel’s Atom D510 1.6Ghz dual core processor and NVIDIA GT218 (ION 2) graphics, [...]

Skype-Enabled TV Ecosystem Keeps On Growing

Alexander Grundner — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:19:38 +0000

It was just last month at CES when Skype announced its partnerships with LG Electronics and Panasonic to deliever Skype-enabled TVs to the market. Today Samsung is announcing that all Samsung LED 7000 and 8000 series HDTVs will be Skype-enabled as well. While TVs may be “Skype-enabled”, all current models require the purchase of a [...]

Boxee Beta Now Available for Apple TV via ATV USB Creator

Alexander Grundner — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:30:30 +0000

Quick update for Apple TV owners who heart Boxee. You can now update your Boxee Alpha release to the latest Boxee Beta via ATV’s Installer/Launcher, according to Boxee Blog today. However, if you’ve never installed Boxee using ATV USB Creator, download atvusb-creator from the project page and then follow these instructions to get Boxee up and [...]

Don’t Call It an iPad App!

Alexander Grundner — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:35:45 +0000

Originally I was going to write up a post on Crestron’s Home Automation iPad App (supposedly one of the first for the device, according to CE Pro), but then I noticed from the rendering that it’s just the iPhone / iPod touch version scaled up by Apple’s iPad — though I could be wrong (no [...]

MSI 24-inch, 3D Capable, All-in-One Wind Top PC to Debut at CeBIT 2010

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:53:47 +0000

Looks like MSI has just raised the all-in-one PC bar, nudging Apple’s iMac and HP’s TouchSmart 600 PC aside. According to the company’s press release (attached below), MSI will showcase its latest Wind Top creation, the 22-inch AE2280 and the 24-inch AE2420, at CeBIT 2010. No word on availability just yet, but the preview specs will [...]

MSI / Cideko Air Keyboard – Your Next Must-Have HTPC Gadget, Seriously!

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:35:32 +0000

I can’t understand why this wireless HTPC keyboard hasn’t received more attention! Originally introduced by Cideko late last year, a new, co-branded version of the Cideko Air Keyboard will be sold by MSI this Spring, according to Cideko’s news announcement (pics of the MSI branded product available here). However, you buy the original Cideko Air Keyboard [...]

Redux Lands on Boxee

Alexander Grundner — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:48:01 +0000

Today Boxee is announcing the availability of a new internet content app powered by Redux, an online community where users promote the best photos, videos, and links found online and associate them to user-created niche channels. Some of the popular channels on Redux include: 110% Awesomeness, Best Music Videos Ever, Art, WTF?, Fail Moments, Top [...]