Entries for March 2008

Verizon Wireless today introduced an awkwardly named new phone that looks promising: the "enV(2)." It's a clamshell model by LG with a full QWERTY keyboard inside and large screen inside, with a second screen on the outside. Verizon calls it the successor to the first-generation enV that was introduced last year.

But wait. Something's familiar here. I thought I wrote about the enV's successor when I did a piece on the Voyager. The Voyager was similar if a bit slimmer than the original enV, though it replaced the frontside keypad with an iPhone-like touch-screen.

Ah, there sits the difference. The officially dubbed enV successor, the enV(2) keeps and enlarges the frontside keypad instead of turning it into a touch-screen. So now Verizon offers a choice between keypad with the enV(2) and touch-screen with the Voyager (don't call me an enV!).

Women are outracing men in adopting some technology, especially gadgets and services that offer scheduling convenience, according to a recent survey.

More women, for example, are streaming shows from TV network sites—15 percent, compared with 11 percent of men. Women also use their digital video recorders, like TiVo, more often than men, about 9.3 times a week vs. 8.3 times. DVR-owning women with kids watch 56 percent of their TV after it has been recorded, versus 42 percent for men.

Men still dominate many tech categories, including video downloading and console gaming. But about as many women as men are playing PC games, as well as networking socially and shopping online. And women over the age 40 who are "empty nesters" outshop men, with 64 percent of them making online buys versus 58 percent of men.

The survey came from about 2,000 interviews with online women conducted by analysts for Solutions Research Group, which tracks consumer attitudes on entertainment, media, technology, and leisure.

Recycling old electronics is the right thing to do. Getting bucks for them is better. Too bad craigslist or eBay seem too much hassle for a three-year-old laptop.

So I was intrigued to hear about services from Circuit City, and now Best Buy, that offer to buy back my old gear. Not cash, mind you, but they'll send gift cards for their respective stores. Without much fanfare, the two chains started working with an outfit called Dealtree. Sure enough, the trade-in price offered by both chains was the same. Look for the "trade in" listing at the bottom of their home pages.

Many of us have noticed that the microwave oven can interfere with our wireless home networks. It happens to me on the weekend, when I'm casually surfing the Web or uploading photos while sitting in the kitchen with a laptop. I'll stick in some microwave popcorn and—poof!—no Internet connection.

So now Donna, my sister-in-law, reports that she runs into interference with her powerline network that sends Internet data across her in-wall wiring. It happens when she uses a countertop popcorn popper.

Experts will say it has to do with radio frequencies—the appliances are sending signals into the air or across the wiring at wavelengths that interfere with the data.

I think it's the popcorn.

Adobe went live today with its free photo-editing and storage site called Photoshop Express. The site looks promising, with the biggest range of editing options I've seen for any online service.

You can do the basics, like get rid of red eye, crop, and rotate. Or you can dive in to adjust white balance and hue and try to "pop color," which switches one color's hue with another. Not sure when I'd ever use it, but it was fun to play with.

All of the tools also offer a quick snapshot of six different levels of applying the adjustment. That makes it easier to decide how aggressively you want to apply a change—say, saturating or dimming colors.

The site offers 2 GB of free storage, and it partners with other sites such as Facebook and Photobucket to edit photos stored there.

Photoshop Express seemed to operate more slowly today than I would have hoped. But it is technically a beta test, and first-day demand was probably high. We'll have to check back in a week or two.

First, Verizon said it would embrace file-sharing networks rather than fight them. Now Comcast, the nation's biggest cable company, is joining the love fest.

Like Verizon, Comcast says that cooperating with BitTorrent and other file-sharing services could ease congestion on the Internet. Some Internet providers have complained that video hogs using the file-sharing networks could clog the Internet.

That Verizon joined hands with file sharing probably forced Comcast to do the same. The two companies compete for broadband customers in many markets.

Comcast also felt pressure from the government. The top Internet regulator recently rapped Comcast's knuckles for throttling BitTorrent downloads and has threatened new rules to govern how Internet providers can manage their networks.

Oh, please, no, Comcast said in its release today: "Both BitTorrent and Comcast expressed the view that these technical issues can be worked out through private business discussions without the need for government intervention."

Tired of waiting for Rupert Murdoch to make all of the Wall Street Journal's content free? Wait no more, says Farhad Manjoo at Salon.

You can get most of the Journal's stories, even many of those hidden behind its subscriber wall. Just look for links to the pay-for articles from other sites, such as Digg and Google News. That is, get the headline of a Journal story and do a search on Google News or Digg. Then click on through.

I've tried it. It often works and doesn't seem to raise ethical issues. The Journal obviously welcomes traffic that comes from those other sites. But Google News and Digg don't pick up every Journal article. Manjoo also has an answer for that: Download a piece of software that tricks the Journal site into thinking you're coming from Google News or Digg.

It's a bit deceitful, Manjoo concedes. But he says it's no worse than handing a cashier an expired coupon. Manjoo says it's no transgression to dance around the Journal's "useless and flimsy" curtain. I'm not so sure.

Verizon is making nice with the peer-to-peer networks. That might seem a surprising turn for the telephone company, whose Internet pipes are getting jammed with video downloads, many across file-sharing networks. But Verizon has its motives.

Other broadband companies, notably cable operator Comcast, have throttled file-sharing networks. The peer-to-peer programs like BitTorrent allow users to share music and—more important to Internet providers—huge video files across the Internet. Comcast and other providers fear the video hogs, both legal and illegal, will clog the Net.

From one perspective, Verizon's approach is at least a case of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The company teamed with researchers to find more efficient ways for the P2P networks to operate. That would reduce the demands on Verizon's network.

But wait—there's more. Seems Verizon itself might want to use P2P networks to distribute its video. Verizon is now selling a package of cablelike channels in many markets through its FiOS network.

Verizon knows that a few companies, notably Vudu, are already using P2P networks to stream beautiful video over the Internet—and more efficiently than Verizon or the cable networks.

I love the irony: The bad boys of file sharing just may save Verizon, and the Internet.

Concerns are mounting that many TV watchers won't be ready for the switch to digital broadcasts in February 2009. But a number of people have asked what happens to customers who get their analog signals through cable.

They shouldn't worry. The government is requiring that cable systems make sure their analog customers can continue to watch local broadcast stations, at least through 2012.

Many cable systems want to convert all their channels to digital. The efficiency of digital signals, which require less bandwidth, means the cable companies can add more channels on the same wires. That means more room for pay-for premium channels, HDTV, and overall better service.

But the Federal Communications Commission says that if a cable system converts to digital, it must provide analog customers with a converter box. Those converters would be similar to the boxes that digital cable customers now use on their analog sets. They're also similar to digital tuners that broadcast customers will need for their old analog sets.

Some private estimates say 40 million U.S. households still get at least some of their TV through antennas hooked up to analog sets. The government says just about as many get analog signals from cable companies.

That's a lot of homes still using analog signals. But at least half of them shouldn't need to do anything, for now.

I'm a fan of Canon's digital cameras. We now own our second digital ELPH, which is Canon's line of subcompact cameras. So I watch with interest as Canon introduces new models, including three this week.

I'm relieved. I feel no compelling urge to upgrade.

Basically, they look like more of the same. The SD890-IS ($400) adds a 5x zoom, which is a good bit of engineering in a subcompact. More zoom is better than the 3x in our camera, which has been the standard fare. And all three models take 10-megapixel pics, which is a nice step up from the 7 megapixels in our model.

The SD890 and SD790-IS ($350) share a new dial, and the SD770-IS ($300) is slimmer but with a better battery. Oh, and the SD790 also gets new buttons.

That's about it. They have none of the new "smart camera" features that automate photo taking and are the rage among competitors, such as Nikon and Casio. Canon says it has improved antiblur tech (primarily the "image stabilization" that accounts for the "IS" in model names) and face detection.

Judging from my reaction, the Casio execs are on to something when they say cameras need added smarts to woo upgraders. Is Canon resting on its laurels?

Or maybe the company is concentrating on quality and usability, which don't get enough attention. And I'm just another featuritis-infected consumer lusting after bells and whistles.

The rock band Nine Inch Nails has made a splash with its new album, a 36-track compilation called "Ghosts I-IV." The songs are not only selling, but it's the way they're selling.

In going it alone without a big label, band leader Trent Reznor has made the most of Music 2.0, says Bruce Houghton at his blog, hypebot.

"Reznor's entire marketing campaign for this self-release, which means he keeps the lion's share of all profits, consisted of an announcement on the band's website and seeding the free edition across P2P and torrent sites."

Then he stoked sales by offering "Ghosts" in many flavors and prices, and at many outlets. NIN newbies can get free tracks, casual fans can buy $5 downloads, and fanatics can wallow in $300 Limited Edition Ultra-Deluxe Editions (oops, too late—already sold out).

Reznor and others are finally pushing the record industry beyond a one-size-fits-all mentality, much as Henry Ford finally gave up on the all-black Model Ts.

"All this seems quite revolutionary," Houghton writes, "until you consider that Reznor is just following a marketing mantra that other consumer-sales-driven industries have understood for decades: GIVE THE CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY WANT."

Hulu has arrived. Starting today, the video-streaming site offers a selection of free Hollywood entertainment, starting with about 250 TV episodes and 100 movies. Good choices, too, including The Big Lebowski and 30 Rock.

You pay by watching ads that won't fast-forward. The commercials are tolerable. They're shorter and less frequent than on network television. And the site is easy to navigate with video that starts streaming almost immediately.

But the quality is disappointing. Even on a PC monitor, the images appear soft and a bit jerky, for want of a better word. They don't stutter so much as appear to be regularly dropping frames, apparently a product of compression to get them to stream. They look even worse on a big-screen TV.

Hulu is a joint venture of News Corp., which owns Fox, and NBC Universal. Other studios have signed up with their movies and shows. Videos can be viewed at the site and other portals, such as AOL and MSN. Anything, I imagine, to get more eyes for the ads.

I guess I'm spoiled by other download options like Vudu, which offers much better video and sound. But you can't beat the price, and I suspect Hulu will be part of our regular viewing.

Speaking of ad-supported content, a U.K. music site got a breakthrough the other day in a deal with Sony BMG. We7, cofounded by Peter Gabriel, will stream Sony's music with a short ad at the start. The site digitalmusicnews.com reports that the pact is a rare endorsement by a major record studio of "seems-like-free, ad-supported content."

The deal is only for U.K. users. But we can hope that U.S. studios take note.

Others agree that Hollywood and its partners may have squabbled too long: Blu-ray's victory in the format war may be too late to salvage the sale of DVDs. Consumers spent less on the disks in 2007 than the year before, the first drop in DVD revenues since they became a household staple. And this year is unlikely to be any better, reports Pali Research.

Sales of Blu-ray disks will triple, say analysts Richard Greenfield and Mark Smaldon in a new report. But that won't make up for the steady decline in other disk sales. Overall, the analysts predict that studio disk sales will drop nearly 5 percent this year, after a fall of nearly 2 percent last year.

The future is unlikely to get much brighter, the Pali analysts say. They fret that pirates will steal more video as bandwidth increases across cable and telco networks. Oh, and then there are the legal alternatives: "We are seeing an ongoing evolution in digital distribution (both paid download and advertising-supported models), which cannot be positive long term for the physical formats such as the DVD."

I liked Windows Home Server when I got to try it for a few weeks and have a copy ready to install for everyday use. But I've hesitated because the software has a disturbing flaw: It eats data.

Not a good thing for a program that's pitched as a home backup system. So the questions are: How much and how often? Will I be affected?

Microsoft isn't overly assuring in recent comments, including that "we believe that most people are unlikely to be affected."