Dave's Download
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Flip UltraHD is a Bigger and Better Videocam
Continue reading… 0 CommentsEven in handheld gadgets, sometimes bigger is better. The new Flip UltraHD is bulkier than its recent kin, but the tradeoff is better batteries and a bigger screen, and worth it.
The UltraHD is one of two new models from Pure Digital, the company that created a new class of popular videocameras with their small size, inexpensive price and simple software. The $200 UltraHD is joined by a second-generation Flip Ultra that doesn't shoot in high-def and costs $50 less.
I'll admit I was taken aback when I unboxed the UltraHD. The camcorder seems a departure for the Flips, which had gotten slimmer and sleeker with recent Mino models. The newest pair keep the larger size of the Ultra line. They're roughly the same size as the original Flip model of several years ago -- though the original's design looked almost industrial compared to the more polished Ultras.
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Google Book Deal Can Survive the Scrutiny
Continue reading… 1 CommentGoogle has risen to defend its deal with authors and publishers that would allow Google to scan books and make them available over the Web, amid reports the U.S. Justice Department is looking into antitrust concerns raised about the pact. Google Book Search's Adam Smith explained on the company's blog how the deal will benefit readers:
Since the vast majority of these books are out of print, to actually read them you have to hunt them down at a library or a used bookstore. And if you can't find them -- because the only known copy is at a library on the other side of the country--you're unfortunately out of luck.
The settlement won't just expand access to out-of-print books, either. Because authors and publishers will have the ability to let users preview and purchase their in-print books through Google Book Search, readers will have even more options for accessing in-print books than they have today.
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Seagate Replica Makes for Easy PC Backup
Continue reading… 2 CommentsJust a click of the mouse is all it takes to back up a PC to the Seagate Replica, a new external model from the hard drive maker. Seagate thus joins a number of other companies in trying to radically simplify back ups. They're trying to stir us from our dangerous lethargy of computing without a safety net.
Just plug the Replica into the USB port on a PC and it automatically loads its own software. The ever-cautious Seagate requires you to click once on a license agreement, and then the software quietly does its thing in the background. It backs up the PC's main hard drive, and updates the backup as files change.
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Google Logo Honors Morse Code
Continue reading… 11 CommentsGoogle is honoring Samuel F. B. Morse today by turning its logo into the dots and dashes of the inventor's code. The 1840s code is pretty much a lost art, limited largely to amateur radio operators, pilots and sailors, and a few hobbyists. If you've the desire, there are plenty of Web sites willing to help you learn.
At 10 or 15 words a minute, the speed of tapping out every letter can't keep up with most modern communications. Not that code masters didn't have a few tricks to hasten the pace. They used "r" for "are" and "u" for "you" long before today's teens thought they were so original with their codified texting.
In fact, maybe we should abandon texting in favor of Sam's code. A an old telegraph operator easily beat a kid using SMS messaging a few years back.
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Kids Night Vision Goggles Get Smaller and Cheaper
Continue reading… 2 CommentsOne of the toys I liked best for last year's holidays is getting an update this summer. Bringing infrared tech to the kids, the new EyeClops Night Vision Goggles now work with both eyes and don't look as clunky.
These things actually work. The image last year was a little blurry with a narrow field of vision. But a kid wearing them could maneuver in a pitch black room.
Toy maker Jakks Pacific says the smaller, handheld design makes them easier to use. We'll see. But we know we like the smaller suggested price of $60, a drop of $20. Due on shelves in late August.
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Ubuntu Linux As Slick As Windows or Mac, Reviewer Says
Continue reading… 80 CommentsIt's been a while since I've tried Linux, the free PC software that competes with Windows and Macs. I've always found it more effort than it's worth to load a system that still felt a bit clunky, too geeky to recommend to friends and neighbors.
But maybe it's time to try again after a ZDNet reviewer says the latest version feels better than either of the better-known systems.
This from Renai LeMay at ZDNet:
Here's what the official press release won't tell you about Ubuntu 9.04, which formally hit the streets overnight: its designers have polished the hell out of its user interface since the last release in October.
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Top 10 in New Car Tech
Continue reading… 4 CommentsThere is no doubt that cars are getting smarter and more fun with the help of new tech. Conservative manufacturers are getting quicker about moving new gadgets and systems into our autos.
Tech has become the cupholder of the 21st Century, helping set models apart from each other. Wading through the many options, AAA recently compiled its list of top car tech for 2009 and 2010 models:
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GPS in Cars Can Save Time and Money
Continue reading… 2 CommentsAnyone who's used a GPS in their car can vouch that it saves them time, aggravation and probably some money. Map-making firm Navteq put a dollar figure to it, saying GPS saved German drivers an average of about 1,500 miles of driving in a recent study.
That might mean about $200 a year for a typical U.S. car. In other words, a year's use could pay for a mid-range GPS receiver.
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Amazon Now Streams HD Movies and Shows
Continue reading… 4 CommentsAmazon has added high-def content to its Internet streaming service. It's a me-too move, with the retailer joining Apple, Vudu, Netflix and other streaming services that offer HD titles.
Also like the others, Amazon's HD can't match the stunning picture of a Blu-ray disk -- or even an over-the-air HD broadcast. I tried the Amazon service and the high-def image is better than what Amazon and others offer in the lower standard-definition. But to my eyes, the high-def version is more like an upscaled DVD than true HD.
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Oprah Sends Twitter Into a New Class
Continue reading… 1 CommentIf there was any doubt about Oprah's reach: The talk-show diva helped send visits to Twitter up 24 percent in one day. That was on Friday, the day of her well-publicized first tweet. Visits were up 43 percent compared to the Friday before, says Web tracker Hitwise.
Meanwhile, gawkers couldn't help wanting to know more. The search term "oprah twitter" became the 35th most used last week, says Hitwise: "Considering that our search data is weekly and that the show only aired on Friday, this is impressive."
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Audio: Where to Recycle Old TVs
Continue reading… 0 CommentsI called up my local Goodwill store the other day and asked if they still took an old but working TV as a donation. Sometimes, I was told, but not just now. It seems they've got more than they can handle these days.
I'd bet it's because of the transition to digital television. The switchover has encouraged many of us to buy modern, flat-panel sets. Millions old TVs sit unused as we ponder if we should donate them to Goodwill, which might not even want them.
Where to Recycle Old TVs
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I spoke this weekend with WTOP about how we can recycle TVs. Many manufacturers will take back their old models for free. Otherwise, consumers usually must pay to recycle TVs, which normally can't be done for a profit.
Even trashing them is less of an option. More and more municipal haulers and landfills won't take TVs because of their hazardous waste, which is a particular problem with tube models.
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Rock Band and LEGO Partner for Huge, Weird Videogame
Continue reading… 13 CommentsTwo big videograme franchises are joining to bring us LEGO Rock Band. Yep, hardcore rockers will get a taste of the wholesome family humor of LEGO's games -- or is that wholesome families will find a safe medium to cut loose their young rockers?
In other words, this new title spells mass market. It's a weird pairing, no doubt, but I think it can hit a huge middle. That's assuming the partners get it right for the game, which is due by the holidays for major game consoles.
Here's how the companies describe this version of Rock Band:
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Apple iPhone Apps Have Huge Lead Over BlackBerry, Android
Continue reading… 11 CommentsBlackBerry and Google's Android face a tough fight to catch up with the iPhone App Store. Apple has grabbed nearly three-out-of-four developers writing software for smartphones, says a piece at ReadWriteWeb citing data from mobile analytics firm Flurry.
ReadWriteWeb cautions that Flurry's data is based on developers that use its tracking software. Few BlackBerry developers so far do, but that itself is a red flag, a Flurry analyst suggests. Adds Sarah Perez at ReadWriteWeb:
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Shoppers Happy to Pay Extra for "Green" Gadgets
Continue reading… 1 CommentWhy manufacturers are greening all their gadgets: Most shoppers would pay a premium for consumer electronics that do less harm to the environment, according to a survey from the research firm Compete. “2009 will be the year that 'green’ becomes profitable, not just trendy," says Compete's Elaine Warner.
That's all believable and an opportunity for selling. But the survey's specific results seem less believable, saying more than a third of consumers would pay up to a quarter more for a product. Some 5 percent would pay 75 percent more, and another 5 percent would pay twice the price for something green.
Consumer intentions, noted Twice magazine in writing about the survey, don't necessarily translate to action "on the sales floor or checkout page."
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Consumers in Washington, D.C., to be First to Test Mobile TV
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe first consumer test of new mobile TV broadcasts will launch this summer in Washington, D.C., says a group that represents TV stations. The consumer test will come on top of industry trials that will launch in the coming weeks in Atlanta and Seattle, as well as one that launched last week in Raleigh.
There announcements underscore how quickly mobile TV is coming. It's relatively cheap to get the broadcasts up and running, and TV stations are moving ahead at a fast pace.
That means that there won't be a chicken-and-egg problem in getting the mobile signals into place, unlike with the original digital and HDTV broadcasts. "We are ready to be the chicken," says Anne Schelle of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, the broadcaster group that is promoting the new technology.
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Apple Trounces Windows for Being Easy and Enjoyable
Continue reading… 5 CommentsNo surprise that Apple tops another survey for customer satisfaction. Maybe some surprise at the margin Apple has over its closest Windows competitor, according to the latest data from Forrester.
Apple earned an 80 percent rating in Forrester's "customer experience index" versus 66 percent for the highest-ranked Windows PC maker. The gap was 17 points for being easy to work with and 15 points for being enjoyable.
Also surprising, perhaps, was that it was discount PC maker Gateway that topped the chart among Windows PC makers. There wasn't that much difference among the Windows group, though, with Dell at the bottom with a 58 percent rating.
That suggests it's Windows at fault more than the hardware companies.
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Google's Android Will Take Off Soon, Say Company Execs
Continue reading… 2 CommentsAfter what's been a slow start, Google's software for cellphones should be taking off soon, say company execs. Android should have a "very, very strong year," CEO Eric Schmidt told analysts yesterday. He added:
There are announcements happening between now and the end of the year that are quite significant from operators and new hardware partners in the Android space, which I won’t preannounce except to say that they really do fulfill much of the vision that we laid out more than a year ago.
That vision is getting stale. After appearing to good reviews on one phone last year, the software has hardly been seen. Little was said at a big electronics show in January, and only a little more at a wireless show a month later.
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Time Warner Cable Backs Off Metered Internet Pricing, For Now
Continue reading… 3 CommentsPoor Beaumont. The Texas town is the remaining outpost for Time Warner Cable's test of higher charges for heavy Internet downloading. The company said Thursday it wouldn't expand the controversial trial to other cities. At least not for now.
The surprise capitulation came after withering criticism on the Web and from politicians. Unlimited downloading could have cost users $150 a month under the plans, with lesser charges for other levels of Web use.
"It is clear from the public response over the last two weeks that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about our plans to roll out additional tests on consumption-based billing," Time Warner CEO Glenn Britt said in a written statement.
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Mobile Digital TV Launches in Raleigh
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe other half of the digital TV transition got its launch this week in Raleigh, N.C., where bus passengers can watch broadcasts from a local station. It's the first U.S. market to get digital TV on-the-go.
It also suggests broadcasters are on schedule to get the new signals up and running in about 20 markets by year's end. Station owners have high hopes that the digital broadcasts can draw new customers and revenues. Besides TV programming, the digital signals can also carry data such as weather and traffic reports.
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Move Over Netbooks: Nettops to Also Surge This Year
Continue reading… 3 CommentsOne of my favorite new classes of PC is poised to take off: Cheap all-in-one desktops that are just starting to appear. Asus, Dell, Acer and others have announced models with built-in LCD screens that could make great family hubs.
Most have announced initial models at prices of $600 and up. But sales will boom when prices dip to $400 or so, which could happen by year's end, say analysts at DisplaySearch. The market is drawing a raft of new players who've seen the surge of interest in netbooks.
Nettops are essentially netbooks turned on their side. The wave of the inexpensive desktops hitting the market has DisplaySearch nearly doubling projected sales to about 6 million this year. The firm had predicted sales of about 3.4 million just a few months ago.
