On Your Desk
Here's a cool thingy: T-Mobile UK will shortly be launching a gizmo called the Mobile Broadband Share Dock, which will convert SIM-locked 3G USB dongles from T-Mobile into a wifi router that will connect up to three users to the good ol' internet. Anyone with a T-Mobile 3G USB dongle and a spare power outlet can set up their own wireless network in just a matter of minutes. I call that "Bloggers Delight," and can only imagine the number of times that Fruit Brute and I could have used such a device whilst holed up in some unfathomably filthy motel. Such are the pleasures of conventions.
Also nifty is the Mobile Broadband Share Dock's price, which at about $35 a month - including a free USB Dongle - offers a lot of flexibility for a relatively small premium.
T-Mobile to turn 3G USB dongles into Wi-Fi routers with new service [Unwired View]
Netflix has announced that it's now added titles from Starz Play to its catalogue of instant play titles available for its members. The deal has added 1000 titles right now, and will add another 1500 titles to Netflix Instant Play by the end of the year.
This is big news - one of the biggest complaints about Netflix Instant Play is that it did not include recent movies, but the Starz Play catalogue has added such recent Blockbusters as No Country For Old Men, Superbad, Ratatouille and hundreds more. The full list can be found here.
"But... I'm a Mac user!" you say. "I can't enjoy all this new Starz movie goodness!"
I feel your pain. I hate having to boot into Windows just to watch my Netflix Instant Play movies. But Netflix had some good news for us Mac users as well:
And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) we've been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac. So hang in there - we'll have something for you by the end of the year.
Finally!
Hopefully that "by end of the year" doesn't turn into "sometime next year."
New content to watch instantly [Netflix]
I bear a little torch for cutesy USB devices/hubs/whatnot, and so this adorable purple and yellow USB flower caught my eye immediately. Designer Fredrik Perman built this USB-powered fragrance oil warmer to burn any kind of fragrant oil or sexy pheremone musk (try Tiny's Patented Yak Sweat Fragrance Oil & Liquid Fertilizer if checking out your local Illuminations is out of the question).
Now, while I love the design and I think the concept is nifty...I have to raise some safety and sanity concerns about anyone who things sticking a portable oil burner into their laptop is a good idea. I think it's safe to say that no, it isn't a good idea, and furthermore if you find your personal space needs refreshing that badly, a nice long shower is probably a better idea.
USB flowers are a breath of any kind of air you want [DVICE]
After a year of promising us it would bring TiVo to the PC, DVD-burning experts Nero have finally delivered. At $199, Nero's LiquidTV package charges top dollar for a service that should demand no less - the TiVo bundle includes a TV tuner, an iconic TiVo remote control, and all the software you'll need to turn your PC into a TiVo DVR.
Alternatively you can opt for the software by itself, which will set you back only $99 - both options come with a year of the TiVo service.
Untested CableCARD functionality and $99 yearly charges (after your first year, of course) may make LiquidTV a questionable purchase for some, at least at first, but my money says that Nero will still see quite a profit when LiquidTV is released on October 15.
Nero brings TiVo goodness to PCs [DVICE]
Apparently deciding that Yahoo and Microsoft couldn't be left alone in the screwing over customers department, Wal-Mart has also decided to shut down its DRM verification servers. In about a week. So, like Yahoo and MS before it, if you've purchased DRMed songs from Wally World within the, you need to burn the songs to disc in a week or lose them forever.
This, in my mind, has the potential to be the most disastrous failure of the DRM model yet. I can't imagine that the Wal-Mart set is the most tech savvy in the world, so explaining to them that they need to burn their music on to a CD now could be interesting. But then, it can't be all bad. The world really shouldn't miss the largest collection of digital hillbilly country music.
Well folks, there we have it. DRM sucks. And, once again, the people that actually paid for the product are the ones that have to suffer, meanwhile the pirates of the world still have no problem transferring songs from one MP3 player to the next. Fantastic!
Wal-Mart latest store to shut DRM key servers [Ars Technica]
Comcast is playing down its 250GB monthly data cap, set to begin in October, by saying that there's potential for the data cap to be raised - eventually.
Spokesman Charlie Douglas says that if it becomes clear (clear to Comcast, mind you, not you or me) that overall internet use is increasing, Comcast will up the cap. He didn't detail any policy other than to say that the 250GB cap isn't necessarily fixed and that average use increases will likely push the cap up. Between the lines, it's fair to guess that the volume of complaints following the "October surprise" will also figure into Comcast's calculations.
This seems relevant less for the superusers pushing terabytes of media across their internet connection than it signals Comcast's awareness that the high-bandwidth user base is likely to evolve as streaming high-def media services roll out to the general public. That's as it should be, from a business perspective, since the moms and pops who may one day plug in Netflix boxes and Apple TVs in larger numbers will be less likely to recognize, diagnose, and attempt to resolve sudden data-capped performance problems.
Comcast: data caps will rise over time [Electronista]
Well, hello there kittens! I know, you've missed me. And I've missed you to. Really! Where have I been? Well, I don't want to go into to details, but lets just say that office network managers tend to not like it when they realize you've skirted their site blocking software using a portable browser over a proxy.... but ANYWAY!
So I've whined a lot... a LOT... about this whole Apple walled garden syndrome, and how I'd like the freedom to install their OS on my box. Whether I'd actually use it, I still couldn't say (my boyfriend have lived together for two months now, and I've barely touched his Mac), but I'd like the freedom to do it. And while I'm still not convinced the Open Computer is the way to go, and I'm really not so comfortable with the idea of the OSx86 Project, but something that would combine the simplicity of a dual boot program and the legality of purchasing a legal copy of the OS would probably suit me well.
What's that you say? There is something like that now? The EFi-X USB dongle? Why, how did I miss that wonderful doohickey!
The EFi-X dongle plugs right into an open USB slot (I hear these things are internal nowadays), and you're right as rain to install OS X from a properly acquired install disk. No work arounds, hacks, or other uber techy schtick to get it to work, just straight up install the OS. That's it. For $155, that actually seems worth it to me. I don't have to run out and buy a new computer to run the OS and I don't have to spend a weekend trying to get it to work? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, I can't do it on my system. The EFi-X requires some very particular hardware configurations, and my nVidia 8600 just doesn't hit that mark. But if your PC does meet the requirements, or if you want to build your very own Mac Clone, this may be an interesting option for you. Much more appealing than Apple's price tag, if you ask me. Just don't expect the Apple Customer Service line to really care to much when you call if you run into problems.
Like many an aspiring pop princess, MySpace Music is having trouble with punctuality. Metastasized megaconglomerate News Corp and its three record label buddies, los tres amigos, had originally slated their music coup for September 15 for the launch of the free streaming music, download, and concert ticket purchasing wing of the MySpace phenom.
Then Silicon Alley Insider's Peter Kafka reported a delay until September 18. Now Kafka cites industry sources who say the launch may enjoy a full week's delay, presumably to beef up its rat's-nest beehive and crank habit to Winehouse standards.
The real reason behind the delay may be more or less because MySpace Music has yet to find a frontman. The LA Times seems to think there are two possible candidates - former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta and musak industry vet Andy Schuon.
Report: MySpace Music may delay launch [CNet]
It seems that Microsoft is ready to get past the Vista fiasco as fast as possible, because despite publicly claiming that Windows 7, the successor to Vista, was coming out early 2010 at the earliest, the internal calendar at Microsoft pegs the release of Windows 7 as June 3, 2009.
When asked for comment, Microsoft replied with the customary "no comment," though they repeated that their "development is scoped to three years from Windows Vista consumer general availability" line that references Vista's 2007 release, reinforcing the previously mentioned 2010 release date.
Could we be interpreting Microsoft's latest ad campaign all wrong? Could it really end up as just one big tease for Windows 7 and this 2009 date be real?
Sure, there is a goal of improving Vista's image as well, but that can be tone almost tangentially as a stop-over for a much larger campaign to build up anticipation for Windows 7.
Of course, I could just be giving Microsoft entirely too much credit here.
Windows 7 Looking Like a June 2009 Delivery [InternetNews.com]
Hey, guess what! If you were one of the people affected by the disappointingly stupid bug concerning iTunes 8 and Windows Vista, rejoice! There may now be a fix.
As with iTunes 7.7, this fix means you'll need to uninstall iTunes and all Apple related software, then re-download and install iTunes 8 here (which will also install all the other fun junkware/uselessware/wtfdoesthisdoware). Once reinstalled, you should be good to go to play with all the new hotness in iTunes 8 and to download iPhone firmware 2.1.
You know, I'm glad they were able to get to this and fix it with the quickness, but I still don't get how it happened in the first place? Apparently, it was a driver issue, and it looks like they simply reverted to the iTunes 7.7 drivers as the fix. Oh well, looks like I've got a few new buttons to go push, and a few new ways to find music I have to have right now.
iTunes 8 Windows Vista BSoD Quietly Fixed by Apple [Gizmodo]
It seems with all the fanfare around Apple's Let's Rock event yesterday, many people sprang at the opportunity to download the new iTunes 8 and experience all that was cool, new and exciting with the music management software. Reports on the new features (and by reports, I mean watching my boyfriend play with the new software on his Mac last night) are saying that things look pretty spiffy. That is, unless you are running Windows Vista, in which case, the new features you get to experience is a Blue Screen Of Death!
It appears that the new iTunes 8 has been causing massive problems with Vista since it's launch yesterday. Users at the Apple support forum are reporting that once they plug in their iPhone or iPod Touch to sync, the receive BSOD's instead of the now customary 20 minute sync-ing message. After a day of investigation, it appears that the issue could a driver conflict between the USB driver for iTunes/iPod/iPhone and either HP Printers or anything Logitech. People have reported that uninstalling all Logitech drivers (disabling whatever Logitech product you have in the process), unplugging your HP Printer from the USB socket, and/or moving your iPhone/iPod USB cable to a different USB family (front set of USB ports instead of the back set, for example) may all solve the problem.
Here's the deal though: Apple has a long and storied history at this point of not making their software fully compatible with Vista. When Tiny complained that iTunes would not work with his 64-bit Vista, I thought that was just an oversight or that Apple didn't feel the 64-bit market was big enough to worry about at the time. Then, when I had my ginormous cat fight with iTunes 7.7, I thought that maybe they just missed a step in their testing process. Annoying, yes, but I'm a forgiving person. But now that Apple released iTunes 8 and it's causing BSOD's in Vista (p.s., I have yet to have a single BSOD since I've had Vista), I have to simply assume that they just don't care enough to fully test their software when they release it for Vista.
HP Printers are one of the most common printers on the market. Logitech is probably in the top 3 (if not the top) peripheral maker (including keyboards, mice, webcams, etc) for PCs. If, as a software developer, you did not ensure that your software would work with these major players in the market, that's just irresponsible. I would be much more understanding if was an issue with an obscure device, but HP Printers and Logitech Peripherals?! I'm not quite willing to buy into the "Apple purposefully makes their software suck on Vista to increase Mac sales" conspiracy theories just yet, but with every new release, I'm starting to question their Sainthood in the software industry.
Lucky for me, I did not install iTunes 8. I wanted to, the new bells and whistles look fantastic, but I was a bit busy playing Spore last night. I'll be keeping a close eye on this issue, as I'm also dieing to install firmware 2.1 for my iPhone in hopes that it fixes my connection issues and makes the iPhone a worthwhile phone again. Hopefully, I can either get 2.1 without iTunes 8, or iTunes 8 will get fixed.
As promised in my live coverage earlier, Apple has posted the video feed of the "Let's Rock" event that occurred earlier today.
Tune in to watch the unveiling of iTunes 8, the second generation iPod Touch, the new rainbow iPod nanos, and the iPhone/iPod Touch firmware 2.1.
I've been playing with the new "Genius" feature in iTunes 8, and while it works pretty well for many songs in my library, I was sorely disappointed that it's not working with any Jay Brannan songs. Come on Apple, don't you care about depressed gay songwriters?
Watch the stream of the event at the link:
Apple Special Event: September 2008 [Apple]
And girls who like girls who like fembots!
Gadget of the Week
Links
The Homotron Store
- Help support Homotron by purchasing your items through our store!
All rights reserved © 2007-2008 FAD Media, Inc.
