Phil’s first keynote is now live on the Web for all to see. Check it out here. → Read More
Like the Metro.fi 2s that Mike reviewed way back when, the Metro.fi 170 (pictured above) and 220s appear to be great alternatives to the overpriced earbuds that everyone and their mother seems to hocking these days. Each provides 16 dBs of noise isolation with the packaged silicone tips. If they’re anything like the ones that come with the higher-end models like the Triple.fi 10vi or Super.fi 5s then you’re in for a real treat. Three different sized sets come packaged so the majority of folks are covered. → Read More
Today’s keynote presentation by Phil Schiller has been widely regarded as a relatively lackluster affair. That isn’t to say it went badly – I’m genuinely excited about some of the new software updates. But the Macworld keynote in years past has been home to some very major product announcements, including the Macbook Air, the MacBook Pro, and perhaps most notably, the first iPhone. Investors have learned to expect big things from Apple every January, and for at least the last four years their reactions to the keynote have weighed heavily on Apple’s stock price.
Except for this year. And that’s no accident. → Read More
Samsung has unleashed a new type of solid state drive today. It is a 100 GB SSD targeted at server applications where 15K rpm HDDs are traditionally used. Read on for more details and the full press release. → Read More
I want it! Logitech today announced the replacement to the award-winning Logitech Harmony 1000 advanced universal remote. The remote features a 3.5-inch, full color touch screen, RF wireless technology and personalized soft buttons. Click on for the press release. → Read More
I just got back from MacWorld and stopped by the Fastmac booth on the way out to see what was shakin and came across this unannounced external Blu-ray drive. Sure, it looks super ugly and not really geared towards Mac owners, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s a $99 external Blu-ray drive.
I’m told they have an external Blu-ray drive that will burn BD-R discs but it won’t be coming for a while. This one only burns CDs and DVDs. But, again, it’s $99. It needs an external power source, but it does come with a dual head USB cable so you can just run it off your laptop, which is what most of us would do. I want one now. → Read More
There’s SSD and there are external hard drives. Why not make an external SSD? So G-Technology released a set of external SSD today. Apparently these drives are for professionals who need fast and reliable storage that looks like a small communist era gas convector. Only they wont keep you warm and cost you a lot more money. → Read More
The guys over at Tokyoflash have just announced their first new watch for 2009, the R75. Unlike some of Tokyoflash’s other watches this one actually seems simple to read while still looking cool. Click on for a full gallery and more. → Read More
Breaking news: Microsoft sold a number of Xbox 360s in 2008. Good for Redmond. → Read More
What a day! While Apple was busy announcing, relatively speaking, nothing at MacWorld, 4Chan, the bad boys of the Internet, went ahead and hacked MacRumors’ live coverage of the show; Twitter freaked out, which is to be expected. Hardly confusing wrechedness. → Read More
If you’re in the middle of converting your DVD library to the next big good-for-a-few-years TOTALLY FUTURE PROOF medium, this may take a bit of the sting off. From today until January 16th, Amazon is giving away one Blu-ray disc for every two that you buy. → Read More
You sure can tell it’s CES week. D-Link has jumped in and is reporting several new products, including a wireless router with speeds up to 450 Mbps and another router with a built-in photo frame. → Read More
Pandora Radio, the personalized internet radio service that has remained among the most popular iPhone apps on the iTunes App Store since its inception in July (and that I’ve previously called the iPhone’s killer app), will be releasing its most significant update yet later today.
Dubbed Pandora 2.0, the application will now include artist biographies, streaming samples for songs you’ve bookmarked, and perhaps most notably, the ability to create a station using a single song (much as you would using the iTunes Genius features). Other features in the new release include a CoverFlow-like view for song history, the ability to share stations with friends using Email, and a song progress bar (which has long been annoyingly absent). → Read More
I just downloaded the Slumdog Millionaire soundrack for $8.99 and it came automatically in Plus format. The files themselves are considerably bigger than the average previous iTunes download and the quality is quite nice. Most importantly, however, there is now a “create MP3 version” selection when you right click on the song. → Read More
12 inch Netbooks are coming. Dell has the Inspiron Mini 12, Samsung will unveil its 12 inch netbook model to the U.S. shortly, and more are coming. And Intel isn’t happy about this at all.
In fact, the whole Netbook market may be making them nervous. Despite the fact that they power most of these devices with their new Atom chip that handles some PC chores well and uses a lot less power (so batteries are smaller and last longer). Intel sees Netbooks as devices for people who can’t afford normal laptops, or as second devices. But it’s clear that a lot of people are buying them instead of normal dual core machines, despite their very serious limitations.
That means that for the most part, every Netbook sold is one less Dual Core that Intel can sell at a higher price and higher margin. Which explains exactly why the company has been publicly criticizing the performance of the machines. “If you’ve ever used a Netbook and used a 10-inch screen size–it’s fine for an hour. It’s not something you’re going to use day in and day out,” said Intel VP Stu Pann at an event last year. → Read More
D-Link is going the baby-sized auxiliary USB monitor route with the SideStage, a 7-inch 800×480 monitor due out “later this year” with a price that hasn’t yet been set. → Read More
Behold the new unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro. Just like the ones that were announced last year. → Read More
MixedInk, a document editing site that allows large groups to democratically create a single collaborative document, has launched its service to the public. The service fuses concepts from Digg and popular wiki sites to create a unique document creation tool that is ideal for groups far larger than you’d normally encounter in the workplace. In conjunction with today’s public launch, the site has also partnered with Slate to create a community-written inauguration speech for President Obama, which will be published on the site in two weeks. → Read More
ResizeImage is the simplest and most usable tool I’ve seen to handle quick image resizing and cropping. It’s not as useful as Skitch, which a downloadable application for Macs only, but it works in a pinch. → Read More
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