Back in the old days, in Europe, TV selection was pretty limited. When they started offering satellite, you had a few free channels and a few paid channels but enterprising hackers figured out how to decode all of the channels using a breakout cart and the C64′s super processor. The resulting solution cost about $120 way back when and saved a bunch of Euro-hackers quite a bit of money. → Read More
Atomic clock radio signal syncing watches are so last year. Citizen just decimated the coolness factor of those watches with the Satellite Eco-Drive watch. This timepiece isn’t just a concept, but will actually be produced as a limited edition later this year – and may have its tech show up in later watches. In a nutshell, the watch keeps its time super accurate from syncing with the navigational… → Read More
Bad news if you own a Toshiba Satellite T130 notebook. It’s got a flaw. In fact, the CPSC (Consumer Protection Safety Comission) just issued a recall for about 41,000 notebook computers, siting a flaw in the plastic casing around the AC adapter plug. Apparently there’s a problem with the DC-in harness that can cause the plastic to melt, causing minor burns. Apparently Toshiba has… → Read More
After unveiling the TX/98MBL last month (the world’s first Blu-ray-playing 3D notebook), Toshiba Japan showed [JP] another three (2D) notebooks today. The 15.6-inch 3D model is now on sale in Toshiba Japan’s online store for $2,860, while the three 2D models of the RX3W series (which all come with a 13.3-inch screen) will follow soon. → Read More
As if the Akiba Pulse Box (the Twitter heart beat posting device) or the Bowlingual (the iPhone Twitter app for dogs) weren’t enough: Japan now boasts the world’s first tweeting satellite, the CubeSat XI-V. Developed by the Nakasuka Lab at the University of Tokyo, the pico satellite (four inches) is currently orbiting Earth and keeps posting [JP] various data to its followers on Twitter. → Read More
Last year, overall satisfaction with television providers was at the lowest level in 5 years. It seems however, that when J.D. Power tells the providers that they suck, they listen. And now, they seem to have actually turned it around. → Read More
AT&T announced today that they are teaming up with Terrestar to release a smartphone with satellite capabilities. Previously, satellite phones were limited to just voice calls, or the occasional tethering (that didn’t work very well). → Read More
Japan is getting more active in the solar energy field in recent months, and now, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has revealed a plan under which solar photons will be used to propel satellites in outer space [JP, PDF]. The aim is to make satellites in general more energy-efficient. → Read More
Japan wants to become a new force in space. The country is currently planning to launch a swarm of up to 100 mini-satellites, each costing between $3 million and $4 million. Sized at around 50cm, the cubicle-shaped satellites are supposedly not bigger than school backpacks.
The 50kg-satellites will be used to track natural disasters, the weather and traffic jams. This initiative is part of a… → Read More
W2M, the first satellite to come out of a European/Indian joint venture signed in February 2006, was launched on December 20 for Paris-based Eutelsat. On the evening of January 22, a major malfunction occurred with the power system, prompting the Indian Space Research Organization to declare the satellite a failure. Engineers will continue to try to revive some portion of the satellite for… → Read More
In cooperation with private businesses, Japanese students from various universities have developed a total of four small-sized satellites that are ready for launch in January on Japan’s H-2A rocket. The satellites were unveiled yesterday at a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency facility in Osaka. → Read More
I’ll be honest. I’ve never met anyone in real life who subscribes to DISH Network, but I’m fairly convinced that the company does exist and probably turns a profit. If you happen to be a DISH subscriber and you have one of the HD packages, then you, my friend, are in for what appears to be some sort of treat. Tomorrow, DISH will start rolling out a big, fat update to all of its MPEG-4 HD DVR… → Read More
Okay, here we go. Toshiba has just announced a small army of new laptops today, from the budget-friendly, to the business-savvy, to the entertainment-centric. I’ve already run out of buzzwords so let’s hit the jump and take a gander at them all. → Read More
In the coming months, DirecTV subscribers will finally have access to on-demand content. Popular movies will automatically get pushed to set-top DVR boxes via satellite and everything else will be downloaded as it’s requested using the boxes’ built-in Ethernet ports. It’s not a perfect solution, as automatically pushed content can take up precious hard drive space that’d… → Read More
[photopress:satshoot.jpg,full,center] We’re gonna shoot that rogue satellite out of the sky. How clutch is that? Yup, the president just gave the go-ahead to knock that now-broken satellite right out of the sky. The satellite, which the military hasn’t had control of since its launch in December 2006, is predicted to fall back to Earth the first week of March. Rather than risk having… → Read More
I know at least two people who’ve recently bought laptops with Windows Vista pre-installed who returned them that very day. When we realized what a PITA installing XP can be on some of these new laptops (with new hardware and unknown drivers, etc.), it was the only thing left to do. Toshiba, it seems, feels our pain, as the new Satellite T31 laptop that just debuted comes with recovery disks… → Read More
Yes, the painfully original XM-Sirius “logo” strikes again Judging by a number posts from earlier in the year, I can tell that a few of you are fans of, or at least followers of, of satellite radio. It may interest you to know that today is the day when shareholders of both XM and Sirius vote the proposed merger up or down. It’s expected that both groups will give the merger the… → Read More
Not a lot of info here, but the WSJ is reporting that DirecTV will FINALLY start offering broadband Internet access via power line distribution. The service is possible through a deal with Current Group, who provides broadband communications over power lines. How much would you pay for broadband ‘net from DirecTV? With $20 satellite TV available, this could make up part of a wicked package… → Read More
I love it when companies release a bunch of products simultaneously. That either means 1) they want to flood the airwaves with news of their products or 2) none of the products are all that hot, so they release them all at the same time to dull the pain. My opinion, not anyone else’s here. Right, so, Toshiba just announced an HD DVD-having Qosmio and a few new Satellites. The Qosmio… → Read More
You might not need that XM subscription for much longer. Tyrannical media-corporation Clear Channel is testing out commercial free FM radio in Texas. The plan is that stations will no longer run commercials, but rather DJs will advertise companies and sponsors during radio shows, talk programs, and intermissions. Increasing competition from satellite radio and the iPod is causing big media giants… → Read More
As I woke up this morning and rubbed the gunk out of my eyes, I saw a startling press release from Toshiba stating that six new notebooks had been announced. Since there’s a lot to cover, I’m gonna skip the witty humor and dive right into the good stuff: specs. Hit the jump for the full list. → Read More
Wired recently sat down with Broadband Instruments to talk about its new Slacker music service. In a nutshell, it sounds like a music-lover’s dream. Slacker is comprised of both a service and hardware device. The service will use either WiFi or satellite bandwidth to serve up music channels to owners of the Slacker player. Tons of music, lots to choose from, all that great stuff –… → Read More
<img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/antenna jacks, but also Freeview HD and digital satellite inputs. In addition, it has specialized software to automate recording of your favorite broadcasts and a TV-style remote control to operate the whole shebang. It's mostly only of use to our friends in the UK, their TV systems are very different than our own. That… → Read More
Toshiba’s Satellite P105-S9722 Gaming Laptop (which from here on in shall be referred to as the P105 for the sake of my fingers) was recently unleashed upon the world and the response has been decent. This thing is a complete monster that can handle any task thrown at it. Whether you game, edit video, record music, or anything that demands a high-powered rig, the P105 can most likely get it… → Read More
Siriuis Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin told Reuters yesterday that consumers can expect to see live satellite video service in cars by late 2007. Karmazin said that the service will be available starting in 2008 car models, which will be appearing toward the end of next year. Content is intended to be geared toward children and Sirius anticipates to have some deals struck with providers as early… → Read More
<img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/FM, satellite, and WiFi. The patent art shows that the iPod will accept accessories "to add the necessary functionality", so it's more than likely that the iPod won't be doing the receiving or recording itself. The functionality features recording either a part or all of the song, then connecting your iPod to… → Read More
By now, you’ve probably heard that two Americans, John C. Mather and George F. Smoot, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite. We’re proud of them, go team, yeah. But right on their heels are those crazy Europeans with their new satellite. Called Planck, it’s planned for launch in 2008 and it builds on the… → Read More
Sirius officially announced today the Stiletto 100 portable satellite radio. This shouldn’t come as an surprise to anyone since we’ve been reporting on the Stiletto 100 for months now, but the officialy press acknowledgement signifies the impending release of the product. Sirius says that the Stiletto 100 will be available this month for an MSRP of $349.99. There are also kits… → Read More
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berlin, Germany
Boston, MA
