New MCE Goodies: EtiVo & MCE Controller
Matt Goyer, in his daily quest of linking to hot new applications and developments for MCE, has got details on two new applications that I'm sure will make most MCE users salivate. The first one of interest is an application called EtiVo, which enables users to pull pre-recorded video content off their TiVo and consume [...]
Syntax Launches First "iDEA" Powered 26-Inch Olevia LCD TV for Only $899
Syntax Groups Corporation, manufacturer of the high-quality, affordable Olevia brand of widescreen HDTV-ready LCD TVs, today announced the launch of its newest 26-inch Olevia LT26HVE model, highlighting Syntax's proprietary "iDEA" digital video processing technology for enhancing consumers' control over picture performance and quality. Syntax will showcase its new "iDEA" technology at DisplaySearch's US FPD 2005 [...]
Embedded Automation Introduces mHome MCE 2005 Product Line
Today, Embedded Automation announced the introduction of its new mHome product line. The mHome product line is a set of products set at the intersection of the rapidly growing home automation and digital media center markets. Built around Microsoft's popular Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005, mHome is the simplest way to enjoy digital media [...]
Brightcove IP Content Distribution Service Officially Unveiled
Over the weekend Jeremy Allaire, one the creators of ColdFusion and co-founder of Allaire Corp. (later sold to Macromedia), publicly announced, Brightcove, his latest venture into IP video and Internet TV distribution. With $5.5 million of first-round venture funding from General Catalyst Partners and Accel Partners, Allaire hopes to level the playing field and enable [...]
My Interview with Microsoft’s Media Center Bloggers
Bill Gates: “We predicted at the beginning of the decade that this would be the decade that the digital approach would be taken for granted, whether it's photos, music, communicating. There was a lot of work to do, getting the software breakthroughs, the hardware breakthroughs, the ease of use, the security, all those tough problems.” [...]
Microsoft Disables Internet Product Activation on OEM PCs
If you thought Microsoft was being too restrictive with their software activation procedures, wait until you read this. Microsoft has just announced that Windows XP users, who are considering reinstalling their OS on PCs purchased from any of the top 20 PC makers (i.e. Dell, HP, Gateway, etc.), must call a customer service representative to [...]
Lawrence Lessig Gets it Wrong on Municipality Wi-Fi
I wanted to respond to Lawrence Lessig article in Wired issue 13.03, “Why Your Broadband Sucks.” While his intentions are noble and his wording bloated, Lessig gets it all wrong when he insists that local governments should be in the business of providing free broadband because the free market has failed us. What he seems [...]
Broadcast TV and Broadband Video: Collision and Disruption
Breakthroo examines the collision between broadcast television and broadband video, what new innovations are at play for scheduling or distributing video, and analyses if any are disruptive to incumbents, and what that would mean for the existing broadcast television value net. As a mature global industry, broadcast TV has experienced many cycles of sustaining innovations, where [...]