It was just back in April when a software developer on The Green Button forum suggested that the community should get together and produce an open-source clone of Niveus’ Movie Library – an add-on application first demo’d at EHX in March that exclusively provided Niveus PC users a way to manage their DVDs, stored video, and recorded TV content via Windows Vista Media Center. Unfortunately, for Niveus (who I’m sure were showcasing their application as a product differentiator) the Open Media Library project (hosted at Google Code and licensed under GPL v3) picked up a following of enthusiastic supporters and to date has a total of 4 project owners and 7 project members leading the development. [Beta Announcement] MORE »

Building on a groundbreaking technology partnership announced earlier this year, LG Electronics and Netflix, Inc. today announced plans for the first Blu-ray disc player that will have the added benefit of being able to instantly stream a growing library of movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly to the TV. MORE »

The rapid growth in digital content libraries will push worldwide sales of network-attached storage devices to nearly 13 million units by 2012, according to Parks Associates’ Home Servers and Consumer Storage: Analysis and Forecasts. MORE »

Dell’s smallest, most personalized and most environmentally responsible consumer PC, the Studio Hybrid, launches today. Available immediately at www.dell.com/hybrid, the PC’s new unique shape and size, personalized with six optional, external jewel-toned color or bamboo sleeves, unleashes stylistic expression, inspiration and fun and looks great in any room. MORE »

While the rest of the consumer electronics and pay-TV worlds are still stuck in more traditional native code environments, the push for online video and social communities in the living room has resulted in ever-increasing interest in HTML and other web-based technologies on consumer TVs. MORE »

Consumer electronics products no longer exist in a vacuum: increasingly they are linked to each other via a number of short-range radio technologies. CE vendors, faced with a series of overlapping use-cases, network areas, standards, and technologies, need to understand the applications best suited to each, and how they relate to each other. MORE »

It is getting faster and easier for consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers to create devices that can find, store and play digital media in the home. Macrovision® Solutions Corporation today launched the latest version of its Connected Platform, a comprehensive solution for discovering, managing and enjoying digital media on a variety of connected CE devices. With this solution, CE manufacturers can enable full support for Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) Interoperability Guidelines version 1.5, enabling them to easily implement the latest industry standards in consumer devices such as set-top boxes (STB) and digital televisions. MORE »

Off site storage company, Datto Inc, released its newest line of backup devices: the Z Series. The new model enables customers to keep snapshots of various stages of their files while simultaneously allowing lightning speed data transfers as a result of the dual gigabit ethernet and 1.5 GHZ processor used within each device.

Z Series Datto devices represent the future of data backup. The new model is the first NAS device targeted at both consumers and small businesses that uses the advanced ZFS file system. This allows users to automatically keep previous versions of their files through snapshots. The snapshots can be programmed to update as frequently as once every fifteen minutes and only use a small amount of disk space while doing so. The ZFS file system also enables the Z Series devices to proactively detect and prevent silent file corruption on the disk drive. MORE »

Bump up your green meter with Fabrik’s new SimpleTech [re]drive™, the world’s most energy-efficient, resource-conscious, Turbo USB 2.0 external storage and backup drive. From its sustainable bamboo and recyclable aluminum enclosure, to its packaging and Energy Star® power adaptor, the SimpleTech [re]drive helps make the world a little greener while storing and protecting your data. With Turbo USB 2.0, which delivers up to 25 percent faster performance than USB 2.0, the [re]drive is speedy and reliable with plug n’ play simplicity for both Mac and PC users. To help you steer clear of life’s little digital disasters, the SimpleTech [re]drive’s automated backup software saves copies of your stuff on the drive, and on encrypted, secure servers using Fabrik Ultimate Backup for ultimate online backup protection. MORE »

D-Link today became the first manufacturer to produce Green home network Wi-Fi routers capable of saving up to 40 percent in power usage.

The end-to-end networking solutions provider for consumer and business, D-Link is expanding its Green Initiative by adding eco-friendly features to its award-winning Xtreme N™ line of Wi-Fi Internet routers to decrease energy costs by reducing power consumption without sacrificing performance. MORE »