Yahoo's TV widgets to be backed by Intel
One of Intel's software stacks will run the Yahoo-powered Widget Channel, whereas the other will operate tru2way technology for applications that work across environments from different cable providers.
Both software stacks will run on top of a media processor, Intel officials said, speaking with Betanews on Sunday in the Intel booth at CES.
Behind the first live 3D bowl game at CES
Some CES attendees who had the opportunity to watch the Oklahoma Sooners get creamed during a BCS game Thursday -- always a glorious experience (though not for Scott) -- were also the first to watch a live 3D college football game.
But live 3D sports has been promised since 2004, and has been trickling in since then.
Macworld attendees want Newber....for their BlackBerry
FreedomVOICE's Newber iPhone application has been in beta since September, but getting listed in the App store has its difficulties.
Last September, FreedomVOICE opened the beta of its Newber iPhone application that adds a virtual second line and the ability to manage calls and route them through PBX, landline, or even other cellular handsets.
1 MenQ Easy PC = 11.5 feet of sandwich
And you thought breaking the $400 netbook price barrier was a milestone? Okay, maybe it was, but what would you want for...say, $89?
The above image speaks for itself. Chinese electronics manufacturer Menq is set up in the North hall of CES, nestled among explosively loud car audio displays and lesser-known PND makers, showing off its EasyPC netbook line that easily snags the title of "cheapest netbook available" both in cost and quality, of course.
Analyst: Consumers don't want widgets on their TVs
Amidst all the announcements about widgets this week was one ominous note: a survey from Strategy Analytics saying that consumers it surveyed weren't all that hot on widgets.
Well, they're right -- and wrong. As Disraeli (or Mark Twain, depending on your preference) used to say, there's three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics. And the way you design a survey can make a big difference in the sorts of answers you get.
Toshiba shows off its WiMAX Portege
In Toshiba's booth, a section is dedicated to technologies the public can expect to find in upcoming products from the company in 2009. Part of the display is dedicated to WiMAX support.
The Portege R600-ST520W, announced this week, was "connected" to Clear to show its potential.
Live from the FCC Chairman's one-on-one
So has the nation's transition to digital television gone completely off track, and is it time for the incoming Obama administration to call time out? Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, speaks directly to CES 2009.
2:35pm PT: Going Forward: "We have to continue investing in the underlying infrastructure. We need to not inadvertently upset balance; you don't want to disturb anyone's infrastructure investment."
'Intel Inside' moves outside the PC, and fast
When Intel sold off its networking processor group to Marvell three years ago, some said Intel was letting go of its dream of connecting the planet's media devices. Wrong.
While Intel has been in the process of achieving Master of the Universe status over AMD for PC chips since last summer, it has also been taking steps to conquer the more mundane -- but potentially overwhelmingly profitable -- areas of industrial computing and consumer electronics devices.
The DTV launch is a shambles, say FCC commissioners
The call earlier this week by President-Elect Obama's transition team to perhaps delay next month's DTV switch didn't just "come up" at Saturday's "2009 Regulatory Outlook" panel at CES. It electrified it.
Jonathan Adelstein and Robert McDowell, both commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, have seen trouble coming for a very long time. Adelstein has served at the FCC since 2002, and McDowell began his first term in 2006.
First impressions of HP's Pavilion DV2
Betanews took a closer look at HP's forthcoming Pavilion DV2, a 12.1" notebook that the company is pushing as an ultra lightweight entertainment device, and the first one sporting AMD's Yukon platform.
Let's talk about the "entertainment" specs first. It has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 graphics unit, up to 500 GB of storage, HP's MediaSmart software, and support for an external Blu-ray drive. This last item was a sore point for us in handling the DV2 this morning. If it's a notebook being emphasized for its entertainment features and discrete graphics processing, the omission of a built-in optical drive of any sort is definitely an impediment to users.
The case for VESA DisplayPort: Both open and shut
The Video Electronics Standards Association announced the next steps in its DisplayPort specification, but copy-protection features that can make it difficult for users to play back legitimately acquired content are still there.
First proposed in 2005, DisplayPort's advantage is that a single digital interface connects both internal and external displays. This means that DisplayPort can carry pixels directly from any display source to any LCD panel. Other advantages of DisplayPort over Digital Visual Interface (DVI) and VGA include a small USB-sized connector with available latching, two-way display connectivity, optional audio support, higher performance than dual link DVI at 10.8 Gbps, and a unique micro-packet architecture that enables new display features.
Tikitag: A barcode-based alternative to personal RFID tags
In the same week as Microsoft's own rollout of Tags, smaller personal electronic tag maker Tikitag -- an Alcatel-Lucent venture -- talked up the future addition of less expensive barcode tags to its existing RFID offering.
Tikitag -- first announced at the the Demo show in San Diego -- uses high frequency RFID (HFRFID) operating at 13.56 MHz to connect real world items such as business cards, stuffed toys, and paintings to the Web through passive RFID tags and active readers.
Reading Palm's fortune: Does its life line now lead to glory?
It's a question worth asking: With the Pre looming upon the horizon, is this the same Palm we were talking about only 48 hours ago -- the Palm that was very near to being buried in the desert and fed upon by vultures?
The Pre is a tremendous device, but let's not forget that it has to get here. Sprint and Dan Hesse need to deliver on their promises of delivering a network for this device, and consumers might not have an easy time picturing those 10,000 guys in red and grey coats with service trucks and helicopters, standing behind them wherever they go, when they think of "Sprint." And Palm as a company is in very bad shape. Yes, it may have designed the product of the year, and it could very well have one-upped the iPhone -- we'll see. But Apple had a healthy business infrastructure going for it two years ago at this time, and it's even much healthier now, stock price notwithstanding. Palm is another affair.
Verbatim's new keyboards add not only sound, but light
Having trouble finding space for speakers amidst the clutter on your desk? How about building them into the keyboard?
That's the theory behind TuneBoard, Verbatim's new product. The keyboard, which works with either Macs or PCs, features integrated dual stereo speakers that are angled towards the listener In addition, it includes a media console with seven multimedia keys for controlling iTunes or a Windows default music player.
Palms-on with the Pre
A little quality time with the Palm Pre (and some very happy, very tired Palm folk) reveals more of the details...but one crucial one goes unanswered.
It's still not released, which seems astonishing considering the amount of uproar the Palm Pre has caused since its unveiling Thursday morning.
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