Will bigger choices lead to better television?

Setting aside for the duration the whole valid counter-argument about life being a little something more than an experience: Before media technologies can truly converge the way highly paid people have been predicting for well over three decades, the content production industry that sustains them must evolve -- and frankly, it's not keeping pace. The type of business model erosion that we've already seen impacting the music industry is taking more time to affect video, but it's happening. The mass media business model is based upon the principle of controlling the schedule and flow of programming, so that consumers watch shows and movies in the selected venues in which they're available, during the predetermined windows in which they're made available. What we used to call reruns, the industry perceives as repurposing.

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CBS' TV.com, a site formerly providing information about television programming has begun its transition to a video site, and is expected to announce some critical distribution deals today.

Numerous reports have surfaced that CBS has signed content distribution deals with PBS, Showtime, MGM, Sony, and Endemol USA (the company responsible for Deal or No Deal, and 1 vs. 100) that will bring a multitude of new shows to TV.com's streaming video library.

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Download Windows 7 Beta from Fileforum now (or at least try).

After adding some server horsepower to the Windows 7 beta download over the weekend, some testers did manage to receive working copies. That's not to say everything's working perfectly just yet.

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As part of a bigger push into the United States, Nokia launched the E63, 7510 and 1006 phones at CES this week, while also giving a North American showing of the N97.

In a demo at the Nokia booth on Sunday, Jacqueline Evory, manager of communications devices, described the E63 phone as a less costly consumer edition of Nokia's messaging-oriented E71 business phone. The E63 was available in overseas markets before getting to the US, and Nokia will now sell the phone unlocked for North America.

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Newly bought out by Best Buy, Web-based music maven Napster is now looking into delivering location-based services such as notifying Best Buy customers on their cell phones about local concerts, said Napster's CEO, speaking at CES last night.

Addressing an audience at a CES mobile forum, Napster CEO Brad Duea pointed to a study by JupiterMedia analysts showing that, of all location-based services they'd most like to use, music -- at 11 percent -- is topped only by weather, at 14 percent.

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At CES 2009, EchoStar previewed a new 1 TB HD DVR with an integrated Slingbox. Combining TV and IP technologies, the DVR will include a touchpad remote control, RF support, and brand new, tile-based user interface.

"We've never had anything like this before," , said Tony Kozlowski, senior product manager, showing off the new EchoStar SlingLoaded 922 HD DVR in the EchoStar booth at CES on Sunday afternoon for Betanews.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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