Conspicuous by its absence, Vista is a no-show at CES
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: One of the consumer electronics industry's biggest brands has had an ever-diminishing presence at CES, and the trend continued this year. It's Windows, which this year moved from the backseat into Microsoft's trunk, as even Bill Gates himself touted products such as Mediaroom, Silverlight, and the Surface prototype while only mentioning Windows Vista in passing.
Last year, Sharon Fisher and I noticed the trend, and here's what we said about it at the time:
Pyxix to offer video for PSP, iPod, Zune
The content distributor announced its plans to make Internet video available for mobile platforms at CES, marking yet another option for consumers in an already crowded field.
Pyxix offers content across three different types of channels, each offering a platform for up and coming entertainers to distribute their work. ComedyPop is self-explanatory, while DocuPyx offers documentaries and short films. Finally, Urban Chillers offers horror films for download.
XStreamHD's ambitious plan for 1080p all-on-demand service
Scott Fulton, BetaNews: Easily among the most curious developments at CES this week was the Tuesday press demonstration of a device called XStreamHD. Conducting the demo was none other than actor Michael Douglas, who apparently succeeded in putting the polish on a presentation for a technology that's so ambitious that any other face or voice might leave attendees very skeptical.
Here's how the company touted its advancement on Monday morning:
Analysis on the format war: So is that it?
One of Las Vegas' most epic battles may be drawing to a close, but the spectators in the high-definition format war are already moving on to the next big technology. Are the spoils for Blu-ray enough to sustain the industry going forward?
What was almost declared a stalemate that could leave the high-definition disc market's prospects unfulfilled, may end up a squeaker of a victory for Blu-ray after all, assuming no further bizarre shift of allegiances takes place between now and next Christmas. If Blu-ray has actually won, then what has it won? Can we all go pick up our Blu-ray Disc players and start buying any recently produced movie we possibly want, regardless of its studio? Or has the public's appetite for the thing waned, perhaps moved onto some other technology with less of a chance of getting bogged down in a years-long dispute?
Digeo's Moxi all-in-one DMR finally goes retail
Digeo, maker of the Moxi software already available on 350,000 cable boxes has announced the upcoming retail availability of standalone Moxi DMR boxes, as well as partnerships with Flickr, Finetune, Accedo Broadband, and Cloverleaf Digital LLC, which will offer their services through the Moxi software.
Up Close: Sprint's Xohm WiMAX card
Sprint had a dedicated Xohm booth at CES to showcase it's upcoming WiMAX service, which is expected to launch in a few markets this April. Xohm is already being tested by Sprint employees in three cities. Here's what the laptop cards look like.
Up Close: Asus Eee notebooks and mobile phones
Asus, a fairly new entrant to the notebook market, was showing off its 8-inch Eee at CES this week. Oddly named, the Eee was introduced last June and will soon go on sale at Costco in the United States. Although it can run both Linux and Windows XP, the Eee will ship out of the box with Linux for an estimated $199.
The Eee has a 900Mhz Intel processor, 512MB of RAM, 802.11g Wi-Fi, and 4GB of flash storage. An 8GB model is available for $299. Asus' notebook largely falls in the same product category as the OLPC laptop, but is not targeted at emerging markets.
Up Close: Logitech's new diNovo Mini keyboard
Logitech has the answer for those computer users with a media center PC in their living room that want to avoid keeping a big keyboard on their coffee table. The company's new diNovo Mini keyboard, introduced at CES, is about the size of a cell phone and includes a trackpad for moving the mouse that detects taps for clicking.
The design is fairly solid if not a bit plasticky, and its clamshell-like design protects the diNovo Mini from spilled drinks and being dropped on the floor. But the unique keyboard won't come cheap, with retail availability slated for February at $149 USD.
Up Close: Nuvi's new GPS line up
We stopped by the Garmin booth in the CES South Hall to get some hands-on time with the new GPS devices the company announced this week. Garmin's Nuvi 780, 880, and 5000 with MSN Direct will be released in the spring. The 5000 was far more hefty than the others, and will cost $800.
Nuvi 5000
Creative inPerson the biggest hit at CES
The spotlight item from Creative this year was the inPerson, a WiFi video phone device. The booth at CES was standing-room only, as many were eager to see a demonstration of the inPerson's capabilities.
Despite lackluster demand for video phones in the market, the inPerson demo drew a crowd that rivaled Panasonic's 150-inch HDTV display. Creative hopes its solution will entice people to forgo voice calling for something more futuristic.
Up Close: The OLPC $188 laptop
AMD had an OLPC laptop on hand to showcase the fact that its Geode processor powers the device designed for emerging markets. Navigating via the symbol-based interface proved difficult at first, but the laptop was solidly built and easy to use. We managed to take a picture with the built-in camera and share it, although the laptop became quite sluggish -- almost unusable -- when many applications were launched.
FCC will probe charges of Comcast customer discrimination
Charges that Comcast intentionally throttled the traffic of BitTorrent users for anti-competitive reasons, has apparently prompted the Commission to formally investigate the nation's largest CATV provider, its chairman said at CES yesterday.
The US Federal Communications Commission acknowledged on Wednesday that it has agreed to requests from citizens' rights and consumers' groups to investigate whether Comcast may be interfering with the rights of its subscribers by throttling their transfer speeds when they're suspected of trading files.
Jook turns MP3 listeners into low-power broadcasters
Most music listeners are accustomed to having to share ear buds with a buddy to listen to other tunes, at least up until the point where somebody bothers to invent some kind of loud speaker system. But a company called Jook Inc. has developed a way for multiple earbud-wearing practitioners of the digital life to share music through a kind of broadcasting technology.
Jook's technology allows users to wirelessly transmit their music to people within a range of ten meters. A click of a button connected to the headphones will let users begin or stop broadcasting music, with a little emblem lighting up when transmission is taking place.
Music industry heads seriously consider the subscription model
With digital rights management provisions being stripped from audio files now by all four leading music publishers, some of the digital music industry's leaders took time at CES today to evaluate the extent to which that loss could lead to gains.
In a sort of "what we have learned and where are we going" session, the panelists discussed the impact that DRM has had on digital music, its profits, and its availability, and where the consumption of music is going.
Microsoft: The future is in fashionable PCs
This year at CES, almost every booth has a section dedicated to devices designed with aesthetics in mind. Microsoft has become a big proponent of this new fashion-device movement with a dedicated team working with OEMs to develop fashionable hardware.
At any Starbucks, it's not uncommon to see people with their laptops finishing homework, or catching up on e-mails. As it leaves the confines of the office or home, the computer is no longer just a utilitarian device, and now makes a statement about its owner.
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