January 19, 2006, 4:43 PM PST
Record 11 shows at once, roughly $390 per show
Posted by: Molly Wood

The no-messing-around TV geeks over at SnapStream have, just for the fun of it, decided to build an 11-tuner DVR with six hard drives. Of course, it can record in HD (but only a pathetic four shows at a time), and you can build your very own for about $4,300. Or...you could build me one.

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January 19, 2006, 4:41 PM PST
Steve Jobs the boss of Mickey Mouse?
Posted by: Molly Wood

According to the Wall Street Journal, Disney is in talks to buy Pixar, and nobody would love that deal more than Steve Jobs. The talks in question would make Mad Dog a member of Disney's board and its single largest shareholder. At which point, I'd probably have to stop calling him Mad Dog.

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January 19, 2006, 4:35 PM PST
Google's protecting your porn habit
Posted by: Molly Wood

Google is fiercely resisting a subpoena that demands access to millions of search records, an attempt by federal prosecutors to shore up their case for a federal antiporn law. Civil rights activists fear it's just the first step toward finding out who's conducting porny searches and either arresting them...or sending them ads for riding crops.

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January 19, 2006, 3:33 PM PST
Version 2 of Microsoft's PMC looks great, but...
Posted by: James Kim

Although we are looking forward to reviewing the upcoming Toshiba Gigabeat S, the LG PMC, and the Tatung PMC, all of which utilize Microsoft's version 2 of Portable Media Center software, we have made some observations that may piss off users of older models, such as the Creative PMC, the iRiver PMC, and Samsung's now defunct YH-999.

First, the positives: Version 2 of the PMC software is lighter and will offer very good battery life for audio and video (not that the Creative PMC didn't). As evidenced in the Toshiba Gigabeat S that everyone is raving about, the new OS will work with smaller form factors and screens. The Start menu on the Toshiba has been scaled down to fit the 2.4-inch, 260,000-color screen, which can be viewed in movie-friendly portrait mode too. The software will also allow for FM radio, line-in audio, and video recording (as seen on the new LG model), as well as native support for WMV, WMA, WMA Lossless, MP3, JPEG, DivX, MPEG-2, and others, plus cool new connectivity and control using the Xbox 360. The new OS will also be compatible with new subscription video services such as Starz Vongo, which will feature all-you-can-eat A- and B-list movies for less than $10 a month. Finally, the new devices will cost much less than the first generation, with the 30GB Toshiba coming in at less than $300 (older models were more in the $450 to $500 range).

Things are looking up for the new batch of PMCs and their users, particularly because Windows Media Player 11 will be much improved. However, those with older models will not be able to use Starz Vongo and many new services that will appear in 2006 and beyond. Worse yet, older models will not be able to update to the new version of the impressively intuitive software, according to Microsoft. Perhaps the old hardware is incapable of dealing with some of the modernized features, but if I were a Creative PMC owner, I'd be pretty upset.

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January 19, 2006, 2:09 PM PST
The demise of the car audio aftermarket
Posted by: Wayne Cunningham

Although a browse through Crutchfield reveals hundreds of car stereo head units from dozens of manufacturers, this market faces a dead end. Carmakers increasingly make their dashboards unfriendly to aftermarket stereo installs. You find a screen set in the top of the center stack, buttons inset somewhere below, and controls integrated with the steering wheel. A representative from one car-stereo maker confirmed for me at CES that the traditional car audio aftermarket is going away. But two companies, Kenwood and Alpine, have plans to keep afloat. Both the Kenwood KOS-A200 and Alpine's Vehicle Hub Pro have boxes that install somewhere out of sight and hook up to the car's existing head unit. The boxes have multiple inputs for all sorts of devices, making a car audio system almost infinitely expandable with all sorts of new technology, from HD radio to navigation to video.

The Alpine and Kenwood boxes aren't perfect. Because not all the OEM controls will translate to the new components, Alpine has a controller that will have to be placed somewhere within reach. (Dirty secret: Alpine designed BMW's iDrive system, although a representative insisted the software interface was all BMW.) The Kenwood system actually plugs into the FM antenna jack of the OEM head unit, which is a very inelegant solution. Of course, some cars, such as Scions, make a point of being aftermarket friendly. But will there be enough of these types of cars to save the big car stereo companies?

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January 19, 2006, 10:38 AM PST
Satellite marketing
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

You know that search engine optimization and search engine marketing are important to your success. You need Google to see your site so that your customers can find it. So, have you thought about your visibility to Google's mapping products, Google Earth and Google Maps? Sure, giant companies can paint big targets or marketing logos on their roofs, and a small business likely won't be able to. But those of you working out of your home might have options. If somebody is using Google to map a route to your business, think about how cool it would be if there was your company logo or something painted on your roof or cut into your garden.

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January 19, 2006, 4:00 AM PST
Another one bites the dust
Posted by: Lori Grunin

Although I've been expecting a shakeout in the digital camera industry, I didn't expect Konica Minolta to be one of the casualties. But early this morning, the company announced that it's getting out of the camera--both film and digital--and photofinishing businesses. All of its dSLR technologies have been transferred to Sony to ensure continuation of support for its lens mounts.

Given that we actually liked KM's cameras, we consider this a pretty sad day, not to mention the end of an era. You can read more about it at "Konica Minolta announces withdrawal plan for camera business and photo business."

Rest in peace, KM.

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