March 13, 2006, 4:52 PM PST
I like this, but I don't like that
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

Bruce Spector's company, ATTAP (All Things To All People) is trying to change the "locus of control" for consumers. Today, Spector says, we are obliged to navigate the consumer world via Amazon, eBay, Google, and such. But there's a better way.

The first product he showed off here at PC Forum was Riffs, an online service that lets users write reviews on various items--music, cities, food, celebrities, and so on. As a reviews site, Riffs looks easier to use than Epinions. And as a site to create an online persona, it's more focused than a wide-open personal page like MySpace. Although, watching the demo, it was not crystal clear that this focus is what's called for: Riffs enables users to create an online persona based on everything external to them--what they buy, what they like, where they live, what they eat. Everything except who they are. For that, personal blogs and sites like MySpace and TagWorld are more complete.

On the other hand, Riffs also has a form of collaborative filtering. As you rate items, the system can return other items that you might also like. Thus it's a discovery service for users. And given the size of its database (15 million items, ranging from music to universities), it could return some very interesting and useful results.

Spector is also rolling out a personality assessment site, PersonalDNA. This service taps into the fact that people love to take tests (compare to quiz-giant Tickle).

Riffs and PersonalDNA are designed for users, but the database of preferences they create will feed into another service, Lifeio. This service will be the "management console" for the preferences database, and, if users give their permission, vendors will be able to subscribe to feeds from Lifeio users to create marketing programs. For example, a vendor could use the service to reach people who like Johnny Cash and not Britney Spears.

Ultimately ATTAP is based on a universal human desire: people like to talk about themselves. The question is, do they want vendors and marketers to listen?

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March 13, 2006, 3:18 PM PST
France may force out locked-down iTunes
Posted by: Molly Wood

Who knew the French were such fair-use lovers? Under a draft law in French parliament, the country would force Apple to open iTunes songs to devices other than iPods. Or more likely, should the law pass, it would force iTunes to shut down its French operations. Because let's be real here; Apple's not making its money on those 99-cent downloads. But dang, good try, France!

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March 13, 2006, 2:58 PM PST
Mean girls and text messages
Posted by: Kent German

I firmly believe that e-mail marked the beginning of a communication breakdown in our society. Sure, we talk all the time about how e-mail magically connects almost everyone on Earth, but when e-mail is used to avoid an in-person conversation, that's where it gets problematic. Some people now hide behind e-mail to threaten others or communicate unpleasant things that they would never have the guts to tell a person face to face. But it's not only e-mail, as text messaging is now being used for nefarious purposes as well. I've been reading a lot lately about text bullying, where text messages are used (often by girls) to insult, ridicule, divulge secrets, or spread nasty rumors. Just today I learned of a 12-year-old student at Pataruru College in New Zealand was found dead after she received a flood of text bullying on her phone. And it's not just a problem abroad, as some U.S. schools have reported cases of text bullying as well.

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March 13, 2006, 2:44 PM PST
Code M, the musical shoes
Posted by: Jasmine France

Last month, LL International--parent company of Dada footwear--quietly announced the Code M system, a "proprietary, patent-pending wireless technology application for footwear that delivers both audio and data." Essentially, Dada wanted to get its hands in the big money pot that is the consumer electronics industry. The development of the technology stemmed from LL International's president and CEO, Lavetta Willis, who was looking for a device that would not only play music while she worked out but also track her mileage, pace, and heart rate as well as allow her to answer her cell phone and keep track of time. (The Philips-Nike MP3Run comes close.) Although the product pictured at left doesn't immediately address all of these needs, the Code M technology that's integrated into its tongue and heel has the potential to. The Dada Supreme shoes, which are set to launch next month, are capable of holding up to 100 songs and have a USB port built in for music transfers and battery charging (rated six-hour battery life). The shoes also come with a wireless headset with a 30-foot range. The cost for haute technology? $199.99.

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March 13, 2006, 2:30 PM PST
Dual Shocker! Patent issues could halt PS2 production, affect PS3 controller design
Posted by: David Rudden

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a judge has denied Sony's appeal of a ruling that its PlayStation 2 Dual Shock controller design infringed on another company's previous design. According to the original ruling, Sony must halt production of the controllers, consoles, and many of the system's most popular games. The controller, which has been the PS2's only first-party choice for the console's entire lifespan, has existed in a previous incarnation for the original PlayStation since 1997. The "boomerang" control design for the PlayStation 3, which many assumed was a placeholder for the next iteration of the Dual Shock design, will undoubtedly have to change unless the company can reach some sort of agreement with the plaintiff.

Source: Joystiq

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March 13, 2006, 2:06 PM PST
Delay for Warner HD-DVDs?
Posted by: John P. Falcone

It's likely that HD-DVD early adopters won't have any high-def discs to watch when the players become available on March 28. That's the word from retailing giant Wal-Mart and Warner Home Video, as reported in a couple of interesting stories highlighted by the enthusiast DVD Web site The Digital Bits. Trade publication Video Business is reporting that Wal-Mart's Web site is no longer taking preorders for the discs. A quick Google search seems to confirm that assertion: you can find several first-gen HD-DVD titles (such as Million Dollar Baby, Training Day, and GoodFellas). Clicking through yields a Product Not Found page, but the always handy Google cache indicates they were previously available (only $25.48!).

Home Media Retailing follows up with more information. According to an article dated Sunday, March 12, Warner Home Video division president Ron Sanders is quoted as saying, "[Warner] is still coming out with an initial slate, but we may be a week or two later; we just don't know." The article goes on to mention that Wal-Mart and Best Buy pulled ads for HD-DVD titles because of the indeterminate delivery dates and because Warner has yet to set a suggested retail price for the discs. The bottom line is that the first HD-DVD player, the $799 Toshiba HD-XA1, is still on track to hit stores on March 28--but buyers may be stuck using it to play standard DVDs for at least a couple of weeks, until Warner and other studios shore up plans for the initial wave of titles.

In more positive HD-DVD news, Netflix is making good on its promise to support the nascent high-def optical disc format. We were able to verify a report on Hackingnetflix.com (linked on digg.com) that Netflix users can toggle their account to receive the HD-DVD versions of movies they choose--when and if, of course, HD-DVD versions are available. Netflix plans on supporting Blu-ray discs as well, once they become available later in the spring.

We're working on a quick guide to HD-DVD and Blu-ray that should be up by the end of the week. In the meantime, let us know if this latest news has you leaning toward HD-DVD or Blu-ray--or if you'll be sticking with good ol' DVD in the meantime.

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March 13, 2006, 1:50 PM PST
Proposed French law seeks to open iTunes tracks to all MP3 players
Posted by: James Kim

Reuters is reporting that the French parliament will be voting Thursday on a proposed law that will force music stores to offer tracks that work on any MP3 player. If passed, the law would make it legal to use DRM-cracking software to make songs, such as those purchased from iTunes (which work only with iPods), compatible with any player. This would apply to any DRM file, including WMA and ATRAC3. According to the article, the draft law also looks to fine 38 euros to those who illegally download copyrighted material and 150 euros to those who share illegally downloaded content with others.

The French are looking to fight piracy and help stimulate online music sales by offering consumers universal compatibility, but it seems that these measures are a bit extreme. Will Apple and others comply in order to have a presence in the market? What do you think?

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March 13, 2006, 1:08 PM PST
"Real" 3D coming to the PSP?
Posted by: Will Greenwald

Metal Gear Acid was one of the PSP's most popular launch titles. It combined stealth action and turned-based strategy with collectible card games for a unique and fun experience. Metal Gear Acid 2 comes out at the end of the month, and fans of the series are going to get something new with the sequel.

The Solid Eye system is a peripheral that clamps onto a PSP and gives a three-dimensional view of the game. The Solid Eye displays slightly different images in each eye to produce a 3D effect. Gamers will be able to play Metal Gear Acid 2 in full 3D and can even watch 3D movies included in the UMD, such as 3D cutscenes from Metal Gear Solid 3, and a 3D version of the trailer for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PlayStation 3.

The peripheral looks really bulky, and we'll have to see for ourselves if it even adds anything to the game. Thankfully, Konami is planning to sell Metal Gear Acid 2, Solid Eye included, for the standard PSP game price of $40, and the entire game will be playable without the Solid Eye attachment.

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March 13, 2006, 12:50 PM PST
Before the Ides of March
Posted by: Dan Ackerman

While not marked on most Roman calendars, March 13, two days before the Ides of March, is a significant historical event in its own right. It is, after all, my birthday. And while celebrating one's third 29th birthday may not seem like a big deal, it's a perfect excuse to highlight a special item or two on my wish list.

Sure, they're not the kind of things you'd find at the Sharper Image or Dell's Web site, but surfing the tech blogs today, I found (via Endaget) a giant 24-monitor setup at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute running Quake III, driven by 12 Linux servers.

Clearly, this must be matched with the Typhoon Personal Super Computer (via Gizmodo), which can handle up to four Intel Xeon processors or eight AMD Opteron HE processors. Sure, it's aimed at "science, research, and development applications," but imagine the benchmark scores.

For a more realistic birthday wish: in my jacket pocket, I'm still rocking that old fourth-gen iPod, a source of no small embarrassment, let me tell you. Sure, a new model comes out every few months, but I still wouldn't look down on one of the current-gen video iPods. I know the Zen Vision: M is great, too, but I'd probably just end up rubbing my thumb around it in circles in a vain attempt to change the volume.

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March 13, 2006, 12:18 PM PST
Start-ups in control
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

We just got a rundown on the start-up companies that will be presenting demos at PC Forum today and tomorrow. Here are the cool ones:

Kosmix. A specialized search engine. It does health care, travel, and politics right now. I've used the health-care version. It's excellent. It possibly competes with Healthline, also presenting here.

Tacit's Illumio. Tacit does knowledge mining for large businesses. In other words, it can tell you who knows what in your company. Now the company is bringing that function to your friends and family, with a new product called Illumio. I can't wait to try it out.

Edgeio. A new way to create classified ads. Edgeio is getting a lot of press, including some from me.

Spot Runner. Makes it easy, fast, and affordable for small companies to run local television ads--in prime time, they say, and for only a few bucks. Since the cost of producing commercials is too high for most small companies, Spot Runner also has video ad templates. Brilliant.

Novatium. Has created a $100 network computer and a cheap online service to go along with it. Is trying to bring computing and the Web to "the next billion users."

ATTAP (All Things To All People). A grandly named company that's trying to create a new way for users to share opinions and reviews of products and services. Like Epinions, but more Web 2.0-ish.

Iovation. An online reputation company, except this one focuses on tracking the reputation of computers, not people. I have to learn more about this later today.

Bitty Browser. "Picture-in-picture for the Web." It's a tiny Web browser you can stick into any Web page. Clever. But is it needed? Doesn't it compete with RSS?

iMeem. Instant messaging with pictures. Company has been around a while. Most notorious because the CEO looks like he's 17 years old (he's actually 26).

Riya. Searches and categorizes pictures by face. Has gotten a lot of press. Very eagerly awaited service, just now rolling out to the public. News at PC Forum: A feature that will let you search friends' archives for pictures of, say, yourself, at their parties. And a new monetization strategy, for things such as dating services, where you can say: "She's cute, show me more like her."

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