August 08, 2006, 10:33 PM PDT
How to be Howard Stern: BlogTalkRadio
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

BlogTalkRadio is a podcasting service, like PodoMatic and GCast, but with a difference: it lets you stream your podcast in real time and lets you take telephone callers to your show and put them on the air with you.

It's a just the thing for podcasters who want to add interactivity to their work. And BlogTalkRadio is clever in its implementation: all audio input is via the telephone. Podcasters get a private dial-in number to the BlogTalkRadio service, from where they are streamed out to the Net (and also archived for later replay). Callers get their own number, too, and BlogTalkRadio provides a Web-based console that the podcaster uses to control the show.

Like standard broadcast radio, BlogTalkRadio podcasts can be supported by advertising. Audio advertisements are inserted, live, in the audio stream; the host gets a warning on his or her console before the ads play, so he or she is able to gracefully cut to the commercial. BlogTalkRadio will split ad revenues 50/50 with the podcast hosts.

Anything that makes podcasts interactive is a great idea, and other tools out there do this too; see RadioHandi, Skype's Skypecast feature, and Waxxi. My biggest criticism of BlogTalkRadio is its exclusive use of the telephone for the host's input. Founder Alan Levy comes from the telecom industry and puts a lot of faith in the capability of a standard telephone capture and transmission of high-quality audio. I'd much rather listen to a podcast recorded on a dedicated microphone, and I think BlogTalkRadio should allow hosts to broadcast from a computer.

But that's a nitpick. BlogTalkRadio allows you to create an interactive live podcast that can be broadcast from any location where you can get a cellular signal. That's a pretty cool thing.

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August 08, 2006, 5:53 PM PDT
2007 BMW X5 first look
Posted by: Kevin Massy

BMW today released details of the new X5 "Sport Activity Vehicle" (that's SAV to you and me). The new model, which will be on sale in the United States on November 24, will come with the option of two engines: a 350-horsepower V-8 for the 4.8i; and a 3.0-liter in-line 6-cylinder for the 3.0si. Cosmetically, the new X5 looks more aerodynamic than the outgoing model, with some front-end styling accents borrowed from the X3. The new X5 is more than seven inches longer than its predecessor, perhaps due to the introduction of an optional third row of seating.

Notable performance updates include active steering, which adjusts responsiveness according to the vehicle's speed, and AdaptiveDrive, a combination of active roll stabilization and electronic damping control. AdpativeDrive will use a technology called FlexRay to handle data transfer between the car's various driver-assist systems. All new X5s will also feature the model-defining xDrive all-wheel drive technology, which uses a center differential controlled by a multiplate clutch to transfer power to the wheels with most traction.

For the transmission, the new X5 incorporates a six-speed automatic Steptronic box with an electronic shifter, enabling the driver to select gears sequentially by hand.

Cabin tech includes a combination of features that we've seen on other recent BMW models: iDrive becomes the central control interface for navigation and entertainment, with the inclusion of six programmable buttons for those not interested in the twist and shout frustration associated with using the dial to turn on the stereo or set the air temperature. The new X5 will come with a standard in-dash CD player hooked up to a 205-watt 12-speaker audio system. Options will include a glove box- mounted CD changer (cumbersome, but at least it's better than the tape deck in our 2006 X5 review model), Sirius satellite radio, a BMW interface for iPod, and a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, which from the pictures looks like it pops up from the central console rather than being ceiling- or headrest-mounted.

No details on pricing have been announced yet.

Images: BMW press photography

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August 08, 2006, 3:25 PM PDT
More info on Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive
Posted by: John P. Falcone

Following up on yesterday's Xbox 360 teaser, CNET News.com's Greg Sandoval posted his impressions (and photos) of Microsoft's HD-DVD demo at yesterday's DVD Forum event in Los Angeles. Separately, GameSpot and Gizmodo highlighted the podcast from Major Nelson (the nom de blog of Xbox Live programming director Larry Hryb) in which he highlights the HD-DVD drive--albeit without providing the specific details on the product's pricing and availability.

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August 08, 2006, 3:24 PM PDT
The Hummer of laptop cases
Posted by: Andrew Gruen

Some thought we were crazy when we dumped a cup of coffee on our Panasonic ToughBook 74. Others wished their laptop could withstand that kind of beating. For all of you out there who want a truly rugged notebook but aren't ready to upgrade, Slashgear has a review of the Otterbox Laptop Case. The company claims the case is strong enough to stand on and waterproof, so the guys at Slashgear tested that by jumping on the case and submerging it in a pool with a MacBook Pro inside (it survived). Overall they really liked the case, but at $170 and about 8 pounds, OtterBox is certainly not right for everyone.

Check out their review for a video of the unboxing and, of course, submerging the MacBook Pro.

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August 08, 2006, 2:07 PM PDT
Give in to the F.E.A.R. for free
Posted by: Will Greenwald

On August 17, the multiplayer capabilities of Sierra's freaky PC shooter, F.E.A.R., will be made available for free. This is a pretty surprising announcement, and frankly, we're not sure why Sierra decided to make it free, as the game was released just last year. That said, we can't complain about a free game, especially one as good as this; GameSpot gave F.E.A.R. a 9.1, and called its multiplayer mode "generally excellent."

F.E.A.R. is coming out on the Xbox 360 in November, but we don't know if the multiplayer will be available for free (or perhaps as an inexpensive Xbox Live Arcade download), or if the two games' multiplayer components will be compatible. Either way, PC owners should get ready to get their free frag on next week.

[Source: Digg]

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August 08, 2006, 1:58 PM PDT
TripHub: trip planning 2.01
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

As I wrote in my May 17 blog post about Triporama, getting a group trip lined up is a major pain in the neck. It's also a lucrative problem to solve, and now there's a new player in the space, TripHub.

Really a highly focused riff on Evite, TripHub helps you communicate plans and trip details with your travel partners. There's a trip blog, for example, and a section that lets you set up group invitations with rules for guests (you can allow people to bring others or not, for example). Each trip gets its own database of travel and hotel information to help travel partners coordinate their trips.

The site is peppered with useful links to other travel resources, including handy links to group travel pages on the major airlines--although there's no way to compare group or charter rates directly. There's also a decent amount of original content about group travel.

The system has a rudimentary section for keeping track of who owes money to the trip's organizer, but it does not have a more useful multiparty fund-tracking system, such as the student financial site BillMonk.

There are no post-trip utilities, such as a group photo Web page or an album printer.

All told, TripHub is a quite decent system for running the closed, private community it takes to organize a trip. It has similar functionality to the previously covered Triporama, but I like it less, simply because it's been nearly three months since I covered Triporama, and in that time I was hoping we'd see more innovation in the group travel market.

See also reviews on Mashable and TechCrunch.

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August 08, 2006, 1:55 PM PDT
Microsoft patches 23 flaws in Windows and Office
Posted by: Robert Vamosi

Microsoft has released its August 2006 security bulletin, which includes 12 updates: 9 are listed by Microsoft as critical and 3 are important. Two of the critical updates this month are specific to Microsoft Office, including one specific to PowerPoint that includes the Mac versions of Office. Users of Windows 98 and Windows Me will notice that Microsoft longer offers technical support for these two operating systems. To keep your Windows 98 and Me systems secure, see our roundup of compatible third-party security applications. All Microsoft security patches for Windows and Office software are available via Microsoft Update or the individual bulletins detailed below. For more details, see our coverage on News.com

MS06-040: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in Server Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (921883)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 and XP; it also affects Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-041: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in DNS Resolution Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920683)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 and XP; it also affects Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-042: Critical

Entitled "Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (918899)," this advisory affects Internet Explorer versions 5.01 through 6 running on Windows 2000 and XP; it also affects Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-043: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920214)," this advisory affects Outlook Express 6 running Windows XP SP2, XP x64, and Windows Server 2003 SP1; it does not affect Windows 2000, XP SP1. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-044: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in Microsoft Management Console Could Allow Remote Code Execution (917008)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 SP4; it does not affect Windows XP, XP x64, or Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-045: Important

Entitled "Vulnerability in Windows Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution (921398)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 SP4, XP, and Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-046: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in HTML Help Could Allow Remote Code Execution (922616)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 SP4, XP, and Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-047: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Could Allow Remote Code Execution (921645)," this advisory affects Microsoft Office 2000 SP3, Microsoft Project SP1, Microsoft Access SP3, Microsoft Project 2002, Microsoft Visio 2002, plus Microsoft Works Suites 2004, 2005, and 2006; it does not affect Microsoft Office 2003 SP1 and SP2. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-048: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Could Allow Remote Code Execution (922968)," this advisory affects Microsoft Office 2000 SP3, specifically PowerPoint 2000; Microsoft Office XP SP3, specifically PowerPoint 2002; Microsoft Office 2003, specifically PowerPoint 2003; and Microsoft Office for Mac OS X, specifically PowerPoint 2004. It does not affect Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer 2003, or Microsoft Works Suites 2004, 2005, and 2006. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-049: Important

Entitled "Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Result in Elevation of Privilege (920958)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 SP4; it does not affect Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to escalation of privileges on a compromised machine.

MS06-050: Important

Entitled "Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Hyperlink Object Library Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920670)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 and XP; it also affects Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

MS06-051: Critical

Entitled "Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Result in Remote Code Execution (917422)," this advisory affects Windows 2000 and XP; it also affects Windows Server 2003. Exploitation could lead to remote code execution.

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August 08, 2006, 12:56 PM PDT
Sprint to build 4G network
Posted by: Kent German

Sprint Nextel today announced that it will introduce a fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband network by the end of next year. Sprint will build the network, which will operate on the 802.16e mobile WiMax standard, on the carrier's existing cell sites. Also, the network will operate on the 2.5GHz spectrum and is supposed to cover 80 percent of the U.S. population eventually.

As for devices, Motorola and Samsung said they will partner with Sprint to build dual-mode CDMA/WiMax phones, while Intel announced it will design WiMax devices and chipsets. After trials, Sprint is hoping it can offer download speeds of 2Mbps to 4Mbps, which is far beyond the carrier's current 3G EV-DO network. Sprint hasn't set a pricing scale yet but it promises any costs will be comparable to wireline broadband service.

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August 08, 2006, 12:47 PM PDT
Spotlight on new Onkyo A/V receivers
Posted by: John P. Falcone

We just posted a hands-on review of the Onkyo TX-SR504, Onkyo's new A/V receiver. While the Pioneer VSX-816 bests the Onkyo on a couple of added conveniences--an onscreen display and automatic speaker calibration--both receivers are great bargains. Available for under $300, they're very good starter receivers for anyone looking to build a decent home-theater system.

More interesting for audio enthusiasts are the TX-SR504's three step-up models: the TX-SR574 ($400 list), the TX-SR604 ($500), and the TX-SR674 ($700), all of which are just hitting the market. We haven't yet reviewed them, but--based simply on their specs and features--the SR674 would seem to be the pick of the litter. In addition to a wide range of impressive "standard" features (95 watts per channel, XM HD-ready, compatibility with the Onkyo iPod dock, Audyssey auto speaker calibration), the TX-SR674 offers HDMI switching (two inputs, one output) and analog-to-digital HDMI video conversion with deinterlacing. What that means in practice is that you can connect any video source to the receiver--anything from an old VCR or game console to a cutting-edge HD disc player or cable/satellite box--and the TX-SR674 should be able to send it to your HDTV via a single HDMI connection. Onkyo is also specifying that the SR674 will pass 1080p HDMI video streams without hiccups, which will be of interest to anyone who's considering investing in a Blu-ray player or a PlayStation 3.

Onkyo 2006 A/V receivers compared:
(These models will remain current through the first two quarters of 2007.)

Looking for competing HDMI-centric receivers? Check out our coverage of forthcoming models from Denon and Yamaha as well. In the meantime, stay tuned for a complete hands-on review of the TX-SR674--we hope to have one in-house within the next few weeks.

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August 08, 2006, 12:01 PM PDT
Online directions for the carless
Posted by: Rafe Needleman

Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and even the old-school Mapquest are good at giving you driving directions. But they're pretty bad if you're walking, and they can't help you find your way via public transit. But a New York company, HopStop, can do this routing for you.

In addition to its Web site, which gives you detailed directions and maps for taking your trip on public transit, HopStop works via e-mail and SMS, and you can also speak your starting and ending addresses into the system if you're in New York; it sends results to you via text message. The voice recognition worked perfectly for me, recognizing the Manhattan addresses I spoke on the first try. I did not try it from a noisy street, however.

There's another new and cool feature, for New Yorkers only: The program will show panoramic views of the street scene at your destination subway stop, with an arrow overlaid showing which way to walk. If you've ever emerged from a subway in New York and wondered where the heck you are, you'll get what a useful feature this is.

The system will route you via foot, bus, and subway, and it covers towns and boroughs in the Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC metro areas. Unfortunately, here in San Francisco it does not cover enough of the Bay Area; there's no way to get BART directions to or from Oakland, nor CalTrain's routes to San Jose. Bay Areans should check out the 511.org trip planner instead.

HopStop CEO Chinedu Echeruo told me he plans to add more transit systems--and all of the New York-only features--to all the metro areas the system covers. He also wants to extend the system so it can route people across transit jurisdictions, for example, from Boston to Washington DC.

I'm in favor of anything that makes it easier for people to use public transit, and I'd like to see walking and transit routing as an option on the major trip planners from Yahoo and Google. It'd be great if, when looking at driving directions, the cost and time of the trip on public transit could also be also displayed.

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