VIDEO: IDG editors reflect on Steve Jobs' legacy
As part of our coverage of the death of Steve Jobs, we've put together a video with several of the editors at IDG Enterprise, the group that comprises the publications of Computerworld, Network World, CIO.com, ITworld and others. Whether you loved him or hated him, Steve Jobs had an impact on all of our lives, both personally and professionally.
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Share your thoughts on Steve Jobs
The world is still reacting and mourning the death of Steve Jobs - we wanted to offer up our own condolences, as well as offer readers a chance to share their thoughts. With the folks at Playkast, here's a chance for you to add to the conversation - watch the video below and upload your own thoughts on Steve Jobs and his impact on the world.
10 Great Videos from DEMO Fall 2011
As DEMO Fall 2011 wraps up today in Santa Clara, Calif., here's a bunch of videos from the event that our staff has produced (mainly me). There's lots of cool new companies worth exploring, enjoy the show!
#1: AMP music robot by OLogic: This little robot made everyone happy at the show.
The 15 Most Intriguing Pitches from DEMO Fall 2011 (pre-show edition)
The latest version of the DEMO show starts later today, in which 50+ technology startups present their products/companies in carefully practiced (at least most of the time) six-minute pitches. Many of these companies we'll never see or hear from again, but there are a golden few that make it past the show and find success in the marketplace. This could mean venture funding, purchase by a larger company, or even long-term success as a ground-breaking company. Read more
Sonos Play:3 smaller in size, price
I’ve been covering Sonos since the company began in 2003, fascinated with its wireless music players and high-end audio systems. Back then, owning a system that could play multiple streams of music in multiple rooms (or the same song in many rooms) could cost $1,000 or more, putting it out of reach for many consumers. With today’s announcement of the $299 Play:3 wireless player, the company is allowing more people to enjoy the Sonos experience.
3 Things I Love (and don’t) about Spotify
Forget about the gold rush of trying to get a Google+ invite – that’s so last week. Read more
Review: A Tale of Three Tablets
As the popularity of Apple’s iPad continues to grow, we’re seeing more competitors jumping into the space with their versions, all with the hopes of duplicating or getting close to the tablet experience offered by the iPad. Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to test out three different tablet systems (two from Acer, one from Fujitsu). With different audiences aimed at (consumer, enterprise, education, etc.), each tablet has the opportunity to make their own impact into the new tablet market.
Tablet 1: Iconia A500, by Acer, about $450. Read more
A $300 Titanium iPhone case doesn't sound pretentious at all
Far be it from me to criticize a company for trying to make some money, but at first glance the $300 Titanium iPhone 4 case from Case-Mate seems a bit extreme, especially when it costs more than the iPhone (or the same if you get the 32GB model) it's protecting.
A limited edition Titanium case will be available starting on Monday, June 27th, at the Case-Mate site. In a press release announcing the case, Case-Mate CMO Erik Attkisson says the case "is a testament to our innovative creative team who are consistently pushing the boundaries of what is possible in mobile case design." I'm surprised the creative team didn't try to come up with an adamantium case to try to sell to X-men fans.
The 2011 Summer and Dad-gets Guide
This marks the sixth time I’ll get to experience Father’s Day as a father. If you’re like me, you like to play with gadgets and other cool electronics stuff. This also marks the start of summer, which means there’s lots of gadgety-type outdoor gear to experience.
Scenes from an IPv6 Day Barbecue
Submitted by Keith Shaw on Thu, 06/09/11 - 10:52am.Sure, there was some serious business during yesterday’s Read more
Review: Sprint MiFi 4082 mobile hotspot
The scoop: Sprint MiFi 4082 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot, by Novatel Wireless, about $80 (after rebates, plus two-year agreement and monthly data plan)
What it is: Like other mobile hotspot devices, the MiFi 4082 provides users with the ability to connect to a 4G wireless WAN (in this case, Sprint’s WiMax-based network) via a connected USB cable or wirelessly through a Wi-Fi connection. It also allows other users within Wi-Fi range to connect securely to share the 4G connection.
Review: Verizon Wireless MiFi 4510L mobile hotspot
The scoop: Verizon Wireless MiFi 4510L Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, by Novatel Wireless, about $100 (after $50 debit card mail-in rebate with two-year agreement, plus $50 per month, 5GB data plan).
What it is: So, Verizon’s LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G wireless network has been up and running in the Boston area for almost six months now, so it’s always fun to try out the newest devices that can connect to this speedy network, especially since our office in Framingham has a 4G LTE tower on top of it. This guarantees pretty good 4G speeds for the devices, as is the case with the 4510L.
Other Flip casualties: Accessories
Cisco’s decision to kill off its Flip line of video cameras has also killed off some other products I was looking forward to – accessories that could have made the camera even more valuable.
Last September, Cisco announced its Designed for Flip program, giving third-party companies the chance to built accessories for the Flip that could be attached to the camera through a FlipPort, giving it additional functionality. One of the products I was most looking forward to was the Mikey for Flip microphone from Blue Microphones. The Mikey (and a wireless version by Scosche) would have vastly improved one of the faults of the Flip - its poor audio quality. Those of us who used Flip cameras for video interviews (especially at noisy trade shows) would have gobbled up these accessories.
Today, sadly, the company posted an “obituary” for the Mikey for Flip on its product page, along with the following thoughts: “Despite the tremendous disappointment that Mike for Flip will not grace the world as its creators intended, there is comfort in knowing the technology developed in Mikey for Flip will continue on in future Blue products.” The company also said “in lieu of flowers, donations to the Society for the Preservation of Totally Awesome Handheld Recording Devices are encouraged.”
Review: Roxio Game Capture
The scoop: Roxio Game Capture, by Roxio, about $100 Read more
Do we really need a vacuum-sealed iPad bag?
Got an email from Dry Corp. Read more
Seagate slims down its GoFlex, but speed still rocks
Thin is always in, whether you’re a supermodel, a notebook or even a portable external hard drive. Seagate today announced availability of its GoFlex Slim, a 9mm, 2.5-inch drive aimed at users of thin, stylish notebooks, or people who may still own a netbook. The GoFlex Slim comes with 320GB of storage capacity and costs about $100.
April Fools Videos hit the Interweb
Overheard in the newsroom earlier today: "The Web has ruined another holiday." So it goes with April Fool's Day, in which everyone on the planet thinks they work for The Onion, sprinkling my inbox with fake press releases, product announcements and other such nonsense. Over in Twitter, the "news feed" is also littered with fake fake and more fake, with everyone trying to pull a fast one on everyone else.
7 other game shows that Watson should be on
Sure, it’s real easy for all of the braniacs to get excited about IBM’s Watson supercomputer destroying all humans in a game of Jeopardy – that’s the ultimate in knowledge, quick wits and thinking. But with the excitement around this event, I think IBM’s engineers should go the extra step and start putting Watson on other game shows. Trivia games like Jeopardy and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” would be a piece of cake for old Watson, but we think it might have some difficulty with some other classic shows. Here’s a list of shows I want to see Watson compete on:
Vote for your favorite video game artwork
It’s official: Wearing a Bluetooth headset makes you ugly
If you’ve ever seen men or women wearing Bluetooth headsets in public and thought, “Wow, that’s unattractive” – it turns out, you’re right! A new survey by Retrevo showed that about one-third of people are less interested in, or more likely to find a person unattractive for using/wearing a Bluetooth headset in public.
The results were part of an overall survey about whether using gadgets will make a person more or less attractive, timed just right with Valentine’s Day coming up (and all of those people considering tech gifts and gadgets).
When people first started wearing Bluetooth headsets, they often looked Borg-like, and despite attempts by headset makers to make them more stylish, they still come off as unattractive to many people. In the Retrevo survey, 31% of men said it was unattractive for a woman to wear a headset; and 33% of women found this unattractive on a man. Read more
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