| VoIP & Gadgets blog - Latest news in VoIP & gadgets, wireless, mobile phones, reviews, & opinions
Looks like today's blogging is all about more and more.
Now we have Universal Music, home to artists such as U2, planning to make its catalog of recordings and music videos available for free on an ad-supported Web site that will launch later this year.
According to the buzz, SpiralFrog.com will split advertising revenue with the recording company.
Users can download an unlimited number of songs or music videos if they register at the site.
Roxio's Popcorn 2 is for converting movies to your iPod, PSP or 3GP phone.
(Remember when copying DVDs period was a chore?)
Popcorn 2 enables you to make back up copies of your DVDs, compress dual-layer DVDs to fit onto single-layer DVDs, play back your movies with Dolby Digital support and transfer your favorite personal video entertainment to DVD, iPod, PSP or mobile phone. (Very cool ...
With all of the recent battery problems, I can't seem to stop thinking about all of the batteries that we use (and consume) in our gadgets.
If you figure that most gadgets (and toys) take two or four batteries (AA, AAA or C), that would add up to a lot of batteries.
And what about cell phones with all of their own special types of batteries?
Here's another gadget that I wished I had inverted -- it's simply called Cordgo, and in a way that is what is does (or enables you to do).
A one hand-operated cord adjustment and storage accessory, Cordgo's durable, lightweight design fits in the palm of your hand to deliver cord control.
No more dangling iPod cords, cell phone cords, MP3 player cords; in fact, any cord up to 3mm in diameter.
Cordgo was designed to perform as an integral component between cord and digital device so it adjusts the cord automatically to "the perfect length."
You all know the symptons -- your computer starts to seem a little sluggish, then you notice it definitely IS sluggish and apps seem to take longer and longer to load.
Well, that means it's time to tune up the computer system -- even if you have been diligent about cleaning out your Internet cache and other good maintenance habits.
I've just run System Mechanic Professional 6 on my PC and the difference is amazing! Boot up time has been reduced, apps and docs open quickly, windows open and shut without the mouse turning into that dreaded "hour glass" icon.
With all of the noise about Dell's exploding batteries and increasing in-flight security precautions, isn't it about time that battery manufacturers got their act together to make better batteries?
Well, it doesn't take along ...
According to the always interesting AppleInsider, leading notebook makers Apple, Dell, and Lenovo will be holding a summit meeting next month to begin development of standards for the manufacture of lithium ion batteries for portable and handheld electronics.
You see, these companies are part of the OEM Critical Components Committee of the IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries -- an organization of 2,400 companies which represent all facets of the electronic interconnection industry, including design, printed circuit board manufacturing and electronics assembly.
Now, this is interesting.
For the latest state-of-the-art TV viewing, let's go back a few decades when 3-D was the rage -- or at least something to draw folks into movie theaters.
In the "what is old is new again" column, Philips 3-D TVs are using tiny lenses over every subpixel to create a 3-D effect without the need for viewers to wear those funny glasses.
It seems there used to be so many different types of software to copy music, create videos, copy videos, backup your data. The list of apps seems to go and on and so does the list of software needed.
Thankfully, a couple of companies had the foresight to build all (or nearly all) of this essential software into all-in-one suites.
My favorite has always been Roxio, which seems to nicely balance the "keep it simple stupid" methodology with more advanced features for those of us who need a little more sophistication -- like to "get under the hood" so to speak.
Can't wait to see this one in production units!
Fascinating article in online verson of PC Magazine yesterday about the phone that has no keys. Yes, that's right -- a touchscreen instead of a keypad (dial pad -- hey, how about a rotary dialer like in the '60s?).
According to the piece, the phone, known as the Onyx, is a touch pad prototype of what developers Synaptics and Pilotfish call a "mobile phone concept," meaning this actual phone will probably never hit the market.
VoIP call recording software for popular VoIP applications such as Skype, Google Talk, Windows Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, and the rest is something I get asked about all the time. I can't tell you how many times I get email requests for recommendations for the best VoiP call recording software as well as requests for call recording software and/or hardware to record strictly PSTN or traditional PBXs conversations. Even the VoIP Forums has a few threads involving requests for call recording, including this three-page thread titled "Call Recording Software" and this VoIP Forum posting, "SOHO VoIP call recording".
It's tough when I get so many of these help requests (usually via email, sometimes via phone) since it is in my nature to want to help people out.
Not too many gadgets hit the age of 50, especially in the world of computers, but the hard drive is still going strong at 50 years of age!
(I never would have guessed!)
(An age that many may feel depressed about while looking longily at retirement, which looms not that far on the horizon).
Now, analysts are predicting that more drives will be sold over the next five years than in all the previous years combined.
Ten years ago, camera companies had nothing to worry about except each other.
But poof! along came digital cameras and the Kodak, Fuji and Nikon's of the camera world had to worry about consumer technology companies like Sony or IT companies (at least back then) like HP.
Funny thing is, while the camera companies -- both old and new -- battled each other for survival (market share) their core imaging technology got scooped up as a cool feature in mobile phones.
According to recent reports, our desire for storage continues to grow by leaps and bounds -- good thing we are storing 0's and 1's (digital data), not physical goods or we would all have to live in castles! (or at least very big houses).
(Look at that big analog storge pile!)
Hard drive manufacturers such as Seagate Technology, Western Digital and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies as well as flash memory providers, such as Samsung, are beefing up the technical capabilities of their products to meet consumers' growing storage needs.
What is old becomes new again -- is this inspired by Stonehenge or other ancient rock formations built by our ancestors?
(Or is there a simpler reason grasshopper?)
Rukshuk, "The Game of Rock Balancing" -- offers a "refreshing departure from the high-tech world of video games dominating the current landscape" and a global ecological theme.
Every Rukshuk rock formation, which players attempt to build by balancing specially crafted game rocks, is named for a natural rock phenomenon somewhere on the planet.
Here's creator Malcom Bisiker's take on it:
“Mother Nature has been building rock formations for a long time.
Sony no baloney.
Sony has a GPS add-on (GPS-CS1) for its digital cameras that records the location and time data every 15 seconds. The time on the device can be matched with the timestamp on the photo, and the exact location of the picture is added to the JPEG file's meta data, which will allow users to search photos by location!
Now how about that!
Everybody loves a Top 10 list -- and we're no exception!
This one comes from Wirefly, "an online leader in one-stop comparison shopping for cell phones and wireless service plans," which recently named the top-selling music phones in the U.S. (Definition: A cell phone that allows users to import MP3 music files or iTunes from their PCs or download them wirelessly from a content provider.
According to Wirefly, the five popular music phones are:
Let's get the lawyers out of the way! According to a CEA SmartBrief report, a film industry group plans to remove some of the hurdles that have prevented the legal recording of movies onto blank DVDs -- a further sign that Hollywood studios are preparing to expand what consumers can do with downloadable movies.
Here's the details: Under rule changes expected to be finalized soon by the DVD Copy Control Association (DVDCCA), retailers could create movie jukebox kiosks with which customers can select a movie and burn it to a DVD on the spot.
Microsoft "Genuine Advantage" was cracked in just 24 hours according to a 2005 Boing Boing article. The crack simply required adding some Javascript to your browser window.
Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:
javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')
It turns off the trigger for the key check.
Well why not, you may ask?
Accrding to an article from 2-pop eNews, Toyota will be spending more than $10 million to create and promote a comedy series designed specifically for multimedia mobile phones!
(Yes indeed, that is an "m" as in million -- remember when feature films from major motion picture studios cost that much?
A survey of U.S. adult computer users, commissioned by Intel and conducted by Harris Interactive, reveals that 34% of respondents or their families have taken a laptop PC with them on vacation and 51% of all respondents are likely to take a laptop PC on a future vacation.
Add to that the fact that more than 90% of corporate travelers take their laptop with them on business trips and you can easily see the basis for the Aviator Laptop Stand from Keynamics.
Another titanic struggle is in the making -- this time in the digital convergence of music and the cell phone.
While we all wait for Apple's mobile phone announcement, the established mobile phone companies are staking out their ground in the mobile music market.
We already know about Verizon Wireless and V Cast (a service provider goes mobile music) and now we have Nokia (a cell phone set manufacturer) countering with its purchase of Loudeye, which has a digital music catalogue of 1.5 million tracks.
The one thing we don't think about too much in the world of gadgets is that gadgets do come and go -- some very fast and some very slow.
Piece in the New York Times got me into this nostalgic state; article is on the soon to be disappearing cathode ray tube from TV sets in America and around the world, too.
(Cut-away photograph courtesy of a fun place to visit ---www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.)Now some of you may not remember, but I am sure many of you do remember that big old thing sticking out from beyond the TV set in the living room; that was the most visible part of the cathode ray tube.
(CRT to those into initials.)
What would summer be without listening to your favorite music al fresco?
Now that doesn't have to mean a festival or town music series and it certainly means more than going personally mobile with an MP3 player or other digital music device (remember when that meant "CD player"?).
What I'm talking about is an outdoor speaker system that sounds good and blends into the great outdoors.
With all the weather that we're been experiencing (hot, hot, hotter), it's a good idea to be prepared in case of a power outage or other emergency.
(And this goes out to all of you are in hurricane season now, too).
(Oh, and before I forget, how about all of those poor folks in Queens who were without power for so long -- thank you Con Ed.)
What else do I need to say?
Yes, you know who you are and you will be hitting the big box retailers, the specialty office supply stores and even local supermarkets to stock up on the essentials for back to school time.
In case you missed this, just check out all of the ads in your Sunday paper ...
(Does the summer have to end so fast ...)
Gamers, gamers, gamers, do I have deal for you ...
Layered Technologies is offering its LayeredX gaming server for one month (for free) to the winner of the LayeredX Wallpaper Contest.
LayeredX (www.layeredX.com) is a dedicated gaming server division that offers premium HP server hardware and a superior low latency network.
Try this on for size gamers!
The Satoricode Code Project is among other things an attempt to provide a constructive virtual world outlet for Internet users to settle differences that may lead to violence in the real world.
Maybe it's the intense heat (hot as blazes!), but seems to be a drop in gadget use on the train this morning.
(I thought everyone was goin' mobile!)
Last time, seems that just about half the commuters had some sort of gadget that they were using to pass the time (mobile phone, iPod or other MP3 player, notebook computer, Blackberry), but today that percent dropped to less than 1 in 10 (that 10% -- but let's not rush back to school quite yet).
Today, we had a couple of Dell notebooks (one IBM ThinkPad -- or was it Lenovo?), an iPod, Blackberry and Treo -- and that's about it.
