Satellite
”Dish Network Will Broadcast in 1080p, Streaming Blu-ray Quality Video Now Possible (But Unlikely)
Dish Network is upgrading their boxes' firmware to display 1080p resolution. Given the lack of 1080p network source material, the existing 720p/1080i compressed HD signals, and the fact that there's no standard limiting the compression quality—1080p can be compressed to crap like any other picture—it's tough to believe this is going to be really useful for consumers. But maybe we are mistaken, because the company actually thinks that their 1080p quality is on par with Blu-ray discs: More »Sirius and XM Officially Married, Now Sirus XM Radio
With the FCC's approval, Sirius and XM had a shotgun wedding over the weekend, and is now officially Sirius XM Radio, with over 18.5 million subscribers (technically XM is a subsidiary of Sirius, making it the wife, I guess). Let the promised savings and awesomeness begin. [InfoWeek]Sirius-XM Merger is FINALLY Approved
The Sirius-XM Merger was finally approved by the FCC today following a 3-2 vote by the commission. The final and deciding vote only came after both parties agreed to pay a $19.7 million fine for violating FCC regulations. After 16 months of MTV-esque "drama" and gnashing of teeth, the $3.6 billion merger means that subscribers of both services will now get the best of both worlds. [SF Gate] More »XM-Sirius Merger Nears Approval, Comes Down To One Commissioner's Vote
And here she is. After FCC commissioner Johnathan Adelstein withdrew his support today, the vote is now deadlocked and awaiting the yea or nay from Deborah Taylor Tate, a Republican who is expected to approve the merger so all of this can finally be over and done with (something tells me a large batch of high-end satellite radio gear is now being priority-overnighted to Taylor's office to make sure everything is greased appropriately). If you're a subscriber, not a whole lot will change once the deal is finalized and the two merge parts of their programming, but you'll need new gear to take full advantage of any new subscriptions once the merger is wrapped up. [WSJ via CrunchGear].15.4-Inch Toshiba Satellite Notebook On Sale For $398
Let's say that you did have some disposable income at some point in time, but it happened to turn into a spankin' new iPhone 3G right before you realized Junior desperately needed a new computer for the school year. Don't worry, Gizmodo's here to help make up for your bad parenting without throwing you deeper into debt: Starting Sunday at 8am, Wal-Mart will be selling a 15.4-inch Toshiba Satellite notebook with an Intel Celeron processor for $398. The Toshiba will be decked out with 2GB RAM, a 120GB hard drive, CD-RW and Windows Vista Premium. [Check Out Blog]New Dish Network Satellite Launched, More HD Channels On the Way
In order to offer more HD channels, satellite providers need more satellites. So happy day for Dish Network subscribers, their EchoStar XI satellite was successfully launched this morning after a satellite propelled into space last March didn't reach the right orbit. This'll let Dish add 17 new HD channels shortly, bringing them up to 100. DirecTV says they'll have over 150 by the end of the year, though Dish's upcoming all-HD TurboHD package could wind up being a better deal if history is any guide. [Reuters]Satellite Pro S300, Tecra A10 and M10: Toshiba's First Centrino 2 vPro Notebooks Can Be Fixed Wirelessly Even While Frozen
The Satellite Pro S300, Tecra A10 and Tecra M10 all have Toshiba's EasyGuard with shock and spill protection, a business card reader, a combo USB 2.0 eSATA port, and sleep-and-charge USB ports. A point of differentiation is that the Tecra A10 and M10 both rock Centrino 2 vPro, which has tech for the enterprise set so IT can fix your comp wirelessly, even when it's frozen.
More »
AT&T Dumping Dish TV (Is Satellite Screwed?)
AT&T is nixing the agreement they've had with Dish TV since 2003 to sell their satellite TV service as part of a triple play bundle with internet and voice. Some are speculating it's because AT&T is simply down on satellite TV (it's got its own U-verse IPTV thing after all), but more likely it's pitting Dish and DirecTV against each other in a bidding war, since U-verse deployment ain't exactly a runaway train speed-wise. So, realistically, you could see AT&T hawking DirecTV instead of Dish next year, which would be a blow to to the latter, since they're already little number two. But maybe AT&T will be super ballsy and push off satellite altogether. [Info Week]Party-A-Cargo Brings the Bro-Down to Wherever Your Truck Can Park
Hey dudebro, looking to take a bro-dtrip but afraid you'll make the ultimate braux-pas: not bringing enough beer and having a totally whack sound system? Chill out man, Party-A-Cargo's got your back with its tow hitch mounted kegerator. The Party-A-Cargo Ultimate can store up to 160 glasses of beer and contains a jockey box with two 6 inch by 9 inch speakers and a 10 inch subwoofer. More »GeoEye-1 Commercial Satellite Packs Military Power
Next month, a commercial satellite named the GeoEye-1 will go into the Earth's orbit. Its highest resolution photos—shots that will spot a 16-inch beachball—will be reserved for military use. However, slightly lower resolution imagery will be made available in the commercial sector, like Google Earth. More »FCC Chairman Backs Sirius/XM Merger
It's not official yet, but FCC Chairman Kevin Martin (one of five relevant votes) has decided to allow the merge between Sirius and XM satellite radio providers. However, there are a few caveats that the companies would need to accept—but it's all good news for the consumer. More »Britain Launches Final Real-Life Skynet Satellite, Dubs it Skynet with No Sense of Irony
The UK has just sent up a new communications satellite that's completed their Skynet, the highly-advanced network that's going to give them the ability to allow robotic military units at long range. You know, like in the apocalyptic vision of the future from the Terminator movies. The network's name in those movies? Skynet. Have you learned nothing, England?! More »Europe Kicks Off Saturday Night With A Rocket Launch
Europeans sure know how to celebrate a Saturday night! While I spent the good part of Happy Hour knocking back shots, our cousins from across the ocean shot a satellite up into space. The Giove-B satellite, a demonstrator that will test key technologies needed in satellite navigation systems, ascended to the heavens at 22:16 GMT. More »Sirius Starmate 5 Coming With XM Support?
Sirius' update to its Starmate line, the Starmate 5, is currently in front of the FCC for testing, and it looks like it might have a little trick up its sleeve. The gadget includes the standard abilities to pause, rewind, and replay up to 44 minutes of live radio, a memo feature to store up to 30 favorite artists or songs and a wide-angle 5 line display, but it also might just have the ability to play XM radio stations as well. More »News Corp. Hires Hacker to Break Into Dish Satellite Network, Steal Security Codes for Pirate Cards
This is classic corporate espionage/sabotage at its finest. Dish Network is accusing News Corp.—which used to have a 39 percent stake in DirecTV and still provides its security tech—of hiring hacker Christopher Tarnovsky to break into Dish's network, steal the security codes, and use them to make pirated cards to flood the black market. It sounds insane, but Tarnovsky admitted in court he was paid James Bond villain style, with $20,000 cash payments mailed from Canada hidden inside "electronic devices."
More »








