The best alternative to get "streaming" to work with Windows Media Player 11 is to first locate the file you want to watch over the network, then press the triangle button and copy it to your PS3. The same file that couldn't play back a minute ago will happily render itself when viewed off the PlayStation 3's hard drive.

It seems to us that the fault may either lie with the way that WMP11 streams files or the way that the PS3 plays back streamed files over the network—we're not sure. If the PS3 supported SMB networking, this problem might be eliminated. We'll have to check back in the future if and when they do add this feature.

Sorry for the confusion everybody! When I got DivX, and not XviD, to stream correctly, I assumed that XviD does not work. I should have tested it on an external drive as well. But hurray, XviD works fine on PS3. Thanks for checking up on us.

Update: I just did another test, and EyeConnect on Macs seem to stream DivX and XviD just fine for me. So it looks like a WMP11 problem. Has anyone else gotten it to support streaming w/ WMP11? TVersity seems to stream alright on PCs too, according to some users.

Update 2: Just re-confirmed that TVersity works for me, but the same files that work in TVersity don't work streaming over WMP11. Very strange.

Update: We've found that XviD playback does work, but only on burned DVDs and external hard drives. See here for an update and a workaround.

DivX and WMV play back fine. Just as they claimed, the PS3 now can play back DivX files and WMV files. No problemo.

XviD does not work. Again, no XviD support at all. You'd be surprised how many of your files are actually XviD and not DivX, especially if you've been "obtaining" TV shows and movies over the years. Often times the files aren't labeled with the codec type in the name, so you'll have to try and play it back to know whether or not it's supported. If it's not, the file name will change to "Unsupported Data." [Some readers are reporting that XviD support works. Others have written us saying that some files work, others don't. Jason has tried this with a few XviD files and none of them worked. -JD]

Streaming only works off of Windows Media Player 11 shares, not Windows Media Connect or SMB (regular Windows folder sharing). This one could be a biggie. The PlayStation 3 doesn't actually support SMB network shares, which is the default Windows folder sharing network protocol that both Linux and OS X understand. This means you're going to have to install Windows Media Player 11 (or something similar, like Orb) in order to stream video from your home computer. Windows Media Connect, which sits on our Windows Home Server that housed most of our video files, didn't work. WMP11 did.

You can play files off a burned CD/DVD. If your PlayStation 3 isn't connected to a network, or if it's hooked up to a Wi-Fi network that's too slow to stream big files without dropping out, you can burn your flicks to a DVD. This is a hassle, but ensures that your movie experience won't be interrupted by someone microwaving popcorn.

The quality is pretty good. When we got the network streaming to work and found a compatible DivX file out of all our XviDs, playback was smooth and (for the most part) artifact free.

Video dimensions stretch well. The PS3 knows exactly what aspect ratio your files are and stretches them to fit your screen without distortion. The 360 couldn't quite handle that without a little coaxing.

The first time you play back a WMV file, you need to activate WMA playback first. Not a huge deal, but kind of a pain that you have to go to the System Settings screen and activate WMA playback before you can watch any WMV file that uses the codec.

Playback controls are gimpy. This isn't the fault of the new DivX support, but of the way the PS3 handles all video playback. It's usable, but it's not as polished as the Xbox's (which wasn't all that great to begin with.) UI isn't Sony's strong suit.

It's not all bad news though, as the PS3 is actually entirely DivX certified—unlike the Xbox 360. This means that the console natively supports the codec, so games can play back DivX files as their in-game cut scene movies. However, this fact doesn't help out the rabid downloader that's expecting it to play back most of his media files—like the Xbox 360 does. If you're looking for a machine to replace that aging Xbox Media Center (XBMC), the 360 is the current winner.

Touching the car electrocutes you. A small amount of current is always needed to maintain the arrangement of iron oxide (your custom car color). So when you leave your car parked/off, the car turns white. Now imagine your white car times 5000 during your next IKEA excursion. Yeah, it'll be like Florida, everywhere you go.

CORRECTION: This is not Nissan technology, they merely viewed a demo. [nextenergynews]

As some of our astute readers have pointed out, the Zune 2 looks like it will support a Wi-Fi text messaging service. The extract from the leaked support document details an inbox feature, which "is where customers can send and receive text messages with other Zune users." The added functionality would sure make the social a lot more social, but the exact details are not clear.

Apparently, there are three types of messages, including text, artist or album. What the artist and album message formats will allow is not clear. (Simply a message with the information seems unlikely, but anything beyond that also seems a little unlikely). What has not been touched upon is a method for text entry; we sure hope there is some form of a solution to make this doable. Given the hardware infrastructure we cannot see a solution, but we'd love to be proven wrong. [Zune Scene via Zune Boards]

Apple to Ship Mac OS X Leopard on October 26

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced that Mac OS(R) X Leopard will go on sale Friday, October 26 at 6:00 p.m. at Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, and that Apple's online store is now accepting pre-orders. Leopard is packed with more
than 300 new features and introduces a brand new desktop with Stacks, a new way to easily access files from the Dock; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive new feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; and Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac(R).

"Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X, is the best upgrade we've ever released," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "And everyone gets the 'Ultimate' version, packed with all the new innovative features, for just $129."

Leopard's new desktop includes the redesigned 3D Dock with Stacks, a new way to organize files for quick and easy access with just one click. Leopard automatically places web, email and other downloads in a Downloads stack to maintain a clutter-free desktop, and users can instantly fan the contents of this and other Stacks into an elegant arc right from the Dock. Users can also create their own Stacks for quick access to folders, documents or applications. Leopard's gorgeous new look extends to all applications, with every window on the desktop offering a consistent design theme and active windows outlined by deeper shadows that make them stand out.

The updated Finder includes Cover Flow(R) and a new sidebar with a dramatically simplified way to search for, browse and copy content from any PC or Mac on a local network. Content on any computer on a local network can now be searched using Spotlight(TM), browsed using Cover Flow or copied across the network with a simple drag and drop. .Mac members can use the new Back to My Mac feature to browse and access files on their remote Macs over the Internet.

Quick Look is the fastest and easiest way for users to look inside files without launching them or even having the application that created them. With Quick Look, users can instantly view full-screen, high-resolution files of virtually anything, even media files, from any view in the Finder.

Spaces gives users a powerful new way to organize their work by creating customized desktops which can contain only those applications or documents needed for each project, with the ability to quickly switch between Spaces with the mouse or keyboard.

Time Machine lets users easily back up all of the data on their Mac, find lost files and even restore all of the software on their Mac. With just a one-click setup, Time Machine automatically keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on the Mac.* In the event a file is lost, users can search back through time to find deleted files, applications, photos and other digital media and then instantly restore the file. If it's ever necessary, Leopard can also easily restore an entire system from the Time Machine data on an external drive.

Mail has been updated in Leopard and features more than 30 stationery designs and layouts that look great on a Windows PC or Mac so users can easily send stylish, personalized emails with beautiful graphics and photos. Notes and To Dos help users stay organized by acting just like emails that can be easily created, saved as drafts, synced across multiple Macs and stored in Smart Mailboxes. Data detectors automatically sense phone numbers, addresses and events so they can be added to Address Book or iCal(R) with just a few clicks, and users can keep up-to-date by getting the latest news and blog feeds delivered directly to the their mailboxes with a built-in RSS reader.

iChat(R), the easiest-to-use video conferencing application on any personal computer, offers even richer video chats in Leopard with iChat Theater, which makes it easy to show photos, presentations, videos or files in a video conference; screen sharing which lets users remotely view and operate another Mac; and Photo Booth(R) effects for fun distortions and video backdrops that can instantly make users appear to be anywhere they choose.

Other new features in Leopard include:

— improved Parental Controls, aiding parents in managing their kids' online activities with automatic identification of unsuitable content before allowing website access, plus time limits and activity logs that can be accessed from any Mac on a home network;
— the complete Boot Camp(R) release, previously available only as a beta, making it possible to run Windows natively on Intel-based Macs;**
— Web Clip, bringing anything that a user wants from a web page to Dashboard as a live widget;
— new Photo Booth features, helping users create animated iChat buddy icons or fun effects and backdrops with still or video images;
— an enhanced Dictionary with Wikipedia built in, allowing users to access up to date information on virtually any subject in a snap;
— a newly updated iCal with multi-user calendaring based on the new CalDAV standard; and
— an updated version of Front Row, making it even easier to play music or watch movies, TV shows and photos on a Mac using the ultra-simple Apple Remote.

Pricing & Availability

Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26 at Apple's retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $129 (US) for a single user license, and online pre-orders can be made through Apple's online store (http://www.apple.com) starting today. The Mac OS X Leopard Family Pack is a single-household, five-user license that will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). Volume and maintenance pricing is available from Apple. The standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Leopard requires a minimum of 512MB of RAM and is designed to run on any Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5 or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor. Full system requirements can be found at http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs.

Apple Announces Mac OS X Server Leopard

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced that Mac OS(R) X Server version 10.5 Leopard will go on sale on Friday, October 26, at the same time as Mac OS X Leopard. Leopard Server extends Apple's legendary ease of use, making it even easier to take advantage of the benefits of a server, and introduces Podcast Producer, the ideal way to automatically publish podcasts to iTunes(R) or the web. Leopard Server packs more than 250 new features including Wiki Server, allowing people to collaboratively create and modify their shared web sites with just a few
clicks; and iCal(R) Server, the world's first commercial CalDAV standard-based calendar server.

"Leopard Server is the best release of Mac OS X Server yet, bringing more great innovations, like Podcast Producer, Wiki Server and iCal Server," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

"With new setup features that have a server up and running within minutes and no client access licenses, Leopard Server is the ideal alternative to complicated and expensive server offerings for small and large businesses."

Leopard Server presents new features for effortless setup, management and monitoring of systems on the network. Server Assistant configures server applications, network settings such as IP addresses and DNS configurations and user accounts with just a few clicks. Server Preferences simplifies management of users, groups and key server applications, and a Server Status Dashboard widget remotely monitors activity and usage. Leopard Server also eliminates the need to manually set up Leopard clients by automatically configuring client applications, including file sharing, Mail, iChat(R), iCal, Address Book and VPN from user information stored on the server.

Podcast Producer is the easiest way for anyone to record content, automatically upload it to the server and convert it into a podcast optimized for playback on almost any device, including a High Definition TV, iPod(R), Apple TV(TM) or multimedia-enabled cell phone.

With Wiki Server, anyone can easily create and edit collaborative web pages, called wikis, with a few clicks of a mouse. Wiki Server has 20 Apple-designed web page themes and provides a complete revision history to make it easy to restore previous entries and merge or compare different versions. Wiki Server can automatically notify users whenever a change is made, keeping them up-to-date on the latest information, and users can tag keywords to find content quickly.

It's easy to share calendars, schedule meetings and coordinate events within a workgroup, school, small business or large corporation using iCal Server. iCal Server is the first open, standards-based calendar server that works with popular calendar programs which support the new CalDAV standard and does not require client access licenses, so businesses can add users freely as they expand at no additional cost.

Leopard Server is fully UNIX compliant and its core services, including Apache 2, MySQL 5, Postfix, Podcast Producer and QuickTime(R) Streaming Server, are 64-bit, allowing users to work with larger data sets and take full advantage of the performance and processing power of their 64-bit hardware. Since Leopard Server is fully 32-bit compatible, users can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications natively side-by-side.

Pricing & Availability

Mac OS X Server version 10.5 Leopard will be available on October 26 at Apple's retail stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for a 10-client edition and $999 (US) for an unlimited-client edition. An unlimited client license of Leopard Server is included with Apple's powerful Xserve(R) rack-mount server hardware at no extra charge. Online pre-orders can be made through the Apple Store(R) (http://www.apple.com) starting today and current subscribers to the Apple Maintenance Program will receive Leopard Server as part of their service agreement. Volume and maintenance pricing is available from Apple. The standard Mac OS Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Xserve system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller on or after October 1, 2007 for a shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Leopard Server can run on any Macintosh(R) computer with an Intel, PowerPC G5, or G4 (867 Mhz or faster) processor, a minimum 1GB of RAM and at least 20GB of available disk space.

After seeing the Nokia ad—which WAS from Nokia—he decided to make a fake one, which caught Apple's eye. Long story short, Apple called Commission Junction, who told this guy to take it down. We should have checked the original story more, instead of assuming that because it forwarded to the Apple store, it was an ad from Apple. We'll do better next time! [Didn't You Hear]

Did Page Six swap the text on you, or did you not read carefully enough? We'll update when things clear up.
And if you thought the idea of Kathy Griffin getting ahold of Woz's personal D List was weird, take a look at this video of Apple's co-founder in a Datsun 280-ZX in the early '80s. As a fan of the Z, we can see why Woz did it. [Wired]

Update: Adario gives us this explanation in an email:

The Post never referenced the Contact Music report, it just reported that the two 'planned' to meet at some point. But if you look at the Contact Music report that everyone linked to it sounds like they are already dating when, according to their PR people, the two haven't even met.

It still doesn't really clear things up.

This factoid showed up on blogs like this one after Pogue's review went up, and spread from there. Here's Pogue's statement in the NY Times, which sources Apple, and is nowhere near as drastic as we'd originally interpreted:

Here's the official word, now:
That's from the right hand of the iPhone battery page on Apple's site, closer to the bottom.[Apple] [NYTimes]

Sending it in also wipes out all your saved data, so you'll have to resync it (but it also wipes out your text messages and email, which you may not be able to resync). Hopefully nobody will have to deal with this for another year or two. Apple Battery Replacement Program [Apple]

•Each EXO prototype has a polished aluminum chassis frame, and this one has carbon fiber panels all around. You can, however, order whateverthefrick panels you want, including woods like bamboo, diamond patterned steel plate, and more. Whatever. Seriously, not just what you can select in a drop down menu in a browser based shopping cart.
•Instead of routing power supply cables through you entire case, they've got a mobo tray mounted "power strip" with short lead cables to all components. Very clean.
• Like I said before, the EXO has an exclusive deal with NVidia to get their top ~%1 of the bin. That means that the chips inside of the EXO machines will be of higher quality, and shipped to overclock. (A first.)

and...

•They'll ship with drive bays with power and SATA cables in the back of the drive array. Plug in, like a rack system, no fussing with wires.
•The watercooling system is done with a combination of a small water reservoir, and a peltier thermalelectric cooler. That's both video and CPU, of course. Each hosed system is tested to 30PSI, but it runs at 5PSI. This won't leak.
•Every computer is built by hand, by one technician.
•Every PC comes in a giant steel luggage case, suitable for shipping and lugging your PC to a LAN party.
•If you have to ask how much these things are, you can't afford it. Really. But they will have lower-priced units.
•3-motherloving-years of warranty! US based tech support! English is NOT a second language!
•Warranty doesn't include overclocked parts, but they'll swap in your new chips for free if you send it back.
•They'll ship in about eight weeks or so.

The lead designer came over from Alienware, and the company is backed by ultra products, makers of various PC accessories, to do a Gaming PC without compromise. (Like when Honda develops Formula 1 cars.) It'll be interesting to see how these machines stack up, side by side with the Alienware and Voodoo and Falcon Northwest machines in the world. –Brian Lam

Homepage [Ultragamingpc.com]

Obviously. This post isn't 'bout that. Let's talk about Shaw.

He has a 4/5 rating from Yahoo! Finance, and Macrumors tracks him at about a 50% hit ratio. He's often right, with great foresight, but this prediction is vague and obvious. Maybe he knows more, and can't say anything. He reminds me of this uncle I had that got rich on the stock market during the bubble, and who would whisper inane secrets in my ear like "Psst, buy Microsoft!" But maybe
he knows more.

So, here's my prediction list of Shaw Wu's 2007 prediction list:
•6th-generation iPods due before end of Q3 2007. Or Q4. 2008. Will be offered in white and black.
•iPhone 2 coming in 2008. Will be sleeker, more nano-like. Will have a 12GB and 16GB model, or at least more storage than the 8GB version. Unless it doesn't.

Just kidding. Come on dude, hit us with some specifics, like when you dropped the MacBook moniker on us out of nowhere. Now, that was awesome. –Brian Lam

[UPDATE: Apologies to the very Nice Mr Shaw Wu, who was nice enough to clear things up with his prediction, and we talked about this piece being too personal. I totally agree, in hindsight, and I have made some changes.]

Apple iPhone Variant [Techwhack]

The new technology will add video capability directly into the Web browser, so that users can see and play back video content directly in Opera. As of yet, Opera has not commented on whether or not the new native playback ability for Opera Mobile will be able to play existing Flash content.

Sounds good, except the power of Flash is that everyone uses it, market penetration in browsers is sky high, and what good is yet another browser, esp if its specific to mobile phones?

The right thing to do is for Adobe to develop a server side piece of software that can downscale flash content for Mobile devices, depending on browser, connection, etc. They could get rich, and I can get YouTube on my cellphone browser. Unless YouTube is already thinking about this stuff in transcoding to H.264. – Jason Chen, fact checked by Brian Lam

Infoworld [via Ars Technica]

All that verbiage can be boiled down to two sticking points: the lack of tactile feedback and the fact that people will have to re-learn (in at least a limited sense) their phone's method of input.

Point one is valid. Even Mossy has his doubts about the touchscreen conquering the keyboard. Haptic feedback would go a long way in addressing those concerns—look at the love for RAZR2's haptic-feedback touchscreen.

But the more interesting point, the second one, is that the iPhone "requires users to learn the new system, a task that Apple executives acknowledge may require several days." Helio's Sky Dayton is the primary mouthpiece here, saying that

There has never been a massively successful consumer device based solely on a touch screen. "Texting" is central to an entire generation of people... There is a generation of users who are always online and who don't communicate the way their parents did. They're e-mailing; they're texting; they're I.M.-ing.

There might be other reasons to doubt the iPhone, but an iron grip on input paradigms by this mysterious "always on" generation is not one of them. If anything, we're as fickle as they come, ready to drop old habits for new toys at any given second.

All that said, some haptic feedback wouldn't help Corrected: hurt. – Matt Buchanan

P.S. I'm only hard on you NYT because I love you.

That iPhone Has a Keyboard, but It's Not Mechanical [NYT]

See the original idiot post of mine after the jump. – Jason Chen

Save $100 At Apple By Being A Tease Over The Phone? [Consumerist]

Our life-hating sisters over at Consumerist have an unconfirmed tip on how to save $100 when you get an iPhone on June 29. If you walk into an Apple store, browse around, and whine to the customer sales rep about the iPhone being cost prohibitively expensive ("Oh, I'd get one but the price is a kick in the iBalls"), they can take $100 off your order just like that.

To us, this sounds both too good to be true and fantastically, ridiculously fake. Odd, yes, but we know that Apple's not going to let sales reps take off $100 for no reason than some shmuck hemming and hawing over the price. When have they ever done that before?

Quiet as you like, Sony have snuck out a couple more HD-compatible camcorders, the SR8 and the SR5C without even a whisper. The SR8 looks like an upgraded version of the SR7 which is barely two months old, and the SR5 is now the SR5C. You want prices, shipping dates, more pics and just what these lovers are saying to each other? Of course you do.

Say howdy doody to the SR8, with its 3.2 megapixel video sensor and 10 x optical zoom. It'll cost you $1,600 and is available "on or before", says Sony, July 9.

This, my friends, is the SR5C, which has upgraded storage, and increased capacity from 40GB to 100GB. If you encode your video in H.264, you should be able to get about 36 hours of 1080i-resolution HD video onto the camera. Again, July 9, and expect to pay around $1,300.

Loverette: "I have acute angina, you know."
Lover: "Yes, it's as soft as a mouse's ear."

UPDATE: Matt from the Digital Camcorder News website has pointed out to us that Sony has updated every single one of its tapeless camcorders, most of which have been doubled in capacity at least. Big up to that man for pointing it out to us. – Ad Dugdale

Sony slips out SR5C, SR8, HD video cams [Electronista]

Hit the jump for the full list of 16 ways the iPhone has grown up, which range from the useful—message previews in the mail screen—to the mundane—the home icons are in a different order. No hair in funny places, though.

1. Bluetooth icon shifted to top right
2. Time font is less bold
3. Home icons have changed order
4. Web home button changed to Safari button
5. In iPod mode the icons and order have changed, and Podcasts added
6. The incoming call screen includes Wi-Fi status
7. Photos screen changed from glossy grey to glossy dark blue (possibly different color schemes available)
8. Includes number of picture in album next to name
9. Photo album screen does not include number of photos at the top
10. Mail screen's top right button changed from "vertical or horizontal view" button to edit button
11. Mail screen shows first sentence(s) of message
12. Bottom bar of mail screen includes the time mail was last updated
13. Mail message view screen changed with the sender now above the subject and date sent
14. Arrows and the number of messages have changed positions in the top bar
15. Back arrow to the inbox includes the number of unread messages
16. Ring tone has changed

16 ways the iPhone has changed [The Simple Web Solution via digg]

[Wiki, RetroThing and TUAW. Image of the Apple I adopted for use from The Joy of Tech]

How much battery life does the LED Backlighting save?
30 minutes to an hour vs. the older models. (Including savings from Santa Rosa, so there's no way to distinguish the improvements individually.)

Is there a full brightness warmup?
No, its...

instantly at full brightness, unlike traditional LCDs.

What is the comparison in brightness, color range?
Identical to the previous generation.

Why no 17-inch with LEDs?
The 15-inch is the first one [in the industry]. All screens will transition when it's technically and economically feasible.

Glossy and Matte finish in all screen sizes and variants?
Yes.

Does the 1920 by 1200 resolution mean Blu-ray is coming?
No comment.

Resolution has always been great at 115 pixels per inch, until Tiger Leopard's UI scaling comes out, will the fonts be too small?
The DPI number has gone up a bit, but the Custom to Order option for the higher-res screen is geared toward the pro users who need it in the field. (Like those who do full 1080p HD editing in the field).

Hard drive configs: Which are perpendicular and what are the max sizes?
TK on the perpendicular configs. 200GB at 4200 RPM for the 15-inch, and 250GB at 4200RPM at the 17-inch [I'd rather have the faster drives that are slightly smaller, regardless of impact on battery and storage]

Any other improvements?
Speakers on the 17-inch have been improved low frequency response.

First of all, it's the hardware is much sturdier in this phone than any other Nokia I've seen in awhile. Credit goes to the steel chassis.

Even the lid stood up to a firm twist. Software and spec wise, the N76 very similar to the 2MP, Symbian 60, N75 clamshell I wrote about two months ago, so you can look for more info there. The software inside lacks the Cingular additions the N75 has. If you missed it, the keypad is very RAZR like.

The N76 isn't subsidized like the N75, so its $500 and unlocked. And it doesn't have 3G/UMTS. Other than that, I love it like I love all N Series Nokia phones. And this comes in red.

Because of the price, and the lack of 3g, I might consider the AT&T N75 to be a better deal, but you have to worry about that pesky contract. I'd go for the contract. – Brian Lam

N76 [Nokia USA]

It won't work on DRM'd enabled content. But so many sites use Flash players as their sole download deterrent, or video streams that can't be saved as more than a bookmark otherwise. The UI on the player pops up over a Flash or movie stream window, allowing you to click to download. What's cool is that it preserves meta-data, like name, rating, description, and where you got it from. Sharing videos with friends at that point sends the source URL instead of the actual video file. Right now, it can't transcode, but it will burn DVDs if you pay for the registered version. Thankfully, the freeware still rips.

Will it nag you to upgrade in old school Real fashion? I don't know. But the beta is live now, and it's worth checking out. [UPDATE: June...live in June, not now.]– Brian Lam

RealNetworks Introduces Breakthrough New RealPlayer

New One-Click Downloading Lets Consumers Enjoy Videos from Thousands of Web Sites Wherever and Whenever They Want

CARLSBAD, Calif., D: All Things Digital Conference - May 31, 2007, 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time - Leading digital entertainment services company RealNetworks® today unveiled the new RealPlayer®, the first media player to make it one-click simple to download online videos from thousands of Web sites. The new RealPlayer makes it easy for consumers to watch videos whenever and wherever they want, burn them to DVD and CD, and share video links with friends. Most major formats are supported, including Real, Windows Media, Flash, and Quicktime. The new RealPlayer will be available for free beginning next month at RealPlayer.com.

"The new RealPlayer gives consumers more control of Internet video than was ever possible before," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of Real. "By floating a "download this video" button next to video seen on thousands of Web sites, RealPlayer makes it one-click simple. The new RealPlayer is a major step towards realizing our vision of bringing great digital entertainment to more people on more screens around the world."

In 1995 RealNetworks gave the Internet a voice with the first-ever Internet broadcast via the release of the RealAudio® player, an innovation that garnered Real a coveted Emmy Award® by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Since then, the RealPlayer has become one of the most downloaded software applications on the Internet, with an average of more than 1.5 million copies downloaded daily.

Fast Facts about the New RealPlayer:
n Consumers can use the innovative, single-click process to quickly download and save videos for later enjoyment.
n Consumers can download multiple videos simultaneously with RealPlayer, allowing people to save time and easily multitask. Users can also start downloading in the middle of watching a video, and the entire video will be captured.
n Consumers don't need to worry about video format compatibility issues - the new RealPlayer supports videos created in the most popular formats, including Flash, Windows Media, Quicktime, and Real.
n Consumers can easily burn videos to CD (or to DVD, using RealPlayer Plus). The Video CD format used by RealPlayer can be played in most DVD players.
n Consumers can send links of their favorite videos to their friends with a convenient "Share with a Friend" feature. The link that arrives in their friends' email will direct them to the online source of the video content their friend downloaded.
n RealPlayer supports both downloading and recording for popular streaming format (Windows Media, Real, and Quicktime)
n RealPlayer will only download/record video that is not protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems.
n RealPlayer features an improved look and feel, a streamlined installation process and faster video playback.
n RealPlayer will first be released for Windows, and will work with both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Real plans a version for the Mac to be released later in the year.

"RealPlayer feeds the appetite consumers have for interesting Web video while maintaining a connection with the content source," said Lisa Hungness, general manager, New Media for National Geographic Magazine Online that hosts video content, including WildCams—Web cams that stream live video of animals in the wild, connecting people to animals and environments around the world at www.nationalgeographic.com/wildcam. "Our WildCam fans love to download and share our video. Thousands of our clips are posted across the Web. This will be a great new trend in online video viewing for consumers and content owners alike because consumers can share links back to the videos' origin where similar experiences may be found and enjoyed."

"Time-shifting of recorded or downloaded content is a natural next step in the progression of the online video distribution and consumption," said Michael McGuire, vice president, Gartner, Inc.. "For online video fans, the ability to capture, store and forward content is going to be transformative."

A beta of the new RealPlayer will be available for the public in June 2007 via a free download from www.realplayer.com. Consumers and media are invited to visit the www.realplayer.com site to participate in the RealPlayer blog, register for product information and updates, and share ideas about how the new RealPlayer's capabilities could change the face of online video.

Future versions of RealPlayer, which are now in development, will enable users to transfer online video content to their personal media devices for on-the-go viewing.

I don't know about you, but if I had this in school, my written notes wouldn't have just sat there, unused in my notebook. You can click on the paper, and the whole audio segment plays itself back. That's also nice because you don't have to write every little thing down; you can take loose notes, and then actually spend time thinking about what the teacher/interviewee is saying.

The amount of RAM wasn't indicated, but I heard that the pen will store an hour 100 hours [UPDATED] of audio. Good for short assignments and lectures. The paper? You can print out the templates on almost any laser printer, and on many inkjets. They're more into selling the apps than the paper. And the pen's software development kit is going to be nice and open, so geeks can write their own apps on top of the ones you can buy. (And the pen already does neat stuff like the math and translation.)

The pen also uses some neat logic built into our hearing system to filter noise. The microphones are in the earbuds, in stereo. When your brain hears the same signal equally in both ears, it has a much better time focusing on that noise. As the microphones record the sound as your ears would ear it, it plays it back in the same stereo resolution. So your brain has an easy time filtering out the background rumble.

A very cool app, and Jim Marggraff's 6th generation paper interface device (He also made that cool talking globe for kids you can click on for geography lessons.) And if you're wondering if this thing'll read your handwriting, I can say with first hand knowledge that Jim's handwriting absolutely sucks, and it still read his. – Brian Lam

Livescribe Launches New Mobile Computing Platform

Smartpen, Applications, and Developer Tools Connect Paper and Digital Worlds

D: ALL THINGS DIGITAL, CARLSBAD, Calif. - May 30, 2007 - Livescribe Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jim Marggraff today unveiled a new chapter in mobile computing - a new paper-based computing platform. The Livescribe platform turns plain paper into a computer screen and bridges the gap between the paper and digital worlds. The platform enables a broad range of new applications in personal productivity, learning, communication, and self expression.

The Livescribe platform includes:

- Smartpen: a Montblanc-size computer with advanced processing power, audio/visual feedback, and substantial memory for handwriting capture, audio recording, and applications
- Dot Paper with Dot Positioning System (DPS): technology that enables interactive, "live" documents using plain paper printed with micro-dots
- Software Applications: a breadth of solutions that leverage audio/ink capture, handwriting recognition, and Internet connectivity to enhance personal productivity, learning, communication and self expression
- Development Tools: easy-to-use tools for consumers and developers to create, publish, and share or sell new applications and content online

The possibilities for paper-based applications are endless. Livescribe's first key application is "Paper Replay." When taking notes during a discussion or lecture, the smartpen records the conversation and digitizes the handwriting, automatically synching the ink and audio. By later tapping the ink, the smartpen replays the conversation from the exact moment the note was written. Notes and audio can also be uploaded to a PC where they can be replayed, saved, searched and sent.

Additional applications will be available for download from www.livescribe.com. Some use handwriting recognition. For example, when a user writes a math problem, the smartpen interprets the writing, calculates the answer and speaks or shows it on the smartpen's OLED display. When a user writes a word, the definition or even translation can be heard or seen. Other applications use pre-printed materials to bring paper to life. Tapping a magazine ad, map, customer survey, or study guide instantly launches an application and enables interaction. Still other applications use the power of the Internet to let people broadly share and collaborate. Handwritten messages can be sent as emails. Animated, hand-drawn "movies" can be posted and shared online. Spoken messages can be recorded, linked with written notes and emailed directly from a notepad. Livescribe holds intellectual property around these and other paper-based computing solutions.

"The basic modes of human communication - reading, writing, speaking and listening - are enhanced by Livescribe with a completely intuitive, portable, low-cost tool," said Marggraff. "A smartpen that captures your notes, records what you hear, solves your math problems, translates languages, and sends handwritten emails is extraordinary to experience. It is the harbinger of a new era of mobile computing."

"The Livescribe platform takes paper-based technology to a radical new level, integrating software applications with physical paper," said Rodney Brooks, Director of MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. "I see the smartpen as just the beginning for a new class of device with almost unlimited potential."

Livescribe is funded by VantagePoint Venture Partners and has an executive management team with deep experience from successful consumer technology companies such as LeapFrog, Palm, Apple and IBM. Marggraff is best known for inventing LeapFrog's billion-dollar LeapPad platform and the award-winning FLY Pentop Computer. Joining him at the D conference are Chief Operating Officer Sasha Pesic and Chief Marketing Officer Byron Connell.

Anoto AB, inventor of optical pen technology and dot pattern, holds intellectual property that allows quick and reliable transmission of handwritten text from paper to digital media. Livescribe has licensed this technology for use in its smartpen and dot paper.

Product Availability
The Livescribe paper-based computing platform - a smartpen, dot paper, software applications, along with development tools - will be available online beginning in Q4. The smartpen will be less than $200. Additional dot paper will be available at prices comparable to standard paper products.

About D: All Things Digital
D: All Things Digital is a gathering of the movers and shakers who are at the forefront of the digital revolution. Producers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher invite the best people in the business each year to participate in D, including the individuals making news and successful leaders and pre-eminent thinkers who are shaping the digital world. The conference, which is sold out, takes place May 29-31 near San Diego, Calif. For more information, see http://d.wsj.com/.

About Livescribe
Located in Oakland, Calif., Livescribe has developed a new low-cost mobile computing platform that connects the paper and digital worlds. Founded by Jim Marggraff, an entrepreneur and inventor of paper-based computing, including the LeapPad and Fly Pentop Computer, the company is designing innovative solutions that enhance personal productivity, learning, communication, and self expression for anyone who writes with pen and paper. For more information, visit Livescribe at www.livescribe.com.

A million iPod killers sold since November 14, 2006. – Jesus Diaz

Getting in the game at Microsoft [SF Gate]

Update: Microsoft actually hasn't sold 1 million Zunes yet. See this post for details.

This weekend Starting June 10, Dell's first Wal-Mart offering, the Dimension E521, will roll out into more than 3,000 locations. Naturally, both more computers and more retail partners will follow, since Dell sees third-party retail as one its major new avenues to growth. Of course, the name of the game is audience expansion, so it's no coincidence that we're seeing the fruits of "Dell 2.0" the same week we're seeing its close to its Wally World debut as it grasps for consumers on both sides of the traditional Dell spectrum of sales. – Louis Ramirez & Matt Buchanan

Product Page [via Direct2Dell]
Wal-Mart to begin selling Dell PCs [CNET via Between the Lines]

Press Release

So far it says Best Buy, Sears, Circuit City and Fry's are participating, but we've heard from the HD DVD folks that Amazon is as well. Amazon's price? Only $299 before rebate. That means you can make out with a $199 player when all's said and done. Score!

Hit the jump for the rebate.

Update: Looks like Amazon sells it for $299 after instant rebate. Elsewhere you'd need to get it for $399 to qualify for the rebate.

– Jason Chen

Rebate [PDF]

Product Page [Amazon]

It has a built-in antenna that supports GPS navigation through Sprint's network. There's no pricing yet, but it's expected to come out mid-June with support for PCs and Macs (as long as your notebook has an Express Card slot). – Louis Ramirez

Update: This isn't the only card with the GPS functionality. Other cards have it too.

Product Page [via Electronista]

At the conference, all those present plainly saw a PC in the demo running the screen you see pictured above, and if you look closely you can barely make out "Windows Build 6001 Service Pack 1, v113" at the top of the screen. But this could be a ruse. Will there be any more service packs at all for Vista?

According to analysts, many Microsoftians would rather just bug-fix the operating system as they go along, using Windows Update to slip in patches as they're created. Plus, if there's no SP1 to wait for, people might be more likely to pick up a copy of Windows Vista now. Fixing bugs as soon as possible via Microsoft's automatic updating service seems to be the most logical approach.

We've heard quite a few people saying they're waiting for bug fixes before jumping into Vista, and we agree. Sure, we're running Vista on a test machine or two, but we're not quite as trustworthy as most early adopters and are waiting for SP1 before we install it on our main production workstations. What about it, readers? Should we jump into Vista now? – Charlie White

Update: The code name "Fiji" reportedly refers to an interim Windows release that contains the next update of Windows Media Center, not SP1. However, Microsoft isn't confirming or denying any of this. CW

Vista Service Pack 1: It lives [ZDNet, via CrunchGear]

UPDATE: We spoke with Alienware who told us the Hangar system won't launch for another few weeks. Stay tuned.

Alienware to Launch Hangar 18 This Week [Computer Shopper]

It's made of tough Lexon, the same stuff of which they make football helmets, With a simple squeeze it lights your path and even scares away that monster under the bed. Best of all, the thing's only $11, available in beige or dark gray. – Charlie White

Update: OK, sorry, Lexan is the hard plastic, Lexon is the company that makes this key-shaped LED light. My mistake. CW

Product Page [Pure Modern, via Oh Gizmo]

Product Page [HP]

Update: Bloops. I misread. This media center actually has a combo drive capable of doing Blu-ray, HD DVD, DVD and CD. There is no need for the second drive. This correction changes the final price to $1,800 after rebate. Thanks for the corrections, commenters.

Fool us once [Gizmodo]

Update: there actually was an announcement made, but it wasn't a public one. See this post for details of what was revealed behind closed doors to developers.

Like its bigger brother, there are endless lists of features worth knowing about: In fact, it has most of the main features the N95 does, minus the more potent camera and GPS, and video podcasts (UPDATE: can download the app, along with the map application without GPS.) But the N75 has 3G network speeds, and a somehow snappier feeling OS. And it's subsidized at $200 after $50 rebate, with a two-year contract, so it's about a quarter the price of the N95 flagship.

Before you dive into the gallery tour below, you'll be happy to know this: Even though carriers have traditionally been pretty scared of the openness and power of the N-series Nokia phones, Cingular hasn't neutered the N75's smartphone-ness.
Here's a gallery of the hardware, screenshots, and even some sample shots taken with the camera phone.

And here's a complete rundown of what the powerful phone has to offer:

Sure, the menus are tarted up with Cingular branded stores and many of the powerful apps, like the Office doc readers, are really trial ware. But you can go ahead and install your J2ME and S60 apps, like the Google Maps, GMail, Shozu, and Opera browser we did. And you can transfer to and browse the file system over Bluetooth.

The music section, which the N95 doesn't have, is particularly interesting. There's a pay-per-month service for identifying music (á la Sony Ericsson's Free TrackID). And a link to the Yahoo Unlimited Music Store, which didn't work (despite the link on the phone, you can only sideload). UPDATE: To purchase music, you have to sideload from a PC. This is strange considering you can access the store from the phone itself. But that's so you can check out the store and mark them so that next time you're on your PC, you can mark them and DL.

Here's a list of the mountain of functions the phone has:
Main Menu
Video Download (Browser linked to Real player, UPDATED:free subscription clips, goes full screen)
Messaging (SMS, TXT)
Call Log
MEdia Net (Browser)
Mall (Buy media crap)
Music (Cingular's interesting music app menu — see below)
My Stuff (Media Gallery for images, music and vids)
Address book
Games and Apps
IM & EMail (Email: Bellsouth, AT&T, Yahoo, AOL, AIM, MSN. Chat: AIM, MSN, Yahoo, with logging)

Tools
Notes
Clock
Camera
Voice Recorder
Calendar
Web Browser
Tutorial
Flash Player
Calculator
Adobe PDF Reader
Quick Office (Trialware for office format reader)
Zip Utility
Converter
Help
About
Radio
Realplayer

Settings
Speed Dial
Voice Mail
Transfer (From one symbian phone to another)
Profiles
Config
Voice Command
3d Tones
Themes
Voice Aid
Infrared
Bluetooth
Data Cable Modes
File Manager
App Manager
Memory Manager
Connection Manager
Speech
Msg Reader
Dev. Manager
Sync

Music
Music (files, playback)
Music ID (Subscription, $4 a month)
MobiRadio (Subscription)
Shop Music (Seems useless — will go to Yahoo! Unlimited, but you have to sideload from a PC.)
Music Videos (Cingular's store)
Billboard (More Cingular's content)
Community (Cingular's)
Music Apps (store)

Games and Apps (this is where your j2me and S60 apps show up after you've installed them)
Lifeblog (uploads all your images and text to a typepad blog, over the network)
Ebay Trial (Ebay app)
Lumines
Tetris
3d Pool
MobiTV
And all the other apps I installed.

The speakers are tooth-sized, but super loud. And the camera needs a lens cover, because when it get dirty, shots end up looking terrible. But clean 2mp shots are great, if not a little grainy compared with a full digicam. Best results occur when you're using the shot mode, white balance, or flash. The video/image modes are annoying to switch between (UPDATED: Actually, there is a dedicated button to switch modes next to the shutter). And I like the sequence/time lapse mode. (See the samples in my gallery.)
UPDATE: I forgot to mention the external screen — can be used as a music player screen (using the dedicated buttons, or a viewfinder for the video and photo camera. (It's a decent 160 x 128, at 1.6 inches wide, diagonally.) You can actually control the music player and do everything but make playlists from the external controls, which are called quick cover.

Overall, good job Cingular for not messing up a good thing. I highly recommend this phone. – Brian Lam

N75 [Nokia]

We'll be there in full force to cover the entire keynote as usual. And if you're there, stop by and say hello. – Jason Chen

Update: Apparently developers will get a beta, not the feature complete beta.

Update: The hardware is the same. it's all about the preloads.

Have a butchers at Lenovo's newest ThinkPads, the T61 and the R61. While there's nothing particularly scrummy about the design, the laptops do have Intel's Santa Rosa platform under the hood. Both models will be available from next month, with updated versions following on in June (a WWAN model of the T61) and July (a Blu-Ray DVD burner on the R61). There's even fingerprint technology on some of the T61s to keep your private stuff just that.

Both models have 14.1-inch displays, Intel Turbo memory card for some KITT-like Vista performance turbo-boost, hard disk encryption, SmartCard support and NVIDIA graphics. And if you were looking for the IBM badge, you can forget it: Lenovo has finally scratched it off - the first time they have done that since they bought the company's PC division in 2005. UPDATED: The logo is on the lid. All the new technology specs of both models after the jump, but no prices as yet.

T61
Intel Centrino® Duo mobile technology on selected models:
Intel Core 2 Duo processor family1 — T7100, T7300, T7500, and T7700 processors with up to 800 MHz front-size bus (FSB) and up to 4 MB L2 cache
Intel PRO/Wireless family
Intel GM/PM965 Express chipset families
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 graphics for clear images (models with GM965 chipset)
Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN LAN or Intel 3945ABG Wi-Fi Wireless or ThinkPad 11a/b/g6
UltraConnect II antenna to help optimize frequency coverage and performance for improved wireless LAN (WLAN) connectivity around the world, when used with compatible options
Intel Turbo Memory Card
Microsoft Windows Vista, which facilitates better security
ThinkVantage Access Connections utility to help manage wired and wireless communications
ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery™ 3.0
Widescreen TFT display starting at 358-mm (14.1-in) has WXGA (1280 x 800) or WXGA+ (1440 x 900) resolution
Ultrabay™ Slim for fast and easy hot- and warm-swapping of selected options
The ThinkPad T61 notebook is approximately 1.1-in thin (27.6 mm)7 with optimal weight starting at approximately 5 lb8

R61
New processors and chipsets
Intel® Core 2 Duo (64-bit) processors1 up to 2.4 GHz — T7100, T7300, T7500, T7700
New Intel GM/PM965 chipset
Speedy 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB), up to 4 MB L2 cache
Added choice is 32-bit or the new 64-bit Vista operating system
Improved communications
Next generation of wireless LAN (WLAN) performance through 802.11n 2x3 MIMO
1 GB Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth, modem
14.1-inch wide screen
Hard drives for different needs
Up to 160 GB, 5400 rpm
Up to 100 GB, 7200 rpm
Intel Turbo Memory Card boosts performance (select models)
Full disk encryption provides security
New discrete graphics offerings
New NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M (128 MB) discrete graphics
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 graphics for clear images
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG LAN, Intel wireless 4945AGN LAN, or ThinkPad 11a/b/g6 WLAN card
UltraConnect II antenna to help optimize frequency coverage and performance for improved WLAN connectivity around the world, when used with compatible options
ThinkVantage Access Connections utility to help manage wired and wireless communications
ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery™
Widescreen 358-mm (14.1-in) with WXGA (1280 x 8000) or WXGA+ (1400 x 900) resolution TFT display 358-mm (14.1-in)
Ultrabay™ for fast and easy hot- and warm-swapping of selected options

– Ad Dugdale

Then, we'd described the JVC HD-58S998 as a DLP. Silly us, it's an LCoS or Liquid Crystal on Silicon display. Both posts have been corrected.–Brian Lam

Red Camera: We said it wasn't certain to ship with 4k resolution support, but we actually melded two back to back statements from Ted S. into one. The camera does have 4k support, and will right out of the gate. Forgive us, Ted, the apology is post jump.

HD-DVD Sales: Another site we'd linked to reported that EU HD-DVD sales have trumped Blu-ray. Except he quoted the US figures. I've corrected the post, but also have investigated the source of the US spike, which turned out to be a band of loyal HD-DVD fanboys that did a massive synchronized buy on Amazon.

Apple's Keynote isn't 3 hours, its 1.5. That's good, but what are they going to talk about for 1.5 hours if its not Leopard and its not the iPhone launch?–Brian Lam

Yesterday we reported in our coverage of the Red One camera that there was some question as to whether or not 4K would be available in the first shipping models of the camera. During our conversation we specifically asked Ted "Leader of the Rebellion" Schilowitz if 4K was working, to which he replied yes. When we then asked Ted to clarify the rumors of certain features being disabled or what may or may not ship on the target date, Ted said he did not know, or couldn't comment. From that conversation in the loud crowded NAB hall, it lead your humble narrator to believe there was a possibility 4K would not be available on the target date.

We should make it clear, we did see 4K footage shot with Alpha versions of this camera, projected using a 4K projector and it looked fabulous, simply stunning. If you missed seeing it at the show, you are truly missing out.

Ted did contact us today to make us aware of our error and to and to let us know once and for all that yes 4K will be available in the very first cameras. If we have caused confusion among readers, we apologize. To Mr. Schilowitz, we really dig your camera, and think it is the bee's knees, and we can't wait until the target date so we can see the fantasti