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blu-ray
brando
Brando's Jaw-Tastic Solar Charger Will Power All Your Gizmos
This mashup from Brando takes some of Thanko's electric vampire universal charger idea and the "survival" solar charger and mixes them into one multi-purpose device. Its adjustable contact teeth mean its jaw can grab onto and charge a wide range of batteries, it's got a set of adaptors to suit different cellphones and has a USB output for your iPod and the like. Better yet, you can charge up its 1,350 mAh internal battery up by sunlight, USB or AC adapter. Basically you'll never be without a source of power for your gadgets. And it's got an LED torch. Is there a better power gizmo out there? [Brando]
medical
Universal ECG is World's Smallest, Sedates Your Curiosity Anywhere
DRE, the Louisville medical tech company, has just unleashed the world's smallest ECG system. The compact device consists of the obligatory 12 leads and a small attachment that carries the necessary software for ECG interpretation. The Universal ECG hooks directly up to desktop PCs, laptops or Pocket PCs running Windows XP or 2000. More »
rumor revenge
BusinessWeek: Apple Doesn't Give a Flying F$#! About All-You-Can-Eat iTunes
BusinessWeek can't leave a juicy rumor—that Apple's finally considering going down the iTunes subscription path—untouched. Whereas the NYT and FT seem to be getting their info from label execs, BW claims their sources on the Apple side of the things say "no such talks are under way." So, what's really going on? Here's how we're digesting this specu-flustercuck. More »
itunes
NYT: Apple Discussing iTunes All-You-Can-Eat Downloads With Labels Next Week
The New York Tiimes' Saul Hansell backs up the Financial Times report that Apple's looking at all-you-can-eat downloads for iTunes. According to his source, Apple is sitting down with the studios next week for an undoubtedly tense poker-faced showdown. More »
informed-specurumor
Universal's Appropriately Final HD DVD Release: Atonement
After Paramount's remaining HD DVD schedule (to be generous) came out, we hit up Universal to see what their roadmap looked like. Unfortunately, it looks to be just as barren. Here's the response we got:We have Atonement available on HD DVD March 18th—we have not announced anything additional.More »
format war
By now you know waaaaay too much about Toshiba's format-war surrender, the death of HD DVD at the hands of the larger Blu-ray armada. You may even be eying the Blu-ray players mounted proudly in point-of-sale displays at Best Buy or Wal-Mart. Pricing hasn't come down to HD DVD player levels—and with those sinking even further, it's unlikely they ever will—but the need to get in on the action might provoke you to spend some extra dimes. All we're saying is DON'T! Not yet. If you don't know why, let us explain.
More »
Stop! Why It Still Isn't Safe to Buy Blu-ray
By now you know waaaaay too much about Toshiba's format-war surrender, the death of HD DVD at the hands of the larger Blu-ray armada. You may even be eying the Blu-ray players mounted proudly in point-of-sale displays at Best Buy or Wal-Mart. Pricing hasn't come down to HD DVD player levels—and with those sinking even further, it's unlikely they ever will—but the need to get in on the action might provoke you to spend some extra dimes. All we're saying is DON'T! Not yet. If you don't know why, let us explain.
More »
duh
Universal Turns Blu
Universal smartly wants its movies to be on the HD format that still exists, so it's switching to Blu-ray. If you would like to further delve into their rationale, here's their statement: More »
music
Most Ridiculous (or Brilliant) Music Industry Plan Yet: Hear the Album First, Pay a Lot More
The music industry did take something away from Radiohead's experiment, though it's not exactly what most of us were hoping for. A senior Universal VP dropped this inspired business idea at Mobile World Congress:"If an artist has just delivered an album from [the] studio, we could potentially deliver it to a limited number of users for a higher price. It's something we're quite keen to develop; for example, through our own B2C channels—artists' Web sites."This is the dumbest idea ever. More »
thanko
Like an adjustable electric anti-vampire, Thanko's new universal charger has jaws that let it clamp onto, and juice-up, almost any battery from your gadget shelf. Drawing power from USB, like all the best Thanko stuff, it's even got lights that indicate when it's charging and when the batteries are full. Another pic and how it works after the jump.
More »
All Your Batteries Are Belong to Thanko's Jawsome USB Charger
Like an adjustable electric anti-vampire, Thanko's new universal charger has jaws that let it clamp onto, and juice-up, almost any battery from your gadget shelf. Drawing power from USB, like all the best Thanko stuff, it's even got lights that indicate when it's charging and when the batteries are full. Another pic and how it works after the jump.
More »
announcements
Amazon MP3 Service Going Global; Epic iTunes Battle on the Horizon
Amazon's digital music catalogue is all set to go global, and although a launch date has not yet been settled, it shall hit sometime this year. Given Amazon MP3 offers DRM-free tracks, which are generally cheaper than iTunes limited, equivalent offerings, we cannot help but think an epic battle between the big As is all set to take off. More »
music downloads
Qtrax Promises Legal P2P Music Sharing Service, the Impossible
We have long thought the acronym P2P was the very antonym of the word legal, but Qtrax, a new P2P music sharing service, has plans to rewrite the geek dictionary. Here's the skinny: The service is free, completely. Qtrax offers an unlimited service. It is supported by the four major labels, as well as smaller, niche music groups, and that means it will have a start-up music library of over 25 million songs. That is about four times bigger than iTunes, and about 100% cheaper. We know what you are thinking; is this all smoke without fire? Short answer; we're not sure, but Qtrax is hitting soon. Very, very soon. More »
format war
First Paramount Blu-ray Titles Spotted on Amazon
The first signs of HD DVD's ultimate demise may be coming from the UK on March 10. After the news on Universal and Paramount abandoning the exclusive HD DVD deal, it seems that Amazon UK is listing three Paramount Blu-ray titles with that definitive release date: Trading Places, Coming to America and Anchorman, the latter of which was never available on Blu-ray before (as far as we can see). Amazon UK doesn't list the HD DVD versions, and these are all new Zone 2 releases, not US imports. Could this be an error on Amazon's part or just a sign of things to come? [Format War Central]
the end of the format war
Most people have already declared Blu-ray to be the format war's victor—even us, begrudgingly—and our recent talks with Toshiba and Universal seem to suggest that the HD DVD camp might be ready to pull up stakes. Back at CES, so many moons ago, Microsoft said HD DVD was over when Toshiba said it was. Ken Graffeo, Universal's Executive VP and Co-President of HD DVD promo group, told us the exact same thing: "If Toshiba says it's over, it is over." Our impression? Toshiba knows it's over. The crazy part is this: Just a few weeks ago, it might've gone the other way entirely.
More »
The Truth About the Format War and HD DVD's Demise
Most people have already declared Blu-ray to be the format war's victor—even us, begrudgingly—and our recent talks with Toshiba and Universal seem to suggest that the HD DVD camp might be ready to pull up stakes. Back at CES, so many moons ago, Microsoft said HD DVD was over when Toshiba said it was. Ken Graffeo, Universal's Executive VP and Co-President of HD DVD promo group, told us the exact same thing: "If Toshiba says it's over, it is over." Our impression? Toshiba knows it's over. The crazy part is this: Just a few weeks ago, it might've gone the other way entirely.
More »
format wars
HD DVD Losing Its Arsenal in Japan
The HD DVD troopers are surely fighting the losing battle, as new research from Japan details a surge in Blu-Ray recorder ownership. The study surveyed buying trends from 2,300 electronic stores across Japan, and the statistics showed that next-generation DVD-unit sales rocketed from 6.1% in October to 20% in November and December. As the next-generation recorders have a higher price point, they managed to account for some 35% of the total DVD player market value. However, Blu-Ray walked home with the largest market share of the two. More »
format war
Here's an Idea for HD DVD: Just Give Up
Even if you don't take Hitler's word for it, you probably have the feeling that Blu-ray has won, following Warner Bros.' decision to ditch HD DVD. Questex analyst Thomas K. Arnold has a real innovative solution:"I'm hoping Toshiba, Universal and Paramount will take the high road and, for the good of the entire industry, bow out [of HD DVD]. Universal and Paramount, in particular, need to jump on the Blu-ray Disc bandwagon so we can go into the new year with a unified front and a unified mission: To educate consumers about the advantages of high-definition media and convince them the time to transition from standard DVD to Blu-ray is the day they bring that HDTV into their home."Oh, so it's about consumers now, eh Tom? Who'da thunk it? [Home Media Magazine via HDTV UK]
format war
Universal Won't Support HD DVD Exclusively, Blu-ray Victory Imminent Says Variety
Updated after the jump The end of the war is near: Hollywood insider Daily Variety has confirmed that Universal will no longer exclusively support HD DVD. Following Warner's defection to Blu-ray and reports on the clause that allows Paramount to publish Blu-ray titles too, the end of Universal's exclusivity deal may be one blow too many for HD DVD. However, Universal is not going to stop publishing movies in the latter format: More »
roundup
Afternoon News: Harry Potter Is Too Close for Comfort, DirecTV Breaking Promises?, Best Buy's Profits Soar and More
• Daniel Radcliffe, a/k/a Harry Potter, just bought an apartment in Manhattan. Coincidentally, it's only four blocks from our NYC headquarters. Luckily we have our own Dark Lord Balthazaar to protect us from his spells. [Gridskipper]• Less than two weeks remain for DirecTV to add 15 more HD channels in order to reach their promise of 100 by the end of 2007. Hope you like the sound of Drying Paint HD, Growing Grass HD and Water Boiling HD, DirecTV customers. [Broadband Reports] [Thanks, Erin!!]
• Toshiba is joining IBM, AMD, Samsung, and others to work on 32nm chip technology. Now the alliance is just an wind, fire and heart away from summoning Captain Planet. [Reuters]
• XM Satellite Radio has settled its lawsuit with Universal Music Group over the time-shifting recording capabilities of XM's Inno player. Surprisingly, the terms still allow for the creation of more time-shifting devices. [Digital Trends]
• Best Buy's profits spiked 52% this quarter, due to fewer promotions on flat-panel TVs. Thanks a lot, Best Buy. [Market Watch]
