This one goes in the box of “things I definitely need to do.” Lifehacker has an excellent wrapup of how you can build a fully and completely automated media center; that is, not only does it automatically snag the movies and TV shows that you want to watch, but it take care of archiving itself, naming its own files, and tying it all together into a simple interface and experience that makes it easier for you to sit down in front of your HDTV with your computer connected to it just knowing that the program you want to watch is waiting for you, without having to worry about whether you downloaded it yourself, or having to spend tons of time downloading the things you want to see on your own.

The more automated you can make the process, the more time you can spend actually watching your media and enjoying it rather than getting yourself to the point where you can enjoy it.

[ Lifehacker :: Set Up a Fully Automated Media Center ]

Earlier this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft took the stage and finally announced a product that people in the mobile space have been waiting for for a long time: Windows Mobile 7, or more appropriately (since Microsoft re-dubbed the product a couple of months ago “Windows Phone,”) Windows Phone 7 Series. Windows Phone 7 will be Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, replacing the aging and unattractive Windows Mobile 6.5 that’s the mainstay of a number of enterprise-class and tech-savvy smartphones currently on the market.

Faced with stiff competition in the smartphone space from companies like Apple and Google, Microsoft was forced to come to the table with something strong or risk falling even father behind in the smartphone space – a slip that likely would have met with their downfall in the mobile marketplace. Microsoft’s Windows Mobile has never been a particularly strong OS, and the bulk of its functionality came from the fact that because it’s a Microsoft product and Exchange is also a Microsoft product, the only competition for it on the corporate side has been RIM’s BlackBerry, which unseated Windows Mobile in a huge way. Now, Windows Mobile looks dated, aged, and reminds us of an era when it’s major competition was the old Palm OS (not to be confused with Palm’s WebOS, which is on its new smartphones.)

Windows Phone 7 on the other hand, looks incredible. It’s been updated, it looks modern, it looks sleek, it’s got integration with your social networks and services, it’s got a stunning touch-screen interface, and it brings in two of Microsoft’s most successful properties to the mobile space: Zune and XBox Live. That’s right – your music and your Windows Phone 7 Series device will sync with Zune marketplace and you can snag your music from there, and your mobile gaming experience will be integrated with XBox Live. This alone proves that Microsoft means business and is rolling up its sleeves in the mobile space again.

But it’ll take more than rolled up sleeves and determination to make people abandon their iPhones and G1s for a Windows Phone 7 device.

Before we dive into why, here’s a hands-on video with Windows Phone 7 by my friend Sascha Segan at PC Magazine, who was out at the Mobile World Congress and got to see a live demo of the new operating system:

Continue reading Spinning Gears :: Thoughts on Windows Phone 7…

VIdeo game console manufacturers, set-top box makers, and even television manufacturers are all clawing to get their hands on a partnership with Netflix or Blockbuster Online so buyers can do what they obviously want to do; stream audio and video straight to their HDTVs.

The rationale is simple – streaming Netflix and Blockbuster Online over broadband to the home has become a huge part of both companies’ business models, and clearly video on demand is the future of rented movies and material. Even Netflix’s CEO said that they expect their physical disc-mailing business to decline over the next several years as their streaming business soars.

So clearly the general public is happier with paying for temporary access to video content, whether they pay Netflix or Blockbuster Online to send them DVD or Blu-Ray discs straight to their homes, where they watch them and then return them in a mailer or they get the content streamed directly to their XBox 360 or their Boxee Box or their HTPC. We’re all comfortable with the concept that we pay a monthly fee to watch as many movies as we can stand or the mail can deliver to us, and when we’re finished watching or we send it back, the movie’s gone forever unless we want to watch it again. When we cancel our accounts with Netflix or Blockbuster Online, our access to that content is gone forever.

So, then, why isn’t the same for subscription music services? The Zune Marketplace, Rhapsody, Napster, all of those services operate using exactly the same business model, if not more generous than the video services’ are. The Zune Marketplace, for example, gives you a number of credits you can spend monthly to download and permanently own the songs you really like, instead of losing access to them if you ever terminate your account. Netflix doesn’t say every month “you’ve been such a great customer, why don’t you keep these movies from your queue, go ahead, take them,” but in order for a service like the Zune Marketplace to survive, they have to.

Why are we so okay with essentially leasing our movies from Netflix and Blockbuster Online, but we’re not okay with leasing our music from Zune Marketplace and Rhapsody in the exact same way? I have a couple of ideas, but it mostly has to do with history and perception – not functionality. Let’s dive in.

Continue reading Spinning Gears :: Why Are Rented Movies Okay but Rented Music Not?…

Now that you have an HDTV, you may be interested in a Blu-Ray player to make full use of it. Trust me, you may be watching HDTV from your cable/satellite company, or even picking up some HD channels over the air, but nothing beats the full 1080p resolution and bright colors from a solid Blu-Ray disc.

However, there are hundreds of Blu-Ray players on the market, how will you choose one? Here’s a handy guide that will help you pick the right player, make sure you’re getting all the bang for your buck and the extended features that will keep your player going strong for years into the future. It’s not like there’s only one or two players in the market that are worthwhile like there were a couple of years ago – there’s several to choose from!

Besides, if you get too confused and caught up, you can always just snag a Sony PS3 – it’s a game console and a Blu-Ray player, and it’s a pretty solid one, too!

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a Blu-Ray Player ]

The shot above I took at CES 2010 in Las Vegas at the Panasonic booth – they were showing off their “world’s largest HDTV,” which took the shape of a 152-inch Viera Plasma made from what they call the “mother glass,” the same glass from which all of their other plasmas (including the one in my living room) is cut.

This puppy is a one-off and you can’t just head out to the store to buy it, but if you are in the market for a new HDTV or interested in replacing an older one you already have, you’ll definitely need to take some knowledge with you to Best Buy or when you’re shopping around online. The fine folks at PC Mag have updated their quintessential guide to buying an HDTV with some new tips, features you should keep an eye out for, and some of the buzz around 3D TV from CES this year.

Among the tips? Picking the right location for your panel, picking the right resolution for your viewing distance, ways to get the best image quality out of them (hint: calibration!), and more, including some Super Bowl-worthy HDTVs reviewed by the PC Mag staff.

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy an HDTV ]

Everyone has probably heard about the Boxee Box by now, but it was up there as one of the coolest things I saw at CES this year, and I had a chance to speak with Casey Pugh (creator of Star Wars: Uncut, a crowdsourced project to re-shoot Star Wars scene by scene with fans in place of the actors!) about the Boxee Box, it’s really interesting remote, and the way the Boxee Box works.

The Boxee Box was amazing to use, the interface was really clean and easy to use, and CES was the first time a lot of people had a chance to actually play with the Boxee Box, which has been anticipated for months but released and unveiled for the first time in action at CES. The Boxee Box is clearly a media extender, and while it doesn’t have storage of its own, it can reach out across your home network and out to the Internet to pull in music, movies, and other content that you own or have rights to watch and bring it in to your HDTV effortlessly.

When you watch that content and you like what you see, you can rate it using the Boxee software, share what you’re watching and what you thought about it with your friends, and do it all without inturrupting the media you’re watching. The D-Link hardware and the NVidia chipset under the hood makes for a really powerful set-top box as well, and the fact that it can play just about any audio or video codec or format you throw at it helps as well.

Boxee is a completely open platform as well – the software is still available for you to install on any Mac, PC, or even XBox you choose, and speaking with Casey he pointed out that Boxee has no plans to close off the software just because there’s a hardware platform on the market that comes with it too – so you can still roll your own Boxee Box, but if you don’t want to, you can buy one.

The remote was also interesting: on the front it works just like any remote – complete with a d-pad and selection buttons, but on the flip side it has a full QWERTY keyboard for typing in updates to your social networks, writing short reviews for the media you’re enjoying, rating things you see, and searching your media library without having to click down a hundred times to find something you want to watch. All in all, the Boxee Box was as impressive in action as it is to read about, and I’m seriously considering getting one.

Check out a video I shot while playing with the Boxee Box:

And head over to Boxee.tv for more information on the box and details on how to get one:

[ Boxee - Boxee Box by D-Link ]

When I happened by all of the gaming peripherals at CES, one of the more fun booths I dropped by were BoomChair and PlaySeat. I had a better feeling about PlaySeat, but more about them when I get their press kit in the mail so I can write more about their products.

BoomChair on the other hand, was also a lot of fun – they released a number of new game chair models that all look pretty exciting, especially if you’re the type to sit in front of your huge screen TV on the floor with your controller and you’re looking for a seat that works pretty much like a peripheral for your console. BoomChair’s gaming seats are those comfy rocker-style seats on the floor that plug in to the audio output and in some cases the controller port for your consoles.

BoomChair’s products are those kinds of gaming seats with speakers built-in that are designed to rest on the floor and be comfortable to sit in for long gaming sessions – the speakers tend to be in the headrest and give you the feeling of surround-sound without having to wear headphones, so if someone is moving around behind you, the speakers in your chair will let you know. Depending on the seat, they can even plug into your console to give you the force feedback (vibration, rumble, etc) you would normally get with your controller.

One of the big moves BoomChair made this year at CES is to pick up some of those chairs from the floor where they traditionally sit and put their audio systems into standing chairs on rollers and wheels that can double not just as console gaming chairs that can sit in front of your TV, but also that you can roll over to your desk and use while you’re sitting at your PC if you choose. BoomChair’s newest products are in the image above: the Sky Lounger, the Stealth, the E-Tec, and the Admiral. All of the new ones will run between $200-$250 each. Some of BoomChair’s previous models are a bit more affordable if that’s too steep for you: some under $100. Some of them are sold out, so you’ll want to contact BoomChair directly if you’re interested!

Additionally, BoomChair also unveiled a completely different product at CES this year called the Rock Show – a series of speakers and a microphone that you can plug into any audio device that will automatically turn your favorite songs into a karaoke light-show. The Rock Show even auto-mixes the music so the vocals come off louder when you start singing, and will flash the lights on the speakers in time with the music. If you want, you can even plug in the Rock Show to your console and it’ll work while you’re playing Guitar Hero or Rockband, flash the lights in time, and give you a little more audio oomph when the person you have on the microphone starts singing. I watched some people playing Guitar Hero while using the Rock Show, and it definitely adds a little star power to the game.

[ BoomChair ]

I was actually really eager to pop by the HD Radio booth at CES, and was really impressed with some of the things the folks working behind the scenes on pushing HD Radio further into the mainstream marketplace. The after-market head units and radios for cars that were on display surprised me not just by the variety and the technology available in them, but also by the sheer number. There are tons of bedside radios, iPod and MP3 player docks, and portable audio players that support HD Radio, far far more than I thought were at all available.

The other amazing news from CES is that there are a host of auto manufacturers that are lined up with the HD Digital Radio Alliance and ready to begin offering in-unit stock stereo units that support HD Radio, either standard or as an upgradable option. This is the real key for the HD Radio Alliance – this and educating the public on exactly what HD Radio is. (hint, it’s not “High Definition,” it’s “Hybrid Digital.”) As soon as people wind up having HD Radio tuners in their cars and on their music players and next to their beds without really knowing that they have them, and then start using them, they won’t know how they lived without them.

In relatively well populated areas (like mine, in the Washington DC metro area) we have a ton of HD Radio stations, especially from colleges and universities that play great music selections, and public radio stations that may play their top-rated programming on their main over-the-air channel but will play some more in-depth or alternative content on their HD channels. Chances are you have HD Radio channels in your area that you’d probably love if you could tune to them – you just need the right tuner, and the HD Digital Radio Alliance is working to make sure one is in your next car or included with your next portable music player (The Zune HD, for example, has an HD Radio tuner built-in!)

It’s still a grey area whether or not people have a handle on what HD Radio really is, and it was the big thing I was thinking while I walked around the HD Radio booth at CES, checking out some of the new vehicles that will land on auto sales lots with HD Radio tuners built-in. The technology is out there, the stations and the content is out there too – the real uphill battle will be educating people. I really stress this point because even as I was leaving the HD Radio booth, I overheard two people also heading out of the booth talking to each other about HD Radio: one was explaining to the other what HD Radio was, and was completely incorrect. The Alliance has a pretty steep learning curve to overcome.

[ HD Digital Radio Alliance ]

I happened past the Ion booth while I was at CES, and was pretty impressed with some of the new gadgets and goodies they had on display this year. Granted you had to fight to get the attention of an ION representative at the booth, and I didn’t bother fighting that fight, but their gear spoke for itself. Some of ION’s new releases include some vintage-looking turntables that can record vinyl directly to CD or to you computer via USB, and some more updated, modern looking turntables (like the one above) that do similar things.

ION made its name by being one of the first companies to make USB turntables and USB cassette players to help people get their old analog media into a digital format that’s inevitably more portable and will last longer. (when all those cassettes degrade, you’ll have those old mix tapes your old sweetheart gave you digitally on your computer, and hopefully backed up!)

ION brought some new products to the table this year though, including the Discover Keyboard and Discover iType, both keyboards for your iPod Touch or your iPhone – the former a music keyboard that you just dock your iPod Touch or iPhone to and use it to make music, and the latter an actual QWERTY keyboard that you can dock your iPod Touch or iPhone to and it’ll let you type out e-mails, text messages, notes, and all in all type on the phone without having to use the on-board keyboard.

In the music vein, The Discover DJ is a full set of mini-turntables with an integrated mixer that plugs right into your Mac or PC via USB and lets you mix your music collection on the go with a tiny pro-style setup. I saw a lot of products like this at CES this year – mini DJ setups that allow you to drop tunes, beatmatch, and get some professional mixing and effects using the music collection on your laptop – all in a package that you could slip in a laptop bag. Eventually, performance DJs won’t have to carry around large mixers or CD mixing gear. A couple of iPods, a laptop, and a tiny set of decks like the Discover DJ, and you’re set. Personally, I’m looking forward to it – I just need an ION turntable to rip all of my vinyl to mp3, and I’m on board!

Check out all of ION’s CES product releases below:

[ ION Audio - CES 2010 Releases ]

That’s right – later this very day I’ll be hopping on a flight to gorgeous Las Vegas to be part of the masses at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, along with the rest of the technocrati, tech journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and other industry folks!

From what I’ve heard, the show is incredibly huge and massive and way more to take in, even in a couple of days, but I’ll do my best and hopefully I’ll be blogging from the show floor! In the interim, if there’s anything you guys are particularly interested in hearing about from the show floor, whether it be new mobile phones, 3D HDTV, new gaming peripherals, or something else, give me a shout in the comments! Let me know and I’ll keep an eye out for shiny hotness!