Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Ban on 'illegal' FM transmitters finally lifted


The use of such devices - which fell foul of the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1949, forbidding the use of radio equipment without a licence or an exemption - was banned in the UK as their transmissions could interfere with legal radio station broadcasts.

However, following a public consultation exercise in July 2006, Ofcom have announced that from the 8th December 2006 certain low power FM transmitters carrying the EU approved CE mark - indicating approval for sale in the European Union - will be legal to use.

A wide range of approved FM transmitters will be available from DataMind during 2007.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Microsoft made the Zune because partner hardware "sucks

reposted from: www.engadget.com

Posted Jan 20th 2007 5:42PM by Ryan Block


Thanks to yet another Microsoft antitrust suit in Iowa, subpoenaed emails have revealed a moment of candidness and clarity at Microsoft in 2003 when Jim Allchin (Co-President, Platforms & Services Division, depicted left) and Amir Majidimehr (Corporate Vice President, Consumer Media Technology Group) had an email thread that basically summarized the portable media device playing field then, and for the most part, now. Some choice quites from the email back-and-forth:

Jim: title "sucking on media players"; regarding a current Creative player (probably a Nomad, perhaps a Zen Touch): "My goodness it's terrible... What I don't understand though is I was told the new Creative Labs device would be comparable to Apple. That is so not the case."
Amir: "Now you feel our pain." He suggests giving cash bonuses for partners that come up with decent devices. In the instance that doesn't work: "it is time for us to roll up our sleeves and do our own hardware."

And of course so they did, with great hype and great failure to immediately capture market share, the Zune was born many years later -- far too late by most accounts, but hey, you've gotta start somewhere. Still, it's funny to think that for these guys rolling up their sleeves and doing their own hardware means taking an off the shelve portable media OS (PMC 2), getting Toshiba to make a modified Gigabeat, and cutting some seriously anti-consumer deals with major labels.

Some comments>>>>

CaptSaltyJack @ Jan 20th 2007 6:09PM

The thing is, the Creative Zen Vision:M is probably the most kickass PMP out there at this point. Let's see what it does RIGHT:

- No DRM bullshit like Zune
- Handles DivX and Xvid formats, yay for geeks
- FM radio
- Records FM radio
- Voice recorder
- Great screen
- No proprietary software needed (like iTunes), just drag and drop

What's wrong:
- Not strong enough ad campaign
- Not enough accessories

And you can't replace the battery yourself when it dies. I understand this is to conserve on space inside the chassis, but it's still an annoyance.

Sam @ Jan 20th 2007 6:22PM

Other things wrong with the Creative Zen Vision:M...

Poor build quality/cheap materials
Lackluster design
Very 'clunky' to hold, the thing just feels cheap

These are big turn-offs, not that the Zune is any better at all.

Marian @ Jan 20th 2007 6:17PM

An addition to the "what's wrong" list:
- It sucks ass


After 5 minutes of frustrating attempts to use it while I was in a store, I gave up.
By comparison, anyone knows how to use an iPod after one minute.

Eric @ Jan 20th 2007 8:21PM

Has anyone here used a Sandisk Sansa?

I have a Sansa and I love it. The menu is nice, it has nice features, it's extremely easy to add stuff to, or take off, and best of all, when you hold it, it actually feels like something durable and worth the money. I am far from an iPod hater, and I in fact like the iPod, but the Sansa is just as good in my opinion. I recommend to anyone just to try it in the store. :)


Saturday, January 13, 2007

Connecting the digital home

reposted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/6254909.stm

BBC Click's Dan Simmons
By Dan Simmons
Reporter, BBC Click Online

It has long been promised that the PC will become the entertainment hub of the home. However, the problem with this vision is that our computers tend to sit in the bedroom and means getting those movies, music and pictures the last few metres to the living room is a real pain.

Teenager watching TV
Many devices deliver content from your PC to your TV

This year's CES - the world's largest consumer gadget show - boasts a wealth of new kit which aims to make it easier to access digital media around the home - and in particular on TV screens.

Ideas on what should be at the centre of it all vary, from PC-based media centres, digital video recorders or even video game consoles.

Microsoft is promoting its Xbox 360 as the place to store and access movies and songs.

"Xbox 360 is at its heart, the world's best games console and we're continuing to sell it very well. But we also know that people have it connected to their TV, and that means they want to see movies," said Robert Bach of Microsoft.

"So we've added a Download Movie service, we've added an HD DVD movie player to it. You want to play music, so you can take your MP3 player or Zune player, and plug it in and see your music.

"Here we're announcing that you can take IPTV digital TV services and run them on top of an Xbox 360."

It should be pointed out that the downloads are only available to those that have a hard drive for their Xbox 360.

Sony's PS3 console does something similar.

Apple TV
Apple TV streams music and movies from a computer to a TV

Microsoft's ambitions also include its Media Centre software which has not made the impact some had hoped for. It will now get a boost by being integrated into all but the most basic versions of Microsoft's new PC operating system - Vista.

The consumer versions of Vista is scheduled for launch on 30 January.

Apple is getting in on the act too. At the MacWorld show Apple boss Steve Jobs gave more details of Apple TV - the set-top box which uses iTunes to stream media to a television.

Various launches at CES suggest that moving files around the house should be easy. We have more choices now than ever before - hardwire Ethernet cables, Bluetooth or wi-fi.

Netgear's new Digital Entertainer set-top box is one of several here that let you stream HD pictures from your PC over wi-fi to the TV.

But obstructions and interference may hamper a steady picture.

Compatibility

Presuming we can move our digital media files around without too much problem, you then have to consider the alphabet soup which is compression formatting - or codecs - which allow all your devices to understand each other, otherwise you will not see a thing.

I think it's unbelievably frustrating because you purchase the music expecting to be able to play it where you would like to play it and then you find out later that this is not quite the case.
John MacFarlane, Sonos

"Many of the files that people would like to buy and download, including movies and TV shows, are actually protected with what's called DRM, that is Digital Rights Management software," said Josh Bernoff an analyst from Forrester Research.

"A lot of this software is incompatible with some of these devices.

"So for example, if you buy a movie or TV show from iTunes it'll work fine on your iPod but it's unlikely to work on, say, your Xbox 360 that happens to be connected to the same setup."

Slowly this is changing. For instance, last month if you had bought a rights-protected Windows music file it would not have played on Sonos' high-end multi-room streaming system.

After a year of negotiations Sonos' hardware can now support those files. Now the boss of Sonos wants Apple to also open up, claiming it is customers who lose out.

"I think it's unbelievably frustrating because you purchase the music expecting to be able to play it where you would like to play it and then you find out later that this is not quite the case," said John MacFarlane of Sonos.

"That's not, generally, well explained at the point of purchase."

The steady march of technology is also helping break down these barriers. For instance, a new PC to TV chip by start-up Quartics might help audio and video streaming compatibility.

It allows any files your laptop can read to be streamed over wi-fi to your TV or digital projector.

It is hoped the chip - which can be updated with any new video formats as they emerge - will be integrated into some TVs by the end of the year.

Many companies are supporting a set of standardised formats through industry groups like the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).

And the new faster 802.11n standard for wi-fi should soon be ratified, which will help boost consumers' confidence in streaming video.

But for now it might be best to take all the hype with a pinch of salt.