Technomaly » new

TiVo Launches New Set-Top Box, Has Web TV Features

Asterios Kokkinos — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:00:41 +0000

Huzzah! TiVO’s launched a new flavor of its set top box, the “Premiere” edition. The box, which will run for $300, is notable in that it’ll include simpler functionality for Netflix, YouTube and other online video streaming services. It’ll also help go through local television listings easier as well.

The basic “Premiere” model will hold 45 hours of HD content, whereas the more expensive $500 model will hold 150 hours.

A Reuters article I read on the subject brought up a good point – what’s the incentive for buying a TiVo if your cable company’s offering a cheap generic DVR? Apparantly TiVo only has 1.5 million subscribers, a number I’d figure would be much higher for the impact the product’s made on our culture. Suddenly, time shifted viewing’s gone from “rich people’s luxury” to “affordable necessity,” as the price of including a generic DVR with your cable is often much cheaper than buying a TiVo + TiVO subscription.

Point is: this new toy may not do much to turn new people onto TiVo, but hey, diehards will get a sweet new toy! Six of one, one half dozen of another.

Source: Reuters

Photo Source: Google

MySpace Launches New Slogan, It’s Not “Please Love Us”

Asterios Kokkinos — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:00:03 +0000

MySpace, a service which we used to like but now do not like, has announced a new slogan: “Discover & Be Discovered.” The slogan fits in line with MySpace’s new user experience philosophy, which will be to bombard you with new and unexpected content the moment you hit the website.

And what will you be bombarded with? Pre-selected content like new people to meet, movie trailers to watch, games to play, articles to read…it’ll all be part of an “activity stream,” which will apparently be the backbone of “Discovery.”

If it works, then users will want to come back to the site every day to experience new preselected content, which’ll mean more hits, which’ll mean more ad revenue. If it fails, then MySpace is doomed, forever to be mentioned in the same breath as Friendster.

Here are a few slogans for MySpace that I feel might work better:

MySpace: A Reliable Source Of Underage Girls
MySpace: Why Not Use Us Ironically?
MySpace: Hey, At Least We Don’t Have Farmville
MySpace: Boo! Just kidding, we’re not ghosts, but please use us!

Source: TechCrunch

New Air Rules Ban Extra Laptop, Phone Batteries

Asterios Kokkinos — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:00:40 +0000

In a move set to outrage flying nerds everywhere, the FAA recently released new guidelines blocking the carrying-on of extra lithium-ion, alkaline and nickel metal-hydride batteries.

“It will be a nightmare for passengers,” said George Kerschner, who runs the DC based Portable Rechargeable Battery Association, and seems to have a very wide definition of the word “nightmare.” He cautioned that the regulation will cause people to have to ship their batteries ahead of them (instead of just…checking them), adding, “We’re talking about billions of dollars.”

Kerschner went on to yell, “YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET THIS!” before blasting off in an escape pod to his island fortress made out of batteries.

The full text of the Department of Transportation’s proposal can be viewed online – there’s also a comment section where you can deposit your rage. Kerschner has left several threatening comments on that page, which include:

“GIVE ME BATTERIES OR GIVE ME DEATH!”
NO EXTRA BATTERIES ON FLIGHTS = HITLER
IF I CAN’T BRING EXTRA BATTERIES ON MY PLANE, THEN THAT IS JUST A SITUATION THAT I HATE
FAA = FRIGGING ASSHOLES…ASSHOLES

Kerschner then went on to weep uncontrollably into a pile of batteries.

Source: PC World

Wolfram Alpha Updates Their $50 iPhone App

Asterios Kokkinos — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:00:11 +0000

For those who don’t remember, Wolfram Alpha is a website that answers user questions by directly computing the answer, instead of crawling the web for the answer like a traditional search engine. They sell an iPhone app of their website that sells for…get this…FIFTY DOLLARS.

Going to the Wolfram Alpha website? Free. Visiting the Wolfram Alpha website on my iPhone? Free. Downloading an app that replicates the website experience? FIFTY DOLLARS.

Well, to help users get more bang for their buck (or FIFTY BUCKS), Wolfram Alpha has released a new set of keyboards for their app that are actually quite cool. Alpha now comes with a “math” keyboard, a “symbol” keyboard, and a “Greek keyboard, all designed for nerds to enter their nerd math quieres in a more nerdly way.

Still, FIFTY DOLLARS? How about I give you geeks wedgies until you give it to me for free? Oh who am I kidding, these guys could probably use their fancy computer to calculate my weak spot with amazing accuracy.

My weak spot? Cake.

Source & Photo Source: TechCrunch

German Scientists Develop Ultimate Germ Killer, Germs Furious

Asterios Kokkinos — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:00:41 +0000

German scientist have developed a new way of disinfecting stuff. It’s an alkaline solution that a) is effective against superbugs that are resistant to traditional disinfectants, and b) won’t damage the surfaces it’s disinfecting. This is perfect for hospital equipment, and terrible for germs.

Forever, we’ve been concerned about superbugs – bacteria and viruses that are so resistant to traditional disinfectants that they can hospitalize the infected. If this German disinfectant is as cold, calculating and efficient as the Germans themselves, this could be big news for those who hate being hospitalized. It’s also terrible news for those who like being hospitalized, so take this article with a grain of salt.

Source & Photo Source: Reuters