...more recent posts
Court blocks TiVo injunction
The injunction would have required EchoStar DVRs to be shut off in users' homes because of patent infringement. -- EchoStar sells satellite receivers and services under the name DISH Network.
Some background reading from Intel on WiMax:
(large pdf files)
Mobile WiMAX – Part I: A Technical Overview and Performance Evaluation
Mobile WiMAX – Part II: A Comparative Analysis
Cable Industry May Need to Spend
Heavily on Broadband Upgrades
Cable-television operators may require another round of multibillion-dollar network upgrades to keep up with rivals in the fast-growing high-speed Internet hookup business, a report from the industry's research arm suggests.
USDTV: Low Cost, Little Interest
service: small set of cable channels for low price
technology: compressed digital video (h.264) transmitted over terrestrial TV channels using the spare capacity on local TV stations' digital carriers
similar predecessors: "wireless cable" (aka MMDS) offerings by telcos in the mid-90's, based on re-use of community/educational TV spectrum for MPEG-2 signals.
outcome: Chapter 7.
Until Recently Full of Promise,
Satellite Radio Runs Into Static -- paid subscription required
When iconic morning host Howard Stern moved from regular radio to satellite earlier this year, it was supposed to be a coming of age. Instead, the industry's two rivals, XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., are still reporting heavy losses, despite a few years ago telling investors they would need four million customers each to break even. XM crossed that mark more than a year ago; Sirius hit it earlier this year. Last year, XM lost $667 million, and Sirius lost $863 million. And Sirius is facing a potential exodus of subscribers as a clutch of promotional one-year trials soon comes to an end.
Death by podcast.
Google's gift
INFORMAL TEST RUN GOES SMOOTHLY FOR FREE WIFI SERVICE, BUT DON'T EXPECT LIVE HUMAN TECH SUPPORT
Verizon launches the three-channel DVR Verizon has a fiber-based IPTV system, which uses MPEG-2 video.
This description of an installation may give you an idea why the FIOS system will cost Verizon billions more than the SBC/AT&T approach: plain old twisted pair, plus advance modulation and advance video compression.
Maxian T700, another PMP -- [Portable Media Player]
Maxian's announcement page,
translated.
This device features a 480x272 resolution screen, which they describe as WQVGA ( wide quarter VGA). This is the same resolution as the Sony PSP. The T700 spec claims support for a wide array of video formats, including h.264.
Japanese Cos. Plan Web TV Joint Standard
OKYO (AP) - Sony, Matsushita and three other Japanese electronics makers plan to develop a join standard for new Internet televisions that will make it easier for people to see video available on the Web, a Sony spokeswoman said Thursday.
The TVs aim to make accessing video and similar online content easier than with computers, spokeswoman Mina Naito. The other companies involved are Sharp Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Hitachi Ltd.
Asus WL-700gE WiFi Router with built-In 160GB Drive:
It has a built in network iTunes client, so it'll show up as an iTunes client to your PCs. And it has a BitTorrent client that can rip down 7 streams automatically (and 10 FTP or web streams at the same time.) That's with your PC off, all downloads handled by the router.This is the right idea I think. Having the BitTorrent client inside the router should (if they were smart) get around the big set up hassle with BitTorrent - namely, if you're running behind a router you have to forward the right ports to your machine, and to be reliable you have to have the router assign you a static IP instead of using DHCP, so it's doubly tricky. Presumably this device should be able to handle all firewall traversal issues on it's own since it is the firewall.
Cool that you can add another drive to make a RAID (RAID 1 presumably.) I wonder if two drives is the limit? Probably. It would be really cool if you could keep daisy chaining drives and it would just automagically grow the RAID array (maybe RAID 5.) That's the sort of thing Sun's ZFS filesystem can do.
Anyway, this Asus router looks good.
As Flash turns 10, Adobe looks ahead
Sony Unveils Mylo Device -- MP3, messaging, VoIP, browsing, video player, video games, 1GB memory, BUT no connectivity other than WiFi
Sony to launch a new kind of wireless handheld for IM, other Internet-based communications
Sprint to build 4G network
Sprint to Use WiMax for 4G Network
Sprint to Invest as Much as $3 Billion in New Network
Sprint to spend up to $4.5 bln on WiMax network
DirecTV-EchoStar Merger Seen Unlikely
-- This Forbes article mentions possible cooperations on data services via the AWS spectrum auction. -- WARNING -- Hit mute before following the Forbes link. There's a talkiing pop-up of Steve Forbes. Aaaaahhhh!
Ultranet2go spreads WiMax across Mexico
Caltrain commuter rail pulls WiMAX at 79 mph
Google to distribute MTV clips with ads
Google Shies Away from Digital Music Sales
County Wide Wireless To Be Deployed in Michigan