@methodshop

Tivoli Audio Model Satellite #175 AM/FM and Sirius Radio Receiver is the world's first satellite table radio designed exclusively for home use with SIRIUS Satellite Radio. The new Tivoli SIRIUS radio delivers digital quality sound in 61 commercial-free music streams, and over 40 news, sports and entertainment streams. The large LCD provides multiple display options. The radio has 15 pre-sets for your favorite Sirius streams and searches by artist, song, and stream, and the digital clock sets and updates automatically.

The radio features the fine analog tuner designed by Audio Hall of Fame member Henry Kloss, a device that pulls in even weak FM signals, allowing listeners to tune in more stations compared to other costly radios and receivers. SIRIUS is the only place where subscribers can hear the entire NFL season, as well as popular programming from NPR, CNN, FOX News and many others.


read more | digg story | treblemaker

Free music downloads? Is this good news for music lovers!? What's the catch?

Universal Music, the world's largest music company, has shaken up the record industry by announcing that it will make its song catalogue available as free internet downloads. Unlike Napster and other competing online music retailers, could this service actually pose a challenge to iTunes.

Are these tracks really free??? Don't be silly.

Is Universal Music just giving away all their music for free? Not exactly. A series of advertisements would play while you wait for each song to download. Will this advertising model work for an online music store? According to research conducted by Universal Music and SprialFrog, consumers willing to watch non-intrusive relevant advertising in exchange for the free content. I guess some people like watching advertising. Not me. I'd rather pay TiVo a service fee for the ability to fast-forward thru the commercials.

Catch#1: you have to watch advertising before/while downloading tracks


So what is stopping someone from redistributing these free tracks on P2P sharing services like BitTorrent once downloaded? According to SprialFrog, Universal Music Group's online distribution partner, digital rights management (DRM) technology will be built into all audio and video content to address the issue of piracy. However, DRM can be a double-edged sword if you are not careful. The model of DRM they plan on using is Windows Media based and means that any free tracks that you download cannot be burned on to a CD and won't work with Apple computers or iPod music players. Personally, that's a major deal breaker for me.

Catch #2: tracks cannot be burned on to a CD
Catch#3: tracks won't work with Apple computers or iPod music players


In addition to Universal Music's artists, which include U2 and Kanye West, SprialFrog is seeking to license the catalogs of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Group. It's a start. iTunes currently offers millions of songs and video content worldwide. SprialFrog and Universal Music Group have a lot of catching up to do.

Catch#4: smaller music catalogue than iTunes


Will this service actually pose a threat to Apple's iTunes Music Store? Since iPod owners can't use these free downloads, it's doubtful. But you can't blame the entertainment industry for scrambling to find new ways to make money as the Internet rewrites the rules of distribution and marketing.

digg story | methodshop

Not only has Brando sent us a ton of gadget prizes they have also just released the interesting 52 in 1 USB Bluetooth Card Reader. I didn’t even realise there were 52 different card formats.

The Card Reader functions as a Bluetooth Dongle (so you won’t even need to plug in your cards half the time) and has a relaxing anamorphic pulsing light so that you can see when it’s in use.

This is probably one of those gadgets that you’ll only use 1o% of it’s possible functionality, full list of compatible memory cards after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Like to listen to music while you work but find your workplace a little too dangerous and dirty for your fragile little iPod? Bosch, a company more famous for their power tools than stereo equipment just might have the perfect solution for you.

The Bosch Power Box is a feature-rich stereo system that not only sounds great, but has a protective roll cage that keeps it safe in busy commercial and outdoor work environments. When used with the Bosch Power Box iPod Dock (sold separately) you can bring your job sites into the digital music age. The Bosch iPod Dock easily connects to the Power Box where it not only protects your iPod but recharges it too.

The Bosch Power Box and iPod Dock sound like a powerful combo, but let's take a look at all the features of each item and how well they perform together in a busy work environment.

Review: Bosch iPod Power Box

digg story | methodshop

Like to listen to music while you work but find your workplace a little too dangerous and dirty for your fragile little iPod? Bosch, a company more famous for their power tools than stereo equipment just might have the perfect solution for you.

The Bosch Power Box is a feature-rich stereo system that not only sounds great, but has a protective roll cage that keeps it safe in busy commercial and outdoor work environments. When used with the Bosch Power Box iPod Dock (sold separately) you can bring your job sites into the digital music age. The Bosch iPod Dock easily connects to the Power Box where it not only protects your iPod but recharges it too.

The Bosch Power Box and iPod Dock sound like a powerful combo, but let's take a look at all the features of each item and how well they perform together in a busy work environment.

Review: Bosch iPod Power Box


methodshop

Labels: gadgets, review

Unfortunately Dell isn't the only company plagued by exploding defective Sony batteries. On Thursday afternoon Apple announced that they will recall 1.8 million lithium-ion notebook batteries after nine devices overheated. Two people have even reportedly suffered minor burns due to these battery malfunctions.

You can check out some of the fiery Apple laptops in this clip from NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams.



This recall is the second-biggest consumer electronics recall in U.S. history. Dell proudly holds the #1 position thanks to the 4.1 million batteries they announced a recall for last week.

So how do you know if you have a bad Sony battery in your Apple laptop? The bad batteries were sold worldwide from October 2003 through August 2006 in the following notebook computers: 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4 and 15-inch PowerBook G4.

If you own one of these Apple laptops, carefully remove your battery and take a look at the numbers printed on the back. The battery serial number is printed in black or dark grey lettering beneath a barcode. See this flickr photo for more info.



Once you mail your defective Sony battery back to Apple, you can still use your Apple laptop sans battery. Just plug in the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives. Apple pays for all the shipping costs and will even send you a postage paid label to send the bad battery back. Unfortunately you'll lose the joys of laptop portability for about 4 to 6 weeks. That's the estimated time it will take Apple to replace your battery. Look on the bright side - at least you won't have to worry about a bonfire spontaneously igniting in your lap for a few weeks. Flame on!

For more information on the battery recall, check out this page on Apple.com.

youtube | digg story | methodshop

I've been a reader of MethodShop for a while and was honoured to be invited here as a guest blogger. My name is Al and I run the website Coolest Gadgets.

We turned 1-year-old today (so we're no where near as established as good old MethodShop) and to celebrate have launched a new gadget forum with a $1,000 give away to members.

I'll be posting over here when ever I find a gadget that I think deserves double recognition, so see you around here or in the forums.


can you digg it? | coolest gadgets | methodshop

Thanks to Google, residents in Mountain View, California have one less monthly bill to pay every month... their Internet.

In August 2006, Google launched their free wireless Internet service called Google WiFi Mountain View. The service is completely free to the 72,000 residents of Mountain View and is not supported via ads. It covers the 12 square mile radius of the town and is comprised of some 380 access points.

Speeds have been reported at 1Mbps and Google is hoping that their product will convince many residents to drop their DSL & Cable offerings. Although these speeds aren't super fast, Google's free alternative will be something that most people will embrace. People who still want their high speed connections will have to pay for it.

If you're not in Mountain View don't despair, Google has teamed up with Earthlink for a more ambitious project - providing wireless Internet service to the San Francisco area. The San Francisco service will be a little different from the one now available in Mountain View in that it will be tiered. The free service (300 Kbps) will be supported by ads. If you want higher speeds (1 Mbps) without the ads, then you will have to pay monthly subscription fee.

So what is Google really up to here? Is Mountain View and San Francisco just beta cities for something much bigger like national WiFi? Google has been quietly buying up miles of "dark fiber" across the United States for years. Add that fiber network to the Wimax routers and chip sets slated to hit the consumer market next year and Google could wipe out the telecom and cable companies before they knew what hit them. Think about it... Google could instantly become a national ISP, phone (VoIP) and TV provider for the entire country.

It sounds easy, but consider the deployment difficulties of a national wireless network. A single WiFi base station can only cover a limited area. With overlap you are probably talking about 300-500 base stations per square mile depending on terrain. I'm no math major, but how many base stations would Google need to cover the entire United States? Over a billion? If Google did decide to build a national network, they'd probably have to hire all those former cable and DSL employees just to repair and maintain this massive network.

A national WiFi network isn't exactly an unobtainable goal. SingTel, Asia's largest multimarket mobile operator, estimates that the entire island nation of Singapore will boast of countrywide Wi-Fi coverage before the end of 2006.

National WiFi domination... something to think about.

Sources: Techie Diva, News.com

digg story | methodshop

There's no doubt the iPod has revolutionized the way we to listen music. People take their iPods everywhere. On the run, in the car, or at the gym, our iPods have gone with us to the ends of the earth... except places near water.

Until recently, a short fall or a splash of water meant certain death for an iPod, but not anymore.

Thanks to a company called OtterBox, makers of watertight storage cases for electronic equipment like PDAs, and GPS units, you can safely take your iPod near or even underwater. OtterBox has created a waterproof hard shell case they call the OtterBox for iPod.

We put all their waterproof iPod cases through several tough tests including a steamy shower and a trip to the beach.

Here's our full series of Otterbox case reviews:

• OtterBox for iPod Mini
  
• Otterbox for iPod
• Otterbox for iPod Nano
• Otterbox for iPod Video
  

digg story | methodshop

The new Receptor HD Clock Radio by Boston Acoustics is the latest in a long line of high-quality, compact systems on the market; not to mention that everything Boston Acoustics makes, from car speakers to clock radios, is of the highest quality.

Next on our review list is a nice pair of cherry Boston acoustics bookshelf speakers.

From Crutchfield.com, here's the hands-on research:

HD Radio: HD Radio is digital FM and AM broadcasting, allowing you to enjoy your same favorite FM and AM stations with digital sound quality. FM stations offer near CD-quality sound and AM stations sound like today's analog FM stations. Because the transmission is digital, multi-path distortion (a common problem with analog radio, receiving signal reflections slightly later than the direct signal) is eliminated. Stations broadcasting HD radio can also pass along text information, such as artist name, song title, weather, traffic, etc. Another benefit of FM HD radio is a station's ability to multicast, broadcast multiple programs (up to seven) using their existing frequency. The display shows multicast stations with the frequency followed by the multicast number, 107.1-1, 107.1-2, 107.1-3, etc.

Tuner: The Boston Acoustics Recepter radio has a highly sensitive AM/FM digital tuner. It can pull in weak FM stations while its high selectivity allows it to separate closely-spaced stations clearly. The tuning knob makes it easy to manually tune to your favorite stations.

Presets: The Recepter radio features 20 station presets for your favorite AM and FM stations, including primary and multicast HD stations. Once you set the preset stations, you can quickly tune only the preset stations with a turn of the tuning knob.

Antenna Inputs: This unit is equipped with a built-in AM antenna. External FM wire and AM loop antennas are also included. The FM antenna input on the back of the radio is a threaded coaxial jack (75Ω) and the AM antenna input has spring terminals. When using the external AM antenna, first disconnect the internal antenna from the spring terminals.

Speakers/Amplifier: The Recepter features wide-range drivers, specifically designed for this radio, with a rear-firing ports to enhance the bass output. These high-performance speakers are coupled with an actively-equalized amplifier that uses Boston BassTrac circuitry for full, satisfying sound, even at low volume. The result is a unit that delivers smooth, natural response and room-filling sound despite its small size. When placed near a wall the bass may be too pronounced, in this case the bass trim function can be used to turn the bass down.

Display: The unit's large easy-to-read display clearly shows the station frequency, preset number, HD radio text information, clock, and alarm/sleep status. If desired, the display can be dimmed. The display dimensions are 2-1/2" wide and 1-1/4" high.

Dual Alarms: The radio features two independent wake-up alarms, each of which can be set to music or tone. When the alarm sounds, the snooze function will silence the alarm for 10 minutes. If you push the snooze button again within 3 seconds, you can add another 5 minutes to the snooze time, up to a maximum of 60 minutes.

Sleep Timer: You can set the unit's sleep timer to play the radio for a preset amount of time, then turn itself off. The sleep timer can be set for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes.

Auxiliary Input: A mini-jack input (1/8") on the back of the radio allows you to play an external source through the Recepter.

Headphone Output: There is mini-jack (1/8") headphone output on the back of the radio. When headphones are plugged in the speakers are muted.

Satellite Speaker: The included second speaker completes a two channel stereo system. The satellite speaker is connected to the main radio using the attached 20" cable which terminates with a male RCA plug. A 10' RCA extension is also included to offer greater placement flexibility and improve stereo separation.

In conclusion, the styling, performance and versatility makes this little powerhouse a great buy and a suitable machine for anyone looking for a compact system. Its compact size and portability lets it go from room to room or place to place with little hastle. Highly recommended.

digg story

The new Receptor HD Clock Radio by Boston Acoustics is the latest in a long line of high-quality, compact systems on the market; not to mention that everything Boston Acoustics makes, from car speakers to clock radios, is of the highest quality.

Next on our review list is a nice pair of cherry Boston Acounstics bookshelf speakers.

From Crutchfield.com, here's the hands-on research:

HD Radio: HD Radio is digital FM and AM broadcasting, allowing you to enjoy your same favorite FM and AM stations with digital sound quality. FM stations offer near CD-quality sound and AM stations sound like today's analog FM stations. Because the transmission is digital, multi-path distortion (a common problem with analog radio, receiving signal reflections slightly later than the direct signal) is eliminated. Stations broadcasting HD radio can also pass along text information, such as artist name, song title, weather, traffic, etc. Another benefit of FM HD radio is a station's ability to multicast, broadcast multiple programs (up to seven) using their existing frequency. The display shows multicast stations with the frequency followed by the multicast number, 107.1-1, 107.1-2, 107.1-3, etc.

Tuner: The Boston Acoustics Recepter radio has a highly sensitive AM/FM digital tuner. It can pull in weak FM stations while its high selectivity allows it to separate closely-spaced stations clearly. The tuning knob makes it easy to manually tune to your favorite stations.

Presets: The Recepter radio features 20 station presets for your favorite AM and FM stations, including primary and multicast HD stations. Once you set the preset stations, you can quickly tune only the preset stations with a turn of the tuning knob.

Antenna Inputs: This unit is equipped with a built-in AM antenna. External FM wire and AM loop antennas are also included. The FM antenna input on the back of the radio is a threaded coaxial jack (75Ω) and the AM antenna input has spring terminals. When using the external AM antenna, first disconnect the internal antenna from the spring terminals.

Speakers/Amplifier: The Recepter features wide-range drivers, specifically designed for this radio, with a rear-firing ports to enhance the bass output. These high-performance speakers are coupled with an actively-equalized amplifier that uses Boston BassTrac circuitry for full, satisfying sound, even at low volume. The result is a unit that delivers smooth, natural response and room-filling sound despite its small size. When placed near a wall the bass may be too pronounced, in this case the bass trim function can be used to turn the bass down.

Display: The unit's large easy-to-read display clearly shows the station frequency, preset number, HD radio text information, clock, and alarm/sleep status. If desired, the display can be dimmed. The display dimensions are 2-1/2" wide and 1-1/4" high.

Dual Alarms: The radio features two independent wake-up alarms, each of which can be set to music or tone. When the alarm sounds, the snooze function will silence the alarm for 10 minutes. If you push the snooze button again within 3 seconds, you can add another 5 minutes to the snooze time, up to a maximum of 60 minutes.

Sleep Timer: You can set the unit's sleep timer to play the radio for a preset amount of time, then turn itself off. The sleep timer can be set for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes.

Auxiliary Input: A mini-jack input (1/8") on the back of the radio allows you to play an external source through the Recepter.

Headphone Output: There is mini-jack (1/8") headphone output on the back of the radio. When headphones are plugged in the speakers are muted.

Satellite Speaker: The included second speaker completes a two channel stereo system. The satellite speaker is connected to the main radio using the attached 20" cable which terminates with a male RCA plug. A 10' RCA extension is also included to offer greater placement flexibility and improve stereo separation.

digg story | treblemaker

Want to beef up on content for your iPod Video but don't have a lot of money?

Lately the iTunes Store (US) has been full of free videos. A common trend has been for networks to offer a series pilot for free in hopes of getting you hooked on the show. Not a bad idea - especially since it worked on me. I downloaded Spike TV's free pilot for Blade and now have a TiVo Season pass for the show. I love checking out all the free TV show downloads in iTunes. The only problem is that finding all these free videos can be time consuming and a little challenging.

In an effort to make browsing for free video content on iTunes a little easier Apple created a Free TV Shows Downloads page (iTunes link) last week. When I was writing this blog entry there were currently 12 free TV shows offered.

But this free TV Show download page unfortunately isn't the one stop shop it should be. For some reason free downloads for TV shows like Passions and Blade weren't included on this "free" page. Hopefully Apple will make an all-inclusive free download page soon, but until then, this partial page will have to do.


digg story | methodshop

I've been a reader of MethodShop for a while and was honoured to be invited here as a guest blogger. My name is Al and I run the website Coolest Gadgets.

We turned 1-year-old today (so we're no where near as established as good old MethodShop) and to celebrate have launched a new gadget forum with a $1,000 give away to members.

I'll be posting over here when ever I find a gadget that I think deserves double recognition, so see you around here or in the forums.


can you digg it? | coolest gadgets

Want to beef up on content for your iPod Video but don't have a lot of money?

Lately the iTunes Store (US) has been full of free videos. A common trend has been for networks to offer a series pilot for free in hopes of getting you hooked on the show. Not a bad idea - especially since it worked on me. I downloaded Spike TV's free pilot for Blade and now have a TiVo Season pass for the show. I love checking out all the free TV show downloads in iTunes. The only problem is that finding all these free videos can be time consuming and a little challenging.

In an effort to make browsing for free video content on iTunes a little easier Apple created a Free TV Shows Downloads page (iTunes link) last week. When I was writing this blog entry there were currently 12 free TV shows offered.

But this free TV Show download page unfortunately isn't the one stop shop it should be. For some reason free downloads for TV shows like Passions and Blade weren't included on this "free" page. Hopefully Apple will make an all-inclusive free download page soon, but until then, this partial page will have to do.


digg story | methodshop

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, chances are you know about Verizon Wireless’ LG Chocolate Phone. From billboards to magazine ads to flyers in the mail, buzz about Verizon’s new phone is everywhere, and cell phone fanatics are licking their lips at the thought of it.

Dubbed “one sweet phone” by both Verizon marketing execs and the general public, the LG VX8500 (as it’s technically called) hit stores on August 8 and has been flying off shelves ever since. The sexy little phone, with its touch-sensitive controls, V CAST and VZ Navigation capabilities, sliding number pad, and iPod-esque design has instantly become the must-have summer accessory.

Whether you’re looking to chat with friends, jam to some Dashboard Confessional, or watch the new Shakira video for the one-millionth time, the chocolate phone’s got what you need. A step above Verizon’s LG VX8300 music and video phone, the chocolate phone costs only $149.99 after the $50.00 mail in rebate--a pretty good deal for the hottest MP3/cell phone hybrid on the market.

And as if it isn’t tasty enough already, songs downloaded to the phone cost a mere $1.99 each and copies of the songs are sent to your PC. So, after you’ve stormed your nearest Verizon store to get your hands on a piece of the chocolate, the only thing left to do is start downloading some serious tunes.

A PimpWiz Exclusive By, Charisse Dengler

read more | digg story | PimpWiz

In conjunction with ConsumerReports, Yahoo rates its five best Plasmas, LCD HDTVs, and Projection TVs. I found this article of particular interest because I've referred to ConsumerReports for years on everything from consumer electronics to our car...and they've never been wrong.

With the prices dropping and the choices growing now might be the right time to get one of these babies.

Plasma TVs

1. Panasonic TH-50PX500U
2. Panasonic TH-50PX50U
3. Panasonic TH-42PX50U
4. HP Pavilion PL5000N
5. Panasonic TH-42PX500U

LCD HDTVs

When it comes to LCDs there's a pretty good mix here - check it out.

1. Sharp Aquos LC-45GD7U
2. JVC LT-40FH96
3. Sony BRAVIA KDL-V32XBR1
4. Sharp LC-26GD4U
5. Sony BRAVIA KDL-V40XBR1

Projection TVs

Again with the projections there's a good mix - five selections and five brands.

1. JVC HD-61FH96
2. Sony KDS-R60XBR1
3. Sharp 56DR650
4. Toshiba 62MX195
5. HP Pavilion MD6580n

This is one article we're going to leave up to experts. Obviously we've seen our fare share of cool TVs but the efforts of ConsumerReports and Yahoo have done the reviews justice. They're really informed - and in some cases brutally honest.

read more | digg story

Apple definitely has a successful formula when it comes to their elegant product design and marketing. Simple. Uncluttered. Clean... and very un-Microsoft. But what if Microsoft designed the iPod? What would the packaging look like? This video parody explores those possibilities.



What makes this video even more funny is that it was created by Microsoft. Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla sent an email to iPod Observer saying that his company initiated the creation of the parody video.

"It was an internal-only video clip commissioned by our packaging [team] to humorously highlight the challenges we have faced RE: packaging and to educate marketers here about the pitfalls of packaging/branding... While MS did not release the video, it's natural to share funny things with friends. So while we didn't publicly share the video, it was shared with appropriate teams internally. We're happy to see others enjoy the laugh as well."

The music in the background might sound familiar. It's the song "The Breakfast Machine" from the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

digg story | methodshop

The browser wars just went intergalactic. While humans fight it out between Internet Explorer and Firefox, it seems that some Aliens have already made their decision... or maybe it was just a bunch of college kids. This past weekend, the Oregon State Linux Users Group descended on a field in Oregon to create a 45,000+ square foot crop circle of Firefox.



Why did they make a crop circle? To celebrate 50 million Firefox downloads, they took back the sidewalk with an enormous painting on their campus quad. At 100 million, they took back the sky with a huge Firefox weather balloon. How do you beat that? Well, a 45,000+ square foot crop circle might do it.

So does the sudden appearance of a Firefox crop circle really imply which browser extraterrestrials prefer? Who knows but the photos taken from several planes and helicopters are incredible. To learn more on how they made this crop circle, check out this page on the Oregon State website.

flickr | digg story | methodshop

Are you one of the digital music trailblazers who owns a 1G iPod? It's hard to believe, but Apple first unveiled the iPod back in October 2001. Today, the iPod amounts to almost 50% of Apple's quarterly income - but back then few could have predicted that the iPod would become such a major game changer for Apple.

Here's a clip from TechTV with their first impressions on the 1G iPod. It's interesting to see what people thought of the iPod before it became such a huge success.






Want to watch this YouTube clip on your iPod? Then check out this tutorial: How to Copy Files Off YouTube and Convert them for your Video iPod

digg story | methodshop

At a June 2006 conference in Japan, a Dell laptop suddenly exploded into flames. Luckily for its owner, the explosion occurred while the PC was sitting on a table and not in his lap. Gaston, a reader of the Inquirer, witnessed the malfunction and reported that the notebook continued to burn, producing several more explosions over the course of about five minutes.



The model of the exploding Dell notebook at this conference wasn't specifically mentioned. However, Dell obviously believes that the problem is with the battery and not the laptop itself. On Monday they issued a voluntary recall on all batteries that were shipped worldwide between April 1, 2004, and July 18, 2006. This comes to about 2.7 million battery packs shipped in the U.S. and an additional 1.4 million in other nations. This is also the largest safety recall in the history of the consumer electronics industry.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, Gaston has some advice for you: "Fire extinguishers leave a mess on your suit and belongings; pack your stuff (if you can) and leave, leave, leave!"

Unfortunately it's probably only a matter of time before something like this happens on an airplane.

You can get to the Dell recall site by clicking here.

digg story | methodshop

The thought of being able to select music on the iPod from across the room has always intrigued me. I mean - come on now - most of us have a lineup of remote controls on the coffee table for a TV, Cable box, DVD player and our receiver. Until now, the iPod was stuck in its own land of "wheel control" consisting of clicking and turning when you needed to find Van Halen down at the bottom of your list.


But thanks to Harmon Kardon's slickly designed Bridge iPod docking station, you can now select music with your AVR 40 Series receiver remote either on a TV screen or directly on the receiver display itself.

Read the entire review here.

read more | digg story | treblemaker

In conjunction with ConsumerReports, Yahoo rates its five best Plasmas, LCD HDTVs, and Projection TVs. I found this article of particular interest because I've referred to ConsumerReports for years on everything from consumer electronics to our car...and they've never been wrong.

With the prices dropping and the choices growing now might be the right time to get one of these babies.

Plasma TVs

1. Panasonic TH-50PX500U
2. Panasonic TH-50PX50U
3. Panasonic TH-42PX50U
4. HP Pavilion PL5000N
5. Panasonic TH-42PX500U

LCD HDTVs

When it comes to LCDs there's a pretty good mix here - check it out.

1. Sharp Aquos LC-45GD7U
2. JVC LT-40FH96
3. Sony BRAVIA KDL-V32XBR1
4. Sharp LC-26GD4U
5. Sony BRAVIA KDL-V40XBR1

Projection TVs

Again with the projections there's a good mix - five selections and five brands.

1. JVC HD-61FH96
2. Sony KDS-R60XBR1
3. Sharp 56DR650
4. Toshiba 62MX195
5. HP Pavilion MD6580n

This is one article we're going to leave up to experts. Obviously we've seen our fare share of cool TVs but the efforts of ConsumerReports and Yahoo have done the reviews justice. They're really informed - and in some cases brutally honest.

read more | digg story

Remember the scene in the movie Minority Report where Tom Cruise uses a 3D holographic interface to track down people before they commit crimes? True holographic projection technology is still years away from being a reality, but some Japanese scientists are at least headed in the right direction.

It's not exactly a hologram, but Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has developed a 3D display that uses intersecting infrared lasers to create small amounts of plasma emission in mid air. By controlling the position of the focal point in the x-, y-, and z-axes, the visible plasma dots are capable of forming letters and simple shapes in 3D-space.

If you attended SIGGRAPH 2006 then you might have already seen this fancy laser projector on display. If not, here's your chance. Check out the video here.




It's probably only a matter of time until advertisers start utilizing this technology as a form of nighttime skywriting.

digg story | flickr | methodshop

During our bi-weekly trip over to JR we decided to check out a few compact systems after our neighbors (whose system is compromised of some components we've reviewed) got their hands on a nice new Blu-Ray DVD player and have been rattling the walls ever since.

For the record, when you combine a 50-inch Panasonic Plasma, Harman Kardon AVR 635 Receiver, the latest and greatest Blu-Ray DVD player, four Onkyo D302Es in the front and rear, with a solid amplifier, and a Polk Audio PSW10 Subwoofer you're going to annoy the neighbors.

But I digress, on to the review. After mulling around the store, this all-in-one JVC EXD5 really lit up the room. Its combination of good looks, ease of use, versatility, and great sound makes this a good choice for someone looking for the total package or a nice little system for the bedroom.

Performance

This Executive Micro system, the EX-D5, features the JVC-Trademark Woodcone Speakers. It produces natural acoustics from a speaker cone made by mother nature. JVC's eternal quest for original sound and leading edge technologies gave birth to this high grade audio system. This system also plays various CD as well as DVD supported formats, USB Link for PC connectivity, and a number of features making this Executive Micro Sytem truly an engineering marvel.

Speakers

The solid wood cones featured in the EX-D5 provide an ideal combination of high sound propagation speed and sufficient internal loss, allowing the speakers to naturally reproduce a wide frequency range. With conventional paper cones, sound spreads at the same speed in all directions, causing unnatural resonant points with limited frequency response. Wood cones produce few resonant points because of the grain, so frequency response is improved and sound quality is significantly enhanced. JVC engineers tried several types of wood, but birch proved to have the best acoustic properties.

Digital Amplifier

The EX-D5's 18 watts per channel are delivered by JVC's Hybrid Feedback Digital Amplifier, which eliminates noise often produced by digital amplifiers by using two feedback systems - one digital and one analog - to ensure the highest quality sound. A 192-kHz/24-bit audio D/A converter and 10-bit/54MHz video D/A converter are also featured for maximum quality. The user interface is rounded out by a display dimmer, electronic bass and treble tone controls as well as random and repeat program modes.

Versatility

The EX-D5 caters to users who want to play music that is stored digitally on their computers. A USB input connection enables playback of music from a computer with an available USB port. The EX-D5 creates further freedom and simplicity through wireless connectivity that enables the unit to accept an audio stream delivered by a computer to virtually any location inside a home or office.

Solid Features

In addition to wood cone speakers, JVC's top-end desktop audio system - the EX-D5 - offer DVD Audio/Video playback, two-channel Dolby Digital/DTS decoding, and USB-PC Link for music file playback through the audio systems - wirelessly.

read more | digg story

Did you miss Steve Jobs' Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote? Apple has posted the keynote as a streaming QuickTime movie on their site. A video is also available of "The PC Guy," who delivers his own greeting to the attendees of the conference.

Some keynote highlights include a preview of Mac OS X "Leopard" and the Mac Pro - the Intel replacement for the PowerMac G5.

The stream was very strained and laggy after word of this stream made the front page on Digg.com. You can also try this direct link if you can't get a decent video stream flowing.

digg story | methodshop

Apple definitely has a successful formula when it comes to their elegant product design and marketing. Simple. Uncluttered. Clean... and very un-Microsoft. But what if Microsoft designed the iPod? What would the packaging look like? This video parody explores those possibilities.



What makes this video even more funny is that it was created by Microsoft. Microsoft spokesman Tom Pilla sent an email to iPod Observer saying that his company initiated the creation of the parody video.

"It was an internal-only video clip commissioned by our packaging [team] to humorously highlight the challenges we have faced RE: packaging and to educate marketers here about the pitfalls of packaging/branding... While MS did not release the video, it's natural to share funny things with friends. So while we didn't publicly share the video, it was shared with appropriate teams internally. We're happy to see others enjoy the laugh as well."

The music in the background might sound familiar. It's the song "The Breakfast Machine" from the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

digg story | methodshop

The thought of being able to select music on the iPod from across the room has always intrigued me. I mean - come on now - most of us have a lineup of remote controls on the coffee table for a TV, Cable box, DVD player and our receiver. Until now, the iPod was stuck in its own land of clicking and turning when you needed to find Van Halen down at the bottom of your list.

But thanks to Harmon Kardon's slickly designed Bridge iPod docking station, you can now select music with your AVR 40 Series receiver remote either on a TV screen or directly on the receiver display itself.

Read the entire review here.

read more | digg story

Most people know about Blu-ray Disc's basic features, but not everyone knows all of its new features over ordinary digital versatile disks.

Some of these include being able to include java applications, read several data sources off the disk simultaneously, and have multi-page menus or slide shows without disrupting video or audio playback.

If you're interested in adding this new technology to your system check out the Sony BDP-S1 and grab a Sony STR-DG1000 receiver to enhance the technology even further. And now that this technology is readily available, we recommend trying some of these titles:

• Black Hawk Down
• The Terminator
• SWAT
• Lord of War

iTunes is much more than a digital music jukebox. It's capable of handling many different tasks involving digital media and your iPod. Some of iTunes' most popular features include buying music online, burning CDs, and syncing files with your iPod or iPhone. But one of the lesser known functions hidden within iTunes is the ability to convert audio files.

Why would you need to convert an audio file? Converting audio file types can be useful in many different situations. Here are a few examples:

• You have an AAC file in iTunes that's not compatible with your Zune that can play MP3 and not AAC files.
• A WAV file needs to be emailed to a client for approval but it's too big. You need to convert the file to an AAC so it's small enough to easily send via email.
• You are making a music video and want to use a song you purchased from the iTunes Store as the soundtrack. However, the editing program won't import the song because of Apple's protective DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Many programs that convert audio files into different formats are pretty complicated and usually cost money. But not iTunes. iTunes is simple, fast and best of all... free.

Tutorial: Converting Audio File Formats in iTunes



methodshop

Labels: itunes, tutorial

Most people know about Blu-ray Disc's basic features, but not everyone knows all of its new features over ordinary digital versatile disks.

Some of these include being able to include java applications, read several data sources off the disk simultaneously, and have multi-page menus or slide shows without disrupting video or audio playback.

If you're interested in adding this new technology to your system check out the Sony BDP-S1 and grab a Sony STR-DG1000 receiver to enhance the technology even further. And now that this technology is readily available, we recommend trying some of these titles:

• Black Hawk Down
• The Terminator
• SWAT
• Lord of War

Is Apple working on a music player cell phone? Apple's CFO, Peter Oppenheimer, might have let the 'cat out of the bag' on an Apple analyst Q3 conference call.

When Merrill Lynch analyst Richard Farmer mentioned the success of the Sony Walkman Phone, Oppenheimer responded by saying: "As regards cell phones, we don't think that the phones that are available today make the best music players. We think the iPod is. But over time, that is likely to change. And [Apple is] not sitting around doing nothing."


In addition to Oppenheimer's slip of the tongue on the conference call, VL-Tone, a member of the Apple Insider forums found some interesting code in the last iPod software update. When using a hex editor he found several phone related commands/variables in the update including: t_feature_app_PHONE_APP, kPhoneSignalStrength, clPhoneMocksApplication, clPhoneCallModel.

As a result of all this iPhone hype and rumors, Merrill Lynch has upgraded Apple stock (AAPL) to a 'buy' and raised the target price to $72.

So when it comes to cell phones, just remember that Apple is "not sitting around doing nothing." Our sister blog e-Fuze thinks that "This should serve as a clear indication that Apple is indeed working on the iPhone. It is now a matter of when Apple will officially confirm the project and even release a timeframe for the device."

e-Fuze | digg story | methodshop