Digital Technology for Digital Living.
August 30, 2006
Rip DVDs for Your iPod Video
Need something to watch on your iPod Video? Here’s a tutorial that explains how to use a program called Handbrake to rip DVD’s into iPod compatible MPEG-4 video files.
Requirements:
- An iPod Video
- Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
- 500 MHz G4 processor or better with at least 16MB of video RAM
- QuickTime 7.0.3 or later
- iTunes 6.0.1 or later
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Video
Universal Music to Offer Free Downloads
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.
Related Website: World-Wide Song Charts at KOvideo.net
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Video, Software
Rejected iPod Engravings
As you may know, you can order an iPod from the Apple Store with a custom, laser-engraved message. However, not everything gets engraved. Apple has been rejecting some messages for editorial reasons.
The following is a collection of engravings that were actually rejected by Apple, and some that probably should have been. Enjoy!
Full Story: Rejected iPod Engravings
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portable, Video
August 29, 2006
Bosch iPod Power Box Review
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 | Comments (0) | General, Music
August 28, 2006
Free Google WiFi Internet
Thanks to Google, residents in Mountain View, California have one less monthly bill to pay every month… their Internet.
This month 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.
National WiFi domination… something to think about.
Sources: Techie Diva, News.com
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Broadband, Wireless, Video, VOIP
August 25, 2006
Apple Recalls Laptop Batteries
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
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Portable
August 23, 2006
Shower with Your iPod?
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:
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Portable, Video
August 21, 2006
Free iTunes TV Show Page
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.
methodshop | Comments (2) | General, Portable, Video
August 18, 2006
What if Microsoft Designed the iPod?
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.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Music, Video
August 17, 2006
A Look Back at the 1st iPod
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
methodshop | Comments Off | General, Music, Portable
August 16, 2006
Dell Recalls Exploding Laptop Batteries
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.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Portable
August 10, 2006
3D Laser Display
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
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Video, Software
August 09, 2006
Watch the WWDC Keynote
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.
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Broadband, Video
August 01, 2006
iPhone Rumors Confirmed?
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 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.”
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. Probably within the next one and a half years or so we should see this device roll out.”
e-Fuze | digg story | methodshop
methodshop | Comments (0) | General, Mobile Phone, Music
