Blockbuster To Rent Movies Via SD Card

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An old, lumbering giant takes a shaking step forward into the future today. Blockbuster, king of the VHS and DVD era, is trying to move into the digital age by creating a series of kiosks capable of loading movies onto SD cards. Customers will be able to 'rent' DRM-loaded movies with a set expiration date, claims Fast Company. These kiosks will be marketed for smartphone and laptop viewing, so expect to see a lot of them in airports soon.

So, will this latest move help Blockbuster to compete with the growing success of streaming movies (like Netflix's Watch Instantly option) and services like iTunes? I doubt it. Blockbuster will be charging a lot, in the neighbourhood of $4 a film. That doesn't come close to being a competitive price, yet another sign of Blockbuster's inability to get with the times. They're going to have to get used to lowered profit margins; the business has changed.

Posted on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:49:41 CST | by Robert Evans

VIA's Nano 3000 Provides an Atom Rival

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For the last year and change, Intel's Atom processors have basically been the first and last word in ultraportable CPUs. Today, VIA changes that with the launch of their new Nano 3000 series of processors (via Engadget). The Atom line is looking quite aged these days, but these six new Nano 3000 chips look much spiffier. Plus, they have a cool futuristic name. Nano 3000 sounds way cooler than Atom.

These CPUs run from 1 to 2 GHz in speed and each one packs an 800 MHz FSB, in addition to 64 bit support and Windows 7/Linux compatibility. The power ratings of this new line all measure in at about 20% more efficient than previous generation Nanos, and they also promise to have 1080p multimedia playback. Sign me the hell up for a netbook that packs one of these little darlings.

Posted on Tue, 3 Nov 2009 09:33:06 CST | by Robert Evans

Active Media Products Introduces Aviator 312 External USB 3.0 SSD

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A company called Active Media Products has unveiled a new SSD that uses the USB 3.0 interface called the Aviator 312. The SSD is an external storage solution designed to operate at 4.8Gbits/sec making it about ten times faster than USB 2.0. The drive is very small measuring about 3" long x 0.2" thick.

The company says with the massive speed of USB 3.0 a full 25GB HD film can be saved in about two minutes. The drive comes with a carry pouch and a USB 3.0 micro-B cable for connectivity to any port. The drive will work with any USB 2.0 or 1.1 port as well, just at lower speeds. Read more

Posted on Mon, 5 Oct 2009 05:32:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

New Thinner iMac Leak Via Google Ads

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Google text ads in the Netherlands point towards new thinner Apple iMac computers, lighter and thinner plastic MacBooks, and more affordable Mac minis.
Apple Insider got screenshots of the top Google ads appearing on the Google search engine in the Netherlands. If authentic, than Apple is ramping up for a big push of new Apple computer hardware soon. This is also supported by Friday's appearance of a new Mac Keyboard and Mighty Mouse at the FCC. Read more

Posted on Sun, 4 Oct 2009 04:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

VIA introduces EPIA-P720 Pico-ITX mainboard

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VIA has announced a new fanless HD capable pico-ITX mainboard called the EPIA-P720. The tiny mainboard has all the components needed for a functioning computer crammed into a tiny 10cm x 7.2cm mainboard.

The device supports playback of HD resolution video at up to 1080p and supports codecs including H.264, VC1, WMV9, and MPEG 2/4. The device also has HDMI out, VGA, and LVDS support as well. The CPU on the board is a VIA Eden ULV running at 1GHz. Read more

Posted on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Sony Bravia ZX5 LED LCD HDTV KDL-52ZX5 and KDL-46ZX5 Unveiled

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Sony unveiled the BRAVIA ZX5 series with the models KDL-52ZX5 and KDL-46ZX5 in Japan.
The Sony BRAVIA ZX5 are LED backlit HDTVs with integrated wireless HD connectivity.
The Sony BRAVIA KDL-52ZX5 (52-inch) and KDL-46ZX5 (46-inch) are only 16.6mm and 15.8mm respectively thin.
Other features of the Sony BRAVIA ZX5 include 240Hz technology, VOD (Video On Demand) with acTVila, FeliCa port, LAN, DLNA, 4 HDMI ports, and USB. Read more

Posted on Mon, 7 Sep 2009 07:21:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Unicorns Invade ESPN Via Konami Code Hack

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Some merry pranksters had fun with ESPN.com today, implementing a hack that riddled the popular sports site with bright unicorns and rainbows when users inputted the Konami code on their keyboards.

Word spread on Twitter of the hack, giving users a few hours of magical amusement before ESPN.com ruined the fun and pulled the functionality.

A commenter on Kotaku.com knowledgeable in all things unicorn pointed out that the unicorns originated from Cornify.com, “the #1 unicorn and rainbow service worldwide, giving websites sparkle around the world.”

Posted on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:25:00 CDT | by James Douglas

OLPC Announces Via chipsets for XO Update

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The OLPC has been working hard to get its cheap notebooks into the hands of kids around the world to help with education in third world countries. The company is always on the lookout for ways to improve the XO notebook and make it more profitable.

Last week OLPC announced that in the upcoming version 1.5 of the XO notebook it will be switching from the AMD chipset currently used in the machines to a Via chipset that uses a C7-M processor. The RAM will also get increased to 1GB. Read more

Posted on Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green Power Hard Drive Review

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Hothardware published a review of the Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green Power Hard Drive. Are 2TB to much storage for a single drive or is this the future?
Quote from the review: "The Western Digital Green Power Caviar 2TB drive features 4 - 500GB platters rotating at a variable speed in combination with Western Digital's IntelliSeek, NoTouch, and IntelliPower technologies. Read more

Posted on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 09:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

MTV Networks to Stream South Park and Nickelodeon Shows via Netflix

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Netflix has announced that it will be offering more programming via its streaming service, with new offerings from MTV Studios and Nickelodeon. Comedy Central's popular animated show South Park will be offered as well as iCarly and SpongeBob SquarePants.

The shows can now be watched streaming over the PC and on TV via any Netflix streaming capable device. The complete first nine seasons of the award winning South Park are now available for streaming. That may be enough reason in itself for many to add Netflix accounts. Read more

Posted on Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

VIA Announces New VX855 Media Processor

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VIA announced its latest media system processor called the VX855 that is described as a highly integrated all-in-one chipset that meets the needs of today's SFF and mobile PC systems. The processor offers full hardware acceleration of the most popular video standards including H.264, MPEG-2/4, DivX, and WMV9 allowing smooth playback at 1080p resolution.

The processor operates inside a 2.3W thermal design power envelope and is intended to let netbooks and other small systems play full HD video. VIA says that the processor supports all operating systems including Windows 7. Read more

Posted on Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Sony Bravia W-series connected TVs featuring BRAVIA Widgets

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Today Sony announced new connected HDTVs in their Bravia W-Series.
The networked models feature an Ethernet connection so the sets can directly access Sony BRAVIA Internet Video content using an existing broadband connection. BRAVIA Internet Widgets, provided by the Yahoo! Widget Engine, expand and personalize the experience by allowing you to interact with your favorite Internet content like Yahoo News, Video, Finance, and Flickr while watching TV shows.
Track your favorite sports team, check your stocks and share photos with friends and family as you watch television.
Read more

Posted on Tue, 3 Mar 2009 08:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sony Bravia W5 and F5 240Hz Motion Flow HDTVs unveiled

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Sony unveiled the Bravia W5 and Bravia F5 LCD HDTV sets with 240Hz Motion Flow in Japan.
Motion Flow 240Hz gives you even smoother and sharper fast moving footage as mostly found in sports events. Of course 240Hz Motion Flow is also great for watching fast paced action movies.

The Sony Bravia W5 series consists of the KDL-52W5 (52 inch), KDL-46W5 (46 inch) and KDL-40W5 (40 inch).
The Sony Bravia F5 series features the KDL-46F5 (46 inch), KDL-40F5 (40 inch) and the KDL-32F5 (32 inch). Read more

Posted on Mon, 2 Mar 2009 03:36:08 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Samsung NC20 VIA Nano Netbook is Official

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The fact that the Samsung NC20 netbook is not based on the Intel Atom CPU was already leaked a month ago from a Russian site that reviewed the NC20. Today VIA announced officially that the new Samsung NC20 netbook is based on the Atom competitor VIA Nano CPU.
The NC20 pushes the size limits of netbooks to a 12.1 inch screen with 1280x800px resolution.
Other features of the NC20 include 1.3+GHz VIA Nano processor with the highly-integrated VIA VX800 system media processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, 6.5h battery life, card reader, 3 USB ports and 1.3MP camera. Read more

Posted on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:06:47 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

CBS brings CSI and Star Trek to iPhone via new TV App

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TV Station CBS brings prime time TV series to your iPhone with their new iPhone App TV.com reports the NY Times.
CBS' video site TV.com can now be used with the iPhone and you can for free watch shows and series like the original Star Trek, CSI, 90210 or the Late Show with David Letterman.

CBS also prevents non-US viewers to watch their content like NBC does on Hulu.com. At some point they will learn that there is money to be made also outside of the US. Read more

Posted on Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:05:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

NVIDIA ION 2 supports VIA Nano CPU

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NVIDIA apparently has more plans with the ION platform than just supporting Intel Atom CPUs. Digitimes reports that NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang confirmed that NVIDIA will release ION 2 supporting the VIA Nano CPU later in 2009.
The announcements around the NVIDIA ION platform increase, but the real products are not here yet. Apparently in June we will see the first ION based Nettop and mini-notebooks priced at $299. Read more

Posted on Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:49:48 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB Desktop Drive Review

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Tweaktown tested the new gigantic 2TB hard drive known as the green Monster from WD (WD20WEADS).
Quote from the review: "Ten percent of all 3.5in hard drives sold today are in capacities of 1TB or greater, claims Mark Geenen, President of Trend Focus. For enthusiasts, that number would grow exponentially and with their low cost, rightly so. A few months ago Seagate launched their 1.5TB drive, but it has been plagued with firmware issues that are only now getting resolved. Just as with the graphics card world, hard drive manufacturers play the performance and capacity leapfrog game. In this round Western Digital was first to reach the finish line and the race was to 2 terabytes of storage capacity. Read more

Posted on Wed, 4 Feb 2009 17:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

WD 2TB Caviar Green Monster WD20WEADS Drive Preview

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WD today announced the first 2 terabyte (TB) hard drive: the world's highest capacity drive and the latest addition to WD's environmentally friendly, cool and quiet, WD Caviar Green hard drive family.
Hothardware already had a pre-production WD20WEADS in their lab and published a review of it.
Quote form the preview: "Today Western Digital is announcing their WD20WEADS drive, otherwise known as the WD Caviar Green 2.0TB. Read more

Posted on Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:41:47 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

CES 2009: Eviant launches small portable Digital TVs

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Eviant tries to leverage the availability of terrestrial digital TV signal across the US to launch a line of small portable digital TVs at the CES 2009.
The Eviant T4 has a 4.3 inch screen and the Eviant T7 has a 7" screen. Both small TVs have a built-in antenna, built-in battery, and speakers. Read more

Posted on Wed, 7 Jan 2009 07:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR6 HDTV Review

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Our review partner Digital Trends tested the 52 inch Sony Bravia KDL-52XBR6 LCD HDTV and published a detailed review.
Quote from the review: "Winter is a wonderful time of the year—especially for those who want to sled downhill. If you can’t find hills or snow nearby, just look at a diagram showing prices of LCD HDTVs—it’s a sweet downward angle that’ll make any prospective buyer a happy camper. Sony’s new 52-inch XBR6 model is a great example. It launched last fall at $3,499, dropped quickly to $2,999 and, as we speak, sells on Amazon for less than $2,400. Read more

Posted on Tue, 6 Jan 2009 17:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sony Bravia-Drome dramatically demonstrates Motionflow 240Hz

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Sony built the BRAVIA-drome, the centerpiece for Sony’s latest marketing campaign, to provide customers with a visual demonstration of Sony’s Motionflow technology.
The Sony BRAVIA-drome was inspired by the zoetrope, a device invented in the 19th century to create short ‘films’ from a series of static images. This modern day zoetrope is 10 meters across, spins at over 40 kph and is the optimal medium for demonstrating how Motionflow 240Hz technology clearly displays today’s fast-action motion pictures. Read more

Posted on Fri, 5 Dec 2008 06:32:11 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr