With it’s beautiful screen, and ability to stream media from other sources, it seemed like that Sling Box technology was a natural fit for the iPhone, but yet we weren’t seeing an appearance of an application for it. However, it does seem that good things come to those who wait as they have finally announced that we can expect a release in the first quarter of 2009.
For those unfamiliar with what a Sling Box does, with just a few cables, and two little infra red emitters, you are able to login to your player from anywhere in the world, and watch your home television. Say you are on a trip to South America, but you want to catch up on your soap operas while you’re away. If you have an Internet connection, you can be watching your home television in a matter of moments, and even accessing yoru DVR, setting up future recordings and more.
This is not the first mobile device Sling Media has released an application for, but it is probably one of the most anticipated. The application will be free to use during the beta test, but will cost $29.99 when it officially launches.
We reported on the problem of the freezing 30GB Zunes, and it seems that they have found the source of their problem: February 29th.
Microsoft has updated their Zune Support site with the information you need about how to get your 30GB Zune working again.
My Zune 30 is frozen. What should I do?
Wait 24 hours from the time that you reset the Zune and then sync with your computer to refresh the usage rights; or
Delete the player’s content using the Zune software (go to Settings, Device, Sync Options, Erase All Content), then re-sync it from your collection.
Follow these steps:
Disconnect your Zune from USB and AC power sources.
Because the player is frozen, its battery will drain—this is good. Wait until the battery is empty and the screen goes black. If the battery was fully charged, this might take a couple of hours.
Wait until after noon GMT on January 1, 2009 (that’s 7 a.m. Eastern or 4 a.m. Pacific time).
Connect your Zune to either a USB port on the back or your computer or to AC power using the Zune AC Adapter and let it charge.
Once the battery has sufficient power, the player should start normally. No other action is required—you can go back to using your Zune!
My Zune 30 has been working fine today. Should I be worried?
Nope, your Zune is fine and will continue to work as long as you do not connect it to your computer before noon GMT on January 1, 2009 (7 a.m. Eastern or 4 a.m. Pacific time).
Note: If you connect your player to a computer before noon GMT on January 1, 2009, you’ll experience the freeze mentioned above—even if that computer does not have the Zune software installed. If this happens, follow the above steps.
What if I have rights-managed (DRM) content on my Zune?
Most likely, rights-managed content will not be affected by this issue. However, it’s a good idea to sync your Zune with your computer once the freeze has been resolved, just to make sure your usage rights are up to date.
What if I took advice from the forums and reset my Zune by disconnecting the battery?
This is a bad idea and we do not recommend opening your Zune by yourself (for one thing, doing so will void your warranty). However, if you’ve already opened it, do one of the following:
To read about how Microsoft missed programming in February 29th, you can go to the Zune Insider for that information. It is amazing to think that Microsoft could have missed something like that, but they did.
Novatel is looking to release a new gadget that maysolve one of the biggest headache for mobile computing fanatics: Where to find a WiFi hotspot.
Releasing sometime during the first half of 2009, the MiFi is essentially a 3G modem that will bring in the cellular network signal, convert it, and release it back in to the general vicinity as a WiFi signal. Imagine being on a train, bus or other form of mass transit, and you will be able to get our your laptop or iPod Touch and get right to work.
While the device has no official price yet, they are saying “under $200″, you will of course need to pay some sort of monthly fee for a data plan. While these vary wildly in price from carrier to carrier, this could easily become an essential piece of equipment for any one that works outside of their office more then they do in it. No mare hunting for a coffee shop, now you can work on the go, where and when you want.
Black Friday sales aren’t limited to just physical goods this year, it seems. Fire up your iPhones and iPod Touches, Christmas has come early for all of you, too!
While there are lots of nifty applications out there for the iPhone and iPod Touch, it is also a quick way to run up a hefty bill by buying numerous applications. Luckily AppShopper is keeping an eye out for any price drops, and they have a slew of listings of apps that have set themselves to free for today, November 28th, 2008,only. Make sure you double check any prices before you make any final purchases, but you shouldn’t have any problems.
Also, remember that the more apps you have on your device, the slower the backup can be. You may only want to backup your apps every so often because people report over three hours to backup when they get up to dozens and dozens of apps.
So, stop reading this, and get to shopping for those free apps!
Back in August we told you that USB 3.0 was finally on its way, and now it appears it has arrived. According to CNet, the USB Promotor Group has certified USB 3.0, better known as SuperSpeed USB. To give you an idea of why it is called “SuperSpeed”, here are comparissons of how fast each version of USB would transfer a 25GB file
USB 1.0: 9.3 hours
USB 2.0: 13.9 minutes
USB 3.0: 70 seconds
In other words, this will radically change how fast you transfer files to things such as thumb drives and external hard drives. Just imagine that you could back up a 250GB hard drive to an external drive in 11.67 minutes. There will be next to no reason any more to not back up your files when you can do it at those speeds.
The bad news is that Microsoft is already saying that since it took eight years to go from 2.0 to 3.0, they are nervous about how good it really is. They are debating if Vista will ever support it, and they are saying it won’t make it into the initial release of Windows 7. Controllers for the new USB will appear in late 2009 and in consumer products in 2010, so it is likely that consumer outcry will cause Microsoft to have to rethink this policy.
We stumbled across the Big Keys Computer Keyboard a while ago, and it is the perfect accessory for people who have trouble focusing on standard keyboard keys. While it doesn’t have all of the keys of a standard keyboard (notice it is lacking all of the function, or ‘F’, keys and the control keys), it does have everything you need for standard computer use. The letters are not only bigger, but so is the physical size of the keys.
While it is a great tool for the people who need it, it does seem a bit overpriced at $199.95, but that isn’t highly unusual for niche products that solve very specific problems.
At this time this is most assuredly for people who have hacked (more commonly known as “jailbreaking”) their iPhone, and then the added problem is that it does not currently work with any applications. This does show it is possible, and it also shows that it is desired by fans of the phone.
As I have mentioned before, I use an iPod Touch, and while the onscreen keyboard is servicable, it is not something I relish using when I have to type out an email reply to someone. Considering how Apple has touted the iPhone/iPod Touch as mini computers, it has been surprising to me we haven’t seen some sort of physical keyboard come out for the device. Once Apple does that, you will see sales of both devices surge even higher than they already have as more mobile people adopt them over their laptops. 9to5Mac.com hints that we may see some items in 2009, but it can’t come soon enough for me.
The Amazon Kindle may be on its way to mass acceptance by the general public thanks to Oprah Winfrey.
Ms. Winfrey has shown in the past that she can make a hit out of just about any product imaginable by naming it one of her “favorite things”. Well, the latest recipient of this much sought after praise is the Amazon Kindle e-reader. To back this up, anyone who orders a Kindle through November 1st and enters the coupon code OPRAHWINFREY will see the price reduced from $359 to $309.
While the Kindle has reportedly sold a few hundred thousand units, it is still a long way from being as ubiquitous as say an iPod. Seeing one out in public is still considered a noteworthy moment, but obviously someone is buying them as Amazon is quite often sold out of them.
While I have yet to hold one myself, I think part of the problem is the odd angles on the device. It lacks the “sexiness” people like from devices such as iPods and iPhones, it just looks cumbersome, even though it may not be.
Winter can be horrible if you are a heavy text message user or you work at a computer all day in a cold office. If you go with out gloves, your hands freeze. Wear gloves and you can’t reply. Fingerless gloves? Well, part of your hands still freeze.
A company has come up with a line of gloves called Freehands that hopes to bridge the gap between all the different winter alternatives. Available in fleece ($20), stretch ($30), or leather ($40), these gloves have tips that fold back to expose your thumb and index fingertips whenever you need to type on a keyboard or send a text message. When you’re done, just flip them back over and you’re all covered up again.
i personally doubt that they will keep you as warm as standard gloves (won’t there be gaps at the creases?), but it is certainly a more sensible solution than what else is out there for you to use. Still an interesting idea, and one iPhone users in partcular should love.
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, had his annual event to announce all of the new iPods for the 2008 holiday season. What were the big changes, and are they worth upgrading?
iPod Nano
The Nano received the most drastic upgrades with an all new form factor, fairly vivid colors (silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink, (PRODUCT) RED and black) and new functions in the display that it can do both portrait and landscaping. It will be available as an 8GB version for $149.00 and a 16GB version for $199.00. You will also be able to use the new “Genius” function that allows you to auto-create playlists from similar music.
Should you upgrade? – Of all the updates this year, this one has the most new features. If you bought the “Fatty” last year, you can probably hold off, but if you have one older than that, I would definitely recommend an upgrade.
iPod Classic
Last year this was available as a “thin” version with 60GB of space and a “thick” version with a 160GB. This year they are only continuing the “thin” one, but upgrading it to 120GB for $249.00
Should you upgrade? – Well, probably not. It appears the only difference on the Classic this year is thickness and the amount of music it will hold. For instance, I have a 160GB Classic from last year, so these is no upgrade option for me, but if you have a 60GB and have a hankering to carry even more music with you, then yes, this would be the one for you.
My gut is telling me this will be the last year for the Classic as Apple is clearly trying to get away from the physical hard drive based iPods. At most it will have one more year after this, but I doubt it will receive any pgrades from here on out.
iPod Touch
The iPod Touch did receive prices cuts in the 8GB is now $229, 16GB is $299 and 32GB is $399. Other than that, the only notable updates were the addition of external volume control buttons, a thinner form factor and an external speaker for casual listening. While the speaker is a welcome addition, it is a fairly lackluster update.
Should You Upgrade? – No. That’s really about all you need to say. If you bought one of these last year, there is absolutely nothing worth upgrading for. If you are new to iPods, I would recommend this one.
Final Thoughts
Overall this had to be the most lackluster set of updates that I’ve ever seen Apple put forth. It’s almost like why did they bother? We will be doing a guide tomorrow for first time iPod buyers, but for owners from previous years, it’s look like you get to take a break for a year.
The placeshifting leader, Sling Media, is prepping support for Apple’s iPhone at long last.
We reported on the problem of the 
Black Friday sales aren’t limited to just physical goods this year, it seems. Fire up your iPhones and iPod Touches, Christmas has come early for all of you, too!
USB 3.0 has finally received its certification.
We recently talked about 
Some intrepid iPhone lover has figured out how to 
The 
Winter can be horrible if you are a heavy text message user or you work at a computer all day in a cold office. If you go with out gloves, your hands freeze. Wear gloves and you can’t reply. Fingerless gloves? Well, part of your hands still freeze.
iPod Touch
