Micro-Hoo…maybe…again
Well, we thought that all was dead on the acquisition front, but it looks like things are back in discussion again.
via (Engadget)
Netflix’s Instant Gratification Box
Just like expected in America, everything has to be now, now, now. You can’t wait a day to watch a movie, that would be crazy. When you have an extra 2 hours that came out of nowhere, you have to be able to plop down on the couch and watch whatever your heart desires.
Thanks to Netflix and Roku, that is now possible with their new streaming box. As a competitor to the Apple TV, this box actually allows you to download any movie in their 10,000 movie catalog for free if you are a Netflix customer. The box costs $99 and then you have the ongoing cost of the netflix service where you can still rent DVD’s by mail. Gizmodo has their review of the box, which is pretty extensive and it seems to me like they enjoyed it pretty well.
I have been a Blockbuster customer for years because I could actually take my discs to the store and exchange them for other discs, as well as I got 2 games a month for rent also. But this just might push me over the edge. I like the idea of never even leaving the house. Now, if I could just get one of those courier services to bring me my groceries…
Hack the Grocery Store
Boing Boing has a link to an amazing, at least to me, article about a woman who spends near nothing on groceries for her and her family. She typically spends $10 for all five of them to eat for the week.
I know it isn’t directly related to tech, but the extra cash could make for some good gadget cash. So I say try out the StoreHacks she talks about.
I know it isn’t directly related to tech, but the extra cash could make for some good gadget cash. So I say try out the StoreHacks she talks about.
MySpace music for free
Constantly Deals - Black Universal USB Car Charger for $2.99
via (Bargainjack)
LCD Basics
Gizmodo has a really nice write-up on the basics of the LCD TV that we all know and love, as well as some of the less stellar points about LCD. It is a really good read for those of you thinking about a TV or just wanting to get informed on the options of HD TV’s.
Ants taking over electronics in Houston
I’m going to refrain from the puns that I could put in this post about a bug in the system or something like that and tell you about a new type of ant that has popped up in the Houston, Texas area. They are apparently causing some serious issues for electronics. They are extremely small and come in swarms which is melting down a lot of electronics and household pumps for sewage and gas. This could cause some serious trouble for homeowners in the area. And with the Johnson Space Center in the area, they have to make sure that these little guys don’t cause intergalactic issues when trying to converse with Starbuck or Admiral Adama.
via (AP)
Microsoft Touchwall - Surface for everyone else
The coolest thing I have seen come out of the CEO Summit is the Surface-esque Touchwall. I saw this on a couple of sites, but am just getting around to posting about it.
It is a multi-touch display that can be put on any surface. It uses three infrared sensors to see when you break the plane to control the interface. Arrington got to play with it at the summit, and there is another video from TechCrunch that highlights the tech behind it, which I posted above.
It is extremely slick.
Check the video to see what you’ll want to put on next year’s Christmas list.
CBS Acquiring CNET
It’s not like there isn’t a lot of money being exchanged. For the sum of $1.8 Billion CBS decided that they need a solid tech presence and are getting a very solid company in CNET.
You can read more about the acquisition over at TechCrunch.
Instant-On OS for Asus
It’s not a bad idea really, putting an embedded OS on the motherboard firmware that just works. I don’t know how many times I have thought about how lucky I was to have two computers so that I can look up my software issue with my working computer while my other was down.
Splashtop is a great idea really that runs Linux, as well as your typical open source apps like Firefox and Skype for communication. It will run directly off of a memory chip on the board so there is no hassling with the actual OS issues that many people have problems with today in Windows or their own version of ‘Nix.
Asus plans to push it out soon. Check out the video below to see exactly what I’m talking about.
via (Engadget)
BitTorrent without the client
I have said before that it still blows me away how some people don’t know how to use BitTorrent. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t still reap the benefits of the distributed sharing of items.
Torrent2exe.com allows you to make a single executable file out of a torrent so that you can just double click the executable and it will start the download process. Just download the torrent to your PC, then upload it to their site and they will convert it for you. Not bad.
I think this is a great idea for those who don’t quite get torrenting yet.
via (Download Squad)
Stimulating the economy - One gadget at a time
Lots of people are currently getting their stimulus check from the U.S. government right now, while some of us don’t feel like we’ll ever be getting ours.
But no matter when you receive your check, $600 can get you some really nice tech goodies.
PC World has an article about some gadgets that you can get for under $600.
Some are answers you would expect like the 3G iPhone, but then there are more unconventional answers like the Yamaha Tenori-On.
Whatever it is you would like to get, make sure you stimulate the economy and get something nice.
What did you get with your stimulus check?
