In short: iPhone appearance, HP bows out of HTPCs, Joost on Apple TV
Those fortunate to attend this week's CTIA opening keynote also had a rare glimpse of the iPhone before its June launch. Meanwhile, hobbyists have managed to light up Internet TV on Apple's new media hub just as HP made its quiet exit from the home theater PC realm.
iPhone returns to spotlight at CTIA
AT&T operations head Randall Stephenson instantly commanded attention at his keynote during the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association expo this week by holding up what is probably his company's most sought-after device: the iPhone.
Absent from the public eye since its first appearance at Macworld San Francisco in January, the Apple handset was kept close at hand and was used briefly to showcase the simplicity of its touchscreen control and to emphasize AT&T's victory in receiving one million requests for more information about iPhone availability.
Holding the device in plain sight, however, also gave the COO a chance to laugh about the phone's seemingly magnetic appeal. FCC chair Kevin Martin was more than eager to try the iPhone backstage and .
"He spent more time with it than I did," Stephenson said in the wake of the show. "It seemed like he wouldn't give it back."
HP quits media center PC business
Computer maker HP is stepping away from media center PCs by canceling its Digital Entertainment Center line, according to an official announcement today.
The company sent mixed signals when explaining the move, saying that it would switch focus to its MediaSmart TVs -- which only serve as network extensions for Windows Media Center PCs -- but insisting that Microsoft's living room OS was still valid.
"This not a statement about Media Center PCs. It doesn't mean Media Center isn't going to be successful," claimed HP channel manager Doug Robert. "It's just that we're discontinuing development."
Joost, other media apps run successfully on Apple TV
At the same time as HP scaled back its convergence of PCs and TVs, enterprising hackers have turned Apple's own media extender into a PC.
A variant of the same security workaround used to install XviD video support has let hobbyists install the private beta of Joost, a peer-to-peer service that brings free, real-time Internet TV in a channel-like format -- essentially filling in a feature gap many have noted for the Apple TV, which can only view individual clips by default.
While missing font support and therefore flawed, the trick has already opened up the use of other music and video software on the media hub, including iTunes and VLC. Even the online role-playing game World of Warcraft works in a limited form, testers have discovered.
Microsoft helps iPods with Vista update
Microsoft has offered an olive branch to iPod owners who have chosen to use the latest version of Windows, this week issuing a new patch that fixes a glitch which would frequently corrupt the data on iPods when dismounted using Vista's solution instead of the eject button in iTunes.
Although Apple had tackled some of the numerous problems with its hardware and software with the advent of its iTunes 7.1.1 update, the new Windows fix indicates that Microsoft has had to cooperate with its long-time rival to improve compatibility between each other's programs.
iPhone returns to spotlight at CTIA
AT&T operations head Randall Stephenson instantly commanded attention at his keynote during the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association expo this week by holding up what is probably his company's most sought-after device: the iPhone.
Absent from the public eye since its first appearance at Macworld San Francisco in January, the Apple handset was kept close at hand and was used briefly to showcase the simplicity of its touchscreen control and to emphasize AT&T's victory in receiving one million requests for more information about iPhone availability.
Holding the device in plain sight, however, also gave the COO a chance to laugh about the phone's seemingly magnetic appeal. FCC chair Kevin Martin was more than eager to try the iPhone backstage and .
"He spent more time with it than I did," Stephenson said in the wake of the show. "It seemed like he wouldn't give it back."
HP quits media center PC business
Computer maker HP is stepping away from media center PCs by canceling its Digital Entertainment Center line, according to an official announcement today.
The company sent mixed signals when explaining the move, saying that it would switch focus to its MediaSmart TVs -- which only serve as network extensions for Windows Media Center PCs -- but insisting that Microsoft's living room OS was still valid.
"This not a statement about Media Center PCs. It doesn't mean Media Center isn't going to be successful," claimed HP channel manager Doug Robert. "It's just that we're discontinuing development."
Joost, other media apps run successfully on Apple TV
At the same time as HP scaled back its convergence of PCs and TVs, enterprising hackers have turned Apple's own media extender into a PC.
A variant of the same security workaround used to install XviD video support has let hobbyists install the private beta of Joost, a peer-to-peer service that brings free, real-time Internet TV in a channel-like format -- essentially filling in a feature gap many have noted for the Apple TV, which can only view individual clips by default.
While missing font support and therefore flawed, the trick has already opened up the use of other music and video software on the media hub, including iTunes and VLC. Even the online role-playing game World of Warcraft works in a limited form, testers have discovered.
Microsoft helps iPods with Vista update
Microsoft has offered an olive branch to iPod owners who have chosen to use the latest version of Windows, this week issuing a new patch that fixes a glitch which would frequently corrupt the data on iPods when dismounted using Vista's solution instead of the eject button in iTunes.
Although Apple had tackled some of the numerous problems with its hardware and software with the advent of its iTunes 7.1.1 update, the new Windows fix indicates that Microsoft has had to cooperate with its long-time rival to improve compatibility between each other's programs.
Comments
first post BTW
Although Apple had tackled some of the numerous problems with its hardware and software with the advent of its iTunes 7.1.1 update, the new Windows fix indicates that Microsoft has had to cooperate with its long-time rival to improve compatibility between each other's programs.
I doubt that's what it means at all. Since the iPod appears to the OS as just another USB-attached FAT32 volume, my guess is that there was just a plain ol' bug in Windows Vista causing the corruption, and Microsoft fixed the bug. No cooperation necessary.
"This not a statement about Media Center PCs. It doesn't mean Media Center isn't going to be successful," claimed HP channel manager Doug Robert. "It's just that we're discontinuing development."
How is the #1 (#2?) computer manufacturure and leading MCE partner "discontinuing development " not indicate that MCE is not going to be successful?!? I think this is just a polite PR line. How would you like to hear this from your employer:
"Sorry (insert name here), but we've had to discontinue your employment with us. We're not saying anything personal or negative about the work you did for us, it's just that you were not productive."
The way I see it: you have to give a little to get much more in return.
I doubt that's what it means at all. Since the iPod appears to the OS as just another USB-attached FAT32 volume, my guess is that there was just a plain ol' bug in Windows Vista causing the corruption, and Microsoft fixed the bug. No cooperation necessary.
LOL That's a pretty hideous bug. *Sigh* - Vista
Media Center PCs designed to be used as Media Center PCs were difficult to set up and painful to support, with all the junkware pre-loaded and special settings that had to be checked for little things like avoiding system hibernation and turning off the beeps that sound at very inopportune times
Now the PC manufacturer that gave Windows MCE the biggest push just pronounced the damned thing dead. In a most tactful way too. Could HP's decision to throw in the towel have anything to do with the introduction of AppleTV and the very positive reviews it is getting? Did somebody over at HP buy an AppleTV, took it through its paces and concluded "If we're staying with WinMCE, we'll be the guy who brought a pea shooter to a gunfight"?
But really who is the numbskull over at Microsoft who said "let's launch a full scale assault on the living room with Windows MCE as our primary weapon"? Furthermore, it seems everyone over at Microsoft is so scared of Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer that nobody dared whisper "boss, just the remote alone will scare off half of the grown men, not to mention all the women and children."
I pulled the following from the link to CEPro provided in the article:
Now the PC manufacturer that gave Windows MCE the biggest push just pronounced the damned thing dead. In a most tactful way too. Could HP's decision to throw in the towel have anything to do with the introduction of AppleTV and the very positive reviews it is getting? Did somebody over at HP buy an AppleTV, took it through its paces and concluded "If we're staying with WinMCE, we'll be the guy who brought a pea shooter to a gunfight"?
But really who is the numbskull over at Microsoft who said "let's launch a full scale assault on the living room with Windows MCE as our primary weapon"? Furthermore, it seems everyone over at Microsoft is so scared of Bill Gates or Steve Ballmer that nobody dared whisper "boss, just the remote alone will scare off half of the grown men, not to mention all the women and children."
You're jumping to the wrong conclusion. HP is pulling out because Microsoft will be launching a self-branded media hub by the end of the summer. If HP kept selling until that arrived, they'd have a lot of angry customers when Microsoft comes out with what will be a much more complete and functional product.
It's ridiculous to think that anyone would be so terrified of AppleTv a week after it's release to cancel product lines. AppleTV in it's current incarnation is only very useful to hackers - limited content (none outside of USA), only low resolution, very few file formats available, etc. etc.
The microsoft hub will bridge the gap between what the Xbox360/XBL service has rather successfully been achieving in the on-line content sphere (connectable with XBox and/as a standalone device) with the existing Vista/Media Centre framework. The pluses will be that it will be able to use the XBox hard drives (so will probably have several low cost options with various hard disk sizes), and make use of XBL's growing library of movie and television titles, all of which are actually available in high-definition. Additionally, as crappy as many think Windows Media Player is, it handles a lot more format options than iTunes - XVid and FLAC are 2 that spring to mind that would compel me to buy it over Atv any day (granted, both would require me to add codecs/add-ons, unless Microsoft wisely includes these in future releases).
Another interesting possible feature would be the synchronized lyrics option which already exists in WMP (and not in iTunes), which would effectively turn any tv into a karaoke system (a "centre channel cancel" option would enhance this effect.
Apple has released a great product, but I think everyone can agree that it's not a complete product by any means yet, and that leaves the door open for others in the market to offer one, which Microsoft will attempt within the next half-year. Of course, hopefully by then Apple will realize what a terribly limited product they have released and make changes in time...
And with regards to the remote - the HP one sucks, yes, but at least it's big enough that I wouldn't lose it every time I set it down somewhere. The apple remote is ok for a computer, but it can get lost basically anywhere I put it...
...Joost, other media apps run successfully on Apple TV
At the same time as HP scaled back its convergence of PCs and TVs, enterprising hackers have turned Apple's own media extender into a PC.
A variant of the same security workaround used to install XviD video support has let hobbyists install the private beta of Joost, a peer-to-peer service that brings free, real-time Internet TV in a channel-like format -- essentially filling in a feature gap many have noted for the Apple TV, which can only view individual clips by default...
TOTALLY, 100%, FREAKING AWSOME!!!!!
Now, let's get YouTube and Google Video also working on the darn thing!
Now the PC manufacturer that gave Windows MCE the biggest push just pronounced the damned thing dead. In a most tactful way too. Could HP's decision to throw in the towel have anything to do with the introduction of AppleTV and the very positive reviews it is getting? Did somebody over at HP buy an AppleTV, took it through its paces and concluded "If we're staying with WinMCE, we'll be the guy who brought a pea shooter to a gunfight"?
Since CES 2007 in January, when HP really began showing their MediaSmart TVs (digital media adapters built in) and MediaSmart Servers, I have wondered when the other shoe would drop. This has very little to do with AppleTV: it's about HP's preference to sell high margin TVs over low margin boxes. (TVs that happen to provide a much better user experience than MCE)
http://htguys.com/archive/2007/January12.html