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NFL and NBC to Stream Free Football on the Internet

According to the Wall Street Journal, the NFL and NBC Sports will announce on Monday a deal to stream 17 regular season football games over the internet for free live. It will cover only games that air already on NBC and won't include any playoff games or the Super Bowl.

Viewers will be able to choose from at least 5 different camera angles and get updated stats during the game. NFL and NBC will share the ad revenue. ESPN pays $1.1B a year, FOX $712M, Direct TV $700M, CBS $622M, and NBC $600M to air football games.

Netflix and Microsoft Announcing Video Streaming Deal

Microsoft and Netflix announced today that coming this holiday season customers of Netflix and Xbox Live Gold members will be able to stream movies and videos to their TVs from the Xbox 360.

The current streaming library is 10,000 movies and TV shows will continue to expand by the time it launches in the fall. This functionality will be very much like the $99 Roku box that Netflix came out with recently.

Microsoft to Launch 60GB Xbox 360 SKU

Microsoft will launch a 60GB SKU for the Xbox 360 in August for $349. In the mean-time, the old 20GB Xbox 360 will go for $50 off at $299 while supplies last.

Apple Sells 1 Million 3G iPhones

Apple announced this morning it has sold 1 million 3G iPhones. It launched the phone in 21 countries. When the original iPhone launched in the U.S. last year, it only sold 270,000 in 2 days. It took 74 days to reach 1 million sold.

Apple also said 10 million apps were downloaded over the weekend from the new App store. There are 800 apps already with 200 free. 90% of the pay apps are under $10 in cost.

I tried a dozen of the apps yesterday and I must say they are pretty awesome. Yelp, New York Times, AOL Radio, etc., it truly is a next gen mobile computing platform.

iPhone 3G Launch Day and Impressions

I went to the local mall today around 5PM. There were about 100 people on line at the Apple store outside. Inside the store looked like a total zoo. I asked the guy out front and he said the wait would take 1-2 hours. Then I remembered there was an AT&T store in the same mall.

Hilariously there was only 5 people on line at the AT&T store. They also had an iPhone 3G display. My initial impressions were pretty mixed. It seems the 3G iPhone has the same crappy screen that the iPod Touch has. My day one iPhone has crisp color renditions and great viewing angles. The 3G iPhone's colors look like a crappy TN LCD panel with dithered colors, weak dark detail, and bad view angles. Suffice it to say, I won't be upgrading anytime soon. However if you must get an iPhone 3G in the coming days, go to the AT&T store to save yourself some time.

Trackmania Nations Forever Impressions

I've been addicted to this free game called Trackmania on the Steam. It is very addicting and reminds of the old Stunt Car racer on the Commodore Amiga and Indianapolis 500 on the PC. It has the "just one more time" feeling in spades as each track is pretty short and you keep wanting to beat your last time. It runs like a dream 8x antialiased 2560x1600 and I recommend it highly. You can't go wrong with the free price. There is a expanded version with more tracks that costs money.

Costco TV Price Check

I went to the local Costco just now and jotted down these prices.

Panasonic THC42FD18 42 inch Plasma 1080p - $1299.99 - same as April
THC42HD18 42 inch Plasma 720 - $999.99 - up $50 from April

Sony KDL40WL135 40 inch LCD 1080p 120hz - $1799.99
KDL46WL135 46 inch LCD 1080p 120hz - $2199.99 - down $300 from April
KDL52WL135 52 inch LCD 1080p 120hz - $2799.99 - down $200 from April

Samsung LN46A540 46 inch LCD 1080p - $1699.99

The Panasonic plasmas had a refresh and pricing has stayed flat or has gone up a little since April. The high-end Sony LCDs came down in price. Overall it looks like LCD pricing hasn't moved much in the last few months. I do not follow Vizio as the quality of those panels are pretty inferior. This is coming from experience. - Discuss

Diablo III Trailer

iPhone 3G Specs, Details, and Final Thoughts

The 3G iPhone will be launched on July 11th, 2008.  Here are the specs:

-4.5x2.4x0.48 inches weighing in at 4.7 ounces
-8GB of flash memory in Black, 16GB versions come in white or black
-3G UMTS/HSPDA speeds.  It is also compatible with GSM/EDGE in areas that don't have 3G (outside most major cities)
-Builtin GPS chip, Wifi 802.11b/g, and Bluetooth 2.0_EDR compatible
-same 2.0 megapixel cammera
-480x320 3.5 inch Multi-touch widescreen display

Differences from iPhone 1.0.  It will not come with a dock.  It also won't have the sleek metal back.  The headphone jack will not be recessed, so you can use your normal headphones. The pricing will be $199 for 8GB with a 2 year contract and $299 for the 16GB version.  Although this may look $200 cheaper than the old iPhone, you will be in fact paying $40 more over a 2 year timeframe as the 3G data plan costs $10 more per month ($10 x 24 months = $240).

It looks like other than the 3G speed upgrade (roughly 2X faster), the new iPhone isn't much improved.  It uses the same processor.  I was hopping for a front-facing camera with video conference over iChat as that would of been a killer app, but it looks like that wasn't meant to be.  One wonders if AT&T put the kabosh on that idea as it would overload their new 3G network and possibly cut into voice revenue.  The only reason I can imagine iChat isn't available yet on the iPhone is AT&T protecting its SMS texting revenue.

I can't believe we still don't have copy/paste functionality and the ability to sync a memopad/notepad notes onto the iPhone from a PC.  Apple what are you thinking?

Sennheiser PC-166 Pro Gaming Headset with Microphone Review

I recently bought the Sennheiser PC-166 headset from B&H for $89.50. It replaces an old plastic Plantronics headset that hurt my ears and had pretty weak microphone that fellow Skypers said made me sound like a high-pitched cartoon character.

Fear not, the Sennheiser restored my manliness over Skype as the same friends said the sound comes across much better and clearer. It is also much more comfortable to wear during those long VOIP conversations and Counterstrike gaming sessions. Moreover the sound quality through the USB digital interface and the better "speaker cans" is head and shoulders above my old headset. Every nuance and detail comes across beautifully in music and sound effects. Highly recommended. It's worth the premium price if you Skype often and play a lot of games that need a microphone/headset functionality. - Discuss

Costco TV Price Check

I went to the local Costco just now and jotted down these prices. The last time I checked was February 21st, 2008.

Panasonic TH42PC77U 42 inch Plasma $949.99 - same price
TH42PZ700U 42 inch 1080p Plasma $1299.99 - New
TH50PE700U 50 inch 1080p Plasma $2199.99 - down $100 from February
TH50PC77U 50 inch 720p Plasma $1399.99 - down $50 from February
TH58PE75U 58 inch 720p Plasma $1999.99 - down $400 from February

Sony KDL52WL135 52 inch 1080p 120hz LCD - $2999.99 - same price
KDL46WL135 46 inch 1080p 120hz LCD - $2499.99 - New
KDL46S3000 46 inch 720p - $1399.99 - New

Sharp LCC5262 52 inch 1080p LCD - $2199.99 - down $300 from February

That 42 inch 1080p Panasonic plasma for $1300 seems like a great "sweet spot" deal to me. It is probably because the next gen 80 series models are now out and Panasonic wanted to clear the old inventory. Pricing from just 5 weeks ago continues to decline rapidly, especially at the larger screen sizes. It's a great time to be a flat plan HDTV buyer indeed. - Discuss

Playstation 3 PVR Installation Video - Play TV

Street Fighter IV Videos

Costco TV Price Check

I went to the local Costco just now and jotted down these prices.

Panasonic TH42PC77U 42 inch Plasma $949.99 - down $50 from December
TH50PE700 50 inch 1080p Plasma $2299.99 - down $200 from December
TH50PC77U 50 inch 720p Plasma $1449.99 - down $200 from December
TH57PE75U 58 inch 720p Plasma $2399.99 - up $100 from December

Sony KDL40SL130 40 inch LCD - $999.99
KDL52WL135 52 inch 1080p 120hz LCD - $2999.99
KDL46VL130 46 inch 1080p LCD - $1999.99 - same as December
KDL40VL130 40 inch 1080p LCD - $1449.99 - down $200 from December

Sharp LCC5262 52 inch 1080p LCD - $2499.99 - same as December
LCC3242U 32 inch LCD - $749.99

Interestingly most of the Panasonic plasma TVs have come down from December, except the 720p 58 incher. The 1080p LCDs have kept their price points. I do not follow Vizio as the quality of those panels are pretty inferior. This is coming from experience. - Discuss

Apple iPod Touch Games?

There is a job listing on Apple Corporate's website that makes it highly likely we are going to see more handheld games on the iPod, iPhone, and iPod Touch in the coming future. Note the "deep appreciation" for casual games line.

Qualifications:
-Proven track-record in the areas of game design and production.
-6+ years of Game production / Game design experience.
-Possesses a deep appreciation for casual games and demonstrates a strong understanding of genre and marketplace trends.

I'm on Twitter - Follow Me and I'll Follow You

I am finally on Twitter - http://twitter.com/firstadopter

If you become a follower of me, I promise to return the favor and follow you. I would love to get to know more fellow First Adopters.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Priced and Dated

According to the official Playstation blog, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will come out on April 17th for $39.99 on Blu-Ray (BD) and as a download. The Blu-ray version will have special behind the scenes HD video access to the makers of the game, Polyphony.

New Playstation 3 SKU with 120-160GB and Dual Shock 3

ArsTechnica is reporting Sony will discontinue the 80GB Playstation 3 SKU and replacing it with a 120-160GB SKU with a Dual Shock 3 controller. This coincides with the recent rumor that Best Buy's internal system already has the 80GB version slated to be headed out to pasture.

Review: Virgin America Airlines

A few weeks ago I took a flight on Virgin America from San Francisco (SFO) to New York (JFK). I can enthusiastically say it was the best experience I've had on an airline. From the purple voodoo lounge lighting, brand new planes, comfortable seats, and the Linux based video entertainment system, this is the way it should be done.

Every seat has a nice LCD screen like Jetblue to watch TV. The system however lets you play games such as DOOM, chat in a intra-plane chat room using a small qwerty keypad that also is a gamepad remote on the reverse side, and did I mention dozens of movies and thousand of music songs on demand? You can even order drinks and snacks on the touch-screen. It really is a nerd's paradise.

The prices are exactly the same as the previous king of the hill low cost carrier, Jet Blue. Unfortunately for Virgin America, it doesn't look like many people even know they exist considering my flight was half empty and most of my friends didn't know about it either. However we must get the word out, as this airline clearly raises the bar on what is possible in this industry. The more companies like this succeed, the better it is for all of us. The only downside now is they don't fly to many cities. 9/10

Costco TV Price Check and Nintendo Wii Story

Just came back from Costco. Here are the latest prices I jotted down.

Panasonic Th42pc77u 42 inch Plasma $999.99
Th50pe700u 50 inch 1080p Plasma $2499.99
Th50pc77u 50 inch 720p Plasma $1649.99
Th58pe75u 58 inch 720p Plasma $2299.99
Sharp Lcc5262u 52 inch 1080p LCD $2499.99
Sony Kdl46vl130 46 inchb 1080p $1999.99
Sony Kdl40vl130 40 inch 1080p $1649.99

The trend toward 1080p is becoming mainstream for flat-panel TVs, although it doesn't seem the 120hz LCD technology has caught on as much. They also had about 10 Nintendo Wii bundles for $344.99, which disappeared within 30 minutes. It comes with the core system with Wii Sports, an extra controller, and Brain Age Academy. I picked one up and while we were shopping at least 7 people asked me about it. One female teenager said, "you are soooo lucky!" Suffice it to say it's still a white-hot product even after 2 Christmas seasons. Discuss

Internet Sports Writers Make Millions

According to this New York Times article, ESPN and Yahoo Sports are paying several writers $150 to $350K a year and some get paid as much as $3 million. ESPN reportedly makes over $3 billion a year of profit for its owner Disney forcing cable companies to pay more than $3 a month per subscriber to get the channel. ESPN.com got 20 million visitors in November and ESPN the magazine has 2 million subscribers. Who knew that sports writers are the new dot.com millionaires.

Can you imagine getting paid to stay at home and watch sports all day. I bet Bill Simmons gets paid over a $1 million to watch sports and write his columns, probably expensing his DirectTV NFL Sunday Ticket bill to ESPN to boot. What a life.

2007 Year in Review

This was a banner year for technology and purchases for my household. I don't think I ever spent this much on personal technology in my whole life. I will quickly run-down my major purchases this year both hardware and software with the one exception of gaming software. I don't expect to buy this much again in 2008 and will focus spending on software for all the hardware bought this year.

January
Canon SD700IS - $320 from Newegg - It's a functional small sized camera that takes decent, though not stellar, pictures. The most used feature by my wife is the movie recording function, which works well. We used this even more than the Canon Z500 camcorder which I put up on eBay this year because it had sound problems picking up the MiniDV driving motor. I wished it took better pictures especially in low-light. 6/10

February
Keurig B40 - $99 from Keurig.com - Instant good consistent coffee to go. It's good for those that just want 1 or 2 cups a day and don't want to deal with the mess of brewing a whole pot. It's for the lazy among us that don't mind paying a little extra for the convenience. For you moderate coffee drinkers this is a good buy. 8/10

March
Playstation 3 60GB - $599 from Best Buy - It's a solid fully featured piece of hardware. The problem is there aren't many killer app games for it and most of the multi-platform titles are better on the Xbox 360. I've mainly used it as a Blu-ray player. The one thing it does better than the 360 is the quieter noise leve. 6/10

PS3 Bluetooth remote - $25 from Best Buy - It works well as a good remote control for the PS3 during DVD and Blu-ray playback. Worth buying if you watch a lot of movies. 8/10

Vizio VX32L 32" LCD TV - $599 from Costco - Initially I liked the TV because it seemed to work with games well. However over time I got sick of it due to the headaches it gave me from the blurry motion and standard definition television looks awful. I eventually wound up returning it and got a 120hz capable Panasonic later in the year instead. 3/10

April
Blackberry 8800 - $350 from T-Mobile - I got this to replace my old Palm Treo 600 which kept crashing due to the many contact records I had. It works and is stable. The downside is the keyboard isn't the most comfortable, it could use a better browser as it doesn't render pages correctly, lacks 3G speed support, and the trackball doesn't work as well as the old thumbwheel on the previous model. However the battery life is good and the screen is bright. 7/10

May
Planet Earth Blu-Ray - $67 from Amazon - Stunning nature documentary. Worth buying for the amazing never before seen landscapes, images, and animal action. 8/10

IM+ for Skype by Shape Services - $25 from Handango - It was a lot of pain to get working with the right settings, but after you are done you can text message your Skype contacts. Not the slickest interface and also performance in logging on is sub-par. 4/10

June
Macbook 13" Laptop - $1099 from Apple - Fast for the price. Not a fan of the chiclet keyboard. 7/10

iPod 5.5G 30GB - $249 from Apple - Not much to say. It worked fine, but I put it up on eBay as I knew the new iPod were coming out. 7/10

Apple iPhone 8GB - $599 from Apple - Stunning user interface and great design. The browser is the best ever on a mobile device. It could use 3G speed, although Wi-Fi helps. Looking forward to more 3rd party applications in 2008. 8/10

July
MacBook Pro 15" Santa Rosa Laptop - $2121 from Apple - I returned the first one I got due to dead pixels and weird vibrations on the keyboard. The second one was much better. The design once again is fantastic, the LED display is the best, and the keyboard feel is solid. The best laptop out there today. 9/10

Rain iLap - $61.60 from NewEgg - Nice design. It is needed as the MacBook Pro tends to get very warm underneath. It also serves as a good stand to help cool the computer. Not cheap however. 7/10

August
Nikon D40 - $533 from NewEgg - I decided I needed a DSLR. I chose the Nikon over the Canon as I didn't mind the lower megapixel count and it just felt better in my hand. The Canon's didn't grip right for me. I'm very happy with the picture quality. 8/10

Dell 3007WFP-HC - $1298 from Dell - Gaming at 2560x1600 takes my breath away. I wanted to stick to a IPS panel as I was used to the color renditions on my 2001FP. The 3007 fit the bill and it has no dead pixels which is amazing with its pixel count. Productivity goes way up due to the screen real estate. I would wait for the next iteration however as this monitor only has one dual-link DVI input. 9/10

September
VMWare Fusion for Mac OS X - $40.39 from VMWare - It works like magic. I haven't had any sigmificant problems or issues running windows and it's pretty snappy to boot. 8/10

Missing Sync v1.0.1 for Blackberry - $39.95 from Mark Space - It works without any major issues. Syncs my 8800 to my Mac. It doesn't seem to be as fast as the Blackberry Windows software. 7/10

Kensington Slimtype USB Mac Keyboard - $34.99 from Amazon - The design is mac-like. The key travel isn't very deep. Good for light productivity tasks. 6/10

iPod Touch 16GB - $399 from Apple - As discussed in a previous post, my iPod Touch was an utter disaster as the screen quality was horrendous. Green shadows and bad blacks that were more like green/greys. I read that the current ones are better, but still not up to the original iPhone screen in quality. Unfortunately there are no do-overs here. 2/10

Vista Home Premium - $112 from NewEgg - Annoying security pop-ups. The Aero eye-candy requires major GPU horsepower. You really need 2GB of RAM to make it usable. A lot of old peripherals simply don't work due to drivers not being updated. Bottomline, it's not worth upgrading unless you are only using it as a media center as that piece is very good. Otherwise stick with Windows XP due to stability, speed, and compatibility. 4/10

October
BenQ FP222WH 22" LCD Monitor - $293 from NewEgg - The first monitor I got started developing 2-3 blue vertical lines after 10-15 minutes of use. No joke. NewEgg sent me a new monitor. I didn't even open the new monitor and sold it on eBay and took like a $100 loss on it. Good riddance. Even if it didn't have the blue line problem, it was a bad purchase as it had motion blur, backlight bleeding, and weak blacks. 2/10

Panasonic TC-32LX700 32" LCD TV - $939 from B&H - The ultimate gaming TV. After the problems I had with the Vizio VX32L and the BenQ, I can say I'm am 100% satisfied with this LCD TV, especially for games. It has great blacks, much better than the Vizio. Better colors and much less motion blur due to its 120hz technology. Although it's not the cheapest 720p LCD TV out there, I have no problems saying it's the best and perfect for gaming with the Xbox 360. 9/10

Xbox 360 Premium Edition - $350 from Gamestop - I got the Falcon CPU, which hopefully means I won't get the red rings of death. It comes with Forza 2 and Ultimate Alliance. Xbox Live gaming simply is great fun. I'm still having a ball playing Street Fighter 2 online even though my win % is less 20%. On the downsides, it is still loud like a lawn mower and you have to buy a special HDMI cable if you want to split out your audio from the HDMI. 8/10

November
Rome DVD Set - $72 for both Season 1 and 2 from Best Buy - A great historical drama TV series. One of the best TV shows I have ever seen. HBO does an amazing job like Band of Brothers before it. The second season isn't as good as the first however. 10/10

iPod Classic 80GB - $249 from Apple - I used my $100 iPhone credit to replace the iPod Touch I returned. It's basically the same thing as the 5.5G version with more storage capacity and a funkier user interface. 7/10

December
MarsEdit - $29.95 from Red Sweater - Great blogging software for Mac OS X. It works better than Ecto which I bought the previous year. Fast and just works like the way you expect it should. 8/10

eVGA GeForce 8800GT - $260 from NewEgg - This is the best hardware purchase of the year for me. It makes 2560x1600 gaming actually work without stuttering and with the latest games like Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty 4, it's pure gaming bliss. Rock solid frame-rates, single slot and actually low noise levels. Nvidia really has it a home-run with this one and it's the best card since the famous Ti4200. 10/10

What an amazing year for gaming, computer, and tech gagdet lovers among us. Here's to another great year in 2008. Permalink - Discuss

Santa Rosa Macbook Pro Impressions

I had the 15" 2.2ghz Santa Rosa Macbook Pro for a few weeks now and I can say I'm pretty happy. I had to return the first one because it had a lot of dead pixels, weird vibrations, and a random crashes. This current one is pretty good except for 2-3 dead pixels, which aren't in horrible places on the screen.

Going back to the Mac platform after a 1 year hiatus was like going back to the water oasis in the desert. OS X is a joy to use and much more stable than Windows XP. It is also great not to have to worry as much about typing in a mis-spelled URL which might install spyware or a virus on my machine. I love the touch and feel of the keyboard and the LED screen is growing on me. I haven't used a laptop as my primary PC in 10 years and its great being able to be mobile and write while having the baseball game in the background. Plus I get the best of both worlds as I recently bought the Dell 3007WPF 30 inch monitor, which works perfectly with the Macbook Pro. Moving from a home built 2.4 ghz Core2Duo PC, the speed at 2.2ghz is pretty similar. Everything is reasonably quick and fast. The only deficiencies would be the incredible amount of heat the computer generates after some use. I assuage this by using Rain Design's iLap, but still it is kind of ridiculous to feel the heated air after some time. The form factor with 15" screen and thin-ness is very attractive. I'm happy with the purchase and recommend the machine highly. Discuss

iPod Touch Screen Stinks, so I Returned it

After one day of use, I could not that take the idea I spent $400 on a crappy screen. So I returned the iPod Touch to the Apple store and took the 10% re-stocking fee hit of $40. Ouch.

It seems the bad screens are pervasive in this launch. Compared to the iPhone, it's not even a contest. The black levels look literally green and the shadow detail is non-existent. The viewing angles are very narrow and the colors seem dithered like a bad gradient. It literally is like comparing a cheap LCD TN-panel vs. a high end S-IPS LCD monitor. I can't believe that PC Magazine had the gaul to say the iPod Touch has a better screen. It simply DOES NOT. If the whole point of getting the iPod Touch is to play portable video, it sorely fails at that task. For Apple to infer is has the same screen as iPhone is pretty appalling.

It's saddening to think I've been looking forward to the video iPod of my dreams all this time and to be so utterly disappointed. I now have to resort to buying a iPod Classic, which seems to have sluggish user interface and audio quality issues of its own. Sigh. Discuss

iPod Touch Unboxing Pictures

I read that some Apple retail stores had them in stock today, so I instantly called my local store and found they have a few 16GBs in stock. Although I was wavering about getting one because of the lower than hard-drive storage capacity, once I knew I could get one, I COULD NOT RESIST. And the raving PC Mag review posted today did not help either. Damn you Steve Jobs! Damn you PC Mag! I cannot wait to watch movies and video podcasts on the iPod of my dreams! I snapped some unboxing pictures with my Nikon D40 while the new iPod is syncing. Enjoy. Discuss - Permalink

Nokia iPhone Rip-off Video

Some companies really have no shame. Note the line, "It's what Nokia always has and always will deliver!" Yeah, right. Reminds me of Microsoft pretending they are innovating when they copy stuff left and right.

Can't Wait for iPod Touch, eBay + Apple = the Win!

I'm dying to get my hands on the iPod Touch (next iteration of the video iPod) this Wednesday or Thursday. Everyone is expecting an iPod in a iPhone form factor with more space and no phone.

I just sold my iPod Video 5.5G for $222 on eBay a couple of days ago. Yes it was used, and yes a new one costs $249, and yes in less than a week later there will be a MUCH better iPod at that price point. The wonders of eBay.

I've noticed on selling Mac and Apple stuff over the years (an iMac, an G4 iBook, a bunch of iPods) the re-sale value is out of this world even after 2 years of use. Even though you pay and arm a leg for Apple branded stuff initially, you get it back on eBay in 2 years. Anyone else dying to get the iPod Touch this week? The first major upgrade of the iPod years. Discuss

Google Phone is Confirmed Real

An insider at electronics manufacturer HTC has told Crunch Gear that the rumored Google Phone is for real. Google is evaluating over 20 HTC models. The Google Phone will come with Google Maps with builtin GPS, Gmail email and calendar applications. Google Talk will enable VOIP over WiFi. The release date is Q1 of 2008.

The tipper said Windows Mobile 6 is in the running at the OS, but other sites say a modified version of Linux. Other speculate Google will use it as a loss leader for mobile ad revenue, so the initial launch price may be jaw-dropping. Look out Motorola, Nokia, RIMM, and Apple, there's a new kid in smartphone town and it has billions of dollars to bring to the table.

Now if they can win the major upcoming FCC spectrum auction, maybe we can do some real fun things like put Verizon and AT&T out of business with a free WiFi phone functionality with nation-wide coverage? Go Google Go!

Whil Wheaton PAX Keynote Speech Audio

Our good friends at Joystiq have put up the audio file for Whil Wheaton's keynote speech at PAX 2007. I listened to it and if you're a old school gamer, it will bring a smile to your face. One of the best gamer oriented speeches I have ever heard. Pump up your fist and feel the electricity. Wii-ton! In fact, I liked it so much I just ordered his book, Just a Geek, on Amazon.

Sony VAIO LT PC/TV Specs

Sony announced their version of the Apple iMac today. It will come with a 22 inch LCD display, 1.3 megapixel camera, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and 2GB of RAM. It can also be used as an HDTV, Tivo like PVR using Windows Vista, and a Blu-ray player (optional feature). The cheapest model will cost $1900 and the HD model will be $2900. It is slated to be available in October, so count your pennies. Competition these days means steal your competitor's ideas shamelessly.

Acer Acquires Gateway

It's been a long way down for Gateway as the company got squeezed on the low-end by Asian companies and the high-end by the two PC clone stalwarts of HP and Dell. Acer announced today it will acquire Gateway for $710 million to jump over Lenovo and become the third largest PC maker in the world. The combined company will have over $15 billion in revenue with 20 million units sold annually.

The deal is expected to close sometime in December pending the approval by the Taiwan and U.S. governments. Acer said it will keep multiple brand names, but we wonder if they will bring the spotted cow boxes back?

New Gran Turismo 5 Prologue HD Trailer

Link

PC Market Grows 12% in Q2 2007

IDC came out with their PC shipment numbers for the June quarter of 2007.  Worldwide PC shipments grew at 12.5% year over year.  Asia (ex-Japan) grew the fastest with 20% growth.  The U.S. grew 7.2% with laptops leading the way. HP was a big winner growing 26% .  Gateway was the big loser with -7% growth.  Apple came in as the 4th largest PC maker with 26.2% growth and increasing market-share from 4.8% to 5.6%.  Dell lost market-share from 34.1% to 28.6%, while HP grew from 20% to 23.6%.

Gran Turismo 5 Videos

For Sony's sake, Gran Turismo 5 can't come here fast enough.  It looks like the GT5 Prologue is slated to be released in Japan by the end of 2007 on the Playstation Network (downloadable title).  Let's hope the US Version will come out soon after. 

The graphics and animation are simply breath-taking and photo-realistic.  A step way above even the free Gran Turismo HD demo.  On a separate note, did Audi pay for product placement or what?  Lots of Audis in there.
Video 1 - Video 2

E3 2007: Microsoft Press Conference Notes

Arogan gives his notes on the press conference:

-So I watched the entire Microsoft Press Conference. Stupid G4 broadcasts it live but then you have commercials so I missed some of it.
-Almost all footage was gameplay with several games being demoed right on stage.
-Only Resident Evil 5 won't come out this year (which BTW looked really good). All other games shown are set to come out this year which is pretty impressive.
-Biggest surprise? NO PRICE DROP! I think MS is thinking exactly like Rendition. From a consumer perspective it was almost a non-price drop for ps3. There are still the same two price points of $500 and $600 except they mix up the hardware a bit. Major Nelson alluded to this fact in the E3 pre-show G4 interview.
-Lamest reveal? Special edition halo 3 Xbox 360....Umm yeah it's grey.
-It was revealed that GTA 4 trailers (both of them) were from the 360 version. Man I hope they work on that framerate
-I was really impressed by COD4. It really looked great.
-Gears of war on PC will be for Vista AND XP. 5 new chapters including that big boss fight we never got on 360 but only saw in a cut scene.
-Single Player Halo 3 footage was shown. It's looking pretty good.

So after just one press conference here are my picks:

Must Buys
Bioshock
Halo 3
GTA 4
Assassin's creed
Mass Effect
Gears of war (PC)
Ace Combat 6
Call of Duty 4

Must have but maybe not on Day 1
Splinter Cell: Conviction
PGRr4

Wait and see
Medal of Honor: airborne
VF5 (online multiplayer on 360 version)
Guitar Hero 3
Rock Band
Lost Odyssey
Blue Dragon

This is going to be one EXPENSIVE Christmas. Nintendo and Sony press conferences happens today. Discuss

Sony is Brain-dead with the PS3 $100 Price Cut

After an initial denial, Sony announced that they will cut the price of the 60GB SKU by $100 to $499 and launch another SKU with an 80GB hard-drive and Motorstorm game bundle for $599.  It drives me crazy that Sony keeps making these brain-dead corporate decisions trying to "have their cake and eat it" too in trying to revive their games business, which is frankly on "life-support" this generation as the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 are killing them.

Listen up Sony.  There are TWO reasons why the PS3 isn't selling.  1) There aren't any games worth paying up for.  2) The price sticker shock is too high for the average consumer. 

A few months ago, the 20GB SKU was selling at $499 and the 60GB SKU was selling at $599.  After this price cut announcement today, the price points remain the SAME.  The mainstream guy doesn't see the amazing technical specs of Wi-Fi, Cell processor, Blu-ray playback, and free online support.  They see the sticker price as the barrier to buying.  Sony hasn't done squat to improve their sticker shock with this move.  The guy sitting on the fence that didn't buy a PS3 before, isn't going to all of sudden want one because the hard-drive is 40GB more for the same price.

Sony needs to be creative in attacking the TWO major reasons outlined above.  What I would of done was keep the 20GB SKU that used to be at $499 and bring it down to a Xbox 360 competitive $399.  I would then also cut the 60GB SKU from $599 to $499 too.  This helps bring down the sticker shock. 

In terms of getting consumers exciting about the game-playing value.  I would bundle Motorstorm on both of these SKUs AND I would have 10-20 of the best Sony studio made PS2 titles already installed on the hard-drives.  These titles aren't adding much profits today anyway and it bridges the game-playing need until your PS3 killer apps come in the next 12 months.  BOOM!  You lower the sticker shock and offer a compelling game package value without hurting your profits.  Be creative like this Sony, it's your last chance.

And the guy that recommended that your more expensive $599 SKU not have the PS2 hardware emulation chips while the $499 does should be dragged out and shot. Permalink - Discuss

I am Switching Back from PC to Mac AGAIN!

Two years ago I bought my first Macs, a Mac Mini and iBook for the wife, and made it my daily driver PC.  Although I loved OS X, the eye candy, stability, and ease of use, I started to get sick of the slow performance.  I eagerly awaited Apple's Xeon/Conroe driven Mac Pro.  However when it was released, the price was a ghastly $2499 for a base model with only 1 GB of RAM.  Knowing I would have to spend close to $3000 to get the performance I wanted, I switched back to PC for only $700-800 on a new home-built custom config with a Conroe 6400 2.4ghz processor and a ATI1900XT graphics card.

Now one year later, I'm getting sick of the PC's random crashes, ugly user interface, and most importantly afraid of the security issues/malware/hackers/viruses again.  So last night I ordered a 2.2ghz MacBook Pro with 160GB 7200rpm hard-drive to move back in Mac-land.  I'll let you guys know how it goes.  The PC will now solely be a gaming and video transcoding box. [Discuss]

The specs from the Apple Order Status site:

MacBook Pro, 15-inch, 2.2GHz
2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
Accessory Kit
Ships by: Jul 18 - Jul 23
Delivers by: Jul 20 - Jul 27

Xbox 360 gaining a bigger lead over PS3

On the game front, repair defect issues aside, it sure sucks to be a PS3 owner right now vs. the Xbox 360. Virtua Fighter 5 going online only on the 360. 60fps for both of this year's football games, only on 360. I mean it's pretty apparent at this point that the Xbox 360 is vastly easier to program for and maybe even more powerful overall in terms of end results because of its better memory configuration.

I pray that Heavenly Sword and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune become killer apps this Christmas.  However it is NOT looking good.  At least of all else fails, I have a decent Blu-ray player. [Discuss]

Microsoft to take $1 billion Charge to Fix Xbox 360s

Microsoft announced today it's going to take a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion charge due to an "unacceptable" number of Xbox 360s breaking down.  We heard a major retailer days ago say the defect rate has been 33%, which is an insanely high incidence of red rings of death. 

If you figure it costs about $333 to send out a new Xbox 360 for each defect, a 30% defect rate out of the 10 million sold would match the $1 billion charge number.  That is crazy.  Meanwhile the PS3 reportedly only has a 1% defect rate, however there aren't any good games to play on it. [Discuss]

PS3 $100 Price Cut

GameDailyBiz is reporting they have a source from a major retailer that Sony is going to cut the PS3 price by $100 to $499 on July 12th. I don't think this will really have a big impact as we already had a $499 PS3 in the past (remember the 20GB SKU) that didn't sell well at all.  The difference between a 60GB vs. 20GB + Wi-FI isn't going to drive people to buy a PS3 all of a sudden.

The simple reason why the PS3 isn't selling is there aren't any killer app games for it.  Back during the PS2 days, it was Grand Theft Auto.  Right now, there is hardly anything. Xbox 360 is going to have Halo 3 this Christmas and exclusive downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV.  Where is our God of War 3 Sony?  Gran Turismo 5?  We need the killer apps pronto to beat Wii Sports into the ground.

Steve Jobs God-Given Talents

I read an article few months back in Fortune about a consultant who travels around the world helping out CEOs.  He used Steve Jobs as an example on trying to be specific on what talents people have.  Read the passage below. Right on the button.

"A leader who does not produce leaders is not a great leader," he says. "If you agree, I'd like to put that in." (Gomber nods.) Charan is trying to help Emaar construct a document that will help its managers discern in others what he calls "natural talents," or "God's gifts." "Each of us has to be the best calibrator of natural talent of the people who work with us," he says. "What are the three to five most crucial natural-talent items that each person has? It has to be specific" - he taps the whiteboard for emphasis - "and very clear" - tap - "and repeatable" -tap!

"By the way," says Charan, "the last time I talked about Steve Jobs, remember? I've now verified from two directors of Apple, and they say it's right on the button." Gomber and Bartridge perk up their ears. "I asked, Well, tell me his three God's gifts. And they think about it, and they say first thing, this human being has a talent to figure out what the consumer really wants. This is a very valuable thing! No. 2, he has the will and the talent to find - no matter where it is! - the right technology that will deliver what they want. Nobody said he invented one! And third, he has the talent to create demand at the right time. I say, Where do you find those human beings? But he is one."

Apple iPhone First Impression

After 16 hours waiting for AT&T to send the activation email, it finally came. First impression. FREAKING AMAZING.

The OS and user interface is by far the best I've seen on a mobile device. Everything is smooth and fast. It just simple "just works" intuition. I set it up with WiFi, so haven't tried the dreaded EDGE yet. The apps are designed very well, no user manual needed.  The touch functionality works fine and the virtual keyboard is more than usable. Safari browsing is 100Xs better than Treo or Blackberry. The Video iPod functionality is drop dead gorgeous (loaded some free Ratatouille Pixar movie videos).

I want one for my own. Sigh. 2 more years with the Blackberry 8800 I'm stuck with under contract. At least I can play with my wife's iPhone in the meantime.  If you're on the fence, drop what you are doing and run to your local Apple store and buy one.  It lives up to the hype.  All hail Steve Jobs.  A full review is on its way here at First Adopter after I actually use the thing for a few days more. [Discuss]

iPhone Activation Issues

The biggest question mark on the Apple iPhone has always been the exclusive relationship with AT&T. Today I dragged my wife to the local Apple store, thinking I can play with some demo units as the iPhone would likely be sold out. When I approached the store, I noticed 2-3 people walking out with iPhone bags. They had the iPhone in stock! I walked to the back of the store and asked if they had any 8Gigs in stock. The employee said sure, but she didn't know how many. Then an Apple employee asked the cashier if they can put one 8Gig aside for a customer as he was likely to buy one, the cashier said "no, that person should just pay for it now."

I panicked and asked my wife if it was ok to buy one. After she played with a few demo models, she relented. I brought it home and connected it up to iTunes. After a few minutes of typing in basic info, iTunes went into activation mode. At the end, it said it was going to take more time to process the activation and that we would received an email when it is ready. 6 hours later, no email. I called AT&T and after 10-15 minutes on the phone the representative said they are going to try and send out a over-the-air activation signal within an hour, but no guarantees. It sounded like the email send-out wasn't going well on their end. I'm not alone as I read messages on CNET, MacRumors and Howard Forums, there are hundreds of people with the same non-activation issue. This obviously is unacceptable and AT&T has flubbed the iPhone launch. Once it actually gets activated, I will post my impressions and a full review on here. Wish us luck.

UPDATE: 2 hours later and no email or over-the-air activation. I called AT&T again they said there is nothing they can do until I get an activation email. After I told her that there are tons of people online who haven't gotten an activation email for over 28 hours, she said there is nothing she can do. They are backed up and she has no idea when the emails will be send out. One word. Disaster.

Some post quotes of people online:

That's depressing. The process was started at 8:50pm last night for one of our iPhones, and we haven't even received a 2nd e-mail yet. So, that puts us at 20+ hours.

Beyond Ticked OFF I just called the activation support line because I still haven't received that email with the 6 digit order number.. He proceeds to tell me my number but then says he has resubmitted it and it will take somewhere between 36 - 48 hours from NOW. I've about HAD IT.!!!

Still have the "when hell freezes over message" and have not received any emails. Tonight or Sunday might entail a trip to the Apple store to kick someone's ass.

it's been over 14 hours... just got off the phone with at&t. CS rep was like it'll take about 24 hours from the start. i was like, wtf?~! why so long? he said that they didn't expect all the activations to come at once like this and their [at&t's] systems are currently overwhelmed... i was like you had SIX MONTHS time and you knew that it would be like this you J**KA$$~! i was like, this is ridiculous! and i hung up. i swear, if it's not done within 24 hours from when i started, someone better hold me back... i really think they should compensate us for this down time and inconvenience. they had MORE than enough time to prepare and train for this. not helping people's opinions/feelings towards at&t either.-MickeyD26

I now past the 23 hr mark And I'm getting tired of calling them and listening to the same bull again and again. I don't know whose fault this is but on Monday I call Apples customer relations and give them a ear full about this, and maybe send an email to Jobs too, not that he will actually answer me. I think we all should do so to let them know how unhappy this has made us.-DukeBlue91

Just got off the phone with AT&T porting dept. Clarence is insisting that I leave the iPhone connected to the dock attached to the computer with iTunes running before it can be activated. He also said that it will be 24-72(!) hours before it will work. This is BS. 72 hours? Are they serious, or just trying to curb call-ins? WTF? I think I am going to the AT&T store.-Tranced25

23 hours in & No Activation Clearly AT&T is not only unprepared and overwhelmed but has made nothing but a snafu of the activation process. I've been on the phone with them repeatedly (hours -up to 4 so far) and many times I've been told it's all good and should go through but then to get an email right afterwards saying they need more information or my address isn't right and that I need to call them back. Why can't they get this straight the first couple of times is all I ask? I'm pretty darned frustrated now and disappointed. I waited 3 hours in line at and AT&T store, sold out, then went to an Apple store and had one in 5 minutes. Honestly I have spent the whole day on the phone trying to sort out one issue after the other or on hold. F.AT&T They had better get this straightened out. I will feel burned for a long time which I'll remember and share with others who are sure to ask how I like my iPhone.-ntblood

Just called AT&T again (877-419-4500--they answer almost immediately), figuring I'd make at least one more attempt before I go to sleep to get some type of information. Turned out to be another useless call, the CSR said everything appeared to be correct in my account, that there were no conflicting features that would prevent activation and that I simply had to wait. She apologized several times for the delay while I (politely) ranted about how stupidly ridiculous this whole process was. I also stated that if my phone is not activated tomorrow morning I will be returning it and certainly will never choose AT&T again (and have been a customer for at least 10 years). Did I mention how grossly incompetent AT&T is? This whole experience is leaving a really bad taste in my mouth. 28 hours and counting! YAY!-AtariAge [Discuss]

Grand Theft Auto IV Trailer 2

The second trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV is out.  The detail of the world and environment is freaking amazing.

Jobs Explains Why he chose EDGE over 3G for the iPhone

The Wall Street Journal had an interview with the iGod himself, Steve Jobs.  In it he explains why he chose EDGE over 3G for the Apple iPhone.

Mr. Jobs: You know every (AT&T) Blackberry gets its mail over EDGE. It turns out EDGE is great for mail, and it works well for maps and a whole bunch of other stuff. Where you wish you had faster speed is.on a Web browser. It's good enough, but you wish it was a little faster. That's where sandwiching EDGE with Wi-Fi really makes sense because Wi-Fi is much faster than any 3G network.

What we've done with the iPhone is we've made it so that it will automatically switch to a known Wi-Fi network whenever it finds it. So you don't have to go hunting around, resetting the phone, flipping a switch or doing anything. Most of us have Wi-Fi networks around us most of the time at home and at work. There's often times a Wi-Fi network that you can join whether you're sitting in a coffee shop or even walking along the street piggybacking on somebody's home Wi-Fi network. What we found is the combination is working really well.

When we looked at 3G, the chipsets are not quite mature, in the sense that they're not low-enough power for what we were looking for. They were not integrated enough, so they took up too much physical space. We cared a lot about battery life and we cared a lot about physical size. Down the road, I'm sure some of those tradeoffs will become more favorable towards 3G but as of now we think we made a pretty good doggone decision.

Apple iPhone Reviews

The Apple iPhone reviews are hitting the internet.  Overall the reaction seems to be pretty positive with a few caveats mainly concerning the slow EDGE network and text entry.

1) Wall Street Journal

2) New York Times

3) Newsweek

4) USA Today

Apple iPhone Guided Tour

Apple put up a 20 minute guided tour on using the iPhone.  The user interface is as good as we expected as it just feels right and simply works.  The main question marks remain about the on-screen keyboard or if the screen will leave smudges.

Apple iPhone TV Ads

The 3 iPhone TV ads are up on the website. Apple sure has a great advertising agency. It makes me want to go out and buy one right now even though I just bought a Blackberry 8800. The ads say June 29th is the launch date at either your local Apple store or AT&T store. Good luck trying to get one. Hint, expect long long lines.

Facebook is Accelerating

I've been using Facebook more and more of late. I've come to realize that it totally rocks. They just get user interface design. Keep it simple. Keep it fast. Don't let ads clutter the page. Keep adding innovative new features. And the new platform apps ability that third-parties can write is making it even more useful.

Mark my words, Myspace will be a fad and Facebook will rule within 12 months. Friendster is pretty much dead. I'm seeing accelerating user adds from my friends in the past few weeks and it's not going to stop.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Chat Session

Walt Mossberg's D conference had an excellent sit-down session with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. A must see. The full multi-part videos are here. Am I the only one that thinks this reminds me of the Mac commercials with the PC guy and the cool Mac dude. It's obvious Gates is a bit intimidated by Jobs' charisma, however Gates comes across as really smart too. I love the historical computer anecdotes back when both companies were startups.