Normally, when perusing the various legal briefs and news coverage out of the epic and ongoing TiVo v DISH/EchoStar DVR patent dispute, my eyes glaze over (see: Boredom in the Courtroom). Today’s a bit different. A ZNF reader who’s been tracking this case, and who I presume to be a shareholder, forwarded DISH’s latest filing … Read more
After a bazillion year hiatus, I’ve rejoined the gym. And find myself in need of a portable FM radio to tune the evening news or Sports Center from facility flat panel televisions while on the hamster wheel cardio devices. As we know, Apple would prefer to sell iTunes and thus refuses to incorporate a FM … Read more
A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs: YouTube, Upstream Bandwidth, and Channel Bonding It wasn’t long ago that YouTube’s maximum upload size was 10 MB. Then it jumped to 100 MB, followed by 1 GB last fall, followed now by a new 2 GB ceiling. YouTube’s upload file sizes are increasing to … Read more
My very favorite non-HTPC media player reached the 1.0.0 milestone this week and includes some great new features. If you’re looking for a video app that can handle about any file you throw at it and is free, look no further than VLC. Major updates include: AirTunes Streaming Video Scaling in fullscreen Frame-by-Frame support More … Read more
You probably don’t remember that Humax LCD TV with builtin TiVo… which never launched in 2005. As a clutter-free minimalist (to the best of my ability), I do. And TiVo’s new tie-up with Best Buy indicates they’re going down this path again, entering the Internet Widget TV fray under the Insignia brand: As part of … Read more
Popular Internet radio provider, Pandora are impacted by a new deal in which webcasters are covered by an “alternative set of rates and terms” from SoundExchange, the group managing performers’ royalties in the U.S. This should put Pandora, and other online streaming music services, in a much better position for survival going forward. Users of … Read more
TiVo’s User Experience veep Margret Schmidt, @tivodesign, queried her Twitter followers last night: Broadband-connected TiVo DVR users: do you use “Search by Title” or “TiVo Search” in “Find Programs” to find shows? Why? I don’t know if this was an informal usability poll or more in the way of Twitter marketing. In all likelihood, it’s … Read more
We have a continuing argument in my household about whether the iPod Touch or my Asus Eee netbook is a more useful device. I find the netbook falls right in my sweet spot. I’m happily willing to carry it around everywhere, and in return it gives me all the functionality I need to work, play, … Read more