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Making its first foray into on-demand video, Blockbuster has started offering customers a small box made by 2Wire that, when attached to a TV set, can play the company’s videos once they′ve been downloaded the movie over a broadband line.

The move is an attempt to blunt the success of such competitors as cable companies, with their vast on-demand offerings, and Netflix.

If you do it, let us know!

More at The Washington Post/The Associated Press.

Tags: 2wire, blockbuster, netflix, on-demand video

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones

Big surprise here and all, but we hear RIM is actually thinking of crafting an App Store of its own in order to not get lapped by the likes of Apple and Google. Made official today was Research In Motion’s plans to introduce a pair of “major distribution initiatives” for BlackBerry applications: the BlackBerry Application Storefront and the BlackBerry Application Center. The former is slated to launch in March 2009 (translation: forever from now), though developers can begin submitting their apps and content beginning in December. Similar to Apple′s initiative, RIM will give devs the ability to set prices and retain 80% of all revenue from sales, and it will be giving the rest of the dough to working with PayPal for transactions. Of course, enterprise admins can still maintain control over what apps can be downloaded onto company phones, but you know you can sweet talk the boss into relaxing some of those restrictions. The Application Center is a carrier-customized, on-device tool for providers to host specific programs for customers. Details on deployment (and more importantly, app screening) are all but nil, but considering we’ve got until March before we can even use the Storefront, we can wait. Angrily.

[Via phonescoop]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

You know something’s a long way from becoming an actual product when we’re just talking about the discovery of an “effect,” but a team of researchers at Keio University in Yokohama, Japan say that the so-called “spin Seebeck effect” they′ve discovered could eventually have some pretty big implications for all sorts of devices. According to Science News, the researchers found that by heating one side of a magnetized nickel-iron rod they were able to change the arrangement of the electrons in the material according to their “spins,” which is the quantum-physics equivalent of the south-north magnetic axes in bar magnets. One of the big advantages of that, it seems, is that, unlike with electric currents, transferring information by “flipping spins″ does not generate heat, which would let “spintronics devices″ operate at higher speeds without overheating, and cut down on power consumption in the process.

[Via Spintronics-Info, image courtesy Nature]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic might be the first to ship its new micro Four Thirds G1, but Olympus definitely stole the hotness crown with that retro concept cam, and the company just confirmed that it’ll join the ranks of the shipping — Olympus European marketing director Miquel Angel Garcia told Pocket-lint that we should expect a camera similar to the prototype within the next 12 months. According to Garcia, micro Four Thirds is “about design and style, not about a smaller black box″ — take that, Panny. Hopefully this means we′ll be seeing the DSLR-sized micro Four Thirds sensor shake up the fashion cam market, but we′ll see what Olympus has in store — the sooner the better, guys.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic might be the first to ship its new micro Four Thirds G1, but Olympus definitely stole the hotness crown with that retro concept cam, and the company just confirmed that it’ll join the ranks of the shipping — Olympus European marketing director Miquel Angel Garcia told Pocket-lint that we should expect a camera similar to the prototype within the next 12 months. According to Garcia, micro Four Thirds is “about design and style, not about a smaller black box” — take that, Panny. Hopefully this means we’ll be seeing the DSLR-sized micro Four Thirds sensor shake up the fashion cam market, but we’ll see what Olympus has in store — the sooner the better, guys.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

What’s this? A little standardization in the TV realm? Announced today at IBC2008, Microsoft has launched its Protected Broadcast Driver Architecture (PBDA), a new worldwide platform that was made possible by the recent release of Windows Media Center TV Pack. In short, this system enables the “PC-TV hardware ecosystem to integrate virtually any free or premium TV service into Windows Media Center,” which keeps content guardians ultra-stoked while giving consumers more choice when it comes to TV tuning. Essentially, PBDA gives OEMs and tuner-makers the ability to develop and ship wares for WMC “regardless of geographic location or television standard.” The initiative is being backed by some serious players, too — Hauppauge, AVerMedia, NEC, and NXP just to name a few — and a couple have already shipped PBDA-based solutions overseas. Hit the read link for more… if you dare.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Not a whole to say that we haven′t already summed up in the title, but that hot little Voodoo Envy 133 is finally shipping right about now. A whole host of to-be owners have already received tracking numbers, and some folks have already had the pleasure of peeling away the tape and gettin’ busy. So, are you still waiting for yours to leave the dock, or is it already halfway to your abode?

[Via CNET, image courtesy of Playername]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Yes, although you’ll need a bit of extra hardware to achieve it.

On Tuesday, Dell revamped its Latitude desktop line, adding a number of new models for small businesses.

Included in the presentation was this line, according to Cisco Cheng, PC Magazine’s laptop analyst, who covered the story: “All-day battery life that works as hard as you do–the E6400 can get up to 19 hours* with a 9-cell battery and optional battery slice.”

And that’s true, although Cisco rightly points out that “You’ll need both the 9-cell and a 12-cell battery slice to achieve this, and battery life varies depending on usage, the operating system, and system settings.”

Oh, and $99 for the upgrade to the 9-cell battery as well as $399 for the battery slice, to boot. So for a total of almost $500, you can work an entire San Francisco-to-Taipei flight, rather than sleep.

Original post by Mark Hachman

At the Wireless Japan 2008 conference held this July 22 to 24, 2008, NTT DoCoMo exhibited its intelligent Li-ION battery pack for cell phones. The battery pack developed together with Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd can detect troubles within the Li-ION battery and relay it to the user. The 8-bit microcomputer embedded onto the pack is responsible for monitoring the battery condition. Based on the battery’s current, voltage, temperature and other indicators; its state of deterioration, remaining battery level, and problems with the battery unit could be projected on screen.

The battery’s status is stored on the battery pack itself, so even if you change phone units, you can still view prior recorded data. The pack can notify the users when it’s time to recharge, when the battery needs repairs, or even when it’s time to replace it altogether. NTT DoCoMo says that it will use the new intelligent battery packs on its new phone models to come out next year.

Original post by Mariella Moon

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

It looks like wind power in the United States is getting a boost from a somewhat unexpected source, with billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens recently announcing that he′s spending $2 billion to build a 667 wind turbine-strong wind farm in Texas. That would translate to roughly 1,000 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power about 300,000 homes, but Pickens says that is only the start of what he has in mind. As he tells CNN, Pickens says he plans to expand the wind farm to a full 4,000 megawatts by 2015, which would likely make it the biggest wind farm in the world. What’s more, in addition to pumping out electricity, the wind turbines would give a boost to the pocketbooks of anyone willing to put ‘em on their property, with Pickens estimating that each turbine will generate about $20,000 a year in royalty income, although they apparently won’t get electricity straight from the turbine in their backyard.

Read - CNN, “Billionaire oilman backs wind power″
Read - Reuters, “T. Boone Pickens orders 667 GE wind turbines”

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Laptops

It looks like ultraportable laptops are the new generic PMPs, and we couldn’t be happier about it — especially if we keep seeing units like the Yinlips Micro PC YDP-G77 here. While the spec list is pretty average — 7-inch screen, 400MHz CPU (we don’t know what kind), WiFi, Linux, 500MB or 1GB flash drive — what’s really getting us is the old-school TI-99 looks. All we need now is a speech synthesizer module and we’ll be all set.

[Via MP4 Nation]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Mitsubishi and the onset of Spring can only mean one thing: an onslaught of HDTVs. Just as it did last year, the aforementioned outfit is busting out a plethora of high-definition sets to whet your appetite. As for the new line of April-bound DLPs ($1,799 to $4,699), you can expect the entire lot — which ranges from 60- to 73-inches in size — to sport 1080p panels, thinner frames than those on prior models, increased brightness, Mitsu’s own 6-Color Processor and 3D-readiness.

Moving on, we’ve got the new family of Ultra Thin Frame 1080p LCD HDTVs ($2,499 to $4,499; shipping in May), which span between 40- and 52-inches and feature low-profile speakers, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion / GalleryPlayer technology, 10-bit panels, 6-Color Processor, x.v.Color and Deep Color. For these and the DLPs, those who opt for the Diamond series will be treated to Variable Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, a DeepField Imager and an oh-so-desirable blue light accent.

Lastly, the Laser TV which made its debut at CES 2008 is on track for a Q3 release, and just as predicted, it’ll be going by the name LaserVue and sporting a currently undisclosed price tag. Hit the read link for the full breakdown.

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Original post by Darren Murph

The invention of the brake light on the car was arguably the most important addition to the safety of driving, probably trailed by the availability of ABS.
Somehow, perhaps because brake lights are so important, there’s been no significant advance in their development, beyond changing the bulbs to a brighter version.

Original post by Simon Perry

Filed under: Displays, Household

Researchers at GE have created the world’s first roll-to-roll manufactured OLEDs — a newspaper printing-like process that is the first step to plentiful, cheaply produced, flexible lighting. Production of the thin, organic materials in this manner could lead to a wide array of innovations in the use of lights, sensors, and displays, and could make a noticeable impact on the efficiency and environmental performance of lighting and electronics. The company envisions a new playing-field for businesses, architects, and lighting designers who need access to cheap, energy-conscious materials, and see this research as a first step to an emerging field of commercialized OLED lighting. Yes, a new vista of discovery, wealth, and prosperity awaits those who take this bold step into the wide, wonderous, and uncharted worlds of scientific research and prototyping — let’s just hope it doesn’t end up all Bioshock-y and weird.

[Via MetaEfficient]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

bughunter writes “Today GE announced the successful demonstration of the world’s first roll-to-roll manufactured organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices (press release). This demonstration is a key step toward making OLEDs and other high-performance organic electronics products at dramatically lower costs than what is possible today. The green crowd is thrilled as well. Personally, as the parent of a 3-year-old technophile, I’m dreading the animated cereal boxes.” Now can I get my Optimus Keyboard for less than $1,299?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by kdawson