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FOX News Channels’ Alan Colmes is leaving Hannity &amp Colmes (H&ampC) at the end of this year. Well there goes my 9 o’clock nightly timeslot. What the heck am I going to watch now? Reality TV? Ack! Well, the good news is that not watching the at-times heated debates should be good for shaving off a few points off my blood pressure. So you’re probably wondering if Sean Hannity finally got under Alan’s skin, he got tired of debating Sean and he quit as a result. Well, according to the newswires, it was an amicable departure.

Alan Colmes said, “I approached Bill Shine (FNC’s Senior Vice President of Programming) earlier this year about wanting to move on after 12 years to develop new and challenging ways to contribute to the growth of the network. Although it’s bittersweet to leave one of the longest marriages on cable news, I′m proud that both Sean (Hannity) and I remained unharmed after sitting side by side, night after night for so many years.”

Colmes will continue to have a presence on FNC as he will serve as a liberal commentator on a variety of FOX News programming, including Foxnews.com’s The Strategy Room and continue hosting his radio program, The Alan Colmes Show on FOX Talk, a division of FOX News Radio. He will also begin developing a weekend program.

It’s too bad Alan couldn’t have the 9pm timeslot currently occupied by H&C, since then he’d be going against Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. It would be a lib-on-lib ratings deathmatch!

Shine said, “We’re very sorry to see Alan reach this decision but we understand his desire to seek other creative challenges in his career. We value his incredible hard work in making Hannity & Colmes the most successful debate program on cable news and we’re going to miss him on the show. Thankfully, he will begin developing a weekend pilot for us.”

FOX News Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Roger Ailes added, “Alan is one of the key reasons why FOX News has been such a remarkable success. We’re sad to see him leave the program but we look forward to his ongoing contributions to the network.”

Hannity &amp Colmes is the only FNC program which has remained in the same timeslot for 12 years, catapulting to number one in 2003 and never relinquishing the top spot. The second highest-rated program in cable news behind only The O’Reilly Factor, Hannity &amp Colmes averaged 3.3 million viewers nightly for the Nielsen month of October and is poised to mark 60 consecutive months at number one at the end of November.

Hannity added, “Not only has Alan been a remarkable co-host, he’s been a great friend which is rare in this industry — I’ll genuinely miss sparring with such a skillful debate partner.”

Throughout his 12 year tenure on Hannity & Colmes, Colmes has interviewed numerous key political figures, including: President Elect Barack Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), DNC Chairman Howard Dean and former Vice President Al Gore.

FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour general news service covering breaking news as well as political, entertainment and business news. For nearly seven years, FNC has been the most watched cable news channel in the nation. Owned by News Corp., FNC is available in more than 90 million homes.

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Tags: Alan Colmes, FNC, FOX News, Hannity & Colmes, Sean Hannity

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Original post by nafiz

Onkyo does a fine line in home cinema receivers and has just now launched its first Blu-ray players in time for the Christmas rush. This is not the company’s first foray into HD as Onkyo backed the defeated HD DVD format in the HD battle but, thankfully, profits-over-pride gives us another quality Blu-ray spinner in the DV-BD606. It costs a shade under £400 which means it’s in the mid-to-high end of the fledgling Blu-ray player market but it does pack a lot in. It has a HDMI v1.3 port for Deep Color compatibility, 1080p support with 24fps playback. It supports Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound which is about as good as it gets, and there’s an upscaler for making your DVDs look better than they already do. A useful add-on is the ability to play DivX files from disc or SD Cards. Be aware though that this is a Profile 1.1 player, not a 2.0 one, which means there’s no support for the BD Live interactive features on some newer discs. That said, a lot of people couldn′t care less about interactive content, there’s not a lot of BD Live content out there and much of that leaves a lot to be desired.-Martin Lynch [Onkyo]

Original post by nafiz

What happy people don’t do - Watch TV… I wonder if the Cornfield Electronics paid for this study?

Happy people spend a lot of time socializing, going to church and reading newspapers — but they don’t spend a lot of time watching television, a new study finds.

That’s what unhappy people do.

Although people who describe themselves as happy enjoy watching television, it turns out to be the single activity they engage in less often than unhappy people, said John Robinson, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and the author of the study, which appeared in the journal Social Indicators Research.

While most large studies on happiness have focused on the demographic characteristics of happy people — factors like age and marital status — Dr. Robinson and his colleagues tried to identify what activities happy people engage in. The study relied primarily on the responses of 45,000 Americans collected over 35 years by the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey, and on published “time diary” studies recording the daily activities of participants.

“We looked at 8 to 10 activities that happy people engage in, and for each one, the people who did the activities more — visiting others, going to church, all those things — were more happy,” Dr. Robinson said. “TV was the one activity that showed a negative relationship. Unhappy people did it more, and happy people did it less.”

More:

Super TV-B-Gone kit, the happy maker. A great beginner kit to get started in electronics, hack it, mod it, be happy.

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Original post by Phillip Torrone

I grew up reading PC Magazine and I looked forward each couple weeks to picking up my copy of PC Magazine at the local grocery store. But today, Ziff Davis has announced that the legendary PC Magazine print publication is shutting down its print publication and focusing exclusively on online content. This is truly a sad day… Hold on while I grab some tissues…

PC Magazine started the whole in-depth comparative reviews of PCs and Microsoft software. They expanded later to including gadgets, MP3 players, mobile phones, GPS, and other technology. PC Magazine offered insightful tech tips and great columnists like John C. Dvorak. Back in the 80s and 90s the print publication was 400-500 pages, making for hours of tech- reading pleasure. Today, it’s down to 150 pages and soon to be 0 (January 2009).

Well, I guess it’s “greener” that way. But I for one will miss my print copy of PC Magazine.

Tags: John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine

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Original post by nafiz

Don’t know why gadget companies want to open up their own unique stores, but Pioneer has opened its second U.S. retail store in Phoenix.

The 3,200 square-foot store showcases Pioneer’s state-of-the-art products in a comfortable home environment with six vignettes, each featuring unique themes and different technologies, as well as a revamped mobile electronics section bringing an interactive shopping experience to customers.

Well, I guess I do know, but don’t think that Pioneer ranks up their with Apple or Bose as a big draw.  

But maybe I’m wrong.  

Would you rather shop at an all-gadgets retailer like Best Buy or head to a unique manufacturer-only site?

Or are you comfortable doing both?

Tags: apple, best buy, bose, mobile electronics, pioneer

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Original post by nafiz

Mojo Mobility Inc, a Silicon Valley-based venture firm, has developed a technology to simultaneously charge multiple mobile devices simply using a flat surface that doesn’t even to touch the charging circuitry of  mobile phones, iPods, iPhones, and other gadgetry.

While NFP (Near Field Power) is not a new concept, the non-contact charging system leverages an electromagnetic induction method. The system is composed of two coils, one for transmitting and the other for receiving electric power.

Mojo Mobility has developed a prototype sheet-type charger equipped with multiple transmitting coils. On this sheet to the right, up to four devices charged at the same time with the ability to produce 2.5W to 4W of power ..

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Tags: charge, electric power, electricity, gadgets, mobile phone, Mojo Mobility, Near Field Power, NFP, wireless

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Original post by nafiz

Of course, it made sense to get a leather-fitted La-Z-Boy and equip it with electronics to make any lazy geek proud. Why not make the lazing experience complete, and integrate entertainment functionality? Such is the complete relaxing-cum-audio experience as claimed by the Deluxe X-Rocker Recliner’s manufacturer:

This chair has endless features including: deluxe leather cover and double foam padding, lockable reclining feature, 3 channel wireless audio, amplifier, surround sound speakers, booming bass unit, cup holder, storage in one armrest. It works with Xbox, Xbox 360, Ṕ, P̀, Nintendo gaming units and all major game platforms, including handheld units such as PSP and DS lites. It also will work with your TV, DVD, VHS, and stereo system, your MP3 and iPod player and your phone if it has a standard earphone jack.

The only problem is, can any lazy geek afford the £600 ($937) price tag? After all, how can bums earn enough money to make this purchase? The only market I see for this are trust-fund babies with nothing better to do with their lives. Ah, in any case, you have to live in the UK to buy this chair anyway. Visit boysstuff.co.uk to make a purchase.

(image from boysstuff.co.uk)

Tags: Audio, Deluxe X-Rocker Recliner, La-Z-Boy

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Original post by Rico

Panasonic is set to become a very, very large electronics company indeed following confirmation that it plans to takeover struggling Sanyo Electric in a deal suggested to be worth up to £5.5bn. The new Panasonic would become a £70bn giant. The deal, the biggest ever in the Japanese consumer technology sector, will give Panasonic access to two key technologies: batteries and solar panels. Sanyo is currently the leading global supplier of rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, cameras and other portable devices - earning Sanyo almost $4bn annually in revenues. Sanyo also makes nickel-metal hydride batteries for gas-electric hybrid cars for Ford and Honda and has a lithium-ion battery deal with Volkswagen. Panasonic works with Toyota and the deal would place Panasonic at the forefront of future car battery technology. Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking currently hold a 70% stake in Sanyo, which they paid $2.5bn for back in 2006. Panasonic has yet to agree financial terms but if it goes ahead, it may spark other large consumer tech mergers in the cut-throat Japanese market.-Martin Lynch [Businessweek] technology merger consumer

Original post by nafiz

We ran a 007 Quantum Of Solace competition with Sony Pictures last week to celebrate the latest Bond movie release and to give one of you lucky Gizmodo readers the chance to win a fantastic home cinema set-up. It comprised a 40in BRAVIA W4500 TV, a BDP-S350 Blu-ray player, HT-IS100 BRAVIA Home Theatre system and the 2-disc Collector’s Edition of Casino Royale on Blu-ray Disc. There were also 3 runners up prizes of the Casino Royale movie on Blu-ray up for grabs too. We really wanted to keep these goodies for ourselves but, being the honest types that we are, we have picked the winners. There was a huge response to the competition so jump now to see who nabbed the Grand Prize and the runners up prizes. The winner of the Grand Prize was Nicky Fruin of London - well done. The 3 runners up were Hazell Evans [Wrexham], Diane Goulding [Lancashire] and Ross Gardiner [Hertfordshire]. Sony - not us - will be in touch with you all to finalise things. Again, congratulations to you lucky sods, and commiserations to everyone else. Us included.-Martin Lynch blu-ray bond movies

Original post by nafiz

Want to know the top HDTVs &amp LCDs under $1000? Well, Amazon has a sweet round-up of the top HDTVs that won′t break the bank. My 480i/480p/1080i 65″ rear-projection TV is getting a bit old, it’s bulky, and it doesn′t support 1080p, so might be time for me to buy one of these or add it to my Christmas wish list.

Read: Amazon′s Top HDTVs under $1000

Tags: 1080i, 1080p, 480i, 480p, HDTV, LCD, television, top HDTVs

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Original post by nafiz

The end of TV: Boxee + Apple TV + Hulu, a review of Boxee @ Tux Geek…

People want to do much more with their iPhone then Steve Job allows. So they jailbreak it. The same goes for the Apple TV. While it is a great and relatively cheap media center, it has restrictions, just like the iPhone. Wouldn’t it be nice to play xvid videos, stream shows from Hulu, listen to LastFm, Twitter the name of the movie you are currently watching or see what music your friends are listening to on your big screen TV connected to an Apple TV? Well, you can do that with Boxee!

Boxee is an open source media center, with social networking features, currently in an invite-only alpha stage. It is a fork of XBMC, a media center initially designed for the Xbox, but then ported to run on all major platforms. Boxee runs on Linux, Mac, and soon Windows. You can put it on your AppleTV with a grandma-simple “hack“, with no adverse effects.
What does it do?

As other media center software, Boxee allows you to browse and play media files (movies, music, photos) from local hard-disks or DVD drive and can stream music and videos from the internet or other computers in the network (SMB/SAMBA shares). It supports 1080p HD and it reads virtually any type of media, except DRM files.

Boxee scans your default media folders and downloads the related meta-data and artwork for your music and video files. Unfortunately, it doesn’t import your iTunes or iPhoto libraries - a big loss for Mac users.

When playing a song you can choose to see the lyrics (especially useful for a karaoke night) or display information about the band or artist.

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Original post by Phillip Torrone

Like a couple of kids forced to stand facing the wall after fighting in the schoolyard, teacher has finally ushered Sky and Virgin Media back into the room following an 18-month dispute over fees. Last year Sky demanded nearly £50m per year for the rights to transmit Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports News, a request that got the finger from Virgin who saw this as double what the channels were worth. Virgin fought back by asking for exorbitant fees for its own channels, but following mutual losses the whole argument has now been sorted and everyone is friends again, at least for the time being. What this means is that from the 13th of November, Virgin will get Sky One, Two and Sky Sports News back, and Sky gets Living, Living Two, Bravo, Bravo Two, Trouble, Challenge and Virgin One back. The new deal is set to run until 2011 and both companies have agreed to end court proceedings against each other. Though the exact terms of the contract haven′t been revealed, the three year deal includes fixed annual fees and additional capped payments based on performance, so hopefully this’ll be enough for customers to wave goodbye to the whole debacle and get back to watching TV. - Paul Lester [Times] Sky Virgin TV

Original post by nafiz

‘Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, that’s Martini’. Oops, sorry, ‘…..that’s LaCie Internet Space’. OK, it doesn’t have the same ring as the old Martini ad jingle but it does pretty much offer you access to your files [music, video, data etc.] over the Net, even if it doesn’t get you bladdered. The minimalist-styled Internet Space is a network hard disk drive that promises to be really easy to use and will allow you access over the Net to your content, even when the PC is off. Promising idiot-proof set-up “in minutes”, the drive purports to be an all-singing-all-dancing remote storage location for use with PCs, UPnP or DLNA-certified players/adapters. It will also allow you to set up a personal Web portal so you can allow friends and family to access up to 1TB of your photos, music and videos. LaCie Internet Space will stream multimedia files [videos etc.] through your local network to compatible media players such as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, as well as act as an iTunes music server. “The Internet Space is a user-friendly solution for customers wanting easily accessible network or remote storage for multiple computers or UPnP/DLNA media players,” said Christa Dabilly, LaCie Product Manager. “Whether you are looking for a quick and painless way to access your photo collection securely from your friend’s house or to share your last vacation photos with family, friends or colleagues, this device is a perfect NAS solution for remote use.” It comes with HipServTM DesktopMirror software, to back-up and restore files and there’s an additional USB 2.0 port for the really paranoid to hook up a spare HDD for extra safety. The 500GB and 1TB drives cost £134 and £180, respectively.-Martin Lynch [Lacie] PC storage gadget

Original post by nafiz

Nielsen’s new TV/Internet Convergence Panel, which electronically measures both television and Internet usage in the same homes, has found that television viewing and online video streaming are complementary activities.

Gosh!

According to the convergence panel, the heaviest users of the Internet are also among the heaviest viewers of television: the top fifth of Internet users spend more than 250 minutes per day watching television, compared to 220 minutes of television viewing by people who do not use the Internet at all.

Nielsen found that the reverse is true as well — the lowest consumers of television have the lowest usage levels for the Internet.

(And what else could they be doing?)

Nielsen also found that 31% of in-home Internet activity takes place while the user is watching television, demonstrating that there is a significant amount of simultaneous Internet and television usage. Conversely, 4% of television viewing occurs when the consumer is also using the Internet. 

Now I watch TV while on the Internet, my kids watch TV on the Internet while on the Internet and my wife is either on one or the other — and never both.

Is this a crazy multi-tasking world or what?  

Get more at Nielsen.com.

Tags: convergence, internet, nielsen, TV

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Original post by nafiz

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen a multi-format media streamer/jukebox but it is a little different from the majority of other devices out there. Western Digital’s WD TV HD Media Player is a simple black box that comes with a simple remote control and offers nothing more than to be able to play back your video, audio and photos through an HDMI port on a big screen. There’s no internal hard drive and no network access, instead you’ll find two USB2.0 ports into which you can attach flash storage, external hard drives and other media containing files. The WD TV will then sort them by name, type, genre or recently viewed and send them at up to 1080p resolution to your TV. We’re impressed by this rather basic solution because A) we can see definite appeal in producing a bare-bones system quite cheaply and B) the list of formats supported really is comprehensive. We’ll list them below after rounding off by saying that the device is available now for £78.99 and comes with a free copy of ArcSoft MediaConverter 2.5, just in case this lot isn’t enough. - Paul Lester WD TV HD video support: MPEG 1/2/4, WMͥ, AVI (MPEˊ, Xvid, AVC), H.264, MKV, MOV (MPEˊ, H264), JPEG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV/PCM/LPCM, AAC, FLAC, Dolby Digital, AIF/AIFF and MKA. [TrustedReviews] Western Digital digital media jukebox

Original post by nafiz