When Steve Jobs first mentioned the updated Apple TV at yesterday’s “special event,” it sent excited murmurs across the industry. Would this be the true TV 2.0 experience that consumers are asking for? It could have sent shock waves to knock Google TV, and Roku, and Boxee, and Xbox 360 on their heels. But it didn’t.
With everything good about the new device, there is something bad. So it’s good that it is smaller at a mere quarter of the size it was before. But this size reduction – a reduction that few people will care about, really – came at the cost of a hard drive, which means that you can’t store content on the device. Sure, everything will be available in HD, which makes sense, but “HD” on Apple TV is 720p, where “HD” on Xbox 360 offers instant-on 1080p. And although Apple introduced $.99 TV show rentals, they announced that there would be no purchasing content on the Apple TV, only renting, an option that is entirely un-American.
But there were two real opportunities lost. The first was not bringing the iOS to Apple TV. The reasoning behind this is likely a matter of input device – the Apple TV doesn’t have a touch interface. So a majority of apps that were developed for a touch interface would be deemed useless. But it would allow for people to develop for the device, likely casual games. And apps could be developed to use an iPhone as the remote control, basically making the gesture controls on a phone run your TV. Without iOS powering the device, it looks and feels a full generation behind http://www.google.com/tv/.
The second big opportunity lost was a lack of content. Apple is currently the most powerful consumer electronics company in the world. When Steve Jobs didn’t want Flash on the iPad, the entire world jumped on the HTML5 bandwagon. But even Apple couldn’t get more content providers on board – just NBC and FOX. This is perhaps because the revenue margins would be so low at $.99 per rental. But it also may be because they still are treating it as a hobby, investing their resources and bartering power in the devices they take more seriously.
So the new Apple TV will be nice for anyone who has always wanted to carry around a set-top box in their back pocket. But for the rest of us, Apple TV is little more than entertainment while we wait at the Apple Store for Genius Bar to tell us why our iPhones’ battery drains so quickly.
The folks over at BoingBoing interviewed a man about his underwater bubble room. He and his family thought it would be fun to build a “fort” at the bottom of an undisclosed Nevada lake.
This video got me thinking though. While it’s super cool to have you’re very own “bubble room” at the bottom of a lake, there must be a point when the novelty of being at the bottom of lake in a bubble room wears off. At that point, what do you do? I imagine a “bubble room” would be a peaceful place to read a book, but there would definitely be some difficulty associated with bringing that book along. Then I thought that I would just want my iPhone, so I could read, play Angry Birds or watch movies all from safety and security of my underwater lair.
I proceeded to fire up the Google machine and discovered many a gadget to help me accomplish my task of watching Netflix at the bottom of a lake. The most compelling solution (not the top search result, but very close to the top) was the Dry Case. I was a little put off by it’s first selling point, “Stays dry even under water”. I thought we’d clarified that point with the name, but fortunately the marketing material redeemed itself; waterproof to 100 feet, vacuum seal, stereo/microphone jack and buoyant armband! Now we’re talking. I was also reassured by the fact that this accessory as been “Garanteed tested underwater overnight”.
As a scrupulous consumer I could not base my purchasing decision solely on the word of the company. I headed directly to Amazon to see what a bunch people I don’t know had to say. As it turns out, the Dry Case has great reviews. Eight out of Nine reviewers gave it 4 stars or better. The only recurring complaint was the armband being to big or too small.
Now all I need to do is get my very own “bubble room”. I wonder when they’ll be available on Amazon.
When Uncle John’s Windows PC died, technology guru Chris Pirillo and his assistant Kat did hours of research to find the best computer to surprise him with as thanks for his online community support. Although Uncle John was a lifetime Windows PC user, they decided to get him a Mac and used Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac to make the switch simple.
“It’s awesome! You would not believe the advantages of having both operating systems at your fingertips at the same exact time. I don’t think I could ever go back,” said Uncle John. In fact, he was so excited he made the video below to share how easy it was for him to switch to Mac.
Now you can win a free copy of Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac to help you or a friend make the switch. There are two ways for a chance to win:
Tweet this message: Watch @ChrisPirillo switch Uncle John to Mac http://bit.ly/aKuwkT & RT for a chance to win a @ParallelsMac #SwitchtoMac Ed
Today was a big day. Google and Verizon joined forces to protect the internet. Clever developers created an easy way to install Flash on a jailbroken iPhones. The last place Seattle Mariners fired their manager. And Naomi Campbell ‘complained that diamonds were not shiny enough‘.
Trumping those bombshells, Sharpie released the following picture on their blog.
That’s right! Sharpie has introduced the “Liquid Pencil”. Are you concerned that writing in pencil isn’t permanent enough, but you find yourself prone to mistakes? Well, Sharpie has come to the rescue. The Liquid Pencil offers the ability to erase just like a pencil, but becomes permanent like a marker after 3 days.
Engadget has video of the Liquid Pencil in action. You can order your very own from Office Depot right now or wait for them to become widely available in the next month (2/$5).
Not satisfied with Apple’s Bumper solution for the antenna signal issues and still looking for a way to protect your iPhone 4 from shocking drops? Lucky for you we discovered a secondary use for a craze that’s been sweeping the United States. That’s right, I m talking about Silly Bandz. No, they’re not just glorified rubber bands any more. You can now use Silly Bandz as functional and fashionable iPhone 4 Bumper replacements.
Originally, Silly Bandz were created in Japan to reduce waste in the office, replacing traditional rubber bands (they weren’t called Silly Bandz yet). Lucky for us, an American businessman saw the potential to expand these rubber bands into the the toy industry. So instead of reducing waste in the workplace in Japan, they have become another disposable children’s toy in the U.S.
What makes these super rubber bands so special? They have a remarkable ability to hold their form allowing them to take the shape of different objects. Please see the duck, turtle, car and star:
Now, these rubber bands have become quite the collector’s item in the United States, particularly the east coast… At least this craze has not hit Seattle yet (until today). People wear the rubber bands as bracelets and will trade them with one another to improve their collection. They do not have particular values like trading cards, or support a particular cause like the various forms of the LiveStrong bracelets. What they do do is break easily and pick up bacteria!
We recommend the fantasy pack (Please note: by “recommend” we do not mean that we actually recommend using rubber bands to protect your iPhone 4… but you knew that. The Unicorn might work though). Simply wrap your Silly Bandz of choice around your iPhone as seen below.
For added security and trading ability load up your iPhone 4 with as many Silly Bandz as you can, it’s really hard.
