Neowin interviews Fatal1ty at CES
Shortly before CES, Larry (DirtyLarry) decides to check if we could do an interview with Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, the most successful professional gamer. We talk about how it all began in his dads pool hall through how he almost was stuck washing dishes the rest of his life. The night before we had a chance encounter with John at a pre-CES event, where Frank fought in several treacherous games of billiards, not only giving John a run for his money, but becoming victorious as well. Below is the video interview with Fatal1ty, and more videos coming soon!
*Sorry for audio, it was very loud there and I did not have an external mic, but did the best with limited resources I have to clean it up ... Read on »
3-D television coming to a home near you
Television viewers could find themselves able to watch movies in three dimensions as soon as 2010, as television manufacturers showed off a variety of three dimensional prototypes at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.
At the show, Panasonic Corp. demonstrated a plasma screen that could display animated movies and footage from the Olympics in high-definition 3-D. The television switched between images for the left and right eye extremely quickly, while viewers had to wear battery-powered glasses that alternately blacked out the view for each eye, allowing the viewer to see the picture in three dimensions.
Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp. and LG Electronics Inc, the remaining three of the top four TV manufacturers in the U.S, also had 3-D televisions at their booths.
According to the Associated Press, Richard Doherty, an analyst with Envisioneering Group, said that the industry's drive to make larger screens has run up against the limits of what people are willing to buy and that television manufacturers are needing to add something else in order to keep people interested in new TVs.
The industry however, needs a standard for 3-D broadcasts, if it is to avoid another format-war like the one between Blu-ray and HD-DVD, or VHS and Betamax. Fortunately, Panasonic hopes to solve that problem this year, by creating standards for television broadcasts as well as discs.
During an address at CES last Wednesday, Yoshi Yamada said, "Panasonic doesn't think that 3-D, full HD for the home is far away at all. We are discussing this now with other major manufacturers and Hollywood studios. But for 3-D, full HD systems to succeed, we know that there needs to be 3-D, full HD content."
Unfortunately, glasses are still a necessity of watching 3D television. Or are they? 3M Co. and Toshiba also showed off some 3-D screens at the show, but their screens did not require glasses for the 3-D effect. The technology is made possible by a thin film made by 3M, which can beam light selectively to the right and left eyes of the viewer. The idea behind the film is similar to the old postcards that could create a 3-D effect with a ribbed plastic covering, except the new film goes inside the screen and is invisible to the viewer.
Senior technology manager, William Bryan said that the film will be available this year and that if manufacturers are willing to adopt it, there could be 3-D capable mobile phones available by Christmas. Unfortunately, the technology is stuck at the chicken and egg stage - "The content people haven't been willing to do a lot of content because there have been no displays," said Bryan.... Read on »
GoldenSignals DisplayShare
This seems like a great product. It allows you to connect your
laptop/desktop to your big screen tv through the PS3 or XBOX360. No
hardware required. Stay tuned for more
... Read on »
MSI Air?
I ran across the MSI x320 while browsing the msi booth. It is very small and has a screen size of 13.4 inches up to a 320GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM. Look for this product starting in April running Windows Vista.
... Read on »
Who needs dual screen monitors?
Enough said.
... Read on »
The robotic service droid
If you are in the service industry, watch out. This robot is here to
replace you!
... Read on »
CES Day 3 Live Blogging
Another busy day at CES. The purpose of this article is to talk about the kinds of things you probably won't hear about at other news sources.
Bushnell is introducing some new devices that make use of Accuweather information that is piped in via its own wireless method (FM is my guess) that gives the latest weather info in real-time. No need to hook it up to anything, just plug it in and go.
This Samsung Coca Cola dispenser makes me wish I lived in Japan now. Because in Japan, they live in the near future.
Hitachi was showing off a technology that I think will become quite common in the next year or two and will make DVD upscaling obsolete for the most part. Basically, a processor on the TV can be enabled that vastly improved the quality (not the resolution) of the video by having algorithms that selectively enhance the video. If you've ever watched Blade Runner where he's zooming in on the photograph, this is the next best thing.
Bottom line, in a couple of years, your current DVD collection will get a new lease on life.
Canon had a whole new range of HD (and SD) camcorders. Now, some Neowiners may disagree with me but AVCHD is the devil. All of Canon's HD cameras record to AVCHD which then has to be taken off the internal memory card or the SD card via something like Voltaic or Ulead and THEN converted to a non-crazy format. It's very annoying.
By contrast, Canon also recently started selling digital cameras that can video (though only up to 640x480) but at least store them as Quicktime .MOV files.
View: Additional Live Blogging
View: Brad's nerdy video tour of the Microsoft booth... Read on »
American Airlines and Technology
This afternoon at CntrStg Shane and I got an inside peek American Airlines and how they are using technology to move forward in their highly competitive business. We talked about a number of different hurdles they are looking to surpass and I believe that one of the major ones is power for accessories on flights.
The majority of the aircraft that American Airlines operate are currently equipped with power for the passengers to take advantage of. However it is only available on specific rows of seats due to the amount of time it takes to retrofit the aircraft with the power capabilities.
American Airlines have also worked with the TSA on electronic boarding passes. These boarding passes will show a barcode on the screen that will be scan able by TSA as well as the airport agents. Originally they were using handheld scanners but had problems scanning the device. They have now moved to a flat "table like" scanner.
Another topic that came up during our discussion was tracking baggage. One of the CntrStg members brought up the fact that her baggage has been lost for six long days on her ten day trip to Vegas (her airline was not American just for the record). American Airlines have a bagging system where the bags get scanned in certain points and tracked. They have researched the option of putting RFID tags as "bag tags" but it would raise the cost of the tag up to 4 - 5x the current cost of the paper tag.
I was surprised to find out the avid Advantage member check their miles online 4 – 6 times monthly where the average online banking user only checks their accounts online 2 – 4 times a month. There are 16 million people in the Advantage program and only 51% of miles gained are through actual air travel. Not only that but they actually sell 40% direct, either through their website or their reservations line. I would think with websites like Priceline this number would have been a lot lower.... Read on »
Greenpeace releases latest "Green" Results at CES 2009
At their Press Conference at CES on Friday, January 10th, 2009, Greenpeace released the latest results of their "Green Electronics: the search continues" survey.
While "the electronics industry has taken encouraging strides towards increasing the green features on some gadgets over the past year but none stand out in all environmental categories. The race for the green winner is still on," according to Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International Toxics Campaigner. This year's scores were higher, but no products exceeded a score of 7 out of 10.
Criteria questions focused on but are not limited to the following areas: toxic chemical phase out, energy efficiency, product lifespan and energy used in production, with additional points given for unique innovation.
The Lenovo L2440x wide computer monitor scored highest with 6.9 points (on a 10 point scale) and is far ahead of the competition in the monitor category. Other product category leaders include the Sharp LC‐52GX5 television (5.92), the Samsung F268 mobile phone (5.45), the Nokia 6210 Smart phone (5.2) the HP Elitebook 2530P laptop (5.48) and the Lenovo ThinkCentre M58 Desktop (5.88).
Companies who refused to participate are Apple, Asus, Microsoft, Nintendo, Palm, Philips. Only Sony submitted game consoles for review. A representative for Greenpeace said they were most upset that Apple had declined to participate, as they claim to be committed to being green, but have a history of not having a great track record despite their claims.
Harrel concludes the press release by stating "The electronics industry is heading in the right direction. To stay in the race, each company needs to put its foot on the accelerator, applying any progress it has made across all of its product lines and adopting each others best practices. We're confident that, as part of the most innovative industry on the planet, these companies can step up to this green challenge."
Previous Greenpeace surveys for comparison can be found here.... Read on »
CES Impression - Ready for 3D at home?
From Intel to Sony, Samsung to Panasonic, Nvidia to countless other large and small companies alike, the idea of 3D making it's way into your living room television or PC is apparently something the tech and gaming world believes we all need.
In a recent thread on the forums, I had heard of Sony's possible plans of enabling 3D on the PS3. I actually thought it was just them and perhaps one or two other companies who would be pushing 3D, just as there are a few companies year in and year out who do so. However being at CES this past week, it is crystal clear that many companies believe we all should have 3D in our living rooms and/or our computers, and have it soon.
I do admit, up until this past week, I was definitely of the belief that 3D in the home was just an after thought that would never actually pick up. However, getting to see some of the tech in all it's glory these past few days, I have to say I am at least starting to believe it may not only be such a bad thing after-all, but it very well may wind up being something worth checking out, for those of us who can at least.
The largest issue by far I am hearing about 3D in the home is little to none of the current TV's or other components that we all already own can support it. Many of the previously mentioned companies are actually quite vague about just exactly how their vision of 3D will be delivered, with Sony being the extreme example, using TV's built just for the show on previously non existing tech, meaning none of their previous television models can do 3D, or say they say. I was told during my demonstration that their 3D is actually just a proof of concept, and they are not even sure if they will release it, they just wanted to show that it could be done if they wanted. Seems like a lot of work for something they do not plan to release, so I would say it is safe to say they will release it, and their 3D was actually one of if not the most impressive ones I have viewed. Wipeout HD in 3D was absolutely stellar in action, and the depth of the 3D was indeed incredibly impressive.
In fact, most of the 3D I was fortunate enough to check out in action all looked incredibly good. Some more-so than others, but overall I do admit it was all better than I expected.
After the initial impression fades, reality then sets in. First off, if these companies are indeed telling the truth, and current TV's cannot support their 3D solution, how many casual watchers of Television are going to be willing to fork over thousands of dollars on a new TV just for 3D itself. Then there is the question of can you really see yourself and your entire family all sitting around the TV on movie or game night all with the never cool looking glasses that are required to see the 3D? Some of the glasses actually seemed like they were going to also have a hefty price tag just for the glasses themselves, so even if an entire family is willing to all sit around with the glasses on, in this touch economy can or would they be willing to fork over the cash needed for glasses for the entire family in addition to whatever new TV or components they need to purchase?
So I do believe that although we very well may not see it anytime soon, 3D in the home is something that will indeed become a reality sooner than later. If it is successful and practical is literally the million dollar question for these companies that remains to be answered. My guess is we may find out by the end of this upcoming year if it even has the potential to take off, and I do believe it will still be a good few years before it becomes common place if it indeed does.
So what do you think Neowin? Ready for 3D in your Home? Do you want it? Do you even care? Discuss and dissect.... Read on »
Gaming reality TV show to premiere in March
12 Strangers. 1 House. They battle to see who stays. If that sounds oh to familiar, that's because it is. It is the formula that has fueled Reality TV shows since their inception. However a new twist is being applied to this tried and true formula. This time around, the occupants of the house are Top Gamers from all over the United States. Presenting WGC Ultimate Gamer, a new reality TV Show featuring gamers.
Premiering this March on the Sci-Fi Network, the World Cyber Gamers begins its search for the "Best All-Around Gamer" in the United States. According to the marketing material at their booth at this year's CES, 12 top gamers will live together and battle one another in a series of competitions that will take them beyond the game. The gamers will take part in real-life challenges inspired by top selling games to elimination matches before hundreds of screaming spectators. The gamer that remains at the end of the competition after eight grueling weeks will have "survived the ultimate test."
The winning gamers will win $100,000 in cash, and what is being labeled an "ultimate Samsung electronics package." Winners will have the chance to become the WGC VIP, where they'll represent the world's largest video game organization at events all over the world, including the 2009 Grand Final being held in China.
Although I am sure they are known in the gaming world, I have to be honest and and admit that while I watched the trailer playing in their booth, I cannot say I actually recognized many of the gamers, if any at all. Actually the only one I did recognize was some girl who is known to be a good Guitar Hero player. So truth be told, while I am extremely skeptical that this show can actually do anything for the true gaming community, if Sci-Fi's previous reality shows are any indication, at the very least it should have at least a few moments of not so typical entertainment.
Currently no information on the show can be found online, but for more information in the near future, check out the Sci-Fi Network's website.... Read on »
Yahoo launching Internet on Televisions
Yahoo was at CES showing off their new venture which will enable you to view the internet on your television (why does this sound familar?).
Yahoo say the service they plan to offer will be free and very easy to use with the addition of widgets. The widgets will be provided but Yahoo search will not be included for now. To fund this service Yahoo will put adverts on the widgets and sites but for obvious reasons the service will remain ad free for the first few months so users can get acquainted with the service.
There will be other activities you will be able to perform from Yahoo Web for example streaming videos from Youtube through your television and sharing photos via Flickr. Some big electronic companies like Samsung, LG and Sony have already signed up to the service, rolling out with new television sets. The Intel CE 3100 chip will be used in the sets from Toshiba whilst Samsung will use it in their set-top boxes . The United States and 10 countries in Europe will be first on the roll out list once the service is available.... Read on »
Could the iTable outshine Microsoft's Surface?
Over at the PQ Labs stand at CES the company has been demonstrating a product that's very similar to the Microsoft Surface. PQ labs have named it the "iTable".
The iTable has some very nifty features starting with the development side, it has a SDK which like the Surface you can adapt to make your own. The touch screen itself can have only a limited amount of fingers on it at once but the hardware can have as many as you like as its customisable. PQ labs currently manufacture several touch screen technologies.
You see the name and you think iMac or iPod but it actually runs Windows XP and there's no OSX in sight If you have some application you want to run on your iTable you can because it can run it straight away as long as you map the correct API's. It's clear with the name being iTable and the compatibility of applications means PQ labs are modelling this as a mega sized iPhone or iPod touch.
Now you're all wondering how much this will cost? There's several prices for different models but if you want the economic version then its going to set you back nearly $10,000. You will need to purchase the equipment, which includes Multi-Touch G2 and a 32" LCD Overlay, and then the iTable itself which is $7000. The official 30" version is $12,000 so you are saving money if you go for the 32" overlay. When you look at the pictures and the videos in the demo below you can see the potential is there for this device. It's always good to have competition because it brings the out the best in the companies competing in that market and pushes prices down for the consumer.
Video Courtesy of Crunchgear ... Read on »
Shane and My.Vu
Here is a picture of Shane trying out the Myvu Personal Media Viewer. Myvu products are compatible with a wide range of media devices. Products are sold with one or more cables (by edition) and additional Myvu cables can be purchased to connect to a full range of devices. The current editions offered are:
- Made for iPod: Includes the cable to connect from the viewer to any iPod video model.
- Standard: Includes 3 cables. Connects to Zune, Archos, Gigabeat, Nokia videophones as well as any device with composite video out using the RCA cable.
- All-In-One: Includes 4 connection cables (Made for iPod + standard cables) along with a zippered travel case.
All Myvu offerings include a USB rechargeable lithium battery. The control pendant houses the lithium battery, chargeable by USB from your laptop, or using a USB wall charger (sold separately). Also included are stereo earphones. All Myvu viewers include quality audio with reduced noise. Three sets of ear pad inserts are included for best fit.
The Myvu product line consists of the following three models.
- Myvu Crystal™
- Best performance and high style design
- Full VGA resolution and the widest field of view
- Design is sleek and stylish with a comfortable fit
- Battery lasts up to 4 hours of viewing
- Choice of black or amber
- Available in three editions: Made for iPod, Standard or All In One
$299.95
Myvu Shades
- Ultra long-lasting battery life
- QVGA resolution with battery that last up to 10 hours
- Available in three editions: Made for iPod, Standard or All In One
$199.95
Myvu Solo Plus
- Most affordable, slimmest and lightest viewer
- QVGA resolution and compact styling
- Battery lasts up to 4 hours of viewing
- Available in two editions: Made for iPod and Standard
$129.95
All Myvu personal media viewers include a microfiber carrying pouch, USB charge cable (to connect to your laptop), 3 earpads and a visual quick start guide. Myvu personal media viewers come with a 30-day money back guarantee, and a 1 year limited warranty.
Link: Myvu.com... Read on »
Exclusive: Interview with Windows Live Directors
Today I sat down with Ryan Gavin and Dharmesh Mehta, Directors of Windows Live Consumer Product Management. Besides sitting in a private room completely dumbfounded at the fact that I was doing my first in person interview with a chief Microsoft employee, we discussed Windows Live in-and-out.
As we started the interview, I thought that I would hear the normal "We can't discuss that". However, these gentlemen were very open and told me that I had the spotlight in the meeting to just go ahead and start asking away or they could show me some stuff in Wave 3. Seeing as though I've followed Windows Live since its debut in 2005, I figured that I would go ahead with some questions.
The following QnA is paraphrased responses from Ryan and Dharmesh.
Q: So, what about Kumo?
A: As you know, there are many rumors currently circulating. Live Search has its own team, so can't go into anything specific. However, follow the rumors.
Q. Where is Windows Live heading in the future?
A. With the release of Wave 3, we wanted to interconnect our products and services. Following Microsoft's goal of "seamless computing", we added features such as seeing your contacts personal message updates on your Windows Live homepage. With that in mind, we plan on further centralizing the users experience through our products and services.
Q: So, Steve announced at the keynote the huge deal with Facebook, are we going to see any new integration between the two instant messaging services?
A: As you know, we currently have interoperability with Yahoo! Users. We have been working hard on having the average users services all centralized. So, it is a possibility and we are working on it.
Q: How many users currently use Windows Live products and services?
A: We actually just reached an all-time high of 460 million.
Q: During the keynote session with Steve Ballmer, they demoed a new version of Windows Live Hotmail. For those of us with a sharp eye, there was a POP access button in the navigation bar. When are we going to see that come to the market?
A: Wow, you have a sharp eye! Yes, we are working on adding POP access to Windows Live Hotmail accounts. As you know, we update Hotmail very frequently, and we hope to have it out in the next few months.
Q: Going back to when Windows Live was first released back in 2005, former Microsoft employee Leah Pearlman posted on the MessengerSays blog hinting at the fact that tabbed chatting would be coming into the scene soon. What happened?
A: That is a feature that we are still working on. As you know, we do hundreds of surveys and questionnaires on a monthly basis. We strive to give users the best possible client.
At that point, I waited for the response to end and I pointed out that from what I can tell, users have always wanted that feature for as long as I can remember. Ryan then proceeded to show me some of the jump lists features that Windows 7 has, and how users can use those to navigate through their many conversations. With that in mind, I don't believe that we are going to see that feature anytime soon. So we went back to the QnA.
Q: So, when are we going to see Wave 4?
A: We're always going through beta cycles, and now that we've officially launched Wave 3 to the global market, we've already started planning the next wave. No specific date as of yet, but it will be within the next few months.
Q: Why was Movie Maker not taken out of beta during the final release of Wave 3?
A: Good question. We felt as if we did a very good job updating Windows Movie Maker to Windows Live Movie Maker, but as you know it's one of the newest Windows Live applications. There is a lot more in store for the application, and there were some things that needed to be worked on. So, we left it in beta. There has been a tremendous about of feedback during the beta phase, and we are still working on implementing some of that.
So, that was the gist of the interview. Overall I believe that Windows Live is heading in the right direction. Of course there were questions that couldn't be answered for obvious reasons, such as any specific features coming up in the next wave of Windows Live. Ryan and Dharmesh did take the time to say that they appreciate all of the beta testers feedback and the time they took to beta test the products and services. I believe with the new agreement between Dell and Microsoft, we will be seeing a beta cycle starting very soon.
Wave 4 could possibly be one of the biggest updates that Windows Live has seen. With all of the new features coming in Windows 7, there is a lot more interconnectivity to be made. I believe that the Windows Live team will introduce more content for the jumplist in Windows 7. I suspect that the Live Search rebrand, also codenamed Kumo, should be hitting beta phase in the next month or two.... Read on »
Dell unveils ultra thin laptop dubbed Adamo
Dell has been hard at work to create a notebook that would compete with Apples offering of the MacBook Air. Today dell showed off its hard work with the Adamo branding, think Inspiron, and it is a crowd pleaser.
Other than the pictures below there is not much else to go on other than the fact that it's thin, under one inch, and that it runs in the 13 inch notebook class. There are several colors, black, white and aluminum that all look darn impressive.
Expect more from Dell because, as previously mentioned, the Adamo is a line of notebooks and we should eventually see larger offerings while still being incredibly thin. Dell has adopted a more modern look with its latest set of laptops and the Adamo line continues the differentiation of products versus its competitors.
Images courtesy of Brian Solis ... Read on »