More year-ahead musings: I’ve written another guest post for WePC.com, and this one covers six new years resolutions that I’d love to see the PC industry make and keep. They’re entirely selfish, since they all involve stuff I wish every PC had. (Starting with a realistic estimate of the battery life I’m likely to get.)
Check ’em out–and I’d love to hear any resolutions you care to make on behalf of the tech biz.
When the biggest news story involves speculation about the name of a product that may or may not exist, you know it’s a slow news week. So let’s turn iLemons into iLemonade and have a little contest.
What will Apple name its tablet? Please register your guess by adding a comment to this post–one guess per entrant, please. Once the tablet is unveiled–assuming it does get unveiled–we’ll check all the comments. And if anyone got the name right, we’ll give that person a $100 Apple Store gift card. (Consider it a down payment on the Apple tablet if you like.)
It’s OK to guess a name that someone else has already entered–if more than one person has the right name, we’ll do a random drawing that will include everyone who predicted correctly.
If you can’t think of a name that seems likely–well, enter one that seems unlikely. Or wholly implausible. (It’s possible you’ll still have a shot at winning–see rule #3 below.)
The fine print:
1. The names “iSlate,” “iGuide,” and “Magic Slate” are being widely bandied about; you can enter them, but you might just end up being one of many. We’d love to see other names get nominated, too–lots of them.
2. We’ll judge the contest and announce a winner–if anyone gets it right–within 48 hours of the day Apple actually announces the tablet, if it does.
3. If Apple announces a tablet and nobody got the name right–or December 31st, 2010 comes and Apple still hasn’t announced a tablet–we’ll do a random drawing that includes all entrants.
4. If you enter more than one guess, your entries are disqualified.
5. The judges’ decision is final.
6. Be sure and use a real e-mail address when you leave a comment; it won’t show up publicly, and we’ll only use it in the event that you’ve won the contest.
7. Have fun!
More Apple tablet name speculation.
Nokia-Apple patent wrangling continues.
Facebook: #1 site for Christmas.
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Breaking news: Google is holding an Android-related press event at the Googleplex next week. The invitation I got is vague about the specifics–but the logical assumption is that the subject will be the company’s Nexus One one. (Logical assumptions are, of course, sometimes wrong.)
I’ll be at the event and will cover it live here.
First, a disclaimer: I’m instinctively skeptical about 3D. I’ve seen my fair share of 3D movies over the last three decades or so, and they always leave me squinting, adjusting my glasses, and generally not enjoying myself. It seems like a lot of effort to go through for an effect that’s less like real life and more like a humongous View-Master. Your mileage may vary (I’ve always assumed that the fact I wear glasses in real life is an issue).
All 3D reminds me of this (no, I haven’t seen Avatar yet):
Anyhow, as you know, we’re in the midst of a sort of 3D renaissance. It started in theaters, but is in the process of coming home–or trying to, at least. Over at HDGuru.com, they’re reporting that DirecTV will be announcing an all-3D channel next week at the Consumer Electronics Show. It’ll be compatible with new 3D-capable TVs that’ll be announced at the show. And yes, you’ll need to wear special glasses.
Me, I don’t think I’m going to love 3D until it’s (A) closer to true 3D than the 2.5D effect you’ve always gotten; (B) doesn’t involve glasses; (C) isn’t used by moviemakers for pointless “HEY, THIS IS 3D!” effects. I expect all three points to be resolved by oh, 2050 or so. But I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised when I head to Vegas for CES in a little over a week.
This seems like a good excuse for a T-Poll:
Once again, I’ve cleverly avoided making any predictions for the coming year by asking you to do the job instead. Dozens of you responded to my call for prognostications earlier this month; I enjoyed reading ’em all and have selected some highlights for this post. (A year from now, we can see how many came true, as we did with last year’s crop.)
First, an announcement: We have a winner for the Olive 4 Hi-Fi Music Server that we offered to tempt you to submit your predictions. We picked Aaron Neyer (whose fearless forecasts you’ll find below) in a random drawing as explained in our original post. Congratulations, Aaron!
The Olive folks, incidentally, have a limited-time special offer that Technologizer readers qualify for: If you buy an Olive 4 by December 31st, they’ll throw in the recent 17-CD set of remastered Beatles albums for free. Here’s a special page to visit if you want to take advantage of the deal.
Okay, end of announcement. Prediction highlights follow after the jump (you can read all the submissions here). Once you’ve read them, feel free to add some last-minute forecasts of your own. And happy 2010!
For those of us with home theater PCs, Lenovo’s latest product release may be quite useful. The Chinese electronics maker has quietly released the Multimedia Remote with Keyboard, which looks perfect for those who find using a full-sized keyboard in the living room a bit cumbersome. The device is selling for $59.99, and currently is showing about a two-week shipping time on the company’s website.
Lenovo says the device will have about a 10-meter (33 feet) range, and will use 2.4GHz wireless technology to communicate with the PC. The main feature obviously is the full QWERTY “palm-sized” keyboard, and a trackball that controls mouse movement, although it does include multimedia controls (play, rewind, fast forward, etc.) across the top — an obvious necessity for its target market.
Thanks to a little sleuthing and Google, we’ve found a code — USPCD36336 — which apparently lowers the price to $29.99 with free shipping. Maybe that’s the reason for the god awful shipping times?
Gizmodo has what’s supposedly Homeland Security’s revisions to TSA security rules in the wake of the failed terrorist attack on Christmas. They apply to international flights destined for the U.S., and I bring them up here mostly because they’re going to make it harder for international travelers to use tech: Access to carry-on luggage is banned for the last hour of flights, as are “personal belongings on the lap.” (It’s not clear to me what “on the lap” means–am I allowed to listen to music on my iPhone if I hold it a few inches above my lap, but not if it rests on it?)
The rules also seem to say that inflight entertainment and information services are now verboten, with the exception of canned movies and TV shows:
Disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone, internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems) prior to boarding and during all phases of flight.
Can someone explain to me (A) what we learned from the Christmas attack that we didn’t know beforehand that makes it appropriate to change the rules; and (B) why would-be terrorists won’t simply attempt their evil before the final hour of a flight?
Here’s a tip for you folks out there planning to steal somebody’s Xbox 360: don’t log into their Xbox Live account and start playing games online. That’s exactly what 22-year-old Jeremiah Gilliam of Bronx, N.Y. did, allowing the police to track his IP address to his grandmother’s home.
When Pelham, N.Y. detectives arrived at the house, they did not only find the victim’s Xbox, but also “dozens” of pilfered electronics, ranging from video games to laptops, 53 items in total.
It is believed that Gilliam may have stolen the goods from as many as 200 break-ins across New York’s Westchester County. He was already under investigation for 13 robberies where he broke into unlocked cars, say police.
Gilliam is charged with grand larceny. No word on whether the grandmother will be charged since her home housed the stolen property.
Yet another article declaring that netbooks stink and are on their way out. Anyone want to reconcile all the distaste for netbooks in the industry with the fact that they’re the only category of laptop whose sales are growing rather than shrinking?
