 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Epicenter )
I read it on 12/04/08 at 03:56 PM
Posted on 12/04/08 at 07:36 PM
|
 Boxee.tv has become a great one-stop shop for organizing and finding streaming video online, and starting today the service is adding Netflix on-demand movies to its box of tricks. Unfortunately for AppleTV fans, who make up a fair bit of Boxee's fan base, the new Netflix features won't work with the Apple TV version just yet.
A note on Boxee blog blames the underpowered Apple TV processor, which just can't handle the demands of Microsoft Silverlight (the platform which Netflix uses to stream videos). But Boxee says it's still working on a solution, so there might be hope for Netflix on the Apple TV yet.
Apple TV users aren't the only ones missing out on Boxee. At the moment Boxeee is limited to Mac and Linux users, but that will be changing soon. Along with the new Netflix features, Boxee has announced a Windows version which has been seeded to a few hundred users. So far there's no word on when a Windows version might arrive, but at least you can rest assured that it is indeed in the works.
In the mean time the new Boxee Netflix features will work just fine on a regular Mac and the update has enough other new features to make it well worth the upgrade. Among the standouts in the latest release are much better Hulu.com support -- you can now login to get your Hulu queue, and playback is much faster -- and some improvements to the YouTube portion of Boxee as well.
The new Boxee YouTube plugin supports the new higher quality videos (where available), which reportedly look pretty good even on that 52" plasma you just dropped a paycheck on.
Other new goodies in the latest version of Boxee include improved plugins for content from CNN, Flickr, Picasa and Apple Movie Trailers, which should all be a bit snappier. There's also new support for the Boston Globe's The Big Picture blog, which makes it easy to get the hi-res photos from the The Big Picture onto your TV.
[Update: I spoke with Boxee CEO Avner Ronen about the Windows version of Boxee and he says that Windows Media Center-capable Boxee is definitely on the roadmap and there's a possibility that Boxee might find a home on XBox. Of course in the case of the XBox, the closed platform means that getting Boxee running would either require Microsoft to open up the XBox or a hack of some kind.
Ronen was also optimistic about getting more content into a Boxee. For instance, the oft-requested HBO integration isn't possible right now because HBO doesn't offer its shows online. But Ronen believes that the HBOs and other holdouts from the world of online video will eventually give in. "User are hungry for content, Rosen says, "and they're going to get that content whether its from Pirate Bay or the (legitimate) source." Eventually, he believes, the content producers will wake up and tap into the online market.]
See Also:
Tags: boxee   tv apple netflix version
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Eee PC - Blog )
I read it on 11/01/08 at 08:42 PM
Posted on 10/31/08 at 05:01 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Portfolio.com: Tech Observer )
I read it on 10/28/08 at 09:36 PM
Posted on 10/28/08 at 08:52 PM
|
Kevin Maney writes: Who knew a stinkin' cloud could get get so crowded. But here comes Microsoft stomping into cloud computing, instantly taking up space like a 300-pound guy in a middle seat.
But this whole thing is getting confusing, especially since cloud computing seems to be a bunch of different markets, not just one. IBM, for instance, announced Blue Cloud a year ago. It's aimed at big corporate customers that want to offload some data center operations to IBM -- and really, IBM has been doing that for years. Blue Cloud just sounds like a way to brand it.
Amazon.com seems to be the clear leader in a new generation of cloud computing that CEO Jeff Bezos calls "computing by the sip." Bezos started putting this in place in 2006, and it's become an important solution for Silicon Valley start-ups. They're able to build Web-based businesses without buying or leasing a roomful of servers. The flexibility is a godsend. The companies buy a little computing when they're starting, and more as business ramps up. Amazon seems to still be trying to convince more stodgy corporations to use its cloud services.
So if IBM has the big companies and Amazon the small ones -- where does Microsoft fit in? Well, first of all, it's just adding to the confusion by calling its offering Microsoft Azure, which is, you know, a purplish blue. So we've got IBM's Blue Cloud, and Microsoft's Purplish Blue Cloud. Who wants to jump in with the Mauve Cloud?
Microsoft seems intent on offering applications that reside on the Web and communicate and synch with apps running on PCs. Which, if I'm reading this right, is not really competing with either Amazon or IBM -- but is more in line with things like Sun's Star Office and Google's apps such as Google Docs. But even there, it seems that Microsoft is aiming at corporate customers with high-powered apps, while Google is more of a consumer or small business offering...and Star Office sits somewhere in between.
Related Links
Google Extends Web Search Lead
H-P Buying EDS With Its Head in the Clouds
Google to Microsoft: Game On
 
Tags: cloud microsoft ibm blue computing
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Valleywag )
I read it on 10/28/08 at 01:24 PM
Posted on 10/28/08 at 05:40 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Liliputing )
I read it on 10/28/08 at 12:52 PM
Posted on 10/28/08 at 01:42 PM
|
VIA has apparently confirmed that the next generation HP Mini-Note will not use VIA processors. HP is expected to launch a new netbook called the HP Mini 1000 this week (possibly as soon as Wednesday), and from what I can tell, it will have a 10 inch display, a cheap plastic case (unlike the sturdy aluminum case used in earlier models), and it will likely have a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU, much like almost every other netbook released in the US since this summer.
DigiTimes reports that a VIA official says that the new HP Mini-Note models will not sport VIA chips, but that HP will continue to sell the existing line of HP 2133 Mini-Notes through mid-2009.
That doesn't mean VIA is going to just curl up in a ball and roll away though. The company today announced the launch of a Global Mobility Bazaar program designed to make low cost computers available in the developing world. VIA is working with Microsoft and 15 Chinese PC makers to create an infrastructure for producing mobile computers with 7 to 15 inch screens that will be available for the equivalent of about $400 or less in regions including Eastern Europe, India, South America, and China.
While we may not see a lot of VIA C7-M or VIA Nano-powered computers in the US or western Europe in the near future, this initiative could result in an awful lot of computers in developing nations being powered by VIA chips. And who knows, if the VIA Nano lives up to its promise overseas, perhaps we'll see major western companies like HP take another look at the chip maker's products in the not too distant future.
via UMPC Portal
Post from: Liliputing
Tags: via hp mini computers developing
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Mobile Messaging 2.0 )
I read it on 10/13/08 at 04:38 PM
Posted on 10/13/08 at 05:31 PM
|
No one can avoid all the noise these days regarding partial, full or potential bank nationalizations (depending upon what country you're in), CDO swaps, the edict of venture capitalists in their Ivory towers to their start up investments: drastically reduce burn rates, as well as the general pessimistic  view that the sky is falling in all segments across all economies which is constantly perpetuated by the cable media to sound the alarmany alarmto capture audience.
Somewhat ironic for me personally since in my past career as a legislative policy pusher, I was once responsible for the George Herbert Walker Bush administration's legislative docet for the now infamous Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. [Note: Don't believe that this is a problem of the last eight or sixteen years, it has been a systemic threat for the last 30 years. But I digress from why you visited MOBILE Messaging today, not FINANCIAL Mess today.]
As the crises has continued to build I've started thinking about slumping tech caused by ripple effects of the impending uber recession'. Yet, in more contemplative moments I've asked myself,and others repeatedly, whether anyone thinks this cataclsym is going to hit mobile as hard as it hits everything else? The collective opinion by more than a few wireless influencers' is: NO.
Last week I spent a morning with a group of Angel investors in Washington DC reviewing potential companiestwo which had mobile components to their value proposition. At the breakfast before there was some grousing that individually the attending angels had experienced some contraction  but as a group they were not running to liquidate all holdings and defending cash positions, which we should not forget is where fledgling companies get their funding from. As a groupextremely experienced as both technologists and investorsthey were still looking for investments to make, especially now with time to build out companies which can rebound higher later. No angels were running for the exits.
The same day in the afternoon, I was talking to a senior IT exec at a public company. On mobile his perspective was straightforward: All this talk from the financial pundacracy that tech is going to contract so radically is BS. Bottom line is guys like me already have 90% of our budget mandated, required, by core functionality. If we cut back on that, we cut back on core services. That isn't likely to happen. It is the 10% variance which we play with that may get affected. But even there, where do you capture efficiencies best? Automation and mobilization. There's that mobile component that can't be ignored. Depending upon how highly leveraged a tech company is, the bottom line is we are not falling back into a pre-industrialized economy, he said smartly.
The following day I reached out to a few VCs and asked them about their proclivity to invest now. As one put it, I've been successfully raising money for my next fund for over year. I'm not going to pull back on making the investments, let alone the pressure from my LPs will not subside to get the money to work. Um, guess the focus continues to be on the future. Not surprising given that VCs examine risk and opportunity all the time, at least the good ones do. Those that were pushing the alarm last week, one has to ask how many of these guys have ever really had to make payroll? That's a post for the future. Net net, full speed ahead, just look out for some adjacent storms.
Last point. Just look at the continuing trend of mobile penetration around the world, especially in developing countries. There may be lesser growth rates in the mature markets of Europe and the US, but where mobile is being fueled in China, India, Africa and South America, consumers will substitute or do without in order to get a mobile phone and benefit from it's conveniences. ARPU is already low in many of these regions, but operators there are capturing value even in these bottom of the pyramid playsdon't believe me?
Did you know that when Reliance was looking to acquire MTN in South Africa, they were willing to pay more than Microsoft had priced Yahoo? Really. If three data points constitute a trend, don't bet against mobile. Alternatively during these times, consider the consider the following.
In 1923, some of the most successful and richest men consisted of:
president of largest steel company in the US
president of largest gas company in the US
president of the NYSE
greatest wheat speculator in the US
president of the bank of international settlement
What became of these men and their fortunes?
Carol Schwabb, of the largest steel company, died as a pauper
Edward Hobson, of the largest gas company, went insane
Richard Whitney, president of the NYSE, eventually released from prison and died at home
Arthur Cougar, the wheat speculator, died abroadpenniless
C.B. Livermore, lion of wall street, committed suicide.
Yet that same year, 1923, Gene Sarazin, a professional golfer, won both the US Open and the PGA  Championship. He died in 1999 at 95 years old. Played golf until he was 92, and was solvent at the time of his death.
CONCLUSION: Stop worrying about business and spend more time playing golf.
Tags: mobile company president back largest
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(via -
Mobile Messaging 2.0 )
I read it on 10/19/08 at 09:14 AM
Posted on 10/13/08 at 05:31 PM
|
No one can avoid all the noise these days regarding partial, full or potential bank nationalizations (depending upon what country you're in), CDO swaps, the edict of venture capitalists in their Ivory towers to their start up investments: drastically reduce burn rates, as well as the general pessimistic view that the sky is falling in all segments across all economies which is constantly perpetuated by the cable media to sound the alarmany alarmto capture audience.
Somewhat ironic for me personally since in my past career as a legislative policy pusher, I was once responsible for the George Herbert Walker Bush administration's legislative docet for the now infamous Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. [Note: Don't believe that this is a problem of the last eight or sixteen years, it has been a systemic threat for the last 30 years. But I digress from why you visited MOBILE Messaging today, not FINANCIAL Mess today.]
As the crises has continued to build I've started thinking about slumping tech caused by ripple effects of the impending uber recession'. Yet, in more contemplative moments I've asked myself,and others repeatedly, whether anyone thinks this cataclsym is going to hit mobile as hard as it hits everything else? The collective opinion by more than a few wireless influencers' is: NO.
Last week I spent a morning with a group of Angel investors in Washington DC reviewing potential companiestwo which had mobile components to their value proposition. At the breakfast before there was some grousing that individually the attending angels had experienced some contraction but as a group they were not running to liquidate all holdings and defending cash positions, which we should not forget is where fledgling companies get their funding from. As a groupextremely experienced as both technologists and investorsthey were still looking for investments to make, especially now with time to build out companies which can rebound higher later. No angels were running for the exits.
The same day in the afternoon, I was talking to a senior IT exec at a public company. On mobile his perspective was straightforward: All this talk from the financial pundacracy that tech is going to contract so radically is BS. Bottom line is guys like me already have 90% of our budget mandated, required, by core functionality. If we cut back on that, we cut back on core services. That isn't likely to happen. It is the 10% variance which we play with that may get affected. But even there, where do you capture efficiencies best? Automation and mobilization. There's that mobile component that can't be ignored. Depending upon how highly leveraged a tech company is, the bottom line is we are not falling back into a pre-industrialized economy, he said smartly.
The following day I reached out to a few VCs and asked them about their proclivity to invest now. As one put it, I've been successfully raising money for my next fund for over year. I'm not going to pull back on making the investments, let alone the pressure from my LPs will not subside to get the money to work. Um, guess the focus continues to be on the future. Not surprising given that VCs examine risk and opportunity all the time, at least the good ones do. Those that were pushing the alarm last week, one has to ask how many of these guys have ever really had to make payroll? That's a post for the future. Net net, full speed ahead, just look out for some adjacent storms.
Last point. Just look at the continuing trend of mobile penetration around the world, especially in developing countries. There may be lesser growth rates in the mature markets of Europe and the US, but where mobile is being fueled in China, India, Africa and South America, consumers will substitute or do without in order to get a mobile phone and benefit from it's conveniences. ARPU is already low in many of these regions, but operators there are capturing value even in these bottom of the pyramid playsdon't believe me?
Did you know that when Reliance was looking to acquire MTN in South Africa, they were willing to pay more than Microsoft had priced Yahoo? Really. If three data points constitute a trend, don't bet against mobile. Alternatively during these times, consider the consider the following.
In 1923, some of the most successful and richest men consisted of:
president of largest steel company in the US
president of largest gas company in the US
president of the NYSE
greatest wheat speculator in the US
president of the bank of international settlement
What became of these men and their fortunes?
Carol Schwabb, of the largest steel company, died as a pauper
Edward Hobson, of the largest gas company, went insane
Richard Whitney, president of the NYSE, eventually released from prison and died at home
Arthur Cougar, the wheat speculator, died abroadpenniless
C.B. Livermore, lion of wall street, committed suicide.
Yet that same year, 1923, Gene Sarazin, a professional golfer, won both the US Open and the PGA Championship. He died in 1999 at 95 years old. Played golf until he was 92, and was solvent at the time of his death.
CONCLUSION: Stop worrying about business and spend more time playing golf.
Tags: mobile company president back largest
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
subscribe
Apple saw the iPhone's market share triple over the past year, capturing 12.9 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, according to a new Gartner analysis. 
This is 
