Sonic’s popular service CinemaNow will be integrated into devices from Blue Ray players, television sets, video game consoles, PCs and other devices for on-demand media streaming.
CinemaNow currently offers digital rights managed content to some existing devices that can be purchased at retail stores, one of which is of course, Best Buy.
CinemaNow offers both renting and buying content similar to iTunes, the Sony PS3 and the Xbox. With Best Buy in the mix, CinemaNow’s device penetration could significantly grow.
Netflix offers a similar service with their set top boxes and integration into the Xbox gamine console. Netflix has also recently announced that their streaming service will be available on the PS3 too.
This move to partner might be confusing for people who already have streaming accounts on Netflix or perhaps even Blockbuster. Will they switch because they have now purchased an integrated device for on demand movies?
I’m glad to see that Best Buy believes that consumers want instant access to content. As a consumer, I’m excited to see these products come to market at low subscription prices (unlike the Apple TV).
Note: It has been rumored that Apple is in discussions with media companies to supply streaming media to consumers for a monthly subscription fee of $30 a month (http://features.csmonitor.com/innovation/2009/11/02/apples-30-a-month-tv-supscription-service-not-buying-it/)
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I recently came across about an interesting article that I wanted to share. It relates to computer repair shops and how an undercover operation by a news organization exposed some of their shady practices.
The article as originally published on pcpro.co.uk and explains how software to automatically turn on the built in webcam and record every keystroke mouse click was used to expose these shops and their bad practices.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
He also begins searching our hard drive until he finds log-in details for our Facebook and Hotmail accounts. With a cackle he removes a memory stick from around his neck, plugs it in and then copies them across.
He also discovers our holiday photos and copies those of our researcher in her bikini. The spy software takes a snapshot of the files on his memory stick.
The PCPRO article goes on to explain how the techs opened a folder named “Private” and began pursuing documents and photos and even begins copying them for personal use.
With a cackle he removes a memory stick from around his neck, plugs it in and then copies them across.
Most worryingly, when he discovers log-in details for our online bank account, he logs onto the bank’s website and attempts to break into the account. He only fails because the details we created were false.
The real message behind the article is simple. Be aware of what is on you computer and take measures to protect sensitive data. The simplest way is to encrypt sensitive files and folders. Use products like TrueCrypt or the small utility I wrote about called Easy File Locker to make sure those files are hidden and unreadable by anybody.
It’s a little bit of extra work, but will certainly put you at ease if you ever need to hand over you computer to a technician for repair.
P.S. Not all technician are searching through your files and photos. The article does go on to report on how one company’s technician fixed the problem without violating anyone’s privacy.
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]]>Bad guys do this kind of thing all the time. Security experts will tell you that it is an easy way to get infected with a virus, or have a trojan program spread to your or your company’s network.
This exploit works by utilizing the AutoRun feature that is triggered by inserting a thumb drive in an available USB port (Windows only). Those drives that have programs on them are told to run via a configuration file that has been placed at the top level of the drive’s file system.
Let’s look at how this might work:
- The executable program that the bad guys want to have run is placed on the thumb drive (say the file is called “install_bad_software.exe”).
- A file is created called “Autorun.inf” with a few lines of text indicating which file to run.
- The USB thumb drives are distributed in various ways – i.e. left at company or hotel lobbies.
- Once you place the USB thumb drive into your PC, the file is executed and you are well on your way to installing malicious software.
Here is an example of an Autorun.inf file. They can be quite simple.
[AutoRun]
shellexecute=install_bad_software.exe
Another trick that is used is to direct you to a website that will install a virus or trojan.
[AutoRun]
shellexecute=http://bad-software-install.com
Prevention
You can prevent AutoRun from kicking off any programs by simply holding down the <SHIFT> key while inserting the drive in your computer.
Just beware of those “free”, flashy looking USB drives that you may find lying around. They could be dangerous. Just remember to use the <SHIFT> key when inserting.
Photo by inya.
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]]>SanDisk is hoping to reduce the time from purchase to play by having you bypass the computer all together. No need to load up a memory card or device with music purchased on the Internet – all the music is already on the media. Just plug in and listen.
SanDisk wants “slotMusic” cards to be your alternative for CDs. They are offering DRM free, high quality 320Kbps MP3 files, which eliminate the need for ripping your CDs at high quality. Each card will come with a USB sleeve which will allow you to connect the device to you PC for transfer to your hard drive.
SanDisk says some goodies will also be included on the media cards. These include music videos and album artwork. No word yet on how much each “album” will cost, but it has been speculated that they will be comparable to CD prices.
A new music format? (more like a new music packaging format)
Many news sites are headlining their stories with wording that indicates that SanDisk is “introducing a new music format”. This is simply not the case. What SanDisk is doing, is packaging digital music in a new format for sale. MP3s have been in use for quite some time and SanDisk has chosen to use high quality MP3s with “slotMusic”.
Photo credit by lhl
Will SanDisk be successful with “slotMusic”?
There are a few points to consider when thinking about whether “slotMusic” will take off.
- No downloads -don’t have to waste my bandwidth to get music.
- No ripping – saves tons of time by not having to convert CDs to MP3s
- High quality – 320 kbps should be enough for just about anyone
- Device compatibility – there are thousands of devices that can immediately read the microSD format
- Multi OS capable – Windows, Linux, and Mac
- DRM free – play our music when we want where we want and on what we want
- Forced to buy an entire album – can’t choose to just pay for a single song
- Most phones (which is a large target for this format) have a short battery life when playing music non-stop
- Not a lot of places to buy “slotMusic” – only Best Buy and Walmart to start. Although Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, I’m not sure that the tech savvy crowd is the Walmart crowd.
I think the price point for the devices might make or break this product. If indeed they value the music then they should price them at CD prices and leave the memory capacity as low as possible. Consider the microSD cards as just a way to deliver the media, and not like a re-usable/erasable memory card. You don’t want the value of the “slotMusic” to be the media, but instead want the music to be the value.
Further Info
See their press release at SanDisk.com.
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On Tuesday, Steve Jobs of Apple announced a new version of the Apple TV. I have been a fan of the Apple TV since day one and purchase one almost immediately after it was announced.
The reason for my purchase and excitement was the fact that the Apple TV solved a major problem:
How do we easily get our iTunes content to display on our TVs?
Yes, you could watch the content on your computer or iPod and that’s great, and you can even plug your computer or iPod into your TV and watch that way. But the quality from an iPod isn’t as good when displayed on a larger screen and cabling up your computer display to a TV can be cumbersome. Plus, you can’t use the computer while it is displaying content.
One solution was the Apple TV. Getting your iTunes content to display on your TV was now easy to do. Download a movie, stream it or download it to the Apple TV and watch it like any other recorded program. Want to watch your video podcasts, no problem – just stream or sync with the device and watch. As long as you had iTunes on your home network you could get your content on your big screen.
Great; we can watch digital TV shows and movies that we bought from iTunes on our big screen TVs. But the Apple TV isn’t without problems.
Problem 1
Need to have iTunes to be at all useful. No iTunes, no streaming or syncing, no good to you or me. Why should we have to download to iTunes, and then download to the Apple TV, then watch? Why not start downloads directly from the device?
Problem 2
The price of movies is too high. The price point for movies on iTunes has always been a problem for me. Plus I want packaging and extra features. If I buy a movie on iTunes, I have to store it on a hard drive and hopefully back it up from time to time. Also, I’m not allowed to burn it to a DVD that will play on any DVD player.
Problem 3
I don’t want to own every movie I watch. Imagine having to buy every movie you wanted to watch. My DVD player would see a fraction of the action it does right now. That’s just not practical. Most of us only watch a movie once and then return it to the video store or send it back to Netflix. If I love the movie, then I’ll buy it. And I’ll buy it on DVD so I don’t have to worry about hard drive failures, I get special features, and I get special packaging too.
Apple TV 2
We now have news of a new release of the Apple TV which promises to deliver a better user experience and address some of the short-comings of the original release.
Some highlights include:
No New Hardware
This is a big plus for existing Apple TV owners. Who knows what the reasoning is for keeping the same hardware? Perhaps they have thousands of the original devices sitting in a warehouse that nobody bought. Whatever the reason, the “no new hardware” feature is a major win. If you bought the original version of the Apple TV, the new features can be activated by simply downloading a software update from Apple. We get a new product, and it doesn’t cost us anything.
No iTunes Needed
Simply surf the movie, TV, and music libraries from your TV and click to start watching. The content starts playing almost immediately and is stored on the Apple TV’s hard drive. No intermediate (download to iTunes first) step necessary.
Movie Rentals
Some of the best movie studios are on board with Apple and have agreed to supply movies thru iTunes which gives us more choices. And like I said before, I don’t want to necessary own every movie I watch. This new version of Apple TV doesn’t make me. I can choose to rent a movie and watch it within 30 days. I can start watching on my TV, then take the same movie and sync it to my iPod and finish watching it wherever I happen to be. Sync your content for your plane ride, your kid’s road trip, or maybe your long day at the MVD. Watch it as many times as you like during a 24 hour period before it disappears. That means movies won’t take up my hard drive space.
High Definition
The current Apple TV hardware can support up to 1080i high definition video. The rental and movie purchases promise to be available in HD. Slightly more expensive with new releases in HD at $4.99 and library titles at $3.99. A bit pricey for some, but still competitive with Neflix and Blockbuster.
Final Thoughts
I’m feeling quite positive about the new version of Apple TV and hope that the product does well. Apple has some pull with the movie studios and if the movie rentals succeed, perhaps more studios and more content will be distributed via the ITunes store. More choices means more enjoyment.
Were you disappointed with the first release of the Apple TV? Are you more exited about this new version? What are your thoughts?
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]]>How many times have you seen a new cell phone ad on TV or on the Internet and wondered if that phone was right for you? Many folks have asked me where to find good info on cell phones, phone plans, and even providers. Here are three good review sites to help you choose the right phone.
WirelessInfo.com
My favorite site for cell phone reviews. They abide by a strict code of ethics to ensure that all reviews are unbiased. Don’t forget to check out their Help Me Pick a Plan page too.
CNET Cell Phone Reviews
Good source for editorial reviews, plus user reviews and forums.
PhoneScoop.com
Nicely organized “In-Depth” reviews of the more popular phones (some with video). Also provides user reviews and forums.
What sites do your trust for cell phone reviews?