End User

EVGA is "In the Digital Tube"

EVGA's latest product isn't a video card or motherboard based on another NVIDIA chipset. No it's a compact USB 2.0 hybid TV tuner that is capable of decoding NTSC and ATSC signals.

They're calling it the "inDtube," and EVGA is debuting it by giving away 15 of them to randomly selected winners. Though small, it looks to be pretty capable, packing everything from DVR functions to electronic program guides. Inputs and outputs seem to be the usual fare when it comes to USB TV tuners, featuring S-Video, and composite video. No mention of 64-bit OS compatibility, but Windows XP, MCE, and Vista 32-bit are supported.

Now what are you waiting for, head on over to EVGA.com and enter to win one. Maybe then we can get some user opinions on EVGA's foray into the TV tuner world. No mention of pricing or availability, but seeing as though they are giving some away already, they should be available soon.

--Ken H.

 

Easiest Hack Ever: Jailbreak Your iPhone with ZiPhone

If you're impatient for new applications for your iPhone and don't want to wait on the SDK, or want to test-drive some interesting community apps but have been worried about the dangers and technical mumbo-jumbo involved with jailbreaking, then ZiPhone is for you.  It's a free downloadable application for your desktop or laptop that can jailbreak and/or unlock your iPhone in less than a minute, all with just a few mouse clicks--no technical knowledge required.

For the record, I'm only recommending ZiPhone in terms of jailbreaking your iPhone  (allowing installation of third-party apps) instead of unlocking it (allowing it to be used with other wireless carriers), as jailbreaking is much easier to undo if you decide to restore your phone's original settings.  Just connect it to iTunes and click "Restore" and all your changes will be undone, and your iPhone will be as it originally came.  Though ZiPhone can unlock your phone just as easily, unlocking using any method is more dangerous and shouldn't be done unless you know exactly what you're doing.

After installing ZiPhone on your PC or laptop and connecting your iPhone, simply choose from a couple of options in a basic menu (shown below), and wait about 45 seconds.  Your iPhone's screen will briefly go black and show a gobbledygook of code--don't worry, this means it's working.  When it's all finished, you'll see a new icon on your jailbroken phone's home screen called "Installer".

 

Opening Installer will take you to a menu of available community-developed software, organized by type such as "Productivity", "Media", and "Games".  Tap any program you'd like to install and Installer will query the server where the files live, called a repository, and download the application adding that program's icon to your home screen.  Note that sometimes you'll need to reboot your phone after certain programs are installed; just turn it off and turn it back on.

There are two drawbacks you should be aware of before using ZiPhone.  First, jailbreaking voids your warranty.  (Though for the record, I've restored my iPhone and successfully taken it in for service for a completely unrelated issue, then jailbroke it again with ZiPhone when I got home.  Your mileage may vary.)  Secondly, although your iPhone will continue to work with iTunes as normal, you should always restore the original settings before upgrading the firmware.  Apple's firmware updates usually include new protections against hacks like ZiPhone, so it's dangerous to try to upgrade the firmware on a hacked phone.

Once you've jailbroken your iPhone, you can experiment with a lot of really great community-made software such as eBook readers, games, themes for your home screen, and more.  Take it for a spin and see how it can improve the functionality of your iPhone; if you don't like a particular program, you can simply use Installer to uninstall it with a couple of taps.

Don't have an iPhone?  You can use ZiPhone to jailbreak an iPod Touch just as easily; the steps are exactly the same.  The only difference is that the Unlock option in ZiPhone obviously won't be available because it's not on a wireless carrier.

--Aric A.

* NOTE: While ZiPhone is generally safe when you follow its instructions correctly, there is always a risk involved when you make unauthorized changes to your electronic devices.  Ee aware that the author makes no guarantee that implementing these tips won't cause damage or stability issues.

Martin Logan Lust

Every time I look at the products MartinLogan brings to the market I'm impressed.  The Vignette is a case study in form meeting function.  A great compliment to the flat panel hanging  on the wall.  And don't forget to add the Abyss to your wish list...

Corsair Joins the Kilowatt PSU Club with the HX1000W

It's been a long time coming but Corsair has finally reached the Kilowatt spec with the HX1000W PSU. However the HX1000W is the 1st power supply to recieve NVIDIA's triple SLI certification. This model features two 12v rails (one with a 3.3v rail and one with a 5.5v rail combined) that are each rated at 500w. It is fitted with large 140mm fan for relatively quiet operation and finished off with a neat modular cable design. More on Corsair's detail page.

Supply is still trickling into the market with a lot of retailers showing "available soon" on their product pages. It will bear a MSRP of $299 with street prices just below that mark.

--Ken H.

 

Rogers Wireless to Bring Canada the iPhone By End of Year

After much speculation on the subject trailing back to January of 2007, it's officially been announced that the Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Wireless has signed a deal with Apple that will allow the iPhone to start appearing on Canadian shelves by the end of the year.

Rogers has been circling the oasis since the iPhone was initially announced, but it seems an agreement has finally been reached, though the details of the deal aren't yet public.  According to the very brief statement released by Rogers:

We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year.  We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.

--Aric A.

SlingPlayer Mobile Expands, No Blackberry Version (Yet)

The folks over at Sling Media just announced expanded compatibility for their SlingPlayer Mobile software this morning. Blackberry users can skip over the rest of this story--no news for us, other than the promise that "Blackberry support will be available later this year." As for the rest of you, here's the summary on today's update:

• New versions of SlingPlayer Mobile available now for Windows Mobile PocketPC (1.6), Windows Mobile Smartphone (1.6), and Symbian S60 (1.1)
• Now supports additional handsets like the Nokia N95 8 GB, Samsung i760, and Treo 500v
• Also features improved video streaming on select handsets like the Sprint HTC Mogul
• Free upgrade for current SlingPlayer Mobile customers. Newbies can check it out free for 30 days before having to cough up the one-time $30 fee to keep it.

Fresh downloads available at Sling's website.

It's Dead, Jim: Dreamweaver Finally Puts End to Adobe GoLive

I got my feet firmly planted in the tech book biz when my colleagues Glenn Fleishman and Jeff Carlson asked me to work with them on writing a book about Adobe's newly acquired WYSIWYG HTML editor that had been redubbed GoLive (from its original CyberStudio name). I was responsible for researching and writing up the initial foundation chapters on the basics of the UI, and I have some very fond memories of sitting on a verandah of a coffee shop in Australia's Hunter Valley (where I was visiting my Mum) and getting loads of curious stares as I tapped away on my PowerBook G3 (laptops certainly weren't as ubiquitous back in 1999). It was an awesome experience that helped shape my career, and it allowed me to express some of my obsessions in example illustrations (including gnomes, which I slip into every book I work on).

So, today's a bit of a sad day for me after learning that Adobe has officially discontinued development and sales of GoLive, which barely survived Adobe's acquisition of Macromedia in 2005. But Dreamweaver, the people's choice, finally put the nail on GoLive's coffin thanks to Dreamweaver's support for AJAX and CSS Starter Points as well as dynamic content.

Interestingly, Glenn noted in a recent post over at TidBITS that folks who deal with template-based Web publishing systems (that are usually employed on dynamically changing sites like the New York Times) tend to stick with the old-school hand coding method rather than building in WYSIWYG editors because of faster results. I frankly have eschewed using GoLive for many years (though it's still taking up space on my hard drive) for that reason--I'm much more adept at templatizing and hard-coding and don't have the time as a freelancer to learn the eccentricities of GoLive or Dreamweaver.

But, if you are still a GoLive practitioner (there must be a few out there) and are looking to trade up, Adobe is offering a $200 upgrade to Dreamweaver for registered GoLive users.

--Agen G.N. Schmitz

Does size matter?

Dear Camcorder Users-

We have formats such as DV, Mini-DV, HD (High-Def), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), Flash Memory, Hi8, 8mm, MicroMv, etc. We have brands. We have prosumer, pro video, and consumer. We have zillion-or-so form factors and other attributes.

In other words, there are myriad ways to find the right camcorder. But is there a form factor that hasn't been adequately addressed yet? Say... size? Actually... not so much size but size and purpose.

In the time of YouTube and omnipresent video-sharing, more and more people are turning to video cameras that are simple to shoot with, and make it easy to share videos. More to the point; anyone can use them. In my mind, it's typically technical enthusiasts, early-adopters, video hobbyists, etc who brandish the video camera. But, now, with these 'shoot-and-share' camcorders, anyone can use them. Heck, even my five year-old can shoot, view, delete and save video files using a camcorder, such as the Flip. If I gave him a Sony SR12 to use, I guarantee, it'll either break, or he'll accidentally convert it into a hydrogen bomb!

Hence the emerging popularity of such brands as Flip. Increasingly we'll see more of these types of compact, easy-to-use video cameras. In fact this year, you'll see new versions from Flip, RCA, Creative, Sony (with the TG1) and others. It's clear that there's a sweet spot amongst consumers for this technology, and I only suspect it will grow.

So, that leads me to my question: what label should we give these camcorders? I mentioned, 'shoot-and-share' above, but I'm not 100% convinced that does the trick. Point-and-shoot video camera? Dummy-proof Camcorder? C'mon people... help me out! Give me some suggestions...

In the meantime, to get you inspired, you can watch a video that was shot using the Flip... (of my aforementioned son darting around a race track in a race car.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGvoI2OyWrw

--JB Storey

Apple Updates iMac

As many expected, Apple updated it's iMac line up this morning. The full line now sports penryn Core 2 Duo processors that feature 6 MB of full speed on-die cache. Gone is the 2.8 Ghz Core 2 Extreme option, replaced with the 45mn 3.06 Ghz Core 2 Duo, and the addition of a 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GS on the high end 24" option. Check out the rest of the details and specs at Apple.

--Ken H.

Small Fox Discovered While on Safari

As of last week thoughts of a small African fox, the Fennec, make me giddy. The fine folks at Mozilla (the brains behind Firefox, of course) have started work on a mobile browser - finally! The announcement last week, for Firefox Jr. aka Fennec, is great news as pretty much the only real mobile browser success so far as been with iPhone Safari users. Windows Mobile, we were an arranged marriage anyways, so no love lost there. Sorry, Opera it's just not working out, let's just be friends. Hello Fennec! Hearing common sense thoughts from the Mozilla camp like, "With most mobile browsers, basic activities like URL entry, bookmarking and search are too hard to use. These need attention, and "awesome-bar" like innovation. An equivalent to multiple windows/tabs is needed." makes me think that they might be the ones with enough open source momentum to finally bring a decent mobile browser to the masses.

--Creighton