Hardware

Dell XPS 410 with CableCard Now Available

Scott Kuhl — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:21:04 GMT

Finally!

Looks like it will cost you around $1300 and up including a dual tuner.

PSP Quality Control

Scott Kuhl — Thu, 31 May 2007 11:39:06 GMT

I bought my first PSP back at the launch. The lack of good titles for several months drove me to want to trade it in. My oldest son liked it, so I gave it to him for his birthday along with a couple of new games. A few months later he also got frustrated with the lack of titles so I bought it back off him so he could get a video iPod. Flash forward two years, my youngest son saved his money for months and used his end of year report card money along with some game trade-ins to buy a used one. The game selection is MUCH better now, and with Dungeons & Dragons coming in July I bought another new one.

One major flaw has shown up in every single PSP. Stuck pixels in the LCD screen. My first one on launch had one, my son's used one has one, the new one I just bought had two, so I returned it and got another one with a stuck pixel, and the clerk at GameStop said hers has two. I've given up and decided just to keep the one I have since the pixel is at the edge, unlike the others.

But I enjoy the handheld gaming device because I can hide anywhere in the house to play when the kids have a bunch of friends over. The minute you fire up the 360, they all want to play. And multi-player is so much better when everyone has their own screen. So I am willing to put with it.

I wish Microsoft would enter this market. I had a DS and I didn't like most of the games. Over the course of a year I only found 3 I liked enough to play regularly, and I am starting to have the same problem with the Wii. Where is my Zune 360?

Note: I haven't yet tried this to fix the problem.

Is Palm Finally Dead?

Scott Kuhl — Thu, 31 May 2007 06:02:27 GMT

The Palm OS and hardware has seen it's share of hurdles over the last several years and tripped over most of them as the handheld market has moved to smart phones. The Treo was an early entry into that market and looked very promising. But was the inclusion of a Windows based Treo the beginning of the end?

What to me looks like a last desperate grasp of a dying company comes the Palm Foleo.

It looks like a low end, light weight, crappy laptop that's an Internet only device. (How many of these Internet appliances have died over the years?)

And if you want to use it on the go you need to use your smart phone to connect out.

I can picture using it now: YouTube videos won't load, Ajax based sites won't work, and forget QuickTime and Windows Media. And when they finally do start working, Verizon will shut you down with their usage cap. Oh wait, seems they are targeting e-mail as the primary use on day one.

So let's analyze the market. Home users are going to want something closer to an iPod or PSP to entertain themselves, with some people gravitating toward smart phones just because they are as cheap as regular mobile phones, and use their laptop for everything else. Businesses are going to send people out with smart phones and full laptops. Which leaves early adopters, which is a lot of people who read this blog, but not much else. Maybe if they can get the price down from $500 and start selling them in bundles with smart phones. But it seems like a long shot. After all, isn't the point to converge devices like the iPhone, not add more?

Personally, as an early adopter myself, if I needed anything close to this, I think I would go with a Tablet PC or UMPC.

Would you buy one?

Dell XPS 410 Upgrade to CableCard

Scott Kuhl — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 18:23:00 GMT

I just spoke with a customer service rep at Dell about the upcoming CableCard support for the XPS 410. While I don't have pricing on the CableCard units themselves, she did tell me that current 410 models are upgradable.

Considering you can get an XPS 410 starting at $779 (that's the base $999 model minus monitor, speakers and a modem) we may have an affordable Vista CableCard PC brewing. And by affordable I mean under $1000.

Update Dell recently lowered the price on this unit by $100. You can now get the same computer for $679!

Here are the XPS 410 specs:

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6300 (2MB L2 Cache,1.86GHz,1066 FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
No Monitor
256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
No speakers
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
No Modem
No Productivity software pre-installed
No Security software pre-installed
No Entertainment software pre-installed
1Yr Ltd Warranty and At-Home Service

Instant Messaging Comes to Xbox 360

Scott Kuhl — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:54:00 GMT

Windows Live Messenger is coming to the Xbox 360 on the week of May 7th. I don't know how useful I will find this, but it's good to see Microsoft continuing to expand the 360 beyond gaming.

Xbox 360 Elite is Official

Scott Kuhl — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 11:38:00 GMT

Microsoft's Channel 10 has video and answers to the rumors.

Video: XBOX 360 elite

First look at the Xbox 360 Elite

Official Press Release

Hey Vista CableCard, Price Does Matter

Scott Kuhl — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 13:27:00 GMT

I absolutely want to drop my free HD-DVR from Charter for a Vista Media Center with CableCard support. The ability to record to a hub that can be viewed from any Xbox 360, Zune, Portable Media Center, phone, etc is exciting. But...

Niveus Media's offering starts at $3199 and that's without the CableCard adapter. It looks like that will run an extra $1500. That's way out of my price range, and I am a gadget freak with a decent income. That thing is built for Bill Gates and friends.

Velocity Micro's offering starts at $1795 and goes up to $2325 when you add dual cable cards. That's half the price but still not cheap. It's a really nice machine with the HTPC form factor. I doubt I'll find a better machine for cheaper.

For $2400, I can get a new 42" Plasma, an upconverting DVD player, the new HD Slingbox, and a SlingCatcher (when it releases) and still have enough money to fly to Vegas and try to win all the money back!

So, is it worth the money?

Vista Media Center with CableCard from Dell

Scott Kuhl — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 12:04:00 GMT

I never would have expected Dell to be a feature leader and win the race to ship the first Vista Media Center with CableCard support, but they just may do it.

PC Magazine has received the XPS 410 with an ATI TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner for review. It's not shipping just yet, so they might not be the first to ship, but at least someone is getting close.

I have seen some rumors about Sony shipping in April or VidaBox shipping in March. While I haven't heard anything about HPs DECs getting the upgrade.

I don't really care who ships first, well maybe not Sony, but I sure hope they do soon. Man do I want one of these.

Zune Day

Scott Kuhl — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:57:00 GMT

I really want to want one of these. I think the device has potential. But it's missing some big things on day one.

No podcast support. I'm sure you can rig something up like we've been forced to do in the past with Windows Media Player, but this really should be as nicely integrated as it is in iTunes.
No Windows Media Center support. Shows you record from TV will not work on the Zune. I just heard about this one this morning on the CNET podcast. I'm hoping it's not true, and they just didn't set up the folder monitoring correctly.
No video store. This one is minor to me. But I think it is important for adoption in the market. I do wish that they would add music videos to the rental plan though.
No Vista support. I am sure this one is temporary.
No XBOX 360 integration / No games. How cool would it be to be able to play some of the Live games on the Zune? How come no one does this yet? Oh wait.
No PlaysForSure. That's just rude that they do not support their old format and provide no way to get credit for your purchases. They are just begging people to hack the DRM.
Large Hard Drive. How about a 60GB or 80GB model?

I'm sure most of these things are on the way, with the exception of PlaysForSure. I just read this morning that they plan on adding video sharing, and Soapbox will be integrated into the video section of Zune. So I expect improvements to come rapidly.

Which Laptop Should I Buy?

Scott Kuhl — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:26:00 GMT

I am way overdue for a new laptop. I am currently running a 6 year old Inspiron. So my question is, what laptop should I buy and from where?

The laptop will be used primarily for development and office work. No games. I considered a Tablet PC, but do I really need the extra features?

My budget is the $1000 - $1500 range. And if possible I would like to find a laptop that I can upgrade to Vista and get the full Aero Glass interface.

If I find something good, I'll make the jump. Otherwise I'll probably wait until Vista releases.

Any suggestions?