Podcast Archive

July 14, 2006
Microsoft Zune, Coffee, and the News of the Day

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Topics in this Podcast:

Waaaay too much coffee! Check out CoffeeGeek.com if you love coffee, too, and be sure to take a look at the Capresso CoffeeTEAM Therm. This has to be the coolest coffee machine I have ever seen. On to the Digital Trends website related items!
 
Rob Enderle has an article on what Microsoft needs to do with their upcoming iPod killer, called the Zune, in order to make it successful. I think the suggestions fall into the “Duh” category, but I’ve seen companies make bigger mistakes. We have no official confirmation of the Zune, but have heard that add-on manufacturers have been approached by Shady Microsoft Characters™ looking for support.
 
We got some good reviews on the Sidekick 3, Toshiba’s first HD-DVD player, and the Casio Exilim Z1000. Check em out!
 
Business
MS has decided to play nice with Open Document Format buffs, like, oh, the State of Massachusetts and France, and will offer a conversion utility. Obviously, MS wants to keep their proprietary document formats to keep the licensing dollars flowing. It doesn’t mean we have to like them for it. Antitrust fines totaling $357.7MM have been leveled by the EU. MS has released Virtual PC 2004 SP1 for free download if you want to play with virtual machines. VMWare has fired back with a free download of VMWare Server. Free stuff wars. Just the type of wars we need.
 
Audio/Video
Matsushita has announced they WILL be producing the 103 inch Plasma of the Gods. No word on price, but we’re thinking it will require mortgaging a small country. Ricoh will make all optical players unite under a banner of compatibility! Huzzah! And copy an HD-DVD or Blu-ray disc using a single keyboard button.
 
Hardware
Freescale launches the first MRAM device. Listen to hear how MRAM could revolutionize PCs.
 
Apple
Apple using Woodcrest? Huh?
 
Peripherals
Sandisk is bundling Skype for U3 on their drives, and the Optimus 3 Keyboard ships.
 
Gaming
UMDs are going the way of the Palm Pilot. Still around, but not dead yet. Instead, Sony is moving to movies on Memory Stick Pro Duos. 
 
Yes, the Dell XPS supports dual Geforce 7950s. No idea why their press release doesn’t mention it.
 
Random
I talk about Brain Computer Interfaces, but only briefly. I refer to this study, coming out of my lab (but occurring before I started). Also check out Mind Hacks for posts from one of the lab's former members, Misha.