Author: Bob Caswell

Help Me Decide: HD DVD or Blu-ray?

November 13, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 9 Comments

HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray A few months back I purchased a high-definition television (HD-TV) but have yet to experience its true capacity (sharper images, etc.). The apartment complex I live in has me locked into one satellite provider which does not offer any HD broadcasting. And I have been reluctant to purchase a next generation DVD player because of the format wars.

For those not up to speed, Sony’s next generation DVD is called Blu-ray whereas Microsoft and Toshiba have a format called HD DVD. The two are comparable in terms of the higher picture quality they offer (unless you want to nitpick) but are, of course, incompatible with each other. To make matters worse, most movies are only released in one format or the other. For instance, Disney movies are only available in Blu-ray whereas Universal Studios movies are only in HD DVD.

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Media, Microsoft, Sony

Radiohead Responds to Download Stats: Says They’re False

November 8, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 214 Comments

Radiohead Band Radiohead has decided to respond to the previous coverage of their social experiment of offering their album online at a name-your-own price. According to a study (by a third party, comScore), only 38% of downloaders paid something while the 62% majority paid nothing. And of those paying, most paid less than $4. While it was fun to speculate on what this could mean for the music industry, turns out any speculation was based on more speculation (comScore’s). Here’s what Radiohead had to say:

Music, Tech News, Web 2.0

Results of Radiohead Experiment: 38% of Downloaders Pay an Average of $6

November 6, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 9 Comments

About a month ago, we mentioned Radiohead’s social experiment of offering fans a choose-your-own-price way for downloading the band’s latest album (with the option of free). As I had mentioned, simple economics dictates that the most likely price in this case will be the minimum. And I was right, sort of.

Only 38% of downloaders paid something while the 62% majority paid nothing. Globally, the average price paid was $6; the average in the U.S. was around $8. But those numbers ignore the freeloaders. Including the “no pay” crowd, the average price was around $2.26 globally and $3.23 in the U.S. Of those who did pay something, 17% paid below $4 (the most common category) but 12% paid between $8 and $12, a price in line with iTunes or Amazon.

Was it a success? Yes and no, depending on how you look at it.

Music, Tech News

What the “Gphone” Means for Consumers: Good News & Bad News

November 5, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

Google Cellphone So Google today announced its plans to be the latest force in the cellphone industry. The gist of the press release is that Google has partnered with 34 companies to develop and release an “open source” operating system, user interface, and applications. What this means in terms of the highly anticipated Gphone is best explained in the words of the Google engineer in charge of the project, Andy Rubin: “We are not building a GPhone; we are enabling 1,000 people to build a GPhone.”

This is really only news if you’re a developer. As for what this means for technology consumers specifically, see below for a compilation of the most relevant and interesting quotes surrounding the latest news of the pseudo-Gphone:

Gadgets, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News

Transferring More Than Data from Computer to Computer, Why So Hard?

November 2, 2007 Bob Caswell 15 Comments

Google, Apple A friend of mine asked me how to transfer his data from his old laptop to his new laptop. In particular, he was interested in the big three types of files on most personal computers these days: documents, music, and photos. “I know where I keep all my files, so I just copy them over to where I want them on the new computer, right?”

Well, he’s right for one of three categories of files: documents. But when I asked him if he was interested in preserving his iTunes playlists, song ratings, and album art or his Picasa photo albums (basically, any of his “metadata”), he gave me the “of course” look. Little did he know the headache that awaited him, none of that information moves when you simply copy or backup files.

Apple, Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Microsoft

United States Responsible for 5x More Spam Than Any Other Country

October 31, 2007 Bob Caswell No Comments

Sophos, an internet-security company, released numbers on the amount of spam sent per country between this past July and September. And the United States is responsible for about 30% of it (see chart below). Despite legislation such as the CAN-SPAM Act, the U.S. hasn’t been able to do much to stop spam. And spam is getting more complicated: fake e-cards, virus-infected PDF attachments, and worthless MP3 files or ringtons are the latest methods. In fact, according to anti-spam company MXSweep, nearly one in ten spam e-mails attach MP3 files or ringtones.

I guess I wouldn’t know much about this. I use Google’s gmail and rarely see any spam.

Cyberlaw, Microsoft, Privacy, Tech News

Even More Gphone News: Google in Advanced Talks with Verizon & Sprint

October 30, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

Gphone The latest info from our good friends those “people familiar with the matter” is that Google is in advanced talks with two U.S. cellphone operators: Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel. The talks, of course, are revolving around the two companies offering new Google-powered mobile phones. Google has to get some major wireless operators to sign on to this project if it’s to reach its rumor-generated goal of getting Gphones in front of consumers by the middle of next year.

Gadgets, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0

Google Unveiling Gphone Plans In Two Weeks & Wants to Change the Cellphone Industry

October 29, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 37 Comments

Google Cellphone The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) is quoting “people familiar with the matter” in stating that within two weeks Google will announce plans to bring Google-powered phones to market by the middle of next year. Apparently, Google’s goal is “[T]o make applications and services as accessible on cellphones as they are on the Internet.”

Gadgets, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0