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Category: Sony

Why Warner Bros. Swapping HD DVDs for Blu-ray Discs Won’t Work

Posted on April 22, 2009April 22, 2009 By Bob Caswell 2 Comments on Why Warner Bros. Swapping HD DVDs for Blu-ray Discs Won’t Work

HD-DVD vs. Blu-rayWarner Brothers had come up with a slick promotion to get some much needed buzz around Blu-ray. My consensus: great idea but flawed execution. Here’s how it works (and why it won’t work):

You send in the cover art sleeve (keep the disc) and the UPC from your HD DVD movies. And for $4.95 per movie, plus $6.95 S&H per order, you’ll be sent back brand new Blu-ray copies of any movies you have in HD DVD. There are a few restrictions (only 1 copy per movie and only up to 25 movies per household) but nothing really that prohibitive.

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Amazon, Internet, Media, Netflix, Shopping, Sony, Tech News

Latest Laptop Hunters Ad Shows Off PCs with Blu-ray & Remote

Posted on April 9, 2009April 9, 2009 By Bob Caswell 8 Comments on Latest Laptop Hunters Ad Shows Off PCs with Blu-ray & Remote

windowsMeet Lisa and her son Jackson, who’s looking for “speed, big hard drive, and a good gaming computer” for under $1,500. After a quick look at some PCs, Lisa says, “Let’s go see the Macs, they’re kind of popular at this age.” But then, Lisa points out that “…these are way more money, dude” quickly followed by Jackson saying (about a Mac), “It’s a little too small.”

So back to the PCs: We’re shown how you can use a PC with a remote and then we see both Lisa and Jackson get really excited about none other than “Bluuu-ray!” And, of course, Blu-ray is missing from Macs. For me personally, not a huge selling point of the PC. But for others like Lisa and Jackson, it seems pretty cool. And that’s the point being made here: there’s something for everyone.

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Apple, Computers, Gaming, Internet, Microsoft, Shopping, Sony, Tech News

Buying a “Smart” Phone for the First Time: Which One?

Posted on January 18, 2009January 18, 2009 By Bob Caswell 6 Comments on Buying a “Smart” Phone for the First Time: Which One?

g1phoneFirst, I work for Microsoft. But I tend to purchase/use Microsoft products only when they are the best option for me personally (and they often are). In this case, I did actually look at Windows Mobile as my first choice. I’m on T-Mobile and not willing to switch carriers (most of my extended family is on T-Mobile, so I use hardly any minutes and like it that way, plus T-Mobile is the cheapest of all carriers and has been good to me the past few years).

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Gadgets, Google, Microsoft, Sony

HD DVDs are going away. But should you buy Blu-ray?

Posted on November 16, 2008November 17, 2008 By Bob Caswell 9 Comments on HD DVDs are going away. But should you buy Blu-ray?

The first half of my title is taken straight from the title of an email I received from Netflix a couple days ago (see end of post for text of the email). In short, as of December 15, 2008, Netflix will no longer carry HD DVDs. Around the same time I got this email, coincidentally, a friend of mine sent me an email about an online sale offering $2 HD DVD movies.

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Amazon, Media, Netflix, Shopping, Sony, Tech News

Sony: Big News & A Recap of Blunders Just in The Past Year

Posted on June 26, 2008August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 8 Comments on Sony: Big News & A Recap of Blunders Just in The Past Year

Sony has spent the last three years restructuring the company and today releases its big plans for growth. Apparently, the next big thing is electronics products that connect to each other and the Internet and stuff. You know, downloading movies onto a game console or syncing your music with a music player. Wow, I can’t wait for all that kind of technology to come out.

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Gadgets, Media, Sony, Tech News

Sony Thinks Blu-ray Will Sell Like DVD by End of 2008

Posted on April 8, 2008August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 4 Comments on Sony Thinks Blu-ray Will Sell Like DVD by End of 2008

Blu-raySony CEO Ryoji Chubachi knows something we don’t. At a press conference a few days ago, he pointed out Sony’s plan to increase Blu-ray market share to 50% by the end of the year. How is this possible you might ask? Well, apparently new Blu-ray devices to be offered by Sony will include a model integrated into an HD LCD TV with Blu-ray recording functionality.

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Gaming, Media, Sony, Tech News

Sony Charges $50 Extra to Sell You Laptop with No Crapware

Posted on March 21, 2008August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 63 Comments on Sony Charges $50 Extra to Sell You Laptop with No Crapware

Sony LaptopSony and crapware have a special relationship, so much so that it takes over two minutes for its laptops to boot into Windows (compare that with 30 seconds for a MacBook). The company has even issued press statements explaining its reasoning: “The programs are carefully selected and provide benefits to many consumers, up to 30% of whom act on the offers.”

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Computers, Internet, Sony, Tech News

Blu-ray in the News: High Prices & No Microsoft Love

Posted on March 13, 2008August 20, 2008 By Bob Caswell 6 Comments on Blu-ray in the News: High Prices & No Microsoft Love

Blu-raySince Blu-ray became the next generation movie disc format of choice, the consumer supposedly has been better off. But Tom’s Hardware claims that prices of Blu-ray players are higher than ever and that now, in fact, is the worst time to buy.

Interesting. I’ve been tracking Blu-ray vs. HD DVD player pricing for the past year via Amazon and hadn’t noticed any recent increases. As of today, the Blu-ray players on Amazon are priced in the same range they’ve always been: the mid to high $300’s. Right now the cheapest Blu-ray player on Amazon is this Samsung for $357. I’ve seen it $20 cheaper, but I’ve also seen it more expensive.

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Media, Microsoft, Sony, Tech News

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