Bob Caswell – Page 10 – Media consumer, tech enthusiast, and gamer

Microsoft Offers Cash Back to Searchers, But for How Long?

May 21, 2008 Bob Caswell 6 Comments

More details are likely forthcoming shortly, as Microsoft plans to announce a big search initiative later today. But in the meantime, restless bloggers have already stumbled upon some particulars.

Microsoft’s “Live Search cashback” will pay you back 2 percent to 30 percent of the price of products you find (via Live Search) and purchase from online participating retailers. Notable merchants already signed up include Sears, Barnes & Noble, Office Depot, Home Depot, J&R Electronics, and others.

Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0

Amazon MP3 Survey Asks Interesting Questions on Music Buying

May 5, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Amazon MP3, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. And I’m glad the Amazon MP3 team doesn’t think so either. Here’s a copy of an email I received from them asking me to fill out a survey. Check out some of the more interesting questions asked followed by commentary (after text of the email below):

Amazon, Internet, Music, Tech News, Web 2.0

Radiohead Gives Up On Free But Cold Play Gives It a Try

April 30, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 3 Comments

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke decided to open up a little on the band’s “pay what you want” experiment from last year:

“I think it was a one-off response to a particular situation… It was one of those things where we were in the position of everyone asking us what we were going to do. I don’t think it would have the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away again. It was a moment in time.”

Translation: “We didn’t make as much as we are hoping, and it would only be less if we used that model again.”

Music, Tech News

Online Backup Wars: Mozy Responds to HP Upline

April 25, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 3 Comments

Mozy, the online backup solution I use and have mentioned a couple times, is responding to HP’s Upline debacle in an interesting way. First, some background information:

Two weeks ago, HP released HP Upline, a service similar to Mozy that provides unlimited storage for $59/year. HP also released free accounts of the service, limited to 1GB and one year (Mozy does free too, but their version is 2GBs and has no expiration date). About a week and a half later, the Upline service went down for several days.

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech News, Web 2.0

Video Comments Are Here: This Could Be Huge… Or a Flop

April 23, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

TechCrunch made the announcement today that all of its blogs will have the option for you to leave video comments via a service called Seesmic. It’s a powerful idea with a dead simple execution. As a result, comments are now a mix of text and video. Take a look.

Internet, Media, Tech News, Web 2.0

Review: SlingVine Makes Sending Files Easy

April 22, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

Slingvine is a free application that allows you to send files over the Internet. For me, it felt like a replacement to email attachments. Here’s how it works:

You download and install the client on your computer. Then you right click on any file or folder in Windows and click on “Sling Selected Items.” This uploads your files or folders to a temporary webpage (url) that you then give out to whoever you want to receive your files.

Do-It-Yourself Tech, Internet, Tech Reviews, Web 2.0

How To: Get Consumers to Buy CDs Instead of MP3s

April 17, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 15 Comments

I may be alone on this one, but I just noticed a small pattern in my CD shopping habits. Here’s an example:

Over the past couple years, I’ve come to love music from the band Muse. British rockers with some serious talent, they have a great sound that is a mix of britpop, rock, alternative, and electronica.

Amazon, Media, Music

Review: Logitech VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks

April 16, 2008August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

Logitech VX Nano Mouse So I had an extra $50 that Amazon gave me for buying an HD DVD player and was interested in getting a new mouse for my computer. For my day-to-day computing needs, I’m a laptop user all the way (and have been since 2001) but still prefer a mouse attached over a touchpad. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t help but try out Logitech’s VX Nano cordless mouse.

Amazon, Gadgets, Tech Reviews