71
Latest
Distro Issue 71 arrives with a look back at the year in tech
We have survived the dreaded apocalypse for the time being, but the year's end is right around the corner. As CES looms on the horizon, it's nearly time to look ahead to an entirely fresh slate of new gadgetry. To usher in 2013 in proper fashion, our weekly takes a look back at the major happenings of 2012 along with insight from a few of our editors. But that's not all. We also count down the top 10 CrapGadgets of the year and compile the best CE-Oh No He Didn't mudslingin' of the last 365 days. Eyes-On visually fondles the MakerBot Replicator 2, Recommended Reading gets Netflixed, and director / photographer Timothy Saccenti stops over for the Q&A. Jump down below to grab a copy of your very own, as a truckload of reminiscing is but a few clicks away. Distro Issue 71 PDF Distro in the iTunes App Store Distro in the Google Play Store Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter
LG's $15k, 71-inch plasma & friends coming to CES
LG is already bringing 1080p content and a hybrid Blu-ray / HD DVD drive to CES, and it just wouldn't make sense not to have brand new displays too, so the company plans to unveil a slew of new plasmas next week. The literally biggest news, however, is that the company's 71-inch 1080p plasma HDTV that started shipping early last year, will drop its MSRP from $70,000 to a mere $14,999.95 (we can assume losing the 24 carat gold paint helped drop prices a little). Since not everyone can take out a wall to fit their new plasma TV, LG is prepping many smaller models for next week's show. Each and every one is capable of "full HD", ready to accept and 24, 30 or 60 frame rate 1080p source you throw at them. The 42- and 52-inch PC5D series represent the "vanilla" HDTVs, including Clear Filter Pro technology to reduce reflection, Extreme Contour Compensation to improve color transitions and LG Simple Link connectivity to control compatible HDMI-CEC devices. The PY3D line comes in 50- and 60-inch sizes, featuring three HDMI inputs and USB Media Host capability to playback music and photos (but not video) from connected devices. The PB4D series builds on those features by adding 160GB HD DVRs integrated into 42-, 50- and 60-inch plasmas with LG's "time machine" time shifting technology, and a newly added ability to record video at 480p from any external source via the component jacks. Last but not least of course is the 71-inch 71PY1M, with the most important feature of being bigger than your neighbor's plasma (unless you live next door to Mark Cuban). Whether you're looking for a simple 1080p plasma, media hub, DVR or just a massive HDTV at a "low" price, it appears LG will have a plasma for everyone at CES 2007.
