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Switched On: Burning love
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:Baby, on this Valentine's Day, I want you to remember that our love is as rare as an Xbox 360 on a retail shelf and as deep as Gizmondo Europe's debt. You know I'm someone who appreciates the best that life has to offer -- as long as it's offered at a reasonable price. When I rolled up in my Kia Amanti ("the Kimmer," as i like to call it), put that sweet chunk of cubic zirconia on your finger and read you the love poem I'd written on my Brother GeoBook personal digital notebook, I knew you'd be mine forever.This year, I wanted to get you something romantic, something sophisticated and something substantially under $25. I thought candles might be nice but, as you and my parole officer know, I am not allowed within 30 feet of a blunt object since the incident regarding the $399 notebook at Wal-Mart last Black Friday. So I considered getting you a Philips Aurelle LED candle. The key to the LED candle is a light source that flickers to approximate its fiery counterpart. I bet the LED candle story is a lot like the one that led to the development of Post-It notes, you know, where the engineer developed a weak adhesive for which no one could find a use. "Hey, Klaas, I can't get this darn LED to stay lit!"The Aurelle candles are available with a choice of three frosted glass candle holder cups -- in round, square and triangular shapes -- for about $20. The amber lighting units have rechargeable batteries and, in an interesting twist, several of them can be charged simultaneously from the same charger by daisy-chaining them together magnetically. Could anything symbolize our love more than multiple hook-ups? Unfortunately, though, it's relatively easy to see the metal contacts even in the cups, which compromises the effect. And, baby, I need the look to be right when I'm putting out my best Chinette for you.
Switched On: Where's Windows' welcome wagon?
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:"[O]ne of life's most perplexing decisions – whether to buy a Macintosh or an IBM PC – can now be made with the greatest of ease." This hyperbole appeared in a 1985 ad for a pricey contraption called MacCharlie, a PC clone enclosure into which the original Macintosh slid, offering -- as the ad noted -- "the best of both worlds." MacCharlie, named in the days when IBM's PC business was represented by a Chaplain impersonator, was offered by Dayna Communications, a company that would enjoy a good run as a cross-platform solutions company before being purchased by, of all companies, Intel. What had wrought this monstrosity? When Apple developed the Macintosh, it made a decision that would have long-term implications. Choosing Motorola processors over those from Intel meant that the Mac couldn't run DOS or Windows-based software at anywhere close to the speed of contemporary PCs. Sure, there had been a long history of slow software-based emulators dating from at least the first version of SoftPC for the Mac in 1988 and even a hardware solution that Apple offered with its Power Macintosh 6100/66 DOS Compatible in 1995, but it was hard to escape the realities of binary compatibility. The little ends did not justify the means.Even with technology working against it, though, Apple had long sought to reach out to PC users through means such as encouraging popular ports (much fanfare preceded the sour notes of Lotus 1-2-3 for Mac), supporting PC-formatted media and eventually file extensions, promoting Microsoft Office for the Mac, adopting (or popularizing) PC standards such as IDE, USB and DVI Even in the post-iMac era, Apple launched its Switcher campaign with mixed success. Today, Apple's Windows outreach efforts focus primarily on its retail stores, where it can showcase the Mac's approach and ecosystem in person to the iCurious.With Apple switching to Intel processors over the course of the year, though, one of the biggest traditional roadblocks to switching will be removed. Once some technical details are worked out, Mac users should be able to run at least Windows Vista at native speeds in a dual-boot configuration, or perhaps even Windows XP or Vista at nearly native speeds using virtual machine technology. You'd think, after tilting at this Win mill for over 20 years, Apple would open its arms to Windows users like prodigal sons.
Switched On: A moving experience
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment:As PC penetration inches closer to saturation in the U.S., more PCs sold every year are replacement units. Upgrading should be a joy for consumers. Who wouldn't want improved speed and expanded capabilities? Instead, however, receiving a new PC is bittersweet because of the chore of migration. Worse, the more consumers have taken advantage of their PCs by installing applications, the bigger a hassle migration is.Windows provides support only for migrating files and settings, not applications. A couple of years ago, I'd tried a popular commercial product that promised the same. Not only was I stuck with reinstalling all the programs, but it failed to transfer certain Outlook Express email accounts and Palm Desktop data. It was the most horrendous jerky movement since Elaine danced on Seinfeld.Last year, though, I was intrigued when LapLink Software introduced PCmover. I tried out the product migrating a server and it worked pretty well. However, it wasn't much of a test. There were only a few programs that needed to be transferred to the new computer and no personal data or e-mail. About the only program that complained was iTunes, which worked on the new PC, but warned that it needed to be set up again to work properly with the new PC's CD burner.
Switched On: Enter the lay tricks
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: The scene: A hotel room on a rainy night. Pentius and Duo face each other near large, comfortable red chairs that look like leftover props from Pee Wee's Playhouse, yet no one is filming a Radio Shack commercial. "Pentius! It's an honor to meet you!" "Please, have a seat, Duo. The honor is mine. I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like a noob in the middle of a large computer store. You're here because you feel something that's eating at you that you can't explain. Do you know what I'm talking about?" "What is..." (squinting at the badge on Pentius's computer) "V eleven v?" "It's pronounced 'vive." Do you want to know what it is?" "Actually, there's this E! True Hollywood Story about "Who's The Boss" that I -""VIIV is the hype that surrounds the industry. You can see it in every computer magazine, in Intel's booth at CES, in keynotes from Microsoft. Soon it will be in your living room, your bedroom, anywhere you have an Intel-based desktop. Duo!" "Yes?""Were you listening to me or staring at that big pile of co-op funds from Intel?""I was, uh... OK, so this vi'iv thing? What is it again?"
Switched On: The Game Boy Micro pulls off the screen play
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Some mobile phone zealots believe that handsets - driven by must-have voice functionality and carrier subsidization - will ultimately be the only portable device people will ever need. Digital music? Check. Photos and video? Check. Games? Check. Actually, forget the checks, they might say, as everyone knows the future of payments is also on mobile phones. But the purveyors of non-wireless devices are certainly not going quietly. If there's only one pocket, they're determined to fight for their space in it. As a result, recent products like the sleek iPod nano and the bantam Palm z22 are small enough to fit in your pocket with your mobile phone (or justify their small existence in a second pocket or purse). With this comes compromises. While Apple and Palm talk up the legibility of screens on their diminutive devices, the nano and z22 have relatively low resolution when compared with more expensive models.
Switched On turns one: The Maven
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment. Today's Switched On's first birthday, so as a present we gave Ross his very own banner. Wish Switched On a happy birthday, why don't you? Once upon a midnight madness sale I sauntered, steeped in sadness,Through the shiny piles and aisles composing my computer store.Suddenly there came a rapping. "Skeet skeet skeet." Had I been napping?Energy, it had been sapping from my soul for weeks or more.Yea, those loathsome customers had chilled my being for weeks or more.Back-to-school had drained my core.Soon the winds would bring the winter - time to sell each mouse, each printer."Profit!" said I, "Thing of evil? Nah," applying Avacor.For while came the rare exception, money flowed from deep deception.Ignorance would find reception warm throughout each corridor.From these fools I'd find the dollars flow down every corridor.Idiots I did adore.There I saw him, by the mobos, dressing like those unkempt hobos -Greasy hair atop the fat and pimples that adorned each pore.Mannerisms quite absurd, he stood there mumbling, looking nerdy,Yet I could not find the word he brought to mind inside the store.In that squalid rust of malice did he slither through the store,Saying naught and nothing more.Fate approached him as a customer who seemed at once to trust him."Are these cameras any good? I've never shopped for one before."Glasses thick, stubble unshaven, spewing trivia like Cliff Clavin,On he went, this crazy maven bragging of his Slashdot score."If you read my blog, you'd know my postings rate above a four.'Funny' and 'Insightful' are the words you'd see with five or four."After which she fled the store.Then a man who lacked acumen caused his targeting to zoom in."Windows spyware drives me nuts. Removing it is such a chore."This Mac mini sure looks swell so buying it would end my hell, no?""Apple's switching to Intel so I would wait a year or more"And you'll want new software too if you don't wait a year or more."Quoth the maven, "Leave the store."
Switched On: Cheapest laptop boasts rich innovation
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: It's premature to gauge how successful One Laptop per Child will be in its quest to build a laptop that will sell in bulk quantities for $100 (or eventually less). The consortium plans to sell large quantities of the inexpensive devices to governments, which will in turn distribute them to children in less affluent countries. Overall, it's a much better solution than a rumored counterproposal from Dell, which would have required the children to come to U.S. Post Offices to pick up the computers or be charged an extra fee. Much of the coverage of the $100 laptop has focused on its breakthrough price. However, the initiative, should it prove successful, would not only create a revolutionary learning tool for children in developing countries, but turn notebook design on its head. Backed by disruptors such as Google and AMD and a team that includes Ted Selker, who invented the TrackPoint while at IBM, it represents a portable appliance that is in some ways more versatile – at least for schoolchildren - than notebook PCs that cost ten times as much.
Switched On: Why Motorola's ROKR plays the humdrum
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: The once eagerly anticipated Motorola ROKR E1 has attracted more than its share of down beats since its launch. Yet the phone plays music well via its headphones and relatively loudly via its small speakers. Its battery life should allay concerns about MP3 listening cutting too deeply into talk time. And its much-criticized arbitrary song limit and slow USB connections can be worked around with a USB 2.0 card reader and Motorola's music application on the phone. The ROKR may look dated and even unattractive, but that hasn't stopped other rockers from enjoying phenomenal success. Isn't that right, Mick and Keith? Alas, the ROKR is, according to the Motorola Dictionary of Trendy Abridged Spelling, MEDIOKR. The biggest surprise, though, about the disappointing handset was that anyone was surprised at how disappointing it was. Those who have followed Apple since the ascent of the iPod should have seen that this ROKR was going to hit the rocks for a variety of reasons. From the launch perspective, it made no sense that Apple would generate a lot of hype around the ROKR, a product that had already been quasi-announced. Sure, rumors swarm around Apple announcements like flies at a picnic, but the notion of an iTunes phone created in (loose) partnership with Motorola had publicly been discussed by executives of both companies. So, one should have been on the lookout for something big, which turned out to be something quite small – the iPod nano.
Switched On: Fixed Fees and Diminishing Returns
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Several weeks ago, Switched On discussed the delights and disappointments of Napster-To-Go. Despite all the software glitches experienced using the service, I had found at least a few new artists that I liked within the first few days (and even more that I didn't), but generally noticed that my music collection had well penetrated the subgenres I enjoy. This exemplified one of several paradoxes of the service. Subscription music services have the most theoretical value to music enthusiasts. However, the bigger one's music collection is, the less incremental value one will find in the service. The ideal customer for these services is a mythical musical virgin whore - someone who has a limitless appetite for music, but who never buys it. Napster-to-Go competes with Napster Lite, the company's more "traditional" online music store. As more tracks are purchased, the subscription value decreases.
Switched On: Hi-Def and Dumb
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: In the long-running rivalry between the PC and consumer electronics worlds to provide the best entertainment experience, both sides have recently been dealt blows by an increasingly paranoid content industry. The Blu-Ray group, made up of three performance artists named Ray whose Vegas show has been voted best on the Strip, recently announced that it would add more stringent copy protection to its high-definition DVD successor in order to woo studio support. Blu-Ray discs may even be able to render compromised players unusable, after which they will doubtless sprout ninja star blades, emit a piercing battle cry, and eject themselves from such players with a force deadly enough to decapitate most pets. Similarly, Microsoft is planning to put a sandbox around media playback in Windows Vista amidst a host of technology initiatives by itself and partner-against-crime Intel to ensure that content stays far from the screens of P2P file-sharing service users. According to a CNet article, Microsoft did not give in to everything that Hollywood wanted, which we can only presume included automatic deductions from your bank account to buy soundtracks and sequels and keyboard-administered electrocutions until you break down and cry "Gigli is the finest cinematic masterpiece ever filmed!"
Switched On: A Case of "He Said, HP Said"
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: With pioneer Rio being the latest casualty of the MP3 wars and Apple on the verge of announcing something next week that could be anything except a video iPod, we should not forget another digital music brand that recently left the field. It's been more than a month since HP announced its exit from the iPod market. Yet, the world still mourns. Vigils continue in the major metropolitan centers of New York, London, Paris, and Munich as everybody talks about pop music. Across a fragile planet, iPod shuffles hang low around consumers' necks like 0.78 oz. albatrosses. And rumor has it that even Steve Jobs has been seen in public wearing a black turtleneck in what many perceive as a sign of sympathy. The music world has been hit especially hard. Elton John has written a tribute to the posthumous player to the tune of "Candle in the Wind" called "iPod on the Shelf: a Tribute to the Apple iPod by HP by Elton John." The HP iPod seemed so young, so vibrant, and so very much exactly like Apple's. How could this have happened? Perhaps those initial conversations between two Cupertino computing giants went a bit like this:
Switched On: Musician, Heal Thyself
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Six months ago, Napster launched Napster To Go, the first service based on the music renting technology from Microsoft previously known as Janus (which at least defined it better than PlaysForSure). Early looks at the service saw promise in the all-you-can-hear model of subscription music, but also much immaturity in the form of wobbly software and firmware glitches. Now, however, a rapidly growing number of new and updated devices are supporting Napster To Go. With upgraded software and a legacy-free Gateway 6 GB Jukebox Photo in tow, I took a fresh look at the service. In general, the idea of Napster To Go still outshines its reality. When the service is working well, it's an exciting and unique proposition, dramatically more fun than surfing samples at the iTunes Music Store or being spoon-fed genres over satellite radio (although the latter has its place). Napster and XM have announced an alliance that will combine access to their services in forthcoming MP3 players, which may provide the best of both worlds when it comes to discovering music.
Switched On: The musical mesh for the moneyed
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Over the past few years, more than 20 products have sought to bridge the gap between the growing libraries of PC-based music and the rest of the home. Most of these have been point solutions that lump music in with photos and videos for delivery from computer "A" to television "B". Some, like Slim Devices' SqueezeBox, focus only on music and even come with server software that can serve the same music to multiple devices simultaneously. But the Sonos Digital Music System takes a fundamentally different approach, using a mesh network to deliver music to multiple rooms. Sonos does this using shoebox-sized receivers called ZonePlayers that connect to off-the-bookshelf speakers. The hallmark of the Sonos system is simplicity. Music can be stored on a PC, Mac, or – since the system doesn't require any server software - network-attached storage volume. Setup is straightforward, although you may have to do some running back and forth between the hefty (they include an amplifier) white ZonePlayers if you're doing it alone. Once it is up and running, the Sonos system is surprisingly responsive. Music starts playing instantly, even faster than it would from a local CD that required spin-up time.
Switched On: When Clock Meets Dock
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: If you've been scratching your head wondering how a company like iHome Audio came out of nowhere to create a product that is now offered in stores like Circuit City and Target, you can put away the Selsun Blue. The reason most people have never heard of iHome Audio is because the company is merely a new brand from 45-year old electronics company SDI Technologies. "Huh?" you innocently ask, helping me to contrive a narrative flow, "I've never heard of SDI Technologies, either. Did they do Reagan's Star Wars plan in the '80s?" No, but they have done a huge number of alarm clocks bearing better-known brands such as Timex, licensed from the eponymous watch company, Soundesign and Zenith. So it's not surprising that the first company to integrate the iPod with an alarm clock would be experts in alarm clocks. (Apple had pretty well staked out the iPod part.)
Switched On: Mighty Mouse has some wrongs to right
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: In the early days of Mac versus Windows flame wars, the debates about secondary mouse buttons often quickly degenerated into something that looked like the end of the Dr. Seuss classic The Sneetches. Both sides would split hairs over what became an arbitrary issue of personal preference. (This was in stark contrast to the debates over the use of function keys. Now that was a war worth fighting!) Once Apple adopted USB, Mac users gained access to a number of very good multibutton mice from Logitech, Microsoft and others and the argument seemed moot. Mac users who saw the benefit of such mice could get them, and those who didn't need the extra functionality soldiered on with one finger. Still, for many years even after the arrival of Mac OS X, which supported multibutton mice out of the box, Apple held its ground with the one-button mouse. It did this even though it had supported right-click-friendly features such as contextual menus since at least the days of System 8. Now, as Apple has brought out its (corded) first multibutton mouse, it's treated its reversal with atypical facetious self-depreciation on its Web site: "Alas the fate of the one-button mouse in today's multibutton world. Who has time for intuitive, elegant design when there is so much clicking to do?" Behold Mighty Mouse, the namesake of the animated resilient rodent celebrating his 50th anniversary this year. Apple is using the name under license from Viacom, otherwise known as Mighty Media.
Switched On: MP3 from Rio flight to neophyte
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: There was something in the silicon yesterday as three major competitors in the MP3 portable market announced they were taking three different directions. D&M Holdings, the parent company of Denon, Marantz, and McIntosh Laboratories, sold its Rio unit to SigmaTel, which also supplies chips to Creative and other flash player developers. Thomson, which owns the RCA brand, announced a shelf system that can transfer songs to a bundled portable MP3 player. Finally, Samsung, fresh from besting its rival and sometimes partner Sony in an Interbrand survey for the first time, announced a partnership with XM Radio with an opportunity to purchase songs heard on the satellite broadcaster. That represents a challenge to Internet music merchants, which need to extend their services' spontaneity to the wireless world.
Switched On: Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: You don't need to be a user-interface guru like Don Norman to understand that, when dealing with electronic equipment, the user should always be in control. Even the simplest electric appliance, the desk lamp, generally has at least a power switch or chain. However, in the world of high-tech, the simple On/Off switch is becoming optional or obscure equipment on many devices. Take, for example, the Archos Gmini 400. This fine example of portable multimedia is generally fun to use. This is fortunate since, without a little coaching, chances are you'd be hard-pressed to figure out how to turn it off. The secret lies in holding down the "Escape" button for a few seconds. This may be conceptually sensible, but this button has a circular arrow symbol reminiscent of the "Back" button on a Web browser. That's a bit of a leap for someone who hasn't at least glanced at the documentation.
Switched On: Causing a Change of Heart
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Matt wasn't breathing. His unsustainable thin body revealed a ghastly pallor as he lay motionless, his frozen face silent. The pressure was on to save his life. Thankfully, I had a knowledgeable companion by my side calmly giving me instructions. In bringing Matt back from death's door, I would err but ultimately prevail. Ordinarily, such a deed might earn a lifetime of gratitude, but I would be but one of Matt's many lifesavers to whom he would say not so much as "Thank you." Could anyone be so cold? So heartless? Matt is. You see, Matt is his namesake – a plastic sheet sporting a drawing of a torso intended to demonstrate the Philips HeartStart Home Automated External Defibrillator. The device, which sells for about $1,500, administers electric shocks in an attempt to restart a heart. If you've ever seen an episode of E.R, you may think you know the drill (Hint: you don't have to shout, "Clear!"), but Philips claims that the HeartStart employs a lot of "smart" technology to ensure that it safely administers a shock only to someone who needs one.
Switched On: With Grokster decision, "endangered gizmos" will survive
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, an opinion column about consumer technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: The phone call came, as it always does, at 2 AM. It was Justice Souter again and he was drunk... again. I don't want to say the SCOTUS crowd likes to party but, between us, sending in a case of beer with your appeal doesn't hurt in getting cert granted. "Listen, Soot," I said, "It's going to be ok. I know you're worried about a potential chilling effect on technology. Just make sure you affirm Betamax. Hey, did I steer you wrong when I told you not to drink from any Coke cans that Clarence Thomas had lying around? All right then. Get some sleep and give Ginzie my best." It was a good thing Dave listened. Of all the potential outcomes of MGM vs. Grokster, few thought that the decision would be lauded by both content and technology camps. Device manufacturers feared of a repeal of Sony vs. Universal, the "Betamax" case in which the justices found that devices that enabled copyright infringement were legal as long as they were capable of commercially significant non-infringing use.
Switched On: Don't Buy This Stuff
Every Wednesday Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a weekly column about the future of technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: (Sung [roughly] to the tune of "Can't Buy Me Love") Don't buy this stuff, no Don't buy this stuff, no. Don't buy this stuff. The catalogs say Father's Day is a time for wacky gear. But they've thrown quite a few our way of which I hope you'll steer clear. Please don't go and waste your money. Sonny, don't buy this stuff.
