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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Engadget News

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Engadget News

NVIDIA's faulty laptop GPU settlement starts paying out, file your repair and reimbursement claims now

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 10:19 AM PST

Got an old Dell, HP or Apple laptop sitting around with a defective NVIDIA GPU? The company's finally ready to compensate you. That proposed class-action settlement from late last year has been approved by a California court, and the company's taking claims for repairs, replacements and reimbursements at a specially-designated website until March 14th. If you've got an affected Dell or Apple MacBook Pro, you can get the faulty chips replaced free of charge, while HP owners get a whole new replacement computer, though considering the choices there are the budget Compaq Presario CQ50 or an ASUS Eee PC T101MT, you might be better off selling your old parts on eBay. Finally, if you've already paid to get your components replaced and have the docs to prove it, you might be able to get refunded -- NVIDIA's set up a $2 million pool to be divided among all such reimbursements. Find everything you need at the links below.

[Thanks, Kalyan]

Will rental car companies ding you for returning half-charged electric vehicles? Enterprise won't.

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 08:41 AM PST

Here's a shocker in more ways than one. Earlier this month, Enterprise Rent-A-Car announced that it would soon be offering Chevrolet's Volt at the company's Mark Christopher Auto Center in Ontario, California, and we reasonably assumed that renters best watch out for any unforeseen charges that may arise from returning it with a dead (or near-dead) stash of batteries. For anyone who has rented a gasoline-powered automobile in the past score, you'll know that returning a whip with a fuel tank that's just 90 percent full won't quite cut it, and you'll be stuck ponying up for your oversight. Thankfully -- at least at Enterprise -- a similar surcharge setup will not be applied to electric vehicles. Lisa Martini, a spokesperson for Enterprise, got in touch with us to clarify the outfit's plans, and they're shockingly consumer-friendly:
"[Enterprise] does not plan to charge customers for bringing back EVs without a full charge. Enterprise is installing charging stations at locations that will offer EVs, and plans to charge the vehicles once they're returned."
That pretty much sums it up for at least one major rental company, and we can only hope that everyone else publishes similar intentions before their accountants publish something to the contrary. Power to the people, eh?

The Engadget Podcast, live at 2:30PM EST!

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 08:24 AM PST

It was a rough week after CES, full of debilitating sickness and Verizon iPhones. We think we've got it pretty much under control, however, so we hope you'll join us for this Special Weekend Edition Podcast. Check out the stream and the chat after the break, we'll get rolling around 2:30PM EST. That is, if none of us die before then.

P.S. And don't forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you're out and about and you can't join in on the Flash-based fun below.

World sends 107 trillion emails in 2010, most of them about enlarging your stock portfolio

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 07:28 AM PST

Hold on to your seats, stat lovers, 2010 is about to hit you with the full force of its quantifiable web exploits. Web monitoring site Pingdom reports that last year we all sent 107 trillion emails to our loved and unloved ones, which breaks down to 294 billion per day, though only 10.9 percent of those weren't spam. There are now 1.88 billion email users around the globe and when they're not too busy communicating, they're surfing one of the net's 255 million total sites (21.4 million of which are said to have arrived in 2010). The compendium of numerical knowledge wraps up with a look at social media, where Twitter still has a way to go before catching up with email -- there were only 25 billion tweets last year -- but continues to grow like mad, having added 100 million users during the year. Facebook added even more, 250 million users, and its thriving population is sharing 30 billion pieces of content (links, pics, video, etc.) each and every month. This isn't madness, this is the internet.

Nokia X7 press shot emerges with AT&T branding, subsidized hopes and dreams

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 06:01 AM PST

Is AT&T seriously gearing up to sell a subsidized Nokia smartphone once again in the US of A? Given the company's long absence from being included in any US carrier's smartphone section, it still feels more like a dream than an impending reality, but that image above is certainly hard to ignore. According to Pocketnow's sources, the first press images of the Nokia X7 are legitimate, and the AT&T branding isn't by accident. Purportedly, the Symbian^3-based phone will be hitting Ma Bell's shops as early as this month, bringing along an eight megapixel camera (with dual-flash), four speaker grilles (two of which have drivers underneath) and a ClearBlack display. Hit the source link for a look at the rear.

NTIA says LightSquared proposal could pose national security threat

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 04:15 AM PST

Last summer it looked like Philip Falcone's LightSquared was on the path to a democratic LTE solution: a coast-to-coast network, incorporating satellite connectivity to cover the entire country. It's an ambitious goal to be sure -- perhaps too ambitious. In a letter to the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) warned that the wholesaler's wireless network, which would operate on the MSS spectrum, could interfere with systems like Department of Defense communications. Here's the snag: last year the FCC approved the company's initial proposal to create a network that would incorporate both terrestrial and satellite services. Now LightSquared wants to offer the option of terrestrial-only phones to their clients. According to the NTIA, such a system would require far more land-based stations, causing potential MSS overcrowding and increasing the risk of interference with everything from aeronautical emergency communications to Federal agency systems. The FCC has yet to make a decision on the revised proposal, and LightSquared hasn't made a peep, leaving us to wonder whether it was all too good to be true.

Holy reverse KIRF Batman! Meizu M9 ROM ported to HTC EVO 4G

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 01:57 AM PST

Some industrious hackers have created a port of the Meizu M9 ROM for the HTC EVO 4G, bringing a little KIRF flavor to Sprint's favorite jumbo phone. The port is still in the developmental stages, but most of the M9 functionality appears to already be working, with only the port from GSM to CDMA and tweaks to screen resolution left to do. After a little spit-shine to make sure the build is stable, EVO owners can finally see what the Meizu M9 fuss is all about without having to actually buy one. Of course, why you'd actually want to do this to your perfectly functional Android phone is a question that may never truly find a legitimate answer.

Notion Ink Adam clears FCC, begins shipping 'around Wednesday'

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 12:10 AM PST

We don't see it in the FCC database yet but Notion Ink's charming Rohan Shravan just penned a post on the company's blog with news that Adam has official clearance from the US government. That's right, after several delays the tiny startup will finally condense its occasionally vapory molecules into a solid slab of shipping tablet starting "around Wednesday" after the hardware receives its FCC tattoo. Remember, Adam was that tablet good enough to earn a Best of CES 2011 honorable mention at an event absolutely flooded with tablets from a who's who of consumer electronics companies. While our first impressions of the production unit were positive, we're holding off on making a final judgement until we've had the chance to perform a full review. Having said that, Adam's final NI3421A01 product code is so nerdy -- 3421 are consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci series -- that we're almost tempted to place an order ourselves. Almost.

[Thanks, John]

Starr Labs AirPower, Missing Link adapters take MIDI into the wild world of wireless

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 11:15 PM PST

Ah, MIDI. How we love thee. You're older than dirt itself, but still totally relevant -- something we could only hope to one day be. But now, it's time to make a move. A move to a world where copper wires and insulated cabling aren't necessary. A world where wireless rules. Create Digital Music has a new report out on two of the most prominent options when it comes to wireless MIDI, with the both of 'em distributing bleeps and bloops over totally different airwaves. The Starr Labs AirPower relies on a proprietary 2.4GHz communications protocol, enabling MIDI guitarists to finally get their groove on without worry over cable ejections. 'Course, with a $425 (upgrade) / $250 (MIDI-only) price tag, it's far from being affordable, and that $250 dongle is needed in addition to the $425 adapter for any instrument not made by Starr. The Missing Link relies on traditional WiFi waves, enabling phones and tablets to easily tap into its potential. You'll need to be aware that even the slightest bit of WiFi interference could ruin a live gig, but at just $150 (limited first run), it may be worth the risk. Head on past the break for a live demonstration of the latter, and tap that via for more dirt on the duo.

Strait Power turbine is water-powered, shark-inspired (video)

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 09:36 PM PST

Strait Power turbine is water-powered, shark-inspired (video)
The basking shark, with its five foot jaw, is one of the most ferocious looking critters that ever swam the sea. However, it's pretty much harmless, just filtering out tiny bits and leaving idle dippers and their water wings alone. This is what served as the inspiration for Anthony Reale, who turned that gaping maw into Strait Power. It's effectively a double-nozzle that fits around a hydro turbine or two, turning the flow of water into electrical power, boosting the efficiency of the turbine by creating areas of high pressure ahead and low pressure behind, as visualized above. The result was a 40 percent boost in efficiency -- and some soggy jeans, as you can see in the videos below. The first gives a quick overview, the second an uber-detailed discussion of the development from start to finish. Choose your path.




How would you change Windows Phone 7?

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 06:52 PM PST

Fair's fair, right? The last time we spoke, we gave you all ample opportunity to tell webOS' new owners how revision 2.0 should be changed, and now that Microsoft's latest and greatest has been on the open market for a few months, it's time to do the same with Windows Phone 7. It's obvious that WP7 is a huge, huge leap forward over Windows Mobile, but as a fledgling mobile OS, there are naturally quite a few areas where improvements could be made. If you were blessed with the ability to magically wave a wand and change anything about Windows Phone 7, what would it be? Would you tweak how the email notification system works? Alter how the tiles are laid out? Make it just a bit more like the Kin? Go on and spill your heart below -- you're an early adopter, you've earned the right.

Sierra On-Line games hit iPad via web app, those old enough to remember them rejoice

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 05:40 PM PST

You may or may not be old enough to remember Sierra On-Line, makers of such fine games as Leisure Suit Larry, the King's Quest, and Police Quest, but none of that matters anymore. Thanks to the folks over at Sarien, you now have access to these glorious titles via your iPad's web browser. The entire catalog has been ported over, and the games which were previously available via the web only are now there on your Apple tablet! The whole shebang is now hosted on Amazon's content distribution network, and the games have been extensively tweaked for that multitouch interface. Sarien hasn't apparently been issued a cease and desist from Activision -- owners of the catalog -- yet, so get these free gems of yesteryear while you can.

Geohot wins round one against Sony (kinda) -- judge declines to rule on SCEA restraining order (updated)

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 04:49 PM PST

By now we all know that Sony filed a lawsuit against Geohot and fail0verflow for their distribution of PS3 jailbreak firmware and asked the court for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop said distribution of the offending code. Well, according to Geohot, the court denied declined to rule on Sony's motion earlier today. Geohot has reposted the code online, so it seems safe to say that the TRO is back for now, and the jailbreak can once again roam the internet unencumbered by any legal decrees. The decision, while favorable to the defendants, has little effect on the outcome of the litigation itself, so Hotz and company aren't out of the woods just yet. We'll keep you posted on the status of the order, and will also watch as the case progresses for the real fireworks to start.

Update: Looks like we jumped the gun and got the story a little wrong, but thanks to our readers we've discovered that the judge declined to rule on the TRO. Instead she tabled the TRO issue because she was not satisfied that the Northern District of California has jurisdiction to rule on the matter because Geohot hacked the PS3 in New Jersey.

Skype's acquisition of Qik is now complete

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 03:59 PM PST

Huh, that was fast. Barely one week has passed since Skype announced plans to acquire rival Qik, and now the buyout is complete. Skype celebrated with a blog post announcing the deal and reaffirms that its teams will be "working together... to make our mobile video products even better." Not to worry, Qik faithful, we doubt you're world will change much -- not yet, at least.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Exclusive: The future of the iPad 2, iPhone 5, and Apple TV, and why Apple is shifting its mobile line to Qualcomm chipsets

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 02:57 PM PST

We've been hearing a ton of rumors about what direction Apple's next set of products will take and when they'll be available -- but now we've got some concrete information from reliable sources which should make the path a little clearer. And that includes info on the next iPad, the iPhone 5, the second iteration of the new Apple TV, and a big change coming for all of the company's mobile products. Want to know the scoop? Read along after the break to get the goods.

Right now, everyone is obviously buzzing about the Verizon iPhone 4. What people aren't talking about (yet) is the fact the device will be using a Qualcomm chipset for its CDMA radio (with no GSM capabilities) as opposed to the Infineon versions seen in the GSM iPhone 4. This isn't much of a surprise by itself, but it paves the way for a major shift from Apple. But first, a little bit of a timeline.

Just before the Verizon iPhone 4 launch, we'd heard from multiple sources -- sources like the ones which gave us all that extremely accurate Apple TV info last time around -- that the iPad 2 isn't nearly as close to launch as some have speculated. Apparently, those case and hardware mockups we've seen are rather early versions, which means we're still months out from a proper introduction. It seems likely that the device will land around April (perfectly timed with the 12-month product cycle Apple enjoys). And what about that device? From what we've been told, the thinner, sleeker tablet will sport a new screen technology that is akin to (though not the same as) the iPhone 4's Retina Display and will be "super high resolution" (unlike reports to the contrary). The device will remain at 10 inches but will now feature both front and rear cameras (not a huge surprise), and... there's an SD slot. That's right -- our sources say with near certainty that the device will have a dedicated SD slot built in (with no traditional USB slot). In fact, see that weird notch in the photo below? That's where the SD part will be located. What's most interesting, however, is what's happening under the hood.

The new iPad will feature a dual GSM / CDMA chipset produced by Qualcomm and will mark Apple's shift away from Infineon as its chipset maker to Qualcomm for all of its mobile devices. It's not clear if the chipset being used will be based on the company's EV-DO / HSPA Gobi variety or an entirely new design. Presumably, the strength of the new dual-mode chipset is that it will allow both Verizon and AT&T to offer the iPad simultaneously.

But all of these moves are leading up to the iPhone 5 -- a completely redesigned handset -- which our sources say is on track for a summer launch. Right now, the device is being tested discreetly by senior staff at Apple (strictly on campus only). We don't have much info on the phone at this point, but our understanding is that the new device will be a total rethink from a design standpoint and will be running atop Apple's new A5 CPU (a Cortex A9-based, multi-core chip). This device, like the iPad 2, will feature a Qualcomm chipset that does triple duty as the CDMA / GSM / UMTS baseband processor -- from what we hear there's no LTE in the mix at this point.

One other interesting tidbit: Apple is at work on the second generation of its redesigned Apple TV, which will include that new A5 processor. The CPU is said to be blazingly fast, cranking out 1080p video "like running water." It's likely that the A5 will make it into the iPad 2 as well, but we have yet to confirm that.

So what does this all mean? Besides the surprise of an SD slot on the iPad, it all sounds fairly routine. It's the complete move away from Infineon to Qualcomm that's truly notable -- marking one of the biggest shifts in suppliers and technology since the advent of the original iPhone. We're working on getting more detail on all of these devices, and as soon as we do, you guys will be the first to know!

Vudu movie streaming app is (not) live on the Boxee Box - update

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 02:40 PM PST

There's no official confirmation from Boxee's blog or Twitter account yet, but owners of its Box are experiencing a fully activated Vudu app with the SD, HD, HDX and 3D streams the service is famous for. The only glitches reported so far seem to have been cleared up by just restarting the device so hopefully whatever delayed its launch past the planned 2010 window is entirely resolved. There's no firmware update needed, so give it a shot if you haven't already, especially since Vudu's still offering a free flick for all new signups. With Netflix streaming still an unreachable dream for its Box (unless one also happens to own practically any other media streaming device on the market) we hope the company rewards its developers with a long, long break of at least five minutes before sending them back to work on our Watch Instantly access.

[Thanks, Parris]

Update: VP of Marketing Andrew Kippen has let us know that while the app was released to a few hundred testers "by mistake" it's been taken down so they can finish testing before it is eventually released "with much fanfare." Sorry Boxee devs, no five minute break for you today!

Moog Lap Steel adds infinite analog sustain to the top of your thighs: ears-on at NAMM 2011 (video)

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 02:16 PM PST

Leave it to Moog to give us one more reason to be jealous of lap steel players. As if their twangy, slidey Hawaiian metallics weren't cool enough in the first place, they've now got the semi-magical ability to magnetically sustain or mute each string via the pickup -- kind of along the lines of previously Moog-enhanced stringed instruments. The legendary synth manufacturer has also thrown in ladder filters and and a gaggle of other switchable effects into the beautiful instruments. Orders are just being taken now, and each one will be custom-crafted (pink and purple sparkle starburst with a MIDI pickup, anyone?) by a luthier friend of the manufacturer for a little under $3000. We sat down with Cyril Lance from Moog and one of only four models in existence -- catch video of the new acid-bluegrass sounds after the break.

Korg rolls out slimmed down nanoSeries2 USB controllers

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 01:42 PM PST

Korg's original nanoSeries USB controllers may have garnered some mixed reviews when they were released back in 2008, but the company's now back with some new and improved models that seem to address at least some of those complaints. As before, the lineup includes three different models: the nanoKEY2, nanoPAD2 and nanoKONTROL2, which can either be used on their own or paired up together. In addition to a slimmer design for each, all three are available in your choice of black or white, and it sounds like Korg has moved away from the plasticky, QWERTY keyboard feel that plagued the previous models, with the nanoKEY2 in particular described as having the same "great-feeling 'touch' that Korg has developed for its professional MIDI keyboards." Still no word on pricing or availability, but you can find all the rest of the key details at the link below.

Time Warner, Disney and News Corp. bigwigs speak up against FCC stipulations in Comcast-NBC deal

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 01:09 PM PST

Hello, inevitable. It simply had to happen, and now, it is. As Comcast, NBC and the FCC attempt to work out stipulations over Comcast's proposed 51 percent buyout of NBC Universal, a smattering of major media companies are paying close attention to the play-by-play. Naturally, the precedents that are set from this deal will affect future agreements of this caliber, and lobbyists for both Disney and News Corp. (as well as Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes) aren't standing over on the sidelines any longer. All three outfits have reportedly been "voicing their concerns this week with the FCC, worried that such conditions could undermine their own efforts to profit from the nascent online video industry."

We're told that the media mega-corps are worried that the rules -- if hammered down -- could interfere with ongoing negotiations with online video providers, and in turn, give them less leverage to monetize and control their content on the world wide web. In other words, if NBC Universal is forced to provide content fluidly to all ISPs (and not just Comcast), what's to say other content makers and internet providers wouldn't also be forced into similar deals, regardless of whether or not they're involved in takeover negotiations? Needless to say, we're nowhere near the end of this journey, and while the nuts and bolts are pretty dry to think about, the outcomes could have a serious impact on our future viewing habits.

Akai's iPad-docking SynthStation 49 and updated app: eyes-on at NAMM 2011

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 12:38 PM PST

Remember when everything had an iPhone dock? The coming dock revolution will be just like that, but a lot more massive. Akai is showing off a non-functioning version of its SynthStation 49-key MIDI controller at NAMM this weekend, and it's pretty much the same idea as the smaller iPhone-docking Synthstation25. That said, here you've got nine velocity-sensitive MPC pads, a separate transport section, and 1/4-inch outs. And an adjustable iPad dock, which is a funny thing to see on a keyboard. Software-wise, this younger-bigger bro in the family will also support CoreMIDI -- and an updated version of Akai's SynthStation iOS app for the bigger screen, using the added real estate to allow finer, more direct control over the sound, along with a new recording section and simultaneous drum / synth sequencing. Not a bad piece of kit for the pad-centric musician in your life -- look for it to splash down this June for $199. Check below the break for video of the unit and a runthrough of the new software.

Synth pioneer Roger Linn shows us his new analog drum machine, Tempest (video)

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 12:16 PM PST

We were wandering around the crowded, noisy halls of this year's NAMM show when a particularly freaked-out drum pattern struck our eardrums. We followed the sound and encountered a gray-haired, bespectacled gentleman tapping and tweaking knobs so professionally that we couldn't help checking out his name tag. Imagine our delight when we saw it was no less than Roger Linn, designer of the Linndrum and Akai's MPC60. If you're not familiar with those terms, no matter: let's just say that Dr. Dre and any other producer who's banged out a synthetic beat on a box owes this guy their entire career. Mr. Linn has partnered with Dave Smith Instruments to create the Tempest, a 16-pad beauty with enough knobs, buttons, and sequencing muscle to keep you inspired for endless hours in the studio. And the sound on this thing! It does include digital samples like a traditional MPC, but where it really shines is in the analog synthesis and effects department. It takes a lot for a drum machine to feel unique and valuable these days -- especially at the $2000 they'll be asking for it in June -- but the Tempest, from our brief time with it, sounds like it'll be well worth the investment for serious producers. Video of Mr. Linn's demo after the break.

ARMdevices: ARM-based Google TV platform 'confirmed' and coming soon

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 11:54 AM PST

Well, it looks like Windows might not be the only new territory for ARM in 2011 -- ARMdevices is reporting that it has it on "very high authority from someone at Google" that an ARM-powered Google TV platform is "confirmed" and "coming soon." That authority is unsurprisingly remaining anonymous, however, and apparently hasn't provided much else in the way of details. This is far from the first time we've heard talk of ARM for Google TV, though -- as ARMdevices points out, even ARM President Tudor Brown weighed in on the matter back in November, saying that "if Google TV is to be mainstream, it must be built on a lower power system... on lower cost technology," with ARM presumably fitting the bill on both counts.

Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer now available for pre-order, we tour its shiny new features (video)

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 11:31 AM PST

In an era of synth-toy overload, the OP-1 is definitely doing its thing to set itself apart from the pack. It wouldn't have surprised us if it never came out, simply vanishing into the ether like most too-good-to-be-true hardware tends to do. But the fine Swedes of Teenage Engineering are in Anaheim for NAMM with a production model on the floor, and now it's really, truly up for pre-order (please allow 8 weeks for manufacturing and processing) for $799 at their site. There are boatloads of updates from the OP-1's we've seen in the past: the little white slab with the colorful LCD now sports a raft of different sequencing modes, new stunningly visualized effects (like the boxer up above for punch...get it?), an accelerometer, and an FM radio, of all things. Video tour of all the shiny new features after the break.

Apple nears ten billion downloads in App Store, should hit it without Verizon's help

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 11:07 AM PST

For whatever reason, Apple has a thing with ten billion. The outfit served up its ten billionth iTune right around this time last year, and more importantly, served its one billionth app in April of 2009. In just 1.5 years, the company has seen that figure soar nearly tenfold, which is impressive no matter how you slice it. Of course, we're quite curious to know if this includes duplicate downloads, app updates and just free or paid apps, but regardless, there's no question that Cupertino (and quite a few developers) are raking it in. Of course, the explosion of the iPad certainly helped boost the download frequency, and if we had to guess, we'd say it'll take even less time to double up this milestone. You know, once next month happens. Oh, and if you get lucky enough, you could score a $10,000 iTunes gift card if you just so happen to download the ten billionth app -- make sure it's a good one.

[Thanks, Ali]

GameBoy Advance Phone caught in the wild (by the guy who built it)

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 10:53 AM PST

Perhaps if there was some sort of Brundlefly-style gadget mix-up five years ago, the outcome would look like this: an HTC Hermes jammed inside a GameBoy Advance housing. This prototype, presented by Windows Phone Hacker, features some fun changes that make it feel more like your beloved handheld gaming console, and less like your dated Windows Mobile Pocket PC, including a startup GIF animation of the original GameBoy Advance boot screen, custom software that keeps the OS in landscape mode, and custom notifications and ringtones from the Mario games. Also included is PocketGBA emulator for playing GameBoy Advance ROMs on the phone itself. Of course, this is just the beginning of the project: we look forward to seeing a version where the buttons work! In the meantime, check out the thing in action after the break.

[Thanks, Juan]

The home theater PC is dead, long live Windows Media Center

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 10:31 AM PST

Acer embedded Media Center demo
There has been a lot of discussion in the Windows Media Center community about the product's death. The theory is that Microsoft is throwing in the towel, focusing on the Xbox 360 and intends to let the best DVR software available become stale -- or worse, eliminate it from future versions of Windows altogether. After watching the Ballmer keynote at CES last week, it was hard not to get on this train as we all watched the 360, Windows Phone 7, and Windows highlighted on stage. But then something happened when the show floor opened: Windows embedded products were highlighted in private meetings and elsewhere. There was a buzz around Media Center embedded and even a price and ship date; meanwhile, home theater PCs got no love. So after years of trying, it appears that all hopes that HTPCs will ever emerge from their niche status are gone, but the same can not be said for Windows Media Center.

The demise of HTPCs is not for a lack of effort

We've had a fascination with home theater PCs since the first time we saw video running on a PC -- remember Intel MMX? There's something empowering about seeing video run on a PC, and there's been a PC connected to our TV ever since. In fact, we use an HTPC now and have enjoyed its benefits for what feels like forever. But all that being said, we wouldn't offer to set one up for a friend, and we wouldn't give our mother one, ever. The problem is that while a computer geek can make an HTPC do just about anything, a typical user has a hard enough time using a PC to surf the web. There are just too many things that can go wrong, and with the exception of some very high-end models, commercial HTPCs are non-existent. HP stopped making 'em four years ago. Dell never even bothered. Nope, no matter how hard PC manufactures and Microsoft try, HTPCs simply will never go mainstream.

Microsoft has tried as hard as anyone to make this geek dream come true, with multiple versions of Media Center and money dumped into R&D trying to entice programming providers in the US and the rest of the world to bring their programming to Windows. We'd bet that if stock holders had any idea how much money was spent compared to the return, someone would surely get fired. Right about now, there are some people screaming at their computer, complaining that Microsoft never marketed Media Center. Seriously? A company as successful as Microsoft knows a thing or two more than most about marking a product. No, the problem is there's no mainstream market for an HTPC, so realistically-speaking, another few billion dumped into marketing wouldn't have changed a thing (c.f. Kin). Consumer electronics have to be like an appliance, they just need to work. Even some top brass at Microsoft use a TiVo as a DVR instead of a HTPC because they just work. This all makes it easy to understand why Microsoft has re-purposed its software and lined up new partners for an embedded version of Windows 7 Media Center.

Windows Media Center TV

Why an embedded Media Center just makes sense

The one thing that every single mainstream DVR and smartphone have in common is that they are all embedded. It's a match between hardware and software that is designed to do a few specific things and do them very well. Microsoft has been making embedded software for a long time, and odds are you've used it at an ATM or stood right in front of someone who used a Windows embedded machine to ring you up at a department store. What's new is that Microsoft ported its Media Center software to the latest embedded version of Windows and is giving hardware partners the chance to build a DVR without spending all the big bucks on developing software. This means that some entrepreneurial electronics manufacturer can grab off the shelf parts, add in a little of Redmond's software and deliver a dependable DVR to mainstream America -- in theory. And a number of companies have already stepped forward with plans. We've been seeing demos at trade shows, and at CES one company even announced it'd ship a product in the 1st quarter for $499. Still a little steep for the mainstream, but far less than the thousands that off the shelf HTPCs cost today. And besides, the first products to market typical cost more.

Acer\Gateway embedded Media Center

The bad news is that embedded also means restrictions, and while some are sure to hack their way to more functionality, it won't be as easy. For those not willing to meddle and risk their investment, there'll likely be sacrifices that will have to be accepted. It is impossible to know what exactly until the products hit the market, but the inability to install your favorite codec isn't out of the realm of possibilities, and installing software to automatically skip commercials is almost certainly a no go.

There is some more good news though. Embedded devices make more than just mainstream consumers happy, they also appeal to content owners. Netflix, VUDU, Blockbuster, cable video-on-demand have all been available to embedded devices for some time. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verzion and DirecTV weren't showing their programming on a HTPC at CES this year, but they were showing 'em on a variety of other embedded devices. Of course, the PC is completely capable of delivering all this content and more, but media giants aren't going to spend their time and money developing software for a niche whose only measurable result would be to open up a new attack vector to circumvent DRM. So embedded doesn't just mean stability and affordability, it can also mean content.


Extenders vs set-top-boxes

Now, this is where things get interesting. Microsoft tried a few times to proxy the PC into the living room via Extenders and suffice to say the attempts all failed pretty miserably -- same goes for embedded devices, by the way. Maybe the hardware wasn't ready, who knows, but what we do know is that two Media Center PCs don't play well together with DRM'd content and if more than one Media Center in the house has a tuner, things can messy real quick. There have been a few recent changes in the content world that could really impact success here though. The first is the recent change to the CableCARD specification that allows a tuner to be shared over a network. Basically, this means that you can install six CableCARD tuners into a Media Center in the house and watch live TV on any other Media Center (set-top box or PC) in the house that's connected to the same network. That opens up some options, but there are still the DRM problem. Currently, shows recorded from cable marked as Copy Once by the provider are locked to the device they're recorded on, which frankly sucks. But connecting a few dots paints a rosier future.


InfiniTV 6 CableCARD tuner

What does Microsoft, Comcast, Timer Warner Cable, CableLabs, and just about every major movie studio have in common? They are all a member of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem and have vowed their support to UltraViolet. We know that joining a group and actually participating are two different things, but it isn't out of the question that UltraViolet's new DRM could be added to the CableLabs spec. This would mean that "each household will be able to create an account for up to six members who can access the household's UltraViolet Movies, TV... Consumers will also be able to register up to 12 devices." This new tech won't be ready until later this year, but it does offer hope that DRM might not always be this bad, some day.

Wrap-up
It's going to take more than Reycom, Acer / Gateway, and Haier to make this thing take off, but it isn't hard to let your imagination wonder on where this all could go. It would also be hard to argue that this isn't Microsoft's strongest position in the DVR market yet, and while anything could happen, we say long live Media Center with confidence. Who knows, if things go well, all the other previous promising developments for Media Center that never were, might find their way to market too. Then again, we've been wrong before.
at 11:51 AM

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