News

Ditch the Plasma and Dump the LCD, Here Comes the SED

March 14th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Technology

The Age
The booming market for flat panel TVs is about to make way for yet another technology - one that threatens to challenge the lock that plasma and liquid crystal displays (LCD) currently have of this red hot consumer electronics product category.
The technology is called SED, which stands for surface-conduction electron-emitter display. And this week, [...]

LG.Philips Develops 100-Inch LCD

March 14th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Technology

The Korea Times

LG.Philips LCD Wednesday took the wraps off a 100-inch thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel, which the company claims is the largest in the world.
The model developed by the world’s runner-up LCD producer is about 1.5 times bigger than the previously largest 82-inch product of Samsung Electronics, the global top player.
“Our [...]

When the TV Picture Runs to Triple Digits

March 7th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Entertainment, News, Politics, Technology

CNET News.com
When it comes to watching television, it seems bigger is always better.
So why settle for a pipsqueak 50-inch plasma television or one of those modestly sized 65-inch rear-projection TVs when you can get something truly gigantic?
A growing number of consumers are taking a look at front-projection video systems, units that transmit an image onto [...]

TV’s Flat New World

March 7th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Politics, Technology

Wired
Bigger. Wider. Flatter. That’s the vision of tomorrow’s entertainment. And if you’ve already got a new high-definition flat-panel TV, you know exactly what we’re talking about.
But HD flat-panels aren’t just a bleeding-edge luxury anymore. They’re about to become the household standard. While today’s entertainment networks offer only a handful of high-def programs, the number of [...]

Ask Your Car Radio!

March 6th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Sports, Technology, Travel, Weather

Web Wire
In the future, drivers will be able to conveniently retrieve information from the Internet using “natural language.” This has been made possible by a new technology that automatically generates voice applications from Internet information and transmits it to the vehicle via radio signals.
It’s just not your day. You drive by several low-priced gas stations [...]

Jobs Unveils Intel-Based Mac Mini

March 1st, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Technology

CNN Money
Speaking at a news briefing at Apple headquarters in California, Jobs said Apple’s new minis will contain Intel’s (Research) Core processor, a remote control, as well as high-end digital video and audio outputs that allow the machines to connect to digital TVs.
“Today’s news was basically an expansion of Apple’s digital home strategy,” said Sam [...]

Talk to your TV: Opera Software Announces Voice-Enabled Home Media Technology with IBM Embedded ViaVoice

February 28th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Technology

Opera Software
Opera Software ASA today announced their voice-enabled Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for home media, introducing home entertainment users across the globe to the future of human-computer interaction.
The voice-enabled EPG is a significant breakthrough in the effort to enhance the customer experience. Finally, there is an easier way for people to interact with their DVD [...]

Ever More Channels, Ever Faster TV, Web Moves Closer Yet Using a Telephone Line

February 28th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Technology

SFGate
A few years ago, a team of Microsoft engineers invited some SBC executives to a small Mountain View apartment. The engineers had jury-rigged an Xbox gaming console into a set-top box to control the television set.
The SBC executives were getting their first glimpse of IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television, which uses your phone line to [...]

Software to Make Your Media Center ‘Listen’

February 28th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, Entertainment, News, Technology

CNET News.com
No one to talk to when you get home from work? One Voice Technologies has a technological solution.
Its One Voice software add-on for Windows XP Media Center is designed to allow users to control their TV, stereo and computer via verbal commands. The One Voice slogan is “Just say it to play it,” the [...]

Selling Sight Unseen – Builders’ Sales Centers Use High Tech to Market a Lifestyle

February 27th, 2006  |  by Bryan Trogdon  |  published in Business, News, Technology

SFGate
One recent evening, a high-energy crowd buzzed through the Palm’s condo sales office South of Market to a pulsing bossa nova beat. A social scientist looking for a demographic group to profile would throw in the towel, pick up a neon green cocktail (it matches one of the logo colors) and simply mingle.
Singles and pairs [...]