Month: January 2012

New day at DISH

9 January 2012 by Steve Blum
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The Direct Broadcast Satellite pioneer has a new management team, new logo and new products. The core of the company is still satellite television, but there’s a more coherent and seamless integration of the company’s other offerings, such as satellite radio, DVRs, Blockbuster movies and more.

Joe Clayton has firmly taken over the helm from founder Charlie Ergen. He’s brought over some key players from the team that launched what is now known as DirecTv. Back in 1994, Joe led RCA when it joined with United States Satellite Broadcasting and Hughes’ DirecTv unit to launch DSS – the Digital Satellite System.
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Intel Ultrabook design is more execution than innovation

9 January 2012 by Steve Blum
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With ARM-based tablet sales crowding out netbooks, Intel needed to come up with a way of staying in the ultra-portable, ultra-usable game. Maybe they have something truly innovative in the pipeline, but they weren’t showing it at today’s CES press conference in Las Vegas.

What they did show was a fully productized line of their Ultrabook concept from a wide range of manufacturers, with one or two interesting twists. Ultrabooks are thin, lightweight, Windows 8-based laptops, similar to Macbook Airs, that combine heavy processing power with convertible and hybrid form factors.
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OLPC and Marvell show $100 tablet for the rest of the world

8 January 2012 by Steve Blum
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One Laptop per Child stole the show at tonight’s CES Unveiled event with a $100 tablet computer. Featuring a solar charger integrated into a protective hardshell case and an optional, robust hand-cranked generator, the device gets it right. It could be the defining digital bridge into the developing world.
The original OLPC project – a $100 laptop computer – launched the netbook market but did not achieve the degree of mass distribution in the developing world as originally hoped.
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Personal automation hits and misses

Among the dozens of companies showing their stuff at CES Unveiled tonight were several targeting the personal and home automation space. Some get it, some don’t.

Samsung, Greenwave and Zomm get it, more or less. Each showed a product that enables someone to extend his or her personal information and control network, without being too reliant on closed platforms or particular service providers.

Samsung debuted the SmartCam, an Internet protocol camera with motion and sound sensors, and two-way audio conversation capability.… More

Computer companies changing role, not ditching CES

8 January 2012 by Steve Blum
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Microsoft says 2012 will be its last year at the Consumer Electronics Show. ASUS isn’t holding its usual we’re-just-as-sexy-as-Apple preview event. MSI is MIA.
Computer companies have been exhibiting at CES for about 20 years, migrating to the show as Comdex died out. Microsoft Bob made his debut at CES in 1995. This “consumer friendly” information manager/productivity software package apparently got lost on the way to the airport and was never seen again. He happened in Vegas, he stayed in Vegas.
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A sugar daddy for home automation

2 January 2012 by Steve Blum
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MiOS/MiCasaVerde’s Vera 3 multi-mode gateway. No assembly language required, but you’ll need pretty much everything else.

CES – the Consumer Electronics Show – opens in Las Vegas next week. Among other things, it’s an opportunity to take a second (or third or fourth…) look at industry segments that held breakout potential at one point, only to fade off into a niche.

Home automation is one sector that has never lived up to its hype. Several technologies, notably including the X–10 standard, have been promoted as one-size-fits-all solutions for remote control and monitoring of thermostats, lighting and appliances.… More