Blog articles from 05/2010

Mocana is a company to which I was recently introduced. The company specializes in security for non-PC devices - including mobile, datacom, smart trid, federal, consumer, industrial and medical. The company today announced C-Series financing from Symantec . In its press release, Symantec indicated that enhancements to mobile security would be its inital thrust with the investment. This was not Symantec's only move in the last week to strengthen its portfolio beyond the PC. On May...

If you want the extended version of the saga regarding trying to play Internet radio through my AV system and through the in-ceiling speakers. Otherwise, the short story is that I hadn't found a way to stream my favorite Internet radio station through the AV receiver to enjoy a whole-house experience. I'd tried different media adapters, the ZVBox, and even a direct laptop-to-receiver connection, but nothing worked. The direct connection came closest, but with a really annoying buzzing...

Some clarification on the blog post yesterday. TiVo is supplying Best Buy (Insignia brand products) with its UI that will provide access to online content services such as Amazon Video On Demand. I would say that this then puts the TiVo offering more on par with DivX TV . The choices for heavy lifting for connected TVs (at least for embedded solutions) is more IBM, Google, and Yahoo!

Looks like we need to add TiVo to the list of connected TV "OS" players. TiVo is working with Best Buy to integrate TiVo's software and advanced television services into broadband-connected Insignia televisions.

I had written about some of Verizon's new features through the Media Manager, including access to YouTube. Sunday afternoons during the baseball season are fun for my son and me. If the Cubs win at Wrigley, they play "Go Cubs Go." As they were on the road yesterday (here in Arlington, actually), the Rangers' PA folks weren't gracious enough to crank up the music (even though half the stadium was Cubs fans). So, I found the clip on YouTube, turned on all of the music zones, and...

For at least a year or so, I've been doing my best to categorize all of the different solutions that are specially designed to bring Web content and applications to a "connected TV." I'm putting the term in quotes because there will be different ways to experience connectivity between the Internet and the display other than an embedded solution. For example: * Connected game consoles: In the U.S., penetration of Internet-connected game consoles jumped 38% between 2008 and...

INTEL's GM for Retail CE, Wilfred Martis, will be the new keynote at the CONNECTIONS Digital Living Conference June 8-10 in Santa Clara. He will be discussing "Smart TVs: Ready for Primetime." Martis joins other keynotes including: -- Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development & Management, VERIZON - The Service Provider and the Connected Home -- Scott Birnbaum, VP, SAMSUNG - TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying -- Mitch Singer, CTO, SONY -...

In today's Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg recommends the purchase of an extended warranty for a laptop. About a quarter of laptop buyers are following his advice. In our last U.S. study - Customer Support in the Digital Home, 23% of laptop buyers indicated that they had purchased the