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  • The Paradox of Consumer Choice
    A few years ago I read a book called The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More by Barry Schwartz. His anecdotes were insightful and pointed to truths about the amount of choice the free market has laid on us as consumers. Of course free markets and consumer choice should be good things, but there are certainly experiences I have had where the overwhelming sense of having too many options made it difficult to actually make a decision. I related to much of what the book was saying, particularly with the experience of picking out a DVD to watch from my massive collection. I recall staring at a wall of DVDs and having the most difficult time deciding what to watch. The decision-making process when faced with so many good choices was simply immobilizing.  
  • The Future of PC and Mobile Processors

    I've spent a lot of time with a number of hardware manufacturers recently, trying to get a glimpse into the next generation of processors and the ways in which they'll impact future gadgets and PCs. In all my meetings, one term has arisen time and again: SOC, or system-on-a-chip.

    Traditionally, chips have been created independently and then coupled together to provide multiple computing features. For example, a manufacturer would create a core processor like an Intel Centrino with a built-in Wi-Fi radio, and then attach that to a systems board, perhaps linking it together with a separate graphics co-processor, in order to deliver enhanced PC graphics. Another might take an ARM core processor and then add on additional features like extended graphics to enhance device functionality.

  • Apple's iPad: Live up the Hype? It Will....
    It was interesting to hear all the chatter after last week's iPad launch. Most reactions I heard from other analysts and media were lukewarm at best...which was what I expected. If you think about it, how can anything live up to the kind of hype leading up to this launch? But there was a lot missed in the media about the event and the product that I hope to share in order to maintain our perspective on not only the iPad but on Apple and their products.  
  • Innovation Abounds - CES 2010 Post Show Analysis

    This year's CES was very interesting. I had felt for the past few years that CES was sorely lacking in the innovation department. But this year it looks like things have changed in the technology industry. Technology companies have realized that to reach the consumer the pace of innovation needs to accelerate, and this year's CES was a start in that direction.  Several things stuck out that I'd like to highlight:  

Creative Strategies - Digital Home Technology Analysis

Google TV- An Early Analysis

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:25

I had a chance to get some hands on time with Google TV last week at I/O from both Sony and Logitech.  Let's start off and agree that re-inventing the TV experience is a necessary but also incredibly difficult task. Necessary because with the exception of the DVR, television simply has not changed that much in the past 50 years. Yes, we got color, then we got HD; but the overall experience has not drastically changed. Re-invention is in essence what Apple desired and still desires to do, and what Google is now putting a stake in the ground in order to attempt as well.

I say re-inventing the TV experience is difficult, because it is controlled by the service providers like DirecTV, Comcast, COX, etc. These service providers offer their customers a completely closed system in which to access their content, or premium content. So for a company like Apple or Google to make inroads with a TV experience that is tightly integrated with a customer's service provider is an uphill battle.

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Online Services and Ubiquitous TV

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:25

With the 2009 MLB season around the corner I thought I would share more on my experience canceling TV service to get all my TV for free online, well almost free.   Streaming all your shows online has one huge bonus that the service providers can't offer you.  That is "Ubiquitous TV."  Meaning TV anywhere you want it, or anywhere you can connect to the Internet, which is quickly becoming everywhere.   When I travel now I don't have to miss out on my favorite shows while my wife watches them at home.  

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Canceling TV service to explore the world of online TV

Thursday, 29 July 2010 15:25

TVI was thinking that the recent downturn in the economy, along with my wife and my decision to cut out unnecessary expenses, provided me with a great opportunity to cut our cable service and explore online TV. 

I have for a long while now used computers as the backbone of my home media network but never for TV. So the day has arrived for me to completely buy in. To do this I have chosen a unique piece of hardware to be connected to my TV in the AlienWare Area 51-M15x.   This is one of my favorite pieces of hardware and I know it will succeed in this task. 

 

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