ATBOM

Every year at this time, the world's technophiles start to salivate at the very thought of new high tech gadgets being revealed at the annual Consumer Electronics's Show (CES).  Early adopters are thrilled at the idea that in a few days they may be spending hundred's or thousand's of dollars on products that they have no clue if they'll need or not.  Others are looking to see if the hundred's or thousand's that they spent in the last few months were well spent, or if they should have held out just a little longer for the next best thing. Even for those who don't consider themselves "tech people," this show has a significant impact on our everyday lives.  It was at CES that we were first introduced to the VCR, the Camcorder, the CD, DVD, DVR and Blu-Ray Disc.  So, it's easy to see that what happens here is worth taking note of. While technophiles like myself are desperate to see the latest innovations, there are many new consumer produc...

This is the biggest news to hit the tech community, yet.  Ok, not really.  But, it's exciting for me.  ATBOM is seeking writers who are interested in sharing their tech thoughts, opinions, insights and rants.  If you're the type of person who loves technology, but have no one to talk to about it...why not share it here?  You don't have to be perfect (I'm a pretty good editor).  You just need to have something to say about something related to technology.  There are no quotas.  So, you can write something as often as little or as much as you'd like.  I mean really, the worst that could happen is that I fire you. :-) Seriously, I'm working hard to market this blog, and we're picking up followers left and right on Twitter.  But, I'm in serious need of more content.  So, if you are interested in writing for a tech blog [for free (for now)], then send a quick email to jml@jmlventures.org . Who knows, we may be able to start something...

Netflix , Dolby and Sony have announced  that starting today, you can download a small app from the Playstation Store and stream Netflix to your PS3 without the use of a disc.  More importantly, they announced that some programming will be able to stream in full 1080p and 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound!! I know that I just touted the new Roku players as being a far better experience than AppleTV , but the PS3 has come back as possibly a better device than both of them.  Impressive for a machine that is ancient by all technological standards.  Think about it...it's a superior gaming machine, it plays BluRay, It offers 7.1 surround sound, it has built in wifi, bluetooth, it now plays 3D movies and games , streams Netflix, offers Hulu Plus, has a built in movie rental store that offers new releases...what more do you want?  When their commercials say that it does everything, they're not lying. For a machine that is years old, it feels like the newest/coolest thi...

Long story short, the wildly popular game Angry Birds game that swept the iPhone and Palm community is now making its way to Android.  Thing is...it's free!!!  Rovio has chosen to use GetJar to distribute the game instead of the Android Market.  The tradeoff for this free goodness, a few ads.  But hey, it's Angry Birds!!!! Get it here .

On September 22, 2010 Sony rolled out PS3 update 3.50 which brought the ability to watch Blu-ray 3D movies to the console, and in-game Facebook support.  But what they've also done is enabled disc-less Netflix streaming for their console!!!!!  Wait...not for the US consumer, just Canada.   IGN is reporting that coinciding with the launch of Netflix in Canada on Sept. 23rd, Sony has enabled Canadian users to stream Netflix to their console without the need for a disc.

Roku announced yesterday the introduction of three new players , the Roku HD, XD and XD|S.  These three new units are smaller than previous units, feature 1080p capabilities and are cheaper than previous units ranging from $59 to $99.99!!  Let's be clear, the XD and XD|S feature 1080p capabilities while the HD will play up to 720p.  But, this is a significant boost to the previous lineup.  But, the goodies don't stop there...Roku has introduced an instant replay feature that will jump back 7 seconds in the video that you are watching at the push of a button.  If you own a Tivo or a DVR this is a feature that you're probably already familiar with.  It's a great feature when someone in the house yells "Whoa, did you see that?" If you are familiar with the Roku devices, they allow you to stream web content to your TV.  A year ago, Roku only had Netflix and Amazon Video  were available as channels.  Today, there are around 50 channels...

Yesterday brought the official launch of Netflix to Canada, but the launch was marred by an incident in which actors hired by Netflix gave interviews to the media, while still in character.  Characters including stereotypes like mother, film buffs, tech geeks and couch potatoes.  The embarrassment for Netflix, of course is that the press found out that these people were discovered to be phony. But, this is where Netflix gains some points.  In a post on their blog, Netflix owned up to the fact that they "blew it."  They came clean, which is commendable.  It turns out that Netflix had to file for a "documentary" permit in order to get the streets closed off in Canada where they were hosting their launch event.  As a result, they opted to shoot a corporate video which included a mock documentary using the hired extras.  Somewhere along the way however, the extras were given improper instructions to talk to the media and gush about their love f...

Microsoft has unleashed Internet Explorer 9 Beta on all of us today.  While slick, I had to write this post in Chrome, because the Beta would not allow me to edit Blogger's text boxes. :-(  Regardless, the new sparse look of IE9 is extremely slick.  Plus the added option of allowing you to drag a website's icon from the address bar to your task bar to create Bookmark Applications is pretty sweet.  It's a Beta, though.  So, beware. Get it here .

Today, Google launched Google Instant, the first major update in 12 years to their search interface.  As many articles on the Internet will explain to you today...this feature is pretty damn cool.  Google has always wanted to create a search engine that essentially could read your mind.  So, in addition to popping results up on the screen instantly, they've added a new predictive type feature that tries to guess what you are looking for and displays it in grey (in addition to the drop down that they've always provided).  Although it remains to be seen if Google is truly customizing their results to individual users, I did a quick ABC test to see what my results would be.  I must admit, it did seem pretty customized to my own personal searches. So, below you will find my results.  These are the suggested sites that Google Instant provided me after typing just one letter.  I invite you to share your results. A - Amazon.com B - Best Buy C - Craigsli...

So, today Google hosted a doodle that was made up of several balls that moved when you hovered over them.  Nice.  Pointless?  Maybe not. For me, it allowed me to quickly test how the world would see Google, today.  Many people would be like "What are you talking about, I didn't see that?"  Those people would be using Opera as their browser.  For some reason, when I loaded Google in Opera, today.  There were no wonderful moving balls. On the other hand, Internet Explorer showed the balls moving in all their glory...Oh wait...No, they didn't.  See, in Internet Explorer the balls that made up the logo moved, but stayed the same size.  Only when browsing in Chrome (Google's own browser) or Firefox did the balls not only move, but grow in size almost appearing to come towards the viewer. Sadly, this means that many people will not witness the full wonder of today's doodle.

Digeus Optimizer 8.2 feels like a good idea. You want it to be a good idea. The preview version, used for this review, has all of the promise of a Leatherman multitool . All of the potential applications to fix something are wrapped up in this software package. The opportunities to optimize, secure, maintain, monitor, tweak, delete, edit, scan, fix, or just peer are astounding. The package promises power, security, happiness and self-satisfaction. And the adventure began with a 10-part optimization wizard. But the differences between Digeus Optimizer 8.2 and any Leatherman is in the creators' focus. The designer of the physical multitool built it with a single, guiding purpose: Saving your ass with style and grace. The digital tool's creator? No such focus. Not so much saving. Not so much grace. First, there is very little guidance. The user interface is unhelpful, the dialogs are merely prompts to advance to the next step. And a decent Help section is not apparent. If th...

UPDATE: It's gone!!  I think Google realized that they were messing with people's world a bit too much with this one. Original Post: Last week Google added an option to change the background of its hompage a la Bing .  Very few people blinked.  Today, Google forces a background upon us.  I'm assuming that very few people are impressed.  It's been half an hour since the change has gone into effect, and there have only been 2 blog postings about it.  In Internet time, that's ages.  Especially when it's a Google change.  Is it because most people are busy trying to create an all white image to upload as their own custom background? Google, we like change.  As in, changing your doodle is fine.  But, don't force backgrounds down our throat.  We get that you have a new toy.  Not all of us want to play.

If you always been a fan of Google Earth, well now Google maps has integrated Earth into the website.  Just download a simple installer, and you'll be able to receive your directions in full 3D.  Also, Google has been tinkering with Google Maps over the last few weeks to add more 3D buildings to it's standard maps.  Plus, they've added an amazing predictive search that will predict addresses as you type.  It's pretty scary.  Start typing your home address, and by the time that you're a few letters into your street name, you'll most likely see your address in the drop down menu.  Kudos Google.

I have been a fan of Netflix  before being a fan of Netflix was cool.  Likewise, I became of fan of Roku before anyone had even heard of the device. So, as a longtime fan of both services, I have been waiting a long time for Roku's announcement, yesterday that they are finally updating the Netflix channel on their device. See the video here .

The new HTC Droid Incredible has finally hit the market.  I'll admit, it is definitely incredible.  It's stylish, as most HTC phones are.  It's fast (1GHz Snapdragon with 512MB RAM).  It has an 8MP camera.  It's going to be sweet. But, it's still not revolutionary as the HTC Evo will be upon its release.  Compared to the Evo, the Incredible lacks a forward facing camera, HD display, HD output, video calling, a kickstand and oh yeah, a 4G Network for extremely high speed data transfers. Don't get me wrong, the Incredible will be a welcome addition to the Verizon inventory, but it still seems as if only Sprint is poised to take on AT&T when the new iPhone is released. It will be interesting to see how this is going to play out.

Today, I took the leap and upgraded my laptop from Windows XP to Windows 7 .  The experience was much smoother than what I expected.  If you Google "Windows XP to Windows 7" you will get warnings that this is not for the faint of heart, or advice to let a professional do it, and on and on. My experience was not that bad.  I have a Dell Latitude D820, which is a Dual Core Processor running at 2.17 GHz with 2.99 GB of usable RAM out of the 4 GB that's physically installed.  This is because I have an x86 processor that is only capable of running a 32 bit Operating System.  Which, in turn means that my processor can't interpret more than 2.99 GB's of RAM, no matter how much is installed.

Let's start with the facts...I'm a huge Palm fan.  I have no shame in admitting it.  I even liked Palm when they were quite frankly, crappy.  So, the last few years have been a roller coaster ride for me.  I hated my Palm Treo 700p, but refused to go the way of a Blackberry when everyone else was.  I held out for the Pre , when everyone else switched to iPhones .  Then, I endured the past year, watching what is quite frankly an amazing phone and operating system get spanked by its competitors.  And now, I have to wait to see what happens now that HP has announced that they will purchase Palm.  This could get interesting...

Call me a skeptic. Now that I've seen the iPad; grilled the sales rep at Best Buy; and nearly alienated by best friends, I'm convinced I can't yet buy this innovative device. The problem is this: the iPhone and the iPad use the Internet differently than I've learned to use the Net.

Showcasing the features that the iPad lacks: USB, memory card and a camera...a new teaser video from HP shows that the new HP Slate is ready to take on the competition.  It should be noted however that the slate has a shorter battery life than the iPad and lacks the latest 802.11n standard in wifi. But, it definitely looks nice.  Plus, check out the docking station at the end. HP Slate Teaser Video

UPDATE 5/12/10: The Evo will go on sale on June 4th and will cost $199.99 with a contract.  4G access will run you an additional $10/mo and the ability to act as a mobile hotspot will be an additional $29.99/mo. Original Post: OK, Sprint has tried to kill the iPhone several times. The Instinct, the Palm Pre, the HTC Hero, and now the HTC Evo, the first phone in America to run on a 4G network.  But, something tells me that they may have actually pulled it off, this time.

In July of 2009, Ghost Inc. launched g.ho.st , a beta cloud computing site for the public.  For those who don't know; cloud computing is the collaboration of multiple computers that share resources, but provide a seamless operation for the end user.  What was interesting about g.ho.st was that it offered the end user a "virtual desktop computer" that they could access from any computer with web access.  Essentially, you would login to their website and gain access to your own personal desktop where you could access your files, or run web-based applications, etc.

So, when we last spoke, I was kind of hard on society for failing to provide us with our flying cars. Well, it turns out that Martin Aircraft Company Limited is launching the Martin Jetpack as a commercially available device, this year. The device will run on regular gasoline, so no worries about purchasing jet fuel. It will travel about 31.5 miles at an impressive 63 MPH. Apparently, it may be possible for the device to travel faster than that, but FAA regulations required that Ultralight Aircraft travel at a speed of 63 MPH or slower. The device is also capable of reaching an estimated altitude of 8,000 ft.

We have all been exposed to some science fiction vision of the future that promises us the ability to pop up a video screen and speak effortlessly towards it as if we were having a face-to-face discussion. Usually, this future reality is accompanied by autonomous robots and flying cars. I had to ask myself, are we really that far away from this future that we have envisioned for ourselves? So, today I installed Skype onto my computer for the third time. If you are not up to speed on Skype, it's essentially a souped up Instant Messenger. It's souped up because it allows you to also place free "phone" calls to other Skype users. Or, if you feel so inclined, you can pay a bit extra and place real "phone" calls to landlines. But, where Skype differs most from your standard home phone is that if you have a web cam attached to your computer, you can also place video calls to other Skype users. It is this function that has brought me back to Skype for the third...