Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Category: Electronics/CE (Page 3 of 8)

How to Watch High-Def TV on Your Mac – Cheap

Got a cool new product to tell you about — the Pinnacle TV for Mac HD Mini Stick. (Pinnacle is a division of Avid.)  It's available now, and you can find it priced around $120 at various online stores.  I was lucky enough to get my hands on a review copy recently (thanks, Andy Marken, PR guru extraordinaire), and I have to say I'm impressed. PinnacleHD-ministick
I don't watch a whole lot of TV — mostly sports and news (of course)…and, oh, documentaries (great for helping one fall asleep).  But I gotta say I sure enjoy the TV experience much more watching in HD!  (I include some quick screenshots here that I snapped last evening of the awesome Sunday Night Football game between the Redskins and the Cowboys.)

Till now, I didn't even own an HD set — that's how little I care about watching TV.  So, this post is both a result of my being amazed at the quality of HD, and the fact that I can now easily watch TV on my MacBook.  And I can watch it in whatever window size I want, even fullscreen.

So what is it?  The heart of the system (as shown above) is a little USB 2.0 HDTV tuner stick.  It lets you watch HDTV for free on your Mac, based on whatever broadcast HDTV signals you can pick up in your location. It picks up these signals via a telescoping antenna that plugs into the tuner stick and has about a five-foot cord so you can position it for best reception. It even has a strong magnet on the base so you can mount it to a metal surface for better reception. (I attached it last night to the large hanging light fixture over my kitchen table, and got great reception. Note: be careful to keep that magnet away from your hard drive!) I was able to pick up about 15 HD channels over the air here in the suburban Twin Cities, and I expect that number will be increasing over time.

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You can get a ton more channels (in most locations, I suspect) if you have cable TV service in your home.  Just connect a coax cable to the HD stick (via an adaptor included) and connect that to a cable TV outlet in your home. They say that will get you all the HD channels your carrier provides, except for the premium channels. I expect that could be somewhere between 60 and 100 in my town, though I haven't tried it yet. But, wow, that Sunday Night Football game last evening (broadcast via our local NBC affiliate, KARE) sure was an excellent viewing experience.

So, again for you tech-spec freaks: the Pinnacle HD mini stick "supports both digital over-the-air TV (ATSC) and unencrypted digital cable TV (Clear QAM)."

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Time-Shifting, Anyone?
But, wait — that's not all, sports fans. Don't you dare stop reading. The HD mini stick comes with software that lets you record HDTV programs and play them back anytime. And you can record to either your hard drive or to DVD. The software is Elgato's EyeTV® Lite TV viewing and recording software. So now, for about $120,  you've turned your Mac not only into an HDTV set, but a TiVo as well! To schedule your recordings, the installation process signs you up (if you elect) to a free Internet-based electronic program guide.

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Suddenly, that $120 add-on to your Mac is starting to look like even more of a bargain, no?  Talk about a fun, new toy….

What's also cool is it comes with a nifty little mini remote control, which worked flawlessly for me. It even had the battery already installed (just pull a little plastic tab thingy to activate it). And, to top off the contents in the small box — a really nicely designed package — you get a little flannel travel bag with a drawstring that nicely holds all the piece-parts, so you can easily take it along in your briefcase or suitcase.

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I wonder how many geeks with laptops we're gonna see now in Starbucks or wherever watching TV instead of working? (Oh, you non-Mac people — poor souls — there's a version for you, too.  So don't go getting all pouty.)

The Installation and Setup Process

I must say that my experience with this product overall was excellent, from the time I opened the box. I don't know who at Pinnacle is in charge of "customer experience," but my hat's off to them.  This one was a pleasure — well-designed packaging, nice, easy-to-read instructions, and the entire setup and installation of the software went without a hitch all the way through. Great onscreen instructions and prompts, too — very simple and intuitive.  Everything as I would have wanted it. This experience was the closest I think I've seen to "the Apple experience."  And that is a very high bar.  So, I not only highly recommend this product, as working great and doing what it promises, but I recommend it as a very satisfying customer experience overall. I think you'll agree. 

I can hear the sound of cash registers right now ringing up lots of holiday sales for this one…

UPDATE (11/17/08): I just realized I wrote this review without saying a single negative thing about the product. Well, I've been trying to think of one, but I really can't. Oh, I guess the cord from the antenna base to the USB stick could be a little longer — like maybe 8 feet. And I noticed the USB stick can get kinda hot, but I'm not sure if that's an issue, since my viewing was not affected. Those are about the only things remotely approaching a downside that I can think of.

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Rejected iPhone Developers: Read the Agreement

We were just talking about this yesterday on the latest Minnov8 Gang podcast — the whining we’re starting to hear from some developers whose iPhone apps are being rejected by Apple.  Now today we’re seeing stories pop up on the topic: Of Course You’ll Keep Developing For The iPhone (TechCrunch) and Blockage on iPhone Apps Begins to Properly Annoy Developers (The Guardian), to name two. Appstoreicon

I would only say what I said yesterday: read Apple’s iPhone Developer Agreement. How many developer’s really do, I wonder? I’ve read it, and it’s not that hard to get through — though it is long (around 30 pages, as I recall). It’s written in very clear, simple English — not so much in "legalese," as you might expect. I can’t imagine there isn’t something in there that says Apple can reject apps that could be deemed competitive to them or damaging in some other way to their business. There is language in the agreement, as I recall, that Apple can reject apps for certain stated reasons — and, I suspect they also say somewhere it can reject them for no reason at all, at its sole discretion. That’s the kind of agreements lawyers write, and Apple has a very good legal department.

So, to all those who aspire to develop for this platform, and don’t wish to have their apps rejected — read the agreement and, if you don’t understand it, get legal help.  Knowing what you’re getting into up front is always a good idea. If you don’t like what you read, then don’t do it.  It could save you a lot of whining later.

 

 

USA Today writes ‘Static continues for Apple’s iPhone debut’ – and Rob Enderle Gets the ‘Stupid Quote of the Year’ Award!

Seen the story?  Unbelievable!  Rob Enderle tries to compare the wild-ass consumer success of the iPhone, and the growing pains that come from such a rush, to — get this — Microsoft’s Vista bomb!!  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??? 

Hey, USA Today — I seriously believe you need to update your list of quote sources!  That is the extremely most *LAME* comment on the situation that anyone could ever imagine….

read more | digg story

Whatever Happened to Apple’s ‘Push’ iPhone 2.0 Update?

I’m kinda pissed at Apple. (And I guess at AT&T, too — but then I’m always pissed at them.)  I mean, being a longtime Apple customer and a loyal iPhone user and all, not to speak of being an AT&T wireless customer since the beginning of time (I have the whole freaking iPhone package, including unlimited text messages).  So the point being, I bought into the whole deal here — okay, Apple?  You and your buddies at AT&T should really like me. Manpushingcar_3

But I just think they treated their existing customers shabbily this time around.  First of all, they never really communicated directly to me (neither firm) about what to expect regarding the upgrade to version 2.0 of the iPhone software, in the week approaching The Big Day.  I had to rely on what was being reported — and it wasn’t all that obvious, actually.  But I did read in a couple of places (can’t remember just where) that the upgrade would be handled by Apple doing a "push" of the v2.0 update to all existing iPhone customers (only those who were "official," of course, meaning signed up with AT&T here in the U.S.). Well, it never happened — still hasn’t. Not a word, and it’s now Sunday morning.

I finally got tired of waiting yesterday. About 11:00 Central Saturday morning, I was chatting with a buddy who told me how he got the update, and it had gone without a hitch for him. So, I went ahead and tried his approach. I hadn’t even tried to go "pull" it down — I was waiting for this "push" that had been promised!

First, on Thursday, I had downloaded iTunes 7.7  — which I’d read somewhere was required first, before I could use the iPhone 2.0 update. No sweat — that happened without any issues.  But I found it strange, come Friday morning (I had figured the 2.0 software wouldn’t be available till then), that I still had not seen the "push." So, I clicked on "Software Updates" in my Apple menu, and was surprised to see it tell me nothing was available — that I was all up to date. (Lies!)  But I figured, hey, they must be overwhelmed right now, or waiting to update existing customers till all new customers could be served (which is another customer service topic, but I won’t get started on that). Iphone20screen

So I thought, okay, apparently Apple did tell the press that this "push" was coming — so just be patient, I reasoned.  What’s the big hurry? I would never even THINK of going and standing in line for a new phone myself, just to be first.  So, why should I care when I actually get the 2.0 update to my current phone?  Except all the hype about the flood of new apps coming — which I couldn’t use without the new software update — was getting deafening. I was itching to get some on my damn phone and try ’em!

Like a dutiful little Apple fan-boy, then, here I was sitting and waiting for this "push" they were going to do to us — and I get super busy, putting in a 15-hour day on Friday. But, heck, I would have broken for a message from Apple!  So, here comes Saturday morning, and I find that the update IS in fact out there for us "old" iPhone users to "pull" down, and that other people already have it!  Shees, I’m a laggard. Apple has left me sitting here looking like an ass, waiting for their damn "push"! 

I had synced my iPhone earlier Saturday morning, expecting maybe to see when iTunes popped up on my Macbook that "You do not have the current iPhone software – do you wish to upgrade?" — or some such message.  Never happened. On the contrary, it said "your iPhone is up to date"!  Weird, I thought, maybe Apple’s servers were still screwed up from the barrage of the day before.  Then, I hear my buddy ask, "So, do you have the new iPhone software yet?  Some of these new apps are cool."  I ask him, "How the heck did you get it?"  He tells me, and it’s really strange.  Get this — even though the message on iTunes tells me I’m up to date, I have to click on a button there that says "Updates" and — lo and behold — I will THEN be able to get my blessed update.  WTF kind of usability is that?

So, natch, now that I become aware of this strange situation, I click.  In another blast of user unfriendlieness, there’s no feedback that anything at all is happening!  So, there I am, wondering WTF to do.  But it had warned me on the initial screen that "This will take a while" (mentioning it had to back up all my stuff first). So, I figured I’d better just leave it alone, that something was happening in the background — and that I should just leave my Macbook and tethered iPhone combo sitting there while I hit the shower.  Some twenty minutes or more later, I came back to find the process was successful, and the two apps I’d previously downloaded on my Macbook the day before (remember, I had iTunes 7.7 so I could do that), were right there on my third "home screen," just like they were supposed to be!  Typepadiphoneapp_2
Those apps were the free Typepad app — so (you guessed it) I can now enter posts from my phone to this blog! — and the free myLite Color Strobe and Flashlight, a "Utilities" app, so I can be the life of the party at my next rock concert. [Okay, I don’t go to many, but I definitely want to be ready… 🙂 ]  Myliteicon

Alas, what to make of this whole mess?  I don’t care about the snafu related to so many people not being able to activate their new iPhone 3Gs on Friday in the stores — I’m talking about the way the software update was handled for existing customers.  It sucked.  I agree with at least one other blogger who said it should have been offered by Apple FIRST to their current, loyal users, well ahead of the onslaught of the iPhone 3G debut on July 11. Instead, they treated us as not important — didn’t even communicate to us about it directly. And, if they’d have gotten that out of the way first, it would have greatly lessened the burden on the servers for the 3G activation process.

Don’t get me wrong — my 2.0 update process went smoothly.  I have my "new" iPhone, I love the apps I have so far, and I will be getting a lot more.  But, then, there are things I don’t like about the App Store process, either — the slowness of them getting new, approved apps up there (I know of several that aren’t there yet and should be), the way they handle consumer reviews, and more. But don’t get me started — that’s a topic for another post.

Maybe I’ll do that one from my iPhone (thank you, Typepad app!) — though it will understandably have to be a lot less keystrokes than this one…  🙂

UPDATE: Whoops, meant to include this link to Declan McCullagh’s post on a CNet blog from Saturday afternoon: Apple iPhone v2.0 software on Saturday: Still M.I.A.

More on Best Buy VC News: Geek Squad Founder Speaks

As a followup to my previous post about Best Buy planning to step up its corporate VC activity, I thought it would be good to get some additional perspective on this news. So, I sought out a couple of my contacts inside the company. Robertstephensgeeksquad
I couldn’t think of anyone better than Robert Stephens, founder of the Geek Squad, which was acquired by Best Buy about five years ago. (He was out on vacation last week when the news broke.) Robert still heads the Geek Squad — in an environment much different from his early days, but one he says he very much enjoys. And the business has expanded significantly. Robert’s a great guy, an entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. In fact, he was named the University of Minnesota’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2007, and I blogged about the event where that was announced (the Minnesota Cup Awards), and about Robert’s excellent talk there.

I asked Robert two questions about the recent development at Best Buy:

Tech-Surf-Blog: What’s your take on the news about the formation of "Best Buy Capital"?   

Robert Stephens: This is just the most recent example of a trend that other companies like Intel, Google, and Yahoo have championed.  I think it offers another choice for the entrepreneur.  I chose not to take VC money or other investors because I did not want to see The Geek Squad bought and sold by people just looking for a financial transaction.  The Geek Squad chose to acquire Best Buy because we really help each other in a permanent way.  We help differentiate Best Buy, and we are able to use their size and resources in our quest for World Domination.

With all of the new web technologies and speed of software development, there are some hardware and software products that might be a better fit through partnership with a Best Buy rather than a traditional VC path. Choice is always good.

Tech-Surf-Blog: What does the new Best Buy Capital say about the importance of startup innovation to the company?

Robert Stephens: Well, either you drive innovation inside your company, or it will get driven for you by external market forces.  This new arrangement gives all of us inside the company more choices in how we develop ideas.  Coming from a startup of one person to a 140,000-person strong global company, change never seems as fast as it used to.  I’m all for this if it helps us try more ideas. 

Best Buy is kind of like Madonna.  You may not like her music, but you have to respect the fact that she knows her business, and rarely do pop stars stay on top as long as she has.  It’s the same in retail.  You must constantly re-invent yourself.  I don’t think people realize how dynamic Best buy is.  It’s why I chose them.

They were the first major retailer to pioneer the "grab and go".  First major retailer to develop the gift card.  First major retailer to go commission-free.  On and on.  Best Buy is also smart enough to know that they have to re-invent faster and faster.  You have a lot of choices on where you buy your stuff.  Sure, you might think, "I’ll just buy everything online".  That’s fine, but it’s not that simple.  Some of those new flat screens have to be seen when choosing.  You buy laptops now based on "look and feel".  Did you ever think that Dell would allow themselves to be sold inside a Best Buy?  This means that there are always going to be choices on how you innovate. It also means that trying to predict the future in a linear fashion is futile.  The key to is try a lot of things and fail as fast as possible.

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For more on Robert, see this recent interview in Fortune Small Business: Geek Squad’s Second Act.  And, for insight into the latest with the VC business, check out this article published last week in Wired: VCs Adjust to Facing More Competitors for Fewer Companies. In addition, I recapped recent VC industry developments in this post about a series of Forbes articles back in late January. Finally, I wrote a post a while back about the New Face of Venture Investing.

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I also got this reaction on the Best Buy Capital news from a source within Best Buy who would prefer to remain anonymous: "I’m not surprised. I think it’s a natural outgrowth of Best Buy’s internal environment of encouraging innovation through this kind of de facto process of allowing people to move ideas as long as they can prove their idea’s worth along the way. Cultivating new ideas, iterating them, and learning fast is one of the things that Best Buy excels at, actually. So, it just makes sense they would take this outside the walls of the company to do it for direct profit."

Thanks to both contacts, and I hope their comments provide further perspective for you on this story.

(Postcsript: I mentioned the Minnesota Cup above. This is an annual competition for entrepreneurs throughout the state, and the organization just announced its 2008 program. Details are at www.MinnesotaCup.org.)

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