Microsoft Surface

At the D: All Things Digital conference Microsoft will unveil a new product called Microsoft Surface. According to the press release, Microsoft Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. On10 has a great video showing the history behind the device and how you can interact with the tabletop. Expect to the see the product at Harrah’s Entertainment, Starwood Hotels and T-Mobile later this year. If you’re looking for a good critical review check out Jon Fortt’s review where he discusses issues such as cost (i.e. each Surface computer is expected to cost between $5,000 to $10,000), training involved for initial launch partners and sales people, practicality and maintenance issues.

Zune Advertising

Microsoft’s Zune is supposed to be launching in the next few days. Infact, the official Zune site just launched earlier today. Although, I can’t afford to be an early adopter, I think some of the positive features such as sharing, ease of updates and being the current underdog player in the market may swing some people toward using the device. If that doesn’t work, it looks like Microsoft is counting on some of the following ads for your swing vote:

Zune: Picnic

Zune: Battle

Zune: Concert

Zune: Dog Scratch

Zune: Couple

(Note: The above links all link to YouTube. For some reason some WordPress updates I applied to the site earlier today seem to have disabled my ability to embed the YouTube media files)

SMT 5600

YAY! I am now the proud owner of a Audiovox UTStarcom SMT 5600. (On November 30, 2005, UTStarcom  aquired the cellular subsidiary of Audiovox Corporation) The phone in all its gadget pride is displayed below:

I’ve owned a Dell Axim X30 for slightly over a year and bought it initially to access the Internet when I was away from my office. Temple University has been ranked for two consecutive years as one of the most wired campuses in the nation and so there’s always an access point that is within reach. The connection worked flawlessly for basic surfing and synchronizing mail was a breeze. However, over time I realized that I rarely used the mobile versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Furthermore, I kept hitting various obstacles, the biggest of which was that I could not make phone calls with the Axim and trying to use programs like Skype did not work because of various proxy issues. Most of all carrying both a phone and a PDA were becoming a bit too cumbersome.

So late last year I started looking at devices again and found more convincing evidence that I should be using a smartphone – a single device that integrated both phone capabilities with basic PDA functionality. After debating between Cingular’s 2125 and the SMT 5600 I finally settled for the SMT 5600 primarily because of the prize differential. It’ll be an interesting experiment in terms of device changes as I’m not the best with the whole T9 lifestyle. Nevertheless, I figure I should give it a shot and maybe over time I’ll save up enough for the Samsung’s SCG-i730 EV-DO Pocket PC. As for now, the fun of synchronizing my SIM card contacts with my Outlook contacts has begun.

Anyone looking for a Dell Axim X30?

CableCARD

Ars Technica has graciously provided a comprehensive overview of the CableCARD technology. I would comment on the technology but I’m still trying to learn enough of building a decent home theater PC. I do know that I want to use the Ahanix MCE 601 or a Shuttle XPC case and will probably use a beta build of Windows Vista Media Center but other than that haven’t done too much learning.

Related Links for Future Reading:

Medie Center Edition Approved Components

Clocky

I should have added ‘Clocky‘ to my Christmas wish list, especially since I’m trying so hard to try and make the trains this year. According to the Clocky website, Clocky is an alarm clock for people who have trouble getting out of bed. If you hit the snooze button, Clocky will roll off of the nightstand, fall to the floor, and run around the room, searching for a place to hide.

TomTom GO 300

Earlier this year Santa paid me an early visit and gifted me the wonderful TomTom GO 300 – a device that completely solved all those future instances of ‘getting lost’, of ‘not wanting to explore a city’ and of so many other embarrassing ‘arriving late situations’.

The TomTom device is an advanced global positioning system that is packaged into a well designed casing and bundled with a feature set that really make this my favorite owned electronice device for 2005. (The Xbox topped the list in 2004). Some of these compelling features include:

- Plug and go ease of use. I turned the device on and was ready to go in less than a minute.

- Updating maps is a piece of cake because of the SD Card. However, the first problem I noticed with this approach was during my road-trip to Canada and having to switch SD cards while crossing the border. The included 1GB card only contains maps for the United States. Maps for Canada and Puerto Rico are included on the CD. All other maps need to be purchased before use.

- Simple interface, simple settings, simple navigation, simple mounts, simple cable additions

Overall, I’m definitely pleased with the device and couldn’t be happier on not having to use Hertz rentals when in a new city.

The iPod nano

Just when you thought that the iPod mini was the smallest fully functional iPod device you could purchase along comes the iPod nano. In typical, Apple marketing style:

Boasting an impressive feature list, the real sell is the amazing 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 size. Now that’s small. In other Apple press news, the iTunes enabled Rokr cell phone made by Motorola is now available exclusively through Cingular. Madonna also announced that her entire music library is now available through the iTunes music store and so is author J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. The effect that Apple’s iPod and iTunes Music Store has had on the market environment is quite scary. Recently, D&M Holdings, owners of the Rio brand, announced that they would exit the portable digital audio business. Furthermore, according to the Mercury News, the iTunes Music Store has a whooping 82 percent share of the U.S. digital music market and 80 percent of the U.K. market.

I’m quite sure that both MSN Music and Yahoo! Launch need something more than the plethora of devices that support Windows Media file formats if they’re hoping to make any kind of dent on Apple’s continuous market domination. Where’s the catalyst product when you need one?

Mouse double-clicks when you try to single-click

I use a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer Optical Mouse, whose single-click is seen by Windows as a double-click. After trying out various recommendations in the knowledge base article, Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 266738 � IntelliMouse: Mouse Double-Clicks When You Try to Single-Click, I finally resorted to Daniel Jackson’s MouseFix utility. So far the fix has worked well, but maybe it’s time to upgrade my mouse. Unfortunately Microsoft’s free hardware product replacement support doesn’t cover mice that are three years old.