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BetaNews.Com (5 non lus)

Netgear's NeoTV set-top box revives first-gen Blu-Ray drives

Publié: août 26, 2010, 11:01pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Network hardware company Netgear has taken the wraps off of a new set-top media player called the NeoTV 550 Ultimate HD, which will go on sale in North America this October for $220.
Betanews first started paying attention to Netgear's set-top boxes in 2009, when it first unveiled a BitTorrent-enabled box called Digital Entertainer Live EVA2000. That device, while useful for connecting devices within the home network to the user's television, was only capable of 720p output, and had only moderate support for streaming video services. It received pretty mediocre reviews, and didn't stand out tremendously from the crowd of similar products from Netgear's competitors.
"We've learned a lot since the EVA2000," Netgear's Product Manager of Connected Entertainment, Damir Skripic, told Betanews. "It was only 720p and had some limitations with codec support. But we've taken it into the next generation and greatly expanded the product."

NeoTV has full 1080p support and DTS multichannel audio, and codec support includes H.264, Mpeg-2, Mp4, AVI, Windows Media, and DivX/Xvid, among others.
Part of Netgear's overall strategy for AV consumption in the home is to make internet-connected devices visible to other devices connected to the network. For example, the company released the industry's first DLNA compliant router that lets users plug any HDD into it so it can be accessed as a DLNA media server. As such, NeoTV can access content on DLNA, UPnP and MMS devices connected to the user's home network.
The interfaces on the device include two USB ports, an SD card slot, wired 10/100 Ethernet (no wireless.) But the most interesting thing about it is the fact that it's equipped with an eSATA port, something not typically found on simple set-top boxes. With this, users can attach a Blu-ray drive to NeoTV, and access all of the menus, navigation, and BD-Live content without leaving the NeoTV menu system.
"Any Blu-ray player that can be plugged into a PC should also work with the NeoTV550," Netgear told Betanews today. "In addition, when NeoTV is connected, it enables BD-Live for the Blu-ray discs that come BD Live content/features."
So first-generation Blu-ray drives or players without an Internet connection can be turned into BD-Live compatible drives with this set top box, a handy feature indeed.
Netgear will officially launch the product next week.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Netgear - Blu-ray Disc - Universal Serial Bus - Ethernet - Universal Plug and Play
Google deepens commitment to realtime search

Publié: août 26, 2010, 10:40pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Google expanded its commitment to providing real-time search results by introducing a new site devoted to searching live content, as well as new tools aimed at helping users parse the information collected more easily.
The live search would be available at www.google.com/realtime, which the company is launching on a rolling basis Thursday. It indexes content from social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Google first introduced basic realtime search last December, allowing users to more accurately search for current trending topics.
Realtime search has become more popular -- and arguably more necessary -- in a world where social media has increasing influence. Topics on these services can evolve rapidly, much faster than the traditional search indexing methods where it would take days, weeks, or even months to "recrawl" a site.
Competitor Bing has already committed itself to realtime search, striking deals with Twitter in October of last year and Facebook to include their content in search results.
Product manager Dylan Casey called the new functionality "our most significant enhancements to date." The realtime search product would be available globally in 40 languages, and would either be accessible via the service's direct URL or by clicking "Updates" when viewing traditional search results.
Results data would be displayed in a constantly updating stream, similar to the way Twitter displays real-time tweet data on a specific subject. The site was split from standard results based on feedback from users on the beta, Casey told Reuters.
Those worried about privacy issues with Google now indexing their social lives should know that in order for the content to be indexed by Google, it must be available publicly. Private social data would not be included.
In addition to the realtime search, Google has introduced a "Conversations" feature which would help organize the conversation around a single topic easier. The stream would be organized from oldest to newest and use indents in order to make it easier to follow.
Google Alerts has also been updated to take advantage of the new realtime search functionality, and can be set to alert users on topics when they are mentioned on Twitter and other short form services, Casey said.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Twitter - Google Alert - search - Facebook - Google
Netflix launches app for iPod touch, iPhone devices

Publié: août 26, 2010, 9:37pm CEST par Ed Oswald

By Ed Oswald, Betanews

Netflix on Thursday introduced a version of its application for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing subscribers of the entertainment service to watch streaming content on their portable devices. The company already has a version of its application for the iPad, designed for the bigger screen of that device.
A subscription to Netflix is required, which starts at $8.99 per month. Nearly two thirds of its 15 million subscribers use some version of its online offerings, which also are available for PCs and select Blu-ray players and TV sets. It additionally gives Netflix a foothold in an increasingly competitive mobile entertainment market.
News surfaced earlier this week that Apple too plans to further extent its content rental offerings, possibly introducing TV show rentals for 99 cents along with a new version of its AppleTV set-top device at its September 1st event.
Streaming content would be available over either 3G or Wi-Fi, and users will be able to fast-forward and rewind through the stream. If a user stops watching a stream, they would be able to pick up where they left off on another Netflix application, the company said.
"Apple has changed the game for mobile devices," CEO Reed Hastings said. "We're excited that our members can now carry Netflix around in their pockets and instantly watch movies and TV shows streamed from Netflix right to their iPhone or iPod touch."
The application is free and is currently available in the App Store. Users must be running iOS 3.1.3 or later.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

iPhone - Netflix - Apple - Reed Hastings - App Store
MIT lab creates giant robotic tadpoles for oil spill cleanup

Publié: août 26, 2010, 9:08pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

The Sensable City lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is developing a solar-powered robot whose sole purpose is to clean up oil spilled into the water.
Seaswarm, as the robot design is called, is essentially a large robotic tadpole. The "head" of the robot consists of a solar collecting cell, which generates enough electricity to power the nanowire-covered conveyer belt "tail." The conveyor belt propels the robot, and the nanofabric on the surface of the belt can absorb 20 times its own weight in oil without becoming saturated with water. The oil sucked up onto the belt is then removed by heating it up and evaporating the oil into a container in the head of the robot.
At 7 feet by 16 feet, the robot is meant to be set up in fleets, and the individual units in the fleet communicate with each other through GPS and Wi-Fi, so once they're deployed, they navigate mostly autonomously against GPS data about the oil spill.
"We are also working on developing on board sensors that can work within our 100W limit and be deployed on board our current prototype," said Phil Salesses, Research Affiliate with the Robotic Mobility Group at MIT. "When it has completed cleaning, a unit joins and reinforces others working in other areas. Oil is 'digested' locally so that Seaswarm does not need to make repeated trips back to shore, a practice that can dramatically slow cleaning time."
Seaswarm is being previewed at the Venice Biennale of Architecture starting August 29, 2010 in the "Nanotechnology in the year 2050" exhibit. The robotic fleet is also expected to be a competitor in the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Oil spill - Conveyor belt - Robot - MIT
Dell outbids HP for storage company 3PAR

Publié: août 26, 2010, 4:58pm CEST par Tim Conneally

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Computer maker Dell will be acquiring virtualized storage company 3PAR for $1.6 billion, the companies announced Thursday. The announcement follows a bidding war for the company that took place between Dell and rival HP.
Dell increased its bid for 3PAR to $24.30 per share; considerably higher than the $18 per share offer it made one week prior. The bigger tender offer comes as an answer to a competing bid placed by HP just three days ago for $24 per share.
A statement from 3PAR today rather succinctly explained Dell's zealous interest in the company:
"Dell's desire for 3PAR is driven, in part, by its belief that 3PAR...is important to Dell's customers and will enhance its position in cloud-based storage applications," the statement read.
Indeed, Dave Johnson, senior vice president of Dell corporate strategy today said, "Storage is at the forefront of this strategy...With the 3PAR acquisition, Dell will have the broadest set of differentiated storage solutions in the market today."
The tender offer will expire at midnight on September 20, and after all the shares are bought back and regulatory approval is met, 3PAR will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010

Dell - Hewlett-Packard - Dave Johnson - Bid price - Strategic management