Earlier TV signals were only distributed by cable, satellite or terrestrial systems.Now with an increasing number of people online, Internet TV is set to become the future of entertainment.With increasing internet connection speeds and decrease in connection costs TV content is increasingly accessible over the internet. The models for Internet TV are streaming Internet TV or selectable video on an internet location, usually a website.It allows you to watch TV programs on your TV, PC or even your mobile phone. Sources can be free or subscription based or supported by advertisements.
Presently several broadcasters allow you to download content for a small fee.But this requires that that the file must be downloaded before it can be viewed and this may take time. Streaming on the other hand means a continuous flow of data which can be viewed before the whole file has been received.It will therefore open in a couple of seconds.But it is unlikely to remain saved on your computer.
So far the barriers to wider use of Internet TV included poor streaming technology.There is nothing more annoying than watching a favorite program and losing the stream midway.Added to this is the problem of poor video quality due to bandwidth limitations.The BBC launched the Dirac project to address this problem but it is still under development.The reason for this is that internet infrastructure was not originally designed to support video.But this problem is set to be overcome by mixing new P2P technology with the latest cache technology which will work together and combine the bandwidth of the two.
Given its future potential Internet TV is now attracting the attention of heavyweight corporations including Microsoft. On 28th September Microsoft launched the beta version of its Windows Media Center Internet TV feature.According to Microsoft US based users of Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate will soon be able to download an update which will allow them to enjoy TV and video content on their PC's and TV sets.The PC will not require a TV tuner for this.The streaming content will be cost supported by an advertising platform provided by YuMe.So it seems that it will be free, at least to start with.The hit programs that are available are TV shows such as 'Arrested Development' music by artists such as Chris Cornell,Pussycat Dolls and others, news from MSNBC, sports from FOX sports and a host of other programs.It will be compatible with Microsoft and third party 'media extender' devices for Windows Media Center.These devices wirelessly connect a TV with a PC, delivering TV, music and online services to any TV set in a home.These devices, according to Microsoft, are designed to deliver the ultimate entertainment experience to every TV set in your home. Microsoft is thus set to take on You Tube, Joost and Apples' iTunes in the Internet video segment.
With problems of resolution and reliability likely to be solved Internet TV is set to take off in a big way.
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The $100 Laptop Is Almost Here
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non profit association dedicated to research to develop a $100 laptop,a technology that could revolutionize children's education world wide. This initiative was launched by faculty members at the MIT Media Lab.These innovative machines will be full color, full screen laptops which will use innovative modes of power.Given the fact that they are going to be used in the world's poorest countries these machines have a dual source of power.An electric adapter which can be plugged in if electricity is available and also a string powered wind up!They will be almost as capable as normal laptops except that they won't be able to store large amounts of data.
What makes these machines so cheap?They use a dual mode LCD display for one.Then these low cost computers contain flash memory instead of a hard drive and use Linux as their operating system.Although Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers, offered to supply free copies of the company's operating system OS X for the machine MIT declined to accept it because it is not open source.The designers clearly want an operating system they can fiddle around with. Flash memory is a non volatile computer memory that can be electronically erased and re-programmed. Its advantage is that it can retain the stored information even when the power is cut off.Non volatile memory is usually used for the task of secondary storage, or long term persistent storage as it has limitations which render it unsuitable for use as primary storage.For primary storage we still have to rely on a volatile form of random access memory.The first computers will be powered by an AMD microprocessor.Costs are expected to fall significantly when mass production of these machines begins.
The computers now called XO laptops will cost $188 to produce initially but company officials insist that $100 remains a long term goal.Presently the aim is to sell it to governments in large volumes.At the same time there are plans to introduce a commercial version that will sell for around $200, the profits going to subsidize the educational project.
The big computer companies whose initial reaction was to laugh at the project are now watching the developments with interest.The machines are scheduled to go into production in October this year and the first computers will hit US stores in January or February 2008.
Although various governments have shown interest and are even running pilot projects to evaluate the machines and to find ways to distribute them, very few have so far made any financial commitments.Achieving the goal of distributing millions of these machines is still some distance away.
What makes these machines so cheap?They use a dual mode LCD display for one.Then these low cost computers contain flash memory instead of a hard drive and use Linux as their operating system.Although Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computers, offered to supply free copies of the company's operating system OS X for the machine MIT declined to accept it because it is not open source.The designers clearly want an operating system they can fiddle around with. Flash memory is a non volatile computer memory that can be electronically erased and re-programmed. Its advantage is that it can retain the stored information even when the power is cut off.Non volatile memory is usually used for the task of secondary storage, or long term persistent storage as it has limitations which render it unsuitable for use as primary storage.For primary storage we still have to rely on a volatile form of random access memory.The first computers will be powered by an AMD microprocessor.Costs are expected to fall significantly when mass production of these machines begins.
The computers now called XO laptops will cost $188 to produce initially but company officials insist that $100 remains a long term goal.Presently the aim is to sell it to governments in large volumes.At the same time there are plans to introduce a commercial version that will sell for around $200, the profits going to subsidize the educational project.
The big computer companies whose initial reaction was to laugh at the project are now watching the developments with interest.The machines are scheduled to go into production in October this year and the first computers will hit US stores in January or February 2008.
Although various governments have shown interest and are even running pilot projects to evaluate the machines and to find ways to distribute them, very few have so far made any financial commitments.Achieving the goal of distributing millions of these machines is still some distance away.
Why Is Apple Slashing Prices Of iPhones?
Apple launched the iPhone ,a cellular phone with computing and Wi-Fi capabilities on June 29th 2007.It was one of the most talked about and written about consumer electronics products ever.It had people camping in front of Apple stores to snap up the first phones to hit the shelves.
Ten weeks on people agree that most of the praise is justified as is most of the criticism.It does things no phone has ever done before, yet it lacks some features found in even the most simple and cheapest phones.
An average iPhone costs $499 for the model with a 4 gigabyte memory and $599 for one with an 8 gigabyte memory.It is thin and sleek and sturdy.If you think it is too expensive then you would do well to remember that the price includes a cell phone ,video,iPod,e-mail terminal,camera , web browser,Palm type organizer and an alarm clock.Of all the features built into it the cell phone is perhaps the least important part.
But the best part is its superb software.Its fast and simple to operate and you don't get lost.On the flip side you can't install new programs from anyone but Apple.The camera takes excellent photos but no video.The major problem however is that Apple is in an exclusive deal with AT&T.Their network simply isn't good enough and in fact ranks almost at the bottom.But this problem is expected to improve over time.All in all it rates as a good buy.
And here's the latest piece of good news from Apple.Clearly with an eye on holiday sales Apple cut the price of its iPhone Wednesday.The price of the $599 model was slashed to $399.The $499 ,4 gigabyte model has been discontinued.
Apple claims that it wants to widen the market for its popular phone which is considered to be simply too expensive.But one would do well to remember that this is because the cell phone part is the least important part of the gadget.
Steven P Jobs the CEO of Apple claimed that they would have met their sales target of a million phones in the US by the end of September even without a price cut.But experts are not so sure.They are quick to point out that Motorola Razr the world's best selling cell phone till now hit the market at $499 but now sells for less than $100.They say that the cell phone market is like that and steep price cuts are normal.They suspect that Apple was finding that sales are beginning to stall.
A lot of the people who bought the iPhone before the price cut was announced feel cheated now that prices have been slashed within merely 10 weeks of its launch.Apple has announced that those who bought the iPhone within the last 14 days can claim a full refund if they have not opened it.In case they have opened it they can still get a refund of the price difference.
Whatever may be the reason for the price cut it's A Merry Christmas from Apple.
Ten weeks on people agree that most of the praise is justified as is most of the criticism.It does things no phone has ever done before, yet it lacks some features found in even the most simple and cheapest phones.
An average iPhone costs $499 for the model with a 4 gigabyte memory and $599 for one with an 8 gigabyte memory.It is thin and sleek and sturdy.If you think it is too expensive then you would do well to remember that the price includes a cell phone ,video,iPod,e-mail terminal,camera , web browser,Palm type organizer and an alarm clock.Of all the features built into it the cell phone is perhaps the least important part.
But the best part is its superb software.Its fast and simple to operate and you don't get lost.On the flip side you can't install new programs from anyone but Apple.The camera takes excellent photos but no video.The major problem however is that Apple is in an exclusive deal with AT&T.Their network simply isn't good enough and in fact ranks almost at the bottom.But this problem is expected to improve over time.All in all it rates as a good buy.
And here's the latest piece of good news from Apple.Clearly with an eye on holiday sales Apple cut the price of its iPhone Wednesday.The price of the $599 model was slashed to $399.The $499 ,4 gigabyte model has been discontinued.
Apple claims that it wants to widen the market for its popular phone which is considered to be simply too expensive.But one would do well to remember that this is because the cell phone part is the least important part of the gadget.
Steven P Jobs the CEO of Apple claimed that they would have met their sales target of a million phones in the US by the end of September even without a price cut.But experts are not so sure.They are quick to point out that Motorola Razr the world's best selling cell phone till now hit the market at $499 but now sells for less than $100.They say that the cell phone market is like that and steep price cuts are normal.They suspect that Apple was finding that sales are beginning to stall.
A lot of the people who bought the iPhone before the price cut was announced feel cheated now that prices have been slashed within merely 10 weeks of its launch.Apple has announced that those who bought the iPhone within the last 14 days can claim a full refund if they have not opened it.In case they have opened it they can still get a refund of the price difference.
Whatever may be the reason for the price cut it's A Merry Christmas from Apple.
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