Archive for Wireless Home
Posted on Apr 21, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:21 am
Gizmodo has an interesting analysis/review of HP’s Media Vault mv2120 home media server, a device designed to sit at the center of a home entertainment network and serve music, movies, photos, and other media to devices throughout the house.
The Media Vault mv2120 is in direct competition with HP’s more expensive Windows Home Server offering, the MediaSmart server, which has been plagued by a Microsoft-sourced data-corruption bug.
As Gizmodo points out, the Media Vault mv2120, which is half the price of the MediaSmart Servers, is easy to use, nearly as full-featured, and even better in some areas.
Though there have been many false starts over the years, the concept of a home media server endures because it’s a good one. In our increasingly networked homes, it just makes sense. But how we’ll get to that point is still unclear.
Given that HP’s apparently very good Media Vault is cheaper and runs Linux, does this mean that Windows home Server won’t be at the center of the smart house of the future?
Readers, if any of you have used these home media servers, leave comments about your experiences.
Posted on Mar 19, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:12 am
The shapes and sizes of the screens that will display our data — family photos, news, weather, cartoons — is changing and changing soon. Microsoft’s sphere-shaped Surface is one example of this, as is the announcement by GE researchers that they’ve created a process to manufacture created thin, cheap, flexible OLEDs.
With this process, we could soon see OLED screens that seamlessly wrap around corners or that are integrated into flexible spaces. This could change the design and decorative options for wireless digital picture frames that go in the house or wallet, displays in cars or stores, or even niche computing devices.
And, thanks to the invention of new solar cell, some of those thin, flexible screens should be completely wireless and only get their power from the sun.
Posted on Mar 17, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:12 am
Fantasy sports are a huge and growing hobby in the U.S. A new concept PC would appeal to that space and further show the opportunities for wireless-enabled gizmos.
The Coach’s Clipboard concept would marry a clipboard-shaped touch-sensitive screen with a WiFi connection, 80GB hard drive, and more to create a slim tablet that would stream sports scores and injury news, as well as allow fantasy coaches to make trades, roster moves, and talk trash all from the clipboard, anywhere a wireless signal reaches.
Since it’s just a concept right now, don’t expect to be able to rush out and buy the Coach’s Clipboard anytime soon, but this is a great example of the kind of niche devices that, if priced right, could hit big if they have the right combination of software and data services.
Posted on Mar 14, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:07 am
Microsoft has announced that it will be issuing a fix for its Windows Home Server software that causes files to become corrupt and unplayable. A fix sounds good, until you note that they’ll be offering it in June.
Windows Home Server is Microsoft’s software for making the PC the center of the home entertainment network, enabling computers to store digital media like music, movies, and photos, and stream them to any connected device in the house. It’s at the heart of HP’s MediaSmart Server and similar products.
Three months to issue a fix for a serious problem is slow in any environment, but if Microsoft wants home servers to catch on, it needs to do better than this. After all, as we begin to transition to entirely digital media and no longer have hard copies of music or movies, bugs like this could ruin collections.
Consider the impact to digital pictures: if the home server is going to be the central repository for all family photos, what will Microsoft tell customers if they lose years worth of irreplaceable family snapshots?
Posted on Mar 7, 2008 by Sam Costello at 2:52 am
The rise of low-cost gadgets with WiFi connections is going to further the cause of ambient computing — computing integrated into the fabric of our daily lives, separate from PCs
One of the more ballyhooed possibilities of recent times is Microsoft’s Surface, a multi-touch tabletop computer with a WiFi Connection that is aware of the items placed on it. For instance, a Surface-compatible digital camera could transfer photos just by setting the camera down on the table.
A rumor appeared this week that Microsoft is taking the concept a step further: apparently the company is developing a Surface prototype that is a sphere.
It’s hard to know exactly how useful this will be — I suspect we may say that about the most offbeat gizmos that debut in the next few years; without a doubt, though, some of them will be big, unexpected hits — but the idea is appealing. With a WiFi connection to this sphere, you’d be able to displaying web data from the web on a new kind of shape (no more flat screens!) that could travel in a bag or backpack.
Though a little fanciful seeming today, this kind of thinking is likely to give rise to exciting innovations and is emblematic of where ambient computing may take us: pretty cool places.
