Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang gave a private press conference in which he announced three new and exciting technologies Nvidia and partners will bring to market over the coming year.

Tegra 2
Building on the success of the Tegra architecture, Nvidia unveiled the Tegra 2 series of “system-on-chip” products. Citing the new mobile revolution, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang talked about the need and desire of consumers to have access to personal computing technologies on the go. Currently the mobile market is full of either weak products that have screens too small with too low resolutions or products that are too big, bulky, and fragile for consumers to effectively carry around. Like armored tank manufacturers, companies have to compromise to balance weight, power, and durability. Nvidia’s answer is the Tegra 2.

The Tegra 2 combines a CPU, GPU, memory controller, north bridge, and south bridge into a single chip. With eight independent processors, one would think the Tegra 2 will have a sizeable power draw, but this tiny chip draws a miserly 500mW of power. The frugal power draw will allow for, much-needed, longer battery life in mobile devices. Along with the low power consumption, Tegra 2 requires no extra cooling, passive or active, enabling manufacturers to utilize Tegra 2 in extremely thin designs. This powerful little chip comes in a compact approximately 2″ x 2″ package.

The impressive graphics power of the Tegra 2 chips will allow users to watch full 1080p HD video on their mobile devices and dramatically improve their web browsing experience since web pages will no longer require down-scaling and can run at optimal resolutions. Nvidia showed us a demo of a Tegra 2 powered netbook running the Unreal 3 engine incredibly smoothly. This demonstrates that mobile users will soon be able to play games with graphics quality no longer being a full generation behind the most powerful desktop solutions.

Simply put, the Tegra 2 will dramatically increase the opportunities mobile device manufacturers will have to create more powerful, smaller, and longer lasting devices. It will enable mobile device users to do what they did before, but much more efficiently. While the Tegra 2 won’t dethrone desktop graphics solutions by any means, it finally brings a major update to mobile graphics performance.

Audi & Nvidia
Nvidia and Audi announced a partnership agreement at the press conference which will integrate Nvidia’s technologies into the luxury automobile manufacturer’s line of vehicles. Audi Chief architect, Mathias Halliger, talked about how the processing power of the new Tegra 2 chip will be used to drive information and navigation functions in new Audi vehicles. Audi brought in a demo drivers console and showed off the navigation system and graphical user interface they plan to implementing. Audi hopes to have all of its vehicles equipped with the Tegra 2 by 2012. Halliger also stated that Audi Group will also be implementing Tegra 2 into Lamborghini supercars which it also owns.

3D Surround Vision
Nvidia also showed off their 3D surround vision technology which can display games and media in 3D using their special glasses. With a major theme of conquering the z-axis at CES, Nvidia’s entry into the 3D market comes as major TV makers are also starting to offer products which display 3D picture. Nvidia has also enabled this technology across three computer monitors and has dubbed the technology “3D Surround Vision.” 3D vision will add significant depth to games and media completely changing the way we think in games and further adding realism to the experience.

Nvidia mentioned that MSI, Asus, Viewsonic, Alienware, Samsung, and a few others already have plans on releasing 3D vision desktop and notebooks. They say that users will be able to watch 3D Blu-Ray movies and even certain YouTube videos in 3D.

The Nvidia Booth: Fermi and 3D Surround Vision are here!
After the Nvidia press conference Skatter Tech quickly hurried over to the Nvidia exhibition booth to see the unveiling of the much-anticipated GF100 ”Fermi” line of cards from Nvidia. The GF100 line of cards has been a topic of speculation for months with estimates from, “Nvidia is way behind ATI’s new 5800 and 5900 series,” to “Fermi will blow ATI’s offerings out of the water and on top of that add CUDA and PhysX capabilities!”

When we arrived at the booth the Nvidia representatives we had just seen in the press conference earlier enthusiastically led us to their unveiling of the GF100. They had multiple machines running GF100 SLI configurations showing off games and demos with their 3D vision technology. The GF100 card itself is around the same size as current high-end video cards and we would estimate it at around 10″-11″. The GF100 was equipped with two dual-link DVI connections on the back along with a HDMI connection. We asked if Nvidia had plans to include DisplayPort connections like ATI, but were told there weren’t any. Internally, it has a dual slot cooler (the card requires two slots space) and requires a 6 and 8 pin power connector.

Asking about the other features of the GF100, we were told how the CUDA architecture will allow programmers to run C++ on the GPU. We were also shown an Nvidia made “rocket sled” demo which demonstrated the graphics and PhysX capabilities of the GF100. In this demo you see an old space-race era rocket sled firing away down a track in the desert. Certain options allow for your to blow up the sled, make it crash, or stop it properly. Displaying the DX11 capabilities of the GF100 the rocks in the dirt as well as the mountains in the distance were beautifully done. PhysX power was displayed when the Nvidia rep caused the rocket sled to explode, sending our poor test dummy flying through the air and crashing in the barren desert. The ragdoll effects of the operator flying through the air and the dust with debris thrown up on contact with the ground were stunning and real with a haze left over that blew away with the wind.

With a 40nm process, we asked the Nvidia rep if production numbers would be an issue as it has been with ATI chips, but the Nvidia rep replied that GF100 was in volume production now and that we would still see it on shelves this Q1 of 2010 around the March. While we couldn’t get any hard numbers, the Nvidia rep mentioned that the GF100’s pricing would be that of standard high-end graphics cards. We expect GF100 to be at least $400.

Nvidia also had a demo of their “3D Surround Vision” technology which allows the GTX 200 series as well as GF100 series cards to display picture across three screens with Nvidia’s 3D vision technology. The setup they had running at the booth was powered by SLI GTX 285’s and was displayed across three projectors. 3D Surround Vision will require SLI GPU cards unfortunately unlike ATI’s Eyefinity, while not 3d capable, can display across three monitors off of just a single card.

There’s more on this coming soon, so stay tuned!

Links: Nvidia.com

To get started, I popped in the AA battery into the pen and plugged the Bluetooth USB receiver into my laptop. My Windows 7 machine had some issues running the application at first, but it worked once running in compatibility mode for Vista. Since all the software runs off the device, there was no more installation hassle. During configuration, I had to choose which style paper I had planned to use, and in my case, it was the A4 notebook. The starter kit comes with both an A4 notebook of 40 pages and 30 pages of 8.5×11 inch printer paper. The Papershow pen will only work with this special paper. There are nearly invisible dots integrated throughout each sheet which allow the pen’s technology to detect movement and behavior. There are several icons on the side of each sheet which through a quick tap allow changing color, shape, thickness, etc. Other icons on the side allow refining the presentation with post-its, arrows, shapes, and other tools. These controls also allow editing by redoing, undoing, and even deleting objects or slides. You can also print and export your presentation for future reference.

The Papershow USB receiver contains part of the brains of the device. This key stores all your sessions on the 250MB of onboard flash memory. I was impressed with the responsiveness of the device since there almost no delay at all between what I wrote on paper and what appeared on the screen. The entire presentation process was truly real-time. All the function icons worked seamlessly even providing audible confirmations. I was easily able to import images, PowerPoints, and PDFs into Papershow’s software and print them onto their paper. I was then able to make modifications on these printed sheets using the pen to digitally incorporate them into a presentation.

There were only a few issues I had with this product. Although I’m aware the ideal purpose of this device is for presentations, it is a bit restricting not being able to take notes without being connected to a computer. Next, I found myself quite disappointed to realize that the paper copy never ended up looking anything like what was on my screen. For example, when erasing with Papershow you’ll have scratch away at the desired areas. While it cleanly disappears on your screen, those horrendous ink marks remain on the paper. In order to create a shape in Papershow, you must draw a diagonal line on your sheet of paper. While looking great on screen, it’ll be confusing to understand when you come back to it later. In addition, I found it difficult trying to get the right shapes the first time around. These attempts left annoying trails on paper. This really isn’t a big problem as long as you understand that your sheet of paper will look nothing like its digital counterpart.

Overall, Papershow successfully helps organize and improve your presentations. While businesses are constantly on the look out for innovative ways to communicate, this device finds its place. It’s a user-friendly device with a quick learning curve. The Papershow serves many purposes, including the ability to create or modify documents in an interactive way. The product will unfortunately set you back around $200 for the starter kit. Keep in mind you will also have to buy Papershow’s notebooks and printer paper when you run out. 200 sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch printer paper costs $20 and 48 sheets of A4 9.4 x 12.6 inch sheets cost $15.00. That’s quite expensive considering a ream of 500 sheets of regular printer paper costs under $10. With that said, it’s still a neat alternative to using whiteboards and overhead projectors. It’s definitely a new kind of product that’s worth purchasing to make presentations a much more manageable, interactive, and an enjoyable process.

Buy: Papershow Starter Kit for $179
Link: ShopPapershow.com | Papershow.com

Realtime Technologies
The folks over at RTT are using Nvidia graphics technologies to create real-time raytracing models of prototype cars. Jen-Hsun invited Peter Stevenson, COO of RTT, on stage to show us a live demo of a new prototype Lamborghini model. The car apparently costs over a million dollars and only 20 will become available worldwide. Changes to the virtual model can be made in real-time and is intricate enough to detail every single internal component of the vehicle, not just the exterior looks. The high quality details of the interior leather, stitching, and materials was quite impressive. Nike, for example, was able to save a couple million dollars using Nvidia to create virtual prototypes of shoes.

Nurien Software (MMO)
Next, Nvidia’s CEO introduced Taehoon Kim, co-founder of Nurien, who introduced a new Massive Multi-player Online game which is going to be released soon. It was pretty much Sims, but on steroids. (Lots of Steroids.) The game could render people in real time, simulate life-like movements, and looks damn good. Another neat feature that they mentioned was the ability to choose real videos to be playing on TV screens or uploaded photos on photo frames in virtual homes, so other players who enter your area will be able to see all of your personalized content since every component of the game is networked.

SportsVision
If you watch Football or paid any attention to the 2008 Olympics, you probably have noticed a lot of virtual graphics being added to the arena. For example in the swimming events, a line is overlaid on the screen to show the time that the contestants would need to beat to reach a world record. The graphics was added without harming the view of the athletes and this was done using GPUs to calculate fluid movement around objects. NASCAR is using Sportsvision technology to display the effects of drafting.

Photosynth
A new product Microsoft just launched a couple of days ago allows stitching multiple photos together in a virtual environment. It automatically creates reference points from objects in images and can put them together, the more photos the better. Joshua Edwards from Microsoft Live Labs previewed some samples of the Stonehenge in the U.K. and the National Archive building in D.C. in impressive detail. The best part is that anyone can create these high quality 360 virtual views of an area with just a digital camera.

Perceptive Pixel
Jeff Han stepped on stage to demonstrate the next generation user interfaces. Perceptive Pixel has taken UI graphics to the next level. He used a whopping 100-inch multi-touch display to demonstrate some stuff you can’t do with a mouse. Although he expects first practical applications to be for the military and high-end design, he expects simpler versions to reach consumers soon. And it already has with touch screen devices such as the Apple iPhone.

The Ending
I started making my way back to the expo hall, but Tricia Helfer, an actress, who’s on Battlestar Galactica and Burn Notice, was speaking about how virtual characters play a role in television. Nvidia plays a huge roll to make much of the graphics we see in Hollywood films actually be rendered and put on the big screen. It was Nvidia’s and the CEO’s first time hosting such a large event. It went pretty well and looks like it was success so far. I’ll be on the show floor covering some of the new stuff that’s being shown off. So keep checking back for more Nvision 08 content over the next two days!

Links: Nvision 2008 | Nvidia.com

It seems that July will be yet another slow summer month as developers are biding their time until the holiday season to release their triple A titles.

Nintendo Wii:

• Summer Athletics: The Ultimate Challenge – dpt entertainment AG
• Order Up! – Zoo Games
• NCAA Football 09 – Electronic Arts
• Rock Band Track Pack Volume 1 – MTV Games
• Wonder World Amusement Park – Majesco Entertainment
• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon – Square Enix
• SPOGS Racing – D2C Games
• Freddi Fish Kelp Seed Mystery – Majesco Entertainment
• Purr Pals – Crave Entertainment

PlayStation 3:

• Beijing 2008 – The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games – Sega
• NCAA Football 09 – Electronic Arts
• Soulcalibur IV – Namco Bandai Games

Xbox 360:

• Golf: Tee It Up – Activision
• Schizoid – Microsoft
• NCAA Football 09 – Electronic Arts
• Soulcalibur IV – Namco Bandai Games
• Spectral Force 3 – Atlus

Games List: Nintendo Wii | Sony PS3 | Microsoft Xbox 360
Purchase Games: Amazon’s Selection (ships free + no tax)

“The new design will deliver a hugely improved navigation system, much greater scope for categorization and a dynamic new user interface.”

According to PlayStation, the update will be released by mid-April, which is just two weeks away. A software update to the console will also accompany the new PSN Store. The bad news in all of this might be the fact that no new content will be available until this upgrade is pushed out. Fortunately this shouldn’t affect PlayStation Network game play, accounts, or virtual wallets.

Update: According to the PlayStation Blog, no new content will be added to the PlayStation Store for the next two weeks. (North America) However with the re-launch, plenty of new content will become available including a demo of the highly regarded Gran Turismo 5 Prologue!

Links: us.PlayStation.com

I recently purchased a portable fridge for my dorm room on Amazon. When I received the package, everything worked fine, but there was a very visible dent on the side of the door. Being the picky person I am and wanting my full $200 worth, I asked Amazon for a replacement unit. Amazon kindly agreed to replace the damaged unit and since I was in a rush, they even threw in “One-Day Shipping” through UPS. I placed the original unit at the door for UPS to pickup, and when I got home the original package was taken and the replacement was at the doorstep.

The “new” box looked pretty badly beaten up, smashed, and torn. When I opened the box I was horrified to see the fridge’s front door had a HUGE “bullet-hole” looking crater. The rest of the unit was scratched up, smashed inwards, and bulging out. And to top that, the unit was soaked in some weird liquid. I decided to open the fridge door, to make things even worse, it fell right off its hinges.

I once again called Amazon’s Customer Service, to see if I could get a “working” replacement. Amazon didn’t agree to replace it this time, but offered a full refund and free pickup of the trashed unit. I ended up purchasing the unit at Fry’s Electronics, a bay area computer store, which actually ended up being about $25 cheaper since it was on sale. I constantly order items from Amazon and I have literally never received a damaged product. My guess is that this had something to do with UPS’s deliver guy. There have been videos online of delivery personnel throwing packages across driveways to the door step.

As for Amazon’s Customer Support, it was just AMAZING. With a click of a button on their website, they call you, you don’t have to dial a 1-800 number and go through the standard “press one for blah” options. Their representative already has your order number and just requires verifying some personal information for security. The wait times were just 3-4 minutes each time I contacted them, which is quicker than any other experience I’ve had. In addition their reps actually knew what they were doing, they were knowledgeable, polite, and well trained. Without any screaming or yelling they were able to quickly drive me through the return process. In addition the second time I called to return the replacement, they themselves suggested a full refund. I even began to feel a bit guilty for returning that original fridge since it was only slightly damaged, but then realized this is the way Customer Service should be!

Has anyone else actually had a GOOD experience with any big company’s customer service?

Links: Amazon.com

Earlier today (September 5th) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs introduced a bunch of new products. Some of these include a new iPod Nano, iPod Classic (aka Video), and the iPod Touch. The new lineup (picture above): iPod shuffle, nano, classic, touch, & iPhone.

iPhone Updates & Price:
As we are heading backwards though the keynote, the last item Apple touched on was the iPhone. Since the 8GB iPhone was so popular, the price has now been dropped to just $399, which is a $200 price-cut (originally $599). As for the 4GB model, it will no longer be produced or found in stores. The 8GB iPhone will be available at it’s new price online and in Apple and At&t Stores. A new update will also be available soon, which will include support for the Mobile iTunes Store.

The iPod Touch:
The ‘touch’ looks quite similar to the iPhone, has just about all the features, and even features an almost duplicate multi-touch interface, but doesn’t have a the “phone” part. The unit uses a 802.11b/g WiFi signal instead of the 2G At&t network for all its communication needs. Just like the iPhone, the iPod Touch has a Safari browser with built in Google/Yahoo search. Plus while connected to a hotspot or home network, the ‘touch’ allows browsing and playing YouTube content and even purchasing and downloading new songs on the go with the new fully fledged iTunes WiFi music store. The iPod Touch sports a 3.5-inch widescreen display for music, photos, videos, album art, coverflow, web browsing, and features an accelerometer to detect the unit’s upright or landscape orientation. With an ambient light sensor, battery life is conserved by adjusting the brightness to the unit’s surroundings, in result offering 22 hours of music and 5 hours of video playback. The iPod Touch will be available later this month (no exact date set just yet) in capacities of 8GB and 16GB priced at $299 and $399 respectively.

The iPod Classic:
The iPod ‘Classic’ is the successor to the iPod Video. This 6th generation iPod is available in capacities of 80GB and 160GB!, but both models remain slimmer than the previous lineup. The iPod Classic is enclosed in a all new metal-case and has a new interface featuring CoverFlow. Users may now browse content on one half of the screen, while the other half continues to display media. The battery life is also a huge improvement, offering 40 hours of listing to music and 7 hours of watching videos on the 160GB model and 30 hours of music and 5 hours of video on the 80GB. According to Steve Jobs, new games are heading to iPod Classic soon (everyone gets 1 FREE game). Both the 80GB and 160GB models, which come in silver and black, are available as of now for $250 and $350, respectively.

The iPod Nano:
Apple also displayed the completely revamped the Nano during the keynote. The unit, which now looks more like an iPod video, can in fact now play videos, movies, TV shows, and music videos! Nano users can also utilize Coverflow to browse through their library or even play purchased games from iTunes on their bright 2-inch display. The battery life remains at about the same level as the previous Nano, offering 24 hours of music playback or 5 hours of video in this case. Just like the iPod Classic, the Nano too is enclosed in an all-metal stainless steel case. As seen in the image above, the Nano is available in 5 colors. The unit is available TODAY in capacities of 4GB and 8GB costing $149 and $199, respectively.

Same Old iPod Shuffles:
Apple’s smallest family member, the shuffle, remains the same. Instead of introducing a 2GB model as some had anticipated, Apple simply spray painted the same 1GB models with some new colors, one of which is Product (RED). Some rumors indicate a black shuffle with 2GB could still be around the corner.

iTunes WiFi Store and Ringtones:
During the keynote, Apple introduced the new iTunes WiFi store which allows iPhone and iPod Touch owners to download songs directly onto their device when connected to the internet. Songs which are purchased on the go can be synced back to a computer or be re-downloaded. The best part, the pricing on the mobile store is exactly the same as what is available on regular iTunes. This will give Apple a big advantage over other cell providers such as Verizon and Sprint who charge extra fees for mobile purchases. For an additional $.99 a custom 30 second clip from a song can be converted into a ringtone for the iPhone. As for iTunes, version 7.4 will be available soon with plenty of new features.

Links: Apple iPhone | iPod Touch | iPod Classic | iPod Nano | iPod Shuffle
Pre-Order: Amazon (no tax + free shipping)

If you are a long-time Verizon Wireless customer, you should be quite aware that you have the ability to upgrade your cell phone every two years. Normally customers were offered a total of $100 towards a new phone if they agree to sign another two year contract with Verizon and had maintained a monthly plan of $30 or more. However this is no longer the case. With Verizon Wireless’s “New Every Two” plan, pretty much everyone with any sort of contract has to pay more to upgrade to a new device.

The new plan goes as follows: If a customer has had a monthly plan of $35 or more for 2 years , they then now qualify for only $50 towards a new phone after signing another 2 year contract instead of the previous $100. To receive a total of a $100 towards a new phone, as it was before, the customer must be paying at least $80 or more for their monthly plan for the entire two years or the last three months before becoming eligible to upgrade. Even though some may be eligible to get a $100, they will still be stuck with a new contract. In addition those who are thinking because of their family plan, everyone can new phones, WRONG, only the primary line will be eligible.

Verizon, in their defense, claims that the cost of cell phones has been “drastically” dropping over the last 10 years. I have to agree that prices of any electronic gadget does drop over time as it becomes cheaper to produce. BUT when the price of the new popular Motorola RAZR 2, which will be a hit during the holiday season, is on sale at a price of $250 with yet another 2 year contract, I have to disagree. What do you guys think? Is Sprint, Cingular, or T-Mobile handset upgrades any better?

Links: Verizon Wireless New Very Two | FAQs

Last week, Home Media Research released a study revealing that Blu-ray had just outsold its competitor, HD DVD, by 2-to-1 for the first half of 2007. To be specific, HD DVD movie sales only reached about 795,000, while Blu-ray reached 1.6 million. To be even more specific the popular Spartan epic, ‘300′, which became the fastest selling High-Def movie, sold 190,000 Blu-ray discs and 97,000 HD DVDs (approx 2-to-1 again). Even the popular movie rental service, Blockbuster Video, which began offering rentals of both formats in late 2006, announced in June 2007 that they have decided to drop HD DVD and stock Blu-ray in all stores.

Although it may seem as though Blu-ray now has the upper hand, HD DVD is still in the game. While Blu-ray has the support of many large corporations, including HP, Dell, and Apple, HD DVD has secured more deals with major movie studios. If HD DVD continues to grab exclusive content from Universal, Rouge, Paramount, DreamWorks, and Warner Bros through the Christmas season, they might just be able to take down Blu-ray for the 2nd-half of 2007. Despite this, as of this week, there are 322 Blu-ray titles while HD DVD just falls a bit short, with 273 movies.

Another factor which makes it difficult to tell which format will come out on top is the pricing of the stand-alone players. HD DVD players are now available for as low as $250-350, while the cheapest Blu-ray player is still $450-550. This also reveals that the high amount of Blu-ray sales are mostly due to PlayStation 3 sales, since the console supports HD optical media right out of the box, whereas Xbox 360 users are required to purchase a $180 HD DVD drive. Companies such as Samsung and LG, who would much rather reap profits from both formats than subscribe to a futile war, have already released hybrid players which support both formats. Unfortunately for us, these units have price tags of $1,000.

Finally as for the technical side, the Blu-ray has a much larger storage capacity holding up to 50GB total (25GB/layer). The HD DVD can only hold 15GB/layer, therefore totaling a max of 30GB. As far as replicating the ultimate movie experience, both formats are practically identical, statistically speaking, as well as to the average eye. However, Blu-ray has the upper hand, in my opinion, since it can store more data for games. Luckily for Sony, as of now, the Blu-ray format is most definitely not heading in the same downhill direction as their Betamax did about 20 years ago.

Links: HD DVD | Blu-ray Info

Today, during the 79th annual Oscars, Apple aired their first iPhone “teaser” commercial. The AD features ~30 different movie clips of famous actors through many eras simply saying “hello” on phones. Also if you didn’t notice, which most people probably won’t, the “cingular” text on the phone from the original press release has now changed to At&t due to the change of the company name after the merger.

Apple originally announced the iPhone this year in January during MacWorld 2007, however the device will only be available to consumers in mid-June 07. The iPhone will only be available through one service provider, Cingular, after launch. Apple however has hinted that it may become available through other providers within a year after launch.

In other iPhone news, Apple recently settled their trademark lawsuit with Cisco last week. The two companies came to an agreement to share the name and both are free to use the name for any of their products. Cisco is currently using the name, iPhone, for their line of Linksys VoIP phones.

Links:.iPhone AD | Cisco & Apple Agreement
Related: Apple Announces the iPhone

This week XM and Sirius, the two satellite radio providers, closed a deal to merge both companies to equal a net value of $13billion. Both companies plan to share their specialty content, which was originally limited to each service, to all their listeners soon. This means both XM and Sirius subscribers will eventually have access to more HD commercial-free music, news, talk, entertainment, sports, traffic, and weather.

“This combination is the next logical step in the evolution of audio entertainment,” said Mel Karmazin (CEO SIRIUS Satellite Radio) “Together, our best-in-class management team and programming content will create unprecedented choice for consumers.”

Sirius currently offers 130 high definition channels while XM offers 170. Both services offer their subscribers free access to the content through the internet. At the moment the companies claim they plan to reduce the cost of the service and increase the content, however since there will only be one remaining satellite radio provider (no competition) they can increase costs all they want. Luckily, for the time being both XM and Sirius claim that monthly costs will not change and customers will not have to purchase new units to receive additional content from the other service. Neither companies have stated when the merge would be completed or when the mixed content would be available to all customers.

Links: XM Satellite Radio | Sirius Satellite Radio
Press Releases: XM Press | Sirius Press

Bill Gates started off the Microsoft CES keynote with his thoughts on the rapid advancement that the technology market has undergone in recent years, and quickly tied it all into the release of Windows Vista and the importance of the new operating system. Other than Vista’s features, the keynote included information about their new Windows Home Server, Live Anywhere, Xbox IPTV, and a big deal with Ford Motors.

Vista’s ShadowCopy:
A neat feature, showcased by Justin Hutchinson, is called ShadowCopy, which in essence provides Vista with another safety net from human error. In short, it allows users who accidentally saved an incorrect version of a document or overwrote the wrong file to “restore previous versions of [the] document with just a couple of clicks” The feature is a lot like the current System Restore, but works on an individual file level. “It’s better than going back in time,” joked Justin (referring to OSX’s Time Machine).

Vista’s GroupShot:
Continuing with Vista, Hutchinson described how the Ultimate version of Vista will include downloadable extras for those of us willing to shell out the extra money for this particular version. One of the more impressive downloadable programs is Groupshot, which allows users to select parts of different pictures and combine them into one for a better overall image. The aim of this program is to fix awkward facial expressions of an individual in a series of group shots, where the face of a person in one image can be transplanted over onto his or her face in another image.

DreamScene Backgrounds:
Another Ultimate Extra is found in the form of DreamScene, which allows users to use full motion video as a desktop background. This feature will probably only be recommendable for those who have enough graphics horsepower to spare after having turned on Aero Glass, not to mention the patience to deal with a distracting video playing in the background.

Virtual Earth 3D:
After a brief Vista discussion, the topic changed to the Virtual Earth 3D technology that’s part of the Windows Live network. Using an Xbox 360 controller, Hutchinson was able to fly a camera around in a fully three dimensional recreation of Sin City. The concept felt a lot like Google Earth with SketchUp, but it’s always nice to see competition.

Windows Home Server:
The next item of interest was the mention of a project that Microsoft has worked on with HP, called Windows Home Server. As the name implies, this will be network attached device that will be available to multiple PCs, Xbox consoles, the Zune music players and any other compatible devices. They can be used for backups or additional storage. Expect to see the HP Media Smart Server in stores later on in the second half of this year.

“Live” Anywhere:
With Windows Vista, Microsoft will be introducing the concept of Live Anywhere, which basically amounts to being able to play a game, like Uno, on your Vista machine with someone else playing on their Xbox 360, and vice versa. In the future the service will support more “hardcore games.”

Xbox 360 Gets TV:
The entertainment experience doesn’t stop with Live Anywhere. Microsoft also plans to provide its customers with a wide variety of TV content, which it will soon be offering in four different ways.

• 1) HD-DVD – the new addon for the Xbox 360 will provide HD video. More units will be shipped out since they are in “incredibly high” demand.
• 2) Media Center PC – recorded and live TV content can be accessed on the Xbox 360 by networking it with one of these PCs.
• 3) Xbox Live Video – the recently launched service allows users to download HD and SD movies onto the console. The service already has a thousand hours of content. And it’s really simple, because the Xbox is already on the internet and, it’s connected to a big [screen].
• 4) IPTV – with just a simple internet connection and a Xbox 360, you soon can receive standard TV channels (live) over the internet. Microsoft is planning on turning the 360 into a Top Set Box soon after gaining support from third-party telephony companies such as AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, C-Com and SwissCom.

The new IPTV service will be able to handle both standard and high definition streaming for a variety of different channels. The software includes picture-in-picture support, recording, and other TiVo-type features. The service will NOT be free, but will be much cheaper than paying regular cable and extra equipment. (great for college students)

Ford Motors:
The final major announcement to come forth from the CES keynote was that Microsoft has partnered up with the Ford Motor Company to offer a “fully integrated, voice activated, in-car communications and entertainment system for mobile phones and digital music players.” This Ford exclusive, called “Synch”, will support Bluetooth, phone book syncing, three way calling, and text-to-speech reading for text messages. Not only will it be compatible with the Zune and the iPod, but as a bonus there will also be a USB port for Flash Thumb Drives.

Watch: Bill Gates’s Keynote (requires Windows Media Player)
Links: Microsoft at CES 2007
Related: CES: Verizon – Mobile TV

For the past few weeks may rumors have been circulating that YouTube is planning to offer content for mobile device, however there wasn’t any info on what was planned until now. Today YouTube and Verizon Wireless announced a partnership to offer V Cast enabled customers access to YouTube video content. According to the two companies, starting in December, selected content from YouTube’s “most popular” list will begin to appear on Verizon Wireless phones.

“Delivering YouTube content gives V CAST customers a mobile connection to video content that has revolutionized how people are being entertained today,” – John Harrobin Digital Entertainment VZW

Although the available content is free, access to it will not be. Verizon Wireless customers will need to have V Cast supported phones such as the Motorola KRZR, LG Chocolate, or LG enV and need to subscribe to a $15/month V Cast package. Along with YouTube videos, subscribers will continue to have access to unlimited amounts of entertainment, sports, news, and weather clips. ($3 daily access available) In addition to viewing content, VZW customers with camera phones will be able to “easily” upload videos directly to YouTube directly from their device.

Getting more people hooked onto YouTube by offering it on mobile phones may seem like a good idea, but we don’t know how this will work since less than 20% of Verizon Wireless users are subscribed to V Cast. We also wouldn’t be surprised if YouTube struck deals with other cell phone providers such Sprint, Cingular, or T-mobile in the near future.

Links: YouTube | Verizon Wireless
Related: Google Acquires YouTube

After being in a “bidding battle” between Google and Yahoo, Google finally acquired YouTube for a whopping $1.65 billion in stock earlier today. YouTube, a user fed social video networking site, recently surpassed MySpace becoming one of the most viewed and visited sites on the internet. The acquisition of this 19-month-old company marks, by far, the largest acquisition made by Google to date. Most had expected this transaction to be unlikely since Google already offers “Google Video” a current former YouTube competitor, but it will now be more interesting to see what happens. gooTube? gTube? Lets hope not.

“The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google’s mission to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Eric Schmidt, Google CEO. “… Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users …”

The Big Question: What’s in it for Google?
Google plans to start to spread their Adsense advertising throughout YouTube for profit, but most importantly Google wants to gain access into the social networking market. We still do not know Google plans to keep the two services separate or merge them into a “Tube” in the future, however, according to Google, YouTube will remain and operate independently with their 65 employees for the time being.

In my opinion, the deal may not be all that good for YouTube users or Google. More advertising may draw the current audience away from YouTube to finding other services, similar to what is happening with MySpace. The deal will also keep Google’s lawyers busy because of the large amount of copyright violations, notices, and lawsuits YouTube receives everyday. A recent research analysis found that over 60% of the content on the “most viewed” page was illegally uploaded. Either way YouTube is continuing to expand and they even struck deals with both CBS and Sony BGM last week to offer both TV shows and music videos for free.

Links: Google Video | YouTube
Related: Google Press Center | YouTube Press Room

The “web word processor” is still in beta, therefore there are many changes that must be made. Google’s first step will probably be to transfer all user accounts onto the “Google Account” system. (Google is in the process of moving Blogger over) Another step would probably be to change the GUI to look more like Google Spreadsheets. Anyways give this service a try, its great way of accessing your documents when your away from your machine. Now all we need is Google Presentations (aka. PowerPoint).

Link: Writely | Sign Up Now
Realted: Google Acquires Writely

After setting up over 180 access points costing over $1 million, Google has finally unleashed free WiFi Internet Access for the residents of Mountain View, CA. Google claims that over 90% of their hometown now has coverage and that their free WiFi service will offer speeds of up to 1MB/s down/up. With the launch of this service, anyone in the area can access the internet at speeds reaching close to what most DSL providers offer in the area. Google hopes to gain revenue in return by driving users through their portal on launch and introducing users to other service. Google also boasted that they may even raise the bandwidth if there is enough demand, however denied any plans of launching free Nationwide WiFi.

“It has been has been tremendously rewarding to partner with the local government, the schools, the library, the neighborhood associations, and all of our trusted testers to introduce the power of free wireless Internet connectivity to the city.” Minnie Ingersoll

To utilize Google’s free WiFi you must be in Mountain View (signal map), have a 802.11b/g network card, and a free Google Account. After finding/connecting to a “GoogleWiFi” access point, open a browser and a Google WiFi page should appear. After logging in, you should have access to the internet. Since the traffic between you computer and the access point is unencrypted, we suggest using Google’s Secure Access software.

Links: Google WiFi FAQs | GoogleBlog Announcement
Related: Google Talk Gets Upgrades

Sony’s first gaming console, the PlayStation, was pushed into the market in December 1994. Six years later, Sony released a re-designed smaller unit called the PSOne. (same hardware specs, only smaller than the original) The PS1 line has been on the market for over 11 years and as the PlayStation 3 (PS3) launch approaches, Sony has decided cease all PS1 production. (Over 100 million PSOne units have been produced) Even though all production has ended PS1 games won’t be going away too soon. SCEA has announced that they are working on an emulator to allow running PS1 games on the PlayStation Portable (PSP). Since the PS3 is fully backwards compatible, it will be able to play both PS1 and PlayStation 2 (PS2) games. (PS2 can already play PS1 games) Sony also mentioned that they expect to keep the PS2 in the market for at least another 4-5 years. PS1 fans and others who own many PS1 games should be very excited to hear this news.

Links: PlayStation Products | PS1 Specs
Related: Wikipedia: PlayStation | PlayStation Briefing

Google Finance, which started up as a small project in Bangalore, India, and is still a BETA project has finally been introduced to the public today (March 03, 2006). Google Finance helps people find North American stocks, mutual funds, public/private company profiles, financial news, and more data results. Google Finance is very similar to Yahoo! Finance, except that Google offers more content and new ways to present it. For example, the service automatically pulls stories from Google News, which already accesses over 4,500 reliable news sources. Google Finance no longer requires remembering company stock symbols, but automatically forwards searches to the appropriate page. (a search for Microsoft goes to MSFT)

“We hope Google Finance lives up to that aim by offering a fresh perspective on company-related searches” – Google Finance Team

Instead of using pre-generated images to display stock price timelines, Google Finance uses interactive flash powered charts which are fast and easy to use. The charts can be set to display different time periods and will also displays links press releases from that time. Using many algorithms and ratings, the service displays links to blogs about the company. The product also automatically creates profiles from private companies, which competitors such as Market Watch and The Street don’t offer. If logged into a “Google Account”, a portfolio can be created for favorite stocks.

Links: Google Finance | Google Press Release
Recent: Google Mars Lanuched

On March 9, 2006, Forbes published their annual report on the world’s richest people. (Entitled: The World’s Billionaires) According to Forbes there were only 140 billionaires just 20 years ago, but the number rose to over 476 in the last 3 years and is now 793 in “06. India’s market grew by over 54% over the last 12 months and has now become the home to 10 billionaires. Other countries that recently got a boost in their economy include China and Russia. Bill Gates, the first on the list, has been number one for his twelfth consective year. (see link below for full list)

The Top Five: (Name – Country – Source – Value in Billions)

1. William Gates – USA – Microsoft – $50
2. Warren Buffet – USA – Berkshire – $42
3. Carlos Slim Helu – Mexico – Telecom – $30
4. Ingvar Kamprad – Sweden – Ikea – $28
5. Lakshmi Mittal – India – Steel – $23

The next five people on the list are Paul Allen, Brenard Arnault, Bin Talal, Kenneth Thomson, and Li Ka-shing respectively. Another notable person is Albert von Thurn, 22, who is now the youngest billionaire. Twelve people who left the list last year returned for some more, while another 39 were dropped from it. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, are both now valued at over $13 billion.

Links: The World’s Bilionaire (Forbes) | The Complete List
Related: Forbes’s Rich List | All Forbes’s Lists

On Thursday, January 9, 2006, Google publicly announced that they had acquired Writely. Writely is a company that offers a web-based word processing, which allows sharing documents online and collaborating among multiple users. The service does not require any additional software, but instead runs completely from any standard web browser. (AJAX powered) A BETA edition was released in August 2005 became extremely popular, with thousands of signups. No more signups will be allowed until the full transfer onto Google’s servers and protocols is complete. (sign up for the wait list)

Writely has publicly stated that they would keep offering their current services and no features would be compromised due to the acquisition. Since they are part of Google, many new search and collaboration tools with current Google Services will be integrated into the program. Even though saved documents may become indexed by Google’s servers, Writely stated that they would ensure user privacy. This may also be part of Google’s future plan to create a “Google Office” suite to compete with Microsoft Office Live. (google online calandar service expected soon)

Links: Writely | Writely Press Release
Related: Google Blog Annoucement
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