Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Twitter Tips and Tricks - How-to Twitter Guide from Switched

That Twitter how-to video that we posted a while back was very informative, but now that Twitter has gone mainstream there are a bunch of new Twitter tips, tricks, and guides showing up. Switched has put together an excellent Twitter 101 guide that covers just about everything you'll need to start tweeting, and if you already tweet, I bet you'll learn something new. The site compiled a list of questions and answers on how to get started, the basics of what to do once you're signed-up, and some advanced Twitter tips.

OnLive Games On Demand Service is a Game Changer

After seven years of "stealth development," the groundbreaking OnLive Game Service and OnLive MicroConsole are being presented at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. When it's officially launched in Winter 2009, this on-demand game service will let gamers play current videogame titles instantly on a TV, PC or Mac through a broadband Internet connection.

Using OnLive from a PC or Mac requires a small browser plug-in, no discs, downloads, or console needed. Minimum system requirements? A PC running a current version of Windows XP or Vista, or an Intel-based Mac running a current version of OS X. If you want to play on a TV you'll need the OnLive MicroConsole to control the set-up and gaming experience. OnLive on standard-definition TV resolution needs a 1.5 Mbps connection, but for HDTV 720p resolution you will need a faster 5 Mbps. broadband hook-up.

Is this the future of video gaming? After watching the OnLive promo video, I'm excited about this game-changing service which is already being supported by top videogame companies like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive Software, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ Inc., Epic Games, Eidos, Atari Interactive and Codemasters.

Gamers in the U.S. can expect a Beta release of OnLive some time this summer, and if you want to be down you can sign-up here. OnLive Game Service and OnLive MicroConsole pricing and availability details will be announced as we approach the official release date, presumably ahead of the 2009 Holiday season.

EarthCam Streaming NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade Online and on iPhone

New York City's 2009 St. Patrick's Day Parade will make its way up Fifth Avenue on Tuesday between 11am-4pm, and this year the EarthCam global webcam network will be streaming it live online, and even on your iPhone or iPod Touch if you download their St. Patrick’s Day Live App (.99 cents) from Apple's App Store.

Explore Mars with Google Earth 5.0 - Video Tour

What a way to spend a lazy Sunday. Google has taken its Earth idea and added images from NASA of Mars, allowing everyone to explore the red planet using Google Earth 5.0.  Students are going to love the narrated tours by Mars experts, and the ability to view 3D rover models and search for famous landmarks on Mars. Watch the demo video below.

With Mars in Google Earth, you can:

• Be the first human being to view images downloaded by NASA just hours ago, in the Live from Mars layer.

• Take an interactive tour of Mars, narrated by Public Radio's Ira Flatow or Bill Nye the Science Guy.

• View 3D rover models and follow their tracks to see high-resolution 360-degree panoramas.

• Search for famous Martian landmarks, such as the Face on Mars or Olympus Mons.

Sony Bravia KDL-52W5100, KDL-46W5100 and KDL-40W5100 Networked TVs

Sony Electronics has added a few new LCD HDTVs to its 2009 BRAVIA line-up. The trend here is "networked television," with each model featuring an Ethernet connection for accessing Sony BRAVIA Internet Video content using a broadband connection. This allows you to enjoy free and premium movies, TV shows, sports, music and other cool digital content from partners like Amazon Video On Demand, YouTube, Yahoo!, Sony Pictures, Sony Music and others.

Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20 Smartphone Features Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Web Browser, and GPS Navigation

The co-branded Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20 smartphone has been unveiled, and the slick colorful device is described as "an all-in-one phone, mobile web-browser and premium navigation system with a Windows Mobile operating system." This follows the recently announced nüvifone G60 Mobile Phone which will join the new nuvifone M20 at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain next week. 

The Garmin-Asus nuvifone M20 is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional with enterprise email, and features dual-band 3.5G/tri-band GSM and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g connectivity, a 2.8” TFT touch lens VGA (640x480) display, 3 MegaPixel camera with GeoTagging, built-in microphone and speakers, 4Gb/8Gb of memory, push email, document viewing, Bluetooth, and Garmin sat nav. with preloaded maps and points of interest. A full QWERTY soft keyboard is on board for sending  and receiving SMS, MMS and emails, and users can also take advantage of the phone's location based services.

President Obama Signs Legislation to Delay DTV Transition to June 12

It's official. President Obama has signed the legislation (bill S.352) to delay the conversion from analog to digital TV signals from February 17 to June 12, giving millions of Americans an extra four months to get with the DTV program.

"During these challenging economic times, the needs of American consumers are a top priority of my administration. This law, which was crafted in a bipartisan way and passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, ensures that our citizens will have more time to prepare for the conversion. Millions of Americans, including those in our most vulnerable communities, would have been left in the dark if the conversion had gone on as planned, and this solution is an important step forward as we work to get the nation ready for digital TV. My administration will continue to work with leaders in Congress, broadcasters, consumer groups and the telecommunications industry to improve the information and assistance available to our citizens in advance of June 12."

 via | The White House Blog

History of the Internet - The Video

This short video describes the history of the Internet, and communication networks of the past few decades. Posted by Gigaom, it's well worth the watch, and just 8 minutes long.

Watch Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration Online

UPDATE: Watch the video of the swearing-in of President Barack Obama and his Inaugural address below.

ZDNet's Andrew J. Nusca has put together a great list of websites that will be broadcasting President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, January 20 starting at 11:30 ET.  Gigaom's Om Malik has his own suggestions of where to watch Obama’s Inauguration online and via mobile on January 20th as well.

Of course the official pic2009 website will be streaming the swearing-in of Barack Obama live from the U.S. Capitol starting at 11 a.m.  I'll just add that The Washington Post also has online Presidential Inauguration live video coverage in full-effect with live video feeds and streaming direct from the capital.

"Reporters, using cell phone video cameras, will feed interviews onto the live show. Talking with people at the parade and on the National Mall, they will capture what is expected to be one of the largest Inaugural events in the nation’s history."

Watch US Airways Flight 1549 Plane Landing in the Hudson River, and Rescue

You will need a little patience, but if you have some time to kill, watch this dramatic video from the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board who have released Coast Guard video footage of the U.S. Airways A320 Flight 1549 passenger plane as it made an emergency landing in the Hudson River Thursday afternoon. The video footage is pretty low-tech, and captured from a fixed security camera, but you will be able to see how the rescue evolved as ferries and boats headed to the airplane almost immediately to help the passengers.  At about the 2:00 minute mark in the video you'll notice the US Airways A320 airbus hitting the water.

MEdiaCOre MECO Digital Command Center Cabinets

Pictured here is Pearing Core Systems' MEdiaCOre MECO system, a stylish state-of-the-art digital command center in a hand-crafted cabinet. The system runs on a PC, and is powered by Windows Media Center, giving you full control over your home entertainment audio and video components and multimedia pulled from the Internet on to your TV. 

The MECO is detailed in the demo video below. Starting at a hefty $5000, this high-end system boasts the following:

* Connect existing home TV and audio systems to MECO to watch Internet movies and television, stream Internet radio, listen to MP3s and review your digital photos and video.

* MECO has two cable boxes, a wireless router, and Blu-Ray and DVD-RW/CD-RW drives built into the system, plus room to integrate your existing media components, such as iPods and gaming systems.

* Automate your home by controlling your lighting, security, irrigation and other home systems.

* Wirelessly stream media throughout your home ­ MECO can send digital content wirelessly to all of your WiFi-enabled equipment, such as TVs, laptops and other game systems.

* Access all of your PC applications, either through an additional monitor or use your TV as your screen. The MECO cabinet is designed to keep the system cool and quiet, and provides easy access to all components for future upgrades and maintenance.

Intel Digital Kiosk Headed for Retail Stores

 
Imagine popping in to your favorite retail store and finding one of these digital kiosks. Intel is aiming to make this a reality as they show off their Intel-powered digital signage and point-of-sale technology that uses the same energy-efficient 45nm Intel Core2 Duo mobile processor found inside many of today's laptops and PCs.

The retail point-of-sale kiosk system may not take the place of human customer service, but it will give you more than your typical Internet shopping experience, with features like real-time inventory access and in-store promotions, along with product details and customer reviews.

2008 Crunchies Award Winners Announced

Tech Crunch has announced the winners of the second annual Crunchies, with Facebook taking the top honors in the "Best Overall Startup In 2008" category. The Crunchies awards ceremony, co-hosted by GigaOm, VentureBeat, Silicon Alley Insider, and TechCrunch, was held Friday January 9, 2009 at at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco.

WindowShop - Amazon's Amazing New Online Shopping Experience

Amazon has created a new way to help customers immerse themselves as they shop for multimedia products like video games, music, and books with WindowShop.  The new storefront features Amazon's most popular digital products in those categories, which are presented in a way that makes for a fantastic multimedia and entertainment experience, with video and audio previews that make online shopping or checking out new stuff fun.  Amazon WindowShop lets you easily scroll through different products using your arrow keys, and you can zoom in on individual products by hitting the spacebar.

Now if you think Amazon WindowShop sounds a bit like Cooliris, a plug-in that helps transform your browser into "a lightning fast, cinematic way to discover the Web," you would be right.

Both are amazing to use!

Samsung SC-MX10 Compact Digital Camcorder is YouTube Ready

Samsung is not the first to introduce a YouTube-friendly camera (see others below) but their SC-MX10 compact digital camcorder is certainly welcome in this category. Offering "YouTube Connectivity" of course means that you can upload video content after recording in a mode that is optimized for YouTube. Fortunately the Samsung SC-MX10 captures better than YouTube quality, 720x480 resolution video with its high-performance 680K pixel CCD sensor before the video is made YouTube-ready at a resolution of 640x480 resolution. The camcorder sports a Schneider lens with 34x optical zoom and advanced noise reduction (3-D Noise Reduction) technology, a large 2.7 inch LCD, and it features Samsung’s improved Advanced Image Stabilization, and Face Detection.