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******************** ~~~~ THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY ~~~~ DirectTV http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40sBy0Az Connected Home Magazine Virtual Tour http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40LTe0AK (below GETTING CONNECTED) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ SPONSOR: DIRECTTV ~~~~ DIRECTV DSL $29.99 for the first 3 months! Expires September 30th http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40sBy0Az ******************** April 3, 2002--In this issue: 1. GETTING CONNECTED - Hub of a Connected Home: To PC or Not to PC 2. NEWS AND VIEWS - Napster Remains Silent After Lost Appeal - SONICblue Releases Go-Video DVD/VCR Combo - Sony Introduces Cool New Handhelds - Apple Plies the Dark Side - Xbox Sales Tank 3. ANNOUNCEMENTS - New from the Training Department! - Internet World Spring, April 22 Through 26, Los Angeles - Invitation to Participate at Connections 2002 4. ACROSS THE ATLANTIC - Xbox and Other Gadgets Brighten Europe's Technology Scene 5. QUICK POLL - Results of Last Week's Poll: Instant Messaging - New Poll: Smart Phones 6. RESOURCES - Product Review: Pinnacle DV500 Plus (Part Two) - Tip: Make a Photo Montage - Featured Thread: Wireless or Hard-Wired Home Network? 7. NEW AND IMPROVED - Connect to a Wireless LAN - Record DVD Movies 8. CONTACT US - See this section for a list of ways to contact us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. ==== GETTING CONNECTED ==== By Paul Thurrott, News Editor, [EMAIL PROTECTED] * HUB OF A CONNECTED HOME: TO PC OR NOT TO PC Greetings, A new generation of connected entertainment devices is appearing this year, and many of those devices seek to usurp control of digital media tasks from the PC and move them into your living room. I can understand why many people want to enjoy digital photos and movies on their TV, which is usually much bigger than their PC monitor. Likewise, stereo systems in people's living rooms are often more powerful than the speakers connected to their PCs and are in a more central spot in the home. No wonder many companies--including some PC companies, incidentally--have introduced products that work with TV and stereo technologies and, in many cases, obviate the need for a PC. However, pushing the PC out of the picture is often an extreme step that's not necessarily the best way to go. The following are some emerging digital media strategies to consider. Apple's Digital Hub Strategy In Apple Computer's view of the world, PCs and televisions will never meet. Apple CEO Steve Jobs says people turn themselves off when they sit in front of a TV but expect to interact and engage themselves while using a PC. Thus, the company has launched a campaign to position its Macintosh products as the center of a digital hub in which users process audio, video, and photos on their Mac, then connect to the Internet and devices such as portable audio players and CD-RW and DVD-R drives. The idea is that the Mac is the central connection point for all devices and tasks. The problems with this approach are many. First, this strategy is highly derivative of similar Microsoft and Intel strategies, which reach far more users, making it hard for Apple to differentiate its products. The strategy highlights, rather than obscures, the fact that Apple's solutions are generally far less viable than Wintel-based solutions. Second, this strategy ignores the fact that people have historically enjoyed music, photos, and movies in locations other than the home office. Apple offers no way for people to view photos or movies on a TV or listen to their digitally recorded music collections on a home stereo. The Mac's small market share reflects these limitations. Because the Mac market doesn't have the PC market's huge infrastructure--or ecosystem, to use a recent Microsoft term--living- room solutions are hard to find or nonexistent in the Mac world. Don't take my criticisms as a damnation of the Mac, however. Apple's digital movie and music applications--iDVD, iMovie, and iTunes--are first-rate, and its iPhoto digital photo application shows promise. People who choose the Mac generally do so for specific reasons, and lack of support or options has never hindered these users in the past. But PC users have few reasons to even consider the Mac at this time, unless you find the company's digital video applications particularly compelling. The Post-PC Strategy: Connected Entertainment Devices You might expect companies that have no stake in the PC market to look at the emerging digital-media market and come up with devices that preclude the need for a PC at all. Many companies attempted to do just that by developing non-PC Internet access devices, including Web pads, Internet appliances, and MSN Companion devices. This time around, however, many of the companies working on living room-based connected entertainment devices are PC makers, although the products they're selling are standalone devices that work sans PC. Perhaps they just want to capture a wider market than that afforded by PC users alone. In any event, connected entertainment devices share some common features. They look like any other home stereo component and interact with users through a small LCD display and a remote control. They offer a CD-RW drive and hard disk (usually 20GB to 40GB) for recording digital audio from audio CD-ROMs and for creating audio-mix CDs. Some of these devices include USB ports for connectivity with portable digital audio devices, and all of them offer Internet connectivity through a modem, Ethernet, or Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HomePNA) phone-line networking connection. Compaq and Hewlett-Packard (HP) are two PC makers that offer such devices (Compaq's iPAQ Music Center and HP's Digital Entertainment Center), and other companies such as SONICblue and Moxi Digital are introducing units this year; the Moxi Media Center will purportedly add digital video recording (DVR) capabilities as well. But the problem with these devices is their price; the average price is about $1000. For $1000, you can purchase an amazingly powerful Windows XP-based Pentium 4 PC that does so much more than these devices; this problem is the same one that doomed the previous generation of non-PC Internet access devices. The PC Plus Strategy For the past year or so, Microsoft has been touting its own strategy for making the PC the center of your home devices, and I think the company's ideas currently make the most sense. Dubbed "PC Plus" by Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, this strategy envisions a Windows-based PC as the center of the connected home, which sounds similar to Apple's strategy (although, to be fair, Microsoft was there first). But Microsoft recognizes that the PC isn't always the best output device for digital media tasks, and the company even created a new eHome division to come up with complementary technologies that will move computing out of the home office and into other areas of the home. Microsoft revealed the first eHome technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2002, and they're exciting. Microsoft Freestyle provides a simple and elegant front end to accomplish digital media tasks such as playing music and viewing video and photos. Freestyle lets you use a standard remote control to interact with your PC while using your TV as a display device. Microsoft expects manufacturers to release a new generation of PCs soon, offering cheap prices and stereo component-like form factors, which will make them perfect for inclusion in the living room. And because the units are full PCs, you can connect them to other PCs in the home and leverage the hard disk space and digital media files you already own. Another eHome technology, Microsoft Mira, adds remote-display capabilities to a new generation of primary and secondary displays scheduled for shipment in time for the 2002 holiday buying season. Primary Mira displays--typically 15" LCD flat panels--will replace your existing display wherever your primary PC is located, such as in the home office. However, you'll be able to pick up the display and walk around the house with it; the display communicates with your desktop PC through an 802.11b-based wireless connection and XP's Remote Desktop feature. You use a stylus and onscreen keyboard to interact with the display, similar to the way Pocket PCs work. You'll be able to use Mira's smaller secondary displays--which will be 8" to 10"--in other rooms of the home, so you might store one in your bedroom or living room. In the future, TVs and other devices will include Mira technology. Mira and Freestyle will ship with XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), which is due in September or October. If you're an XP user, I recommend waiting for these technologies before you decide on a living room and digital media integration strategy. For more information about these exciting technologies, check out my Technology Showcase on the SuperSite for Windows. http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/freestyle_mira.asp ******************** ~~~~ SPONSOR: CONNECTED HOME MAGAZINE VIRTUAL TOUR ~~~~ THE CONNECTED HOME VIRTUAL TOUR IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER! If you think you've already seen Connected Home Magazine Virtual Tour, think again. Browse through the latest home entertainment, home networking, and home automation options and check out our special feature on wiring your home. Sign up for our prize drawings, too, and you might win a free wireless home network, courtesy of Linksys. Take the tour today! http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40LTe0AK ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. ==== NEWS AND VIEWS ==== (An irreverent look at some of the week's news stories, contributed by Paul Thurrott and Keith Furman) * NAPSTER REMAINS SILENT AFTER LOST APPEAL A federal appellate court judge ruled last week that music-swapping service Napster must remain offline until it fully complies with an injunction that requires the company to remove from its service all copyrighted music that its users share. Napster rose to fame 2 years ago, when millions of people used the service to freely pirate copyrighted music, an activity that strangely enough landed the company in court. Equally strange, a court found Napster guilty of--get this-- not only allowing the piracy but creating technology specifically designed for fostering piracy. And you thought the American judicial system didn't work! * SONICBLUE RELEASES GO-VIDEO DVD/VCR COMBO Remember Go-Video, the company that several years ago created those controversial dual-deck VCRs that let you easily copy VHS tapes? Well, digital-media giant SONICblue now owns the company, and Go-Video recently unveiled its latest all-in-one wonder, a dual-deck DVD/VCR player that lets you watch a DVD movie while recording a TV show on the VCR. What's conspicuously absent, of course, is the ability to record a DVD movie. I guess Go-Video learned its lesson from the early days, when movie companies--concerned that Go-Video's products made copying movies too easy--dragged the company into court. * SONY INTRODUCES COOL NEW HANDHELDS The line between Palm devices and Pocket PCs blurred more than ever last week when Sony introduced a new line of Clie devices that feature a foldaway screen, a Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry-like built-in keyboard, and a digital camera. The new Clies also include color, high- resolution displays, remote control capabilities for use with stereo components, and digital audio player software. Sony's multimedia bent significantly differentiates its Palm-based units, as does the price of the new Clies, which at $500 to $600, are in Pocket PC territory. * APPLE PLIES THE DARK SIDE Apple Computer set up a feedback Web site ( http://www.apple.com/hardware/pcusers/ ) aimed at getting advice from Windows users who are considering the Macintosh platform. (Apple recently took the site down, thanking visitors for their input and promising to ask for more thoughts and experiences in the future.) Key questions the company should ask include, "What would make a normal person choose to use a platform with less hardware and software support?" and "What can Apple do to make its high prices look more palatable to users who can purchase PC components at bargain-basement prices?" But seriously, Apple needs to focus on reversing its flagging fortunes. Despite tons of positive press, the company is steadily losing market share, and it owns only 3.5 percent of the US market for PCs, down from 20 percent a decade ago. * XBOX SALES TANK And speaking of positive press that doesn't accurately reflect the underlying problem, Microsoft's Xbox game system is tanking in non-US markets, leading some observers to think that the fledgling brand is already on the way out. Microsoft had hoped to sell 6 million Xbox units worldwide in its first year of availability, but the company is unlikely to sell many more than 4 million units. And to everyone who paid extra for an Xbox on eBay last Christmas when retail pickings were slim, the joke's on you: Expect a surplus of Xbox hardware to dog Microsoft for the remainder of this year. 3. ==== ANNOUNCEMENTS ==== * NEW FROM THE TRAINING DEPARTMENT! Learn how to install residential wiring for phone, data, computer networks, audio/video, home theater, and security in both new construction and retrofit installations. Check out The Training Department's videos and latest training seminar on home networking. Be sure to ask for a free sample of the video preview CD-ROM today! http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40sBz0A1 * INTERNET WORLD SPRING, APRIL 22 THROUGH 26, LOS ANGELES Where business solutions are found through Internet technology. Internet World has been bringing people together to share technology solutions for over ten years. Register for conference package or FREE exhibit hall admission to the world's largest event dedicated to e- business and Internet technology! Visit http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40qzr0Am and use priority code T25. * INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE AT CONNECTIONS(TM) 2002 Join Parks Associates and CABA in May for the industry event, CONNECTIONS(TM) 2002: The International Home Networking and Gateways Showcase. CONNECTIONS(TM) provides the best networking and informational opportunity for the players providing home networking, gateways, and their corollary products and services for the home. Register now! http://lists.connectedhomemag.com/cgi-bin3/flo?y=eLQv0EAXKe0BQ40sB10An ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. ==== ACROSS THE ATLANTIC ==== (contributed by Tim Fuell, [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Editor's Note: In this issue of Connected Home EXPRESS, we introduce Tim Fuell, technology writer in the United Kingdom, who will keep readers up-to-date about home technology trends in Europe. * XBOX AND OTHER GADGETS BRIGHTEN EUROPE'S TECHNOLOGY SCENE Although Europe is home to some of the leading names in the technology industry, products often launch in Europe several months later than in the United States. Thus, connected-home technology is only beginning to take off in Europe. Even in 2002, in cosmopolitan London, many people consider you eccentric if you have remote control room lights. True to form, the official European appearance of Microsoft's Xbox happened about 4 months after the US launch. As expected, lines formed outside retailers several hours before the stores opened on launch day, March 14, and the Xbox nearly sold out across the continent. The Xbox appears to be successful in Europe for two reasons. First, the device offered a large game portfolio at launch, and second, the Xbox is the only game console that has a European factory, which means faster stock replenishment. However, some consumers have questioned the 479 Euro price tag (about $418), a third more expensive than Sony's PlayStation 2. Elsewhere on the continent, CeBIT 2002 in Hanover, Germany, attracted the usual gathering of techno-junkies. The world's largest high-tech trade show boasted 8000 exhibitors from 61 countries but experienced a 17 percent drop in visitors from last year. The visitation slump wasn't surprising given the economic downturn and the fact that the show had little to "wow" visitors. Still, CeBIT showcased some interesting advances in technology. The SiPix StyleCam Blink, which SiPix claimed is the smallest digital camera in the world at 1.5cm x 5cm x 5cm (0.5" x 2" x 2") and just 30 grams (about 1 ounce) plus battery, stole a few headlines. However, connected-home fans were most interested a range of PC/TV combination monitors from LG Electronics. With built-in TV tuners, the LE-15A15 and RE-15LA30 models provide resolutions of 1024 x 768 on 15" Thin Film Transistor (TFT) screens that boast VGA, Scart, S-video, and audio/video (A/V) sockets for external connections. CeBIT is as much about science fiction as science fact and has long been a place for individual inventors to display new ideas in hopes of luring a big company to finance production. For example, VKB introduced the technology to produce a "virtual keyboard." The technology uses a small standalone unit to project a keyboard image onto any surface, and the virtual keyboard detects user touches within the virtual "keys." The technology eliminates cumbersome keyboard add-ons and endless button pressing. VKB wants to license the technology and move its prototype into mainstream mobile computers, PDAs, and remote control units. Technology is best when it makes life easier, and a product that Flexstorm revealed at CeBIT can accomplish that goal by reducing the amount of space you need to store CD-ROMs. Flexstorm has developed a flexible CD-ROM, flexCD, that's only 0.1mm thick. FlexCD, developed with marketing in mind, could be ideal for attachment to cereal boxes, magazines, and clothing. With quality as high as that of standard CD- ROMs, flexCDs will play on most conventional CD players when you use a special adapter. Use of slender flexCDs could reduce the amount of space you use to store backup disks and file archives. CeBIT 2002 http://www.cebit.de SiPix http://www.sipix.com LG Electronics http://www.lge.com Flexstorm http://www.flexstorm.com 5. ==== QUICK POLL ==== * RESULTS OF LAST WEEK'S POLL: INSTANT MESSAGING The voting has closed in Connected Home Online's nonscientific Quick Poll for the question, "How often do you use Instant Messaging (IM)?" Here are the results (+/-2 percent) from the 248 votes: - 13% More frequently than I use email - 12% As often as I use email - 21% Occasionally, but not as often as I use email - 17% I rarely use it - 38% I never use it * NEW POLL: SMART PHONES The next Quick Poll question is, "Are you interested in smart phones, devices that combine cell phone and PDA functionality?" Go to the Connected Home Online home page and submit your vote for a) Yes, and I've already bought one, b) Yes, but I'll wait until they're more powerful, c) Yes, but I'll wait until they're more powerful and cheaper, or d) No, not interested. http://www.connectedhomemag.com 6. ==== RESOURCES ==== * PRODUCT REVIEW: PINNACLE DV500 PLUS (PART TWO) (contributed by Paul Thurrott, [EMAIL PROTECTED]) In "Pinnacle DV500 Plus (Part One)," which is available online at http://www.connectedhomemag.com/visual/articles/index.cfm?articleid=24508 , I introduced a video-editing system that provides some professional-level features in a consumer-level product. In Part Two of my review of Pinnacle Systems' DV500 PLUS hardware/software solution for editing video, I look at the software side of the product. The DV500 PLUS ships with Adobe Systems' Adobe Premiere 6.0, a high-end, nonlinear video editor; Pinnacle Systems' Hollywood FX Copper add-in, which lets Premiere achieve professional-looking 3-D video effects; and several Pinnacle software tools, many of which are useful for controlling and managing the bundled the hardware. http://www.connectedhomemag.com/visual/articles/index.cfm?articleid=24678 * TIP: MAKE A PHOTO MONTAGE (contributed by Paul Thurrott, [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Users of Windows XP, Windows Me, Mac OS X, and Mac OS 9.x have everything they need to turn their digital photo collections into cool photo montages, complete with background music or voice-overs. To create a photo montage in XP or Windows Me, launch Windows Movie Maker and start a new Collection. Then, drag your digital photos into the Collection and down to the Timeline in the order you want them to appear. To add a smooth transition between each photo, drag photos one at a time to the left 2 to 3 seconds, as the marks on the timeline denote. Then, insert an MP3 or Windows Media Audio (WMA) file for background music, or use Windows Movie Maker's built-in voice-over tool to record a voice-over. Save the movie into a Web- or email-friendly format, and you can share it with your friends and family. In Mac OS X or OS 9.x, the process is similar: Start iMovie 2, select File, select Import, then locate the still images you want to use. Then, drag the images from the Clips shelf down to the Timeline in the order you want them to appear. To add a transition between each photo, select the Transitions shelf and pick a transition for each break between the photos; drag a transition down from the Transition shelf and position it between two photos, then repeat the process for each photo (you can choose from several transitions in iMovie; Windows Movie Maker lacks this selection feature). You can also import an Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) or MP3 file for background music, then drag it down to the first audio track to make it part of your montage. Likewise, you can record a voice-over by choosing the Audio shelf and Record Voice. Note that iMovie supports two audio tracks, so you can add both a voice-over and background music. To export the movie, select File, then select Export Movie. Got a question or tip? Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please include your full name and email address so that we can contact you. * FEATURED THREAD: WIRELESS OR HARD-WIRED HOME NETWORK? Dave's family has four PCs and two printers, and Dave wants to set up a home network to connect the machines. He wonders which option, wireless or hard-wired, would be a better option for building the network. To see responses or to lend a helping hand, visit the following URL: http://www.connectedhomemag.com/forums/thread.cfm?cfapp=80&thread_id=101168&mc=1 7. ==== NEW AND IMPROVED ==== (contributed by Carolyn Mascarenas, [EMAIL PROTECTED]) * CONNECT TO A WIRELESS LAN Socket Communications announced the Wireless LAN Card, which lets you connect your Pocket PC to a wireless LAN (WLAN) through the 802.11b standard. The card is battery-operated and connects you to enterprise and public WLAN systems for access to the Internet, email, and corporate servers. The Wireless LAN Card is compatible with Pocket PC 2002 and costs $189. Contact Socket Communications at 510-744-2700. http://www.socketcom.com * RECORD DVD MOVIES Vivastar announced its PC-based DVD recorder line, which includes the RS-121 External DVD Recorder and the RS-111 Internal DVD Recorder. Each product can record as much as 120 minutes of high-quality movies, professional, audio, video, and graphics information onto one 4.7GB DVD-R. Both units burn DVD-R discs at 1X and 2X speeds with a maximum read rate of 4X. For pricing, contact Vivastar at 508-699-1740 or 866- 699-8482. http://www.vivastar.com 8. ==== CONTACT US ==== Here's how to reach us with your comments and questions: * ABOUT GETTING CONNECTED -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] * ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER IN GENERAL -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] (please mention the name of the newsletter in the subject line) * TECHNICAL QUESTIONS -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] * PRODUCT NEWS -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] * QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR CONNECTED HOME EXPRESS SUBSCRIPTION? -- Customer Support at [EMAIL PROTECTED] * WANT TO SPONSOR CONNECTED HOME EXPRESS? -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************** Receive the latest information about the Windows and .NET topics of your choice. Subscribe to our other FREE email newsletters. http://www.winnetmag.net/email |-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-| Thank you for reading Connected Home EXPRESS. 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