Apparently, Microsoft has plans for Sync that extend beyond the standard voice-activation scheme they’ve got going right now. The company wants to deliver a wider range of network connectivity for in-car use, and they’re debating the possibility of moving away from subscription-based services to an ad-funded scenario. What exactly does that mean? We’ll let Martin Thall, general manager of Microsoft’s Automotive Business Unit explain: “We know where you are and we know where you’re headed,” he says, seemingly unaware of the Orwellian implications. “We could target that advertising directly to your car.” You getting that? Targeted ads. In your car. While you’re driving. Apparently, execs don’t think you’ll mind being bombarded inside your vehicle because you’re, “used to advertising in the car. We hear ads on the radio and see billboards on the road.” Of course, this is speculation on future technologies, so nothing is set in stone — hopefully someone comes to their senses before our hovercar interiors glitter with holographic spam.
Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable Video
Oklahoma Christian University? Sure as hell (woops) haven’t heard of it either, but they must be the Cal to Abilene Christian University’s Stanford (or sub your fav rivalry here) as they seem ready to pony up the cash necessary to fund the next free-gear-to-students publicity stunt. This time the offering is not only an iPod touch or iPhone, but a new MacBook as well — and to sweeten the deal, current students can trade their machines in for a new one. Your tuition (and tithing) dollars hard at work, OCU parents, students, and alumni.
If you just so happen to have a spare 35mm slide viewer gathering all sorts of dust in your basement and one of Apple’s latest nanos, we’ve discovered a perfect way to spend your weekend and exercise your DIY muscle. Granted, the Nanoscope has been around the block a time or two, but that doesn’t weaken its geek factor one iota. Essentially, you simply modify said viewer to accommodate the nano, add in a set of speakers and kick back to enjoy your stored movie files in larger-than-originally-intended fashion. Really, it’s way cooler than it sounds — check out the video after the jump.
[Via RetroThing]
The XM / Sirius merger soap opera never ends, does it? Although the original deal allowed for either company to walk away risk free on March 1 if government regulators didn’t approve, the two companies have looked each other deeply in the eye and re-affirmed their love for each other — for another two months. That’s right, they’ve only extended the deadline for a whopping eight more weeks — it’s like no one at either company has noticed that this no part of this process has actually been on schedule or gone smoothly. Seriously, if we thought we could put a merger on deathwatch, we might actually do that here. Ah well, here’s to young love — too bad most of those stories end up with everyone dead, eh?
iriver unveiled a whole bunch of hotness at this year’s CES, so you’ll have to pick your next player from them wisely… lest you end up buying the whole lot. That said, we’re not sure the E100 would be our first choice, but it’s certainly no slouch in the looks or specs departments, and it’s hitting the market well before most of those fancier players. There’s a 2.4-inch QVGA display, built-in stereo speakers and a microSD slot to supplement the included memory. Audio codec support includes FLAC, MP3, WMA, ASF and OGG, while you can manage MPEG-4, WMV9 and XVID for video. There’s also a mic, FM radio and line-in for acquiring audio. The E100 is available now, with prices starting at €79.00 ($119 US) for a 2GB player, and ramping on up to €129.00 ($194 US) for the 8GB.
[Via Generation MP3]
I never thought that speakers could give me the same feeling that I get when I see a beautifully designed car, but some of the entries in C4DCafe’s speaker rendering challenge have done just that (and some of them are just plain weird). The only problem is that putting one of these designs in my home would make all my other stuff look like crap. Hit the link to check out all of the designs along with the winners. [C4DCafe Challenge and Winners via AudioJunkies]
We thought Sony showed a bit of wisdom and discretion by leaving the PFR-V1s overseas, but we were wrong. The $500 “personal field speakers” are definitely headed Stateside, and it’s just as we feared: they may sound decent enough to justify the price, but honestly, no one is going to wear these. Really, no one. Probably not even around the house, even despite the fact that they’re not really that uncomfortable. See our pained facial expression after the break.
Gallery: Sony PFR-V1 WTFones ears-off
Continue reading Sony PFR-V1 WTFones ears-off
If you’re down with the Walkman line then you probably sat up and took notice to Sony’s new 16GB Bluetooth hotness earlier this morning. Nothing crazy going on here, but we’ve got a few shots of the NWZ-A726, NWZ-S615F, and all-out NWZ-A829 to lust over (or chide, depending).
Gallery: Sony’s new Walkman hands-ons
Looks like there’s something to this “downloading music” thing after all — just eight months after topping Amazon, iTunes has now passed Best Buy to become the number two music retailer in the US. Apple says 50 million customers have bought over 4 billion songs, with 20 million sold on Christmas day alone. That leaves just Wal-Mart in first place, but with the percentage of digital music sales growing each quarter, ol’ Wally may not be safe for long.
Never heard of Abilene Christian University? We’re guessing a wide majority of the general public hasn’t either, but the institution is definitely getting its name out there by promising each incoming freshman this fall an iPhone or iPod touch. Granted, these aren’t being explicitly marked as “free,” but similar to Duke’s efforts in years past, ACU plans on using these devices for educational enrichment. Reportedly, the handhelds will enable students to “receive homework alerts, answer in-class surveys and quizzes, get directions to their professors’ offices, and check their meal and account balances” — and that’s just for starters. Interestingly, we aren’t told whether or not the folks already enrolled will be left out — nor what determines which Apple you get — but we do know that the entity is hoping to “expand the program in the future.”
[Thanks, Byzil]
