Author: Dr. Bill

Is it a tablet? A PC? A gaming console? A hand held? Well, yes, and no… it is very different!

I Just Held the Future of PC Gaming in My Hands and It’s Called Project Fiona

“Project Fiona is a proof-of-concept and a prototype in the most serious way. What you’re looking at is version 0.2. (Razer’s already finished work on five more iterations of Fiona—they’re up to version 0.8 at their labs, and expecting to hit 1.0 by the end of the year.) I can tell when I feel the heat coming out of the vents, as the fan spins up to cool the Intel Core i7 breathing fire inside. Or when the right analog stick feels a little sticky.

But when I run my finger along the edges of the brushed aluminum frame that provides Fiona’s remarkably rigid structural integrity, or try to make its skeleton flex and creak, it feels more done, more solid than some other very finished tablets I’ve used. ‘And frankly, the final product will look much different,’ says Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan of Fiona. Which is also why I can’t tell you battery life, or how much it’ll cost, though Tan is aiming for under $1000 for the Windows 8-powered tablet—meaning it’ll have full PC powers, though Razer is adding some software of their own on the gaming side, like the interface for browsing games. (Side note: Do you remember OQO, a little company that built little computers that were both radically ahead and behind their time? Appropriately, a lot of their engineers worked on this.)

It’s lighter than you’d think, for a tablet that’s at least as thick as three iPad 2s—it’ll be thinner, promises Tan—and has a pair of sticks bolted onto it. But I rest my elbows on my knees to play Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. And it feels totally natural. If you’ve ever used an Xbox 360 or PS3 controller, you know how to use Fiona’s controls; Razer software takes care of the mapping PC controls to the buttons.

Do you know what the minimum spec requirements are for Space Marine? A 2GHz dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM, 256MB video card. And it ran beautifully on Fiona’s glossy 10.1-inch, 1280×800 display. I held PC gaming in my hands, and I killed a bunch of Orcs and it felt fantastic. It sounds stupid that a 10.1-inch screen could be as immersive as a 24-inch display, but when you’re able to bring your game up to your face, and it moves with you and your body, it’s a different kind of connection. Speaking of moving! It’s got an accelerometer and force feedback and a camera, so Razer’s already thinking ways PC games could take advantage of gamers having access to traditional controls, touch and movement simultaneously.”

So… I love my Roku… but, I may need to check this out when it comes out. Ubuntu TV… very cool!

Unity-based Ubuntu TV takes on Google TV

“Canonical used the Consumer Electronics Show to demonstrate an IPTV platform — Ubuntu TV — that will directly compete with Google TV. Based on Ubuntu Core, the upcoming Ubuntu 12.04 (“Precise Pangolins”), the Unity UI layer, and the Ubuntu One cloud service, the offering aims to meld cable/satellite TV service with Internet content, featuring unified search, channel guide, time shifting, optimized apps, and links to mobile devices.

Canonical developed its controversial Unity desktop interface for the Ubuntu Linux desktop distribution to, in large part, reflect an ongoing transition from desktop computing to mobile and embedded devices. Now it’s working hard to drum up some customers in non-PC platforms, starting with a web TV service called Ubuntu TV.

As reported by several sources — including ZDNet and IDG News — Canonical demonstrated Ubuntu TV at this week’s CES show in Las Vegas. The company also posted a website on Ubuntu TV that includes specs for device requirements.

According to ZDNet, Ubuntu TV sets could appear as early as this year, and will compete directly with the Android-based Google TV as well as Apple TV. Ubuntu TV integrates content search, time shifting, online box office, personal cloud, Internet content, apps, and disk media functionality across web- and broadcast realms, says Canonical. A single remote is said to interact with Internet and commercial TV content.

The platform is based on Canonical’s emerging Ubuntu Core foundation for embedded devices, as well as the upcoming Ubuntu 12.04 (“Precise Pangolin”) due in April. Pangolin is one of Ubuntu’s rare long time support (LTS) releases, and will be supported through 2017, giving device manufacturers the stable platform they seek. In addition, Ubuntu TV makes use of the Ubuntu One personal cloud service.”

So, the rumors last week were wrong!

Barnes & Noble CEO: We’re committed to the Nook

“Although there have been doubts about the Nook (and e-book readers in general) lately, Barnes & Noble isn’t giving up on the brand anytime soon.

CEO William Lynch told CNBC today that Barnes & Noble will continue to reinforce the relationship between the digital Nook e-book brand and its brick-and-mortar stores.

Rebuffing the idea that B&N would be spinning off its Nook unit, instead, Lynch reaffirmed the company’s stance on the future of digital content:

The growth is going to be in digital, hence our investments in digital and how we’ve scaled that business. But the physical book business, by any measure and any projection, will continue to be the largest part of the business, and we’ve been growing share there, and in fact growing the business in absolute terms…That is a very profitable side of the business.

Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble said in a statement that it’s examining how to “unlock” the value of the Nook unit after disappointing sales results–especially for the Nook Simple Touch reader that debuted in May.

In December, Barnes & Noble reported fiscal second-quarter losses of $6.6 million, though there was a silver lining: the recently released Nook Tablet is said to be the fastest selling Nook product in history.”

What do you think about having a login to a site, or application verified by your “@” Twitter ID? Will I eventually just be “@DrBillBailey” everywhere? Hummmm… interesting idea. Twitter is releasing the tools for developers to be able to add Twitter ID verification into apps.

Twitter’s new @handle distribution pilot program

“Today we introduce a new pilot program for distributing Verified Account @handles and public profile metadata to developers, media and content services, and consumer device manufacturers. The Echo Nest, Gracenote, and Rovi are the first partners in this program, which will scale the distribution of Twitter account data for integration in consumer-facing apps. Developers in the Twitter ecosystem can now work with these three partners to integrate Verified Account @handles and Tweets into their music and entertainment services.

The Echo Nest will connect Twitter Verified Accounts to its Rosetta Stone service to give developers a simple way to integrate Tweets from popular recording artists directly into their apps. The Echo Nest’s music intelligence platform powers leading music services and platforms, including Spotify, Nokia, Rdio, MOG, EMI and iHeartRadio.

Gracenote will integrate Twitter Verified Accounts for musicians, actors and other artists into its database of music and video information, which includes metadata for millions of artists, albums and movies. Gracenote’s database powers some of the world’s leading music and video products, including Apple iTunes, HTC smart phones, Ford SYNC and Sony BRAVIA TVs.

Rovi offers digital home entertainment companies an easy way to add Tweets directly from Verified Accounts into their services. Rovi’s database also includes reviews, artist bios and music clips, and is used by manufacturers and services providers.

Partnerships like these give music and entertainment fans the opportunity to interact with Tweets from their favorite artists, directly through the media services they use every day. We expect to add more partnerships to the pilot program, which will extend the Twitter experience to a new set of devices and applications.”

Tune in at the top of our right column to watch LIVE Coverage from TechPodcasts Network! TODAY!

(NOTE: If you click the small “black box” in the lower right corner of the viewer, it will expand to full-screen.)

Yes, you play it. Don’t lie to me! Now 6.5 million of you are after Christmas! Angry Birds is also nearly the first app downloaded on all phones, hand helds, etc! Go Birds!

Some 6.5 Million People Found Angry Birds in Their Stockings

“Buoyed by a flurry of smartphone activations, Rovio said it saw a record 6.5 million Christmas Day downloads for its Angry Birds franchise of games.

That’s nearly the number of total smartphone activations estimated to have happened over Christmas.

“We’re really excited to have such a massive number of new people get acquainted with Angry Birds over the holidays — we have exciting new releases lined up for 2012, and can’t wait to introduce them to the public,” Rovio’s Ville Heijari told AllThingsD.

That total combines downloads for three games — Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio — and includes a mix of paid and free downloads.
The number is up from Christmas 2010, when the company saw two million downloads across iOS and Android.

It was an appy Christmas overall, with Flurry suggesting more than a billion mobile programs were downloaded during the final week of 2011.”