Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

As the release date for ZeeVee’s ZvBox draws near (we’re hearing July 31st), the company is out and about in an attempt to drum up demand as the run-up to its launch progresses. During CONNECTIONS 2008, ZeeVee was in attendance with a ZvBox on display, and aside from snapping a few telling photographs, the folks over at eHomeUpgrade were also able to capture a couple videos to give you an early feel of its capabilities (and limitations). We don’t have to tell you where the goods are, but if you’re new here, that read link down there is a good place to start.

[Via SlashGear]

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Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

You heard right, folks. American Airlines is planning to open up the world wide web to passengers on board an unspecified round-trip flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles. The Gogo service, provided via Aircell, will be free for patrons tomorrow, but will eventually run users $12.95 for flights greater than three hours and $9.95 for trips under said threshold. We’re also told that more trials are expected to get going on flights between New York and San Francisco and New York and Miami, though no time frame is given for when the service would escape the beta stage and hit mass implementation. Additionally, the Gogo system is supposed to “prioritize the flow of data so that passengers downloading movies or large documents won’t prevent other passengers from getting their email,” so don’t expect to use that excuse for not sending in those Q2 close reports.

[Via Jaunted]

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Filed under: Networking

Shockingly enough, the image you see above isn’t as radical as you probably think. Just last year we saw a San Francisco couple profess their inexplicable love for TiVo with a his and her cake arrangement, while another treated guests to a flavorful version of their wedding day playlist. This perky pair, however, decided to create cakes that would visually describe just how they ended up together, complete with on-screen profiles and a crossover cable (or something) with a heart along the way. Gives a whole new meaning to the networking category, now doesn’t it?

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Filed under: Cellphones

A full fortnight is way too long to go without seeing a little more of Samsung’s Windows Mobile 6.1-powered i900 Omnia, so we were just tickled pink to find a new video showcasing the mobile’s user interface. More specifically, the web browsing function gets most of the attention, and while it doesn’t exactly look like a refined experience from here, why don’t you head on past the break and judge for yourself?

[Thanks, TUcow]

Continue reading Samsung’s i900 Omnia surfs web on video

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Wireless

It’s a crying shame (okay, not really), but the long-standing availability of free WiFi to Nintendo DS users in Mickey D’s is now over. Apparently the contract that enabled the access has expired, and there’s no signs of a renewal happening in the US or Canada. Of course, if you’re incredibly desperate to kick some tires online while treating yourself to a supersize medium order of fries and a vanilla cone, you can fetch the Nintendo DS web browser add-on or WiFi USB Connector from the second-hand market and carry on. We, however, see this as a perfect excuse to avoid the temptations that lurk underneath the Golden Arches.

[Via DS Fanboy]

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Filed under: Wireless, Networking

If you’ve tried every antenna and extender on the market today with subpar results, HD Communications is apt to become your new best friend. The outfit has just revealed its HD26200, a “complete outdoor wireless network bridge in the 802.11b/g unlicensed 2.4GHz band that sells for only $318.” Said device bridges wireless internet between two locales up to 5 miles apart without requiring a single RF cable, being that both Ubiquiti network radios are powered over Ethernet. If you’re looking for the catch, the bridge does require a direct line of sight between the two locations, but the firm is reportedly looking to expand its non-line of sight family by the summer’s end.

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Filed under: Transportation

With the ability to surf the web in-car inevitably coming to more and more motorcars, ATX Group, the self-proclaimed “largest independent telematics services provider to the automotive industry,” has announced an initiative with the Connected Vehicle Trade Association to “convene an international work group to address how to safely access internet content through embedded and nomadic devices in vehicles.” Aside from that, it’s also proposing a generic top-level domain — .car — that would presumably dumb down websites for use in the vehicle. Of course, you won’t find us cheering on a movement to generate yet another worthless TLD, but we’d certainly be down with text-to-speech software that read the latest gadget headlines (just an example, is all) aloud as you cruised the freeway.

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Filed under: Networking

It’d be absolutely spectacular to actually see one of these admittedly ambitious municipal WiFi projects actually work out every now and then, but instead, we’re seeing the nails start to sink into yet another citywide WiFi coffin. This go ’round, the network blanketing most of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is on the verge of sending out its last signals unless the city can devise a plan in short order to take it over from EarthLink, who unsurprisingly wants out on the double. Unfortunately, we don’t have a great feeling about the system’s future — history has a way of forecasting, you know?

[Via CNET, image courtesy of Stippling]

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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Just in case you weren’t satisfied with the plethora of media streamers out there already, startup ZeeVee is hoping to catch your eye with its admittedly unique offering. The June-bound ZvBox ($499) plugs into one’s computer (VGA) and sends on-screen content to every TV in the house over existing coaxial cabling. Put simply, the unit enables users to view any kind of internet media right on their television with no subscription fees or wireless dropouts. Aside from bringing internet video over, users can also access any other computer application (web browser, built-in DVD player, etc.) right from their set. In order to handle said tasks, the box comes bundled with a wireless ZvRemote / Zviewer, but those comfortable with managing their own desktop won’t be bothered with any fancy interfaces. Suffice to say, those looking to easily pipe their Media PC recordings to the family TV will certainly find reason to take notice. Head on the past the break for a few more details.

Continue reading ZeeVee’s ZvBox streams your PC to your HDTV over coax, Apple TV cowers

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Filed under: Networking

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Complete internet downtime is no laughing matter, but more frightening still is the prospect that the world’s data flow is completely beheld to a giant, taciturn Linksys WiFi router. South Park clip embedded after the break — we’re still trying to decide whether this trumps the Aqua Teen episode where they meet the Wwwyzzerdd, freakish master of the internet.

Continue reading Screen Grabs: giant Linksys WiFi router is The Internet

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Filed under: Wireless

Sure, we’ve seen the occasional loony look down upon open WiFi access, but Russia is apparently out to really slow down wireless adoption with its latest directive. Reportedly, the Russian Mass Media, Communications and Cultural Protection Service (or Rossvyazokhrankultura for short — no seriously, we swear) is looking to have every user of a WiFi-enabled device obtain permission and register said device before hopping on the world wide web. Even worse, it seems as if every single wireless transmitter and device must be registered, meaning that technophiles will be filling out heaps of paperwork in order to get their handset, laptop, DS Lite, PC and hacked-up Foleo online (legally) via their home-based access point. We’re hearing that registering a single PDA or phone would take around ten days, while signing up a new home network would be even more painstaking. We’ll spare you the snide In Soviet Russia… remarks, but feel free to concoct your own below.

[Via Wi-Fi Net News]

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Filed under: Handhelds, Wireless

Okay, so there’s a fair amount of folks out there still wondering what exactly a MID (Mobile Internet Device) can do for them, and while some may scrutinize the facts and still come away in a haze, Intel has unleashed a new 84 second spot hyping the platform’s ability to keep you connected in nearly any locale. The plug trumpets the “great battery life” you’re just guaranteed to get as well as the ability to connect via WiFi or WiMAX. Beyond accessing the web, you’ll also find promotions for multimedia playback and “catching up on your work” — the latter of which we’re thoroughly skeptical about. Still, you’re likely to get a hearty chuckle out of it if nothing else, so click on past the break to get schooled.

[Via UberReview]

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Filed under: Networking

Although we just heard that Comcast’s DOCSIS 3.0 rollout was on track for 2009, folks in the Twin Cities region now have exclusive bragging rights for an undisclosed window of time. Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota have become the first markets to have access to an all new “extreme” broadband (or wideband, as it were) connection, which promises 50Mbps down / 5Mbps up. As expected, the carrier isn’t being modest about the launch, claiming that users can suck down a 4GB HD movie “in about ten minutes,” compared to “more than six hours” on a 1.5Mbps DSL connection. The newfound speed won’t come cheap — for residential users, look to lay down $149.95 per month for the privilege. Even if you aren’t springing for the good stuff, current customers in the area will have their existing broadband connections hastened gratis, with 6Mbps / 384Kbps users moving up to 1Mbps uploads and 8Mbps / 768Kbps users seeing 2Mbps uploads. Kudos, Twin Cities — you just made the rest of America sick with envy.

[Image courtesy of TheRedWoodMotel]

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Filed under: Networking

Although Comcast has been beating around the proverbial bush about its data-meddling ways, it seems the pressure from the recent FCC investigation efforts have forced it to play nice. Reportedly, the firm is getting set to (begrudgingly, we presume) announce that it will “stop targeting BitTorrent on the internet.” More specifically, the cable company will purportedly “boost broadband capacity” in order to make things speedier all around, but details on this tidbit were unsurprisingly absent. Nevertheless, BitTorrent has also agreed to make its software “more efficient,” but those hoping that Comcast would leave well enough alone are in for even more disappointment. The outfit still plans on managing traffic on the ‘net (standard practice, we know), but Tony Werner, executive VP and CTO, noted that it was “working hard on a different approach that is protocol-agnostic during peak periods.”

[Thanks, Mike and Kenneth]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Considering the plethora of facilities that have opened just in the past few years to deal solely with individuals that have become undoubtedly addicted to video games, the internet and all things Hello Kitty (we jest, we jest), we’re not surprised one iota to hear that uncontrollably texting / e-mailing could soon become “classified as an official brain illness.” According to a writeup in the latest American Journal of Psychiatry, internet addiction is a common ailment “that should be added to psychiatry’s official guidebook of mental disorders.” More specifically, Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, even goes so far as to argue that said phenomenon (neglecting basic drives to spend more time online) be “included in the [next edition of] Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, psychiatry’s official dictionary of mental illnesses.” Until then, we wish you the best of luck convincing that creature living in your basement with a dedicated T1 line that he / she isn’t alright.

[Via textually]

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Filed under: Networking

If you’ll recall, the IEEE gave the all important thumbs up to 100G as the next Ethernet speed, and while we’ve seen such a milestone met on the Internet2, Verizon’s looking to bring it to the masses in just twelve short months. According to Fred Briggs, Verizon Business’ executive vice president of operations and technology, the firm is aiming to “deploy 100G network capabilities over all its major routes within the United States.” Verizon actually tested out its 100Gbps capabilities last year on a video transmission from Tampa to Miami, Florida, and apparently, the results “showed that it could deploy 100G on routes and not disrupt current wavelengths.” Granted, we wouldn’t expect many consumers to actually be able to take advantage of all this speed right away, but even if you’re not down with (or nearby) any of Verizon’s forthcoming offerings, there’s always DOCSIS 3.0.

[Image courtesy of Futurenet]

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Filed under: Networking

CeBIT and Powerline seem to have a thing for one another, and sure enough, this year we’re seeing yet another firm storm onto the scene in an attempt to advance the flagging technology. London-based En-Twyn set up shop in Germany to showcase its En-Compass, which doesn’t require any special wall cutouts and differs from most other Powerline systems by packing its electronics on the backside. In other words, you won’t have any unsightly adapters protruding from the front. Beyond that, everything else works as expected — Ethernet signals travel over your existing home wiring setup — but unfortunately, the product is still stuck in prototype stage at the moment.

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Filed under: Wireless

We know, you’re already rolling your eyes, but this time it’s really for real. At least that’s what Covad Communications wants us to believe. Reportedly, said outfit is jump-starting a gigantic municipal WiFi project to blanket Silicon Valley that fell apart after upstart Azulstar failed to garner funding to kick things off in 2007. Covad is hoping to cover one square mile of downtown San Carlos, California for three months, and during the test period it will gauge just how lucrative such an initiative is. If successful, it may expand into surrounding locales, but at the moment, such an endeavor is “too much to dive into.” Best of luck, Covad — history says you’ll need it.

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Filed under: Networking

Granted, most of us here in America would turn our noses up at receiving in-home broadband via satellite — after all, cable and DSL seem to be treating most of us quite alright — but Japan is hoping to provide access to more regions in Asia-Pacific with its recently launched Kizuna. The experimental satellite is not yet intended for commercial use, but if all goes well, it will enable data transmissions “of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second” at a low cost across Japan and 19 other locales in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, we’ve no idea when it will escape the bondage of testing and actually be put to good use, but at least Japan’s well on its way to actually establishing that wireless island, eh?

[Via CNN, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Wireless

And you thought puttering around the intarwebz on your EDGE-capable iPhone was bad — just think of trying to find anything on the ‘net while accidentally moseying through a dodgy part of town. Nevertheless, BMW is gearing up to offer “unrestricted access” to the web as an option in any new 2008 vehicle, but alas, it’s only for European clients at the moment. Of course, BMW’s no stranger to letting bits and pieces of the web into its motorcars, but this creation will let you catch up on the latest gadget news and pre-order the latest Elmo doll from the comfort of your heated seat. Sadly, the service is only available to front seat passengers when the car is in park (it’s for the best, we know), but your kiddos can surf into all sorts of bizarre chatrooms while seated in the rear. Nothing like a predator tailing you on the autobahn!

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