Kirk's Technology Blog

TVs are cheaper and better than ever before but buying one can still be pretty confusing!  Here are some good links if you need help picking out an HDTV.

Tips From CNET

Tips From ZDNET

LCD or Plasma? via Consumerreports.com


Matix HDTV Accessory Kit
$96 - Utah Wal-Mart Stores

An Orem company, Matix, is selling this all-in-one HDTV accessory kit for under $100.  It's a great deal for what you get, a wall mount, a 10ft component cable, a 10ft optical audio cable, a 10ft HDMI cable and a screen cleaning kit.  You'll pay $60 - $100 just for a set of cables!  Don't overpay, you probably won't notice the difference.  A kit like this one from Matix is perfect for most people.  The wall mount is pretty easy to install and the cables work great.

More Info About Matix Accessory Kit

With the popularity of phones like the Apple iPhone and the Samsung Instinct, it was just a matter of time before business phone manufactuers jumped into the touchscreen world.  The Blackberry Storm is now official.  It'll be launched on Verizon later this Fall, most likely in time for the holiday shopping season.  Blackberry phones have always been known for their easy to use keyboards so it'll be VERY interesting to see what a Blackberry without a keyboard can do.  The Storm has what Verizon calls a "clickable" touch-screen.  It's supposed to respond like a keyboard when you tap it, sounds cool!  Plus the touch-screen supports multi-touch (like the iPhone.)  From the looks of it, much of the Blackberry interface was re-designed for this new touch interface.  Let's hope they kept the rock-solid stability of the Blackberry software while adding the cool factor of a full touch-screen.  

So far, no price has been annouced.  The Storm will be exclusive to Verizon for a while.  We should see more details in the next few weeks.  November will be a good month for cell phone nuts like myself!  Between the iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct, T-mobile Google G1 and now the Blackberry Storm, touch-screen lovers will have a bunch of good choices!

Research In Motion's Site

Blackberry Storm @ Verizon's Site

Apple this and Apple that.  The only media players we seem to hear about these days are the iPods.  Don't get me wrong, Apple makes great little players but there are also other options out there that are worth taking a look at! 

Creative Zen Mozaic
2GB - $60
4GB - $80
8GB - $100
16GB - $150

Zen Mozaic On The Web

 The Zen Mozaic is a hip little player with a *little* price tag.  The buttons felt a little "plasticy" to me but that's just me nitpicking.  It's a great little player with a TON of features for the price.  It does music, video, photos, FM radio, voice recording and more.  Since it has a built-in speaker, you can even use it as an alarm clock!  Pink is cute but it also comes in black and grey.

 

Creative Zen X-Fi
8GB - $150 (no Wi-Fi)
16GB - $200
32GB - $280

Zen X-Fi On The Web

 The Zen X-Fi is Creative's newest entry into the high-end sector.  It's similar to the Creative Zen player with a bit of re-design and the addition of wi-fi!  Plus it has the X-fi chip built-in too, hence the name.  The X-fi chip is designed to make your mp3 music sound better.  It's a feature that can be turned off.  It actually seems to make a substantial difference.  Especially since the player comes with some REAL in-ear headphones, not those cruddy 50-cent earbuds that you typically get with mp3 players.  The X-fi includes the slew of features we've learned to expect on Creative players, FM radio, voice recording and of course music, video and photo playback. 

The newest feature on the X-fi is the built-in wi-fi.  I had a few folders shared out on my PC at home so I decided to see what would happen.  Low and behold, it recognized them and I was playing music and videos from those shared folders within minutes.  It worked well although album art doesn't work via the network.  Creative also includes some chatting abilities but it's pretty much useless with the keypad.  You have to use it like a keypad (press #2 3 times to for "c".)  You can imagine how long it would take to tap out an actual message!  T9 is not an option.

The new sleek look is great and the Zen X-Fi keeps the Creative features I like while adding a few new ones.  Plus, the SD slot makes it expandable which is always a good thing since I never seem to have enough space.  The price isn't bad either, $199 for 16GB with wi-fi. 

I <3 my Tivo.  Now you can love your Tivo on your PC too.  Nero LiquidTV (weird name?) lets you install the Tivo software on your computer complete with a Tivo remote.  I'm working on a review right now, in the meantime, chew on this... an unboxing video.

After months and months of blurry pics and speculation, the "Google Phone" is official.  To the rigth is a picture of the T-Mobile G1 Google Android phone by HTC.  (You think there's enough brand names in there?)  It's a touch screen phone, about the size of the iPhone, with a slide out keyboard.  Understandably it's a bit chubbier than the infamous Apple iPhone.

The phone is made by HTC (a very large phone maker), sold by T-mobile and running the new Google Android operating system.  It'll go on sale on November 22nd for $179 with a 2 year contract.  You'll have to sign up for a data plan too, that'll run $25 or $35 (with unlimited text messages.) 

From what I've seen so far, it looks pretty slick.  The touch interface looks is impressive and it's running a package of Google apps.  Obviously you can expect Google mail, calendar, spreadsheets and talk to be integrated.  The G1 appears to lack a bit when it comes to media playback options.  There is no headphone jack on the phone itself, you'll have to plug an adapter into the plug on the button.  Also, there's no video player included.  You'll have to download that from the "marketplace."  It's free.  Despite the disapointing media player Amazon has built an app that lets you buy music directly from the device (only when you're on WI-FI.) 

The G1 has T-mobile 3G (only available in certain cities, no SLC), Wi-Fi, GPS and even a compass.  You may have seen the cool mashup of the compass combined with Google Streetview, if not, see the video link below.  The slideout keyboard looks pretty nice, as does the trackball on the front of the G1. 

Overall, I'm pumped about the G1.  Software issues (lack of video player, subpar music player) can be fixed with updates from Google.  Plus, Google is hopeful that the marketplace store on the device will fill up fast with new applications you can download.  Hopefully we'll get our hands on the G1 soon to give you a full review.

Oh yeah, what if you're not on T-mobile?  Well, for now, you're out of luck.  Google helped form the Open Handset Alliance, a group of companies coming together to form Android.  The only other cell phone provider that is a member of the alliance is Sprint and for now the company is only providing this statement:

"As a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance, Sprint is actively engaged with the Android community (see press-release link below).  We may introduce a phone using the Android platform, but we do not have any specific plans to announce anything at this time.

As I like to say, it is what it is.  Let's hope Sprint and others jump on the Android train!

Official T-mobile G1 Site
HTC G1 Site
Google's Android Site
Video Demo Of G1 (Including Google Streetview)

If they can cram all of that computer goodness into a tiny laptop, how come all of our desktop computers are so freakin' big?  Simply put, they don't have to be. 

The Eee Box is a small, sleek, sexy desktop PC from Asus.  Yeah, I said sexy.  After all, it's all relative.  The Eee Box sports a 1.6GHZ Intel Atom processor, an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, wired ethernet and wireless networking.  You won't find a CD drive on the outside but you will find a bunch of USB 2.0 ports, a DVI output and an SD slot.  The Eee Box also sports built-in video and audio.

The Eee Box isn't a powerhouse by any means.  It's a simple PC that'll handle internet and media playback like a champ.  It runs Windows XP along with its Linux-based OS.  Before XP boots up, you'll see a menu of quick options.  You can boot into a Linux OS to use Skype, a web browser or a chat client (Pidget).  The idea is checking your email real quickly doesn't mean you have to wait 5 minutes for your PC to boot up.  Cool, right?

I like the Eee Box.  For $350 it's a great additional PC.  You won't be editing video or playing high-end games on it but it's a great web browsing/chatting/document creating machine.  The Eee PC is available right now for about $350.

More Info At Asus.com

The Eee Box At Newegg.com

EA Sports is king when it comes to sports video games.  I've been playing EA sports games before it was even called "EA Sports."  The days of the 3 button Sega controller are gone though.  These days, controllers have a ga-zillion buttons and many sports games use every single one of them.  It ads a great amount of detail to the game.  That's great for avid gamers but not so great for casual gamers like myself.  EA Sports is trying to tackle that problem.  (Get it, tackle?  I'm so clever.)

The All-Play series is the new name for EA Sports games designed for the Wii with easier controls.  The idea is that you can still use the traditional, more detailed controls if you want to or you can switch to simplified controls too.  In fact, one player can use the traditional controls while the other uses All-Play controls.  EA really cut down the level of difficulty.  For example, in NCAA 2009 you don't even have to select plays.  All-Play will select your plays for you.  When you want to throw the ball, just shake the Wiimote.  When you want to tackle someone, shake the Wiimote.  It's super simple game play.  In Tiger Woods 2009 the club selection is gone, the wind factor is gone.  It even shows you where your ball will probably land.  Swing and have fun.  

The All-Play controls are a great idea.  It really opens up these games to so many more people.  Personally I thought it was too easy but I guess that's the point.  The fact that you can also use the more complicated controls makes it a great option.

The All-Play games also provide additional game play modes.  On NCAA you can play as the college mascots.  It's a blast!  Madden 2009 lets you play as giant football helmets in a short field.  EA is really cranking up the fun factor and lowering the difficulty level for the Wii.  Tiger Woods 2009 also has a bunch of really fun mini-games.  Why?  Because it's the Wii!  It makes a lot of sense.  I'm really happy to see them doing this while also maintaining the classic controls and game play for the hardcore gamers.

NCAA Football 09, Madden 09, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 and NBA Live 09 are available now for the Wii with All-Play for $50.

More Info About EA Sports All-Play 

Nikon Coolpix S600 - $299

The S600 is a great pocket shooter from Nikon.  As we've learned to expect from Nikon cameras, it takes some great pics.  It includes Nikon's vibration reduction technology.  It has a 4x zoom which isn't much but I like that the camera starts nice and wide at 28mm.  Most cameras start much closer which means you have to take a few steps back every time you want to snap a pic. The S600 is a good camera for the money even though it's a bit chubbier than I like.  A small trade-off to get great looking Nikon pictures.

Nikon Coolpix S600 On The Web

Nikon D60 Digital SLR - $799

The Nikon D60 is the newest addition to the consumer digital SLR lineup from Nikon.  It's similar to the D40x but with a few enhancements.  It's the smallest digital SLR Nikon has ever made.  The kit lens is 18-55mm but includes Vibration Reduction.  It also has an image sensor cleaning feature that cleans up the sensor every time you power up the camera.  I noticed a few GUI enhancements as well.  The on-screen display flips when you flip the camera to the side.  This is a no-brainer but not something I've seen before, I like it!  Nikon also added a cool feature that lets you shoot stop motion video.  Basically it shoots a series of photos and packs 'em into a nice little video file for you.  Not super useful for me but it could be fun to play with.  You'll also get all the typical Nikon features like 3fps continuous shooting so you'll never miss a shot at your child's soccer game.  At 10.2 megapixels you can blow these shots up to poster size without thinking twice. 

There's not much fault to find with the D60, it's a great camera that takes amazing pictures!  If you can afford the $700 price tag, go for it.  It has all the features you'd expect in most digital SLR cameras.

P.S.  Newbies, don't be scared.  You can adjust everything if you want but there's also an "auto" mode that makes taking great pictures as easy as pushing the shutter button.





Nikon D60 On The Web

The T-mobile Sidekick has made a name for itself for being a hip, trendy messaging device.  Many celebs were known for sporting the Sidekicks while out and about.  In a world of touchscreen mania we decided to take the newest keyboard-loaded Sidekick for a test.

The new Sidekick keeps a lot of the Sidekick goodness in tact.  The flip screen is very similar to previous versions of this phone.  The keyboard remains spacious and easy to use.  The on-screen GUI is also updated but similar to older versions.  There is now a media player for mp3 music and 3gp videos.  It's a nice addition.  You'll also find that there is a TON of downloadable content including ringtones, games and apps. 

 A few things are missing.  Most notably are 3G internet speeds and Microsoft Exchange support.  This phone isn't geared for "suits" so I can deal with the lack of Exchange support.  The Sidekick offers push email, calender service via T-mobile servers.

The newest T-mobile Sidekick is only $149 with a T-mobile 2 year contract.



Sidekick On The Web

Now that I've had a few weeks to check out Google's entry into the internet browser world I can honestly say, I like it.  In fact, it's become my main browser for most pages.  It still has some issues with a few pages here and there but that's to be expected.  Some web designers aren't following standards.  Plus, Outlook mail doesn't provide the "full" experience unless you're in IE.  Thanks Microsoft!

Why I like Google Chrome:It's a simple browser.  It gives me back my screen real estate instead of filling it up with useless status bars that are often empty.  Why do I need a URL bar and a search bar when the Omni box can do it all?  Chrome is also fast.  Pages pop up very quickly.  The overall experience feels much less clunky to me.  It's hard to put it into words but it just feels solid.

Chrome is also much better at handling bad web pages.  Sometimes pages go crazy and jack up my computer!  On IE or Firefox that means the entire browser would crash.  With Chrome, it isolates the problem to one tab.  Sure, I lose that page but the rest of my pages stay in-tact.  

I also like the enhanced search features.  I like that Chrome remembers pages I've searched before and lets me do a quick search in the Omni bar.  For example, if I search for something at Target.com, Chrome picks up on that.  Next time I can simply type "Target.com spatulas" in the Omni bar and it takes me right to the results.  (Obviously if I were shopping for a spatula I wouldn't go to Target, I'd go to Spatula City.)  

Flash, Java and other plug-ins worked right out of the box.  No install needed.  That was nice.
The application mode is great.  You can turn any webpage into a standalone application.  For example, if you're using Gmail and want to turn it into a Google Chrome application, simply select that option from the menu.  It'll create a Gmail icon on your desktop.  When you click it, it loads Gmail up in a window without any browser bars.  It feels more like a real application.  This makes sense since we use so many websites as applications these days.  It's one thing to take a browser full screen, this option actually makes it more like a real application.

What I don't like about Chrome:Give me my extensions!  Chrome doesn't support extensions at all.  It's frustrating to say the least.  I don't use a ton of extensions but I have a few that I really like.  In fact, the Google Toolbar is one that I use everyday!  Google Chrome doesn't support the Google Toolbar plugin!  Hard to believe, right?  I expected Chrome to have things like Google Bookmarks built-in, it doesn't.  Hopefully things like that and extension support are coming soon.

Sometimes I have pages that don't seem to work exactly right.  A few flash video pages work better in FF or IE than Chrome.  I have no idea why, it just seems to be a little wonky in Chrome.  I will say that it's few and far between.  Most pages work great.  

Bottom line, I like Chrome.  I like the new features and the streamlined interface.  I like the speed it seems to give me.  I have a few gripes but I'm hopeful that Google has big plans for the Chrome browser.  If anything, it'll make FF and IE take notice and improve their browsers too.


Download Google Chrome

Deca Sports - $29.99
Hudson Entertainment

If you're like me, over a year after you bought your Nintendo Wii you're still playing Wii Sports!  It's addictive, fun and has awesome game play.  I'm waiting for another Wii Sports to be released.  In the meantime, there is Deca Sports.  It's a collection of 10 games developed by Hudson.  I was excited to check it out because it looked to be similar to Wii Sports.  
Deca Sports is a decent game.  Out of all 10 sports included, I like about 4 or 5 of them.  The problem is the response time isn't all that great on some of the games.  Badmitton and basketball just seem quirky to play.  Supercross just feels odd.  It's like the bikes are 3x too big and don't control all that well.
With that said, archery is great fun!  The controls are very realistic and very responsive.  Figure skating, believe it or not, is also a blast.  The controls are also very good.  I'd also recommend the Curling game. 

While Deca Sports doesn't nail it, it's also only $30.  At $50 I'd pass but it's worth a try with the extra $20 sliced off the top.  

Deca Sports On The Web


We Ski - $29.99
Bandai Namco Games

The Wii balance board that is included with Wii Fit opens up a ton of cool oppurtunities for game developers.  We Ski is the first game released that supports the Wii board.  

The premise is simple, it's like going to a ski resort.  The game gives you a full trail map and you can explore the entire mountain.  You can ride the ski lift, coast down the mountain, hit some jumps, change your ski gear and even snap pictures while on the mountain.  

We Ski gets points for the immersive experience.  You can really explore the mountain and go wherever you want (within reason.)  Controlling the game with the Wii balance board left somethign to be desired.  It was simply too sensative.  I preferred using the analog stick to control my skier.  

Bottomline, We Ski is a great way to get your snow fix when the flakes aren't flying.  At $30 it's well worth it but I would pass on the balance board and stick with the regular controller.

We Ski On The Web

There's the king, Internet Explorer.  Then there's the rebels, Firefox and Opera.  Mac users have Safari.  Now there's Google Chrome.  Another web browser... ARGH! right?  Well, normally I would agree but when it's Google you can't ignore it.  Tomorrow (Tuesday) the beta version of this new browser will be available for download in 100 countries.  It wasn't supposed to be annouced until tomorrow but like a good secrets, it got out.  Here's a quick look at some of the new features that you'll see in this Chrome browser:

-Tabs in a sand box
The browser has tabs, like other browsers, except each tab is in it's own "sandbox."  This means if a website goes wonky on you, it won't crash the entire browser, just that tab.  Very cool feature!  I've had one site crash my gazillion tabs too many times.

-JavaScript VM built-in
Geek talk here but it's important for users.  Javascript is a basic building block of the web and having the latest java script technology built-in is important.  This specific version of Javascript is supposed to speed things up.  I like speed, how about you?

-The Omnibox
This is what Google is calling the address bar.  It sounds like you can type in addresses as well as Google searches.  Say it together now, THE OMNIBOX! 

-Screenshot Page
When you load up Chrome it shows you thumbnails of the 9 most visited pages.  You wanna surf to one, just click on the image.  Nothing amazing here but it should create a cool user experience.  After all, most of us surf the same few pages every single day.  Mileycyrus.com for me.  :)

-Privacy Mode (Porn Mode)
This is something Internet Explorer just added in their newest beta browser and something we'll see soon in Firefox.  It's basically a mode where you can surf whatever you want and leave no trace behind.  No history, no cookies, no nothing.  They say it's for privacy, I say it's for porn.  :)  Remember, the site itself can always track your IP address so you're never 100% private.

-Googlefied
Bottomline, the Google Chrome browser is made by Google.  That alone will give it plenty of hype (as I am giving it right now) and a lot of credibility too.  Expect many Google features to be integrated (Google bookmarks, Gmail, etc.)  Also, expect the interface to be super basic... that's how Google rolls. 

Check out this screenshot of the new Chrome browser:
For more info, check out Google's blog post about the new Chrome browser:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-br
owser.html

Expect to see more info and a download link starting Tuesday at:
http://www.google.com/chrome

You may have seen these electronic wick-less candles while walking around the mall and wondered, what the heck are those?  Well, they're candles that don't need a flame and seem to work pretty well!  The idea is simple, a warmer melts the wax while a fan blows the scent out into the room.  The picture to the left is the CandleAire, the most expensive version.  It sells for $45 with one Cand-O (the scented wax) included.  Additional Cand-O's sell for $12.  The smaller product, Candle Breeze, starts at $25 and the Cand-O's sell for $8.

My impressions of this product are great!  The scent fills up a room in minutes and it passed the "wife test" with flying colors.  It does plug into the wall but it's far from technical.  Plus, it's made by a local company.  A guy in Salt Lake invented the Candle Breeze/CandleAire products. 

Candle Breeze On The Web

Sen. Orrin Hatch is holding 3 free informational seminars about the DTV transition.  Here's the info:

Aug. 26 - Ogden
2 p.m.
Weber County Commission Chambers
2380 Washington Blvd.

Aug. 27 - Salt Lake City
10 a.m.
Sunday Anderson Westside Senior Center
868 W. 900 South

Aug. 28 - Provo
10:30 a.m.
Utah County Courthouse Ballroom
51 S. University Ave.

The entire country switches from analog over-the-air television to digital over-the-air television on February 17, 2009.  Thing is, if you live in Cache county, the switch is happening at the end of August!  That's about 5 months earlier than everyone else.  Cache county leaders decided to go early for a few reasons, to be in sync with bordering Franklin County, Idaho and to beat the rush.  Hopefully you're ready for this switch!

Here are a few tips:

- If you have cable TV service or satellite TV service, THIS DOESN'T EFFECT YOU!  The cable company and satellite companies are taking care of the digital conversion for you.  You don't need a converter box and you don't need to worry about the switch.

- If you currently use an antenna, you MAY need a converter box.

- Televisions purchased after March 2007 have a digital tuner built-in.  That means you don't need a converter box.  If you can pick up digital or HD stations with your current TV and an antenna, you don't need a converter box.

- The government is issuing $40 vouchers (2 per household) to help pay for the ($50-$80) converter boxes.  You can get a coupon here www.dtv2009.gov

- The converter boxes are VERY easy to setup.  Plug your antenna into the box, plug the box into your TV and voila!

- You will receive more channels once you switch to digital.  Many stations now broadcast additional channels.  For example, instead of just getting channel 6, you'll now get 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3.  That means more choices for you to watch!

- If you have a TV without a digital tuner built-in you WILL NOT receive any channels using an antenna after Feb 17th (August 30th in Cache Co.) 

Don't get stuck with fuzz, be ready for the switch to DTV!!

For more info check out these government DTV sites:

https://www.dtv2009.gov/

http://www.dtv.gov/