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My thoughts on high tech topics such as the internet, mobile devices, computers and more.

Technology Has Caught Up With Video Industry

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sun, 01/22/2012 - 15:32

Amidst all the hoopla about internet piracy bills this past week I couldn't help but think that the video entertainment industry is facing a moment not unlike the one faced by the music industry a decade ago. Back then, the industry had successfully defended itself against the file sharing encouraged by services like Napster, but still had to come to terms with the fact that the music buying public had access to all the technology necessary to download songs. Internet access speeds had picked up and the cost of storage had come down to the point where the download of an album in MP3 format was no big deal. In fact, it was more convenient than going to the record store.

Kindle Fire Review

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sun, 01/22/2012 - 14:40

This is a review of the Kindle Fire that I originally posted on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. More recently I recorded a video review that you'll find at the end of the post. Since then Amazon has released their second software update since I purchased the device. The fact that Amazon is continuing to update the software is a good sign. It shows that they are committed to the platform.

Speaking of the platform what I find most interesting is the fact that Amazon has gone beyond putting their own skin on Android. The addition of the Silk web browser leads me to believe that Amazon could eventually move the hardware beyond tables to other hardware such as a connected TV box like a Roku or Boxee. After all, the internal specs of tablets and connected TV boxes are largely the same. I think that a TV box would be a better move than attempting to take Apple on with a full-featured 10in. version of the Fire. We shall see...

Apple - Amazon Tablet Battle Is All About Ecosystems

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sat, 10/01/2011 - 09:06

You may have heard that Amazon announced a new Kindle tablet this past week. The Kindle Fire is a 7-inch tablet that runs on the latest dual core processor and costs only $199. See the video below which is courtesy of This Is My Next to get an idea of what the Fire is all about. I have seen a lot of arguments in both directions about whether or not the Fire is intended to be an iPad-killer.

Tales Of A Cable Cord Cincher

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sat, 08/06/2011 - 10:45

About six months ago I wrote a post about my desire to cut the cord from cable television. I was motivated by the ever increasing cost of cable combined with the lack of choice of content compared to what the internet had to offer. I also had a desire to simplify things since to that point integrating the internet into my TV involved a series of boxes available on different video inputs of my TV. Then there was the issue of multiple remotes (Cable, TV, Internet TV Box and DVD Player) to contend with. Shortly after writing that post I took the leap and cinched the cable cord. I say cinch because I didn't drop cable altogether.

Waving Goodbye To The DVD

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Fri, 07/15/2011 - 19:54

I have long admired the DVD as a useful and disruptive technology. In 1998 I purchased my first computer that had a DVD drive installed. I was fascinated by the fact that I could actually play a movie on my computer. Even better than that was the fact that writable DVDs could store gigabytes of data rather than the hundreds of megabytes available on CD-ROMS. DVDs were also incredibly portable and easy to store out of sight when compared next to those bulky black plastic VHS tapes. Yes, DVDs even looked like the future. As you can tell I was a big proponent from the get go, annoying friends and family by constantly talking them up.

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Stream Versus Sync In This Cloud Battle

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Tue, 06/07/2011 - 20:09

Now that Apple has revealed their iCloud plans there is very little mystery with respect to where the lines are drawn between the tech heavyweights, which includes Google, Amazon and (I suppose) Microsoft. They're all in when it comes to cloud but Apple has staked out a position that is a little different from the others.

Google's Chrome Notebook Means More Cloud

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sun, 05/22/2011 - 07:19

Last week Google announced their Chromebook to much fanfare. It's a small notebook computer that runs the Chrome operating system, which is essentially a web browser with some media player and file access features. There has been a lot of debate about the value of these notebooks and whether or not they will sell in volume. There are issues with the lack of functionality (it is mostly a web browser after all) and the limited local storage combined with the possibility of yet another data plan.

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E-books Are Too Expensive

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sat, 04/30/2011 - 10:58

Over the past year I have spent a lot more time searching for and reading e-books. This is 100% due to the fact that I purchased an iPad. During this time there have also been continued innovations in tablet devices (like the Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom) and e-readers (like the Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook), which means it is easier than ever to read e-books if you're away from your main computer. Unfortunately there's a big problem that I see in the current landscape of the publishing industry.

E-books are too expensive!

GarageBand For iPad Demo

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 11:50

When I was a teenager I was fascinated with the possibility of recording my own music so I saved up and purchased a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. We've come along way since then and now GarageBand for iPad does what I could do with that Tascam recorder and a whole lot more. Check the demo below to see the possibilities. What is really amazing is how well it works on the first generation iPad, which is about half as powerful as the second generation. Even if you're not a music pro this application can definitely be a lot of fun.

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Adventures In Cord Cutting

Submitted by Robert Safuto on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 14:20

This may be of some interest to folks interested in tech and web development so I'm cross-posting from my personal blog. I am going to embark on a personal crusade in 2011 to scale back my reliance on Cable TV in favor of the HTPC approach. If you're interested in that sort of thing check out my blog post at http://www.robertsafuto.com/node/424.