Airplay, finally on Apple TV

One of the main things which has been missing with the new Apple TV is streaming media services.  Though, many of us have not given up on the Apple TV, with the hope that there would one day Airplay would arrive to save the day.  Well, our prayers have been answered, as Apple introduced  the iOS 4.2 update, they brought along news of an Apple TV update as well.  Well as we all anticipated while hearing this, the update made Airplay an available function on the Apple TV.

For those of you who do not know what Airplay is, well let me explain it to you.  Airplay is a function which allows you to stream media from another iOS device to your Apple TV.  Then you can take an iPod/iPhone/iPad and start playing any type of media.  Once it is playing you can then press a small button on the screen next to the volume slider where it then turns on streaming to the Apple TV.  Some things are required for this to work such as the devices you are using need to be on the same home network, and they both need the most recent iOS.

Things such as videos, music, or photos can be streamed to the Apple TV.  But videos which were recorded with the iPhone 4 cannot be streamed on the Apple TV, which is a little upsetting but we will deal with it.  Also, YouTube does work which does not necessarily matter because the Apple TV already has an app for it, but it is much easier to browse on the iPhone rather than your TV and then stream.

Although this does make the Apple TV incredibly better, there are other devices which may suit you better if you want a lot of streaming capabilities.  Devices such as the Roku XDS offer a very wide array of features which allow many different channels to be streamed.

Make sure to leave a comment with your opinion on the addition of Airplay to the Apple TV.

The Xbox 360 is now five years old, but how long will it last?

It was yesterday, November 21st when the Xbox 360 celebrated its 5th birthday.  The Xbox was the first gaming system of what is now called " Next-Gen " and has stayed relevant for much longer than any other system in the past.  Though many agree [ myself included ] that the Xbox 360 will end up in retirement very soon, though stranger things have happened.  It has seemed this way for a while now, as things such as the Red Ring of Death actually destroyed incredible amounts of Xbox's, but now it seems as though their systems are not upgrading in ways they should to compete head on with other consoles.  This is seen particularly with the PS3 which is currently the leading system in means of graphics, and the only thing that Microsoft's Xbox 360 has on the others, is Xbox Live which is slowly being caught up to by the PS3.

When the so called "Console Wars" began, the Nintendo Wii led the pack with sales [much do to the hype around it] but then the Xbox 360 took back the lead, by a lot.  The Xbox 360 has stayed in the lead for a very long time now but slowly we have seen the Playstation 3 catch up to the Xbox in sales.  Even though there is still quite the gap between the two, it is obvious that many are switching to or becoming users of the PS3.

Only time will tell if the Xbox 360 will stay in the lead over the Wii, and especially the PS3.  Though, it should not take very much time before we will have a good idea of which console might win the war.

Make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on which console should win, and which one is actually "better".  Stay tuned for more information on this too, as we will have an update after the holidays on which is winning the sales game.

Jobs and Murdoch to create an iPad-Only Daily Newspaper

One of the largest rumors the past few days has been that News Corp Rupert Murdoch is going to be working with Steve Jobs of Apple, to create a digital-only newspaper.  The project called " The Daily " will provide news seven days a week on a wide variety of topics, for the low price of $0.99 a week.

Rupert Murdoch 

Close to 100 employees at the New York City Headquarters of News Corp will be working on " The Daily "  It will most likely cover main things such as elections but also breaking news just like any other newspaper.  At first  " The Daily " will be iPad-Only during the Beta Release, which will most likely come late December.  When the actual version is released sometime in early 2011 the app will be on the iPad and other Tablet PC's.

Steve Jobs

Many sources say that Steve Jobs and Murdoch have been discussing and working on this project for a while now.  This came as no surprise since there have been many rumors lately about Apple trying to get a newspaper subscription plan, where Apple would receive part of the subscription.  Well none the less, expect to see Jobs and Murdoch releasing " The Daily " together.

Droid Pro Review

One of the most successful families of smartphones to-date are the Droid's.  Motorola now expands the line even further with the Droid Pro.  It was just recently announced at the CTIA Fall 2010, and is obviously being targeted towards current Droid users, but also Blackberry users.  With the new layout, which highly resembles the Blackberry Torch [it has a full QWERTY Keyboard and a touch-screen] it may appeal to Blackberry Users .  The Droid Pro is easily the most business-friendly Android phone available.  Which will possibly encourage Blackberry users which have stayed true to RIM, to make the switch to Android.

Motorola Droid Pro

The Good:  Enhanced Security Features, Touch-Screen and QWERTY Keyboard, mobile hot spot, and Android 2.2

The Bad:  Call Quality could be better and the screen quality is not as good as the competing phones.

Overall:  If you can afford the $179.99 price tag from Verizon and are looking to stay with Android or change from Blackberry, then this is definitely a good smartphone to consider.  Though, if business features and other smartphone capabilities are not very important to you, then I suggest a less expensive phone such as the Blackberry Storm 2.

Could the Playstation Phone Happen?

Only a couple days ago the CEO of Sony Ericsson, Bert Nordberg said "There's a lot of smoke, and I tell you there must be a fire somewhere" which he said in relation to the possibility of a gaming-oriented phone.  


Because it was only last month when pictures turned up of a Playstation Phone at Engadget, we think that those comments and pictures are connected.  Though, the big surprise is that it sounds as if there should be a Playstation-Type phone it will be released under the Ericsson Xperia line and not Playstation.  

It sounds that it will most likely be released next year [ if the rumors are true ] and that most likely we will know more Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, in February.  

Top 5 - 2010 Gadgets for the Holiday Season

iPad - One of the most breakthrough pieces of technology this year, the Apple iPad provides the best Tablet PC experience we have seen so far.

Kinect - The first no-controller gaming device, the Kinect has definitely come with quite a bang.  Despite only recently being released, the Kinect for Xbox 360 is surely one of the best gaming devices of 2010.

iPhone 4 - Even though it had a few set backs after the initial release, Apple has since fixed those issues making the iPhone 4 one of the best Smartphones of 2010.

iPod Touch 4G - After a long overdue "real" update, the iPod Touch 4G is definitely the best iTouch yet.  With its front and back-facing cameras, it is a force to be reckoned with.

Samsung 3D HD TV - One of the first 3D TV's by Samsung is definitely impressing.  It is a whopping 55inches, with 240Hz motion technology .

New OS: Your solution to not being able to personalize your computer.

For a long time now I have been realizing that people are becoming more and more upset with the inability to customize the feel of your computers OS.  And, because it is obvious that none of the major companies are going to fix this problem, I have decided to take matters into my own hands.  Since it will take a large amount of time and some money, I am sending my idea off to Kickstarter, where the will hopefully aid me in the funding.  If it happens to get accepted, I hope that all of you will help me make this all possible.

I will keep you updated with all the newest information about this new OS.

Thanks,
Seth