Amy Vernon
Amy Vernon
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
Fifteen separate projects to bring high-speed Internet to rural communities around the United States will be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Many parts of the United States remain without high-speed options because the cost-benefit of building the infrastructure in far-flung places hasn't been high enough for private providers....
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Sales of Blu-ray players have begun to pick up, and you can thank Internet connectivity and changing TV watching patterns for the shift. Shipments of the players tripled in 2009, though they still lag far behind DVD players, mainly because they're far more expensive. But as more people seek new and different ways to watch their favorite television...
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Though it likely doesn't come as a huge shock to anyone, the amount of time that 8- to 18-year-olds spend engrossed in entertainment media of some sort or another — TV, music, Internet, video games, movies and even (GASP!) print — has increased dramatically over the past five years.In fact, on average, the young'uns...
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Not only is "Avatar" the top movie for yet another weekend, it apparently can also help diagnose vision problems.Anyone who has yet to see the movie has probably heard five or six (thousand) times that it's best seen in IMAX or 3-D. Problem is, once they get to the theater, they might not understand what all the fuss is about, because they...
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With more battery life and "stutter-free" HD video playback, Dell seems to be making a bid to make its Inspiron Mini 10 the go-top device for Internet TV watchers.The redesigned and amped-up netbook, with Intel's next-gen Atom technology will become available in January. With a 10.1-inch display, the Mini 10 can be personalized through Dell's...
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It is becoming ever more unusual to find entertainment devices without wi-fi technology built in, and that's a trend that should only increase in the next several years. In-Stat conducted an in-depth report on the wi-fi market and believes shipments of devices incorporating wireless tech will increase from 108.8 million this year to 177.3...
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As promised, Comcast's online television experiment is rolling out across the nation, part of the industry-wide TV Everywhere initiative designed to keep cable companies relevant in a Web 2.0 world.Fancast Xfinity TV, as it's called, allows Comcast subscribers to legally watch certain shows online for the first time...
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It must have been World URL Shortener Day yesterday. First came the news that Facebook has been testing a URL shortener, fb.me. Then Google announced the arrival of Goo.gl. And though it wasn't as flashy as the first two pieces of news, those paying attention saw that URL shortener powerhouse bit.ly announced a new Pro version that allows...
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Nevermind the iPhone or Droid - or even the Pre, for that matter. Samsung is betting there's room for more in the smartphone market and unveiled its new bada OS yesterday in London.The name "bada," means "ocean" in Korean and "was chosen to convey the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created using the new platform."...
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Time Warner Cable Inc. is bringing its customers into its battle over programming fees it pays to stations to carry their signals on its systems.The company - the nation's second-largest cable TV operator - began asking its subscribers this week to vote on whether it should "roll over" or "get tough" in negotiations with the networks. It claims...
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Amazon.com has an early Christmas present to Kindle purchasers: 85 percent more battery life if you're going wireless. The company announced today that the battery would last up to seven days, even if the wireless is turned on. That's three days more than the previous battery, which lasted four days. The battery life with the wireless turned...
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Yet another reason to cancel that cable or satellite TV subscription: the Myka ION.Claimed as the "first consumer Web-to-TV product that can easily run Boxee, Hulu and other leading Internet video services" - as well as jokingly being called a "magic box" — the Ion allows you to play web-streamed high-definition videos without mucking about...
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OK, so they might not sense when you take them out, but V-Moda's Vibe II earbuds are a little bit earphone, a little bit microphone and a little bit nice jewelry.The nifty part is that you can switch between calls and your music with an easy click of a button. The cords are reinforced with Kevlar; the plugs plated with 24-karat gold. At $119,...
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While everyone's still trying to replace their DVD players with Blu-ray and their standard def TVs with HDTVs, the industry already is worrying about the market for UHD — Ultra-High Definition.Apparently, UHD will debut in the next five to 10 years (if that seems like a long time, remember how long HDTV was being talked about and...
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There truly is an app for anything - even life-saving food vouchers.The United Nations World Food Programme this week announced a pilot project in which Iraqi refugee families in Syria will receive food vouchers via text message. About 1,000 families in Damascus will receive one voucher worth about $22 per family member every two months. The...
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The domination of the Latin alphabet on the Internet is expected to come to an end this week.The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is meeting this week in Seoul, South Korea, and is all but sure to approve international domain names - i.e., domain names that can be written in alphabets other than the one English uses. ICANN...
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Those who plan to sneak in a couple hours here, a couple hours there to do some holiday shopping while at work can, perhaps, take comfort in the fact that they're not alone.Not even close.Apparently, employees, on average, plan (plan!) to spend nearly two full working days — 14.4 hours — shopping online while at work...
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The long-discussed Comcast online television experiment will launch before year's end, allowing viewers to — legally — watch certain shows online for the first time. A couple dozen networks - including HBO, Showtime, TNT and AMC - have agreed to allow Comcast to provide access to their most popular television shows...
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iPhone users have probably the most conflicted customer satisfaction rates of all smartphone customers. When it comes to the device itself, they are far and away the most satisfied, according to a new survey. But when it comes to their service provider? Not so much.The CFI Group Smartphone Satisfaction Survey, in...
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AAA has declared war on drexting. Declaring that texting while driving is a "dangerous distraction," the automobile club has announced a campaign to get it banned in all 50 states.Already, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted such bans, New Jersey and California among them.AAA supported the push for a nationwide ban with research from...
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It happens to everyone: You're listening to your favorite band on your MP3 player and a friend comes over and starts talking to you before you even have a chance to get the earbud out, nevermind turn off the music. Sony Ericsson believes it's solved that pesky issue, with what it says is "the world's first ever motion activated headphones."...
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NOTE: This story has been updated, to correct erroneous information from the auctioneer.A early production Macintosh 128 (#776), a gift from Apple Computer to Gene Roddenberry, is up for auction. If that's not enough to entice your inner geek, Apple later upgraded it to a Macintosh Plus for Roddenberry. If you don't know who Gene Roddenberry...
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