Team Mobile Plans

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

On today's show, we'll tell you about the battle between FDA and 23andMe, how to pay for anonymous medical advice with Bitcoins, the fluid grammatical and changes brought on by online messaging, and a Pepsi challenge with Monster audio cables. November 26, 2013 12:33 PM PST Topics: Show notes, The 404 podcast Tags: genetics, Monster, muscular dystrophy, FDA, Consumerist, coat hanger, Bitcoins, 23andme, period, DNA testing, CoinMD, grammar Justin Yu Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he's not wading through Web gulch or challenging colleagues to typing tests, you can find him making fun of technology with Jeff Bakalar every afternoon on The 404 show.. Wearables are largely aimed at the person who just wants to maintain a good weight, sleep enough, and maybe get in a little cardio. CNET's Brian Cooley tells you why 2014 could be the breakout year for wearable tech.

Posted on 13:22 by Unknown

On today's show, we'll tell you about the battle between FDA and 23andMe, how to pay for anonymous medical advice with Bitcoins, the fluid grammatical and changes brought on by online messaging, and a Pepsi challenge with Monster audio cables.


Justin Yu
November 26, 2013 12:33 PM PST




Topics:

Show notes,

The 404 podcast

Tags:

genetics,

Monster,

muscular dystrophy,

FDA,

Consumerist,

coat hanger,

Bitcoins,

23andme,

period,

DNA testing,

CoinMD,

grammar




Justin Yu

Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he's not wading through Web gulch or challenging colleagues to typing tests, you can find him making fun of technology with Jeff Bakalar every afternoon on The 404 show..





Wearables are largely aimed at the person who just wants to maintain a good weight, sleep enough, and maybe get in a little cardio. CNET's Brian Cooley tells you why 2014 could be the breakout year for wearable tech.


Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Batkid is taking to the streets of Gotham City Friday with an assist from Batman, the superheroes at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and hordes of his San Francisco fans. November 15, 2013 12:30 PM PST The San Francisco Chronicle in disguise. (Credit: San Francisco Chronicle) Let me introduce you to the kid behind the mask. He's 5 years old. He shows extreme bravery in the face of leukemia. His parents know him as mild-mannered, sweet Miles, but on Friday he became Batkid, his superhero alter ego. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Greater Bay Area and thousands of volunteers have transformed San Francisco into Gotham City for a day. Batkid has already trained with his mentor Batman, saved a damsel in distress chained to a big green detonation device covered in the Riddler's signature question marks, and helped to apprehend The Riddler. He is well on his way to receiving a key to the city from the mayor. This may be the fastest origin story in superhero history. Dressed in a custom pint-size Batsuit, his identity hidden, Batkid isn't just conquering evil, he's also trending on Twitter. He has his own Facebook fan page, live blogs are dedicated to him and his adventures, and CNET's intrepid photographer James Martin, joining many other members of the media, is live-tweeting his adventures. He's so popular, not one person has given a second thought about Ben Affleck. When Make-A-Wish put out a call for volunteers to come out to cheer Batkid on and record his exploits, the citizens of Gotham rose up to support him. More than 10,000 people RSVPed for the day's events. The crowds lining the sunny streets at Batkid's scheduled stops have been enormous. Onlookers are carrying pro-Batkid signs that say "Miles, You're my hero!" and "We love Batkid." Some even cheered the little hero on as he made his way to the restroom. Perhaps best of all, Batkid, despite his real-life battle with cancer, is managing these feats with 99 percent less angst than Christian Bale. Onward, Batkid, the citizens of Gotham need you! Batkid came to the rescue of a grateful damsel in distress. (Credit: James Martin/CNET) Run, Batkid, run! (Credit: Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Greater Bay Area)
    Batkid is taking to the streets of Gotham City Friday with an assist from Batman, the superheroes at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and hordes ...
  • The company has replaced its CFO, COO, and CMO as it attempts to reinvigorate its ailing operation. November 25, 2013 6:14 AM PST BlackBerry has made several major changes at its executive level. The company on Monday announced that its chief operating officer Kristian Tear and chief marketing officer Frank Boulben are leaving BlackBerry. The company's chief financial officer Brian Bidulka is also out, but will stay on as a special advisory to CEO John Chen through the end of the company's fiscal year. BlackBerry's controller James Yersh will take over as CFO. The announcement is just the latest bloodletting at BlackBerry, as the company tries to reestablish itself an increasingly competitive mobile market. Earlier this month, BlackBerry announced that a deal that would have seen the company acquired by Fairfax Financial was dead. Thorsten Heins, the company's chief executive at the time, was fired. John Chen replaced Heins as chief executive and BlackBerry announced plans to raise $1 billion through a sale of convertible notes to investors. In a statement on Monday, Chen thanked the outgoing executives for their service to BlackBerry, adding that the moves are designed to align his "senior management team and organizational structure." In addition to losing some executives, BlackBerry said on Monday that Roger Martin, a board member since 2007, has resigned.
    The company has replaced its CFO, COO, and CMO as it attempts to reinvigorate its ailing operation. November 25, 2013 6:14 AM PST BlackBer...
  • The mobile processor giant also unveiled its fourth-generation 4G LTE processor with "significant" improvements in performance and power consumption. November 20, 2013 4:30 AM PST Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs talks mobility during his keynote at 2013 CES. (Credit: James Martin/CNET) Qualcomm on Wednesday unveiled several new processors designed to widen its lead in the mobile market. The first, the Snapdragon 805, is geared at mobile devices and 4K, Ultra HD TVs. The chip is part of the company's high-end mobile chip line and was designed to "deliver the highest-quality mobile video, imaging, and graphics experiences." Qualcomm noted it's the company's highest-performing chip so far. Another, the Gobi 9x35 is Qualcomm's fourth-generation 4G LTE modem. Along with LTE, the chip also runs 3G and other wireless technologies. Qualcomm also announced a new RF transceiver chip, the WTR3925. The company noted that both chips offer "significant improvements in performance, power consumption, and printed circuit board area requirements." The Gobi 9x35 is Qualcomm's first cellular modem created at 20 nanometers, or billionths of a meter. Its smaller size will allow for thinner and lighter devices. "Using a smartphone or tablet powered by Snapdragon 805 processor is like having an UltraHD home theater in your pocket, with 4K video, imaging, and graphics, all built for mobile," Murthy Renduchintala, executive vice president of Qualcomm Technologies, said in a press release. "Coupled with our industry leading Gobi LTE modems and RF transceivers, streaming and watching content at 4K resolution will finally be possible." Qualcomm provides applications processors that serve as the brains of electronics, and it leads the market for providing chips that allow mobile devices to connect to wireless networks. Its 4G LTE processors in particular have been gaining strong traction of late and are used in gadgets like the iPhone 5S. However, competition in 4G LTE is expected to increase as rival products hit the market from companies such as Intel. Hands-on with the curvy LG G Flex phone (pictures) 1-2 of 12 Scroll Left Scroll Right Qualcomm first unveiled its Snapdragon 800 and 600 lines at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Since that time, many devices have shipped with the processors, including the LG G2 smartphone and the Google Nexus 5 phone. The Snapdragon 805 features Qualcomm's new Adreno 420 graphics processor, with up to 40 percent more graphics processing power than its predecessor. The company said it's the first mobile processor to offer system-level 4K/Ultra HD support, 4K video capture and playback, and enhanced dual camera image signal processors for better performance, multitasking, and power efficiency. The chip has four cores and runs at speeds of up to 2.5 GHz per core. It's able to stream more video content at higher quality using less power, Qualcomm said, and it allows for sharper, higher resolution photos in low light and advanced post-processing features. Customers currently are sampling the Snapdragon 805. It will be in devices in the first half of next year.
    The mobile processor giant also unveiled its fourth-generation 4G LTE processor with "significant" improvements in performance and...
  • During the press preview for the Los Angeles auto show, Mini will take the covers off its completely rebuilt Mini Cooper, the mainstay of its brand. November 14, 2013 10:50 AM PST Mini released this photo of a partially uncovered Cooper after spy shots emerged. (Credit: Mini) When BMW bought Mini and launched its version of the venerable Cooper in 2001, the car was lauded for its go-kart handling and updated British style. Beyond engine and tech changes, that car remained pretty much the same for over a decade, Mini seeming to concentrate its resources on new Cooper variants, such as the Countryman and Paceman. Now Mini is set to release a fully updated Cooper hatchback, the mainstay of its brand. Beyond some technical information released by Mini and a few spy shots that have emerged, we don't know too much about the car. It will be built on a new platform, shared with parent company BMW. The spy shots show a car that looks fairly similar to the current generation, with some styling changes. The hood drop-off looks slightly more rounded towards the front and the beltline seems more prominent. The car's designers don't seem to have overly enlarged the car, so it should retain its handling character. Officially, Mini details a couple of new engine choices. The base model will get a 1.5-liter three cylinder. Given BMW's latest engine tech, that engine will probably be as powerful as the current base 2-liter. A turbocharged 2-liter four cylinder will also be available, likely in a Cooper S model. Expect that engine to be the same as BMW uses in its newer 28-designated models, which produces up to 240 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque. However, Mini may detune it for less output, as BMW has done with its 320i model. Mini has also announced an array of driver assistance systems for the Cooper. It will get a head-up display, which appears similar to that being offered on the new Mazda3. A rear view camera and an automatic parking system will also be on the option list. The Cooper will also get a camera-based adaptive cruise control system. The Mini Cooper will be unveiled next week at the Los Angeles auto show. Mini released this completely uninformative video about the new Cooper.
    During the press preview for the Los Angeles auto show, Mini will take the covers off its completely rebuilt Mini Cooper, the mainstay of it...
  • A Korean publication says the next generation Galaxy flagship running Android KitKat could launch shy of the S4's first birthday. November 29, 2013 10:18 PM PST The Galaxy S4 and S3 could have a new sibling sooner than later. (Credit: Josh Miller/CNET) The latest round of rumors has the presumed successor to Samsung's Galaxy S4, a more powerful Galaxy S5, sporting unicorn-esque specs, perhaps some new flexible materials, and craziest of all: Launching as little as ten months after the Galaxy S4 was introduced. A Korean site reports that "industry sources" say production of the Galaxy S5 could begin in January with Samsung's next flagship phone shipping with Android KitKat and alongside a revamped Galaxy Gear 2 watch as early as February or March. That would be a few months ahead of many early-adopting Galaxy S4 owners' one-year anniversaries with their devices. While this sounds like wishful thinking on the part of some overzealous reporter and a who-knows-how-well-infomed supply chain source, it's also not a crazy plan for the likes of Samsung. The Korean monolith has the ability to make just about anything on a massive scale as quickly as it likes and likely has no qualms with cannibalizing sales of its zillions of other smartphone models, including the Galaxy S4. But more importantly, what kind of unicorn is Samsung's S5 team designing this time around? The same report claims the phone could be available in a plastic case or a more premium model with a metal body, and will come loaded with some serious digital beef -- a 64-bit processor, 3 GB of RAM, a 16 megapixel camera and a huge 4,000 mAh battery to power a 5-inch flexible display that could jam as many as 560 pixels into each inch of screen real estate. Samsung had no immediate response to a request for comment, but certainly many Galaxy S4 owners won't be as speechless when the flagship phone they proudly brought home this year is eclipsed in less than the time it takes us all to make a single trip around the sun. What do you think? Is it too soon for a new Samsung flagship or never soon enough? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @crave and @ericcmack.
    A Korean publication says the next generation Galaxy flagship running Android KitKat could launch shy of the S4's first birthday. Novem...
  • On today's show, we'll tell you about the battle between FDA and 23andMe, how to pay for anonymous medical advice with Bitcoins, the fluid grammatical and changes brought on by online messaging, and a Pepsi challenge with Monster audio cables. November 26, 2013 12:33 PM PST Topics: Show notes, The 404 podcast Tags: genetics, Monster, muscular dystrophy, FDA, Consumerist, coat hanger, Bitcoins, 23andme, period, DNA testing, CoinMD, grammar Justin Yu Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he's not wading through Web gulch or challenging colleagues to typing tests, you can find him making fun of technology with Jeff Bakalar every afternoon on The 404 show.. Wearables are largely aimed at the person who just wants to maintain a good weight, sleep enough, and maybe get in a little cardio. CNET's Brian Cooley tells you why 2014 could be the breakout year for wearable tech.
    On today's show, we'll tell you about the battle between FDA and 23andMe, how to pay for anonymous medical advice with Bitcoins, the...
  • The folks over at iFixit have dismantled the Xbox One to show that despite it's bigger and bulkier appearance, Microsoft's box is just as easy to dismantle and repair as Sony's. November 21, 2013 12:24 PM PST (Credit: iFixit) Though it may not be as sleek and slim as its primary competitor, the Xbox One's hardware is just as user-friendly. As illustrated in an iFixit teardown Thursday, Microsoft's all-in-one entertainment machine achieved an eight out of 10 on the repairability scale and actually gave the teardown specialists slightly less trouble than Sony's PlayStation 4. Related stories: Microsoft pens playful doctor's note for Xbox One gamers PS4 vs. Xbox One: Round 1 to Sony Xbox One: 15 things you need to know YouTube app lands on Xbox One The 404 1,388: Where we turn on the lights (podcast) "Only a few tools are required to take the whole console apart. The opening procedure is similar to, but much easier than, any Xbox 360," the report reads. "Once inside, a clean, no-nonsense modular design allows the drives, fan, heat sink, wireless board, and front daughterboard to be easily replaced." When tearing down the PS4, iFixit found that it required extensive disassembly -- involving security screws instead of the Xbox One's clips -- to reach parts likely to be desperate for cleaning down the line, such as the fan. Critics have been nearly unanimous in their negative assessment of the Xbox One's aesthetics, noting that it's taller than the PS4 -- and significantly bulkier than the Xbox 360 -- and is about as as attractive as as enormous VCR. But then again, looks aren't everything and the Xbox One is more than just a gaming machine, making it's boxy appearance a fair tradeoff for anyone who finds the console's added set-top box functionality and lofty entertainment ambitions a better deal. See also: Xbox One: 15 things you need to know Sony was nice enough to give consumers its own teardown in an exclusive Wired video prior to the console's launch, which showcased a surprisingly small fan that undoubtedly gave the console more breathing room for Sony to fit in the power supply. The Xbox One, with its external power supply, sports a massive fan that suggests that that choice is a core factor in its larger appearance. It's unclear whether any heating problems early PS4 users are experiencing have anything to do with fan size. Another key difference between the PS4 and Xbox One's innards is the hard drive. Both consoles' software now demands that players install new games to the system's HDD. However, while Sony will allow users to replace its drive, Microsoft will not and asks that players rely on external storage through its USB 3.0 port. Getting your hands on the HDD, iFixit notes, will void your warranty. "Good news: it's a standard 2.5 inch SATA II drive," the iFixit team added. "Unknown news: we're not sure if the Xbox One will recognize unformatted SATA hard drives." That last bit could be unsettling for those daring enough to modify the Xbox One and lose its warranty in the process, as it could result in a fruitless teardown and an unusable extra HDD. Also worth geeking out over is the Xbox One's custom system-on-chip integrated circuit, combining an AMD "Jaguar" 8-core CPU and AMD Radeon Graphics GPU in the x86 architecture now commonplace in PC gaming. In orange: the Xbox One's custom system-on-a-chip integrated circuit that combines an AMD "Jaguar" 8-core CPU and AMD Radeon Graphics GPU. (Credit: iFixit) Hard drive replacements aside, the Xbox One's eight of 10 rating proves that even with a bigger, boxier appearance, Microsoft has pulled together an impressively cohesive and user-friendly machine that will only continue to maximize its hardware down the line. iFixit's teardown is still a work in progress, so we can expect more insights soon.
    The folks over at iFixit have dismantled the Xbox One to show that despite it's bigger and bulkier appearance, Microsoft's box is ju...
  • If you read the fine print on the Xbox One, nearly everything cool requires a $60 per year Xbox Live Gold subscription. November 26, 2013 12:50 PM PST (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) The futuristic Xbox One lets you change channels with your voice, log into your account with nothing more than your face, and instantly flip between gaming and live TV, but Microsoft's wunderbox can't stream Netflix without a $60 per year Xbox Live Gold subscription. It's a surprising restriction when nearly every other device, from the $35 Chromecast to the $400 PlayStation 4 to a $2,000 TV, doesn't charge for access to Netflix's streaming service -- a service that already carries its own $8 monthly fee. (Almost) everything's behind the paywall Netflix is the most bewildering service to live behind the Live Gold paywall, but it's far from the only one. Nearly all of the marquee Xbox One features require Microsoft's subscription fee, including OneGuide, Game DVR, Internet Explorer, online multiplayer gaming, virtually all of the streaming media services, and Skype. At least the neat multitasking "Snap" functionality isn't limited to Live Gold, but there's not much point in multitasking if most of the features aren't available to you. (Credit: Microsoft) The fact that the Xbox One is little more than a single-player gaming machine without a Live Gold subscription makes it a tough sell for more casual gamers. Hardcore gamers won't complain -- they were going to pay extra for online multiplayer gaming anyway -- but it's hard to expect more occasional, offline gamers to pay for the right to access services like Netflix and HBO Go, which are free on every other platform, besides their own subscription fees. And while many Xbox One buyers probably already have another device capable of streaming Netflix, having to switch inputs for your "House of Cards" fix is antithetical to Microsoft's "One Box To Rule Them All" philosophy. Sony isn't nearly as pushy with the PS4's premium subscription service, PlayStation Plus. Online multiplayer gaming, automatic game updates, and cloud saves require a subscription, but essentially everything else is free, including all of the PS4's streaming services, game recording and sharing, internet browsing and live streaming of games via Twitch. It feels like a much fairer divide between basic and premium services. Features that require pricey upkeep, like online gaming and cloud saves, cost extra, while everything else is considered a feature of the game console you already paid for. Xbox One's true cost of ownership is over $700 (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) When you include the near-mandatory Xbox Live Gold subscription, it pushes the price premium of the Xbox One even higher than its current $100 over the PS4. Let's say you don't game online, but still like to use your game console to stream video from Netflix and HBO. Even if you're able to score Xbox Live Gold at the frequently-discounted rate of $45 per year, the five-year cost of ownership for the Xbox One is $725 vs. $400 for the PS4. It's a huge difference in cost. Rethinking Live Gold for Xbox One Microsoft isn't going to do away with the Live Gold subscription fees anytime soon, but it feels like the time has come for a re-evaluation as to which services fall behind the Live Gold paywall. At the very least, Netflix should be free to stream without a subscription, along with most other third-party streaming-services, such as Hulu Plus and HBO Go. It would be nice if the Microsoft also matched the other features the PS4 offers for free, like Game DVR and Internet Explorer. That would leave OneGuide, Skype and online multiplayer gaming as the main Live Gold step-ups, which feels a lot more reasonable than the current structure. Without those changes, the Xbox One will remain tough to recommend to more casual gamers that weren't planning on paying for online multiplayer gaming. If Microsoft wants the Xbox One to truly rule everyone's living room, it needs to offer a pricing structure that works for more kinds of gamers.
    If you read the fine print on the Xbox One, nearly everything cool requires a $60 per year Xbox Live Gold subscription. November 26, 2013 1...
  • Xbox One is the loneliest number if you're trying to shoehorn its do-it-all TV proposition into a family room...unless you're willing to be part of the experiment. (Credit: Scott Stein/CNET) My Xbox One may not stay connected to my cable box very long. In a year's time, the Xbox One might be the ultimate TV-connected entertainment box on the planet. But at the moment, it's sitting awkwardly between my cable DVR and my TV -- where it's causing some tension among the TV viewers in my household. There are a lot of good ideas lurking within the potential of what Microsoft's newest Xbox can be. A smart home hub; an entertainment do-everything machine. But they're mixed with unfortunate downsides: and, at the moment, from what I can see, the Xbox One is a console best appreciated by those who want to absorb entertainment by themselves. As a system for sharing (with someone in the same room, not somewhere online), the PlayStation 4 and Wii U do a better job at being both innocuous and second-screen-friendly. That's partially because they're not trying as hard to do something new...but it's also because they're systems that keep TV and gaming as largely separate entities. Let me explain. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) Hooking up the Xbox One at home: a home-entertainment imposition It's a lot to ask my wife to accept on the only TV in my apartment: hi, do you mind if I run our cable box through this Xbox? It'll only take a few minutes. It won't inconvenience you much. "Family acceptance" is the rule I have to live by, having two kids and a small place. Others -- those enjoying a solo gaming and entertainment experience in massive man-caves -- might enjoy having the Xbox One as a fantasy-box, a connect-it-all big-kid toy. All I know right now is that my wife is asking, "why do we have to do this?" The short answer: because I'm writing an article, and wanted to experiment, and I work at CNET. But the long answer, well, that's hard. I try to explain the Xbox One's upsides, really, I do. I show her voice commands, how I can say "Xbox, watch ESPN" and it does it, and how all the channel listings are nicely laid out. All my wife sees is a big black box sitting between the cable box and the TV that she has to turn on. A universal remote like a Harmony could help knit this all together better, and maybe Harmony is what an Xbox One owner really needs (the remote, and the concept). Before, I could turn on the TV and cable with one Verizon-supplied and admittedly lousy remote. Now, I need to either say "Xbox, turn on," which doesn't always work, or find the Xbox One controller, which I need anyway to navigate the Xbox menus without yelling. And the cable remote, well, I need that, still, because the Xbox doesn't have its own remote -- unless you pair a phone or tablet with the SmartGlass app -- and that's my only way to access the cable box DVR. (Credit: Scott Stein/CNET) And even if you use the admittedly pretty cool SmartGlass app, you still need a phone or tablet nearby, ready and connected. Using voice commands on the Xbox One means talking loudly and repeatedly, using specific commands I didn't always remember specifically. Meanwhile, I have a nine-month old baby sleeping in one room and a five-year-old in the other. I'm getting elbowed to please keep quiet. I reach for the remote again. I'll cast aside the fact that she also said she noticed the TV signal looked different -- paler, more washed out. CNET didn't find an issue with the XBox One throughput, but -- whether it's a placebo effect or not -- I see a slight difference. The real problem here is that the Xbox One doesn't do anything magical with TV: its just allows pass-through, and split-screen app-viewing and gameplay. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) I tried demonstrating the Xbox One's clean TV-listing interface, the ability to search for shows across streaming services, to pause live TV with a simple voice command. It didn't win over my harshest tech critic. And meanwhile, that massive new Kinect sat below our TV, staring at us. It doesn't whirr and move like the last Kinect, but it's ever-present. I haven't gotten many complaints about it yet, but maybe that's because I've had a Kinect under my TV for at least a year before that. (Credit: Scott Stein/CNET) Smart TV? Not really, not yet What can Xbox One do for my TV viewing, I ask again? Not all that much at all. I don't use "snap" split-screen much at all, even with a 59-inch TV. Audio from the TV channel and the Xbox game either gets mixed or can't be heard at all sometimes, and it gets too confusing. Also, the apps for that split-screen just aren't great. I tried watching the Jets-Ravens game with the NFL app snapped to the right, and expected -- or hoped for -- greatness. All I really got, mostly, as a score/stat rundown that matched what my phone could already give me...and was slower to update for some reason. I couldn't say "Xbox, show me passing stats," or "Xbox, replay third down," or "Xbox, show game schedule." I wanted the NFL app to be my virtual man-in-the-booth, feeding me relevant stats and interesting analysis as the game kept going on. It's just not that smart yet. If the Xbox One could eventually do that, great: but, split-screening just doesn't do all that much all that well right now. The Wii U has off-TV play, unlike the Xbox One. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) Hey you, get off my TV Now, because we only have one TV, there's also a lot of screen-sharing. I watch my shows, she watches hers, the kids watch theirs -- or I play games, and we strike a balance. The Wii U and PlayStation 4 both have a brilliant second-screen proposition to ease the pain, if you have the gear. Nintendo's console comes with a Game Pad that plays many games on a second screen very easily. The PS Vita, PS4, and remote play: works well, too. (Credit: Sally Nieman/CNET) On the PS4, if you have a PlayStation Vita, it's possible to connect to Remote Play to stream games in much the same way, and it works pretty impressively. This is second screen potential at its finest, because it frees up the TV for others -- while you're still playing a console game in your hands. The Xbox One has second screen capabilities via its SmartGlass phone and tablet app, but it's a different story altogether. SmartGlass is a huge help as a remote for video playback, and can be used in some games and video content, but it can't currently play games while someone else watches TV. I don't see why that can't happen in the future, but you'd need to figure out button controls, too. (Credit: Scott Stein/CNET) Another small problem happens when the Xbox One occasionally pings messages in the middle of a show someone else is watching, or someone's voice accidentally brings up a video-control menu or even changes the channel. Those moments are rare, but any additional annoyances add additional straw to the camel back of "why am I subjecting my family to this, again?" If everyone isn't quiet while watching on the Xbox, something odd is bound to happen sooner or later via an unexpected voice command. Hey you, get off my Xbox There's another problem with TV pass-through: suddenly, my wife's using my Xbox One all the time just to watch TV. Does that sound selfish? Well, it is, in a sense: I think of game consoles as personal devices. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) I haven't made a user ID for my wife to log in as, and maybe that would help things. But she's getting inconvenienced by having to root around for the controller, and clicking on the "TV" icon, or not having the Kinect understand her voice. And sometimes she forgets to turn the Xbox One off, which is understandable -- it's one more box. And no, saying, "Xbox, turn off" isn't exactly intuitive yet to the average person, even if it's easy to do. I do love how the Xbox One seamlessly and impressively auto-identifies you and logs you into a particular profile, which could mean a "family-friendly" mode in the future for when my kid or wife uses the machine, but right now user accounts are useless to me. This isn't an Android tablet or an iCloud account. My family doesn't have different Xbox profiles, nor do they seem to care to. If I was visiting a friend, I could log in as myself, and that's great, but that doesn't do much for my home. Xbox and the man-cave: good if you're Ray Lewis Look at one of the latest Xbox One commercials, featuring smack-talking NFL legends. Ray Lewis looks like he's strapped into a heads-up display in a personal virtual bubble: TV, friends, gaming, all at his command. He's in his own media cave. How does someone else share that cave? The answer right now is you're not really meant to. The Xbox One seems best for one controller, one user, one online experience, one voice to command all its elements into place. It's personal technology spread across a big screen. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) After the first day: tired acceptance Eventually, I wasn't asked to disconnect the Xbox One. Inertia had won the day. But I can't keep expecting my wife to keep hunting for the Xbox controller. This experiment, for now, is just an experiment. I'll switch back, because this current set-up just doesn't make any sense. HDMI-in on the Xbox One is like that extra port on a laptop you don't need now but you could in the future. Microsoft hopes the Xbox One will add more robust DVR control, and deeper cable access, down the road. How soon, or how easy that is to enable, I have no idea. But I'm tempted to just yank the cable box out of the Xbox One until that day arrives. I still think the Xbox One is the most advanced gaming console of this new generation, but to someone trying to sneak one into a living room, ironically, its "living room-friendly" elements make it the hardest to accept. And apologies to my wife, who's the unwitting subject of this article. Believe me, she likes new ideas and new technologies...when they make life better. And I don't think she's alone.
    Xbox One is the loneliest number if you're trying to shoehorn its do-it-all TV proposition into a family room...unless you're willin...
  • The ability to broadcast live footage to the ever-growing social gaming platform won't be making its way to Xbox One for launch. November 19, 2013 11:43 AM PST (Credit: James Martin/CNET) The ability to stream your gameplay footage through the popular Twitch service will not make its way to the Xbox One until 2014, Microsoft announced Tuesday. Related stories: Forget Xbox One and PS4, nothing beats Game Boy (video) Try this, Apple: Xbox greets PlayStation 4 with a nice tweet For Battlefield 4 players, a move to Xbox One, PS4 means leaving friends behind Microsoft's Major Nelson shows off Xbox One's rapid boot-up Microsoft touts 'epic' Xbox One launch on November 22 In a blog post that shed more light on Twitch integration for the console, which hits store shelves this Friday, November 22, Microsoft noted that the Xbox team is "working to ensure the initial Twitch on Xbox One broadcasting experience meets the expectations of the Twitch community." "While this feature won't be available right away, we'll let you know as soon as it is ready. Our goal is to deliver it during the first part of 2014," it reads. While clearly not a deal breaker, gameplay streaming will surely be missed on the Xbox One. It's an increasingly more popular activity that will begin to move beyond the hardcore gaming community that has rallied behind the its two most robust platforms, Twitch and Ustream, especially as Sony and Microsoft both embrace live streaming as a core social feature of game playing moving forward. Sony offers streaming to both Ustream and Twitch on its PlayStation 4, which has generating hundreds of videos in the less than one week's time since its launch. The Xbox One's Twitch.tv app will however let users view others' streams in the meantime. The console will also allow players to record up to five minutes of gameplay and share it via Xbox Live or to one's SkyDrive account.
    The ability to broadcast live footage to the ever-growing social gaming platform won't be making its way to Xbox One for launch. Novemb...

Categories

  • ANDROID
  • APPLE
  • BADA
  • BLACKBERRY
  • DIGITAL CAMERAS
  • Fablet
  • GALLERIES
  • JAVA
  • LAPTOPS
  • MOBILE PHONES
  • MOBILE PLATFORM
  • MP3 PLAYERS
  • NEWS
  • PORTABLE STORAGE
  • REVIEWS
  • SMART GADGETS
  • SYMBIAN
  • TABLET
  • WINDOWS

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (548)
    • ▼  November (500)
      • A Korean publication says the next generation Gala...
      • Unexplained technical issues caused the rocket lau...
      • The tech giant and its court-appointed antitrust m...
      • Just in time for Black Friday, the low-cost siblin...
      • The e-commerce giant doesn't seem too worried abou...
      • Noticed an especially full photo feed on Thanksgiv...
      • The Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, and Nexus 5 can be forc...
      • For just one week, Google is offering shoppers cre...
      • The Southeast Asian nation is serving up harsh pen...
      • The sun-grazing comet spent Thanksgiving visiting ...
      • Black Friday offers now abound across the world. E...
      • In an unusual twist that goes against its traditio...
      • In an unusual twist that goes against its traditio...
      • Somehow, the early beginning to Black Friday shopp...
      • For online shopping, smartphones are good for brow...
      • Dive into four new books that use Legos to depict ...
      • The chip giant has been working on "perceptual com...
      • A Google Glass developer with a clear vision of wh...
      • Four new books showcase some of the most important...
      • James Howells' digital currency worth hardly nothi...
      • Looking for the ultimate Black Friday deal? Pump u...
      • The deals are coming in hot and heavy, so check ba...
      • Web giant's practice of combining user data from i...
      • A Ukrainian startup launches an online service tha...
      • Judge Lucy Koh finds that plaintiffs failed to pro...
      • Another enchanting doodle from the Google factory ...
      • Towering over the Forth and Clyde canal, The Kelpi...
      • The tech giant doesn't object to the variant of th...
      • A Ukrainian startup launches an online service tha...
      • The Spanish company's new Firefox OS phone will in...
      • Indulge your inner Hobbit with the "Journey throug...
      • Google doesn't object to the variant of the open-s...
      • YouTube looks set to introduce an ad-free subscrip...
      • New reports suggest Ford's Alan Mulally and Micros...
      • What better appetizer for your Thanksgiving feast ...
      • New reports suggest Ford's Alan Mulally and Micros...
      • Why is CNET's Roger Cheng so grateful for Samsung'...
      • One of the major holiday challenges is what to giv...
      • With a shortened shopping season, many big-box ret...
      • Next spring, Fabien Cousteau, grandson of the lege...
      • The biggest shopping day of the year is gearing up...
      • Three hand-picked Android apps can help you scope ...
      • With a shortened shopping season, many big box ret...
      • One of the major holiday challenges is what to giv...
      • The 16-foot-long model is powered by four small tu...
      • Budweiser UK launches a publicity campaign around ...
      • A Seattle restaurant, the latest to ban Google Gla...
      • Spectators won't believe their eyes when you make ...
      • Many hard drives come preformatted with special ut...
      • NASA releases a short movie showing comet ISON's a...
      • Discarded holiday wrapping paper can get pretty in...
      • We took a MINI to the Col de Turini to recreate Pa...
      • An ESPN survey suggests that while women do more s...
      • The increasingly popular currency was worth about ...
      • A UK study sees a first-ever drop in sexual activi...
      • The company has created a patent-pending technolog...
      • The number of affected customers was exceedingly s...
      • Koss' budget-friendly on-ear headphone doesn't loo...
      • Batch-made plastic eyes could be much cheaper than...
      • Apple is reportedly interested in improving its ma...
      • The flash memory technology is inexpensive and ubi...
      • Several retailers have published deals exclusively...
      • The update to Nokia's popular budget smartphone ma...
      • Apple increased its orders of iPad Minis in Novemb...
      • Tablets, tablets, and more tablets, as stores slas...
      • Batch-made plastic eyes could be much cheaper than...
      • The targets' appetite for sexually explicit materi...
      • Apple has reportedly ramped up iPad Mini supply to...
      • Nokia says it's the "right tablet," touting the it...
      • An update to Nokia's popular budget smartphone mak...
      • Two new browsers have followed Firefox with suppor...
      • Muslim radicals' appetite for sexual explicit mate...
      • If Microsoft's outgoing chief executive had listen...
      • Edward Snowden's NSA leaks have caused Google, Yah...
      • Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman believes tablet-la...
      • Black versions of the Android compatible smartwatc...
      • This magnetic device lets you act like a creepy sp...
      • So what are the real deals this Black Friday? Chec...
      • Apple's tablet is, according to Microsoft, no good...
      • In-ear vs. on-ear, circumaural vs. supraaural, ope...
      • On Tuesday Google announced a new extension for Ch...
      • The NSA may have employed an old-school spy techni...
      • Fly the friendly skies with a hot-rod paper airpla...
      • The company's new C720P Chromebook, due out next m...
      • Xbox One is the loneliest number if you're trying ...
      • On today's show, we'll tell you about the battle b...
      • New Zealand design engineer Olaf Diegel has 3D-pri...
      • If you read the fine print on the Xbox One, nearly...
      • The new caching of preference settings in OS X Mav...
      • Whether you're running the kitchen on the big day ...
      • Keep your sanity in the kitchen this holiday seaso...
      • The Redmond, Wash., company's latest anti-Google a...
      • When you want to communicate a subtle sense of dre...
      • The platform is rolling out on Tuesday to those ru...
      • Boomf lets your feast on your artfully filtered In...
      • November 26, 2013 8:42 AM PST LG's Splendor is on...
      • The platform is rolling out on Tuesday to those ru...
      • San Antonio's BiblioTech, believed to be the first...
      • A leak on Twitter reveals what appears to be the t...
      • Lower prices are the main catalyst for the surge i...
    • ►  April (48)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile