30 gb ipod: February 2008

GBTV #0266 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

This was a fun Brief to shoot. We start with the story about TV coming to PCs with the help of Nero, the DVD-burning company...oh wait! I just got that! Nero...burning...get it? EveryScape is creating virtual city tours that take inside real stores, hotels, museums and restaurants. I give you an EveryScape look at my old stomping grounds on South Beach in Miami. I finally found a solar charging bag that doesn't have a sucky design. It's called the Noon Solar Logan Bag. I'm trying out a Nokia N810, but I'm not ready to share. The Taguchi Supper Sound System is a love it or hate it kind of thing. It wouldn't be in a Brief if I didn't love it. We close out the show with a wrist watch phone that wants to be cool, but might not be ready for the everyday user.

Neal and I will be speaking at the first-ever Wednesday, December 5th. Y'all are all welcome to come.

GoDaddy Promo Code Site of the Day: TaylorsTumblr.com Read more

Zen concept PC caters to visually impaired

There's hardly a shortage of pocketable devices for the blind, but the Zen is lookin' out for the visually impaired who crave a more full-fledged computing experience. Essentially, the Sandbox PC (hardware) and Zen (operating system) would team up to "create a computing environment that could be used with eyes closed." More specifically, it would utilize an Active Surface for displaying text in Braille and producing images, windows and icons that could be felt. No word on whether this contraption would handle other tasks such as reading one's e-mail aloud or enabling the blind to still participate in Hot or Not, but nevertheless, it's definitely a step in the right direction.

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MacBreak 29: The Road to 1080p, Part 4

Alex Lindsay provides a behind-the-scenes update on how MacBreak is shot. Read more

MacBreak 77: Minute: Safari Keyboard Shortcuts

Merlin's back with some keystroke-fu for accessing your bookmarks in Safari. Read more

MacBreak 123: Macworld 2008: Jersey Boy

MacBreak 123: Macworld 2008: Jersey Boy
Merlin Mann chats with some guy from Jersey about punching Steve Jobs.

GBTV #0248 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

GBTV #0248 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
Unless something major happens in tech news, we're taking a week off. We moved in May and still haven't unpacked because we haven't made the time. This week we're going to organize our house our garage and experiment with audio and lighting. We'll be back October 28th rebooted and running Order Leopard!

Time Warner's House of Last Thursday
Company: Time Warner Cable

Suzuki BaseCamp Concept
Company: Suzuki

Ford Airstream Concept
Company: Ford

Apogee Duet Recommended by Geoff Smith
Source: Geoff Smith
Company: Apogee Electronics

Amazon Selling Leopard for $20 Less
Order from Amazon.com

USB SATA Dock
Source: SciFi Tech
Available at: GeekStuff4U

GoDaddy Promo Code Sites of the Day: TheSudokuStore.com and Skeemer.net

GBTV #0232 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

GBTV #0232 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
NBC Universal's Strategy
Source: EOnline
Company: NBC Universal

ABC's Strategy
Source: Broadcasting & Cable
Company: ABC

CBS's Strategy
Source: Boston.com
Company: CBS

Fox's Strategy
Source: LA Times
Company: Fox

M-Audio Session Music Producer
Company: M-Audio

We Own the Night
Sponsorship Information
Learn more about the movie
Neal and I will be there on opening night. We'd love for you to join us!
Details on the Meet-up

GPS-equipped walkers promise to keep elderly patients on track

Filed under: GPS

We've already seen GPS used to track elderly patients, but some student researchers now look to be taking the idea one step further, with them outfitting some nursing center patients' walkers with a GPS system that helps guide them around. While the exact technical details are a bit unclear, the system apparently uses GPS when the patients are out and about, and relies on a WiFi-based system to direct 'em around inside the nursing center itself. The entire system has also obviously been about as simplified as possible, with it boasting just five buttons and large arrows pointing the way to the patients' destination. As a student project, however, it's still quite a ways from gaining any widespread use, although it has apparently been at use at the one nursing center their testing it at for several months already. Let's just hope folks don't take to relying on it too much -- we all know where that can lead.

[Thanks, Jack]

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Asus shows off HDMI-equipped Xonar DX and Xonar AV1 sound cards

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Media PCs

Asus continues to crank up its media PC related offerings, its latest are two HDMI equipped sound cards aimed at HTPC users or prosumers. Next week at CeBIT expect to see the Xonar DX sound card, a slimmed-down edition of its Xonar D2X card made to fit any PCI-E x1 equipped computer. Dolby Digital Live and DTS connect support is still part of the package, plus EAX 5.0 compatibility. Next up is the Xonar AV1, complete with three HDMI jacks and Asus' Splendid HD chip to assist audio and video mastering. Price or release date on these is unknown but we're sure to get a closer look once the show starts.

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Latest financials confirm it: Sprint and Nextel probably shouldn't have merged

Filed under: Cellphones

Well, it looks like the aggressively priced unlimited action really didn't come a moment too soon. We're no economists here, but it doesn't take rocket science, a Ph.D., collegiate level maths, or even a fancy calculator to crunch the cold, hard numbers coming out of Sprint Nextel's fourth quarter earnings call. For starters, the number three carrier in the US reported a net loss of nearly $29.5 billion, which -- get this -- is more than the combined value of its outstanding stock. Let us reiterate for emphasis and drama value: Sprint lost more money in the fourth quarter of 2007 than the company is worth. Wow. If it's any consolation, the staggering figure is largely due to a $29.7 billion write-down of Nextel's value, which as the Wall Street Journal lays out, makes the 2005 merger officially a "Deal From Hell." With postpaid subscribers continuing to migrate to other carriers, there's no telling how to stop the hemorrhaging -- especially if the fresh $99 unlimited plan doesn't end up doing the trick -- but something tells us the move to Kansas isn't going to magically patch it all up.

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