The Test Center highlights noteworthy PC components that came through the lab so far this year. Manufacturers' ability to build components that support both quad- and dual-core hardware platforms continues to impress us.
Acer's latest Aspire Gemstone laptops come just in time for the holiday shopping blitz, targeting consumers with a range of entertainment-focused models.
It's been a busy quarter for shakeups in some of the industry's top channel companies. Here we look at several channel executives who have come and gone in the last few months.
I didn’t keep an exact tally, but it seemed like the folks at Cingular declined to answer nearly as many questions as they chose to respond to during a press conference Wednesday at CES to tout the wireless carrier’s exclusive deal to offer services for Apple’s new iPhone.
Best Buy banged the drum at CES to market its new $15,000 digital entertainment and home automation system developed in conjunction with Exceptional Innovation.
The system, which consists of a 42-inc plasma TV, HP Media Center Home Server based on Windows XP and Exceptional's Lifeware home automation and control software, has been tested in about 150 homes in Sacramento, Calif. over the past six months and is being readied for nationwide rollout.
The system comes with the Windows XP-based system, Lifeware software, networking kit, router, remote control, IP-based thermostat and lighting and one-day installation services from Best Buy.
Standing next to the Best Buy tour bus demonstrating the system at CES, Chris Mauzy, director of business development at Best Buy, said 33 installers have been trained and 17 more will be trained on the system beginning this week. But he indicated Best Buy stores may be open to working with custom installers and integrators at local levels if business demand calls for it.
Indeed, one top executive at Exceptional Innovation said he came to an agreement with the brass at Best Buy that ensures that its personnel would only service a certain basic package for home users and steer all higher-end service needs to members of CEDIA. We'll see.
Systems builders are hoping Microsoft will ease up on its CableCard licensing policies for Windows Vista.
At this point, only one or two vendors have gained a CableCard license from Microsoft. That means that system builders must add a third party product to their systems to give their customers the right to watch and record premium and HD cable programming on Media Center PCs without a set-top cable box.
Last July, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that cable companies must support CableCard technology, which enables consumers to get rid of their cable set top boxes and use media centers such as Windows Vista Home Premium Edition.
Microsoft heavily publicized its cablecard support for Windows Vista at last year's CES.
The imminent launch of Vista will deliver that capability for consumers but system builders want to license the right to use the CableCard technology from Microsoft into their own systems. Microsoft's legal department is being very tight-fisted with those licenses to date, system builders say
Microsoft claims the so-called digital decade will never take off unless connectivity and system integration issues aren't resolved. Yet the company continues to diss the emerging digital integration channel at every turn.
At CES 2007, Microsoft decided last minute to cancel CRN's interview with consumer king Robbie Bach. There are, of course, scheduling issues for top executives at CES. But Microsoft's lack of interest in the digital integration channel, which has been a sore spot for some time, is reaching new heights.
Microsoft will deliver IPTV for XBox 360 later this year but there are no plans to offer support in Vista Media Center, one Microsoft exec said Monday.
Justin Hutchinson, a Vista product manager who demonstrated Vista's Media Center features on stage with Bill Gates Sunday night, said it's too early to offer IPTV support for Windows Vista -- at least at this time.
It's hard to tell if that's Microsoft's way of evading a question about a future feature of Vista or the truth. Seems odd that one consumer platform will support it in 2007 while the core platform will not.
IPTV is, no doubt, a big focus for Microsoft. During his keynote, Gates said one of the cool benefits of IPTV is the next generation channel surfing that allows viewers to see the contents of the next channel before switching. Why wouldn't Vista Media Center users want that?
One of the new benefits of Vista is that it allows users to participate in XBox 360 Live multi-player games. It would make sense that IPTV support will come soon. We'll see.
