Reporters Notebook
TWICE reporters give you a deeper look into their areas of expertise.
Keep Selectable Output Control In Consumers’ Hands
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) fired off a very interesting ex parte letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week is response to a letter submitted Nov. 4 by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) pushing its position that the use of selectable output control (SOC) over copyrighted content played on consumer devices would be “consumer friendly.ȁ ...... Read More
Comments (2)Get ’Em While They’re Hot
We’re hesitant to cite Black Friday sale prices, which a handful of Web sites have leaked over the last several years. For one thing, as an adherent of Old School journalism, TWICE still embraces such quaint concepts as fact-checking, verification and identified sources. For another, we wouldn’t put it past some wily retailers to throw off the hounds by floating false circulars. That ...... Read More
Comments (0)I Still Want My Downloadable Movies
In January 2007 I wrote a blog called I Want My Downloadable Movies. While this dream is coming closer to reality due to better technology and more favorable DRM practices, I think I can give Hollywood an even greater reason for setting up either direct movie downloads or DVD releases to coincide with a movie’s premiere: Making more money in a short period of time than Walmart. Game-maker A ...... Read More
Comments (0)Color Wars
As I have said before in this forum, CE companies seem to save their best ads for consumers outside the U.S. The latest example is a short film from Samsung, produced to tout the social-networking capabilities (as well as the shiny new color options) of the company’s Corby S3650 phone in South America: More than 200 people took part in the massive paint fight in Sao Paolo, Brazil. It went ...... Read More
Comments (0)Schools Reject Kindle
Although some colleges are embracing the Kindle as a study tool, at least two universities are rejecting the device because they believe it discriminates against visually impaired students. From the Associated Press: “The National Federation of the Blind planned to announce Wednesday that the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University won’t consider big rollouts of the e ...... Read More
Comments (4)Sirius Needs To Address Internet Radio
Cheers to Sirius XM Radio for launching an aggressive ad campaign on Nov. 15. Retailers would have preferred to see it a year earlier, but few will blame CEO Mel Karmazin for trying to resolve some nagging problems (merger, near-bankruptcy, wallet-closing recession) before making a big ad spend. But if Sirius XM wants to really show it’s back and firing on all cylinders, it needs to reveal ...... Read More
Comments (1)Did The CEC Miscalculate Our Future?
The California Energy Commission’s (CEC) proposed energy consumption guidelines for flat-panel TVs should raise some disturbing questions for anyone interested in the evolution of next-generation big-screen television sets. In consultation with one of the state’s largest electric utilities - Pacific Gas & Electric - the CEC has divined over the last 18 months a new formula for TV ...... Read More
Comments (0)eReader Customer Base Is Shrinking
For most retailers, the e-Reader market presents short-term and long-term challenges despite bullish sales projections from Wall Street analysts. As editor Amy Gilroy pointed out in her blog, select eReaders aren’t available to all retailers to offer. The restricted eReaders include the popular Kindle series, available only through Amazon, and the planned Barnes & Noble Nook, available ...... Read More
Comments (2)OK, Everybody Say’Cheese’ For 53 Minutes
If you were one of the 50,000 or so fans at Game 1 of the World Series on Sunday in The Bronx, or knew someone who was, get ready for the best game of “Where’s Waldo?” you ever played. MLB.com had photographer David Bergman produce this panoramic image from the game by stitching together 675 photos (45 across by 15 down) taken over a 53-minute span starting at 8:02 p.m. ET. Be ...... Read More
Comments (0)Windows 7 Whopper
Burger King Japan and Microsoft have teamed up for an unusual cross-promotion this week. Behold the Windows 7 Whopper.Measuring 5.1 inches in diameter, the “Amerikanbanzu” (”super giant”) Windows 7 Whopper features seven ¼-pound beef patties totaling 1.75 pounds. The first 30 customers can purchase a Windows 7 Whopper for the special price of ¥777 ($8.49), reg ...... Read More
Comments (0)Wireless E-Readers, Only for Some
Highlighting another hit product most consumer electronics retailers won’t be selling this Christmas, Amazon.com announced its Kindle e-reader is its No. 1 selling product in units and dollars across all categories, astonishing Wall Street analysts. And arguably the coolest e-reader to date, the Nook from Barnes & Noble, isn’t going to be offered beyond its own doors and Web site ...... Read More
Comments (2)Darrell Issa Update
Former Directed Electronics CEO and Consumer Electronics Association chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has been in the news of late and he has not forgotten his CE roots. As part of an imbroglio on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a GOP staffer used a CE product to cause a ruckus recently in the House. From The Hill: A GOP committee staffer captured video of Democrats leavi ...... Read More
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