Category Archives: Digital Lifestyles
WHOA! An Affordable 50″ 4K LED HDTV For $1300!
Let’s be real: when those 4K ultra-high definition (UHD) televisions were shown off at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, they definitely looked visually (and magically) delicious, but they are really pricey and quite out of reach for normal consumers like ourselves. You’ll get a better use out of buying a car than for the top-tier 4K UHDTV, and the only way they can be called “cheap” is if , well, they aren’t priced like a car. For example, SEIKI is offering a 50-inch 4K UHDTV for the measly – and I use that word VERY loosely — price of $1,300. Read the rest of this entry
Zotac’s StreamBox and RAIDbox May be A Force to be Reckoned With
While in my personal quest to create a home theater media center (mainly an HTPC), I’ve come across and covered many set-up and options on The PractitioNERD over the past (almost) two years. I’ve just recently come across a company called Zotac, who has over the years released a series of small (to even smaller) media-friendly machines that are built to be used as living room media centers and home/office media servers. Two of Zotac’s latest products, the StreamBox and RAIDbox, aren’t standalone computers, but accessories that can be used in conjunction with the home theater capabilities of their ZBOX series of home media PCs. Read the rest of this entry
From Android Phones to Android…RICE COOKERS?!?
My favorite thing about Google’s Android platform operating system that it could the open-source platform could advance past smartphones and tablets to other consumer electronics. Well, other than the no-so-surprising but still awesome transition to entertainment systems, wristwatches, home consoles, netbooks, digital cameras and much more, this is perhaps the most interesting/confusing one: the Android OS powering a rice cooker. Yes. It’s a thing. Read the rest of this entry
CEA Supports DISH, Thanks to…BETAMAX?!?
Nowadays (especially NOW-a-days), technology and lawsuits go together like peanut butter and jelly; it has become common in today’s tech news, and this is no different. Recently, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Computer and Communications Industry Association and the Internet Association voiced their support toward Dish Network in its legal drama with several television networks (from FOX to CBS, and more) over whether the satellite company’s commercial-skipping Auto Hop feature is legal or not. The three entities submitted an amicus brief to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, saying that the feature is protected based on a earlier ruling that saved the Betamax in the early-1980′s. Yes. The BETAMAX! More after the break! Read the rest of this entry
My 5 Favorite CES 2013 Stories: Day 4/4
DAY 4 of 4
Friday, January 11th, 2013
We have come to the end of the CES 2013 road, everyone. It’s time for my final news briefs about my top 5 favorite products/stories introduced on the final day of the show. This is the 4th and last day of “The PractitioNERD” coverage of CES 2013, and here are my favorite stories from today’s CES coverage. Read the rest of this entry
My 5 Favorite CES 2013 Stories: Day 3/4
DAY 3 of 4
Thursday, January 10th, 2013
Welcome one, welcome all. Day 3 of 4 of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has come to an end, which means that it’s time for some new briefs about the products/stories introduced today at the show. So, here are my top 5 favorite stories from day three of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. Read the rest of this entry
My 5 Favorite CES 2013 Stories: Day 2/4
DAY 2 of 4
Wednesday, January 9th, 2013
Welcome one, welcome all. Day 2 of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has come to an end, which means that it’s time for some new briefs about the products/stories introduced today at the show. So, here are my top 5 favorite stories from day two of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. Read the rest of this entry
My 5 Favorite CES 2013 Stories: Day 1/4
DAY 1 of 4
Tuesday, January 8th, 2013
Howdy, Hey There, and Hello everyone! It’s another year, which means it’s time for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Now that the official first day of CES is complete, I want to give a few briefs about the products/stories introduced today at the show. I will be doing this for the rest of this week, so now, here are my top 5 favorite stories from day one of the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. Read the rest of this entry
The Smartwatch: Would You or Would You Not?
So, what so you think about these conceptual drawings by Adrian Maciburko called “Google Time”? Whether or not you’re interested in the idea of smartwatches, you’ve got to admit that this looks really nice, and with the Google’s “Google Now” initiative that has worked well at getting to know yourself, this could become something very interesting. With the buzz surrounding a possible Apple/Intel smartwatch project going around, I’m eager to see if any of these projects are going to be announce this week at CES. Read the rest of this entry
Turn Old-School Apple Floppy Drive into an External HDD Enclosure
Just curious: you any of you Apple fans out there still have a old-school Mac lying around, collecting dust. If you do, have you been trying to find a way to make good use of that floppy drive that died long ago (and I actually mean FLOPPY, not those 3.5” so-called “floppy” disks)? Well then, you can take that useless (formerly useless now) external “floppy” drive from Apple (or Commodore 64′s ACTUAL floppy drive, or whatever) and exchange its innards with that of an external HDD to give your modern storage solution a vintage and retro look! Read the rest of this entry
Simple Network HD-DVR with Simple.TV
In the quest of more devices to prepare for the possibility to live a cable/satellite-free entertainment life (as cable TV time has been replaced by video games and streaming media for me), one aspect is to buy an affordable computer to use as a home theater PC (HTPC) and a digital video recorder (DVR). For just one TV, having a HTPC with DVR capabilities is not much of a hassle, but with a home with over 5 TV’s, 5 HTPC’s (or even TiVo boxes) is pretty steep on the good-ol’ wallet. Thankfully, the Simple.TV offers a simple and fairly cheap solution that can record and stream live TV content. Read the rest of this entry
Go Old-School w/ a DIY Keyboard Computer w/ a Raspberry Pi Computer
Most of the kids of the 1980s (and before) will remember the good old days when computers had built-in keyboards, such as the Apple II (which I remember my elementary school having a full supply of, and for playing Oregon Trail), or the Commodore 64 (which my daycare had one). That’ type of form factor has been duplicated by computer case modders many times over the years, but [Preamp]‘s project is the first one that uses the popular Raspberry Pi budget computer. The Raspberry Pi is still popular and picking up momentum with a variety of DIY projects due to how open the hardware is to different operating systems. So if you’re looking for a way to build your own budget, old-school-style, computer-in-a-keyboard with a Raspberry Pi, the German blog [Preamp] shows you exactly how to do it, step-by-step. Read the rest of this entry
Control the Bluetooth Bulb with Your Smartphone. THE FUTURE AWAITS!!
With the influx of new and advanced technological gadgets, gizmos, and whosee-whatsits, some companies never forget that even mainstay and simple pieces of tech need a bit of a next-generation update. Take the light bulb; not quite thought of in the vein of gadgets like computers, phones, and tablets, but it has been getting updates in the last several years as well. This time around, how about adding Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities to them. Intrigued? Yes. Do you want to see videos of this in action. Click here –> Read the rest of this entry
Glasses-free 3DTV Plan from Stream TV gets Hisense to Manufacture Displays
For some time now, Stream TV has been talking about their Ultra-D glasses-free 3DTV technology, however nothing close to a marketable product has been seen. Just yesterday, the company has signed a manufacturing deal with Hisense, and the specs of an actual device had been released as well. The display will be 42 inches diagonally with a full HD 1080p display, and so far that’s all we know; at least something tangible is in the works. Stream TV will be showing off its latest gear at IFA 2012, so I’m looking forward to more and more details of this product coming to light. Hopefully, this glasses-free 3D tech won’t make my eyes bleed like the Nintendo 3DS does — of course, I’m exaggerating. Anyway, if you’d like to read more information on the Stream TV/Hisense partnership, the full press release is available after the break.
Roku Box Transforms into the Roku Stick
Starting later this year, the tiny-as-you-can-get Roku box that sat next top or under your television will no longer be a box. Soon, the next revisions of the online content streaming devices will be behind your televisions; plugged into your HMDI port, and will be shaped like a USB drive. Read the rest of this entry
