TWiT 177
From The Official TWiT Wiki
Episode 177 |
 |
Guests: John C. Dvorak, Ryan Block, Lisa Bettany, and LeVar Burton Recorded: January 11th, 2009 Published: January 11th, 2009 Duration: 1:21:06 Video: is available for viewing at odtv |
Contents |
This Week In Tech 177: There's a Little Shatner in All of Us
Panel
Topics
- CES
- LeVar likes the advanced in broadcast technology. John says Robert Heron has doubts about Panasonic taking over for Pioneer plasmas, while Ryan says it's Sharp that's making the panels.
- John also says that Great Britain is considering banning all plasmas for energy conservation reasons. Ryan adds that California is considering legislation too, and that plasmas are on the way out. Leo loves plasmas. Ryan: LCD is progressing faster than plasma.
- Ryan discusses alternative HDTV technology: SED is great, but not going to be a contender. (John says it never will - surprise.) Thinks OLED will take up where LCD leaves off in 5 to 10 years. LeVar points out Sony's novelty factor with OLEDs less than 1mm thick.
- LeVar calls The Red 4K camera legitimate film-making technology, and shares his thoughts on the trends of story telling and film-making.
- Lisa likes the Gorillapod enough to wear it as a hat, and the Griffin Clarifi iPhone case.
- Leo has an Emmy. LeVar has 7, and a Grammy.
- Links from delicious.com/twit/177
- Windows 7 Beta.
- Leo says it's ready to ship. If you buy Vista after July 1st, Windows 7 comes free when shipped. Microsoft wants to under-promise and over-deliver.
- Links from delicious.com/twit/177
- Macworld
- Lisa says it was mostly disappointing. No Snow Leopard, iPhone, iPhone apps, no Mini, no TV.
- John has it from a source he calls "extremely solid," Apple spends $25 million to put on MacWorld. Ryan isn't so sure, but points out that Apple has been backing out of every tradeshow. Leo: Will they go to CES? Ryan: I guarantee they won't. LeVar: I just want cut and paste.
- Lisa brings up Modbooks- $1000 to lose your Macbook Pro keyboard, rip-apart the unibody design, and add a touch-screen. Ryan says if PCs can't do it with their market share, no one can.
- LeVar reminisces about the Newton.
- Palm Pre
- Stock market liked it. Leo is "very impressed." John says "they're done," using trends and fractals to justify his position. Ryan has never heard this logic before, but almost agrees with John! Ryan believes smart phones will be the norm eventually. John says Windows Mobile is "dead, just shoot it."
- Leo loves Facebook sync. Lisa doesn't like it on iPhoto.
- Palm Pre website
- Polaroid is back - digitally
- Digital camera, with 2x3 inch printer built in.
- Links from delicious.com/twit/177
- Powermat Technolgy
- LeVar reports on the latest Powermat technology shown at CES; asks will they be able to convince manufactures into adopting? Ryan says it can't provide enough power in some cases.
- Digital TV Conversion
- President-elect Obama wants to delay conversion 'til later this year. The coupons are spent.
- The panel seems to agree "there's no good time" and no point delaying it. John disagrees with everyone, however.
- Links from delicious.com/twit/177
- Yahoo
- Hires Carol Bartz of Autodesk. John thinks she can fix things, and leave.
- Links from delicious.com/twit/177
- Nine-Inch-Nails
- Releases 400 GB of HD footage as torrents.
- Links from delicious.com/twit/177
- Content and Community
- LeVar pontificates and answers questions on content, distribution, StarTrek, and story telling.
- Leo: "It's all about community."
- General discussion about StarTrek, and Ryan and John agree again!
Sponsors
Audible
- audible.com/twit2
- Two credits per month, Platinum.
Picks
|
| The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Clayborne Carson (UNABRIDGED) Narrated by LeVar Burton |
|
|
| Miles: The Autobiography by Miles Davis and Quincy Troupe (ABRIDGED) Narrated by LeVar Burton |
|
|
| Foundation by Isaac Asimov (ABRIDGED) Narrated by Jim Gallant Leo and LeVar both recommend reading the unabridged version if possible |
