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CES 2007: Sony partner with AOL to bring online
video content to your telly

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 11:03:54 PM. © Shiny Shiny

Sony has announced that they're going to make all their future BRAVIA televisions compatible with their new Internet Video Link technology, which makes it possible to access free internet video content, such as AOL Video through the television.

Your existing broadband connection is used, so there's no need to connect to a computer, and the whole process can be managed (play, fast forward, rewind, find etc) from the remote. RSS feeds will also be able to be accessed through the television.

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http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_sony_p.html

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CES 2007: Liveblogging Bill Gates's keynotes
speech

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 11:03:54 PM. © Shiny Shiny

They've got Elvis, white tigers, Celine Dion, and a heck of a lot of scantily-clad waitresses without trousers. but for one day in early January, they also get an entity even more special than if Celine Dion were riding a white tiger bareback whilst without trousers. Mmmm...let's just savour that thought for a moment. Today is the day Bill Gates makes a special appearance at CES, where he usually spins the same marketing jargon he's been spouting for years. Vista, 360, Windows Live, can his hair get even more grey without turning white, these are what we're expecting from the Gates. Of course, we'd much rather be listening to the same babble coming from Steve Jobs, but only because we'd hit that first. Naturally.

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http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_livebl.html

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CES 2007: Bill Gates's keynotes speech

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 11:03:54 PM. © Shiny Shiny

Mark Fields, executive vice president of Ford Motors, is introduced next. He announces an exciting new feature which will be rolled out over 12 of their models this year, Sink. To be honest, it sounds very similar to Pioneer's new navigation systems and single CD players which we saw earlier today. Sink integrates all of your gadgets, such as your mobile phone, iPod, or Zune, with the car, which backs everything up into the car, and is voice activated. Text messages will be read allowed, calls answered, music playlists updated, and of course the software for the car is always updateable.

Gates hopes that within the next five years, speech will be seen as more important when using a computer. He shows us some examples, like asking your computer for suitable healthy recipes.

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http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_bill_g_3.html

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CES 2007: Bill Gates's keynotes speech 4

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 11:03:54 PM. © Shiny Shiny

Gates comes back on stage as Hutchinson disappears to the side, no doubt to supp a muchly-deserved cocktail. The Powerpoint presentation shows us several of the more innovative products which harness Windows capabilities, such as HP TouchSmart, Toshiba's Portege R400, Sony's Vaio VGX-TPI, and Medion's UMPC, each extremely different to one another yet each taking advantage of Vista, which should drop in 22 days.

Another nifty video comes up, where Gates is labelled as a 'Chic Geek'. Honey, I'm sorry, but unless you're rocking Marc Jacobs, you ain't that chic. The video is pretty impressive however, showing Gates's hands moving several graphics around with his hands. Must've taken a lot of takes, I wouldn't be surprised if they used a stand-in with his voice dubbed over.

He broaches the subject of 'connected entertainment', and introduces Robbie Bach, president of the Microsoft Corporation. Mmm...I'd hit it, but he'd have to lose the burnt-orange jumper first.

They're continuing to update their musical capabilities, and claims the Zune is the number 2 music player in the market, a bit hard to believe. They're on track to sell a million units apparently.

Windows mobiles, such as the MDA Vario, which I'm using to liveblog currently, are outselling Blackberries extremely well.

200 million people play games on Windows every month, so they will endeavour to adapt to the markets growing needs. A video then appears, showing us some of the more attractive games which will be available to be played on Vista. Bioshock, Flight Simulator, Halo 2, Lego Star Wars, the graphics look great, but definitely won't tear the Wiimote out of my sweaty grasp.

10.4 million units of the Xbox 360 have been sold so far in 37 countries, half a million above their predictions. 160 high def games have been released, and they plan on doubling that figure by the end of 2007. A short video of Halo 3 is shown, which they expect will be their biggest seller. It will also be compatible with Xbox Live. 5 million people are signed up to Xbox Live, an amazing and unexpected feat supposedly. Vista will be able to run 360 games, using a plug-in controller. The Live guide is exactly the same as on the console. She starts up a game of the addictive Uno game with someone on the stage, who is Live on his console. Amazing considering she was simply using her computer to access Xbox Live.

The next subject in the speech is TVs and movies. Robbie Bach comes back on to explain several of the different ways in which you can use high def, for instance through the 360 with the HD DVD player, the media centre extender, and Xbox 360 Live video market place. IPTV, the next form shown, looks brilliant, as there's no longer a short pause whilst channel-surfing, and you can also channel hop without changing the channel, with a small box in the lower left hand corner showing glimpses of the other channels.

The corniest line I've ever heard is then said - 'it's all I want, it's all in one box, it's Xbox 360'. Groan.

Gates reappears, and it's obvious the crowd switches off slightly - no more flashy videos, no exciting announcements, heck, my two thumbs can finally get a rest!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_bill_g_2.html

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CES 2007: Bill Gates's keynotes speech 3

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 11:03:54 PM. © Shiny Shiny

After an age, 20 minutes after it was 'sposed to start (ok, we were watching humorous anecdotes of Gates's previous speeches, and parodies of Napoleon Dynamite, Celebrity Deathmatch, and Austin Powers to show that y'know, he's down with the kids. Meaning he wants to convert the early 20s to middle aged black-square emo glasses'd graphic designers away from Apple, they just can't resist a good Napoleon Dynamite parody.

The first thing we notice once the applause dies down, and the 'Soft fanboys infront of us sit down, is that he's wearing a periwinkle shirt with perhaps a too-high strain of polyester. Ouch. It looks like satin from where I'm sitting.

He starts off by saying how pleased he is to be back at CES, brainwashing us with the latest Vista user statistics, making a rare joke by saying he doubts he'll be invited back after CES 08, for talking too much about rare diseases and his philanthropic work. Atwhay Aay Wattay, eh?

A chap called Justin Hutchinson takes over from Gates, to show us some of the more flashier details of Vista. We're currently looking at how Vista can restore a document to its previous shape, even days after saving it. He jokes it's even better than going back in time, to which even laughs and applauds. Apparently if you have a hyperlink in a Word document, you can click the link which takes you to Live Search, a form of Google Maps, in which you can then plug a 360 controller into your computer, and zoom through the air, driving down the streets etc. Admittedly, it looks pretty bloody amazing.

The interface of the real time alerts in the Windows Live menu looks suspiciously like the PS3 menu, which is of course a direct rip-off of the PSP. Either way, I'm dead impressed.

Photogallery organises all your photos and videos into one place, where you can view and edit each form of memory.

Ultimate is the flagship of Vista, which can download extra features such as Groupshop. He then shows us how to merge two photos together to form one perfect photo, in this example allowing each member of the scene to have their eyes open, something which each individual photo could not provide. I can't help but think this is cheating, creating false memories.

Apparently you can also drag and drop your own personal videos onto the desktop, creating a moving wallpaper, perpetually playing whichever scene you choose.

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http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_bill_g_1.html

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CES 2007: Bill Gates Keynotes Speech 2

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 11:03:54 PM. © Shiny Shiny

Unfortunately, we're not allowed to film video or take photos during the speech, so you'll have to rely on my live-blogging to lower the tone instead. Rats! All around us sit fellow press members, analysts, CEOs, investors, and the general public (yes, they allow such filth within the speech, imagine that! Imagine our outrage when we spied them swilling the free wine available. Our wine!), whilst several Venetian-themed mimes, jugglers, and stilt-men wander around, posing for photos from the press. As if Shiny Media would stoop so low as to photograph the hired help, bah! (note- look out for tomorrow's post featuring a photo of us eating lunch! In the wild!

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http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_bill_g.html

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CES 2007: Susi's video diary - LG

post from Shiny Shiny on 07 January 2007 09:04:19 PM. © Shiny Shiny

The LG conference was the most interesting one we've attended today, and I take a moment to reflect on exactly what their announcement might mean for you, me, and other manufacturers. Check out my reflecting face. It's not reflective in that it reflects light obviously, it's more about displaying a feeling of inner peace and calm on my face.

video details and more

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http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2007/01/ces_2007_susis_1.html

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Pioneer DV-300V / DV-400V

Pioneer has just announced two new DVD players that will be available in April & May. The cheaper one, DV-300V, doesn’t feature a HDMI output or any other upscaling of video, but apart from that the two players are basically the same (oh, the DV-400V also has 7 different sound equalizing options). The DV-300V will [...]

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http://gadgets.fosfor.se/pioneer-dv-300v-dv-400v/

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50 1080p plasma from Samsung

If you have $4,199 ready in May you can get your hands on a brand new 1080p Plasma from Samsung called HP-T5084. This new 50 inch plasma is the first plasma from Samsung featuring a true high definition resolution of 1920 x 1080. In September they will launch the 58 inch version for $5,199…Information provided [...]

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http://gadgets.fosfor.se/50-and-58-1080p-plasma-from-samsung/

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3 new 1080p LCDs from Samsung

Samsung LNT4065F, Samsung LNT4665F and Samsung LNT5265F are the full model names of the three new full resolution HDTV sets that Samsung announced at todays press conference at the CES in Las Vegas tonight. We got lots of technical information, but the most interesting piece of information is still missing: the price. All three models [...]

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http://gadgets.fosfor.se/3-new-1080p-sets-from-samsung/

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