Chris Ullrich @ micro dot blog

apparently, there is some sort of event going on in las vegas called the consumer electronics show (aka CES). at the show, the major and minor electronics companies duke it out with press confrences to announce that they have developed similar products to each other that while new and exciting are not really that new or exciting. what a sad state of affairs indeed.

if you want everything in all of its glorious detail, point your browsers to the big tech blogs engadget and gizmodo. they are doing in-depth coverage of what’s hot, what’s not and what really stinks (including the backed-up toilets at the convention center). for my money, the more interesting announcements should come next week at mac world expo. perhaps on tuesday of next week to be exact.

however, if i must pick some things from CES that look interesting (and i must, for i am a writer who picks things) here they are:

tivo offers up a new box. the series 3. will this be the end all be all and finally replace all of my other boxes? mmm, doesn’t seem like it. in fact, it looks like us directv people are going to be left out in the cold with this one. cable card slots only from the look of it and no provision for satellite?

hopefully, that’s just because i don’t have more info at the moment. fingers crossed as i really, really want to keep using a tivo device and not have to switch over to some bastard child designed by the room of monkeys at directv. tivo knows something about simple and useable interface design. directv not so much.

google announces a video store. gee, what a great idea. they will be selling content from cbs and other sources as well as letting you download stuff for free. no prices yet but more content available online (legally online that is. yes, i’ve heard of bittorrent thanks) should be a good thing.

sony announced its first blu-ray dvd player. its got all the big time features and looks like a monster as well. and toshiba announced it’s HD-DVD players as well which also look pretty good.

now, if all the kids could just get together and agree on one format, that would be great. what it will come down to will be the programming. as in, what movies will be available on each format. in fact, here’s a list of release titles for blu-ray and hd-dvd(at least for now).

sony also announced a few other things including bigger memory stick pro duo cards (finally) as well as new phones and the sony reader for reading ebooks.

verizon offers up their new v cast wireless music downloads. you can download music to your verizon cell phone for two bucks each and listen to it on your phone. you can also transfer it to your computer via usb. could be interesting. sprint also has a similar offering only theirs includes video. wireless is the new black i guess.

this would be a great gaming rig (or allow you to keep yourself warm in winter) that is, if you are a person who uses a windows pc. not that there’s anything wrong with that.

last but not least, fuji is using my friend nick’s pictures in their booth at CES. so, if you are there, drop over and tell them how great the pictures look. nick would appreciate it.

oh, one more thing. there was also another event going on in vegas this week at the same time as CES. it gets less publicity but it is no less important. its the adult entertainment expo which climaxes (sorry, had to do it) with the AVN awards.

that’s it for CES. tune in next week for even more important announcements from my favorite company, apple. predictions? well, i think we might see one or two new laptops with brand new intel chips. and maybe a mac mini or imac with intel as well. perhaps some new ipod variation and hopefully, a mac-mini like device that can be put in the living room to record television content and play it back to my hd tv. too much to ask? come on apple, make it happen.

as a side note, i really wrote this for LAist but if you read carefully, i have tailored it for this site. see what i do for you.

all i have to say about this is that the apple business model seems to make more sense to me. i think you should be able to record content and time and place shift it at your convnience, as i have said before.

also, in case you missed it, sony has been up to no good selling cd’s that install a rootkit on your windows machine. what does this mean? well, its an attempt by sony to monitor and control in what way you can use their content. here’s a more “tech” explanation.

i don’t like it when sony (or anyone) installs something on my machine that i don’t want and didn’t agree to. or even did agree to but didn’t know exactly what i was getting. that’s not very nice. good thing i use a mac. also, here’s a partial list of the cd’s that have this problem. can you say boycott?

and finally, good old steve ballmer, ceo of microsoft, on why apple computer is seen as “good” and microsoft is seen as “bad”. interesting read and with good play-by-play from mac daily news.

not only did i recently get a big new TV so naturally i have to watch shows that i would not normally watch, like any of the CSI shows, because they are in High Def but i have also started to, it seems, suffer from some sort of carpal tunnel or repetitive stress disorder. in other words, when i use the computer, more specifically the mouse, for even a short time, i get a tingling in my right hand and pain in my right elbow and even more annoying, a pain in my shoulder and neck.

so that is some sort of explanation for the longer duration between posts here. its not that i don’t love doing this or really appreciate the readers who keep coming back and read this, its just that i have this new big TV and more importantly, it kinda hurts to get on the computer. so, i got that going for me, which is nice. however, i am here now and my neck does hurt and my hand is tingling but i say what he hell, you guys deserve an update or at least some sort of effort on my part. just had to move the mouse just then and its so odd, it hurt my neck to move it. this is not good.

its especially not good in that i make a large part of my living sitting in front of a computer. not always mine but other people’s. if i could not do it, i would not only suffer physically but financially as well. this has been going on for about a week or so and i thought it would go away. unfortunately, no such luck. so, i guess a trip to the doctor is in order. although, i am not looking forward to it as we recently changed insurance and the doctor that i really like is now not included in our plan. so, we need to find a new doctor.

i don’t know about you but i really don’t like doctors all that much. it took a long time to find one that i not only like but trust is making the right decisions. (let’s not get started on my control issues right now, thanks) so, finding a new one might not be so easy. i really think that the insurance industry in this country has its head up its ass for the most part. isn’t a large part of maintaining patient health associated with believing in your doctor and their ability? it is for me. i only hope we can find someone who we like and isn’t a total lame ass who just follows what the insurance company says is the right thing to do.

with our previous doctor, i really felt like she had our best interest in mind and didn’t really think about what was best for the insurance company or anything like that. it was a great feeling. i really felt like they cared. maybe its lame but it meant something to me. now, who knows what’s going to happen. i didn’t meant this to turn into a rant against insurance companies or anything but it sure seems like the system has some real problems. at least we don’t live in Canada.

ok, now to salvage this post and talk about a little news and stuff around the internets (as i sometimes like to do):

see the innards of the new XBox360! try to control your excitement.

the dualphone for skype is finally available in the good old USA. make calls over the internet for free using this phone and the skype service. you can even call me if you want. although, i probably won’t answer.

and, sadly, one of my favorite places could be under water shortly as Katrina prepares to kick the shit out of New Orleans. i hope the gumbo shop and jaques-imo’s are going to be ok. those places rock. if you ever get to New Orleans, try them. you won’t be sorry.

lots of cool things happening around my place in the last few days. we are making the transition to HD so that required a new television and a switch to DirectTV in order to get HD programming and a TiVo that will record HD. our old and trusty Sony TV gave it up a week or so ago and so the hunt for a replacement was on.

i looked at various models, features and kinds. i was trying to stay under 2K as i think that’s enough to spend on a TV, even if we do watch a lot of it. we settled on another Sony and are looking forward to the delivery on Tuesday. so, that’s the first part done. need an HD TV. check.

next, due to the good folks at Adelphia not being able to offer HD cable in our area as of yet, we are forced to abandon them and move to DirectTV. actually, its not that big of a deal as DirectTV is the only one that offers a DVR with TiVo anyway and we have to have TiVo so that’s a no-brainer. i would rather give my five bucks a month to a company i like instead of a company that kinda sucks like Adelphia.

so, now we have a DirectTV HD DVR with Tivo to hook up to the dish that DirectTV will be sending with an installer next Monday. i will have to use the TV for almost a week with only standard def programming (sad for me). although, i should be able to get over the air HD in the interim as our building has an antenna on the roof. so that’s cool. either way, i can wait a week to get this all finished. then, i can cancel Adelphia. i can’t wait to make that call.

of course, any good HD TV needs a progressive scan DVD player to go with it so we needed to get one of those also. again, a Sony was the call. good reviews at Amazon.com and a price that’s pretty darn low made this a winner. it should arrive in a day or so and then we can really see what one of those Superbit DVD’s can do. more on this later.

as the whole process moves along, i will report back in and also post some reviews of the various parts of this HD puzzle like the TV and the DirectTV Tivo. plus, does the Superbit DVD process really make things look better and is it worth not having any extras on the disk? i’ll get into that also.

first off, the fine folks at the RIAA are now, it seems, going to be going after you in your homes for making you own cd’s from music you already purchased. so, if you rip a cd that you own and then burn it or make some kind of compilation cd from songs you already own, they feel you are a threat to their business.

is it just me or do the record companies seem to be desperately trying to cling to a business model that seems destined to fail. i don’t know what the solution for them is but i’m pretty sure that lawsuits and the like are not necessarily the way to go about it. all that seems to do is enrage your customers and drive more people to do the things you don’t want them to do. although, i do think their statistics are flawed or at least their interpretation of those stats.

i guess the movie and tv industry should be worried as well. if everyone had a faster connection to the internet, i’m sure people would be trading movies and tv shows as fast as they do music now. its only music at the moment because music files are much smaller than video files. although, i know you can go to sites and download movies right now (no, i’m not going to tell you where). but that is mostly confined to a smaller group. a group that has bandwidth to spare.

in the next few years when every home has a fiber connection running at ten times your current dsl speed, movie downloading and swapping will become a big problem. i only hope that the MPAA has a better solution to the problem at that time than the RIAA has now. i won’t hold my breath on that one.

plus, is your boss a psychopath? take this quiz and find out. it worries me a little how many of these questions apply to people i have worked with in the past. especially certain producers on certain films. i knew something was off about those people. i thought they were just assholes. now i know the truth. i hope they finally got the help they so obviously needed.

ok, have a great weekend all. we are off to hugo’s in studio city for a bite. if you have never been, i recommend it highly. it’s very good and friendly to non-traditional eaters (vegetarian, etc.)

later.

i’m at my “office” (aka Starbucks) and people watching a little. The summer is always interesting here in the warmer climes. much more skin is shown and many times that’s a good thing. in fact, there are some pretty good examples of that here right now.

sadly, sometimes it isn’t. you know what I mean. now, i’m not small or thin by any means. In fact, i’m pretty big. however, at least I have the sense not to wear a shirt where my entire stomach is exposed so it can hang way over my belt. although, mine doesn’t do that. anyway, you’ve seen that person before, i know you have. people just should look in the mirror a little more before leaving the house. i’m not against them, i feel bad for them.

anyway, i am at least taking steps to remedy my situation. first, and this will definitely come as a surprise to many, i have stopped drinking alcohol completely. yes, that’s right. no more booze. i’l give you a minute. . . .ok, you may wonder why? its not because i think i have a problem or that i think alcohol is bad or that i’ve found God or anything. nothing so dramatic. it is just time to stop.

all the rest of you can keep drinking as much as you want. i am not going to judge anyone. what i’m doing is only for me. just to see if i can. it’s really more of an exercise to help me get healthier. i don’t like the feeling i get after a night of going out for a few. the next day (sometimes the next two days) are just not as fun when you have a hangover and feel like crap.

this started after my last trip to vegas for add’s birthday party. that was early june. so it has been a couple months already. i won’t say i have not had a drink at all in the last few months. i have had one or two. stopping completely is harder than it sounds. however, my intake is way, way, way down and is going to stay that way. its just time for a change, that’s all.

also, i have started back to the gym and am eating less and exercising more. just like you are supposed to. i want to try it this way and see if things improve. i don’t want to resort to an all liquid diet like my friends tm and jh are trying. a doctor supervised ucla experiment. i guess its come to that for them. not for me. not yet anyway.

in other news of the world:

apple comes out with a 2-button mouse! hell does not, in fact, freeze over.

the space shuttle will get some in-space repairs.

and, NASA shows a few designs for the next-gen shuttle (nyt reg required). change for the better is good. let’s hope they are on the right track.

a noted Windows expert calls for a boycott of the next version of Internet Explorer (IE7).

and this guy has a lot of time on his hands but he might have a point. i have heard of this. at least it hasn’t happened to me yet. i hope netflix isn’t like that but you never know.

From across the www direct to you. Some interesting sites that might be worth a visit. Especially if you are looking to kill a few minutes (or a few hours). Enjoy.

The Playstation 3 info page of things known so far.

Microsoft Windows Vista (i really love that name. no, really. at least no animal names. kinda tired of that too) info page with screenshots.

Some speculation on the innards of the Video iPod, to be released real soon (i am holding my breath. i hope it doesn’t take too long).

Some good tips that every webmaster (like me!) needs to know to enhance his or her use of Google Adsense.

This looks promising. Record everything on TV and play what you want. When you want. No more season passes or setting the timer on the VCR (although, if you really have a VCR, its time to move into the 21st century and get a Tivo at least. I mean really people, tape is so nineties).

And, it seems some debris fell off during the latest shuttle launch. It looked so perfect too. So, NASA has grounded the fleet again. Well, the comet thing was cool anyway. Can we get something else besides foam? It doesn’t work guys. You’re really, really, really smart. Think of something else. Please.

And last but certainly not least, some very cool tips on how to speed up Mac OSX. Many of these I already use. I guess I could have posted them too. Oh well, easier just to link to this guy. Less work for me.

today is monday. not my favorite day of the week by any means. however, a necessary evil so i will just have to let it go. besides, if there were no monday than i would have to be less than enthusiastic about tuesday so what can you do. anyway, to the point, as it were. couple things happening in the world at large and in my world as well.

first, those sneaky mpaa dudes are still trying to ram the broadcast flag down our throats with a last ditch effort to attach it to a senate appropriations bill due for a vote this week. if you live in one of the states that has a representative on the house appropriations committee, give your congress person a call, email or fax and tell them you oppose the broadcast flag. or, live with the government in your computer and other electronic devices forever.

as a public service, here is the list of congress people who make up the house appropriations committee, courtesy of the folks over at boing boing. or, go to the eff site for helpful links to get to the right person.

in other news, kodak is going to stop making black and white photo paper. i know, i know, two or three people are really bummed out right now. i haven’t been in a darkroom in about three years but when i was, it smelled bad and i had a headache for about a day afterward. as i can do all the same stuff, and much more, on my mac at home, where it actually smells pretty good, there really isn’t any reason to go back to a darkroom. still, its a little sad. end of an era and all that.

and last week, Mastercard announced that up to 40,000,000 credit card numbers may have been compromised by one of their processing companies. today, the New York Times (registration, along with first born child, required) is reporting that the company in question, CardSystems Solutions, should not have been handling that data to begin with. John M. Perry, CEO of the processor in question, claims the data was merely being kept for “research purposes”.

priceless.

The number of compromised Master Card accounts has been revised downward to about 68,000, with another 132,000 possibly compromised accounts belonging to Visa, American Express, and other companies.

well, i feel better now. how about you?

and, no word on my sick g5 yet from the guys at melrose mac in burbank on olive ave. (and on melrose as well, one would assume). i hope they know what they are doing. i’ll let you know what the diagnosis is and what the cure is when i know. that way, others can benefit from my suffering.