My Future Touchscreen Jukebox: Eee Top

We all have dreams. One of mine is to have a touchscreen jukebox hanging on the wall of a room where I'm hosting a party. Just like in so many bars. This particular dream of mine came one step closer to reality a short while ago when Asus released the Eee Top. (Side note: Asus, in my opinion, is second only to Apple in the amount of original, innovative and downright amazing PC-related devices released in the last couple years. Keep up the good work, Asus.) The plan is thus: get one of these beauties and install any one of a number of touchscreen jukebox programs so that my future party guests can boogie down to their own soundtrack, ensuring good times and smiling faces.

At less than $600 (and sure to fall quickly), one can have an all-in-one XP touchscreen machine that looks great to boot. Here's the specs:




Nice. What more can you ask for? As soon as these babies hit $300 (I'm guessing December), I'm all over it.

mp3HD: You're kidding, right?

This has to be the dumbest idea I've heard in a while. The genuises at Thomson decided that instead of audio software and device manufacturers supporting the numerous existing lossless audio codecs we have (FLAC, ALAC, WMA Lossless, etc.) in addition to mp3, that it would be a good idea to take mp3s and their lossless counterparts and COMBINE THEM into one gargantuan file! They say MAXIMUM COMPATIBILITY!

Hello? Disk space calling Thomson.

Why the hell can't device manufacturers support mp3 AND a lossless format. It doesn't really matter which lossless format. Hell, some already do support lossless, including the iPod. Computationally, to decode a lossless format, its trivial. It may suck slightly more juice than an mp3, but battery technology is only getting better. One could argue for the mp3HD format by saying that disk space is getting cheaper and that the overall size per file is not that much bigger. I'd counter that by saying that people's music collections are also growing, and a 20% increase per file adds up. We aren't carrying around terabyte disks in our pockets, OK? All this, and mp3HD requires a new plugin for PCs and a new firmware update for portables. Not compatible? FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!!

Prediction: this format sinks faster than a lead submarine.

Further proof of Logitech's Awesomeness: Harmony-to-PS3 Adapter

As reported here, Logitech is once again making my life easier. One of the downsides to owning a PlayStation 3 as I do is that the remote/controllers are bluetooth and not IR like every other remote on the planet. Well, soon this won't be a problem anymore. The little beauty you see above is an adapter that will translate IR to bluetooth for all Harmony remotes. The rumor is that it won't even require a USB port, but this seems far fetched, as USB would be a nice way to at least power the device. Either way, I once again can use 1 remote to rule them all.

Google Video Chat: It Mostly Works

I've had a Gmail account since the day Google announced them. I use it mainly as my "other" email address, and for various Google services. My girlfriend has one as well, and uses hers daily. As I've mentioned here before, I have an Asus Eee PC 901, which has, among other things, a 1.3MP webcam. My girlfriend just got an Apple MacBook Pro, which also has a webcam. I thought it would be fun/useful to try out Google's Video Chat. Especially when communicating with loved ones, sometimes the phone just doesn't cut it.

After installing a few browser plugins, and then reloading our respective browsers, we were both able to see and speak to one another. Both of our machines also have internal microphones, so there was no need for a bulky external mic for either of us. Audio was surpisingly clear for both parties. Video was a bit pixelated. This is to be expected, as my webcam's 1.3MP is not exactly stellar. Ambient light in the room where the machine is located makes all the difference. If you're in a dark room, it's hard to make out the other person. Turn on a few lights, and all is well.

The only feature that did not work for me was full screen video. It was very pixelated/blurry and often froze up, causing me to have to return to windowed mode. However, I'd say that Google Video Chat is, for the most part, very usable. It's a great free option for video chatting. Give it a try.

Asus Un-Announces Eee Box B208

Asus just destroyed my hopes and dreams for a low-powered, low-profile dual core HD HTPC. The listing for the Eee Box B208 has disappeared from their site. Hopefully, this won't be a permanent deletion. Asus, if you're listening, give the people what the want, ney NEED.