Boxee has confirmed that they will be adding live TV functionality. The new functionality leaked out about a week ago, but we now have our first peek at the dongle that Boxee will start selling in January. For $49, the Boxee folks are hoping you won’t see any reason not to add the live TV dongle if you are a […]
Read more
We’ve been following the impending announcement of Google Music along with everyone else. Today was the day and sure enough Google Music is the iTunes competitor we expected and it comes with not one, but three major labels: Sony, EMI, and Universal. Google Music doesn’t look completely like most of us probably expected. For one thing, Google’s new music […]
Read more
I’ve been a fan of the cube or shoebox cases since Shuttle Computers was big on the small form factor scene. Most case manufacturers have at least one cube in their lineup, usually geared toward mini-ITX systems, however few manufacturers devote as many resources to reiterating those cube designs as Silverstone. The Silverstone Sugo lineup of mini-ITX cube cases are […]
Read more
In the last year or so, the only version of Windows that seems to have given Windows Media Center a whole lot of love is Windows 7 Embedded. Windows Media Center was a showcase feature in Windows 7 Embedded Standard and pitched at set-top box OEMs. Windows 7 Embedded Standard even included OEM-only tools for customizing WMC’s start menu and […]
Read more
Google is expected to announce their iTunes competitor, Google Music, tomorrow. As has become de rigueur for major tech announcements, the interwebs have been crackling with rumors and potential leaks. When Google sent out the invitations for the announcement, there were already rumors circling that Google was having trouble finalizing agreements with the four major labels. At this point, the only […]
Read more
The release of iOS 5 also brought the official launch of Apple’s iCloud service. From the start, one of the more anticipated iCloud features has been iTunes Match. With iTunes Match, iCloud users can store up to 25,000 songs online. The service costs $24.99 and requires the freshly released iTunes 10.5.1 which will scan your music library and match your […]
Read more
About a week ago we commented on Netflix gaining exclusive streaming rights to MGM’s first-run movies in anticipation of Netflix’s launch in the UK and Ireland. Netflix is looking for every advantage it can find against the deeply entrenched LOVEFiLM streaming service. At the time we suggested that we would likely hear about more such agreements. Turns out we didn’t […]
Read more
Intel isn’t the only CPU manufacturer launching new platforms. VIA recently announced the VE-900 Mini-ITX motherboard geared toward low-powered media PCs. VIA doesn’t get alot of attention these days, but they have been focused on small integrated systems for a while now. The Nano X2 processor and VX 900 media processor that team up on the VE-900 board probably wouldn’t […]
Read more
Those crazy engineers over at Intel are at it again. They have officially launched the followup to Sandy Bridge, the Sandy Bridge-E, along with the new X79 chipset to support it. Sandy Bridge-E looks set to bring some nice performance increases, at least at the high end. Of course, these new Sandy Bridge-E processors aren’t likely to make their way […]
Read more
It doesn’t happen often, but I don’t currently have any Nvidia GPUs in my house and so I haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing the problem of WMC throwing a black screen during playback. If you have been experiencing black screen issues during playback on your Nvidia equipped HTPC, it might be a good idea to download Nvidia’s 285.79 drivers. […]
Read more