Hasta La Gadget!

Storage-solution provider Western Digital has developed the first networkable, live HD media player that’s compatible with Windows 7. The WD TV Live HD Media Player can stream multimedia from PCs, external drives, or the Web to a big-screen television.

Earning the official “compatible with Windows 7 logo” from Microsoft, the WD TV Live incorporates the Windows 7 Play To feature. This is a Windows 7 OS feature that lets users easily stream music and videos to compatible devices on a home network.

The WD TV Live HD supports wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi connectivity and full HD 1080p video playback. It’s also got two USB ports for media playback from multiple USB drives as well as an HDMI 1.3 port and SPDIF digital output.

The Windows 7 compatible WD TV Live is available now from select retailers at a list price of $149.99. Current users of WD TV Live can update the firmware to get the Windows 7 compatibility and Play To feature.

To call Mark Cuban eccentric would be akin to describing the ocean as wet, but what’s not so often acknowledged about the Dallas Mavericks owner is the sharp mind and commercial nous that have gotten him to the position of hiring and firing millionaire ball players. One of Mark’s recent blog posts, entitled “The future of TV … is TV,” got the attention of NewTeeVee, who sought to debunk his contention that VOD (video on demand) services from cable operators would become the primary means by which we consume digital media in the future. They cite the growing success story of Netflix’s digital distribution model, as well as the 12 million hours of March Madness video consumed via CBS’ web portal, in arguing that web streaming is indeed the great new hotness.

Mark’s response tackles Netflix head on, and points out that the company’s rapid growth is about to start working against it, with movie studios and other content providers likely to jack up prices and demand further concessions from the streaming service as it turns into a real competitor to cable companies. According to him, Netflix is presently getting its content at prices that are unsustainable, and his prognostication is that content owners seeking bigger levies — together with the expansion of VOD choice, which he sees as foolproof compared to the overwhelming complexity that web streaming entails — will lead to Netflix passing costs on to the consumers and losing out to cable operators. Irrespective of whether you agree with him, the whole exchange is well worth a read. Use the links below to get filled in.

Mark Cuban foretells Netflix demise, sees a future filled with on-demand video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What could possibly be better than playing the SNES classic, Super Mario Kart? Playing it on your iPad, of course. Or Super Mario World. Or pretty much any of Nintendo’s amazing games for the Best Console Ever™. This is possible already with a jailbroken device, or even a stock iPad, should you be a developer who can sign his own software and install it.

But the problem with all games on the iDevices, be they official App Store games or pirated ROMs running in hacked emulators is that they are controlled via the touch screen. This works surprisingly well, but is never going to be as good as using a proper joypad, especially on fast-moving, button-mashing titles.

Enter the newest iteration of snes4iphone, the $6 SNES emulator from our good friend ZodTTD. The app now works with a Wiimote, wirelessly, so you can control Mario as God (aka Shigeru Miyamoto) intended: with lots of plastic buttons.

Maybe it’s my age, or my inability to play any game made after the year 2000, but I have a crazy soft-spot for the SNES, and this new hack my be enough to get me a-jail-breakin’. Of course, what we really need is an official SNES emulator, but that won’t happen until right after Apple lets Adobe put Flash on the iPhone.

Video of Jailbroken iPad Running SNES Emulator [Touch Arcade via TUAW]

See Also:

• SNES Emulator for iPhone
• Video: Super Mario Kart on Non-Jailbroken iPad
• NES Emulator Sneaks Into App Store, Already Pulled

Upgrade your small, pokey drive with this speedy half-terabyte bargain. It works in laptops as well as in Netbooks. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-20004408-58.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Cheapskate/a/p

Apple’s tablet is set to launch in Canada, Japan, and a gaggle of European countries in late May, with preorders starting Monday. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20004403-37.html” class=”origPostedBlog”News – Apple/a/p