Hasta La Gadget!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that The Big Lebowski Special Edition Blu-ray disc came out today, and to mark the occasion Universal has brought much of the cast together in New York for Lebowski Fest. If you can’t be there or haven’t snagged a ticket to sold-out event don’t worry, there’s also a live video stream available via Livestream. Check back here at 6:30 pm (Eastern) for an interview with the real life inspiration for the character The Dude, and at 8 p.m. for a Q&A session with Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, John Turturro and T Bone Burnett.

The Big Lebowski Blu-ray celebrated by cast reunion tonight, watch the live stream here originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I don’t like it. Not one iota. But frankly, it doesn’t much matter — Apple’s officially done with the optical drive, and there’s no evidence more strikingly clear than the mid 2011 refresh of its Mac mini. Last year, that bantam box arrived with a $699 price tag, pep in its step and a personality that could charm even the most hardened desktop owner. This year, a $599 model showed up on my doorstep promising the same, but instead it delivered a noticeable drop in actual functionality. Pundits have argued that you could tether a USB SuperDrive to the new mini and save $20 in the process compared to last year’s rig, but does relying on a cabled accessory go hand-in-hand with beauty and simplicity? No, and I’ve every reason to believe that Apple would agree.

Despite the obvious — that consumers would buy a mini to reduce the sheer burden of operating a convoluted desktop setup — Apple’s gone and yanked what has become a staple in both Macs and PCs alike. For years, ODDs have been standard fare, spinning CDs, DVDs, HD-DVDs (however briefly) and Blu-ray Discs, not to mention a few other formats that didn’t do much to deserve a mention. Compared to most everything else in the technology universe, the tried-and-true optical drive has managed to hang around well beyond what it’s creator likely had in mind, but it’s pretty obvious that 2011 is to the ODD what 1998 was to the floppy drive. At least in the mind of one Steven P. Jobs.

Continue reading Editorial: Apple’s officially over the optical drive, for better or worse

Editorial: Apple’s officially over the optical drive, for better or worse originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We know, we know. You’re fit to be tied waiting for the complete Star Wars collection to be released on Blu-ray in September, but there’s good news for impatient iPad owners here in the US. You see, some of the collection’s bonus materials can be had for free a bit early — as in tomorrow — courtesy of the Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access App. Even better, we’ve got video of the app in action plus a gallery of pics for you to drool over until you can download it yourself. And for folks abroad or those with an iPhone or iPod touch, the same sneak peek will be available in August.

The app itself is a ported version of what you’ll see on the Blu-ray discs, but there’s some added touchscreen functionality — pinch-to-zoom on the concept art and users can spin props and models with the flick of a finger in the “Collection” section. The app also lets you selectively download the content, so all that artwork and video won’t eat up an undue portion of your iPad’s memory. After getting handsy with it in person, we found the app easy to use and the content compelling (where else can you examine the Death Star up close?), but we were left wishing that there was a bit… more. Of course, the lion’s share of extras are reserved for the paying customers come September 16th — though we were disappointed to discover that, currently, there are no plans to make it all available on the app even if you buy the Blu-rays. Regardless, you get what you pay for, and that makes this gratis addition to the Star Wars universe a darn good deal.

Continue reading Hands-on with the Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access iOS app

Hands-on with the Star Wars Blu-ray: Early Access iOS app originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If we’re looking at sales figures of 3.5 million units in the first year for a new laptop, smartphone, or camera, then we might be impressed. But 3D Blu-ray discs? When half were included in the box with a Blu-ray player? Man, that’s gotta sting. Those numbers are based on an IHS Screen Digest estimate, tallying US sales beginning in June of 2010 and ending last month, though many larger titles didn’t make their debut until later in the year. Still, if those results are even in the ballpark of official (unreleased) numbers from BD distributors, then things really aren’t looking up for 3D. With fewer than 100 titles even available on Blu-ray, however, we’re not really surprised that discs aren’t exactly flying off the shelves. Obviously, as a growing number of movies are filmed in 3D we’ll see BD title availability increase as well, but with the technology’s lackluster beginnings over the last year and no sign that consumers are ready to spend more to embrace that new dimension, 3D may continue its slow crawl toward the mainstream for some time to come.

Report: 3.5 million 3D Blu-ray discs ‘sold’ in first year, half were bundled with hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mitsubishi’s new Real LCD-22BLR500 TV is hardly the first set packed with a built-in Blu-ray recorder and hard drive, but it’s certainly one of the smaller ones we’ve seen. The 22-inch 1,366 x 768 LED-backlit display is probably too tiny for your average living room, but cramming the 500GB HDD and optical dive in the base helps it keep a thin profile and a stable footprint that could fit perfectly in a small bedroom or dorm. Around back are a bevy of inputs, including a USB jack, a pair of HDMI ports, an SD slot, Ethernet, and i.Link. Sadly, this compact all-in-one TV will be a Japan-only affair when it hits shelves on July 21st for around ¥110,000 (about $1,360).

Mitsubishi’s new all-in-one set crams 500GB HDD and Blu-ray recorder into tiny package originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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